Callie swore off boxing and boxing matches. But when her best friend drags her to an underground fight, she meets Dean, exactly the kind of guy Callie’s been trying to avoid for the past three years. Now there’s no denying the connection between them. But is a spark enough or will it take some more friction to get things going between these two?
Age Rating: 18+
A Broken Promise by Gorgeousin is now available to read on the Galatea app! Read the first two chapters below, or download Galatea for the full experience.
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1
Callie swore off boxing and boxing matches. But when her best friend drags her to an underground fight, she meets Dean, exactly the kind of guy Callie’s been trying to avoid for the past three years. Now there’s no denying the connection between them. But is a spark enough or will it take some more friction to get things going between these two?
Age Rating: 18+
Original Author: Gorgeousin
The first time I saw Dean Whitiker was at an underground fighting match.
My best friend, Ashley, dragged me to it—even after saying no—telling me it would be the best night of my life and she wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t right either.
See, my father was a fighter, so I know how it is.
I have been to a million of these since they are how my father made extra money outside his regular job. I know the ins and outs of stuff like this; how it all works.
Unfortunately, that also means that I saw the moment right after Dean’s eyes met mine when he had a slight change in his step.
I could see the moment register on his face as his balance gets thrown off just slightly.
He attempted to recover, but it was too late.
The opponent’s fist collided with Dean’s jaw and it sent him backward before his opponent landed another punch to his ribs which caused him to fall forward, landing on the mat.
Distractions can be the difference between winning and losing sometimes. And somehow I distracted Dean.
I distracted him that night.
I haven’t stepped anywhere near a wrestling ring since my father passed three years ago and I almost didn’t go.
Watching Dean get punched and go down struck me hard and brought back memories I had pushed away long ago.
As I ran out of the abandoned warehouse I promised myself I would never go back once again.
Ashley told me later that night that he had won, he bounced back up and knocked the guy out.
I was glad, I really was but ever since that night I have had Dean on my mind and no matter what I do, I can’t get rid of his face.
I’m not even sure what it was about Dean that night that made him stick in my brain but it was a constant reminder of what I couldn’t have.
I hate it.
That was two months ago, two months since Dean’s eyes met mine, two months since I last saw him.
I’m standing at the bar with my two best friends, Ashley and Liam.
I met them when I first moved to New York right after my father’s death.
It was hard to leave but even harder to stay in that house, in that town. Everything and everyone reminded me of him.
My father was all I had and I was all he had, but it worked and he was my best friend.
His death hit me hard, harder than anything has ever before. I became a hollow shell of a person the day he died but thanks to Ashely and Liam, I have spent the last three years slowly finding myself again.
It wasn’t easy, finding myself again, but I did it.
I’m not the same girl I was back then but doesn’t time change everything?
My eyes roam around the club, a drink in my hand that I have been nursing for the last few minutes.
I scan the back area and my eyes land on a familiar face that causes my breath to catch in my throat and my heart to start racing.
Dean stands on the other side of the club with a drink in his hand and a smile on his face and he hasn’t changed since I saw him in the ring.
When the moving lights flash across his face I can see a busted lip and black eye on his face.
His dark hair has a messy look to it and as he runs his fingers through his hair I know why.
He speaks to a girl and a pang of jealousy erupts through my body as he laughs at something she said, her hand lightly touching his leather-covered arm.
His leather jacket clings to him and I can’t help but wonder how he keeps it on in the heat of the club.
“You’re staring.” Ashley’s voice rings loudly and close to my ear so I can hear her over the music.
I tear my eyes away from Dean and look at her while a blush starts to form on my face and I am thankful for how dark it is.
“No I’m not.” I lie through my teeth before taking a sip of the alcohol in my hand, a small buzz starting to form but my drink is now empty and I need more.
I turn around and face the bar, motioning to the bartender that I want five shots. He gives me a quick nod before focusing back on what he is doing.
I quickly survey the rest of the club, making sure to avoid looking—staring—at Dean.
It is Saturday night and it is busy like always.
New York is the city that never sleeps, but Saturday nights are usually so much worse.
Most people work Monday through Friday so Saturday was really the day to party and people usually don’t go home till early Sunday morning.
A tap on my shoulder brings me out of my thoughts and I turn around, the bartender motions toward the shots sitting on the counter.
I gave him my credit card earlier to start a tab so I don’t have to worry about paying just yet. I give him a smile and a nod as a silent ‘thank you.’
He nods back and then his attention is called somewhere else.
I quickly take two of the shots, the alcohol burning as it slides down my throat, and then grabs the other ones before turning to my friends and handing them a shot.
