by V. Kelly
After the fight, I’m escorted down to hotel security. They’re planning on charging me with assault whenever the cops get here. I’ll never get Holly now, not after this. That’s when the tears start. The thought of losing Holly is just too much to bear.
We are almost to the office when one of the radios squawks. “Jack, Reginald get your asses back up to the fight. We have a damn riot on our hands,” the person says.
The two guards look at each other, unhook my handcuffs, and take off. One of them looks over his shoulder and shouts, “You got lucky, girl.” Then they disappear around the corner.
I follow them back to the fight and the whole crowd is surging with anger. People are shouting that the fight was fixed and screaming for their money back.
A woman notices me in the corner and shouts at the top of her lungs. “That’s her! That’s the girl who ruined the fight.” Next thing I know, every person in the crowd turns towards me—each face more hostile than the next. The same woman screams again. “Bitch, you owe me a hundred bucks!”
She comes flying at me, and I cover my face ready for impact. This bitch is going to scratch out my eyes with her unnaturally long fingernails.
Right before she would’ve connected with my face, I feel an arm curl around my waist and pull me away from the crowd. It’s one of the tweedle twins. He’s moving so fast that my feet can’t keep up with him, so he grabs me and carries me the rest of the way, ducking into a back room behind the fight just before the crowd catches us.
“You’re a trouble magnet, aren’t you,” Tweedle breathes. I notice it’s the one without the scar. “You’re lucky I got to you in time.”
“Thanks, although, it wasn’t my intention to start a riot. I just wanted there to be a fair fight, and Caleb was fighting like complete crap.”
“No thanks to you,” Kristene’s crude voice cuts in. She’s standing over by the wall with her arms crossed glaring at me. “You’re the whole reason for him boxing like crap. If you had just shown up with everyone else, he wouldn’t have been so crazy right before the match. He wouldn’t even kiss me for luck.”
“Maybe because your lips are like poison, and he didn’t want to die.”
“He wasn’t complaining last night, or the night before.” The thought of Kristene spending the night with Caleb brings a sour taste to my mouth. I don’t want her dating him or her lips to be anywhere near him. “Just remember who was in his bed last night,” she quips.
“It wasn’t you, Kristene,” Caleb interrupts, coming around the corner drying his head with a towel. “So maybe you should shut your mouth and stop trying to ruin my name with your lies.”
“Caleb, I was just saying how we spent a great night together. She just needs to know how serious we are about each other.”
Caleb grabs her shoulders and smiles. “Kristene, I was never serious about you. I’m sorry I led you on, but I was only using you to get over her, and frankly, nothing, not even you, could make me stop fantasizing about Everly. I’m in love with her, have been for a very long time.” He smiles over at me and my heart soars.
“Wait a second, you were using me?”
“Yes and no, I feel like an ass for it. If that helps.”
She slaps him. “Fuck you, Caleb.”
“I guess I deserve that one. I’m sorry, Kristene. You’re a good girl, but just not the right girl for me.”
She slaps him again. “And to think I was going to sleep with you tonight.”
“Glad, I dodged that bullet,” he laughs.
She reaches up to slap him again, but he grabs her wrists. “I may have deserved the first two slaps, but not this one. Nathan, can you please make sure that Miss Jenkins is shown out.”
“I’m going to sue you for sexual harassment, Caleb. Fraternization with an employee is heavily frowned upon in today’s society.”
“Kristene, you can’t get me for sexual harassment when you were the one who hit on me first. Maybe you should remember that the next time you try to accuse people of something that you started.”
She growls and stomps away, Tweedle One following closely behind her. Caleb turns to me and smiles. “You and I have some things to discuss; follow me.”
I follow him past the people loitering around the hallway and into his dressing room. Once in there, he locks the door behind us. “Now, I may have been a little unconscious when you were at the ring. Do you have something you want to tell me?”
