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“Hey, asshole. I have a bone to pick with you,” thundered a voice. Kurt.
Preacher lowered his fists and his sparring partner Matt, did the same. Matt looked over his shoulder and they both spotted Kurt, making his way to the ring.
Three days. After Kurt confronted Travis about them, his best friend suddenly decided to disappear. Travis had been worried like hell but Preacher assured him Kurt was just letting off some steam. Preacher might’ve left this town a long time ago, but he knew Kurt’s habits. Kurt probably went into the woods, to his father’s old hunting cabin.
Preacher sort of hoped it wouldn’t come down to a fight between them but looking at Kurt made him change his mind.
“Kurt, you look like shit,” he drawled.
Matt stared at him like he was insane. Then again, Matt and everyone else here called Kurt their Coach. Some of these fighters owed Kurt their lives. If it weren’t for this gym, they probably wouldn’t have a future. Kurt was doing something good but Preacher also needed to stand his ground.
“Matt, give me your gloves,” Kurt said, climbing up the ring.
Matt didn’t argue with Kurt. Kurt slipped his gloves on and stared Preacher down, or he tried to. Good thing Travis had gone off to the printing shop in town, Preacher mused. He didn’t want Travis to see this. Travis and he had agreed to put their second date off until Kurt returned. Well, Travis insisted and Preacher didn’t want to see Travis worrying so much, so he conceded. Still, it was a painful wait.
“You want to beat the shit out of me?” Preacher asked. “Fine, if that will settle the score between us.”
Kurt said nothing. He pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and without warning, went for him. Preacher let Kurt punch him in the face. He thought that would be enough but Kurt lashed out again. He raised his hands in defense and knew he might need to fight Kurt for real.
“This is about Travis and me,” he stated.
Kurt let out an animalistic growl and came at him again. They’d been sparring partners since they were kids. Preacher could anticipate every move, or so he thought. Kurt pulled a punch right to his gut, one he couldn’t avoid. That was new.
Preacher grunted. He had to get serious because Kurt had kept his training up. Screw trying to talk some sense into his best friend. Kurt didn’t look like he was in the listening mood. He dodged Kurt’s next blow, only to catch Kurt in the ribs. They pounded at each other. Preacher was aware the other fighters stopped whatever they were doing to watch this shit show unfold. They started to make bets. Preacher didn’t care. It felt like he needed to make his point across.
Kurt had little say in Travis and his personal life. He didn’t even know what got Kurt all riled up. Travis said their conversation went well.
They wore each other down. Preacher didn’t know how long it lasted but he felt like he went twenty rounds in the ring. Kurt and he ended up on the floor, unable to move a muscle. Preacher felt sore all over. He bet Kurt was the same. They’d both drawn blood, so the white floor of the ring was slick with it. They made a hell of a mess.
Travis was going to be pissed at both of them.
“Show’s over, get back to training,” Matt yelled to the other fighters.
“You feeling better?” He asked.
“No.” Finally, Kurt seemed like he was in the mood to talk. “Did you know the reason why Travis moved back here? Why he quit his job?”
“Yeah, he told me.”
“When?”
“That morning when you sent me up to your office to check the promotional posters,” he answered.
“He never told me anything.”
Preacher craned his neck to look at Kurt. Shit. He busted up Kurt’s face. Not that his face was any prettier.
“Some things are hard to say for him. He looks up to you, you know? The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint you,” Preacher said.
“Me?” Kurt let out a dry laugh. “I’m a failure of a brother.”
“No. You’re not. You did good, Kurt. You kept your dad’s gym afloat. You helped out all these fighters, these kids. They have a future thanks to you.”
“What about Travis? He didn’t even tell me his boss was giving him trouble. I thought we were close.”
“Wait a fucking second.” Preacher sat up slowly and grimaced. He put a hand over his bruised ribs. “This is about Miles?”
“Travis has poor judgment when it comes to dating,” Kurt said.
“I’m nothing like Miles,” he said, clenching his jaw. Preacher was a little pissed. If he wasn’t hurting all over, he would sock Kurt right in the face.
“I know that,” Kurt grumbled.
Preacher relaxed and he understood because he also wanted to hurt Miles in a thousand different ways. “You’re pissed you couldn’t protect Travis from a predator like Miles.”
Kurt grunted. “You’re going to end up hurting him, too.”
“I won’t,” he said with such vehemence in his voice Kurt finally looked him in the eye.
“Give me a break, Preacher. You can’t settle down. You told me back when we were kids that living in this town felt like being in a cage to you.”
“People change.”
“Not you.”
“I’ll tell you the same words I said to your brother. Watch me. Travis isn’t just a meaningless fling to me, Kurt.”
“You’re serious about him. That’s new.”
“Yeah, well. We’re still figuring shit out. I even agreed to postpone our next date until after you return from your stupid little retreat into the woods.”
Kurt let out a huff, or was he laughing? Preacher couldn’t tell. They tore each other up real good.
“I ought to drag your sorry ass to the hospital,” he finally said.
“Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror, asshole,” Kurt muttered.