We clink our shots together and then shoot them back quickly.
I give a quick cough since I just took three shots in the span of a minute before putting all the empty shot glasses down on the counter.
My favorite song blared through the speakers and a huge smile appeared on my face.
Ashley and Liam try to deny my request to go on the dance floor but it isn’t long before the three of us are dancing and grinding to the song.
The buzz from the alcohol runs through me as I dance, I feel free as I move my hips to the rhythm of the song playing.
Three songs later and Liam appears in front of me with more shots for all of us.
I grab one from him and quickly tap it against Ashley’s and Liam’s before throwing it back.
The burn is not as strong this time. Liam grabs the empty glass from me and I continue to dance against Ashley.
I can feel the sweat on the back of my neck cling to my hair as I move but I don’t care.
One night, I get one real night during the week to not worry about anything and I definitely am not going to let sweat bother me.
Suddenly it feels like I am being watched and my eyes fly open, my movements don’t falter as I look around the room and my eyes meet Dean’s.
The effects of the alcohol have my inhibitions down and instead of looking away, instead of leaving, I find myself staring at him as I move my body to the sound of the music blasting through the club.
My name being called snaps me out of the trance I am in and I pull my eyes away from Dean’s as I look at Ashley.
“Callie, I need to pee.”
I give her a small nod knowing what that means, I am going with her.
I don’t mind it really, it is smarter this way but I can’t help the sadness that creeps over me as I look back at where Dean is standing to find him gone.
Thirty minutes and two more shots later I find myself back on the dance floor swaying to the beat of the music, feeling lost in the sound and the beat that is running through my body.
I am drunk and it feels so nice to feel free for a few hours.
The alcohol is going down easier and the burn isn’t even there anymore.
The feeling of someone dancing against me and a rush running through my body as they touch me brings me to reality.
My head whips around to see who it is to find Dean, his intense dark blue eyes met mine.
I turn my head back around and continue to dance against him, his hands stay rested on my hips and I can’t help but wish he would move them and touch me more.
I bring my arm up and lay it against Dean’s chest, bring it down his body till I hit mine, and then run my hand down my body.
His hands wrap around my waist, sitting on my stomach as we move, I push back on him, leaning my back against his chest as we move.
My eyes close as I follow the beat of the music and the rest of the night fades from the alcohol in my system and the rest of the drinking that comes later.
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2
“Wake up, bitches!” someone screams as the front door of my apartment slams shut, jerking me awake.
I groan as I roll over in my bed, willing myself to go back to bed.
“Ladies!” the high-pitched, happy voice calls out again.
I groan, cursing Liam’s name.
I glance at the clock next to my bed. The bright red numbers tell me it’s a little after noon. I glare my eyes at the clock and slowly sit up out of the bed, my head pounding with every movement.
“I have coffee!” Liam basically sings out from behind the closed bedroom and as much as I hate him at this moment, he brought coffee and for that I love him.
Ashley and Liam were already friends when I moved to New York and when I answered Ashley’s advertisement in the paper that she was looking for a roommate, the two of us instantly clicked.
I am grateful that I had such good luck on my first try, but after what happened I deserved a bit of good luck in my life at that time.
I stand up out of bed and grab my robe, tightening it around me as I open the door and walk into the kitchen, grabbing my coffee off the counter.
I mumble thanks to Liam as I grab the Advil off the counter and quickly pop a pill in my mouth, swallowing it down with a swig of coffee.
“How are you so happy, Liam? You drank as much, if not more, than me.”
I am slightly jealous of Liam, he never seems to get a hangover and if he does, he certainly doesn’t show it.
“Water love, lots and lots of water.”
My eyes narrow at him as Ashley appears in the kitchen and if her physic is any indication of how mine looks, I look just as bad.
“So what are we doing today?”
Liam’s excited voice causes me to cringe slightly, there is seriously something wrong with this man. No one should be this happy this early after a very drunk night out.
Ashley grunts and doesn’t say anything as she leans against the counter drinking her coffee, at least someone is a normal person.
“Maybe we should talk about that gorgeous man Callie was dancing with last night.”
A smile forms on his face as he looks at me and my eyes go wide.
“He was so fine.”
Liam’s eyebrows go up and down subjectively and I can’t help the small laugh that comes from my mouth.
“Let’s not talk about that,” I say, trying to hide my embarrassment. “Plus I don’t remember much anyways, the alcohol was really working its magic by that point.”
“That’s not the only thing that was working.” Liam eyes me up and down causing me to groan and bury my head into my free hand.
