"I never thought of it that way."
"It's cheaper than a Saturday-night date to the movies with popcorn. Even after tipping out for a lap dance."
"Nice justification."
He snorted. "I've never fallen prey to the delusions that the hot brunette grinding on me will want to see me outside of the club."
"So you've never dated a stripper?"
"Explain what you mean by date."
"Pick her up, take her to dinner, then end up banging the headboard."
Deacon shook his head. "I ain't the dating kind. I've fucked a few strippers."
"I don't get it." Maddox held up his hands. "No judgment on your choice of amusement. But when I look at the dancers, all I see is their age. It doesn't make me feel pervy watching them. It makes me sad. Admitting that probably makes me sound like a prude."
"That makes you a decent guy because you wanna save them."
Maddox leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Back to the story. So you went to the strip club. You're sipping a drink, minding your own business, when . . ."
"One of my favorite former dancers visited me in the VIP section." Deacon scowled. "She plopped herself on my lap, stuck her tits in my face, and when I glanced up, I saw Molly."
"Molly. As in Molly-"
"My former student who I've wanted to bang like a fucking drum since the moment I saw her? The woman you forced me to stay away from while I was training for the last fight? Yeah, that Molly."
Maddox whistled. "So she what? Used some of Fisher's boxing moves on you?"
"A punch in the nuts would've been easier to take than the way she looked at me." He let his head fall forward. "You have any idea how much I hated standing her up two months ago?"
"I've a good idea. I'm sorry for it now, but you won the fight. That's what I needed from you. And what you needed for yourself. You can't deny that you'd never been more focused."
Only because he'd cut himself off from everyone. He trained, ate, slept, and trained some more.
"Being with Molly then would've been a distraction."
"She'll be a distraction now." The best kind of distraction-not that he'd admit that to Maddox. "But now I have a better handle on what you expect of me for fight prep. And you know that I won't hand grenade my career because of some random chick."
"Molly wasn't a random chick for you, Deacon," Maddox pointed out. "That's why we had to intervene."
He shoved aside his resentment for the Maddox-led, Ronin-executed intervention-for the good of his career. "So when I saw her at the strip club, those brown eyes snapping fire at me, all I could think about was how much I wanted her and I'd been patient with her and the situation long enough."
"You didn't tell her that?"
Deacon looked at Maddox sharply. "Of course I did."
"What exactly did you say to her?"
"That her and me were gonna happen."
Maddox groaned. "Then you grabbed her by the hair, threw her over your shoulder, and stomped out?"
"The bouncer was watching me or I would have."
"Been a while since you've been in a relationship, huh?"
"Yeah."
"How long?"
Fuck if he wanted to tell him, but he admitted, "Since I was fifteen."
Maddox shook his head. "I'd laugh and call bullshit, but I don't think you're kidding, D."
"I'm not. After my last . . ." Hold on. Should you share the ugly part of your past with the guy who's helping you build a future?
No.
Deacon shrugged. "I've stuck to sex without entanglements. I don't even understand why it feels different with Molly. I sure as fuck don't know what to do about it now that I've royally screwed up again."
"Tell her that."
"Show up on her doorstep and blurt out what an idiot I am?" he said, a little horrified by that thought.
"You really are clueless."
"That's helpful, fuckhead."
"Maybe something will come to you while you're groveling. But make no mistake-that's what it'll take."
"I figured."
"What if she won't forgive you?" Maddox asked.
Deacon shot Maddox a dark look. "I'm blaming you. Then I'll grovel and promise her that it'll be the last time my trainer interferes with my love life."
"Love life, eh?" Maddox nudged Deacon's shoulder. "Speaking of . . . Now that you've poured your heart out to me"-Deacon snorted-"it's time for you to return the favor."