As Jake eyed me uncomprehendingly, I leaned in to hiss, “Her date.”
Jake ripped his blazer sleeve free of my grasp. “You’re not my manager right now.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
“I’m just going over there to say hello.”
I tipped my head at him, the ‘oh really’ motion he always hated because I was usually right. “Be my guest, then.”
And so, I watched as Jake strode over there and said a few words with the clearly-embarrassed Cin and her date. Cin’s dates reaction was less visible as his brunette-headed back was to me.
I threw some water down my throat and chomped on some ice cubes, annoyed. Not of Jake’s gall, but of my own stupid certainty – that I should’ve gone with him.
Always playing it safe.
I massaged my hand with the plates in it, scowling. Was that all my life was gonna be now - one extended safe snore?
I was halfway up, when Jake came storming back.
“Guy’s an asshole,” he declared before he was even in his seat.
“Really or is it because he has his arm around the girl you want?” I indicated their table, where Cin’s date now had his arm around her.
“Doesn’t look like she’s enjoying it,” Jake said.
I peered at her. I’d never claim to be some kind of expert of the ongoing enigma that was the female mind, but if Cin’s tensed shoulders and pulled-away body meant what I think it did, then she wasn’t liking what her date was doing one bit. “You may have a point.”
A squeal distracted me from my staring session. “Jake! Owen!”
It was Mary-Belle, one of the usual blondes that served us here. She was beaming as if Christmas, her birthday, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Halloween and Thanksgiving had all happened to land on the same day. “Ugh, I cannot believe no one told me you were here! It’s just like them.” Her blonde head momentarily stopped bobbing so she could glare at the clump of her fellow waitresses, chatting obliviously at the hostess desk.
“We just got here, actually,” I said. “But it’s great to see you.”
As she dipped to hug us, her arms and sugary cinnabon-esque scent simultaneously enveloping us, over her shoulder I checked on Cin. She looked to be imperceptibly trying to inch away from her date, although he didn’t seem to be getting the picture.
“What happened to you?” Mary-belle was cooing, bending over to peer at Jake’s fading scab.
“Just a fight cut. We’ll have the usuals,” he said, a bit too curtly.
As Mary-Belle’s high-watt smile fell, I cut in. “Sorry for the rush. We’re just starving.”
“Of course!” Smile back on, she hurried off.
“Could you be a little less obvious?” I asked Jake, who was still staring at Cin, not even trying to hide it now.
He shrugged, his gaze not budging. “It’s a free country.”
I stabbed at some puny ice cubes in the glasses of water that had been here when we were seated. “Thought we came here to cool off.”
“She doesn’t like him. Look – she’s leaving.”
“To the bathroom,” I said. “Just face it. There’s one girl on the planet that you’re attracted to that you can’t do anything about.”
Jake’s stare followed her as she left down the hallway to the restrooms. “You’re attracted to her too.”
“Yeah, I just don’t think that automatically makes me have to do something about it.”
I tossed some more water down my throat so Jake wouldn’t see it. That secretly, part of me was itching for an excuse to go to the bathroom and accidentally-on purpose bump into her. I could see it, her rosebud lips parting in a shy smile, my ‘Oh, hey, how’s it going? Kind of random, but you should check out one of Jake’s fights sometime’.
Back at their table, Cin’s date looked unsettled. I pretended to be drinking out of my water cup while I watched him in the circle of its glass bottom. Her date whipped a look around, then, apparently satisfied, shoved a hand into his pocket.
“Check out their table,” I said quietly to Jake.
As I watched, I had to admit, it was fast, the cough and hand flick he did next. Anyone else who hadn’t been watching the whole thing would’ve missed it. That he had slipped something into her drink.
The next moment, I was on my feet, over there.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded.
Her date had a baby face, power-blue eyes and too-big lips that gaped at me uncomprehendingly. “Huh?”
Jake grabbed him by the collar. “What you put in her drink, shitface.”
“Uh, guys?”
It was Cin, standing at the edge of the table, goggling us.
“They’re lying,” the man said. “I was just coughing and-”
“Ok.” Jake let him fall to his seat, grabbing Cin’s glass and hoisting it to his mouth. “Drink it, then.”
The man’s eyes bounced around us to Cin. “They’re lying.”
Jake shoved it into the opening between the man’s lips. “Drink it.”
Another bounced around look and the man stumbled out of his seat and backwards, his gaze imploring Cin. “They’re lying, I-”
Darting my hand into his pocket produced a baggy of white round tablets that I shook in his face. “Oh yeah?”
“Those are my allergy pills.” Both his eyes were bulging so much they looked like they were about to pop right out of his head. He forced a smile at Cin. “Hey, how about we get out of here?”
He grabbed her hand, which she immediately jerked away. “Think I’m good, thanks.”
His grip didn’t budge. “Don’t tell me you believe these jerk-offs?”
Jake gave the man a light jab to the ribs that sent him sprawling on the floor. Then, both of us towering over him, Jake said, “Cin said she’s good.”
