Romance: Pummel Me: A Boxing Romance

by Courtney Clein

  “I mean, I try to help out when I can, but my babies come first. When Louisa is out of the house, then I can take work outside but not until then.” Lucy looked ashamed. “You must think I am one of them repressed women.” Annika shook her head vehemently.

  “Not at all. I think it’s great that you take such good care of your kids. I wish my parents had done the same for me.” Before Lucy could respond, Annika pointed at the clock.

  “Speaking of which, JJ and Louisa will be home from school soon. I’ve got things here. I just need someone to help me close up but I’m okay until then.” Lucy looked torn and Annika made a shooing motion with her hands.

  “I won’t burn the place down. Go!”

  “Well…okay. I’ll be back after Louisa goes to bed to show you how to close.” Annika smiled and pretended to shove her out the door.

  “I’ll be here.”

  As dinnertime rolled in, the already sleepy store became almost comatose and Annika was left alone to her thoughts. She had tried very hard not to let Rhys enter her mind since she had sobered up but now she could not stop the memories from flowing forth. She wondered again how she could have let herself fall for such a transparent scam. You fell for it because you wanted to believe you could actually amount to something. Larry was right about you. You are just a pretty face. No substance. She shoved the thought of her step-father out of her mind and looked up at the clock. It was exactly eight o’clock, closing time. She wondered what was keeping Lucy. Just as she thought it, the bell chimed announcing a customer. Annika rose from her chair and called out.

  “Well it’s about time, Lucy! I’ve been worried sick about you!” As she rounded the counter, a man in his early thirties almost collided with her. Annika stepped back, surprised.

  “Oh sorry, I thought you were – “

  “Lucy?” the man chimed. He smiled boyishly at her and Annika was reminded of someone but she couldn’t pinpoint whom. She did not smile back. She felt animus toward him for some reason she could not understand and she was angry he was in the store. He walked further into the store toward the counter.

  “So you’re the new girl in town,” he drawled, still smiling. She said nothing and he stuck out his hand but she dismissed it.

  “I’m – “he started.

  “We’re closed,” Annika snapped flatly, stepping in his path. He seemed smug to her and she wanted to wipe that grin off his attractive face. She succeeded. His dark brown eyes shadowed over and his brow furrowed.

  “It doesn’t look that way to me. The door’s not locked.”

  “I was just on my way up to lock it,” Annika retorted, nodding pointedly at the entrance. “You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

  He narrowed his eyes and pursed his generous mouth into a thin line. He paused and seemed to consider saying something but changed his mind. His lips curled back up but this time he was smirking sarcastically.

  “Will do,” he said, spinning on his heel. He slammed the door shut upon his exit. Annika followed behind him and quickly secured the portal. She leaned heavily against the window She was surprised to find she was trembling from the encounter. You’re overreacting. He was just being friendly. Logically, she knew the stranger meant her no harm but she had been so badly scarred by the past few months, every man now appeared to be a threat. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was quarter after eight. Where was Lucy? The ringing of the phone jarred her and she hurried to the storage room to answer it.

  “Annie? Are you all right?” Lucy bellowed in her ear. Annika jerked the phone from her lobe and laughed.

  “I haven’t burned the place down yet,” she joked. Lucy let out an audible sigh of relief.

  “Oh thank Jesus! I sent Luke over to help you close down the shop but he just came back in a huff sayin’ you didn’t need any help.”

  “No, Lucy, Luke didn’t come here. Are you sure?”

  “What? He should have just been there not even ten minutes ago. Tall, dark hair, big, brown eyes and a smile to melt a thousand icicles?” Annika felt the blood drain out of her face and then refill in humiliation.

  “Lucy, that man couldn’t have been Luke. He was like thirty.” Lucy guffawed loudly.

  “He’s thirty-two actually.” Annika swallowed and chose her words carefully before speaking.

  “Lucy, I didn’t know that was Luke. I asked him to leave because I thought it was closing time.” The older woman howled with laughter.

