"So that creepy old guy with the tomato face was Liam's father?" I asked from my spot on Rex's couch the next day as he sat twirling a football in his hands. Apparently, the twins had left it there at one point, but he seemed to know how to handle it really well.

"First of all, don't call him tomato face, only you get that name." I pouted at that statement, even though the light in his eyes let me know he was only joking. "And I can't believe you remember that fucks name." That second part came out as a dark grumble, the light in his gaze slowly fading away.

"But yes, that was his father. He got real peeved I beat up his son, came to the school with the cops to rat me out, and then dropped all the charges." He tossed the football in the air and caught it effortlessly with one hand.

He didn't elaborate on the 'dropped charges' part, though I didn't really need him to. I knew he was going to be fine. Dad promised he would handle it. Besides, he liked Rex. Or, he did before all of this happened. I don't really know how he feels anymore.

"So, you're okay now?" I asked seriously as he placed the football down on the coffee table. "No more bad guy?"

His lips pulled up at the corners in that smirky smile I loved so much—lips that had been against mine just hours before. He hasn't kissed me since, and I didn't want to seem clingy or desperate by bringing it up.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect now. Was that a one-time thing? Were we still friends? I knew for a fact friends did not kiss, especially like that. These are all things I wanted to ask him but dreaded the answer too much to actually say out loud.

"Yeah, Roza. No more bad guy."

My shoulders relaxed as relief flooded through me. Well, that's good. My arms were wrapped tightly around my knees as I sat curled in a ball on the corner of his couch, still wearing my rumpled pajamas from the night before.

Rex stood and stretched then, his bare tummy peeking out beneath his t-shirt. The tiny patch of bare, toned skin made my mouth water—until I noticed the little jagged area by his hip. "Do you want pancakes? I want pancakes." He mumbled before walking off into the kitchen without waiting for my answer.

"Hey, what was that?" I asked as I hopped up and followed after him. My eyes glued to the area I saw the scar, like I could see through his shirt if I tried hard enough.

If only.

"What was what?" Rex called over his shoulder as he pulled out pancake mix from one of his cupboards.

"That mark on your side."

His arm stilled in the air, and his hand squeezed tightly around the flour-mix. He didn't turn to look at me. "Just a scar from when I was a kid." He finally muttered a moment later as he unfroze to grab a bowl out of a different cabinet.

"It looks like it was painful."

"It was." Rex sighed as he started mixing the ingredients together. "But it was a long time ago, don't worry about it Roza."

I didn't say anything except to offer help make breakfast. I didn't like the fact that he had gotten hurt, especially if it was bad enough to leave that kind of a scar. But if it was that long ago, I didn't want to make a big deal about.

Twenty minutes later our mouths were stuffed with pancakes when a sharp knocking started on his apartment door. Rex rolled his eyes, and that warmth I loved so much slowly faded from them. He would never show his soft side in front of the boys, and while I liked having that part of him all to myself, I wish he would show others how kind he could be.

"Yo! Can we come in?" Trey's voice called from the hall, the Dimajios' voices calling after him.

"No." Rex grumbled at me but didn't say it loud enough for the boys to hear. I tried to hide my amused smile as I yelled into the living room that they could come in.

Trey and the twins came barreling into the apartment, that too-big smile pulling at Denton's lips even though Brett's eyes stayed glued to his phone. He sure paid more attention to that thing than anything else. "Oo! Are those pancakes?!" Denton cheered and practically bounced over to the stove to see if there were any more.

"Don't fucking think about it, idiot." Rex snapped at him as the bright eyed, goofy twin went to pick up a pancake with his bare hand. "There Rose's." Denton stepped away from the food with a pout at Rex's grumble, his hands falling in shame to his side.

"Sorry, Buttercup." He muttered, which only made me narrow my gaze at Rex. He only rolled his.

"Help yourself, Denton. I'm full." And just like the child he was, those eyes blazed brightly, and he grabbed the pancakes off the plate that they were sitting on. He raised them into the air like they were trophies.

"You're the most beautiful, perfect, best-est Buttercup in the whole wide world!" He cheered excitedly before rushing off into the living room, completely oblivious to the ice that suddenly filled the room.

"Let it go, T'." I mumbled and played with the fork resting on the table. Rex's jaw clenched tightly, but those dark eyes dropped the death glare they were sending towards the living room and snapped over to mine.

"He's a fucking moron."

"He's just being himself."

"Exactly."

I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything else as Rex stood from the table and grabbed my empty plate from me. He paused before he turned towards the sink and bent down until his lips could brush against the top of my head, then he turned away.

My face was suddenly engulfed in flames. Which only grew ten times worse when I glanced over and saw Trey watching us from the entrance of the living room with wide, green eyes. I was more surprised than embarrassed, but still. Trey's gaze relaxed though when he saw me looking at him, and his handsome face pulled into a wide smile.

"How are you, Princess?" He asked sweetly as he walked over to sit in the chair next to mine. I gave him a beaming smile, my face still on fire especially with last nights kiss racing through my mind.

