Page 11 of A Fighting Chance

“Alistair—” I start but he cuts me off.

“Let me finish,” he says with a nervous smile. “I wish that you had come to me. Hell, to any one of us. I wish I had been there for you, supporting you. But neither of us can change the past, all we can do is move forward. I love you, Mercedes. I always have and I’m hoping you will give me the chance to prove it to you.”

It’s only after he stops speaking that I realize I am crying. This is every little girl’s dream come true. To have the first boy you loved, the one you still secretly love, tell you that he wants to be with you. It feels unreal.

“You really are an idiot,” I say through my tears, and he doesn’t argue.

He moves quickly around the table and lifts me from the chair before sitting down with me cradled in his lap. He holds me tightly against his chest as he rubs a soothing hand up and down my back.

“Shit,” he murmurs against my hair. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. If you don’t feel the same way, I understand—” I don’t let him finish his sentence.

I silence him with my lips against his. It only takes him a moment to work past the shock before he is kissing me back. His large, scarred hands tangle in my hair, angling my head the way he wants it. The kiss isn’t hurried but rather an exploration of each other, lips and tongues, getting to know each other and savoring the moment.

He kisses me senseless, breathless, dizzy, before pulling away. “I’m not sure but I am going to take that as a positive reaction,” he smiles.

I shake my head with a smile. “Yes, you idiot. How could you ever think I didn’t feel the same way?”

“I’m an idiot?”

And I laugh freely before kissing him again.

Chapter Seven

Alistair

Since Mercedes crashed into me after my fight on Friday it has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride. It’s hard to believe that it has only been two days since she stumbled back into my life but that’s how it goes. You never know what lies around the next bend. Now, I have the girl I have loved for the better part of eight years on my lap and in my arms and I can’t stop smiling like the fucking idiot she says I am.

Her laughter makes my heart beat faster, knowing that even though I make her angry and crazy, I can also make her happy.

She presses her chest against mine before kissing me again and I am vividly aware of the fact that she is only wearing a t-shirt and panties. The sight of her, sleep rumpled and wearing so little clothes had me hard as lead the moment she walked into the kitchen. Now, having her against me like this, I can’t fucking think straight. All the blood in my body has fled my brain and is currently pumping through my cock.

“Mercedes,” I pull away and gaze into her eyes. “You need to get dressed.”

“Huh?”

I smile. Her lips are swollen from our kisses, and she seems a little dazed. But I know I need to do this right. I never want her to think I only want her for sex.

“You’re half dressed,” I say, my voice sounding like I have been chewing gravel.

She looks down at what she is wearing before looking back at me. “Does it bother you?” She frowns. “Is this about my scars?”

Someone said or did something to make her feel self-conscious about her body. It’s why she got the ink. I know for a fact that getting a tattoo over scar tissue hurts like a mother fucker and it’s not a small piece she has. It’s also detailed as fuck. It took many hours to get a piece of art that intricate on her skin, and she went through a lot of pain to get it.

“Not at all,” I say slipping my hand beneath her t-shirt and caressing the area I know the tattoo with the red roses is meant to conceal. “This only means you’re a fighter.”

A loud sob leaves her, and I don’t know whether it’s my words or my touch that has set her off again. I can count on my hands the number of times I have seen Mercedes cry. And I swear she has cried more in the past twenty-four hours.

“Babe, I need you to tell me what’s wrong,” I say softly.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you crying?” I am confused as fuck.

“I don’t know,” she hiccups, and I laugh. “You just keep saying all the right things and it’s fucking with the girly side of my brain.”

More laughter leaves me, and I hug her close. This is good, this is all I have ever wanted.

Mercedes.