  “Well ain’t you something, child! I’ll send him back to help you close up.” Before Annika could respond, someone had unlocked the front door and Luke walked in again.

  “Hi, I’m Luke,” he said, extending his hand once more, the charming smile back on his face. “You must be my new roommate.”

  Annika had tripped all over herself attempting to apologize for her rudeness but Luke brushed it off as a comical anecdote. After they locked up the store, they returned home where Lucy had made them a plate of homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Evan made an appearance as well and he was exactly what Annika was expecting – a seventeen-year-old with an attitude problem and the spitting image of his father. After Evan grunted a greeting and inhaled his dinner in three bites, Luke and Annika were left in the kitchen alone to talk. Luke had recently moved back in with his mother after Joe had lost his job and they were having a hard time making ends meet. Joe was Luke’s step-father. Lucy had become pregnant with him at fifteen and his real father had skipped town immediately upon learning the news. While Annika had already possessed an affection for Lucy, she had a whole new respect for her when hearing the story. His grandparents, Lou and Evangeline had never once made Lucy feel like she had made a mistake and they had helped raise Luke since conception. Joe had come into the picture when Luke was five and he had always considered the man to be his real father even though there was only an eleven-year age difference between the two. Joe had scrimped and saved every cent he could to help put Luke through veterinary school. When Luke had graduated, he had never considered leaving his family behind and set up a small practice in Burrowsburg so he could be near his parents and grandparents. Annika was genuinely touched by the story and she wondered if the town of Burrowsburg had some sort of binding family effect on the people who lived there.

  “I hear you know the Robinsons,” Luke said. “They’re good people. I take care of their horses and cattle.” Annika shook her head quickly.

  “I knew Dickie when I lived in the city,” she replied. “They don’t know me.”

  “That’s too bad. You should go introduce yourself to them. They miss their children something awful. Their health isn’t good. I’m sure they’d love to have a young person around. Especially one so lovely.” Annika felt herself blush in spite of herself. He won’t think you’re so lovely when he realizes you’re knocked up and gain a hundred pounds. Her stomach was still flat and while she hadn’t experienced any morning sickness she knew it was only a matter of time before her pregnancy would become obvious to everyone else. She had already decided that the child would go up for adoption. An abortion was an option she simply could not afford financially. In the few days she had spent in Burrowsburg, she had already determined that this was the perfect place for her baby to grow up. Surely some childless couple would be happy to have a newborn kid in these parts. Even if it is a ginger. Unconsciously, Annika sat back in the wooden chair and averted her eyes from Luke’s intense stare. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject.

  “So tell me about this town. How do you people keep from killing one another?”

  The days were moving along without incident and for the first time since she could remember, Annika did not have a ball of stress in the pit of her stomach. She felt relaxed, at ease and comfortable in her life in Burrowsburg. The Wards had everything to do with her sense of security, especially Luke although Annika had tried very hard to dissuade his advances. Every morning when she woke, she found a wild flower in a vase at her door. It got so that Lucy simply left the urn so Luke
could simply replace the freshly picked flower. He walked her home from the store every evening and sometimes they went for ice cream or to the park and swung on the swings for hours. They never seemed to run out of conversation. Annika’s hips were widening and her face had gained weight. She seemed to have developed that cliché glow that people speak of in reference to expectant mothers. Yet Luke didn’t appear to notice the changes in her. She noticed that he was always staring into her eyes. It was as though he were oblivious to her stunning figure and seductive nature. Annika had never met a man who had made her feel so much like an actual person. Every relationship she had ever had with the opposite sex had been more or less based on physical attraction. Luke seemed to see something else in her, however. He never pressured her sexually in any form. The only touching they had ever done was hand holding and she felt like she was in high school because she desperately wanted him to kiss her but she was far too paranoid to make the first move. Annika knew she was losing the fight of keeping him at bay even though her instinct knew she should never get involved with him given her situation. But she was falling for him in the most innocent, sweetest way possible. He was everything she was not; a family man, successful and so kind. He wore his heart on his sleeve and it was obvious in the way he cared for his young siblings and furry patients.