Things weren’t completely settled between Kurt and him. Preacher understood that by dating Travis and not telling Kurt first, he broke some kind of scared friendship bond between them. He took Kurt’s trust for granted and earning it back would take time.
Well, if he was sticking around Black River Bend, he had all the time in the world.
****
TRAVIS COULDN’T WAIT to get out of this damn elevator. The other people seemed to sense he was in a hurry because they parted like a wave when he reached his floor. Travis sprinted. A nurse yelled at him to stop running. Travis slowed down.
Jeez. Here he was, acting like a worried kid but seriously? When Preacher called him, he was on his way back to the gym. His heart nearly stopped when Preacher told him they were on their way to the hospital. Travis was pretty sure when he left the apartment that morning, the world still made some sense.
He finally reached the ward where Kurt and Preacher were in. Travis entered the room and took a deep breath. He swore, seeing both Kurt and Preacher lying next to each other, on opposite beds. Seeing him, Preacher sat up but he grimaced. Travis gritted his teeth. A nurse was checking Kurt’s arm, which was in a cast.
“What the hell?” Travis could barely grit the words out.
The nurse seemed to sense he was about to blow, because she said a quick sentence to Kurt, before leaving the room. Travis didn’t catch the words, because he was just that mad.
“Hey, baby. You made it,” Preacher said.
The bastard just smiled up at him like nothing happened, like he didn’t just go after his brother. To be fair, it seemed like Kurt started the fight first. Whatever. If Preacher thought one sexy smile from him was going to melt Travis into a puddle of forgiveness, then Preacher was wrong on so many levels.
“Don’t ‘hey baby’ me.” Travis walked between the beds and glared at Preacher first, then Kurt, who couldn’t seem to meet his eyes. That was a first. “You two are the worst, you know that? You guys will be the death of me.”
“We settled our differences the only way we knew how,” Preacher said.
Travis breathed hard. He clenched his fists by his sides. Preacher touched his hand and that made him feel a little better. Travis softened. He knew how they were. One time, back when he was a teenager, just starting high school, he confronted his dad. He demanded to know why he had to teach Kurt and Preacher how to fight. He’d never forget his old man’s words.
“Preacher and your brother are like two peas in the same pod. Travis, you’re a smart kid. You can settle any fight with a reason but those two? They can’t express themselves well. They get into brawls all the time. I want to teach them how to fight right.”
Travis breathed in, then out. He chose to sit next to Preacher. Preacher put his hand on his knee and squeezed it. He could feel the tension slowly leaving his body. Travis looked at Kurt, to see how he’d react. His brother didn’t look happy but he didn’t say anything either.
“You went to dad’s old cabin?” He finally asked Kurt.
Kurt grunted. He took that as a ‘yes’.
“Kurt, I’m just dating your best friend. That’s no excuse to have a meltdown,” he finally said.
Preacher gave him a nudge in the shoulder.
“Your words got to me,” Kurt finally said. “You were right. I was projecting my problems on the two of you.”
That had been a shot in the dark to get his brother off his back but he didn’t say that out loud. Travis listened because it seemed Kurt had something else to add.
“I was angry as well, not just because you got together with Preacher. I understand now. I won’t get in the way of your relationship. I’m just mad at myself for not being able to protect you.”
Those words took him by surprise. “Is this about Miles? Kurt, the reason I didn’t tell you about him was because I was ashamed.”
“Why? He’s the one who came onto you,” Preacher said.
Preacher told him when he was ready to talk about Miles, he’d listen but right now, all Travis wanted to do was forget Miles.
“I didn’t stand up to him. He was harassing me. Everyone in the studio knew it but they kept their mouths shut because Miles was the CEO’s son. I was the same. I was terrified to lose the job I loved. Then I realized I started dreading going to work,” he said.
“Travis, he’s the one in the wrong,” Kurt finally said. “Give us his address. If there’s one thing Preacher and I still can agree on, it’s getting back at this fucker.”
Travis couldn’t help it. His shoulders started to shake and a carefree laugh erupted from him. Preacher and Kurt traded worried looks.
“We’re serious, baby,” Preacher said, squeezing his hand. “Miles deserves to be taught a lesson.”
“I don’t want either of you to end up in jail,” he said. “Miles can’t touch me here anyway. He’s thousands of miles away. Oh shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Preacher asked.
“You can’t fight Reyes in this condition,” he said. “All the promotional materials are already printed. What about all the money we put into marketing? What are we going to tell our sponsors? What’s going to happen now?”
Kurt looked at him grimly. “Sorry, Travis. This is all my fault. I should’ve held myself back.”
“We’ll delay the fight. That’s all,” Preacher said with a shrug.
“Delay? You sure?” He asked.
Travis’ mind was already thinking up solutions. They needed to talk to their sponsors. Maybe he could see if he could still make changes to their marketing and promotion.
Preacher kissed him on the cheek, a quick one. “Just gives me another reason to stay.”
Just like that, Travis relaxed. Everything was going to turn out okay. He truly believed that.