Free Cutter: A Fight or Flight Novel by Ashley Suzanne Page B

week and I’ve gotta be on campus by nine tomorrow. Talk to you later?” She quickly dresses, crawls up the bed, and gives me a peck on the corner of my mouth.
    “Jo?”
    “Nope. Friends don’t have awkward conversations after orgasms. It’s not a thing.” I stare at her, confused and relieved at the same time. Most of all, I’m shocked. Usually, it’s women that say no commitment but are quick to jump on the let-me-stay-over-and-cuddle train. I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but not feeling the pressure that comes along with sex is perfect.
    “Just two friends playing zombies,” I joke.
    “Motherfucking zombies.” She giggles as she leaves the room. “Call you later,” she calls from the front door just before it opens and closes.
    Realizing I smell like sweat and sex, I decide on a quick shower before bed. Less than five minutes in and out, I climb back into the bed. I grab the pillow and shove it under my head, Josette’s scent still present, and allow my sore and sated body to rest long enough to pass out.

Chapter 9

Cutter
    Two months and three fights later, the calls start rolling in. Every manager and agent in the business wants to take their crack at me for some reason. Garrett says it’s unusual for them to start calling before a fighter hits more than a dozen consecutive wins, but then backed that up by mentioning my raw talent.
    I’ve also made a decent amount of money from the four fights I’ve won. More than enough to pay Garrett rent on the apartment for the next year and stop doing the janitorial work at the gym so I can train full-time. He tried to give me back the check, but lost the battle when Rian said that I needed to pay my way to feel like a man, and she was 100 percent right.
    “Cutter, another one just left a message. What do you want me to start telling them?” Josette asks from the office, glancing between me and Garrett.
    “I don’t know. Garrett? What do I do?”
    “Do you wanna fight professionally, kid?”
    “It could be cool, right? Be on TV and have bigger purses. I mean, what else am I going to do? Keep fighting at local level? If they want me, I should capitalize on it before I’m old news, right?”
    Garrett doesn’t answer and Josette rolls her eyes, either at me or the phone that’s ringing again. She steps back into the office and within a few seconds I know it’s another person calling to inquire about me.
    “It’s not a bad way to earn a living,” Garrett finally chimes in. “But it’s not a career. You know that. You might have ten or twelve years in you, but what are you going to do after that? There’s no way you’ll be able to go back to mopping floors and taking out trash after you’ve made the kind of money those fighters earn. You have to have a backup plan.”
    “I have one,” I answer, feeling a foreign sense of pride surge through my veins. “I was waiting for Josette to finish her class a few weeks ago and made my way over to the admissions office. I talked to someone about taking some courses and am thinking of signing up for a few.”
    “You’re going to college and didn’t tell me?”
    “I didn’t think it was really a big deal. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, but I figure business classes can’t be bad, right? I’m either going to work for someone else’s business or work for myself, and I probably should know how to do that.”
    “I knew I liked you, kid.” Garrett laughs and pats me on the back. “I’m proud of you. Either way, you’re gonna be just fine.”
    And just like that, I know his words are true. I’ve gone through hell and come out the other side. My life has prepped me for this. Before, I would have never had the confidence to try anything new or want more for myself. I didn’t think I deserved it. It took finding myself in this gym, meeting these people, and having them cheer for me even when they had no reason to give me the courage to make something out of myself, and I’ll never be able