FIGHT

Chapter 20

I wake with Holden's head laying heavily on my chest. His long arms are wrapped underneath me, probably asleep themselves from the hours stagnant. It's much too hot with him on top of me, but I don't have the heart to move him.

After our small conversation last night, he had so much trouble falling asleep.

I stayed awake with him until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. He didn't seem to mind that I kept drifting in and out of consciousness; honestly, I think the only thing that mattered to him at that point was me staying.

There's no way I would've been able to leave him last night anyway. Three weeks without Holden gave me major withdrawals; I finally got my dosage back - I had no plans to leave.

Holden sighs, capturing my attention. When I look down at him, his eyes are still closed in a peaceful sleep. Yesterday, I had logical reasons to pick flying over mind reading, but I'd give almost anything to be able to read Holden's mind at this moment.

I want to know what thoughts rule over his subconscious.

His arms tighten around me as his body shifts, soft sounds escaping his slightly open mouth. I can feel his body heat transferring to me, but I ignore the high temperature so he can continue sleeping.

A small piece of his curly hair falls flat on his forehead and I brush it away as lightly as I can. I don't know how long we lay like that, him snoring softly while my hands gently comb through his messy hair. I hear a faint ding after a while, but decide to ignore the sound. Bachelor pads like this always have high-tech toys that beep too much.

I run my hands through Holden's hair again, lightly raking my nails against his scalp. Soft noises escape his mouth as he turns further into me.

The door opens.

Instinctively, I push Holden up, grabbing the covers to throw them over my exposed body. My light shove jostles Holden awake and both of us turn our attention to the door as it swings wide.

"Oh, shit."

Josh enters the room, dressed fully in a mound of workout gear. He even has a gym bag slung over his shoulder. Josh's eyes dart between me and Holden; Holden shifts to move his body in front of mine. I use the sheet while Holden simply uses a large pillow to cover his naked body. From behind Holden, I scan Josh's expression to gauge what he came here for.

"Up, Samuels."

Holden glances back at me, speaking with his eyes. He silently asks if I'm okay and I give him a small nod, trying not to draw attention to our wordless conversation. Through Holden's eyes, I can tell he's trying to tell me to stay quiet.

When he turns back to Josh, Josh's eyes continue to flit back and forth between us on Holden's bed.

"We can train later, Josh."

"I said up, Samuels."

The men have a stare down and it takes everything in me to not say something to Josh. Every good feeling I had about Josh from before has completely vanished. "I'm a little preoccupied here, Henderson. We can train later."

I watch the muscles in Josh's neck tense at Holden's words. The muscles in Holden's back are tightened and I lightly rub my fingers against his skin to try and relax him.

Whatever friendship the two men had, it ended the second Josh booked this fight with Elliot Samson.

"You finally fucked her. Good for you. Now kick her out and let's train."

My stomach clenches at Josh's words and I put a hand over my mouth to keep myself from saying anything. I don't want to make this whole ordeal worse for Holden. Holden stays silent to the comment, but makes no motion to remove his body from the bed.