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The moment I walk out of this ice rink, I won’t be looking back. I have a new future before me, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to succeed. I’ll train harder and faster, be stricter on my diet, and study each and every match I can get my hands on. But no matter what, I will not fail.
I come to the end of the hallway and find Charli deep in conversation with a figure skater, talking about all the crazy shit she’s able to do. Charli is beaming at her in awe while the girl is sucking up as much attention as possible.
“Hey,” I say, stealing Charli’s attention.
“Oh, hey,” she says quickly, eyeing me, probably trying to gauge my mood. She quickly says goodbye to the girl and heads over to me. “How’d it go?” she murmurs, keeping her voice low to not draw unwanted attention.
“It could have been worse,” I tell her with a shrug as I lead her out of the rink. “Coach was pissed as fuck. But at the end of the day, he supports me pursuing a career in MMA. Well, as long as it’s got nothing to do with the Underground.”
“Smart man,” she mutters before glancing up and meeting my stare. “What does that mean for the team?”
“Means I no longer have one,” I tell her.
Her face falls, and I see the way she hurts for me, which only makes me want to comfort her and tell her that it’s all going to be okay. “Shit, I’m sorry,” she whispers, her hand tightly clutching mine.
Taking our joined hands, I loop them over her shoulder and pull her in close. “Don’t be sorry,” I tell her. “It means that I can focus on fighting, and I can be honest with the guys so they can stop looking at me like I’m hiding something.”
“A bit like Aaron?” she smirks.
“Exactly like Aaron.”
“So what now?”
“Now we head home and look for a place of our own.”
Charli sputters, stopping in the middle of the athlete parking lot as she gapes at me. “Um, what?”
“You heard me,” I say, a grin tearing across my face. “I give my father at least three days before he finds out. And when he does, I want to be prepared.”
“Okay,” she says, trying to wrap her head around it. “But you mean your own place.”
“No,” I correct her. “Our own place. I hate to drop a bomb on you, but now that I’ve got you, I’m not letting you go. And fortunately for me, that means you’ll be coming with me to wherever that new place may be.”
Her eyes light up with excitement, but I also see regret there. “Don’t get me wrong,” she says, “I really want to move in with you, but there’s no way I can afford that. Not yet. I’m barely just getting on my feet, and you know my traineeship doesn’t exactly pay that well. I mean, I make plenty in tips at Micky’s, but not enough to buy a house.”
“Babe,” I say, taking her shoulders and holding her stare, making sure she truly hears me. “I don’t want you to worry about money. I’ve got us covered. I just want you to go to the salon every day, then go to Micky’s if you want to. I honestly don’t care what you want to do as long as you’re happy, and you’re the person I come home to at the end of the day.”
She shakes her head. “You’re crazy,” she tells me. “You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“Holy shit,” she breathes, tears welling in those soft blue eyes. “We’re going to do this. You and me? Living together? Buying a house?”
I nod. “You better fucking believe it.”
She shakes her head, barely able to wrap her head around it, but she knows this is happening. Though after dropping a bomb like that, there’s no way she’s about to make it easy for me.
Pressing her lips into a tight line, she schools her features and gives a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t know, Xander. I’ll have to think about it.”
Before she breaks, she quickly turns and scurries toward my truck, but there’s no mistaking the wide grin that takes over her face, her cheeks pushing right up and scrunching her eyes.
Yeah, she definitely knows it’s happening. And the second I get the chance, I’ll have her barefoot and pregnant, dancing around our kitchen.
Chapter 17
CHARLI
It’s barely seven in the morning when a loud pounding sounds at the door, and I practically spring out of bed. Who the hell would be banging on the door at this ungodly hour?
Grabbing Xander’s shirt off the floor, I throw it over my naked body and scurry out the bedroom door.
I dash down the stairs and come to a standstill, my hand hovering over the handle as I realize I could be walking right into a trap. What if it’s my stepmom or her boyfriend coming for round two, or is it three? Have they found me?
