Free Broken Fighter: BBW, New Adult Romance by Tia Pararol Page B

to reappear a heartbeat later, the door opening much wider this time, wide enough for that pretty girl to waltz right in. Behind her, the large heavy door clicked closed with a near silent finality.  
    Jackson grimaced, looking down at himself before looking back up at the girl, again missing the long gone entourage of devoted friends, manager and trainer who would have stood between his half naked self and an over zealous fan.  
    Jackson loudly cleared his throat and then narrowed his eyes when the girl didn’t even look his way. Instead, she put her ear to the door with her hand poised above the near-useless lock.  
    “You’ve got to get outta here,” Jackson said, his annoyance seeping into his voice. He considered throwing a flip flop when she continued her deaf, dumb and blind routine.  
    Since she was ignoring him anyway, Jackson took his time looking over the woman who had invaded his space. Long, dark, thick hair spilled down her back over a loose fitting t-shirt and a formless cotton skirt that draped her body from hips to ankles. He could tell she was a little thick in her shape but that didn’t bother him near as much as the fact that she had yet to acknowledge that she had barged into a private locker room.
    Having had enough, Jackson pivoted to head for his gym bag to retrieve his cell phone but froze when the girl twirled around, her eyes wide and her lips parted as if panicked. Though she still had not looked at him, he could see that she was beautiful with creamy, flawless skin, large, piercing blue-green eyes, and pouty, ruby lips. While Jackson had no intentions of spending time alone with a crazed fan who could make claims against his reputation at a later time, something in the way she held herself told him that if she was crazed, it had nothing to do with him.
    Suddenly, her eyes flicked to meet his. In the next moment she was rushing toward him. No, rushing away from the door, he realized as the sound of loud, angry voices echoed in from the hallway.
    The door rattled the minutest amount of resistance before being pushed open hard enough to almost hit the adjoining wall at the very moment Jackson’s young trespasser flashed by him to hide herself in the shower’s downpour. Jackson resisted the urge to look at her. He didn’t know what the situation was but guessed that if he gave away the girl’s whereabouts, he’d be stuck trying to get answers from a crystal ball.  
    Before him, the collective group of men moved into the locker room as if they owned the space, allowing the now well used door to glide silently shut behind them. Taking their time, they scanned the room before the lead guy locked his eyes on Jackson, finally acknowledging his presence.  
    “And you are?” The man’s assessing gaze travelled up and down Jackson’s near naked body in a manner that made Jackson feel as if he were being prepped for auction.
    Having no intentions of telling them anything, Jackson opened his mouth to tell the group to get the hell out when another member blurted their true intent. “Have you seen a chubby, dark headed girl? Eighteen years old, long hair….”
    Jackson held on to the same stoic expression and deadpan stare he’d perfected for the cage. Opening his mouth once again to tell the group to get out, the locker room door slammed open yet again but this time with a crash as it rebounded off the adjacent wall.  
    “What the hell!” The event manager’s face was one shade paler than blood, his 5’4 frame doing nothing to diminish his intimidation factor. “These guys friends of yours, Jackson?” he asked, waving a hand toward the group.
    It took only a shake of the head from Jackson to send Bookers into action. “…THEN GET THE FUCK OUT!” he exclaimed, directing his wrath at the newcomers. Bookers grew that one shade darker to blood leaving Jackson fearing the man would stroke out.
    The group of men looked at Bookers with open derision, their faces pinched with unexpressed