Paradise Fought: Abel

by L. B. Dunbar

  “Please. My list of debt to you is so long, I’ll never be able to check it all off.”

  “Have dinner with me? We can count it as a check. Plus it would be good practice for me. You can coach me through a date.”

  “A date?” she choked. “We aren’t dating,” she snipped.

  I released her face, unaware that I’d still been holding her hostage. She didn’t need to remind me of our status. I knew all too well how Elma felt about me. She’d told me my kiss sucked, which was too bad for me. I was delusional that it was the greatest kiss of my life. It was the first one I’d taken that I hadn’t had to pay for. Then again, Elma had been paid off to kiss me.

  “It’s only dinner I’m suggesting,” I defended. “We don’t even have to go out. We can order in or I can cook for you.”

  “You know how to cook?” she asked, staring at me with those wide eyes.

  “Yes, I do. Seven tonight work for you?”

  “I have to work. How about tomorrow night?” she answered.

  “Tomorrow, then.” I couldn’t contain my smile. Without thinking, I lightly brushed the side of her mouth with my lips. It was a corner kiss and I lingered for just a beat. I didn’t intend for it to be more, but she turned into me. Our lips connected and my mouth instinctively opened to breathe her in. I had learned the other night, Elma was my oxygen. I needed another hit. My mouth parted and massaged over hers, but this time my tongue slipped out. It was a hesitant brush of her lips, a painter’s final touch, swift and delicate. When Elma’s tongue responded back in kind, it wasn’t enough. This masterpiece needed more touchups. My tongue slipped farther against hers. We stroked and spun in tender turns. My body pressed toward her and her breasts smashed into my chest. I could feel myself spiraling out of control. My hands began to shake. My dick pulsed. I wanted to take things farther, despite the harsh stairwell. I wasn’t going to get enough of her mouth on me.

  She pushed me back forcefully and we both panted. I bent forward to brace my hands on my knees. One: to give my hands some way to steady myself. Two: to disguise the raging hard on in my jeans.

  “What was that?” Elma hissed. Her hand covered her lips. Her fingers smoothed over them. To me, the answer was obvious: I was kissing her. My body wanted her. From Elma’s wide eyes, it was evident she didn’t feel the same way. She had turned into me, I recalled. Or did I unknowingly go too far like I had in her friend’s apartment weeks ago?

  “I’m sorry,” I whined. “I didn’t mean to…It just hap…”

  Elma lunged for me. I caught her as her lips crashed mine and her arms wrapped around my neck. Her legs wrapped around my waist and the full length of me pressed against her core. Her lips were warm and eager. Her mouth took control and her tongue plunged against mine. In order to steady us, I pushed her back against the wall, balancing her precariously on my hardness. She groaned as her back hit the cement.

  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, thinking I had hurt her. Her hands went into my hair, wrapping around my head; holding me in place to pillage the treasure of her tongue with mine. My hands had slipped to her ass to hold her upright and in position. I was going to take her against that wall. I ground forward and she sighed into my mouth. The vibration sent a jolt to my zipper region, which was already strained.

  The kissing was hot. The sounds of pleasure growing intense; I wanted this girl like no other.

  Then the door to the stairwell opened.

  I pulled back abruptly and Elma slid down the wall to stand on her own feet.

  “Sorry, man,” a voice mumbled behind me. When I spun, I saw Thor. His eyes bulged. He glared at Elma behind me.

  “You work fast, girl, I’ll give you that. One fighter to another.”

  I lunged for him, but Elma wrapped her hands around my bicep and Thor stepped back.

  “Oh no, pal. It’s gonna all be legal.”

  “You’re the one that bit me,” I snapped.

  Thor sniffed in my direction. “Yeah, and you tasted like day old fish, Betta.”

  I struggled against Elma’s hold, but I knew it wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t risking a fight with Thor outside the ring. I needed it to be where the fight would count.

  He eyed Elma. one last time, after he hopped down the steps and stood against the exterior door. “You’ll always be second, Bay – ta,” he emphasized. “In the ring. And out.”

