The Trouble with Crushes: A Romance (Bank Street Stories Book 2)

by Brooke St. James

  So was Abigail. Daniel smiled at the thought.

  But he snapped-to when Marvin, still giving the pre-match speech, reached out patted Billy's shoulders with two hearty pats.

  "You were created for this, Billy. That's why it's easy for you. That's why I gave you that name. Easy. Now let's win this match, so we can go home and get back to work, you understand?"

  "Yes sir."

  "You're number one, son. Just go out there and show 'em whatcha got. Let's have fun. (More patting.) Show 'em how you work, all right? Show 'em what you were born to do."

  "Yes sir."

  The guy at the door peeked his head into the room. "Blue Corner, Billy Castro. We're ready for you."

  The next thirty minutes were amazing for Daniel. He had seen and done a lot of incredible things already in his life, but this was right up there with the best of them.

  He was with Marvin and Dizzy as they followed Billy to the ring. There were more than ten thousand people in the crowd, and they loved Billy. It was loud and chaotic.

  Daniel was so desensitized to chaos that he was able to relax and take it in. He had a good time watching people look at Billy as he walked up. He liked seeing their reactions. Daniel had already scoped out the location where the Galveston group was sitting.

  His eyes found Abigail's as soon as he was close enough to see her amongst the people and glare from the light. This woman had managed to mesmerize Daniel for years. She was sitting next to her sister in the crowd, and he could still see them as the girls sitting across the booth at Carson's Diner. Now that they were married and thinking about moving back to Galveston, he was sure he'd be seeing them in booths at Carson's diner for the rest of his life. That thought made Daniel smile absentmindedly, but it was fleeting because the noise and chaos of the boxing match was ongoing.

  He stood next to the ring on ground-level while Dizzy and Marvin climbed the steps and went into the ring with Billy to do their coaches' routine. Marvin was talking to Billy while Dizzy checked his gloves, shorts, and shoes.

  In addition to warming Billy up in the locker room, Daniel been given the duty of being Billy's cutman. He had some emergency medical training from the Army, so it was a given that Marvin would ask him to do it rather than having the boxing commissioner provide one like they normally did. In the event that Billy would get a cut, Daniel was the guy prepared with supplies to tend to it on the spot. He was fully capable of it, but he had never done anything like this, at least not in front of thousands of people. He enjoyed the thrill of it all.

  He glanced at Abigail again. Her sister was on her right, but his friend, James, was the person on her left. She and James were talking to each other when he looked that way.

  He had spent so many years being jealous of the guys Abby was talking to that it was his first instinct to feel that way. But then he remembered she was his. She married him and she had given herself to him in vulnerable ways.

  He trusted her, and instead of being jealous, he was happy that she got along so well with his friends. He had all of those thoughts in the span of just a couple of seconds as he glanced at her in the audience.

  She happened to look his way before he glanced away, and her face instantly broke into a huge grin. She touched her hands to her mouth and blew him a dramatic kiss with both hands. "I love you," she said. He couldn't hear her, obviously, but he could read her lips easily.

  Daniel's smile broadened and he gave her a nudge of the chin. Abigail was more than satisfied with that reaction. She didn't expect him to react any other way since he was in front of thousands of people.

  Daniel had a casual response, but he was so full of emotion that it resulted in a physical feeling of warmth in his chest. Abigail was in love with him. He could see it. It gave him a certain level of peace in a moment of anticipation, excitement, noise, and battle. He turned his attention to the ring.

  Fighting was an art to Billy.

  Daniel admired that about him.

  It was something he tried to emulate as a soldier.

  Billy loved his profession, and he spent time and energy honing and perfecting his skills. That was obvious when he stepped into the ring and started working.

  The match went four rounds, and Billy came out with the victory. It was a pleasure and honor to be ringside with the team. There was nothing like watching a sport at its highest level. The skill, technique, and stamina were beautiful to behold, and it was a privilege to be a part of the celebration afterward.

