Page 73 of Guitars and Cages

“All right, I will.”

We both said a polite thank-you to the waitress, and then dug into our food. I was thinking about it, though, thinking about saying no, but what would be the harm in going? I enjoyed talking to Conner, and it wasn’t his fault that I couldn’t stop thinking things I shouldn’t be thinking every other time I looked at him. Besides, maybe if I hung out with him enough it would be easier to ignore, like the bird who sang on your window at the crack of dawn each morning. The first few times were annoying, but after a while you learned to tune it out. Maybe if I spent enough time with Conner I could tune out the desire to run my fingers through his hair and see if it was as soft and thick as it looked.

Dammit. I kicked myself for letting the image take hold in my mind because now that it was there, I was chewing and staring at his hair, the fingers on my good hand itching to slide through it. I shook my head, refocused on finishing my food, and didn’t look back up at him until I was done. When I did look up he was watching me, frowning like he was deep in thought. I was suddenly feeling self-conscious. “What?”

“I was wondering…those fights you’re involved in. I’ve never seen anything like that before—the underground stuff, I mean. I’ve seen MMA with the cages and the rules and all, but I was sitting here thinking that some of that might make for some amazing photos.”

I’m glad I was done eating, or else I might have choked. “Dude, you go into a place like that with a camera and people will start thinking you’re a cop. Believe me when I tell you that you do not want any of those people mistaking you for the law.”

He laughed at me. Goddammit, I was being serious, and the fucker had the nerve to laugh at me.

“I wasn’t planning to walk in there with a big-ass camera around my neck and a giant telephoto lens, if that’s what you were thinking. I figured those sorts of places wouldn’t take kindly to someone taking pictures; it has to be all kinds of illegal. I’ve got cameras that are small enough that no one would ever notice what I was doing.”

“You hope.”

“There is that, but I’m pretty confident they’d all be too busy watching and gambling to notice me. I was thinking that the next time you’re going to fight, why don’t you let me come with you?”

My jaw dropped. There was no way in hell he was serious. “Not a single chance in hell.”

“Asher, come on, those kinds of shots could really get me noticed. Hell, I might even get something good enough for a gallery. Help me out here.”

“I am helping you, Conner; I’m telling you no. And it’s not to be an asshole about it, it’s to keep your ass from getting shot while trying to get your pictures. It isn’t a game. Those people are dangerous.”

“Like you?”

“When I need to be.”

“Fine. I’ll find another way in, but I’m not going to drop it.”

I scrubbed my hand down my face and groaned. “Dammit, Conner.”

“Is that a yes?”

He was grinning at me, the little shit. “Not like you’re leaving me much choice. I’d rather you come with me than fuck around in one of those places on your own and get killed. I don’t need your death on my conscience.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. You could thank me more by changing your mind.” Funny, that’s not exactly how I wanted him to thank me.No, you want him to thank you by pinning you down and fucking you until you can’t think. I blew out a deep breath and ordered myself to get my mind out of the gutter.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. Look at it this way: you get me in and out in one piece and we’re even.”

“It doesn’t make us even when I’m the one taking you into the danger in the first place.”

“You’re the one who said you owed me one; I was just giving you a way to pay your debt.”

He was grinning, joking when he said it, and I knew that deep down, but the image that flashed through my mind was of Catfish and the way my debts were usually paid. That wasn’t the way I wanted to picture things with him. I didn’t realize I was glaring at him until he stopped smiling.

“Hey, it was a joke. Damn, you look like you wanna knock my head through the wall.”

I shook my head, trying to clear away the memory of Catfish. “Sorry, was thinking of something else is all. I gotta go. I’ll, uhh, stop by your place when I know when the next fight’s gonna be.”

“No rush. You might not want to fight again until that hand heals.”

I just shrugged and stood.

“Did you think about the derby?”

I frowned. I had thought about the derby, I just hadn’t exactly reached a conclusion. I scratched my head, scowling. “Yeah, I guess I can go. It’ll be fun.”