Undisputed by A.S. Teague

come.
    A smug smile on his face, Jake boasts, “Hey, Sidney. I see you got my flowers. Roses. Your favorite, I bet.”
    Not wanting to be rude, I plaster a fake smile on my face and nod. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. But, uhm, what are they for?”
    “No reason. Just thought you deserved some. Hey, I know you were busy this last weekend, which is why we couldn’t go out, but what about next weekend?”
    Relieved, I shake my head, “Oh, I’m sorry. I have something going on this weekend, actually. My nephew’s meeting his hero, and I want to be there for that.”
    Undeterred by my refusal, he rocks back on his heels. “Okay, no problem. I’m leaving to go out of town that Saturday anyway, but I’ll be back Friday. The following weekend, then.” He says it as a statement and not a request.
    Pressing my lips together, I mull it over. What’s the harm in one date with him? As long as he keeps his hands to himself, it may not be so bad.
    He’s no Brock.
    Regardless of the fact that he’ll be a poor substitute for the man I really want to see again, it’s been so long since I’ve been on a date.
    Even longer since you’ve had sex.
    At this point, I am almost a born-again virgin. Laughing to myself at the thought, I look back up to where Jake’s leaning against my cubicle wall. Reminding myself that he is good-looking and, at the very least, I’ll get a free dinner out of it, I nod my head once in acceptance. “Sure, I don’t think I have anything going on that weekend. I’ll have to double check, but I should be available.” I give him a shy smile and hope that I’m not setting myself up for the evening from hell.
    Clapping his hands together and then rubbing them, he says, “Great. I’ve got your number. I’ll call you when I get back from my vacation that weekend.” He winks at me, again confirming that he’ll call me soon, before heading back the direction from which he came.
    I stare at the flowers, which look pitiful after their tumble to the floor, before turning my computer on to get started on my workload. With Abby leaving again, I am going to have to fly through it to get Connor to his appointment on time.
    I’ll have to worry about my date with the office man candy later.

 
    M y next title fight was finally announced. I’ll be meeting Ryker “The Stryker” Hawke.
    What a douche.
    The UFC just acquired him from another organization, and while he fights in my weight class, he’s usually about twenty pounds heavier. Bottom line: He’s a fucking beast and I can’t take him lightly.
    I’m determined to have a good showing. I’ve refused to admit to anyone but Mark the humiliation I felt after my last fight, but it has me itching for a shot to redeem myself.
    Hawke’s been talking a lot of shit to anyone that will listen, and it’s been killing me not to respond. But Mark’s still trying to clean my last mess up, so he’s keeping me on a short leash.
    Ultimately, two of the bars I got kicked out of decided to sue me for damages. Not Raw though. At least I still have somewhere I can decompress on the weekends. Tripp insisted that I was lucky they didn’t press criminal charges, so I sucked it up and paid the clubs off to avoid dragging the shit out. Tripp and Mark have been trying to make me get my shit together for a while. I think they’re both hoping that this is the kick in the pants I needed to finally do it.
    They keep calling this meeting with the kid “the redemption of KO.”
    I’d be lying if I said that I’m not nervous as fuck, so I beg Tripp to go with me.
    “Come on, dude. Just go with me. You don’t have shit else to do today.”
    Shaking his head, he shoves another piece of bacon in his mouth, “This kid doesn’t want to meet me. Hell, he won’t even know who I am. Why are you so hell-bent on me going with you?”
    I can barely understand half of what he says as crumbs tumble from his mouth.
    Since I’m in the middle of a training camp, my second