zac

She knew she was rambling but she was angry and annoyed, the two a's few wanted to ever see. It was rare that she lost her temper and she always tried to see the good in people but not tonight. "The bartender threw him out of the bar after I blinded him and maced his ass. Stupid son of a bitch." The bartender offered her another drink hoping it might calm her down but she waved him off. "I was just going to call an uber but I don't know if he's waiting outside for me or not." Tiffany was by no means helpless but this guy was a lot bigger then she was too. She hated for Zac to have to come get her and prided herself on being able to handle herself but something in her gut told her that it wasn't a good idea for her to exit the bar alone. The man had given off an unstable air to him and with alcohol coursing through his veins and having been humiliated earlier, she didn't want to chance it. "I hate saying this but yes. I don't want to have to deal with him again if he's out there." Where were her friends? If they had played some joke on her, it wasn't funny.

Tiffany really didn't want to go out with some of her friends but they had talked her into it. She had sat at the bar for twenty minutes waiting for them to arrive when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "About time you got here." She said in a light joking tone till she turned around and saw some guy that she didn't know. "I was just about to say the same to you and ask if you wanted a drink." He said smiling down at her. She knew this was a bad idea and she quickly rolled her eyes. "Sorry I thought you were my friend." A leer was given as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I could be your friend." Tiffany quickly knocked his hand off her shoulder. "Don't touch me. I'm not interested." She said as her eyes narrowed. "Oh you think you're too good for me or something." She wanted to say yes but she didn't. It wasn't that she was conceited by any means but he had put her in a mood. "I'm seeing someone." She huffed out and glanced at the bartender. "Not like we have to tell him." Her head swiveled around quickly. "I'm not a cheater. Do you always hit on women in here and try and talk them into cheating? Buy them a drink or two?" She was angry now and could see him moving closer to her. She poked him in the eyes and delivered and upper cut under his chin. As he was holding his face, she grabbed her mace from her purse and sprayed him. The bartender grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pushed him out into the street. "Your drink is on the house, sorry about that." Grabbing her phone she called Zac. "What is wrong with people? This jerk tried to hit on me and talk me into cheating on you. The girls aren't here yet but I'm leaving." She had just wanted a fun night out with her friends but no, god forbid she get that. "I knew I should have just asked you to come out with me and told them that we had plans." @carpezachary

Zac was happy that Tiffany had gone out for the night, she did deserve time out with her friends and just to let loose. She worked so much and he did worry that she would end up overworking herself, which could result an injury in the ring. And that was truly the last thing that he wanted to ever happen. While she was out, Zac cleaned up their house. He had just gotten into bed to watch a movie until Tiffany came home when his phone rang. He picked it up, a smile curling along his features as he spotted his girlfriend’s name. “Hey, baby. Shouldn’t you be having fun rather than talking to me?” He questioned but he could hear an annoyance in her voice that made him sit up. “What? Are you okay?” He asked as he got up from the bed. “People are assholes, is he leaving you alone now? I can come pick you up if you want to come home?”

tisfortiffany: Oh, well good because I didn't want you to think that way about yourself.

zefron: nah, i didn't think anyway about myself our relationship. i just felt like being a shit.

zefron: sorry, will do better.

tisfortiffany: baby, it's not about you. I'm reading a book and that was one of the things being talked about. You're amazing.

zefron: it was a joke lol

tisfortiffany: never forget ladies. if a man is not claiming you publicly, it's because he's keeping his options open.

zefron: sorry, will do better.

"Yeah. It's not necessarily for my addiction. but more form my anxiety disorder. But it all comes together. Addiction and mental illness. But yeah, you need to stay in it. I won't ever go a week without it." Thankfully it was once a week and most of the time now it was done through phone if he couldn't make it into the office. "We have rice. we could make some chicke fried rice?"

She was glad that he was taking the steps to keep himself good physically and mentally. That he knew the dangers and what he could lose if he messed up. Some people wouldn't care but he did and that was one reason that she loved him. "I'm proud of you. Proud that you recognize that and take care of yourself. I wish more people did. " Her eyes lit up as he said they had rice. "Perfect, chicken and rice it is!"

“i’m glad that you’re proud of me.” and he was, a lot of people were proud of him. he just hoped he could keep them proud of him rather than hang the pressure of disappointing them all over again. the couple made their dinner and then got into bed to watch their movie before they fell asleep.

"Therapy sounds like more one on one which can only be a good thing. Are you still in therapy for it. It seems like something you would need to stay in to stay the course." She was trying to learn as much as she could about all of this so that she knew how to help him if he needed her to. "Do we have chicken? I could go for something with chicken." She said but she wasn't picky on what they had. She grabbed some waters from the fridge and went to check the refrigerator. "We do have chicken. Do you want want a stir fry, a pasta dish or what?"

