Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Michael Kage is a lucky man. Not only because he’s engaged to one of the hottest new starlets in Hollywood, but because he’s just signed a coveted six-figure contract with the UFC. Kage will be testing his mettle against Cristiano Diaz on Saturday. Kage, who hit the celebrity radar when he finished his first UFC fight in under one minute, debuted this month at #2 on our Top Ten Sexiest Athletes list.
This is one hot couple to watch.
“Earth to Jamie. Come in, Jamie.” Braden, in a rare sensitive moment, put a hand on my shoulder. “Dude, are you okay? You haven’t even opened the Pop Tarts yet. I think that’s like a world record or something.” He waved the box in front of me. “It’s brown sugar, your favorite.”
“Fuck Pop Tarts,” I said. “And fuck Michael Kage. I hope Diaz submits him in ten seconds. I hope he armbars the shit out of him.”
Trey had wandered into the kitchen by that time, and he stared at me like I was an impostor. “What’s going on with you, Jamie? I’ve never seen you like this. So… un-laid back.”
“Yeah?” I looked up and gave him what felt like a really evil smile. “You think I’m some goody-goody? Some little fuckboy? Is that what you think?” I stood up and threw the box of Pop Tarts across the room with all my might, crushing it against the wall beside the stove and knocking over the butcher knife block and the spice rack. Knives and spice bottles clattered into the sink.
“What the fuck, man?” Braden cried, rushing to rescue the spices from being ruined in the water standing in two days’ worth of dirty dishes.
“I’m sorry.” Shaking, feeling unmanly for taking out my aggression on a package of breakfast pastries, I clenched my fists at my side and turned away from my friends. “It was either that box or someone’s face.”
As Braden dried the spices off with paper towels, Trey approached me with caution. I could feel him moving in behind me. “Come into the living room and sit down, Jamie,” he coaxed, like I was some rabid animal who needs to be tricked back in its cage. “Let’s talk about what’s bothering you. You’re freaking us out a little bit, you know? Maybe if we know what’s bothering you, we can help.”
Trey. Ever the peacekeeper. I hated to tell him, but there was no way anyone could help me. Not when I couldn’t even tell anyone the truth.
Here I was worrying for a week about Kage possibly committing suicide, and there he was cheesing it up for the cameras with his bride-to-be.
I followed Trey out of the kitchen, but I grabbed the magazine on the way out. I hated the thing, so why was I hanging onto it like it was some lifeline?
“I need to get laid,” I said as we plopped down onto the sectional. I clutched the magazine against my chest. “I need to find a girl.”
Why was I saying that? I didn’t want to get laid, and I didn’t want a girl. I wanted Kage, who was currently off the market and not answering my calls or texts.
Trey laughed mildly. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and predict that it would be hard for you to convince a girl to go out with you in your current mood.”
“I don’t really mean that, anyway,” I admitted. “I’m just… I’m so fucking mad I can’t see straight. I’m so stupid.” A whimper escaped before I composed myself with a deep breath. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’m just gonna go to my room and stand on a chair. Do you have an extra belt?”
Trey let out another laugh, but it was strained. “Jeez, Jamie. Don’t even kid around about something like that.” He reached out and worked the magazine slowly out of my grasp. I eventually let it go.
Braden sat down on the sofa and stared over Trey’s shoulder at the magazine. “What is it about this thing that’s got you so worked up?” He teased, “When I got you into watching MMA, I didn’t know you were gonna get this obsessed with it. What’s the matter, you don’t like The Machine?”
“Don’t call him that,” I said quietly. “He doesn’t like it.”
“What?” Braden asked with a laugh.
“Nothing.” I searched my brain for a way out of the conversation, or at least a way to spin it, because there was no way I could be honest. Not even with my best friends. It would feel like a betrayal, which is funny, considering I’d just been betrayed in the worst way. But I would never have sold Kage out. Not only as a matter of integrity, but because it would have negated everything I’d sacrificed up to that point. He’d made it to the UFC with his reputation intact, but now… Well, I guess I just didn’t know how badly it would hurt to see him succeed.