My finger absentmindedly begins twirling a lock of my hair. I’m nervous. I’ve never professed my love to anyone before, let alone said the words out loud and actually meant it. A giant bubble of nerves fills my throat. When I open my mouth to speak, nothing comes out.
“That’s okay, I’ll go first. Everly, I love you. I’ve been in love with you since our first night together and you mysteriously disappeared from my condo. I’ve dreamt about you every night for an entire year before we met. Then after that, I dreamt about you even more. You’re feisty and sarcastic, beautiful and humble. You’re everything I’ve been looking for in a woman, but not all at the same time.”
A tear runs down my cheek and he wipes it away. When I don’t say anything, he chuckles.
“This is where you tell me how awesome I am, and how you can’t live without me.”
Finally, my nerves force the bubble back down my throat and I laugh. “Is that how this is supposed to work?”
“Yes, definitely.” The way his eyes shine when he smiles makes my heart flutter.
“Caleb, it’s weird. I never thought something like this could ever happen to me. You scared the crap out of me when we met. Instantly, I was attracted to you. Even without an accent, my body was craving you. Your pursuit of me has been rather annoying, but I know now, it’s only because you couldn’t picture yourself without me, and that’s how I feel about you. You may annoy me, but my life would be meaningless without you in it. I really thought I hated you at the beginning of all this, but I realize that the insta-hate was only me defending my heart that wasn’t ready for love. You broke down my walls; you fought for me even though I didn’t want you to. You were there for me when I needed someone, and even though I’m still fighting these raging emotions within myself, I tap out. You knocked me off my game, and as the referee counts down in the background, these next ten seconds are the most frightening ten seconds of my life. I’ve never given myself over to anyone before. I want you to have it all: my heart, my body, my soul. I want to spend the rest of our lives figuring out just what makes us so perfect for each other. I don’t want to go another day fighting you, Caleb. You win by KO. Now the question is, what do you want to do about it?”
“This is all great, and I love the boxing references, but I’m waiting to hear something specific,” he says, cupping my cheek and bringing his face so close I can feel his breath on my lips. “You said it before, I just want to hear it again when I can look you in the eyes, and fall in love with you all over again.”
“I have never been in love in Caleb, this is all new to me.”
“It can be scary, but with the right person, it can be magic.” His face leans even closer and all I want to do is kiss him.
“Caleb . . . I . . . well . . . I think I am in love with you.”
“Finally! God, you have no idea how sweet those words sound on your lips.” His lips crash into mine, and his fingers thread into my hair. He pulls away suddenly and blushes. “In my dreams, I could remember how my fingers felt in my raven’s hair; they felt just like this.” His fingers tangle in my hair and he grips me possessively. “They felt like this because I loved you then, even before I met you. You’re it for me, Everly. There’s no other woman out there for me.”
His words bring even more tears to my eyes. I’m overwhelmed with emotion for this man who has changed my life so much in a matter of a few months. If it wasn’t for Caleb, I wouldn’t have met Holly, I wouldn’t know what love truly could be, and I wouldn’t be standing here wondering about a future that seemed like a pipe
dream only days before. I love Caleb, every annoyingly loveable aspect of him.
“I love you, Caleb,” I whisper, losing myself in his lips.
The words are scary, foreign, almost like a dream, but as I intertwine my arms around Caleb’s waist, slipping into the deep dark hole of Caleb, I realize this whole time I’ve been chasing him just as much as he has chased me. Maybe my chase wasn’t as literal as his was, but mine was metaphorical and more grueling. There’s a thin line between love and hate. That statement always befuddled me until now. I confused my love for Caleb with hate because it was easier than facing the truth. The feelings were too hard to comprehend, and it took me entirely too long to realize what they truly were. Love.
Now that I know what true love feels like, I can’t believe how shallow and stupid I was before. I missed out on a lot with Caleb because of stupidity, but not anymore. Today, I allowed myself to finally fall, and I did, right into the arms of Caleb and straight into love.
“I do have one odd question for you, Everly,” Caleb states while he kisses my neck. “Why in the hell did you think I was engaged?”