The aftermath was fast, chaotic. The waitresses were understanding, Cin’s date stalked off, Jake letting him go only due to Cin’s firm request. While Jake settled both bills inside, I explained things to Cin outside. “Sorry about that. Just we saw him slip it into your drink and-”
“Don’t apologize.” Her eyes were fierce. “The whole time Paul and I had been texting, I’d had a bad feeling about him, only I kept shoving it down. I should be thanking you.”
Her arms pressing her body to me in a hug eliminated any chance I had of coming up with a worthwhile response. Not with what the heat of her closeness did to me.
“Hey, are you alright?” Jake asked, coming out to join us.
“Thank you,” Cin said, opening her arm to include him on the hug. “Both of you, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t seen that” A shiver went through her.
“We should’ve beaten that guy until he turned himself in,” I said darkly. “How did you meet him anyway?”
“My friend set me up with him. She must not have known what he was like.”
“Shit.” Jake’s arm was still around Cin, though it didn’t need to be. “You want a drink or something?”
The smile Cin mustered up was unconvincing. “Thanks, but I think I just need to be alone right now.”
“You drive?” I asked.
“Normally but” – she shook her head – “Paul drove me.”
“We’ll drive you home,” I said.
“No, I couldn’t ask-” she began.
“You’re not,” Jake said. “We’re offering.”
She hesitated, looking us both square in the eye, one at a time, before eventually saying, “Alright.”
A few minutes later, as Jake and I drove her home, my mind came back to that. Her careful, measured agreement. I was grateful for it. That, when looking at us, really thinking about it, even with her instincts on high alert, Cin had known enough that we were good guys, trusted us enough. It made me worry too, stupid as it was. I barely knew the girl, and yet – she really tried to see the good in people.
After Jake’s few attempts at conversation failed, we lapsed into a comfortable silence. I couldn’t r
eally blame Cin for her quietness, she’d very nearly escaped being raped or worse.
Instead of her place, she had us pull up to a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee shop.
“Well, at least your place has donuts,” Jake joked.
She grinned. “Maybe I’ll get you some sometime.”
“That mean we get to see you again?” he asked.
“Maybe, I….” she faltered, frowning, shaking her head. “I just need some time to think. What almost happened tonight was…” She let out a shaky breath.
“How about you come to one of Jake’s fights sometime?” I said. “He’s got a nice undefeated streak going these past few months. He’ll be at Workman Arts this Wednesday.”
Another pause, in which Cin looked from me to Jake, back to me again. “Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks again.”
And then she was gone. The shock was such that she had disappeared around the corner when Jake realized it. “Shit, her number.”
3
Jake
In the ninth round, with two minutes to go, I saw her. Cin had actually come to my fight.
I’d looked for her before that, of course, in the motley roaring crowd. I’d looked for the heart shape of her face, that bow-lipped smile. Amidst the fight itself, every three-minute round a cold eternity of ducks, swipes, hits and blocks, she’d returned fleetingly, the question strangely removed: Would she come or wouldn’t she?
As my opponent, Fernando, got me in a chokehold, the slick tattooed sea of faces on his forearm all I could see, I knew. Winning was no longer just a matter of pride, of maintaining my winning streak. It was a matter of absolute necessity. No way was I letting Cin see me lose.
The next few minutes were pure adrenaline. Fernando was surprised, taken aback at my sudden adrenaline, like I’d gotten a shot of caffeine straight to the bloodstream. Really, it was pure desire. I was going to win this fight, and I was going to get the girl. Two for two.
And so, the crowd roared and the swipes came, and I was pure electricity, dealing out blows every which way. For the first time, my once-heavy boxing gloves weighed nothing. When my hit to the side of his head came and, finally, the other man fell to the ground and didn’t get back up, I hardly heard the room bellowing and the music thumping victory. I only saw amidst the faces, beside my brother – her.
Out of the ring, I was thronged by the usuals, fans and managers alike.
A tap on my shoulder was Owen, grinning. He threw his arms around me into a hug. “For a while there, I thought-”
“That I was just saving myself for the end?” I cut in.
He laughed. “Some guys are saying you took a hit of something partway, the way you made that insane comeback.”
I glanced at Cin, who I now noticed was beside him. “Guess something made me more inspired, is all.”
She was smiling, although it looked like she wasn’t sure she should be. As Owen went over to talk to the other guy’s manager, I grinned at her.
“So?” I said. “That was your first fight, right?”
She nodded.
“And you hated it.”
Her blush deepened but her head shake was firm. “No, actually. I thought I would, but it was exciting. You were incredible.”
“Incredible enough to warrant a drink?”
Just then, Owen returned.
“You’re just in time,” I told him. “I was just asking Cin out for a drink, and she was just saying…”
Both of us glanced to her.
“Yes,” she said.
A second adrenaline rush went through me as my gaze pierced into hers – Game on.
“How about that,” I said. “Two victories in one day – not bad.”
Owen grinned, holding his phone. “If you count the fact that the Shore Club just offered us free meals if you go there for your post-win meal, then I’d count that as three.”
I gave a mock-tortured sigh. “You know I can’t resist free food.”
“Speaking of,” Owen said, lifting a familiar rectangle. “Think we really have the lucky fry to thank for this victory.”