"G-Good, how are you?" I coughed to try and hide the embarrassed tone ringing through my voice, but Trey never missed a thing.

"Oh, I'm dandy. Just waiting on Rex to tell us about yesterday." His bright eyes flickered over to his best friend who stood at the sink washing the dishes. We heard Rex let out a disgruntled sigh over the sound of running water.

"We'll talk about it later. Rose already knows and I have to get ready for today."

"Today? What's today?" It was Saturday, and for all intents and purposes I was planning on it being a lazy Saturday. With Rex.

I guess he didn't get that memo.

"I have a match today. It's my first one since signing onto this gym." He explained as he turned off the faucet and grabbed a dish towel to dry his hands. "I didn't think I was going to be able to make it after yesterday but turns out I can."

The way he kept saying 'I' kind of made me feel like I wasn't going to be going.

"Oh..." I mumbled down to the table as Trey leaned back in his chair, those bright green eyes flickering slowly between the two of us.

Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond happy Rex signed up at a legit gym and wouldn't be doing the illegal stuff anymore—but I still wish I could go with him. Not that I would be helpful in any way if he needed it, but still.

"Yeah, these matches are pretty cool, Princess. You'll have a blast." My eyes snapped over to Trey's, but he and Rex were suddenly in a little death stare match across the kitchen.

"Just because its legit," Rex started lowly, his voice that dark grumble he used whenever he was getting upset. "Doesn't mean it's not dangerous-"

"Eh, she'll be fine. Right, Rose?" Trey waved him off, like literally waved him off and turned those green eyes on me. "You just stay with me and then everyone will have a good time."

"Fucking hell. Trey, I swear to God-"

"I-I want to go." I interrupted Rex, even though I wasn't sure if it was the best thing to do. He went silent, and those dark eyes flickered over to mine as his jaw ticked. "Unless you really don't want me to..."

He stared at me a moment longer before letting out a breath of air, his shoulders slumping slightly as he walked back over to the table. "It's not that I don't want you to go. I just..." He paused and glanced away, his tongue flicking out to lick his bottom lips. The reminder of what those lips did against mine sent shivers through out my entire body.

"I just won't be able to keep an eye on you, and I don't want anything to happen."

"It won't! I'll be with Trey!" I sent him a beaming smile and stuck my thumbs-up in the air like that would reassure him.

"Right, like Brett was supposed to be with you?" The sudden darkness clouding his gaze cut through me, and my smile slowly fell away. This time would be different though... right?

"That wasn't called for, man." Trey spoke up softly besides me, his tone harder than usual. "You know that was a fucked situation. No one could have expected it to happen, and it's no one's fault."

Except my own. I could have avoided it if I just didn't drink that drink. It was all my fault. Always.

My eyes were glued to the table as a stony silence fell over us. Until Rex let out a disgruntled noise and ran that hand of his through his hair. "Whatever. I just don't want it fucking happening again." His tone was clipped, but his fingers were gentle as they reached for mine.

"It won't. I'll be with you the whole time, Princess. No one is going to be drinking either, so we're all good." I glanced over at the mountain of a man/boy only to see those bright green eyes glaring holes at Rex.

Rex's jaw was still grit together, but his touch was soft as his thumb stroked the back of my hand. "Fine." He finally growled out, like he just signed my death wish or something. "It's getting late though. I gotta' get fucking ready." He went to pull away, but I held tight onto his hand.

I don't know what possessed me to do it. It's not like I had a claim or a right to him or anything. If he wanted to stop holding my hand, I should have let him. But I really didn't want him to let me go.

Those chestnut eyes snapped down to mine as I tightened my fingers around his. "If it really bothers you that much I can stay home, T'."

His tortured gaze eased slightly, and he shot me a small smile. "No, I want you to go. Just be careful and stay with Trey." I nodded as he reached over with his free hand to tug gently on a lose strand of my hair. "I need to get ready, then take you home to get ready."

I reluctantly allowed him to pull away.

"Give me ten minutes to get everything." And with that he slipped out of the kitchen, shot the twins a glare who had helped themselves to flicking through his TV, and stepped into his room.

I let out a hard breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. "Well, look at you." Trey suddenly teased as I slumped down in my chair and glanced over at him.

"What?"

"You, getting Rex to do stuff."

I blinked up at him confusedly, but he only let out a small laugh. "He didn't beat Denton's face in for the pancake comment, and you got him to back down about today. Way to go, Princess."

His quiet praise caused a small blush to frame my cheeks and I had to force my gaze away so he wouldn't see my smile. "I didn't make him do anything."

Which I know I didn't, but it had been easier talking to him like that than before. I wasn't sure if the kiss had anything to do with it, but I prayed—for completely unrelated reasons—that he would kiss me again.

"Yeah, okay, right." Trey chuckled, but his voice was teasing as he reached up to ruffle the top of my messy bun. Which only made it ten times messier. My smile fell away into a pout.

"You got the poor guy in Whipped City."

"This place is... crowded."

And I did not like crowds—if you couldn't tell from my lovely reactions before. Crowds brought a lot of loud, sweaty people, which brought stress. And we all knew how well I dealt with stress.

