Tyson POV

I woke up with the mother of hangovers.

How much did I drink last night?

Shit, my head hurts!

There should be some aspirin downstairs. I set up slowly in bed and looking around me, I realized I wasn’t at my house. The well-lit, clean room I was in was unfamiliar. It took me a while to remember it was Alex’s guestroom.

“I made you your bed,” Alex had announced as I got out of the bathroom last night.

“You should sleep in your bed; I’ll take the couch.”

“Oh, I am sleeping in my own bed.”

“You want us to sleep together again?”

“We don’t have to. I’m sleeping in my room and you in Kevin’s. Technically, it’s a guestroom but he’s the one who uses it most so it’s pretty much his.”

“You have a guestroom? Then why did you let me sleep in your bed last time I was here?”

“Because I didn’t want you to get blood all over my cousin’s bed,” the brunette had pointed out.

And that is how I’d ended up here.

I looked around the premises. It was smaller than Alex’s with a single bed, wardrobe, a few bookshelves that were attached to the white walls and a wooden corner table. There was a framed photograph on it. I reached out and took the old black and white picture. It was of a little girl; one with familiar big round eyes and small round mouth. Her hair was shoulder length and she had bangs.

Alex seemed to have been a cute kid.

I placed the photo back on the table and got up.

I went for the bathroom first; I needed to splash my face with some water. The noise the liquid was producing while running down to the sink’s ceramic basin sounded as if I was at the foot of the fucking Niagara Falls.

God, I hate hangovers!

“Alex,” I called when I got to the now familiar kitchen and sat on the same stool as last time. The brunette was mixing some sort of a cocktail. “How much did I drink last night?”

“Two shots of each whiskey, vodka and cider, two lagers…” I could tell she was purposefully keeping her voice down and I was more than grateful for that. “Some more vodka and almost half of bottle of tequila. Give or take.”

“I drunk all that on my own?!” I asked astonished. I didn’t think I was capable of doing that; I didn’t think anyone was capable of doing that.

“Yep. I’m not sure how you managed to keep awake. And you didn’t throw up a single time! If I had all that, I’d probably faint and drown in my own vomit. And I’m pretty good at holding my liquor.” She made a pause after giving me that lovely description. “Do you think you can have some breakfast or are you too queasy?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Here, drink this!” She gave me the cocktail she was making.

“What’s that?” I asked, wrinkling my nose. The beverage looked like puke, smelled like it too.

“It’s a little pick-me-up,” the girl explained, but I still hesitated, my gaze darting to her and the eggshells she was just throwing out before returning to the glass in my hand and the green leafy stuff floating  in it.

“Just hold your breath and try to drink it all in one gulp,” she counseled. I followed her advice and swallowed the concoction as quickly as I could.

“Alex, that was disgusting,” I stated grimacing as the vile flavor assaulted my taste buds.

“But how are you feeling?” She queried, giving me the once-over.

“Well…” I tried to determine the state I was in. After the initial need to vomit that overtook me from the beverage, the nausea had receded and I even felt slightly refreshed. I dared to look straight at the window; the late morning light from outside still irritated my eyes, but the headache had subdued.

“Better than before I drunk it,” I admitted, surprised by its quick effect. “What was in it?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know!” Alex commented, putting away a saltshaker labeled “Pepper”. “So do you want some toast for breakfast?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be able to eat now,” I stated and about fifteen minutes later we were sitting on both sides of a kitchen island, munching on our food.

“So…” I started. “What’s the deal with the baby powder?”

“I could tell you… But you’ll have to share some stories as well!”

I frowned. I really wasn’t the sharing type. Yet I wanted to know how the hell can anyone get arrested for carrying baby powder.

“Seems fair I guess…” I trailed off, my curiosity taking the better of me.

“Well, it all started with me going to this party. For reasons I’m not going to delve into, I had some baby powder in a plastic bag in my purse…”

“Why are you not going to delve into that?”