"Yeah. It's not necessarily for my addiction. but more form my anxiety disorder. But it all comes together. Addiction and mental illness. But yeah, you need to stay in it. I won't ever go a week without it." Thankfully it was once a week and most of the time now it was done through phone if he couldn't make it into the office. "We have rice. we could make some chicke fried rice?"

"I can't say that I have. I have been offered it before but I turned it down. I smoked weed before but it didn't do anything for me...like nothing at all." She wanted to say that was sex for her but she didn't. IT was no time to joke around when he was confiding in her about serious things. "Did you learn how to deal with that in rehab? Rehab helped a lot of my friends." She thought about telling him that Barry might be someone to hang out with since it had helped him but then putting the two men together as friends might but a very bad idea. One might lead the other off the path both were on. Giggling she leaned into him. "IF I get scared will you promise to save me?"

“No, more in therapy over Rehab. I never wanted to go into rehab so I always had a hard time in there. I was more willing to work through therapy with my therapist.” Zac explained. Rehab didn’t work for everyone, and he was one of those people. He never liked being stuck in one place or having a routine. “Of course I’ll save you.” He pulled himself up from the chair, and then took her hand. “Let’s figure out dinner first.” He murmured and then walked back into the villa and started looking through the cabinets in the kitchen.

"The adrenaline rush doesn't do it for you?" She found it would overtake anything she was feeling. "I know things probably affect you differently then they do me. I never had to deal with addictions other then my addiction to lifting and wrestling." She cupped his face in her hands and gave him a long kiss. "Nothing you have ever done will change the way I look at you. You're a good man and you're my man. We can get through anything together." And they could. She looked at this as an opportunity to prepare herself for mother hood as well as help him in the process. "I would love to. I like having you to myself as much as possible." Fans were always trying to catch a glimpse of the man and she was understanding but right now she felt they needed alone time to just enjoy a night together. "Sounds good. What do you want to watch?" She asked as she thought about what to cook.

“It might for a minute,” Zac shook his head. “But it doesn’t give me the numb feeling or adrenaline that coke gives me. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve done coke. The feeling that you get, the feeling that sometimes I crave more than I should.” The man shrugged. He was getting better at handling those cravings and find other things to keep him busy when they would make their way around. And even Zac had to admit that they were coming on less as the time went on. He returned her kiss, his hand resting against the back of her head, fingers curling into her blonde locks. “I don’t know,” he pressed his lips together in a fine line. “Figured a comedy or rom com. Horror if you want to get scared.”

"I would miss you if I drowned you." She said quietly and let out a small sigh. It was a lot to deal with but she didn't see it all as a negative. "Zac had a child and was excited about it, she had another child to steal and couldn't wait to meet and spoil her. " The biggest thing to her was that he hadn't cheated on her. Cheating was something she wouldn't be able to forgive. You don't cheat on someone you love and she knew he loved her. "I think she will too. She didn't seem to mind me stealing her as long as I give her back." A smiled curled onto her lips and she brought her hand up and played in the back of his hair. "Just let me know when and where and I'll be there." She was glad that he thought enough about her and their relationship to stay busy with her and not fall back into his bad habits. "It's easy to get bored with life and want to do something to shake it up. I feel the same way at times but I just do something fun like bungee jump or something more tame and go camping. Things to challenge me not things to potentially ruin my life. It's more about learning and practicing self control. I will always help you find ways to have fun and not lose yourself in the process.

Zac nodded, “I do things like that too. But sometimes it’s more of a wanting to numb whatever I’m feeling.” He explained. He wasn’t sure if she would understand it or not since she wasn’t a recovery addict. But he hoped that he made sense about it. “I know you will always help me, and I’m glad. I never wanted my past, or the things I have done, to cause you to not look at me the same way. Or make you want to wak away from me.” She had always been good for him. Anyone in his life saw that stability that he created since the two of them got together. Last thing he wanted was to lose her. “Do you want to stay in today? We can cook something in the villa’s kitchen and watch a movie?”

“You could have drown me too. But I’m glad that you didn’t.” He said softly. She could have taken it a lot worse than he expected. But it wasn’t like he was asking her to become a step mom, or that he hid a child from her this past year. If he would have found out or even known about Tove before he got with Tiffany, he would have been completely honest with her from the get-go.  “I tink Lily will let me see her and be part of her life. But once things settle down and I get to know her, I’d love for you to meet her.” He smiled warmly at Tiffany. He shrugged, “no. but that’s because I kept myself busy with you. And normally when I start trying to be sober, I’m good. I start struggling a few months in.” Zac explained. “It’s like I get bored with my life and want the drama.” His mom had made the comment once. Said Zac just didn’t like the stability, and how her divorce with their father caused a lot of turmoil for him.