He put his fork down and reached out his other hand to grasp hers. “I want you to make another choice. I want you to go out with me. Don’t let fear hold you back. Don’t say no again.”
“I distinctly remember saying I’d think about it. I never agreed to go out on a date with you.”
“Yes, that is true. But that goes back to my plan. I’m not going to let you think. When you think, you hesitate. I know you want to go out with me, so I’m just going to make it happen. That’s just how shit’s going to roll from now on.”
She snorted out a laugh. “How shit’s going to roll? Nice. How could I resist such a wonderful proposal?”
He shrugged. “So, date tonight. Be ready.”
Her heart rate spiked. She shook her head side to side but the word that came out of her mouth was “Okay.”
He laughed. “I’m going with the okay and not the no.”
“Why do you want so badly to go out with me? I’m not going to sleep with you, you know. And I am not a relationship person, not at all.”
He let her go, stood, and took both empty plates to the sink. “First off, I like you too. Have I mentioned that yet? We keep talking about you. It’s all about you. God, you’re needy.” They both laughed. “I don’t think I’ve said how I feel. So I wanted you to know that I like you too. And second, you are going to sleep with me again. Maybe not on our first date, but soon. And it’s going to be hot, sweaty, awesome sex. You’re going to see how much you like sex and how good you are at it. And I am going to be the lucky man who gets to witness that. Maybe it’ll take us a few tries, but you’ll see. There’s too much attraction between us.” He leaned down and cupped her face. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I gotta run, cariño. See you later.” And he walked out the door.
—
An hour later, Francesca was tidying up her house when she received a text from Slade.
A little water seeped into the house from under the door. Nothing major. Same with Jack and Chrissy’s house. Going to WtF to assess.
Francesca texted back, Glad to hear. I’ll meet you there.
Fifteen minutes later Francesca parked in front of the Academy. Her mind was all over the place: the kiss, the hand holding, the date tonight. She was still trying to make sense of it all when she got out of her car and looked up. “Oh my God…” Her hands trembled as she brought them up to her cheeks.
She heard Slade’s motorcycle roar into the parking lot, and from the corner of her eye she saw him get off and help Jessica out of her helmet. Both of them gasped when they turned to look at the Academy.
“It’s destroyed,” Jessica whispered.
“I can’t believe it. We boarded it up,” Francesca said.
When Slade finally spoke, he said, “We just finished remodeling. All that effort, all that money.” Slade moved toward the building. There were shingles everywhere, and there was a huge gaping hole in the roof caused by a fallen pine tree.
“That’s a big motherfucking tree!” She heard Tony’s familiar voice from somewhere behind her. He must have noticed how shaken up she was, because he quickly backtracked. “It may look worse than it is.” He walked closer. “The shutters are intact.”
“There’s a fucking seventy-five-foot pine tree in our building. Look at the roots that were uprooted, man. They’re as tall as the fucking building,” Slade barked.
“Slay, there’s nothing you could’ve done. You boarded up the building. Other than having had the tree knocked down beforehand, you couldn’t have protected the roof,” Jessica said. “Maybe Tony’s right. Might look worse than it actually is.”
“The inside’s gotta be destroyed as well,” Slade said, his voice low.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Tony said, and he turned to Francesca, holding out his hand, palm up. “Cariño, give me the keys.”
Francesca looked at the building, then at his palm, as if what he had said hadn’t registered. He took a step forward and placed his hand on her chin, forcing her attention to his eyes. “Cariño, listen to me. If it’s bad, we fix it. Okay? There’s nothing you can do. Mother Nature’s a bitch; you did all you could do to protect it. You’ve got insurance, right?” She nodded. “Okay, so take a deep breath for me.” She just stared at him. “It’s just a building. We’ll fix it. Breathe.” He let go of her face, took her hands, and took a deep breath himself in demonstration. She repeated it. “One more time.” Again she took a deep, shaky breath, in and out. He looked to his right to see Jessica saying something to a distraught Slade. “Okay, give me the keys, sweetheart.” She nodded, then reached her shaky hand into the pocket of her jeans and placed the keys on his palm. He brushed some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Stay put.”
She did, standing frozen until she felt a hand clasp over hers. It was Jessica. Slade was following Tony inside. The two women waited outside.
—
As soon as he opened the door, Tony was reminded of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated Miami in 1992. He had been young, but he vividly remembered having lost his home and having to move. This wasn’t quite as bad as that, but it was no less devastating. In the last few months, he had come to love Worth the Fight Academy. The guys had taken him in as one of their own—and these men had been tight for years, had known one another most of their lives. Tony had been virtually a stranger to them when he walked in with his cocky attitude and overall I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude. Still, they’d helped him get his ass back into shape, and never judged him.
The gym had become his home. And now when he looked up, instead of a high ceiling with brand-new wooden beams and state-of-the-art fans, he saw the clouds between the branches of a pine tree that was dangling down. That was the thing with hurricanes, he knew—one house could be perfectly intact, while the next one could be smashed to the ground by a large-enough tree or a rogue tornado. WtF had been the unlucky building that saw the most destruction on that block.