  She had been in Burrowsburg for three and a half months when Jamie took her out on their first official date. There was a film festival at the Botanical Gardens in a neighboring town and they were playing Humphrey Bogart classics outdoors under the stars. Annika had never cared for black and white films but somehow, watching those old movies on a quilt that Evangeline had made, there was nowhere in the world that Annika would have wanted to be. And when Jamie finally leaned over and placed a warm, gentle kiss on her lips, she felt a giddiness she hadn’t experienced since her first crush in grade school. They snuggled in the darkening evening and whispered sleepily to each other as the festival played on in the background of their budding romance, as if it were scripted specifically for them. Annika was extremely disappointed when the evening came to an end and it was time to leave the gardens. They packed up their belongings and she went to use the restroom before they heading back home. She looked at her happy face in the mirror of the restroom and felt ashamed. I have to tell him. He needs to know. She looked away from her own reflection guiltily. I will. Just not tonight. Tonight I will be a normal woman on a date with a man who really cares about me – the real me and not some hot piece of ass. She quickly applied some lip gloss and ran a hand through her newly cut hair. It felt strange being only at her shoulders when she had worn it long for most of her life but it was actually a very flattering look for her and brought out the incredible bone structure in her cheeks. As she strolled out of the bathroom, smiling softly, and humming to herself, someone nearby suddenly shrieked, “Oh my God, Annika! You’re pregnant!”

  Chapter Eight: Further On Up the Road

  She froze and prayed that the man was not yelling at her. There is another pregnant Annika in these gardens at this minute. There has to be. As she slowly turned her mind racing on a way to escape, she knew she had been discovered…by Dickie? In slow motion, Annika saw him running toward her, his arms outstretched and he was embracing her with so much intensity, she was worried he would break her.

  “Dickie! Oh my word! I don’t believe it!” she cried hugging him back with equal force. Dickie dropped his arms and raised his eyebrow.

  “Did you just say ‘oh my word?’ I’m sorry, I mistook you for some feisty bitch I used to know in the city. Pardon me, miss.” Annika laughed and whacked him lightly in the arm. He held her at arm’s length and seized her up.

  “You really are pregnant!” he exclaimed again. Annika pressed her fingers to her lips and looked around fugitively to ensure he had not been overheard. She pulled him to the side and he shook his head.

  “Don’t tell me that Rhys is the father,” he continued, scowling. Annika nodded slightly and Dickie looked around. “Where is your prince? Is he here? Wait, what the hell are you doing here?” Annika quickly shifted her baby blue eyes to the floor.

  “It’s a long story. Are you here visiting your parents?”

  “My dad’s diabetes has really knocked him on his ass so my mom asked me to come. How did you know my parents are here? Annika, what is going on? I tried looking for you but honestly, I didn’t know where to start. I found out that ABC Music has never heard of the love of your life by the way.” Dickie scrutinized her with suspicion but before she could respond, Luke was at her side, his arm encircling her waist casually but protectively.

  “There you are! I was worried you had fallen in!” Luke joked, giving Dickie a curiously friendly smile. “I’m Luke Ward.”

  Dickie accepted his outstretched hand.

  “Dickie Robinson.”

  “Ah! You’re the famous Dickie! Annie has spoken about you often. Are you here to see your parents?”

  “Oh has Annie really?” Dickie smirked and then something registered. “Ward…are you Lucy’s son? The vet?” Luke grinned.

  “I prefer just ‘Luke’ but either of the other two titles are fine also.” Dickie smiled back and stared pointedly at his embrace of Annika.

  “I see you two have become friends. How long have you been in these parts, Annie?” His tone grated on Annika but she also knew that Dickie was discrete enough not to embarrass her in public.

  “What’s it been? Four months? Annie is staying at my mom’s place and working at the store.”

  “Is that a fact?” Dickie almost choked, disbelievingly. Annika’s face was the color of a bloodstained tomato. She nodded quickly and tugged on Luke.