  I had to work Monday night. I didn’t think it would be torture to not see Abel, but when I went home, and heard the light sounds of my mother and her friend, I was jealous. I should have been horrified. I was ashamed enough that I used a pillow to cover my head, in hopes to drown them out. It was too late. I already had images of Abel following through on taking me against the wall. I already knew the length of him. I’d seen it after the fight, and although I’d felt him against me twice, the second time I was more coherent as was he. Damn Thor for ruining it, but in a way it was a blessing. Abel was about to get out of hand, and I was ready to let him. I know how he got the notion that he wasn’t a good kisser. I had planted that seed, but when he brushed those lips against the corner of mine, it was like I was pulled to him. I was reeled in, without even knowing I’d bit the bait. Only with Abel, I don’t think he was baiting me. I think he was making an innocent gesture, and it spun me out of control.

  I tossed and turned all night with fantasies of what he’d do to me. I was becoming a frustrated mess. I didn’t want to seem too eager for that dinner he asked me for on the next day, but I was growing anxious when I hadn’t heard from him. By four in the afternoon, I couldn’t contain myself any longer.

  Abel? I sent him a text. I hoped it was just enough of a hint that he’d answer me. I was waiting in line for my afternoon iced coffee when I heard the girls behind me.

  “He’s so hot. Have you seen those tats? I love the bright colors. The blue almost matches his eyes.”

  I recognized that voice. A sickening feeling rolled through my stomach that the high pitched sound was referring to someone I knew.

  “He’s so focused when he fights,” her friend responded. My back straightened. My ears pricked. I had to know who they were talking about, but in my heart I sensed it.

  “Betta? What a unique name? Isn’t that a fish or something?” She sounded stupid, although her question was innocent.

  I sighed in frustration. When I had ordered my drink and stepped aside, I turned enough to see the admiring fans. Keli Hogan with matching friend. If there was ever someone who qualified as a fighter rat, it was her. She’d nibble her way into the underground, scuttle up to the ring, and gnaw her way into a fighter’s private room. She redefined rattrap when it came to fighters, and it looked like she had a new one set to catch. I bristled at the idea of Keli taking advantage of Abel. Furthermore, I cringed at the thought that his lips would touch hers. My phone binged, shaking me out of my horrific fantasy.

  Cnt make 2 nits.

  What? I laughed internally. He claimed he didn’t have skills with women, but he clearly needed guidance in texting. I responded with my one word question and received nothing as I made my way across campus to my car in the student lot.

  Abel? Are you OK? I tried again. There was still no response. I didn’t know where Abel lived, so I decided to head home.

  In a rare absence of my mother, I lingered in a long shower. I took care of all necessities to shave and moisturize, and then spent ten minutes deciding on what to wear. I still hadn’t heard from him by six o’clock and was growing antsy. I’d paced my room, checked my phone twelve million times, even turned it off and on again to make sure it worked. I had visions of Abel with Keli in my head, and I was ready to start my own fight. When my phone buzzed, I jumped then broke into giggles of relief as I answered.

  “Abel? You’re going to owe me finally,” I laughed.

  “Elma?” A female voice teased my name. “What’s he going to owe you?” Lindee laughed on the other end of the line. My face heated, regardless of her not being present.

  “Nothi
ng. What’s up?” I said, trying to sound casual.

  “Sounds like you are…up in the clouds that is,” Lindee laughed, “or should I say deep in the sea…with a Bayyy–ttttaaa.” She deepened her voice to sound like a fight announcer. She’d done a terrible job, but I giggled.

  “Yeah, well, looks like he stood me up,” I sighed, trying not to let the disappointment show. Lindee knew we were supposed to have dinner together. I faced myself in the mirror. My clothes were old. Despite the cowboy boots and the multiple bracelets, the dress looked worn. I liked it because it was comfortable, and I didn’t think Abel wanted me in my tight clothes. I felt like he kind of saw me, for me, but this dress looked borderline rags, if I thought about it. I was struggling to unbutton the dress as Lindee spoke.

  “Oh? I saw Creed, who said he was sick, but I guess that could be some kind of guy code.”

  “Guy code?”

  “You know, Creed was just covering for him, if he didn’t want to follow through on dinner with you.”

  “Yeah, probably,” I said. The front of my dress was unbuttoned to my waist and I saw the light bra with lace underneath. I guess I wouldn’t be getting any special attention from wearing this tonight.