“Because you’ll probably make fun of me.” I opened my mouth to press the matter, but she cut me off. “Anyway, the party was in full swing when all of a sudden police barged in. You know, they kicked the door open, started shouting “police, no body moves”… The usual thing for the neighborhood the party was in. They told us that they got an anonymous call saying that some of the guests were dealing drugs. There was this one cop – Ivanov… he didn’t like me much. So when he saw me, he came straight my way. He went through my purse and found the baby powder. You should’ve seen the repulsive grin on his ugly face, I swear he looked like he was about to start a happy dance. I of course was clueless to his elevated state until he arrested me. Apparently the dude thought the stuff was heroin. Later on, after a few quick lab tests, one of his colleagues told Ivanov that he had arrested me for possession of baby powder. Actually, since he hated Ivanov, he shouted it from the other end of the premises for all to hear. Everyone who was at the station, both policemen and civilians, was laughing their asses off. Needless to say, the guy liked me even less since then. His colleagues still make fun of him.”

“And that is the only time you got arrested?”

“Yep!”

“And I thought your file will be as big as mine,” I commented, frowning again. “You’re not the type to stay out of trouble.”

“You’re only in trouble if you get caught; I just didn’t let them catch me,” she stated, winking at me and finishing her toast.

“So why didn’t the guy like you in the first place?”

“A few months before the party his patrol car got… relocated. The word on the street was it was my doing.”

“How come?”

“Because it was my doing,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “He just never had enough evidence to prove it.”

“I can’t believe you stole a fucking police car!”

“Hey, I didn’t steal it; I just relocated it. Anyway, it was parked in a no-parking area after their shift was over so I did him and his partner a favor by moving it. I mean, what is our world turning into if our fine policemen start getting parking tickets?” She let out an exaggerated sigh before looking at me, an exited glint in her eyes. “Your turn now!”

“I don’t have funny stories about getting arrested.” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, throwing the rest of my toast on the plate before me. I’d suddenly loosing my appetite.

“So tell me a dramatic one.”

“Alex… My stories aren’t entertaining.”

“Don’t care; they are still your stories. By hearing them I’ll learn more about you.”

“And why would you want that, Alex?” I hissed, narrowing my eyes at her. I knew she didn’t deserve that kind of attitude as she wasn’t prying on me to get some juicy gossip, yet I couldn’t help such behavior. I preferred keeping things to my self; it was safer that way. And if anybody tried getting too close, I’d push them away. “Why would you want to get to know me?”

“Because I like you,” she stated simply, without batting an eye. Her tone was casual, her posture wasn’t stiff… She wasn’t nervous at all, but I froze at her words.

Alex liked me. As what? As a friend? Or maybe as something more…

“Hello… Earth to Tyson.” She waved her hands in front of my face. “Where did you space off to?”

“Umm… I… Nowhere.” I realized she had leaned closer and suddenly I felt twitchy. I needed some space. I was about to pull back, but she beat me to it, returning to her previous position.

“I’m still waiting for the story,” she stated.

“Alex, your stories sound as part of a comedy movie. You just fool around while I…” I sighed.

Why was I telling her this? I shouldn’t be sharing these things; she’ll realize just how screwed-up I am.

“I had to break the law to make a living,” words kept coming out of my mouth although my brain was telling me to zip it. “Even now that I’m working for Jimmy again, I have something on the side… something illegal… to make ends meet.”

“Oh, you mean the Ring?” She asked carelessly.

I choked on air, my mind freezing for a moment before going into overdrive, a million questions swamping it.

Fuck!

How did Alex find out about that?

Had she seen me battle?

And when?

She wasn’t fighting there herself, was she?

“Alex…” I tried to keep my voice even. “How did you know about the Ring?”

“Stefan’s father gambles there. So does Stefan himself. And he sometimes participates in the battles as well.”

“And have you ever…?”

“No, attracts too much attention,” she shook her head with a grim expression. “But I’d heard about you back home.”

The features on my face hardened.

“Have you now?” I asked coolly, new questions running amok in my brain, but one particular stood out: was that why Alex picked a fight with me that first night? Because of my popularity at the Ring?

