I pull into the parking lot of Nori Pizzeria right
on time. Walking from my car to the front door, I notice Eve’s 2010
blue Mustang. I do a quick scan for Vince’s H2 and exhale in relief
to see it’s not there.
I push through the front doors, and the aroma of
garlic and butter make my stomach growl. Wax-covered Chianti
bottles sit atop tables dressed in white butcher paper. A few
waiters mill about, but no Eve.
“Raven! Hey, haven’t seen you here in a while.”
Stephanie’s eyes dart around and behind me before landing on my
face. “Where’s the hottie you’re dating?” The enthusiastic hostess
flashes a hopeful smile. “Did you guys break up?”
She’s a cute girl, and I’ve never considered myself
the jealous type, but my hand tingles with the desire to backhand
that ready-and-willing look off her face.
“Mmm, nope. We didn’t break up.” I lay my forearm on
top of the hostess stand and lean in. “We’re still very much
together
, if you know what I mean.” I give her a wink and
watch the enthusiasm drain from her face.
Yeah, take that!
“Eve in the back?” I don’t wait for an answer and
head to the kitchen with pep in my step.
She mumbles something I can’t quite make out as I
push through the kitchen doors.
At the closed office door, I pause to refocus before
knocking. I have no idea what kind of mood Eve will be in, and I
can only hope she takes what I’m about to tell her well.
“Eve? You there?” I rap my knuckles against the
door.
Her soft voice tells me to come in.
The room is dark except for a dim desk lamp. She’s
sitting in her chair with her elbows on the desk and both hands on
either side of her head. Not good.
I take the seat across from her. “Hey, Eve. How are
you doing?”
“Humph.”
“That bad, huh?”
She doesn’t reply only drops her forehead to her
desk.
“Look, about last night, I’m so sorry—“
Her head flies up, and she locks me in a narrow
glare. “Sorry? What do you have to be sorry about? This whole thing
is my fault. I keep telling myself that
this guy
will be
different.
This guy
won’t hit me or talk shit to me. They
all seem so normal in the beginning. Or so I think.” Her head is
back in her hands as she rubs at her temples. “God, Rave, I’m so
fucked up.”
“Eve, you aren’t . . . effed up.”
Her puffy eyes narrow on mine again, and I decide
this is a good time to shut up and listen.
“You know what I did last night after you dropped me
off? I lay in bed all night with my phone on my chest, hoping he
would call me. I wanted that piece-of-shit to call me and tell me
that he was sorry, that he would never scare me again. If he would
have shown up on my doorstep, I would’ve taken him back.” She falls
back into her chair. “Still think I’m not fucked up?”
No, that sounded pretty screwed up to me. But, I
wasn’t going to tell her that.
She’s beating herself up about Vince, feeling as
though this is all her fault. If she knew that she was nothing more
than a job to him, maybe it would help her to let him go and let
herself off the hook.
“Listen, I tried to tell—”
“He held onto you,” she says with a distant sound to
her voice.
“What?” I whisper.
“You were pulling away, almost out of his grasp. He
let go
of me. He
held on
to you.” She looks at me
with tears pooling in her eyes and shame on her face. “I was
jealous.” The tears burst free, creating rivers of pain down her
face. “I’m
so
fucked up.”
She buries her face in her hands as her body shakes
with sobs. I walk to her side of the desk and kneel down.
“Eve, there’s something I need to tell you. I didn’t
tell you before because I was trying to protect you. But, you need
to know now. None of this is your fault.”
Her bloodshot eyes lock on mine as I explain about
Vince. I tell her about Dominick and what his plans are for me. I
keep Jonah’s fight a secret, but I do tell her that Jonah, Dominick
and I are working something out so that I don’t have to prostitute
myself for the rest of my life. I finish by making it clear that,
although I’m sure Vince has feelings for her, his intentions from
the beginning were getting information to Dominick, and his holding
me last night probably had something to do with that.
The silent minutes tick. Eve stares at the wall just
over my shoulder. Her lips are moving, but no sound comes out.
Sitting back on my heels, I wait for her to register the gaggle of
putrid information I dumped on her.
“That fuckingpieceofshitmotherfucker!”