  “Or, he could really be sick?” Lindee said, sounding a little more confident in her statement.

  “He could be,” I said, not sounding convinced. I thought of Keli again. She was definitely going to go after Abel. Maybe she already got to him? My mind was reaching overactive.

  “And if he’s really sick, you might need to check on him?” Lindee suggested with a teasing tone.

  “I could. I suppose,” I said, smiling slowly to myself.

  “And I might just have his address for you, so you could, you know, play nurse to him.” The silence on the other end of the phone ticked like an unseen clock then I burst into laughter.

  “Lindee, the things you come up with,” I laughed harder.

  “What? You don’t think I didn’t role play with your brother?” she giggled, but my heart stopped. I chuckled weakly to keep the ruse, but I was instantly sad that my friend had lost her lover. It was a reminder of what I’d lost, too. I needed to get my head back in the fight.

  “Well, Nurse Lindee, what might that address be?”

  My house call was met by a very sick patient. Abel didn’t live in a typical campus apartment. His place was much nicer, in a newer complex near Preston, but not part of it. His place was a walk-up, including two floors. He opened the door wearing low pajama pants, no shirt and a weary face in a strange shade of clammy.

  “Elma?” he slurred like he didn’t recognize me. One hand braced on the door, the other on the jamb, as if he was balancing himself. He swayed like he was drunk, but the sheen of sweat on him proved otherwise.

  “Abel, are you alright?”

  He swayed back from the door, not answering me directly. I stepped in after him and closed the door behind me. He headed for a makeshift bed on a brown leather couch. Pulling the blanket around his shoulders, he lay down and his eyes closed instantly.

  “Abel?” I said. He didn’t respond, so I tried again with more conviction. His eyes sprang open, and he said my name, as if surprised to see me.

  I reached for his forehead and pushed back his damp hair. He was definitely burning up with fever. I wasn’t a nursing major, but I knew the signs. I’d had to take care of my mother when she first let herself go and got sick on more than one occasion.

  “Abel, when was the last time you ate?”

  “Uhhh,” he moaned, shaking his head. Eating obviously did not sound appealing.

  “How about a shower?” I asked. He didn’t respond and I sensed he had fallen asleep. I decided to take the liberty to search his cupboards for soup, or medicine, or anything to help me break the fever. When I discovered nothing of use, I called Lindee. She said she didn’t know where Creed was after she saw him that morning. I was on my own, again.

  I made a quick drive to the store and returned to find Abel in the same position. I’d left his place unlocked, on a chance that nothing would happen to him. I needed to get him in the shower or at least a cool bath. Filling the tub, I looked around his sparse bachelor pad to find the place rather neat for two guys. I wasn’t certain which room was Abel’s, until I saw a photo in one room that was clearly Creed’s family. Abel’s was the one with a large fish tank in it. Filled with fake greenery and tons of rocks, as well as natural colored pebbles along the bottom, I only noticed one solitary fish in the tank. It was a bright blue color with airy looking fins. A dark streak of red hung from the chin, if fish had chins. The creature floated, exerting no energy. Strangely, I felt sorry for the beautiful water life. He seemed lonely.

  Abel had a double bed; slightly rumpled looking. Visions again of him with Keli flashed through my head, and I decided to change his sheets. Then I worked on getting him to the tub.

  “You poured me a bath,” Abel slurred. “I haven’t had a bath since I was a kid.” His eyes were half-mast and the weight of him on me was heavy.

  “Abel, I have to undress you, unless you can do it yourself.”

  He smiled at me with a sly smile.

  “You just want to see me undress again, don’t you?” he teased then swayed through the open door.

  “Well, as much as I’d like that, I think we need to work on the fever first,” I said, trying not to laugh at the cute face he was attempting to make. I removed the loosened pajama pants but realized there was no way I could touch the boxer briefs before me. Black, packed and oh-too-sexy, I couldn’t do it.

  “Get in,” I encouraged him without taking off his underwear. He followed my lead and sank into the warm water. His body shivered. His skin was warm. While he sat, head pressed against the cool tile, I was able to get him to swallow two Tylenol with some water. He moved like a child, incapable of doing more than small motions. My heart broke. Then I noticed his shoulder. The wound where he’d been bit looked red, raw, and possibly infected. The skin around the opening radiated and a pocket of puss seeped from it.