  “We should be getting back, Luke,” she told her lover quickly. “Maybe we can go for a coffee while you’re around, Dickie. How long will you be here?” Dickie’s expression went somber.

  “As long as my mom needs us.” It had been common knowledge around Burrowsburg that Jack Robinson’s health had been on a steady decline so Annika and Luke understood Dickie’s ominous statement. Impulsively, Annika reached out and hugged her old friend, relishing the feel of his arms around her. It was as though she belonged right there – between her best friend and the man with whom she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life.

  “I will call you,” she promised into his ear. He squeezed her back gently.

  “I know you will.”

  “You’re trying to pin Prince Charming’s baby on Mr. Nice Guy, aren’t you?” Annika cringed and whipped around from the shelf she was stocking.

  “Shhhh!” she hissed, grabbing Dickie by the arm and yanking him outside. Thankfully, only Evangeline was in the store with her so she likely hadn’t even heard Dickie’s boisterous entrance. Once over the threshold she shook her head vehemently and looked at her once dear friend with huge, scared eyes.

  “He doesn’t even know I’m pregnant,” she whispered. He stepped back in genuine shock.

  “First of all, how the hell can he not know you are pregnant? I mean look at you! You’re a house!” Annika glared at him but then she realized the last time he had laid eyes on her, she had barely been ninety pounds. The truth was, the baby had barely affected her figure at all and even at five months, it was incredibly hard for someone who didn’t know her well to detect she was with child.

  “More importantly,” Dickie continued, “How can you not tell him? Don’t you think he’ll clue in when he comes home and sees a screaming, shitting being on his girlfriend’s tit? How are you gonna play that one off, Annie? ‘Oh this thing? It’s always been here!’ Jesus Annika.” Annika lowered her eyes and mumbled, “I’m giving it up for adoption. He doesn’t have to know about it.” Dickie looked absolutely crushed by her words.

  “Are you fucking crazy? You can’t hide something like this. I don’t think you’re giving Luke a chance. Don’t you think he’d love your baby? His dad isn’t his real dad and Joe loves that kid to death.”

  “I don’t want this baby,
Dickie. I don’t need any reminders of my past life.” But even as she uttered the words, the baby fluttered in her belly and Annika heard the hollowness of her own utterance. She often caught herself rubbing her stomach and once in a while, when she was alone, she found that she was having one sided conversations with the child. In her heart, she knew she desperately wanted to keep him (somehow, she already knew the sex) but logically she knew it wasn’t feasible. She also knew that Luke would never forgive her for keeping such a sordid secret from him and he was the best thing she could have ever hoped for in her entire wretched existence. Dickie looked, if possible, more ashen.

  “Annika, let me help raise your baby. Lord knows, I’m not having any of my own. We could get a place together and be a family.” Annika swallowed a lump in her throat and struggled not to cry. The idea was beyond delicious. Dickie would make an amazing father. And truly, no one had ever cared for her better. Yet, her heart belonged to Luke. Having the baby in secret and giving it up for adoption was the only way to secure her relationship with the most caring, wonderful man she had ever met. She looked into Dickie’s deceptively innocent eyes and saw him aching for her to agree but she shook her head.

  “You wouldn’t want to be tied to me for eighteen plus years, jackass,” she teased. “Plus, I would completely ruin your chances with the entire gay and straight community combined.”

  “Well lookie! Dang if Lulu’s home cookin’ ain’t gone done fattened ya up, girlie!” They turned as Lou approached the front of the store.

  “Mr. James!” Dickie exclaimed. “Hello!”

  “Well I’ll be a son of a gun! Lil Dickie Robinson! What is ya doin’ in these parts? Ah dang! It’s yer pa, ain’t it?” Dickie nodded solemnly but Lou wrapped his arm around Dickie’s shoulders in a loose embrace.

  “Neva ya mind, now. Come in an’ say hella to Evangeline. She ain’t seen ya in ten, twenty years!” With that, he ushered them both into the store and their conversation unfinished.