push through bodies to get to Alyssa. She's holding her arm, which is covered in scratches, and fury burns in my chest. In one quick swoop, I'm grabbing her waist and helping her to her feet.

"You all right?" I ask.

She turns to look at me. Her eyes are dark and filled with tears, but when she blinks, they're gone. She turns to the ring, where Justin's friends are busy searching the crowd. I don't like the odds of five against one, but I step forward, anyway, preparing myself for a brawl.

Alyssa grabs my arm to keep me still. I look at my forearm, at the way her hand rests on my skin, and I freeze. "I need to get everyone out of here as quickly as possible," she says.

At the same time, her friend slips beside us and thinks for a moment. "Someone called the cops!" she shouts. "Everybody run!"

What follows is a stampede. People shove past each other to get to the gate, where they scramble onto the street. Alyssa smiles and turns to her friend. "Effective."

Within minutes, the only people left in the yard, Justin, and two of his friends. Justin straightens up now, fully recovered from my kick to his groin, and turns to face me.

I raise an eyebrow and grin, which forces his face to distort. He storms over and grabs Alyssa's arm, pulling her toward him.

"You need to leave," he says to me, then steps in front of Alyssa like he's defending her, or something. Like he didn't just shove her into a goddamn fence.

"You need to let go of her," I say, stepping forward, "before I beat the shit out of you."

Justin grins and looks at my eyebrow, which I'm pretty sure is bleeding. "Like you did before, you mean? Looks like you're more injured than I am, homie."

He says homie like it's slur, and I'm ready to punch him out. "Yeah, because you broke the boxing rules like a little bitch. Try me now." I move closer until I'm right in his face. Justin falters, and Alyssa takes it as an opportunity to pull her arm from his grip.

She steps between us, resting a hand on my chest before turning to Justin. "The cops are going to be here any minute," she says. "You need to leave, Justin."

His eyebrows fly up. What looks like hurt crosses his face. "It was an accident, Liss. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She's about to speak, then bites her tongue. She glances at her friend and me. "Both of you wait here. I'll be back."

She takes Justin's arm and leads him into the house. Through the window, I watch the pair argue. Justin at least looks a little remorseful, but I'm not buying it. He looked right at Alyssa before he shoved her away, and even if he hadn't, even if by some small chance he didn't register it was her, you don't shove someone trying to help. This kid has no code, no principals. Say what you want about the kids I grew up with, but at least we have rules.

He tries to hug her now, and it makes me angrier than it should. I resist the urge to walk in there and rip his scrawny ass off her.

"Well, this is awkward," says her friend.

I turn to look at her. Awkward is an understatement. "That's one way of putting it."

She smiles before pushing her hair from her face. "I'm Tiana. I watched you fight once before, at the club. You probably would have won tonight if Justin hadn't cheated."

No shit, I think. Instead, I say, "I should have expected it." I turn to the window where the pair are still arguing. "Why is she still with this guy?"

"No idea," Tiana says, looking at her phone. "I need to get going. Can you tell Alyssa to call me later?"

I nod, and she disappears through the same gate everyone else rushed through. Now that the place is deserted, I can see the extent of the damage done. The place is trashed, the makeshift arena in pieces across the lawn, which I can hardly see through the plastic cups and beer bottles. I think about starting to clear some of it up when I glance at the window and catch Justin hugging her. More importantly, she's letting him.

It only lasts a second or so before Justin is saying something and Alyssa is nodding. He looks through the window, straight at me, and with a scowl, turns and leaves. Impatient, I head into the house and close the distance between us. Before I can speak, she looks at my forehead and frowns.

"You're bleeding," she says. Her hand reaches out to touch the side of my face, but I grab it and keep it still.

"I'm fine. What happened in there?"

She bites at her lip. "I had to pacify him to get him to leave."

I raise an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"I told him the cops were coming to arrest you, and I didn't want him to get in trouble, too." She smiles now, and I hate that my heart flips. "Come on," she says, lowering my hand. "You're not going anywhere until your face is fixed."

If I were smart, I'd say no, but I'm not. I follow her into the kitchen and sit on one of the barstools while she rummages through the cupboards.

"You're going to have one hell of a time cleaning this place up," I say. I look around as I say it, taking in the oversized art pieces hanging on the walls. It's like a show home in here, with everything neatly matched and coordinated. I think back to the night she showed up at my house; she must have hated it.

"I've got cleaners coming tomorrow morning," she says.

"Of course you do."

I watch as she stands on her tiptoes to reach the top cabinet. Her dress rides up her thighs, revealing a stretch of her smooth, tanned skin. I bite down on my lip and focus on the wall.

She finds what she's looking for–a small, green box that she places on the counter. She opens it up and takes out a wipe before stepping between my legs.

I tense, and she hesitates before leaning in closer, swiping the wipe down my eyebrow. I'm trying not to look at her lips, so I look at her neck. Being this close, I can smell the sweetness of her perfume, a cross between cherries and strawberries. She moves a little and tilts her head in a way that makes her hair brush my arm. I clench my jaw; being this close is torture.

She must notice my expression. "Does it hurt?"

I look at her now, taking in her long, dark lashes which curl into her eyelids. "It's not that."

She frowns. "What is it, then?"

The way she bites her bottom lips sends heat through my stomach. I gently push her hand away and get to my feet. "I shouldn't–I need to go." But I don't move. I'm too busy looking at her lips.

Slowly, she puts down the wipe. Those dark eyes flash with something seductive. She doesn't break my gaze.

"Alyssa," I warn. "Whatever you're thinking about doing, don't."

She looks at me innocently. "Why?"

I clench my jaw and look away. "A bunch of reasons."

She presses against me, and I stiffen. I deserve a medal for being this controlled. She reaches up now, gently touching the side of my face, and it's like something in me snaps. I place both hands either side of her waist, lower my head, and kiss her.

❤️