by K. Ryan
It doesn't help that Sunday is breathing down our necks. I don't know what happens after that, or where we'll have to go from there, but I do know things won't be the same. I just don't know how or why yet.
"I knew it," her sister continues on in that sing-songy, smug voice. "I knew it."
"Look," Rae's voice cuts in in a rush. "You can't tell—"
"Of course I'm not gonna tell Dad. Why would I do that? He'll completely lose his shit if he finds out you're getting all hot and dirty with Southie's number one fighter. Not to mention he's basically a Callahan. I can't say I blame you...he is one fine piece of man. Does he have tattoos anywhere else besides his arms? Come on. You can tell me. Pretty please with sugar on top."
When I shift uncomfortably on the bed, Rae just rolls her eyes. "I'm not telling you anything. But thank you, though, Luce. I really appreciate it. I know he'll find out eventually, but I'm just not ready for that yet. This is...it's really new and it's good and it makes me happy and I don't want him to ruin it just yet."
My heart twists in my chest as the truth of her words hit home. In a few days, we'll have the evidence we need to prove Moretti is a fraud. Once we decide how to act on that evidence, life as we know it just might end forever.
"I get it," Lucy replies, her voice a little softer, a little sadder now. "I'm sorry it has to be that way. I just hope you know what you're doing. I hope he's worth it."
Rae's hand lands on my stomach in a featherlight touch, her eyes on me as she says, "He's worth it."
"He better be," Lucy laughs. "'Cause Dad is gonna rain his wrath down on you like nobody's business when he finds out."
"It doesn't matter."
"Good," I can almost see Lucy nodding firmly, even though I don't even really know her. "So I was thinking maybe you should just take the next couple of days off. I have to work on Sunday anyway, so I can cover you today and tomorrow. I can handle our store."
Rae's mouth parts, her lips dipping into a deep frown. "Wait—"
"I mean, it's our store, isn't it?"
"Well," Rae manages to push out through her surprise. "I guess—"
"I thought about everything you said, Rae. I thought about what's changed for me since I first opened the store a couple years ago and I think it has everything to do with the fact that I have no idea how to actually run the store. I thought I did, but it's way more complicated than just deciding which pieces to buy. I want it to succeed. I really do and I know that's probably really hard to believe. And I think the only way it succeeds is if we do it together. I want to share it with you. Ugh. I'm sorry we're doing this over the phone, but what can you do? You're way smarter than me about business and finances and all I know is the fashion side of it. You've been running it since the day you started working with me and look, you've gotten the raw end of the deal in our family for years and I don't really know why. So I don't see why we can't share this. So what if Dad originally bought it just for me? I want to run it with you. I know I can't do it without you."
Rae's mouth parts again and she sucks in a deep breath. When her gaze flicks to me, her eyes are glittering with unshed tears.
"I don't know what to say, Luce."
Her sister just laughs. "Just say you'll take the next couple of days off. We can talk more about this later. I'm serious...you need a little vacation anyway. So go enjoy that hot boyfriend of yours and tell me all about it on Monday."
Rae's eyes meet mine and I wonder if she's thinking the same thing as me: what is Monday going to bring? Then she just shrugs. "Okay. I guess I'll see you on Monday. But you'll call me if you have any questions, right? If something—"
"If something comes up and I don't know what to do, I'll let you know. I promise."
I hate to admit it, but given the conversation I just overheard, it's hard to believe the younger sister is the one whose name has been listed as the owner for all this time. If this is what Rae wants, it seems like this new partnership could be good for both of them.
When Rae swipes across her screen to end the call, she tosses it next to her on the bed and lifts her hands high in the air. "What just happened? Seriously?"
"Well, it sounds to me like you just became a co-manager of a store."
"Yeah, I think so."
My lips curl up into a grin as my hands slide up her hips. "Is that a good thing?"
She doesn't miss a beat. "Yeah, I think it is."
"Good," I tilt my head up so I can catch her lips. "Now get in the shower."
"Only if you join me," she waggles her eyebrows at me suggestively.
I blow out a deep breath in exasperation. God, she's going to kill me before we even get a chance to get out of her apartment. "I know this game. No way."
"Fine. Suit yourself," she lifts a shoulder as she slides off the bed and slinks into her bathroom, swaying her hips just enough to inflict some serious cruel and unusual punishment.
I glance down and squeeze my eyes shut. Then, with a sigh of defeat, I jump out of bed to follow her inside the bathroom.
"ARE YOU SURE about this?"
I glance over at her from the driver's seat and grin. "Yeah. You trust me, right?"
Her forehead crinkles into a deep, almost disturbed frown as she peers out through my truck's windshield at the line forming out from underneath the brick building's awning. "Of course I trust you. I just...I don't know. I guess I just didn't think you were taking me here."
"What's wrong with Sully's? Besides," I just shrug. "I told yah I was takin' you out for the best hot dog in Boston. And maybe a lobster roll too."
"I know, I know. I just wasn't expecting you to take me to Southie is all."
Ah. There we have it. I knew this was coming. I expected it. Prepared for it. Here goes nothing.
