this point. The alternative hurts too bad so-“
She’s cut off by Vaughn shouting my name. “Delane, we’ve drawn. You’re fighting first.” I scowl at him for interrupting, especially since Celia hasn’t finished her thought and I really want to know what she’s talking about, what she’s thinking and what this idea is. But I can’t ask because one, I don’t have time currently to do so, and two, she’s here; I want to win tonight.
“Hold that thought.” I turn to walk to my match but stop and turn back around real quick. “Please stay,” I add because a big part of me fears once I enter that fight, Cecelia will bolt once more and I’ll have nothing again.
After what I’m sure is only seconds, though it feels like a lifetime, she nods her head slowly and gestures to the entryway of an apartment complex. There’s a bench near it.
“Thank you.”
As I reach the “ring,” I see my opponent is Adams. I know from what I paid attention to of his find with Bolson that Adams is not going to be easy. He’s built tough and I really want to win this night.
As Vaughn starts going over the rules again, I see Celia out of the corner of my eye sitting on the bench. Her arms are wrapped around her middle, and she looks so uneasy I almost wish I wouldn’t have asked her to stay. But I want her here. I need her here.
“Who’s the girl?” Adams asks as Vaughn finishes up his speech.
“No one to you,” I respond unintentionally sounding pissed off. I don’t know this guy. I don’t want him to know me. And I am really so fucking sick of being asked questions or talked to about Cecelia.
But Adams ignores me. “She the girl who nearly killed that other girl?” he asks and it’s a question I’m not expecting. “I hear she fucked her up so bad, that other chick is eating through a tube.” I don’t respond to his thought, I just watch him stare at Celia, admiring her in a way that’s wholly different from most of the guys I encounter at these fights. In my shock, he turns his attention back to me. “Eh, that bitch deserved it.” His words hold a deep meaning and I feel sick at the possibility crossing my mind. “I’m sorry for having to kick your ass in front of her.”
Shaking off my wonder of how close Adams and Hayley were and what she possibly did to him to make him admire Cecelia that way, I laugh. “We’ll see.”
In the end it’s just over twenty minutes of a battle in which I find a way to not get my ass kicked. Both of us wheezing, Adams shakes my hand, thanks me for a good fight though laughs while telling me I got lucky, before grabbing his stuff and heading out. I don’t watch the fight between Franco and Sifter, but I do see Franco take off telling me I’m fighting the Goth guy.
Instead, I sit by Cecelia. I intend to start our conversation up again, but she shuts me down. After explaining this is probably not the best place for such talk, especially with all the ears around, and the fact I’ll be called to fight again, we can wait for later.
The only thing that gets me by is that promise of later. Because if she’s giving me that, well, I’ve already won the night.
By the time I’m called to fight Sifter, I am completely confident in my ability to win. And I do. I feel like it must have been a fluke, Sifter’s wins against Bolson and Franco, because out of every fight I had tonight, he was my easiest. It felt like old times too. When I could read my opponent perfectly. When I knew how to move, how to strike. Glancing at Celia, still seated on the bench as Vaughn dishes out just over eight grand to me, I know she’s the reason for the ease. The reason for the win.
SIX
Though we still have yet to fully clear the air, Celia and I are back. In a way.
I don’t really see her during the week unless I can’t take the separation and I call her. Which tends to happen a lot. Thankfully she gave me her new number so I can reach her. And she’s no longer staying
She’s cut off by Vaughn shouting my name. “Delane, we’ve drawn. You’re fighting first.” I scowl at him for interrupting, especially since Celia hasn’t finished her thought and I really want to know what she’s talking about, what she’s thinking and what this idea is. But I can’t ask because one, I don’t have time currently to do so, and two, she’s here; I want to win tonight.
“Hold that thought.” I turn to walk to my match but stop and turn back around real quick. “Please stay,” I add because a big part of me fears once I enter that fight, Cecelia will bolt once more and I’ll have nothing again.
After what I’m sure is only seconds, though it feels like a lifetime, she nods her head slowly and gestures to the entryway of an apartment complex. There’s a bench near it.
“Thank you.”
As I reach the “ring,” I see my opponent is Adams. I know from what I paid attention to of his find with Bolson that Adams is not going to be easy. He’s built tough and I really want to win this night.
As Vaughn starts going over the rules again, I see Celia out of the corner of my eye sitting on the bench. Her arms are wrapped around her middle, and she looks so uneasy I almost wish I wouldn’t have asked her to stay. But I want her here. I need her here.
“Who’s the girl?” Adams asks as Vaughn finishes up his speech.
“No one to you,” I respond unintentionally sounding pissed off. I don’t know this guy. I don’t want him to know me. And I am really so fucking sick of being asked questions or talked to about Cecelia.
But Adams ignores me. “She the girl who nearly killed that other girl?” he asks and it’s a question I’m not expecting. “I hear she fucked her up so bad, that other chick is eating through a tube.” I don’t respond to his thought, I just watch him stare at Celia, admiring her in a way that’s wholly different from most of the guys I encounter at these fights. In my shock, he turns his attention back to me. “Eh, that bitch deserved it.” His words hold a deep meaning and I feel sick at the possibility crossing my mind. “I’m sorry for having to kick your ass in front of her.”
Shaking off my wonder of how close Adams and Hayley were and what she possibly did to him to make him admire Cecelia that way, I laugh. “We’ll see.”
In the end it’s just over twenty minutes of a battle in which I find a way to not get my ass kicked. Both of us wheezing, Adams shakes my hand, thanks me for a good fight though laughs while telling me I got lucky, before grabbing his stuff and heading out. I don’t watch the fight between Franco and Sifter, but I do see Franco take off telling me I’m fighting the Goth guy.
Instead, I sit by Cecelia. I intend to start our conversation up again, but she shuts me down. After explaining this is probably not the best place for such talk, especially with all the ears around, and the fact I’ll be called to fight again, we can wait for later.
The only thing that gets me by is that promise of later. Because if she’s giving me that, well, I’ve already won the night.
By the time I’m called to fight Sifter, I am completely confident in my ability to win. And I do. I feel like it must have been a fluke, Sifter’s wins against Bolson and Franco, because out of every fight I had tonight, he was my easiest. It felt like old times too. When I could read my opponent perfectly. When I knew how to move, how to strike. Glancing at Celia, still seated on the bench as Vaughn dishes out just over eight grand to me, I know she’s the reason for the ease. The reason for the win.
SIX
Though we still have yet to fully clear the air, Celia and I are back. In a way.
I don’t really see her during the week unless I can’t take the separation and I call her. Which tends to happen a lot. Thankfully she gave me her new number so I can reach her. And she’s no longer staying
Similar Books