I laughed, as Cin peered at the desiccated thing. “Is that…”
“A fry, yeah,” Owen said. “Only it’s lucky.”
“That’s how I won my first fight, all the way back at the tender age of fifteen,” I explained.
As Cin continued eyeing it uncomprehendingly, I clarified, “The guy I was street-fighting, who was kicking my ass and was all set to keep on kicking it, stepped on the fry and slipped.”
“Thus was the lucky fry born,” Owen said, uttering our quote.
“Thus was the lucky fry born,” I repeated.
Cin looked from me to Owen to the fry and burst out laughing.
--
As it turned out, the Shore Club had a whole lot more than just free food. The awed look on Cin’s face was worth it as we walked in, past a light-studded ceiling and chic wood and metal modern booths. Lucky for me, Owen had packed a suit in my gym bag for me to change into after the fight. Cin, however, with her sexy yet casual jeans, hadn’t faired as well.
One step inside, and she was biting her lip. “I’m definitely not dressed for here.”
“Don’t worry,” Owen said, leaning in as if he had a great secret to tell. “Beautiful women get a free pass.”
I clapped my brother on the shoulder. “That’s why Owen here gets away with murder sometimes.”
Owen gazed at me nonplussed. “We are identical twins. If you’re trying to say that I’m a girl, then that means--”
“That I’m awesome?”
“Dude.” Owen let out a much-maligned sigh. “That’s not even funny.”
I shrugged. “I just kicked a guy’s ass, I don’t have to be funny.”
Cin was watching us all with upturned eyes that carried an amused twinkle. “You guys must’ve been a handful when you were young.”
“You’ve no idea,” Owen said, grinning. “Mom practically threw us out of the house, that one time I hid hot dogs all over Jake’s room.”
“Especially after I slipped on one and almost cracked my head open,” I said drily.
“Can you blame me?” Owen said. “After you bleached all my clothes.”
“I warned you not to buy the same sweatshirt as me. That there would be repercussions.”
Cin laughed. “Do you two fight over everything?”
I looked at her straight on. “Not everything. Sometimes we share.”
4
Cin
“Sometimes,” Jake said.
His words were like another one of his perfectly-placed blows in the ring. Except I didn’t have the luxury of the ropes at my back to catch me. We were in the middle of a fancy restaurant, for God’s sake, was he really saying what it seemed?
A glance at Owen found him frowning at his brother. What had he meant?
Luckily, the hawk-nosed waitress chose this time to arrive.
“Table for Powers?”
Jake flashed his pearly whites. “That’s the one.”
Almost imperceptibly, his hand slid to the small of my back, guiding me after our waitress.
After watching his fight, I was all adrenaline myself. That was partially what had gotten me agreeing to this in the first place, even amidst the prickles of hesitation. If both Owen and Jake were into me, and I was into both of them, how was this going to work out?
“Do I have to dust it off for you?” Owen joked.
Coming to, I realized we were now at our table, and he’d pulled a chair out for me.
“It’s just because I didn’t pull it out,” Jake said.
My gaze was on the booth that the other half of the table was. “Would you mind if I sat over here?”
“Knock yourself out,” Owen said, quickly positioning himself on the booth, being sure to leave a space for me.
As I sat down, Jake huffed his displeasure loudly. Although when he sat across from me, he was sure to position his feet right next to mine.
I turned my gaze to
Owen. “Has he always been like this?”
“Cocky?” he asked. “No. But he’s always been the bigger asshole. Being more responsible when you’re the older brother comes with the territory.”
Jake slid a pepper shaker Owen’s way. “A regular martyr, my ‘big’ bro,” he said, using his fingers to make air quotations around the word ‘big’.
His gaze softened. “Seriously though, I owe this guy a lot. When he hurt his hand, I thought that was it for him being involved in boxing. Instead, he became my manager and things went from good to hell-yeah great.”
Owen gave his head an uncomfortable shake, but Jake wouldn’t be put off. “Seriously man. Don’t downplay it. The whole managing business world is a big fat mystery to me, but you somehow figured it out.”
“What happened to your hand?” I asked Owen. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
He placed his right hand on the table ahead of him, gazing at it as if the memories were etched on its very knuckles.
“Boxing accident. Some guy had a grill, I didn’t know and ended up shattering all the bones in it. I needed plates and I can’t box anymore, but it works pretty ok at least.” He flexed it.
There was something rehearsed about the way he said the words, as if he’d said them a hundred times by now.
“So you were both boxers?” I asked.
“Yeah, in the Army,” Owen answered.
“Both soldiers too? That’s impressive. No wonder you have such a strong sense of decency. Like when you punched that asshole Paul out in the bar for messing with my drink.”
“Yeah, well not everyone thinks us joining up was so impressive,” Jake said with a scowl.
I wanted to ask what he meant by that – was it a girlfriend, a family member – but I knew if I dug too far, I might be asked to divulge more about myself than I was ready to in reciprocation. So I kept my curiosity to myself.
As if reading my thoughts, Jake’s laser-focused gaze trained on me. “What about you – what’s your story?”
“What do you mean?”
He lips quirked to the side, his gaze not moving. “I don’t know. I feel like you know a lot more about us than we know about you.”
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