  Chapter 20

  Abigail

  Four months later

  It was a beautiful afternoon in late May, and I had just finished my last school year in Louisiana.

  I had already told my principal I wasn't coming back next year, so I was officially finished working for the Calcasieu Parish school system.

  I was currently visiting Galveston for a few days, but I had plans to move in the upcoming weeks in order to prepare for Daniel's arrival in September. I had come on this trip to look at a house for us to buy.

  I was sitting at a restaurant table with my sister and Laney King. It was the restaurant Laney's boyfriend's family owned, and we met there for lunch before we went to look at the house.

  "I can't believe you're moving back," Laney said.

  "I know," Tess agreed. "It doesn't seem real."

  "I still don't feel like I'm even done with the school year," I said. "While I was waking up every day, going through the motions, doing my routine, it seemed like it was taking forever. But here we are. I'm finished, and I'm in Galveston."

  "Not to stay yet, though," Laney said.

  "No, but that'll be happening soon."

  Laney reached out and shook my leg under the table. "Thank you for bringing my brother back," she said. "He was convinced you'd want to spend a couple of years at Fort Bragg or even somewhere overseas."

  "He offered, but I thought, I don't know, running a hardware store is way safer than being in the Army. You know, if he'd ever get called back over there or anything. Plus, we can just go on vacations if I ever want to see Germany or Japan or Fort Bragg."

  Laney laughed, obviously delighted for her big brother to be coming home.

  "Whose house is this again?" Tess asked.

  "Evelyn's uncle," I said. "She knew we were going to be moving here this summer, and she called and told me about it last week. It's not on the market or anything. We'd just be buying it directly from him—with a lawyer or whoever does the paperwork. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I really hope it works out."

  "Where is it?"

  "It's on 20th and Avenue M. I had no idea what it looked like until a couple of minutes ago. I drove by it on the way here. I've actually seen it and noticed it before. It's shady and tucked back on a little lot. It's got a picket fence and a porch that goes all the way across the front. It's waaaaay better than I expected for the price she mentioned. If Daniel thinks we can afford it, I'm telling Evelyn we want it."

  "You haven't even seen the inside," Laney said.

  I shrugged. "At this point, with how much I love the outside, I'd be willing to forgive a lot on the inside. Evelyn said it was nice, though."

  My sister and my sister-in-law clapped, squealed, and celebrated.

  "I have to use the restroom," Laney said, looking around after that. "If Shannon comes back, please tell her I'll have the grilled fish sandwich and some more ginger ale."

  She had only been gone a few minutes when Albert walked up to our table. He used to work at this restaurant, but he was there as a customer today. He was with another guy, Tommy, who I recognized. Tommy hung back at their table, which was close to the door.

  "How are you?" Albert asked, smiling and being charming, looking smooth, looking like Jim Morrison with his long, surfer haircut.

  In the past, I would have fallen for it all over again, but this time, I was completely neutral toward him. I felt no attraction whatsoever.

  "Hey, Albert," I said.

  "What are you doing on my
island, Abby Road?" He reached in to hug me, and I stretched up, giving him an awkward one-armed side hug.

  "It's her island now," Tess said.

  Albert stared at me. "Are you moving back?"

  "Yes," I said.

  He made an excited expression. "Right on, man. We'll have to get together. What's going on? Did you take a teaching job here?"

  I cleared my throat. "I got married," I said.

  Albert let out a laugh. "What? You're married? Are you serious? To who?" He was so dumbfounded and amused that I shot him an offended stare. "You're just still… so young," he said, backpedaling and looking at me like I was the last person he ever expected to see married.

  "What are you doing here, Albert?" Laney asked from several feet away as she came up to our table. She was moving quickly, and she walked in front of him, pushing him aside, forcing him to take a step back. Her question was straightforward, her tone unfriendly.

