Alex is jumping back and forth while cracking his neck, getting himself pumped. He’s up first tonight, taking on one of the bigger fighters: Layne Ridge.

I’ve never seen either of them fight, so to be honest, I’m a little nervous for Alex. I’ll just stand back and see what the kid has. I never wanted people jumping in on my shit when I was ready for a fight. I’ve been absent. At this point, that’s all I can do.

“Yo, Alex. You’re up.”

The redhead I saw fighting the other night pats Alex on the back and then bumps fists with him. Alex swings out a few times, hitting the air as he takes a slow, deep breath. “This will be quick, bro. No sweat.”

Before I can say anything he’s in the square, smirking at his opponent. The kid has balls for not being afraid of the beast in front of him. He looks like he can easily knock Alex out with one punch.

My attention gets pulled away from Alex when I feel a hand on my shoulder, pulling me to turn around. I’m not surprised to see that it’s Rachel, standing there in little shorts and a white tank top with her damn nipples showing straight through.

“You’re back,” Rachel says with a flirtatious wink. She scans her eyes over my chest while biting her lip and reaching out in an attempt to rub my abs. “Good.” Her eyes land on Alex and widen, before turning back to me. “Delicious . . . you brothers just get sexier each time I see y’all.”

Grabbing her hand, I push it away and turn my attention back to the square. It’s going to take a lot more than some easy chick like Rachel to capture my attention; especially right now. “Go away, Rachel, before you make a fool out of yourself.”

Alex and Layne are circling each other in the ring, sizing each other up, both of them ready to attack as soon as the announcer calls the fight.

I hear Rachel laugh beside me, only this time it’s rubbing me the wrong way. “You do realize that your brother is most likely about to get his face beaten in, right?” She looks toward Layne and winks as he glances over. “Being sexy isn’t going to help him fight any better.”

I miss everything the announcer previously said, until the word fight leaves his mouth. Nothing else around me matters at the moment except for what’s going on inside that square. Rachel doesn’t even exist right now.

Alex is better than I thought and shows his skills right from the beginning. He gets a quick right hook to Layne’s ribcage, which causes him to stumble to the side, but he finds his footing, shaking it off. Alex seems to take pride in his quick reflexes, making up for the size difference. He looks proud and comfortable in the ring.

Layne comes at Alex swinging a left hook, but surprisingly Alex sees it coming and dodges it before connecting his elbow with Layne’s chin.

Alex is quick on his feet. That’s something we used to work on back when I was still around. I’m happy to see he’s focused on that.

It doesn’t take long until Alex has Layne winded as he attempts to dodge Alex’s quick blows. They seem to be never ending and coming too fast for Layne to do much, but try to block them now, while landing a few punches of his own.

About seven minutes into the fight and Alex is still standing strong. I can’t deny the pride I feel for him. Watching him—in the ring—it reminds me that he’s not a kid anymore.

“Well who knows,” Rachel whispers, distracting me for a brief moment. “Maybe I’ll be going home with Alex tonight after all.”

I turn to the side, about to tell Rachel to fuck off, when I hear a sound I will recognize no matter how long I’ve been away. Right as my eyes leave Alex I hear a blow that sounds like fucking bones crushing. Someone’s down and I don’t even need to look to confirm it. That sound is all too familiar.

My heart stops for a second before I look in front of me to see Alex is still on his feet. He’s standing above Layne, his muscles tensed as he looks down at him. Without hesitation, he reaches down and helps Layne up to his feet before throwing his arms up in victory as the crowd goes wild and starts chanting his name.

Relief floods through me, and a small bit of pride has me smiling to myself. I may not have been around for the last six years, but he’s taken a lot that I have taught him to heart and reminds me more of myself than I thought.

Alex runs over to the bookie, ready for his payout. He’s over there for a good five minutes before he grabs his cash and comes over to stand in front of me.

“Told you it’d be fast.” He flashes a grin. “Waiting on you, bro.”

“You motherfucker,” I say with a smile. I pat him on the back proudly. “Good job you little shit. I guess you’re a Carter after all.”

Just as we start walking away Rachel steps in front of Alex and opens her mouth to speak, but Alex cuts her off.

“Fuck off, Rachel. Get some damn self-respect and stop spreading your legs for the winner each and every night. It’s a turn off.” He turns to me. “Let’s go. I’m fucking starving.”

Rachel’s mouth drops open for a split second before she stomps off and makes her way toward Layne who is sitting off to the side with an icepack over his right eye.

“What?” Alex shrugs his shoulders as I smirk at him. “I’ve been dealing with her ass for far too long. That chick may be fine as hell, but she’s already given it up to every guy around you at least once. Look around. You can’t even count that shit on ten hands.”

“Yeah, that’s bad.” I grip Alex’s shoulder. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Once we get back to the house Alex quickly grabs his bag of burgers, fries, and onion rings, jumping out of the truck. “I’m going to eat and then crash. We’ll talk in the morning, yeah?”

I nod my head as he walks away. I’m not ready to go back in there yet. Having him here, but knowing that my parents aren’t makes my chest hurt. It’s a huge fucking reality check.

I stand outside, looking at Lyric’s house, and thinking back to earlier. It’s already past two a.m. Every light in the house is off and I don’t see her roommate’s car out front.

The first thought that runs through my head is the feel of her warm little pussy and the way it tasted earlier. As much as I know I should stay away, I don’t want to. I want more.

My feet begin to move by themselves. Walking over to her door I reach into my pocket and pull out my set of keys. I have a feeling that the lock is still the same. Right now I don’t care about anything but touching her again. Fuck everything else. Everything else, I want to forget about.