Fighting For a Second Chance (Fighting 1)

“How did you get that?” I spit out more harshly than intended. I should feel bad about the picture, but the truth is nothing happened, and I’m pissed that someone is sending photos to him. I’m even more pissed that he doesn’t trust me.

“Does it matter how I got it? What fucking matters is why my woman is grinding all over another man’s dick while he has his hands wrapped around her.”

Wow, it’s not even a question, just straight up accusation. Apparently, I’m guilty without even a trial.

“So, let me get this straight? You get some picture, taken by God knows who, and you jump on a plane, not to take my daughter trick-or-treating, but to accuse me of cheating on you.”

He lets it sink in for a second before he responds. “No, I was already coming here to take our daughter trick-or-treating. I just figured while I was here, I would find out why I was only gone for less than two days and the woman who supposedly loves me is already all over another man.”

Taking a closer look at Cooper, I notice his eyes are dark with black circles under them like he hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a few days, his shoulders are slumped over a little, and while his words sound so sure, I can see he’s sad and scared and confused. I could argue with him. I could scream and curse and be pissed about his accusations, but it wouldn’t do any good. Cooper needs to feel secure about us and arguing isn’t going to help anything. He might be a badass fighter on the outside, but on the inside, he’s an insecure little boy who’s been traumatized by the choices his parents made.

So, I wrap my arms around his torso and look up at him. He tenses under my touch, so I bring my hand to the back of his head to lower it, giving him a small kiss, and after a few seconds, I feel him melt into me. The kiss goes deeper and he sighs into my mouth. We kiss for a short time and when we separate he closes his arms around my body tightly, nuzzling his head into my hair. I hear a sob, so soft I almost wouldn’t have caught it if it wasn’t so quiet, and when he looks up, there’s a tear falling down his cheek. I stand on my tip-toes and gently kiss it away.

“I love you, Cooper, and I’d never cheat on you. What you saw was a shitty picture and I’m sorry you saw that. While I was dancing, a guy came up behind me, and for a second I thought it was you. I was drunk and it reminded me of our time together five years ago, but as soon as I realized it wasn’t you, I freaked out and decided to go home. Ashley was there and saw the whole thing play out.”

He squeezes his eyes closed and then opens them again. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I know you’d never cheat. I just freaked out. I saw the picture and I lost it.”

“It’s okay.” I give him another kiss to calm him down.

“Kayla said I’m the only guy you have ever been with. Is that true?”

“Yeah, it is. I just couldn’t stop hoping that maybe one day you’d come back to me. I focused on school and Bella, and I just had no desire to be with anybody but you.”

Just then Bella comes prancing down the steps looking like a princess in her Elsa costume.

“I’m ready to go!” she squeals.

We head out to eat lunch and then take Bella trick-or-treating around the neighborhood Kayla and I take her every year. We’ve never lived in this neighborhood, but we found it years ago. It has nice houses that are close together and the people who live there all sit outside at the end of their driveways giving out candy.

After going up and down several streets, Bella is candied out and Cooper is carrying her back to the car. Every time she asked for a piece with her cute little voice while batting her eyelashes, he would give in. The day started off rough, but it ended up being an amazing Halloween.

We get back home and after Cooper takes Bella to bed, he finds me in our room. I’m changing into my pajamas when he comes up behind me and wraps his strong arms around my torso. Remembering this is why he accused me of cheating, I freeze. He must sense what happened, because while nuzzling my neck he says, “I’m sorry, baby. I just want to be the only man to ever touch you like this. Please forgive me.”

I turn around to face him. “And you are the only man who will ever touch me this way. You own me, Cooper, mind, body, heart, and soul. There’s nothing to forgive. I love you.”