Stunned by her sudden outburst, I rock back,
throwing an arm behind me to keep from falling to my butt.
“Fucking men! Piece-of-shit, no good, dick licking,
motherfucking men!” She shoots out of her chair and paces the small
space of her office. “That’s it!” Locking her wide eyes with mine,
she throws her hands in the air. “I’m done. I’m switching teams. I
despise men and from now on will only date women.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary—”
“Urrggh! My dad, your da—um, Dominick, Vince, every
other sick fuck that came before him! I’m so fucking mad!” She’s
back to pacing.
“Yes, I can see that,” I mumble.
I listen as Eve comes up with every possible
combination for every possible curse word, and even some she
invents on the spot. Having finally exhausted the English language,
she sits back in her chair.
“Are you going to be okay?” I’m grateful to see her
previously purple face fade to a splotchy red.
“Me? Hell yeah, I’ll be okay. I’m a lesbian now. I
think the question is, are you okay?”
I think about how to answer, wanting to be as honest
as I can.
“Yes, I believe I will be.”
And I do. I believe in Jonah and his ability. I
believe in his love and his commitment to getting me away from
Dominick. I believe in us and our future. That’s all I need.
“Thank you for telling me about Vince. I wish you’d
told me earlier, but I don’t know if I would have listened. He
really had me fooled.” She shakes her head.
“Just stay away from him, okay?” I lift my eyebrows,
letting her know I expect an answer.
“Yeah! Of course.”
I nod, but something deep in my gut tells me she’s
doesn’t have the self-control to stay away.
She stands up and wraps me in a hug. “I’m sorry,
Rave.”
“I know. Me too.” I pull back, breaking the hug.
“I’ll text you later tonight when you get off work. Are you sure
you’re okay being alone at your place? Jonah said you’re welcome to
stay in his guest room for as long as you want.”
“Yeah.” She waves me off with a flick of her hand.
“I’m fine, but tell him thanks.”
“I will.” I walk out the door, but pop my head back
into the office. “Don’t kill anyone from the male species
tonight.”
“I’ll try not to.”
Leaving the restaurant, I can’t help but sympathize
with every man who crosses paths with Eve.
***
“Excuse me, miss? You aren’t allowed in there unless
you’re on my list,” a large rent-a-cop says as he taps his
clipboard.
I’m stopped just short of the Training Center’s
doors. I knew Jonah had some of the local media coming to interview
him today, but this is like trying to get backstage at a U2
concert.
“Oh, of course. Um, Raven?” I hope Jonah put me on
the list or I’m about to feel like a complete idiot.
He pushes his mirrored aviator sunglasses up the
bridge of his nose with the tip of his index finger. His gaze
starts at my feet and slides up my body. I cross my arms at my
chest as I’m visually violated.
“I’m going to need to see some identification.”
He’s really taking this door security seriously. It
Llooks like someone didn’t make the cut in cop school. I hand him
my ID. He looks at his list, checks my driver’s license, studies my
face, and is back to his list.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
“All right. You’re all clear.” He hands back my
card.
I’m surprised he didn’t need a blood sample. I nod
in his direction and push through the doors.
The place is alive with activity. The murmur of
voices hums in my ears as I gaze around the lobby. No sign of
Jonah. I slide through the groups of people and down the hallway to
the main training room. The guys are training as usual, but now
they’re surrounded by cameras and news anchors. I push through
about a dozen people in suits, most of whom are talking or texting
on their cell phones.
Stretching up on my toes to see over their heads, I
search for Jonah. I see Rex and Caleb boxing with two trainers I’ve
never met. Owen is talking on camera, a very attractive news anchor
wearing a low cut v-neck shirt and a miniskirt, holding a
microphone to his mouth.
“Baby girl.” I jump and squeak at the sound of
Blake’s voice at my shoulder.
“You scared me to death.” I place my hand over my
heart.
His face is serious and thoughtful. No wisecrack
come-ons or dirty jokes. He steps into my space, his green eyes
boring down on me. “I heard about what happened last night.”
“Last night?” Memories of being naked above Jonah
flood my mind. My cheeks flame. I smack my head with my palm.