“I saw Kristen at your suite. She was showing you a ring and I assumed . . .”
“She won that piece of shit ring as a door prize during the dinner she accompanied me to. That thing might as well have been out of a cracker jack box,” he laughs.
“Oh, I feel stupid. I can’t believe I assumed you asked her to marry you.”
“You know what people say about assumptions right?” he chuckles.
“No what?”
“When you assume something all it does is make an ass out of you and me.”
I laugh. “I think the only one making an ass out of herself was me.”
“I won’t argue with you there. You definitely are good at making an ass out of yourself.”
I punch him in the gut. “Asshole, you’re not supposed to agree with me.”
“Get used to it, Beautiful. From here on out, I’m always going to be in your corner.”
He bends in and softly takes my lips with his. The touch alone sends shivers down my spine. Just when I thought I couldn’t love this man any more, he has to spout off cute boxing references and get me all worked up. I think it’s official . . . our sparring has ended.
Epilogue
One year later . . .
My mom comes in the room smiling. “Are you ready for this, Everly?”
I take a deep breath. This is a monumental step in my life. I’m not sure if I’m ready, but I’m not going to let anyone else know that. I follow my mom into the living room. It’s covered in balloons and pink and purple crepe paper streamers. A giant sign hangs down from the ceiling that says, Happy Birthday Holly. She’s turning seven. It’s been one year and a couple months since she jump roped into my life. I can’t imagine another day without her. That’s why this is so big. Today marks forever. Today is one step into the future.
Max and Breezy are sitting on the couch. My nephew Braxton learned to walk five months ago and now he’s being a holy terror by trying to unwrap Holly’s presents. She wanted a giant dollhouse for her birthday. I’ve saved all year for it. It wasn’t easy, especially with the pay I’m getting, but I somehow managed to pay the layaway off last week. Now it’s hiding in the garage, fully put together thanks to my dad and Max.
Holly hasn’t arrived yet. Caleb took her out for ice cream so that we could decorate the house and get everything ready. Everyone is here: Maggie and Dashawn, Tony and Emma (who isn’t that bad once she finally warms up to you), and all of the girls from The Youth Center.
Caleb has been a godsend through all of this. I can’t believe I spent half of our relationship resisting him. He’s perfect. The way he is with Holly. How he treats me. I couldn’t ask for a better man in my life. Not to mention, my mother is in love with him. Half the time, I have to pry her off his arm.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I look down, suddenly overwhelmed with nerves. Am I really going to go through with this? Am I ready?
Caleb: Pulling up now is everything ready?
I quickly text him back.
Me: Yup!
A few minutes later, the door opens. Everyone is quiet and the house is dark. When Caleb flips the switch, everyone jumps up and yells “Surprise!” Holly cowers into Caleb’s side and starts crying. Instantly, my heart sinks. Why didn’t I think about it before? It’s idiotic to throw a surprise party for a little girl who’s been through so much.
I run to her and pull her into a hug. “I’m sorry baby, I should’ve known this would be too much for you.”
She wraps her little arms around my neck and I feel her tears on my skin.
“I’m happy crying, Miss Everly.”
“You are?”
“Nobody has ever cared about my birthday before,” she whispers. “This is my first real party.”
Tears form in the corner of my eyes and when I look up, I catch Caleb wiping away some of his own. This little girl has changed everyone’s life, not just mine.
“Thank you, Miss Everly. Thank you for caring about me.”
“Of course, Holly. You mean everything to me.”
I take her hand and lead her into the living room where the girls from The Youth Center swarm her.
“Happy Birthday, Hopscotch!” They all shout.
One by one, they hand her presents. None of them could afford to buy anything for Holly, but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t care. The only thing that matters is that they’re here now and helping her celebrate. After getting all the handmade cards and items from the girls, we have party games and cake. All the girls are having a blast. I’m pretty sure none of them have ever been to a party like this.