  "I'm having lunch," he said. "Hello to you, too, Laney King."

  "I wasn't asking what you were doing at the restaurant. I was asking what you're doing at this table. My brother would not appreciate you being over here talking to Abigail. He'd kick your rear end if he saw you over here right now."

  Only she did not say rear end. She said the A-word, plain as day. Laney, who I had never heard say a cuss word since I had known her, let the A-word fly out of her mouth so smoothly it was like she practiced that sentence a thousand times. It wasn't awkward at all. She meant it. She stared at Albert, daring him to stay at our table.

  He nodded, his expression reflecting his new understanding of the situation. "You married Daniel King?" Albert asked, looking at me.

  "Yes," I said.

  But Laney spoke louder than me. "Yes, so show some respect," she said. "My brother would go crazy on you if he saw you in here talking to Abby."

  Albert turned and looked over his shoulder as if it dawned on him for the first time that Daniel could be there.

  "Good to see you, Albert," Tess said, chiming in trying to put an end to his visit.

  "Yeah, y'all too," he said. "I gotta split, anyways."

  His face changed subtly as he glanced at each one of us on his way back to his table. With Laney, his eyes widened a little like maybe he was daring her to say something else. With Tess, he remained neutral. And with me… he winked. He gave me a half-smile and subtle wink as if to say he didn't care about the marriage thing if I didn't.

  Albert turned his back to us and walked away after that, and Laney let out a frustrated groan. "Did he wink at you just now?" she asked.

  Tess laughed as she took a sip of her iced tea. "You cussed," she said to Laney.

  "He's lucky that's all I did," Laney said. "I almost tossed my drink at him to get him out of here."

  I felt warm, fuzzy feelings about Laney being so protective. She was doing that for Daniel, being a protective sister, guarding me ferociously for his sake. I loved her for it. It made me happy that Daniel had a sister who loved him so much.

  "I'm glad I didn't toss my drink," she said, shaking her head smiling at the thought.

  "Why?" I asked. "Because you would feel bad about losing your temper?"

  "No, because we would have had to stand here and clean everything up. He'd probably still be over here right now."

  We were still laughing at her for saying that when Shannon walked up to take our order. She brought over some bread, and we all took a piece out of the basket and started eating.

  "Daniel told me he taught you the military alphabet," Laney said a minute later.

  "Oh yeah," I said. "That's cool."

  "What is it?" Tess asked.

  "You know, like that code they use in the Army for the alphabet. It's not a secret or anything. It's just the first letter of the word is the corresponding letter. You know, like A is alpha, B is bravo…"

  "What's C?" Tess asked.

  "Charlie," I said.

  "What's T?"

  "Tango."

  "Tango? That's cool."

  "Do you know them all?" Laney asked.

  "I think," I said. "Mostly. I might get mixed up on a couple of them."

  "What if you saw some of the words, like, written out on a piece of paper," Laney said. "Could you decipher the code?"

  "Yeah, for sure," I said, with a shrug. "It's just the first letter. If you gave me letters and asked me to tell you their corresponding words, I might get mixed up. Like, I couldn’t tell you what M is right now, but I know R is Romeo. That one stuck with me. S is Sierra."

  "Huh," Tess said. "I thought it'd be Sam."

  "What about this?" Laney asked.

  She pulled a small piece of paper out of her purse and smacked it down on the table between us.

  "What's this?" Tess asked.

  I leaned in and picked it up. Laney had words scribbled on the page in sentence form. I read it out loud.

  India alpha mike hotel echo romeo echo.

  That was the end of the sentence, but I repeated, Echo, Romeo, echoooo!" in a distant, echo-sounding voice.

  "Echo-Romeo-echo does sound cool together," Tess said.

  "Echo's a cool one in general," I agreed, nodding. "I said that to Daniel when he first taught me these. I like that one."

  "Are you even going to see what it says?" Laney asked.