“Oh,Vince.” Of course, he would be talking about Vince.
“Yeah. Vince.” His eyes narrow and jaw tenses. “What
did you think I was talking about?”
“Nothing. Forget it.” I blow it off with a
disinterested shrug and pray the pink drains from my face.
He’s still staring. Blake’s never serious for this
long. His face looks pained as he studies the space just above my
head. I look up. Nothing there. What in the heck is he doing?
“Blake, you’re freaking me out.”
He looks at me, grief working behind his eyes before
he blinks it away. “Look, I know . . .” He grimaces and stares at
the floor, like he’s gathering strength from it. “I know what it’s
like to have a no-good, asshole for a father. I’ve lived it. Still
living it.” He rubs his shaved head. “It’s one thing to fuck with
your son, but to fuck with a girl?” A half groan, half growl
rumbles in his chest. His focus is fixed on me. “I guess what I’m
trying to say is, I got your back. And Jonah’s. You feel me?”
I rub my lips together, trying to smash the
inevitable quiver. Whatever happened to Blake in his past is enough
that the simple memory erases the man I know and replaces him with
a scared, timid boy.
My eyes burn with forced back tears. This is too
much. First Jonah and now Blake. They act like they would lay down
their lives to protect me. That’s crazy. And unfamiliar. It feels
like . . . family.
“Yeah, I feel you.”
His eyes sparkle and his cocksure smile returns. He
leans toward me with his hand cupping his ear. “I’m sorry. Did you
say you want to feel me?” He runs his hands over his chest.
“Anywhere in particular or you want me to make suggestions? There’s
one place, down—Ow!”
I smack him in the stomach, happy to see the anguish
wiped from his face.
He rubs the spot at his belly where I hit him. “We
need to get you in the octagon. Damn, that hurt.”
I shoulder bump him, and he takes his cue to pull me
to his side. I don’t say a word, afraid that my voice might show
the deep emotions I’m feeling.
“Come on. I’ll take you to your man.”
Raven
Two days until fight day.
My mind is focused on installing a new timing belt
on the Impala while the lulling voice of Al Green being so in love
fills the air. I mentally inventory my progress. White wall tires,
a paint job, and she’s done.
Bent over with my head under the hood, I feel a
tight grip on my hips. Jonah’s touch has become a second skin, as
recognizable as my own. I smile and gently press my backside into
his groin.
“You wanna tell me what it is you’re hiding from out
here?”
He’s managed to figure me out in the short time
we’ve been together. Come to think of it, he seemed to read me
pretty well after a few days.
I straighten from beneath the hood on a sigh. His
hands slide from my hips to my stomach and I melt into him. His
touch in any capacity renders me totally helpless.
“I’m not hiding. I’m processing.”
With my hair pulled up high on my head, my neck is
at his mercy. He kisses his spot before gently nipping. I
shiver.
“You’re freakin’ out because that formal dinner is
tonight and because my mom is coming into town tomorrow.” His
ability to read me can also be incredibly annoying.
“Yeah.”
Can’t a girl have a secret?
“I don’t
do well with parents. What if she doesn’t like me? I’m sure she’s
really protective of you. I mean if you were my son I would be too.
It’s just . . . I know how my mom feels about me . . .”
I’m unable to finish my thought, not wanting to hear
the words out loud. The fact is I’m pretty sure my mom hates my
guts. She must blame me for her horrible life. If she never had me,
she would have been able to run away from Dominick and have a
chance at a real life or love. How could she not hate me? Thinking
about it makes me hate myself.
“She’s going to love you, baby. She’ll be charmed by
you just like everyone else.”
I wish I had his confidence.
“Besides, you don’t know how your mom feels about
you. I know her actions show that she doesn’t care, but maybe she
doesn’t know how to show you how she feels. Maybe she thinks you
hate her. Hell, you have every right to.”
I usually brush off the subject of my mom when it
comes up, but something deep inside tugs at me. His love has given
me a safe place to fall. I can give him a piece of me. With his
chest pressed to my back, I won’t have to witness the pity in his
eyes.
I can do this.
“When I was a little girl, I used to sneak into her
bed at night.”