Page 28 of Boy Toy Not Included

Diesel blinked and then blinked again.

Sandy laughed. When he lit up, he was twice as gorgeous. Of course, Diesel had realized that in high school. He just couldn’t believe the guy’s charm still got to him. “You should see your face right now. Yes, I’m asking you on a date. Yes, I’m gay. It just took me a lot longer to accept that truth plus a lot of destroying my life.”

The tension drained from Diesel. Sandy looked too open and honest for Diesel to deny anything. He looked like someone Diesel could talk to. Diesel shook his head. “Wow. That’s an admission.”

Another laugh burst from Sandy. “I guess it is. What about that dinner? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like someone who could use someone to talk to.”

He wasn’t wrong. “As much as I’d love to take you up on that, I still have to be at the fight tonight. But seriously, you have no idea. Teenage me would have died if you ever looked my way.” Diesel realized he was smiling. For a moment, he seriously considered blowing off the fight. He was under contract.

“You can’t be serious. I was so cringy and obnoxious.”

“You were funny. That’s one of my favorite traits. You looked like you were a lot of fun to hang out with. I wasn’t a part of your crowd, so…”

“It’s easier to be funny than it is to be real.”

That confession sounded like it came from a place of pain—a place where only a good therapist could reach.

A black SUV with tinted windows pulled up to the curb. The door opened and Timber stepped out. “It’s time to roll.”

Diesel’s gaze slid Sandy’s way. “Raincheck?”

His bright smile never dimmed. “Absolutely.”

Diesel winked and stood. He nodded at Timber as he climbed inside. Timber was right behind him. They rode in silence for a good ten minutes before Timber obviously couldn’t take it anymore.

“Who was that? He looked kind of familiar.”

“Sandy Peterson. We went to high school together.”

Timber nodded. “I’m not from around here, so it’s not that.”

A chuckle sneaked from Diesel. “He’s a cop.”

Timber snapped his fingers. He focused on Diesel with way too much excitement. “That’s it. He arrested me for interfering in a case once while I was just doing my job. Steel lost his shit. Only time I’ve ever seen Steel be anything other than calm and collected. They let me go with no charges, but fuck. I was hot. I was ready to throw down if that’s what he wanted. What an asshole.”

Diesel laughed. He couldn’t help it. Timber’s response had been so visceral. “I get it. We do what we have to do to get the job done.”

Quiet filled the car again.

Once again, Timber broke it. Diesel had noticed that about him. The guy did not like silence. “I guess that’s sort of you tonight. Doing what you have to, I mean. I can’t imagine you want to work while your man is fighting. Of course, then again, you’ll probably be closer to the cage than any of the seats are.”

He didn’t want to go at all. Diesel didn’t know how to say Kuba wasn’t his any longer. It was one thing to give a simple yes or no when Sandy had asked. This was different. Diesel had to say the actual words, and he couldn’t. If he did, this nightmare would be real, and Diesel didn’t know how to face that.

The crowd was loud as hell. Kuba’s head pounded. Kuba wouldn’t win tonight. He was too far off his game. Jayme hadn’t resurfaced, and his tantrum came too close to the actual fight to find a replacement. For obvious reasons, he couldn’t use Diesel. If he touched Diesel again, he would never stop, and Diesel deserved someone better than him. Someone unashamed. Someone who wouldn’t hide him. He didn’t know what he had expected would happen. Diesel couldn’t have stayed a secret forever. Eventually, he would have had questions. None of that mattered now. Diesel hated him. Especially considering the way Kuba had played things, acting like he was only guarding his private life when the truth was so much worse. Not a damn soul on this planet, other than Diesel, had known he was into men. He had always been too scared to touch another man. Diesel was a risk he never expected to take. Since he was bisexual, hehad stuck with women, even though that wasn’t his preference. Diesel was special.

Kuba kept his back teeth locked as his tape got signed off by officials. He fought with everything he possessed to keep from looking Diesel’s way. Slurs and cheers mixed together as he headed for the cage. As much as he wanted to believe the cheers were louder, the slurs were all he heard. Combining that with seeing his opponent had Kuba set to boil. Once again, he waited for another official to check his tape before stepping inside. Kuba blocked out everything. All he saw was the man across from him. When had Dread started looking so old? Logically, he knew Dread was twice his age, but fuck. Dread was graying at the temples and still bouncing in place as the rules were read. Would he still be stuck doing this shit at Dread’s age? Kuba didn’t move. He stood like a statue and stared Dread down. Now that his gaze was on his opponent, every other ounce of bullshit in his life bled away. The level of hatred Kuba felt for Dread was unmatched. He was the type of scum who didn’t deserve to walk the earth. Maybe this would be the fight where he actually killed him.

“Whoa, folks. Look at that death stare. This fight is going to be a good one. Two opponents have never hated each other more.”

Well, half of that was true. Only two people understood what they really watched. That was Dread and Kuba.

The bell rang. They didn’t show any respect. Kuba just watched and waited. Dread was too much of a showman. His eagerness was always his undoing. All it took was one careless lunge. Kuba dodged and swung. His punch landed hard. He felt Dread’s nose break. An evil laugh rang through his mind. Now he was in thisthing. Dread bled, and that felt fantastic. He watched Dread’s shoulder drop like it happened in slow motion. Kuba couldn’t believe he hadn’t worked harder on such an easy tell. Kuba pulled the perfect roundhouse kick. Dread was down. Kuba immediately dropped and pinned him. With the slightest twist, Dread tapped out.

There was no satisfaction. In fact, that had been way too easy. His temper spiked to new levels. Kuba’s arm was raised, and the crowd roared. He couldn’t do anything but stare hard at Dread, studying every movement. His fury grew larger by the second. Every after-fight activity went by so fast, Kuba wondered if he had blacked out halfway through. The instant he was set free, Kuba was on a mission. His entourage of security tried to keep up as Kuba stormed his way to his private green room. At the last second, he dipped left and burst into Dread’s room. Dread was alone—almost as if he waited for Kuba.

Kuba flew into a rage. “You motherfucker. You threw that fight.” Someone grabbed him from behind and stopped him from attacking. “Be a man and admit it. You took a fucking dive. How much did you make over that little show?” Pride wouldn’t let him walk away. Kuba could beat Dread any day of the week, but he deserved to do so fairly.

Dread didn’t match his energy. That didn’t calm Kuba at all. “Take it easy. No one paid me to do anything.”