Pierce

Chapter Eight

Pierce~

"Who'd you fight this time, Hollywood?" Caleb joked as he opened the door to his townhouse and leaned against the frame. 

Pierce cleared his throat and motioned with his head that Natalie was behind him in an effort to shut Caleb up.

Caleb's eyes went wide as they settled on Natalie, realizing he hadn't painted the most flattering picture of his teammate with his comment.

"Oh shit...uh sorry," he stuttered, straightening his posture at the door.

"Good to see you again..." Caleb brought his eyes to Pierce for help. He clearly remembered her, but obviously couldn't remember her name.

"Natalie." Pierce provided her name which prompted Caleb to quickly repeat it.

She gave him a polite smile, but was visibly confused by Caleb's greeting. 

"Good to see you too, but have we met?" Natalie asked.

"I was with Pierce at Luxe the other night. We never really officially met, but I feel like I know you."

"Oh really?" she said playfully, fully understanding that his statement meant Pierce had been talking about her.

Pierce raked his hand down his face from his eyes to his chin in an irritated motion and if looks could kill Caleb would be dead.

"How about we just put some stitches in my hand, yeah?" Pierce quickly suggested. He would have suggested just about anything to put an end to that conversation. Taking a step to the side, he let Natalie enter first and set his sights on Caleb as he passed.

He mouthed a quick "What the fuck" to Caleb over his shoulder before delivering a playful jab to his chest.

Caleb laughed, mouthing "sorry" as his lean muscular chest easily absorbed Pierce's blow.

"So what happened?" Caleb asked.

Pierce exchanged glances with Natalie before he spoke. 

"Natalie's ex boyfriend gave her that  little tap on the cheek, so we went over to his house and I uh...returned the favor."

All of the playfulness drained from Caleb's eyes, which immediately went to Natalie's face. Caleb's joyful expression hardened and his lips pressed into a hard line as he examined Natalie's cheek before he spoke.

"You fuck him up?" he asked Pierce in a low serious tone.

"Enough to get my point across." Pierce answered.

"Good." Caleb seemed just as disgusted with Kenneth's actions as Pierce was.

"He hit you anywhere else?" Caleb looked over the rest of her body, wondering if there were injuries hidden beneath her clothes that he needed to take a look at.

"She didn't let him. Kneed him in the family jewels and got the hell out." Pierce answered for her so she didn't feel pressure to talk about what happened.

"Badass." Caleb said looking down at Natalie with a smile. "I like you even more now."

"Let me get you an ice pack for that cheek." Caleb offered as he walked over to the fridge.

"Thank you." Her sweet voice sounded through the room.

"My cheek really doesn't hurt that bad, but I'm starting to get a pretty nasty headache."

"I can give you something for that too." Caleb opened his medical bag on the counter, flipping on a light in the process.

Squeezing her eyes closed, Natalie scrunched her face, lifting her hand to shield her eyes from the lamp. Her pained expression and sudden reaction to the lamp being turned on grabbed the at attention of both men.