It took a little longer than planned, but a few months ago we both graduated from ULV. I received my bachelor’s in business and accounting and Kayla received hers in physical therapy. Luckily, the sports complex where Kayla did her internship had a spot available and hired her the day she graduated. I was able to take the summer off to spend time with Bella before she starts preschool, but now I need to find a job.

After showering and getting dressed, I make my way to the kitchen, following the delicious aroma of Kayla’s homemade chocolate chip pancakes. She doesn’t make them often but when she does, I eat them until I’m so full I can barely button my pants.

As I sit at the table and begin buttering my pancakes, I notice my daughter is scarfing hers down. “Whoa there, Angel. You’re going to get a tummy ache if you don’t slow down. What’s the rush?”

She stops chewing and looks at me, her eyebrows furrowing in the same way I can still remember her father doing. “I don’t want to be late,” she says matter-of-factly through her mouthful of food.

“Bella, school starts at nine o’clock. You’re not going to be late. Please slow down. You won’t be going to school if your belly hurts.”

She must agree with my reasoning because she immediately slows down eating her food.

I start eating my pancakes, when I look over at Kayla, who is giving me her I’m up to something look. The last time she gave me this look I ended up meeting Cooper and got knocked up, so this look seriously scares me.

“I haven’t seen that look in a very long time. What are you up to?” I raise my brows in hope that she’ll see I’m serious and back down.

“I’m not up to anything. How dare you jump to conclusions?”

“Kayla, let’s not beat around the bush. What’s going on? I need to get Bella to school and I have a couple potential jobs I want to check out.”

“Okay, hear me out before you say no.” I go to cut her off, knowing where this is going, but she doesn’t allow me to break in as she continues speaking a hundred miles an hour.

“We did it, Liz! We graduated college. We got our degrees. I think we have done a pretty good job with Bella so far. She isn’t completely traumatized and she’s alive and in one piece. One night with a sitter isn’t going to kill you or her. You deserve this. You’ve focused on school and Bella for the last five years. Please come out with us Friday night. Hayley has tickets to this cool UFC fight and also has an open invitation to the after-party. It’s supposed to be off the hook. Please!”

Kayla and I met Hayley while working at the Bistro. She was also going to ULV but a few years ahead of us and majoring in sports medicine. We all instantly became friends and she is over here so often Bella calls her Auntie Hayley. She got a job a few months back at a UFC training center and is always begging us to come to the fights.

“Kayla, you don’t even watch UFC. Why do you want to go to a fight so badly?” I shake my head, trying to figure out her motive. With Kayla, there is always a motive behind her madness.

“Um, hello! Have you seen their hot bodies? I don’t care what’s going on with the fight. I just want to see their sweaty bodies and maybe do the dirty-dirty with one of those hot guys I’ll meet at the after-party,” she says, waggling her eyebrows up and down.

Well, that makes more sense. Where there are hot guys, you can you bet Kayla will find them.

I try to keep a straight face, but when Bella cuts in and asks, “Auntie Kay, what’s a dirty-dirty?” I can’t help but laugh.

Raising my brows, I join in the fun. “Yeah, Auntie Kay, What’s a dirty-dirty?”

Kayla’s eyes go wide when she realizes what she just said in front of my very impressionable four-year-old and attempts to back slide by telling her it’s when people play in the mud together.

Now, I’m laughing so hard tears streaming down my face. Kayla isn’t laughing, though. When I look at her through my blurry eyes, she’s glaring at me.

When my precious daughter responds, I completely lose it.

“That sounds like fun! I wanna go play in the mud! Can Tristan come play with me in the mud? He loves to jump in the puddles and get all dirty!”

Kayla’s eyes completely bug out as she looks to me for help. I give her a look that says, Nope, ain’t gonna happen. You got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out. Now she is full on shooting daggers my way, which is making me laugh even harder.

Tags: Nikki Ash Fighting Romance
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