Like the illegal fight, there was a whole audience for this one, though they all sat on benches and bleachers off to the side. I tried not to make it obvious I was cowering against Trey's side as we walked through everyone.

"Yeah, but no one will bother you. Especially when the match starts." He reassured me with a large smile as his strong arm guided us through the crowd. The Dimajios had wandered off to go mingle with people, or something like that, which left Trey and I to find seats.

"Usually I would be in the back with Rex." He started when we finally found a few empty spots a couple of benches back from the ring. "But hanging out here with you is ten times better." I returned his smile with one of my own and clasped my hands tightly together in my lap.

Rex had left us almost as soon as we got to the building where they had set up the take-away ring. He had kissed the back of my injured hand, like he usually did, squeezed my other one then took off for the back of the building. I could tell the upcoming match was taking nearly his entire focus, which I guess was a good thing since he needed his head in the game and what not.

There were about a dozen or so fighters for today. It wasn't a tournament or anything from what I gathered of what Trey told me, but it was pretty important for some other match in a few weeks. I was never really good with sport mechanics, so if Trey said something was important, I believed him.

"I think there's like five or six other fighters from Rex's gym here." Trey continued as those green eyes flickered over the large, loud crowd.

"Oh, do we get to meet the owner?"

Trey laughed and his bright gaze seemed to sparkle from the lights of the buildings. He really was a good-looking guy. Not Rex perfect, but pretty darn close.

"I already met the owner, Princess. He's nothing to brag about, but I'm sure if you want to Rex can introduce you."

I shrugged and glanced back over to the empty ring. I didn't really care about meeting the owner unless it was important to Rex. There were workers in the fighting area testing the ropes and floor and what not. I looked down at the clock in my phone.

Fifteen more minutes before the matches would start. I wasn't sure if I was excited about watching Rex kick some butt and winning or horrified at the idea of him getting hurt. Honestly, I felt a little bit of both.

I didn't even almost get to go! But it wasn't because or Rex. No, it was because of that vicious, beyond angry sister of mine. She was furious when Rex had taken me home that morning to shower and get ready.

She even threatened to ground me for not coming home. I felt bad for arguing with her. I know she only did that stuff because she loved and cared about me, but when it came down to Rex, I wasn't going to let being grounded stop me.

I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth and got ready in under twenty minutes. But then she had to try and stop me at the door. I told her I was going whether she liked it or not. She threatened to call dad, I said 'go for it, let me know what he says', then walked out.

She really deserved this week-long vacation for Thanksgiving her and Tate had been planning. She deserved it. I was a handful.

"Match is about to start." Trey announced a few minutes later. I shook my distant thoughts away and turned my attention to the two guys climbing into the ring.

My heart skipped a beat. There was Rex, looking as perfect as ever. He was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts with a towel hanging around his neck. There was no shirt in sight, and unlike before, I was able to take in the beautiful sight in all its gloried. I tried not to let out a content little sigh that Trey would notice. Boys really should not be that beautiful.

"The twins better not be getting into trouble." Trey grumbled beside me, his eyes going back to scanning the crowd as mine stayed glued on Rex. Nothing else mattered. He was the only person on the planet, and he had my complete undivided attention.

He drank from a water bottle someone had put on the stage for him, then scanned the crowd like he could spot who he was looking for easily. But then those dark eyes landed on us and he shot me that sexy smirky smile of his, so I guess it was easy enough.

I beamed up at him and waved like an excited kid seeing their favorite superhero in person. His smirk fell into a smile and those butterflies shot through my system.

"Now, listen here, you." Trey's voice said sternly a moment later, even though when I glanced over at him his eyes were light and teasing. "I'm still his manager even though I'm over here with you. So, don't go distracting the guy while he's trying to fight." He was teasing, I knew he was, but I took the words to heart.

I dropped my hand in my lap and placed my injured one over it and gave him a firm nod. "Yes, sorry, okay. Focus time." Trey laughed at that, and the sound sent a reassuring warmth through me.

Rex turned away from us as the other guy finished getting ready too, and everything inside of me turned to ice. That mark from before, the one I had barely noticed in his apartment, was a lot bigger than I had thought. The scar started on his side just above his hip and ran in a jagged curve all the way up to the middle of his back.

I suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Oh my God..."

I hadn't realized I had spoken out loud until Trey's gaze snapped down to mine then followed my line of sight. "You didn't know about that?"

I shook my head and gulped, my eyes burning at the sight. He had been hurt bad. That wasn't an accident mark either. I knew the difference, seen the difference far too many times. Someone had done that to him on purpose.

"I told you he's had a hard life, Princess." Trey's tone had lost all teasing and turned to something so sad it tore at my heart.

I knew I couldn't, especially right then, but all I wanted to do was wrap my arms tightly around Rex and never let him go. Never let anything hurt him again.

"Hey now," Trey suddenly smiled down at me and reached over to thump my chin. "Get rid of that sad little frown. It was a long time ago, and he wouldn't want you to be upset over it."