We are totally not talking about the guy I can’t even have.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I say quietly as I basically run out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.
The three of us hang out in the apartment for the rest of the day, ordering takeout and watching trashy TV shows while we make fun of the people in it.
I’m dreading work tomorrow but refuse to let it mess with my mood right now at this moment, laughing and enjoying my best friends.
Morning comes too fast and I find myself in the elevator at my job as I quickly give myself a check in the metal elevator doors.
My long skirt falls just below my knees and my light green top clings to my curves. My brown waves fall around my face and I am thankful it’s not a frizzy mess due to the lightly falling rain happening outside as I walked into the building just a few minutes ago.
The ding of the elevator brings me out of my millionth self-check of the morning and the loud noise from the law office fills my ears as I walk in.
“Morning, Callie,” the receptionist at the desk says to me as I walk past, the phone up to her ear.
“Morning, Liz.” I smile wildly at her as I make my way down the floor and find my desk.
I was lucky enough to find a receptionist job when I first moved to New York, it just happened to be at a law office.
I’m still not sure how I got the job with zero law experience but I guess my resume screamed I could handle it and I was thankful.
Mondays are always the craziest, people get too fucked up over the weekend and need a lawyer come Monday.
I handle the phone with ease and make sure my boss makes every single meeting on the schedule and has the paperwork needed.
The morning rush is over and I can finally take my lunch.
I knock on the open door of my boss’s office and her head pops up from the paperwork she is going over.
“I’m heading to lunch, Avery, do you need me to pick up anything?”
She shakes her head quickly and waves me off.
Avery is the boss, the head honcho if you will.
She started the company from her apartment right out of college and has been kicking ass ever since.
She started the company to be an all-women firm and while some people thought that was strange, she has proven herself over and over again and is one of the top lawyers in the state while also having the most badass of female lawyers working for her.
I meet Ashley at our favorite salad bar just down the street from work.
“So,” Ashley starts as I sit down at the table with my large chicken salad. “There’s an underground fight tonight.”
I raise my eyebrows at her. “I told you I don’t want to go again.”
“Oh come on Callie,” I stab my salad with my fork as she speaks. “He will be there.”
I freeze midbite at her words and sigh. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to go.” I shove the fork full in my mouth and chew.
Ashley pouts and it causes me to laugh. “You can’t honestly tell me you don’t want to see him again, especially after you two got all hot and heavy on the dance floor Saturday.”
I do want to see him again, there is no denying or even ignoring the small jump in my heart rate as I think about Dean.
But I can’t.
“Come on, Ashley, really. I don’t want to go, it’s just…one of those things.” One of the things my two best friends didn’t know… that my dad was a fighter and that’s exactly what killed him.
“I only went with you the first time to make you happy.”
I have to admit I was also slightly curious about how I would feel around fighters again but the way I felt when I saw Dean was not something I was expecting.
“So come with me to make me happy again.” I roll my eyes at the grin on her face and I know she isn’t going to let up.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” I don’t plan on going but I also know if I don’t at least agree to think about it, I won’t be able to eat my lunch in peace.
The smile on Ashley’s face told me was accepting my answer, for now.
The walk back to work takes only five minutes and as I enter the main building doors my phone dings from a text notification. I pull it out to check it but the number on the screen is one I don’t recognize.
My brows furrow together in confusion as I reply.
My heart starts racing as I step onto the elevator and press the button for my floor.
I rack my brain trying to remember who I gave my number to recently and flashes of Saturday night flash through my mind.
Dean handing me his cell phone and then inputting my number into his phone as the night ends.
The alcohol from that night really fucked sober me up.
I can’t help but laugh out loud at his reply, I go to respond but the ding from the elevator stops me. I step out of the elevator, waving to Liz as I walk past.
My phone dings again and I give it a quick glance as I sit my stuff on my desk.
I stare at the screen and for some reason, I can’t find the will to say no. The urge to agree sits at my fingertips that are itching to type out ‘yes’.
This isn’t the way it is supposed to be, drunk me really put sober me in a horrible position with this.
Probably not the best response but I can’t say no.
I also can’t go though can I? Can I really put myself in a position I told myself years ago I wouldn’t do?
I should not have gone that first time with Ashley.
I am mad at myself. Mad at myself for staring at him as I danced with Ashley, mad at myself for dancing with him, and even more mad that I gave him my number.
Nothing good could come out of this but I can’t help the feeling of wanting to find out that courses through my body as I think about Dean.
I sit at my desk and get back to work, ignoring the ding of my phone going off next to me.
Responding to Dean is for another time and I need time to figure out what I am going to say.
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