"Look," I shift in my seat so I can face her head-on, my fingers reaching out until they tangle with hers. "Forget everything else, okay? The history doesn't matter today. You're here with me and that's all that matters. People know me here. They're gonna wonder who I'm with, especially since you're the first girl anyone's ever seen me go public with in...a long time. But that's it. And even if they figure out who you are, I'm still just as much a part of this neighborhood as they are and because you're here with me, they may not like it, but they'll respect it because they respect me."
Rae blows out a deep breath and glances through the windshield one last time before her nervous green eyes find mine. I squeeze her hand just for good measure.
"This is where I'm from, Rae," I explain with an easy grin. "This is where I live. This is where my life is. I want you to be a part of it."
Her eyes widen as the impact of my words hit home and she bites down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. She has to see that in order for her to be part of my life, she's going to have to step onto my turf sooner or later—just like I'm going to have to do for her—that doesn't just mean our apartments. It won't happen overnight and it's definitely not going to happen in these next two days, but bringing her here is the first step in the right direction. History be damned. Reputations can go straight to hell. I want everyone to know I don't care what her last name is and I'm not about to cower in the shadows with her either.
"I want this to be real," I push on. "I'm not going to hide. I'm not going to let anyone make us feel like this is wrong because it's not. And I'm not going to let anyone make you feel like you're not welcome here, okay?"
That earns me a smile and it spreads through her entire face, lighting it up beautifully until every inch of skin is set aglow. "Okay."
I lean forward so I can brush my lips against hers. "There's nothing to be nervous about. You're here with me and I'm buyin' you a hot dog, okay?"
She nods as my lips capture hers one more time before I slide out of the driver's seat and jog around to her side so I can open her door. With our hands firmly linked together, we step out onto the parking lot leading us to the long line of people waiting for their fix. Most people from Southie know better than to make the sh
ort trek to Castle Island, particularly Sullivan's, anytime near a weekend, but this is a special occasion.
"You know," I whisper in her ear as we stop at the end of the line. "They say Castle Island is where the past, present, and future of Boston collide. There's somethin' about that that feels kinda right, doesn't it?"
She smiles up at me, squeezes my hand, and leans a little deeper into my shoulder.
"You ever been here before?"
Rae's smile deepens and she shakes her head.
"That's what I thought. Prepare to lose your shit. These hot dogs are worth dyin' for."
"If you say so."
"I do say so," I grin. "Just yah wait."
Her melodic laughter fills my ears and warmth spreads through my chest at the sound. Being with her in one of my favorite places in this city, being able to wrap my arms around her, making her laugh...it makes me feel ten feet tall. Forget any victory I've ever had in the ring. This is better. This is what I've been missing my entire life—that piece of the puzzle I never knew I needed. Until now. Until her.
Of course, it's only then that I notice a few eyes on us. More than a few. People know who you are, I try to convince myself. That's all it is. This wasn't a mistake. I'm not setting us up for a huge failure. I guess that's just what I have to tell myself.
"Hey, Flynn!"
I turn my head at the voice and shake my head when I see one of our bar regulars a few feet behind us. "Hey, Lenny. How's it hangin'?"
"Ah, yah know," he shrugs, but his eyes dart a little too quickly to Rae for my liking. "Same old, same old. Just figured I'd bring my ol' lady out for a bit before I head over to your place later tonight," he gestures to his long-time girlfriend, who shoots him an exasperated glance in return, and then tilts his chin up to Rae. "This your girl?"
I can't stop the grin that spreads across my face at that label. That's the first time I've really heard it spoken out loud and it's definitely something I could get used to hearing.
"This is Rae," I rest my hand on her lower back as I introduce them. "Rae, this is Lenny."
She waves a little shyly to him and he waves back. If he has even an inkling of who she really is, he doesn't show it.
"I got my ticket for Sunday all set and ready to go, man," Lenny pumps a fist at me. "Got $300 on you for the win too. Yah haven't let me down yet. Don't start now."
"Oh, don't yah worry," I rub my jaw with my free hand and use my other one to draw Rae in closer to me. "I got it."
He nods in response and then we go back to our respective women, just like we would in any other circumstance, with any other people. So far, it looks like I didn't have much to worry about when it came to bringing Rae to this side of town. If she was here by herself, that'd be a different story altogether. But here with me, with my hand firmly linked with hers, sends a silent message to everyone loud and clear.
"See?" I lean in so I can murmur in her ear. "Respect."
"I see that," she smiles.
There's some relief shining in those beautiful eyes and I wouldn't trade this moment with her for anything. No crowd and definitely no pay-out will ever give me this kind of adulation and satisfaction. It's a high I never want to come down from.
But when my phone buzzes in my back pocket, I'm knocked down from that high. One glance at my caller ID is enough to deflate just about anything I've got planned for this entire day.
Rae frowns at me as I swipe across my screen to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey, bro," Brennan answers from the other side of the line and I wince at the sound of his voice. "I, uh...well, this is a little awkward, huh?"
"I guess," I push out a laugh, but I can't even convince myself, let alone anyone else.
