Free Spent - Part 1 (Spent, a New Adult Romance, MMA Series) by Elise Holland Page B

hurting you,” I mutter as I regain my composure.  

    Luke smirks, “This may come as a shock to you, but I do win fights on occasion.”

    “Good. I was beginning to wonder what I would write about since I’ve been given the OK from the school paper to cover local MMA scenes,” I wink.  

    Luke’s eyes widen in surprise, “That’s awesome! I guess you and I will have an excuse to spend more time together.”

    “I’m pretty sure we would have found some way, regardless of the school paper,” I chortle.  

    “You’re probably right,” Luke smirks, “But right now, we’d better head to class.”

    ***

    I look over my finished piece for the university paper. It’s the first MMA article I’ve ever written, but Luke gave me enough solid notes during class today that I feel pretty confident that I have all of the elements in place. The article won’t have a picture attached, but my editor told me that it’s a trial piece anyway, so he wasn’t concerned with a photo. He only wants to see if MMA will be a good selling point for the paper, since the school’s abysmal athletics department doesn’t keep the sports section of the paper floating.  

    With a quick sweep for minor edits and formatting, the paper looks good enough to send. I email it to my editor with crossed fingers. My main motivation with this new line of writing is to get more time with Luke, but I also really want to draw attention to him and the local fight scene. I know very few of the students on campus even realize that they’re going to school with pro-MMA fighters. I feel that if they soon come to realize this, then they’ll likely be interested in attending some of the fights, which will hopefully boost Luke’s morale and help him win more often.  

    My phone vibrates mere seconds after the article is sent. I look down to see a message from Luke. A warmth floods through my body when I think about his thick copper hair laced through my fingers.  

    “ Wanna get a pizza and study for next week’s test? ”

    As soon as I finish reading the text, my stomach begins to rumble. I look down at the clock on my phone. It’s 8pm. I’ve been working since 5pm and completely forgot about eating anything.  

    “ Perfect timing. I just wrapped up the article. ”

    My phone vibrates almost immediately after I send my message.  

    “ Cool. Let’s go to Lorenzo’s to celebrate. ”

    My mouth waters at the thought of Lorenzo’s pizza pies. I arch an eyebrow, trying to figure out if it’s pure coincidence that Luke happened to pick my favorite place or if he’s been snooping around on me.  

    “ Lorenzo’s is my fave! I live in the Boston Wing at the on-campus apartments. Meet you outside in 15? ”

    I hit send and work on gathering my jacket and backpack. Excitement floods through my body as I get everything together. I know better than to get worked up over spending time with Luke, especially after we both agreed to just be friends, but being around him just makes everything feel right.  

    “ Ran into Cameron and she told me. See you laters. ;) ”

    Snoop.

    I giggle at the thought of my impetuous friend in her crescent moon shaped glasses tracking down the man that she knows I’m interested in just to tell him I like one particular pizza place. I make a mental note to thank her later.

    ***

    “So,” I mutter after swallowing a bite of my savory pizza, “Are you majoring in Biology?”

    “Kinesiology, actually,” Luke says after taking a swig from his beer, “I’m planning on going to grad school for Physical Therapy.”  

    My eyes widen in surprise, “You don’t want to stay with MMA?”

    Luke shrugs, “I don’t know. Fighting was more of a means to make a living. I make enough money to survive, but it’s not something that really helps people. I want to be able to do more than just beat guys to a pulp.”  

    I smile. Having been with Derrick for a year, all I ever heard discussed was his dream to be a