Page 38 of Knockout Queen

“Surprisingly better,” he says on a yawn. He looks better, too. Color has come back to his cheeks. He’s not as pale as he was last night. The sleep and the painkillers have helped him. Hopefully, just being back here without having to worry about the stress of what was going to happen has helped him too. I know having him back helped me. I slept like a rock. I don’t even think I tossed and turned once last night.

A knock sounds on the door, and I tense. It’s on the suite door, not on the bedroom door. I’m happy just to ignore it, but there must be someone else in the suite—most likely Mag—because a voice rises up.

“Duuude. It’s cool. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

“They’re—”

Before Mag can tell him not to come in because we’re lying here naked, Jiko pushes the door open. “Fucker,” Johnny yells, using his body to shield mine.

“Oops.” He turns away. “Sorry. I was just so fucking excited that your dad said you were alive and back. I came right over.”

I slip under the covers, pulling the sheets up to my shoulders. I scowl at Jiko’s back. Mag’s face mirrors mine.

“She’s covered,” Johnny finally says.

“Are you covered because...?”

“No, dick. I’m not because it’s my goddamn bedroom, and you ran in like you owned the place, so now you can stare at my cock for the intrusion.”

He’s not kidding either. Jiko turns around, and Johnny just lies there on the bed, not covering himself or anything. Jiko ignores the morning penis, but I sigh and pull the sheets up over Johnny anyway.

“Thanks,” Jiko says. “I’m not into dicks.” He gives me a rueful smile, but then it drops off his face. He stares, eyes cast down a little. “I haven’t seen you since everything went down. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say, still a little weirded out at the fact that I’m lying here naked under these sheets while Jiko is standing right fucking there. I’m not okay with Jiko. That’s for sure. I’m not his number one fan. Hell, I’m not even his hundredth fan.

He sucks his lip in. “I did what I did at the fight for you guys. I hope you know that. I figured if Brawler technically didn’t beat you, neither of you could get in trouble, so I made sure to jump him right before he could put the last hit in on you.”

He turns his face, and I finally see the discoloration on his orbital bones that must be courtesy of Brawler’s fist. Not going to lie. I don’t feel bad at all. In fact, I’m happy knowing Brawler got in some really good hits. “Am I supposed to thank you?”

“No,” Jiko says with finality. “It was my way of throwing a peace offering your way. What I did was shitty.”

“Can we just not fucking discuss this right now?” Mag asks. He looks over-the-top annoyed.

Jiko holds his hands up. “Alright, alright. I see we’re out of the Christmas cheer around here. I just wanted to say hey to my friend and also tell him I’m glad he’s back.”

It takes me far longer than it should to dissect his usage of Christmas cheer. Holy fuck. It’s Christmas. I have nothing to give anyone.

Johnny, too, looks shocked by the information. Jiko lingers, and Johnny stands, letting it all hang out again. He gives Jiko a firm handshake while Jiko glances at the bandage briefly. “I’m glad you’re okay, man. I have to go home, obviously, but I was waiting until the last possible moment to see if they needed me to help get you back.”

“They didn’t get me back. Mag and Kyla did.”

Jiko nods slowly, eyeing his friend curiously. “Merry Christmas, man. Keep in touch.” He strides from the room, and Mag follows to shut the door behind him. As soon as it’s shut, it opens again. Oscar’s voice bellows out first, and I can’t help the smile that overtakes my face when Brawler’s follows shortly afterward.

I jump from the bed and rummage through Johnny’s drawers to find something to wear. Johnny chuckles beside me as he grabs a pair of joggers out of my hand. “Do you want to give them a good Christmas present? Walk out of here naked.”

“Yeah?” I stifle a chuckle and grab his joggers back. “Maybe later,” I wink.

We both end up finding joggers and pull them on at the same time. I have to look for a shirt while Johnny slowly walks out into the main living area. No tense words are spoken like would have happened only a few weeks ago. Oscar even teases Johnny about sleeping the day away. Christmas doesn’t matter a lot in the Heights, but I can’t help but be excited that we’re all together. Sure, this will be a different Christmas than I’ve ever had, but that doesn’t mean it will be worse than the others. In fact, it’ll just be the start of Christmas’s for the rest of my life. I hope.

I hurry toward the door and pull up short when I see them all out there together. Johnny and Mag are in the kitchen, working in tandem, including favoring the same hip that boasts their matching injuries. Oscar and Brawler are sitting at the bar, talking them up. There are no strained words, only smiles. If I close my eyes, I can imagine that we’re living years in the future, and I’ve just come down from my bedroom to see all of us hanging out in our house. Our own house. Where we all live together. A home. Just the five of us.

I miss that feeling of home. Since my parents died, I’ve always felt like an imposter. To feel like I really belong somewhere would be a dream come true.

Mag spots me and crooks his head to tell me to get my ass out there. I do as he says. Brawler turns first. His stare devours me from head to toe, distracting me to the point that I almost completely miss the small, ceramic pine tree they’ve placed on the middle of the coffee table. A few presents dot the surface, making me pull up short again.

Brawler’s stool creaks as he slips off and moves toward me. He circles his arms around my neck, pulling me in close. He whispers, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” I say back. I dig my nails into his skin, making sure he doesn’t move from his position.

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