Tony noticed Slade making his way straight to his pride and joy—the impressive cage he had built in the center of the Academy. It was destroyed. On one side, the fence was bent and tilted, while the other side had taken the brunt of the impact of the tree and was completely obliterated.
“Fuck,” Slade whispered.
Tony placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s fixable, brother.” And it was the truth. The entire Academy wasn’t destroyed. It would take a lot of work, but it was fixable. It was just bricks and mortar.
“It’s not. It’s fucking destroyed.” Slade punched the nearby wall, which sagged from being soaked in water, and his fist went right through the plasterboard, all the way to his elbow. “Damn it, I can’t even punch a wall!”
“Once the water is gone, then you can more accurately assess the damage.”
“And the fucking tree?”
“Okay, yeah, that tree in the middle of the Academy needs to go.” He squeezed Slade’s shoulder. “But look around. A lot of it is just debris and water. Some things will be salvageable. Of course, you need a new roof. But the floor’s okay.” It was littered with papers and leaves, but it was largely intact.
“Tony, man, we spent most of our money on the renovations. There’s not much left.”
“You got insurance.”
Slade seemed to realize that for the first time, and his shoulders relaxed somewhat. “Yes. Thank God we have insurance.”
“Let’s get outta here. Not sure how sturdy the roof is—that is, what remains of it.”
The two men walked back out to the women. “So?” Francesca asked anxiously.
Slade was just about to answer, but Tony beat him to it. “Well, it’s not good.”
“Oh God…” Francesca put her hands over her mouth.
Tony placed both hands on her shoulders. “But it’s not a total loss.”
“I want to see it.”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Tony said.
Sh
e pushed him away. “Now I really want to see it.” She stomped forward. At least she wasn’t wearing heels, he thought. He walked beside her, knowing he couldn’t stop her even if he tried.
When she opened the door she gasped and looked around. “No, no, no, no…” He heard her voice crack, but she just stood up straighter. She walked around, picking up some of the wet paper from the floor.
As she bent down again, Tony reached over and took her wrist. “Francesca, leave it.”
“Tony, you don’t understand. This’ll kill Pai.”
“Your dad will understand,” he reassured her as he stooped down beside her.
“He won’t.” Her voice cracked again, and she continued to frantically grab leaves, paper, whatever she could. He took both her wrists in his hands, forced her to release the debris to the floor, and pulled her up.
“He will,” he said, looking at her, but her eyes wandered around the room as if she was trying to avoid meeting his gaze.
He tipped her quivering chin up with his finger so that she’d be forced to look at him. “This is where you let someone else be in charge. Okay? This is when you let someone else take some of the burden.” He continued to look at her. “Cariño, it’s okay. Let it go. It’s just you and me.”
Slowly, tears began to well in her eyes. He could tell she was doing all she could not to cry, but it was useless—some escaped down her face. She swiped them away and looked at her wet hand as if it were the first time she’d ever seen a tear. But she still wasn’t letting go. Tony wrapped his arms around her and held her.
—
Francesca felt like she should be weeping uncontrollably, but she couldn’t. Tony’s embrace tightened, and some tears escaped. But she’d spent too many years being tough and independent, not needing or wanting anyone, and the sobs never came. When she felt a little better, she gently pushed back and turned around to wipe her face with the back of her hand. By the time they walked out of the gym, Jessica and Slade were already gone.
“Pai is going to be so disappointed in me,” she repeated. “All he talks about is this stupid Academy. He entrusted it to me, Tony. I let him down.”
Tony took her hands in his, and she looked up at him. “I’m sorry, but do you have some kind of superpower that alters weather?” he asked. She rolled her eyes, but he went on. “You didn’t cause the hurricane. This is in no way your fault. Is there anything more than hurricane shutters for a hurricane? Muñeca, there’s nothing else you could’ve done. Had he been here, he’d have done the same exact thing you did: put up shutters and left. I promise you, he’ll understand.”
“What am I going to do, Tony? It’s destroyed. We have matches coming up, the guys need to train. We need income. If you can’t train, we are technically in breach of our contract with you. Oh my God, you can sue us! We’ll lose everything.”
Tony chuckled. “You can sure say a lot in just one breath. I am not going to sue you. Don’t be ridiculous. We can always talk to some nearby gyms, work something out with them to use their facilities while you repair things.”
She reached for her hair and put it up into a ponytail, “Oh…that’s not a bad idea.”
“I’m full of good ideas.” He smiled. “Cariño, listen to me. I’ve never met a woman like you before. You have your shit together. You know how to handle anything. Take a deep breath and pull yourself together. You’re not helpless, so don’t act like you are.” She looked at him as if his words had been a slap in the face. He hoped that it was exactly what she needed at the moment, and he continued. “You have to take it step-by-step, one day at a time. First thing you’re going to do is call your insurance company and file a claim.”
She stopped her pacing, “Okay, yeah. File a claim first. Right.” She reached into her pocket to take out her phone.
“Not this very second, baby. You don’t have the information on you, do you?”
“Uh, yeah, actually I do. I have the number in my contacts and an app on my phone where I keep all kinds of important information.”