  I focused on the page again, grinning at myself for getting distracted. Echo is a cool one, though, I thought as I stared down at the start of the sentence.

  I began to focus on deciphering the code.

  "I.a.m.h.e.r.e—" I spelled it out loud, reading the first letter of each letter. My head snapped up to look at Laney.

  "Who wrote this?" I asked.

  "Your husband," she said.

  I gasped. I felt a physical jolt of pure joy and excitement like someone had shot a ball of cold air at me. "Where is he?"

  "He'll be here any second. I called him when I went to the restroom. He was at the hardware store. I thought he would have walked in by now. I was going to give you the note when I saw him come in."

  My eyes watered. They were instantly glued to the door. I was antsy, squirming in my seat. I was full of nervous energy.

  "He said he got off the phone with you last night and hung up and drove straight here. He drove all night. He got here at like seven this morning and he slept until a few minutes ago." Laney was talking, and I was listening, but I did not take my eyes off the door.

  "Of go," I said absentmindedly.

  "What?" Laney asked.

  "You said he slept until a few minutes ago, and I was thinking about this little boy in my class last year who thought the word ago was of go. He would say an hour of go, or a long time of go. It was really cute. How long did he say he'd be?" I asked more urgently.

  I was desperate enough for Laney's answer that I took my eyes off of the door and glanced at her. She looked uncertain, and I stood up.

  "I'm just going to wait outside," I said, unable to take it any longer.

  I got up, walked through the restaurant and out through the front door. I saw Daniel in the parking lot, getting out of his truck. I ran to him. I didn't hesitate or even take in my surroundings. I locked eyes with Daniel as he stepped out of his truck and I ran straight into his arms. I collided with him in the parking lot.

  It had been a month since I had seen him, and even then, it was only for a day. I missed him so much it hurt. I was so excited that I was physically numb as I smacked into him. He cracked up as he caught me. I wrapped my legs around him, holding onto him, forcing him to hold me. He continued to laugh as he situated me, holding me, kissing me, smiling.

  "Hello to you too," he said.

  I held his big face in my hands, kissing him, checking him out, unable to stop loving on him. "Hello, my best man. How did you get here with me?"

  "You said you wished I could come see the house."

  "So you showed up?" I asked, amazed. I kissed him.

  "I did," he said, smiling, kissing me back.

  I wa
s on the verge of melting on account of his smile and the taste of his lips. "I miss yoooou," I said moaning and kissing him again. I knew he couldn't stand there and hold me in the parking lot, so I hopped to my feet after several long seconds. This made me shorter than him, and the first thing I did was stretch up and kiss him again. I could not leave him alone. I was starving for him.

  "How long can you stay?" I asked.

  "I have to head back first thing in the morning," he said. "It was a stretch for me to get here, even for that long."

  "That gives us the rest of the day today, unless you need to sleep some more."

  "No, I'm fine."

  "We'll go look at the house, and then we have the rest of the day. What should we do?"

  "Go to the beach," he said without hesitation.

  And that was what we did. We saw the house, we loved it, and we called Evelyn and told her we desperately wanted to buy it and asked her to please not tell anyone else about it.

  It was a gorgeous early summer day, and we took a quilt to the beach and spent our entire afternoon lying on the soft, dry sand. We watched people come and go. We talked to a few of them, but mostly, we just stretched out next to each other, breathing salty air, watching people, watching seagulls, talking, kissing, laughing, and being quiet.

  We were always touching. Most of the time, I was stretched out beside him. Some of the time we laid in the sun, and part of the time, the shadow of some palm trees fell on us and we were in the shade.

  Neither of us felt bad about not spending time with family that day. We needed that afternoon together to reconnect and stoke the fire of our relationship.

  It didn't need much stoking, actually.

  It was pretty piping hot.

  But stoking the fire was fun nonetheless, and it was a pleasure to spend the afternoon on the beach with Daniel.

  Epilogue

  Nearly two years later