  “Abel, didn’t you get this checked?” I asked, tenderly touching the skin around the teeth marks. He rolled his head then hissed when I pressed a particular spot. I used a warm washcloth to cover the wound, knowing it wasn’t going to do much good for him unless the acetaminophen kicked in soon.

  I had a good look at those tats. His right arm was covered in an intricate aquatic design in bright blues and red that matched the lonely fish in its tank. The left upper arm was a giant purplish sea creature, fighting the bright turquoise waves that stormed over and around it. I wanted to discover each detail but then Abel shivered.

  “Cold,” he whined, crossing his arms slowly over his chest. I decided he needed to get out. I wiped down his face and helped him stand as best I could. He slipped down his wet boxers with no shame, and I had to look away again. The sight of a naked Abel was too much for me.

  He entered his room and fell onto his bed. Seeming to snuggle into the fresh sheets, he wrestled briefly with a pillow then instantly passed out. Still naked, a fine rounded ass pointed upward as he hugged the pillow in his arms. A school of baby fish swam in my belly as I longed to be that pillow.

  I didn’t want to leave him unattended, so I decided to stay, in hopes that Creed would return. As the night grew later, I was growing sleepy from working late and waking early for class, not to mention my self-induced stress over Abel and another girl. I decided to curl up next to him. I’d tucked him in with a sheet, but my body was hyperaware of what was underneath that thin covering. I didn’t want to disturb him, but I took off my boots and my dress. I found a clean t-shirt of his and curled up behind him. My hand reached out for him. He was like a hot-water bottle, toasty and comforting, while my skin was cooler. I pressed more intently against his broad back. He didn’t move, but he said my name.

  I didn’t think he was conscious, so I slid closer, wrapping my arm hesitantly around his hip. He stirred slightly, reached for my hand and dragged it
over him to rest on his upper chest. He flattened my palm on his warm skin then covered my hand with his. I could feel the rapid beating of his heart through that tight chest. He breathed slowly and I relaxed into him. As I drifted off to sleep, I heard him mumble, “Thank you, Elma.”

  While I had endless fantasies of Elma Montgomery in my bed, being sick and finding her in it was never one of them. Her delicate hand was pressed against my chest. Her mouth slightly open while she slept. I’d shifted when I recognized someone was in bed with me, only to find the room dark and Elma behind me. I twisted to curl around her and fell back asleep.

  I felt weak, sweaty, and a bit repulsive, but here Elma lay next to me and I didn’t want to move. I desperately needed a shower, to brush my teeth, and possibly eat some food. I had the sense that Elma had given me medicine, and she’d stuck me in the tub. I found the wet underwear hanging over the shower rod as proof and wondered briefly what I’d done. Showering seemed to take all my energy. I opened the door to find Elma sitting upright in my bed. Her blonde hair was disheveled, and she was running her hands through it in attempts to comb it out. I noticed she wore a t-shirt of mine. Genesis Gym, it said in royal purple. I shivered to think of Elma ever near the place.

  “Hey,” she said, as she watched me exit the bathroom in just a towel. Her eyes traced my body then froze on the low line of hair exposed above the wrapped towel. I smiled slowly at her admiration, but tried to bite my lips to prevent the curve. I didn’t want to believe she could look at me as anything other than a fighter.

  While I didn’t want Thor to influence my thoughts in anyway, I was haunted by his words.

  You work fast, girl. Onto another fighter.

  Was Thor right? Was a fighter what Elma had been looking for? Her sudden interest in keeping our deal surprised me. The timing of events could hardly be coincidental. All the same, I still needed Elma. She’d been right about the other night. As I exited the door to face the few fans that had gathered, I tried to just be myself. I didn’t say much, but found I didn’t have to. The girls gushed, the guys bragged, and I signed more autographs. It was surreal. The most exciting part had to be the girl who wanted me to sign her arm. When I finished, she reached for me and kissed my cheek. Something was slipped into my pocket and I later noticed I had her phone number. That had never happened to me before. It was a little exciting.