“Yep!” She said cheerfully, ignoring my tone. “I didn’t make the connection right away though; I didn’t know what you looked like. But after I’d experienced your moves first hand and heard your name at school it all clicked.”

A weight lifted off my shoulders and I felt my face soften.

“So you wanted to fight me for me and not because of my fame?” I asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I wanted to fight you because I thought you were an asshole and you irritated the hell out of me. You still do sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?” I chuckled, my good mood returning at the speed of light.

“Da.”

“Da… That means “yes”, right?” She nodded. “But I thought that was Russian?”

“It means “yes” in both Bulgarian and Russian,” she clarified.

We kept quiet for a while.

“Have you seen me… work there?” I asked, now slightly worried.

What was with these moodswings of mine lately? I was like a PMS-ing girl!

“Yeah, I’ve seen you work. That day when I was at your house…” She started hesitantly. “You seemed pretty upset so I figured you’ll need to blow off some steam.”

“And you went to the Ring especially to see me?”

She nodded, blushing slightly.

“Wow, I’m flattered,” I commented in a joking inflection, although I really was. “Wait! Did you follow me out?”

“Of course not!” Alex puckered her face, sounding furious. “Tyson, do you really think I’d follow you, see you get in a fight and just stand there watching while somebody points a gun at you?”

“No… I don’t think that, Alex… I really don’t. I’m sorry if I offended you,” I added, my voice awkward. I wasn’t used to apologizing.

“It’s fine!” She muttered, looking away and I could tell by her stiff pose and tightly shut mouth that she was still upset.

Guilt washed through me. I didn’t want to make her feel like that. I had to make it up to her. But how? An idea came to me and I smirked.

“Alex, get up!” I commanded, standing up myself.

“Why?”

“Just get up and follow me!”

I led her to the living room and pushed her couch to the wall and away from the coffee table.

“Ty, why are you redecorating my place?” She queried, puzzled by my actions.

“We need more space,” I stated, clearing out the rest of the furniture from the center of the living room. “Lie down on the floor!” I ordered. Alex obeyed but not without hesitation.

“You must really trust me, Alex,” I derided in my mind, but didn’t voice the thought; the whole point of this was to apologize to the girl and sneering at her wouldn’t help.

“Remember you wanted me to show you that move I did to reverse our positions at Jimmy’s station?”

“So that’s it!” She exclaimed, finally getting it and smiling at me from her position on the floor. “But aren’t you still hung over?”

“I’m better after I drunk that concoction of yours,” I answered and added in my mind: “Plus, this is easier for me than actually saying “I’m sorry” again”.

I moved and set on top of Alex, straddling her. The brunette looked me straight in the eyes and I felt a jolt in my pants.

“I like this position!” I thought. “Wow, talking about mood swings!  Tyson, concentrate! You should be thinking about fighting Alex, not about having sex with her!”

“So…” I started by clearing my throat. “I did it like this…”

And I explained it to her briefly. The girl didn’t even need a demonstration, she just followed my instructions and was now on top of me.

Not a bad pose either!

Okay, what the hell was wrong with me today?

I just couldn’t seem to concentrate with Alex so close. She made me twitchy and… well, if I have to be honest with myself, horny.

“There is something you should remember if you want to stay on top, Alex,” I stated in a low voice.

“And what is that?” She questioned, unconsciously loosening her grip a bit.

I lifted myself up so that my lips brushed against her ear before I whispered:

“Don’t get distracted!”

And I reversed our positions again.

I looked down at the girl below me. This time I didn’t need more space, I liked her being close, I liked the feeling of her being between my legs and I came to the conclusion that she looked good underneath my body.

I leaned in more than what was necessary if I was wrestling her. Alex didn’t seem to mind though. That is to say, she wasn’t trying to get away. I stared at her eyes before my gaze fell on her lips. I lowered my head…

“I don’t know who the hell you are, but get your fucking hands off her! NOW!” Someone’s furious, unfamiliar growl interrupted.

*****

A/N: The awesome new cover was made by SusanVee. Thank you so much, Susan, it fits the story perfectly! I especially like the cat head next to my name, it was a nice touch.

xo