"So, Pop told me you were taking a few days off before the fight on Sunday and I guess...I guess I was wonderin' if Rae was with you."
My eyes find the subject of our conversation and a rush of protectiveness shocks my system. Brennan would never intentionally hurt her. I know that. But I also can't help the need to do everything in my power to shield her from as much of this ugliness as I can.
"Yeah, she is," I finally respond. "Why do yah ask?"
Brennan doesn't miss a beat. "Can I talk to her?"
"What?"
"Yeah," he chuckles. "Just lemme talk to her, alright?"
Uneasiness settles in my stomach, but I hand Rae the phone anyway. When she takes the phone from me, she doesn't look any less confused than I do.
"Hello?" she says into the phone and as the conversation moves forward, her expression morphs through confused to hesitant to surprised and shocked and finally, rests on happy elation all in the span of about 20 seconds. "Right...yeah, of course we will. Absolutely. Just let us know when and we'll be there."
When she hands the phone back to me, I still don't really understand what just happened here.
"So I invited you two over for dinner," Brennan tells me in my ear. "Shannon's still trying to figure out what day works best next week, but we thought after the fight, yah know, it would be good to get everybody together under one roof."
Right. Finally.
"Okay..."
"Let's just say that after talkin' to Sean again and some really long, exhausting conversations with my wife...I think maybe I might've jumped the gun a little with all this. Okay?"
"Okay," I nod. What else is there to say?
When I slide the phone back into my pocket, I wrap my free arm around Rae's shoulders to draw her in close. Her happy smile beams back up at me and for a second, I think I almost see some tears shining in her eyes, but they're gone just as quickly. This is a happy day. A good day. And it's nothing if not a reminder that we need to focus on the future. That we need to focus on the probability of a future. Nothing else.
So we wait in line for our hot dogs. She orders hers all-around, but I get mine all-inc because I want that tangy ketchup added to the usual mustard, relish, and onion they pile on top of the frank. Then we walk down up and down the ramparts, taking in all the beauty that is this island. It's an intoxicating concoction: the bright air from the sun, the crisp salt, the sand warming our toes, the peaceful crash of the sea against the beach, and her.
She would be enough any day of the week.
There are plenty of other things I want to do with her today, plenty of places I want to take her: the aquarium, the baseball field where I learned how to pitch, the park where I learned how to throw my first punch, a Sox game, the cafe down the street from my apartment with the best sticky buns in the world...we could probably spend days just walking through the streets of my neighborhood so I could show her everything about it that I love.
But here, as we walk along the warm sand and dip our toes in the sea, I never want to leave.
I could stay here with this girl forever, I think to myself. I could love this girl forever.
It hits me all at once. That's what this is. If anything, it just leaves peace in its wake. It's reassuring to finally know what to call this feeling I've spent too much time fighting since I met her.
"This is nice," she calls out to me.
"It is. Yah havin' a good day?" I grin back at her.
"The best."
Her facial expression doesn't really match her words. She shifts her weight a little from side to side in the few inches of sea water we're standing in. That expression is a familiar one and I like to think I can read her well enough to know we should probably keep walking to a minimum. It's a good thing I had the foresight to tell her to wear comfortable shoes.
"I think this just might be the best first date I've ever had."
My eyebrows shoot up into my forehead. "First date?"
"Yeah," she laughs, her cheeks glowing from the sunlight. "That's kinda what this is, isn't it? You know 'cause we skipped a few steps...there's nothing wrong with going backward and covering all our bases."
"Right," I cock an eyebrow at her. "Can't leave a single one out. I like to make sure I hit each one nice and good."
"Oh boy," she laughs and splashes some water at my legs. "You're nuts."
"That may be true, but you can't blame me for trying."
"So what's next on the agenda?"
"Oh, yah know," I wrap an arm around her shoulders just because I can. "There's a lot of time between now and where I wanna take you to dinner. I'm sure we can get in a few more things."
That beautifully brilliant smile lights up her whole face, but I have to swallow back the lump forming in my throat. I can't help but feel like we have to fit an entire relationship into these next two days—like we're on borrowed time. Like we may not get anything more than this little bit of time carved out for us. Like we have to make every memory right now because we might not get another chance. Something dark unfurls in my stomach, taking root, and threatening to collapse all the plans I had for this day.
"Everything's going to be okay, right?" her soft voice whispers to me above the waves crashing around us.
There's so much hope in her voice. So much desperation there too. She wants to hold onto this just as much as I do, but there's only so much we can do. Only so much we can control. I want to tell her we'll make it to next week when we can have that dinner with Brennan and Shannon, when we can start seriously thinking about what our lives together might look like, when we can enjoy being together freely and without any worries, when we can put these last few weeks behind us.
There's nothing I want more than to give her that happily ever after she's convinced doesn't exist, but I'm not the guy who's going to make promises I might not be able to keep. I want to be the guy who's going to come through for her.
The way she's looking at me now, like I'm the only other person in this city with her, like it's just the two of us against the world...I have to be that guy. I can't be anything else.
The best I can do, the best I might ever be able to do, is wrap my arms around her and pull her in close.