Braxton tries to keep up with them, but his legs are too short and these girls move fast. I can barely keep up with them myself. Breezy picks Braxton up and carries him into another room so she can lay him down for a nap. Max follows her. They’re so incredibly cute together.
After twenty minutes, they both appear again without Braxton. He must’ve fallen asleep. Max has his arm around Breezy and they make their way over to the adult table. Yes, there’s actually an adult table. Emma and Tony are off in the corner discussing something. Maggie is leaning up against Dashawn watching the kids, and I’m sitting next to Caleb while his hand plays with my knee.
“I’m so ready to have kids,” Maggie exclaims, watching the girls jump rope outside. “I want two kids, maybe more.” Dashawn suddenly looks uncomfortable and shifts underneath her. She must feel him move because she looks up at him and smiles. “What about you, baby? How many kids do you want us to have?”
“I haven’t thought about it,” he answers, taking a long drink of his water.
“Aww, come on, don’t you want children, Dashawn?” Max asks.
Dashawn glares at Max and takes another drink. “Someday, maybe.”
Emma pipes in. “I’m never having kids. I like my privacy way too much. Kids are way too much trouble.”
“I wouldn’t call them trouble. Just a lot of work,” Breezy exclaims. “The only thing that really sucks is the lack of sleep. Luckily, Braxy is sleeping through the night now.”
“Thank god. I was beginning to miss sex,” Max laughs. “Now I get my woman to myself every night.”
Breezy punches him. “They don’t need to know about our sex life or lack thereof.”
He kisses her temple and she smiles. “Our sex life is as it should be. We’re married with a baby. People understand that.”
“Yet another reason I will never get married or have a kid. I like sex way too much to sacrifice it for the sake of a child or a ring,” Emma remarks.
Now it’s Tony who looks uncomfortable. Everyone knows that he’s been thinking about asking Emma to marry him. Every time he goes out with the boys, he talks about it. I guess Emma isn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet. A year ago Tony would’ve laughed at the word marriage, but now he’s embracing it. Who would’ve thought?
All t
his talk about marriage and commitment and babies has my stomach turning in knots. It’s almost time for the big announcement, and I’m petrified of what everyone is going to say.
“Everly, can I open the rest of my presents now?” Holly asks, breaking into my thoughts.
“Sure, Sweetheart, why don’t you get settled into the living room? I’ll get your presents together.” She scampers off and I whisper into Caleb’s ear.
“House is in the garage. Can you and Max go get it for me?”
“Of course.”
He motions for Max to follow him and they disappear into the garage. Mom and Dad give Holly their presents first; a new dress, a ballet outfit, and some cute ballet shoes. They also give her a gift certificate for a local dance academy for ten free ballet lessons. We found out she wanted to learn while watching So You Think You Can Dance. She mimicked all the dance moves and told us she wants to be a ballerina.
Holly’s crying when she holds up the shoes and outfit and cries, even more, when she gets the gift card. She flings her arms around both my parents’ necks and says, “Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. McGowan. Now I can be a ballerina.”
She does a twirl around the living room, making everyone laugh.
Max and Breezy go next and give her the doll she’s been wanting. Maggie and Dashawn give her a gift card to Target, and Emma and Tony give her one to Wal-Mart. Finally, it’s my turn.
“Okay, Holly. Close your eyes.”
She closes her eyes and Max and Caleb carry the house into the living room. All the little girls squeal causing Holly to open her eyes.
“Oh my gosh! My own dollhouse! It’s the one I wanted! Thank you so much, Mommy.” It’s the first time she’s actually called me that. It’s what sends me over my emotional edge. I’m bawling and as she hugs me tightly, I realize just how much I’ve fallen in love with this little girl.
It’s finally time for her last present, and it’s the one I’m most nervous about. I grab her shoulders and lead her to the couch. Caleb stands behind me with a supportive hand on my shoulder.
“Holly, I have something for you. It’s sort of not a present—more of a question.”