“See what I mean? Who keeps their insurance info on an app on their phone? A kickass, self-assured, shit-together kind of woman.” He reached for her face and used his thumb to wipe away the few tears that remained. “You want me to drive you back to your house?”
She leaned closer, reached up, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “No, I’m good. But thanks, Tony…you know…for everything.” She walked away feeling his eyes on her. She looked over her shoulder and smiled, the first genuine smile she’d had in a long time.
“I’ll take a rain check on that date you owe me. You’ll be too preoccupied tonight,” he said before climbing into his car.
—
“I can’t believe ju were going to come here alone. This is a terrible neighborhood,” Tony said the next afternoon as he pulled into the Grid Iron, a competitor gym a town over.
“And I can’t believe Slade told you I was coming here, and I really can’t believe you bullied me into letting you come along,” Francesca said as she slammed the door to his car. “You didn’t have to come. I’ll try to keep you safe if you’re so scared.”
Tony ignored the comment as they walked toward the front door. “And you didn’t have a more appropriate outfit?” he went on.
Francesca stopped and looked down at herself. “What’s wrong with my outfit? It’s professional.” She started walking again. “Don’t ruin this. Rein in that temper of yours. We need to be very nice so they let you and the other guys train here.”
“If you were walking into a law firm, you’d be dressed appropriately. Scratch that—no, you wouldn’t.” He pointed to her cleavage. “Too much tits.”
“Fuck you, Tony. I’m not showing too much tits.” She adjusted her top and ran her hand over her silk blouse. “Simmer down. I can’t deal with your temper.”
“Jour wearing a business suit!”
“I’m here on business!”
“At a gym!” he shot back.
“This is a business meeting. What the hell was I supposed to wear? Sweatpants and a tank top?” she yelped in exasperation.
“Calm down—I didn’t say anything about a tank top.” He could picture those beautiful breasts in a tight white tank top. “Definitely not a tank top, but yes, something along those lines. Maybe a loose-fitting T-shirt and jeans or something.” He reached for her blouse to close up another button but she swatted his hand away. “This is a gym. A gym full of horny males. And jour just going to waltz in there being all…sexy.”
“Oh, please. Stop that. Just because you’re always thinking with your dick doesn’t mean all other males are the same.” She started walking again.
“Really? ’Cause that guy getting into his car right now,” he said, pointing behind them, “just eye-fucked you. He must’ve noticed your sparkling personality.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it immediately. She shoved his shoulder and proceeded to walk faster. “Sorry. I’m sorry. That was a dick thing to say.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“You’re just making me crazy. My accent’s all over the place, I can’t even understand myself.” He grunted in frustration. “Can you please just button up one more button?”
She glared at him and walked away. He ran his hand over his face as he eyed the tall, vivacious woman striding in front of him in crazy high-heeled shoes. A fucking business suit. A tight, sexy-as-fuck red business suit. Professional, my ass, he mumbled before reaching over her to open the door to the gym.
As soon as she crossed over the threshold, Tony immediately noticed all the men stop what they were doing to stare. But she seemed oblivious. She made her way over to a woman at the reception area. “Hi. I’m here to see Fred. I’m Francesca Silva. I spoke with him earlier today.”
The woman smiled and told her to wait a moment so she could find him. Francesca stood by the desk looking around. “This place is small. I can’t see how it’ll accommodate all the guys,” she whispered to Tony. It was true. There were currently three guys t
raining, and it seemed crowded. How would they fit six or seven men? They’d have to separate the men and train at different times, and the cardio would have to be held elsewhere. They really just needed the ring, the punching bags, and the speed bags.
She was still checking out the place when she suddenly paled and her eyes widened.
“Frankie?” came a voice from behind Tony.
He turned to see who Francesca was looking at.
“Rodrigo?” she responded, surprised. Without hesitation the man bent and grabbed Francesca into a very familiar hug. He lifted her off her feet and her arms automatically wrapped around his body. Tony saw red. She used to cower whenever he touched her, even when it was by accident, yet this man was all over her and she seemed fine. He knew she didn’t care for his temper, but he was about to physically pry the man off her. He counted to ten in his head, his hands in fists.
One…two…three…fuck ten!
Then it hit him. He knew this guy. “Rodrigo? Rodrigo Ribeiro?” Tony asked as the man set her down. Francesca’s face was flushed, and she cleared her throat. She straightened her blouse and pulled her hair up into a ponytail.
The man finally noticed Tony. “Scarface?” He extended his hand. Tony didn’t know whether to take the man’s hand and shake it or break each and every finger that had touched Francesca.
Knowing he had no real claim to Francesca, Tony used all the self-control he could muster to keep his temper at bay.
Realizing that Tony and Francesca had come in together, Rodrigo looked at them questioningly. Tony knew he should make it clear what his relationship was with Francesca, but he couldn’t help himself—he placed his arm around Francesca’s shoulder. But Francesca quickly huffed and skirted out of Tony’s grip.
“Rodrigo?” she repeated. “What…” She cleared her throat again. “You train here?” She seemed uncharacteristically frazzled. He wished he knew what she was thinking. She looked over at Tony and then back at Rodrigo.
Below the Belt Page 10