“Can you stay over here?”
His eyes were a darker green in the dimly lit backyard. I smiled when he gestured for the waitress to place his food on the same side as mine. Even after he agreed to sit close, Nick’s demeanor felt distant now. Cold maybe.
We devoured mounds of pork along with mash potatoes covered in pork sauce until I felt stuffed. Nick kept eating then finished mine. He was like my brothers when they would go through growth spurts in their teens.
“I’m sorry I called you trailer trash,” I said, staring up at him. “I really don’t remember saying it, but I was mouthing off a lot that first week of school. There were a lot of new girls and some were really hot and I felt insecure. I get rude when I’m nervous.”
Nick finally glanced down at me and nodded. “You really do. It’s like your mouth is on crack.”
Feeling like a loser, I lowered my head and wished to go back to when I was dreaming about the other Nick. The nice one, instead of the real guy who thought I was shit.
“I like when you mouth off,” he said, wrapping hair behind my ear. “It’s funny.”
“You think I’m funny?” I muttered.
Nick didn’t answer. Instead, he checked his watch and sighed. “I need to get going. I didn’t sleep much last night and I need to get up early for the gym.”
“Oh.”
Nick waved over the waitress and paid the bill. After downing a soda, he stood and reached his hand out for me. I took it and followed him to the Harley.
“Thanks for the date,” I mumbled, ready to cry for real this time.
Nick laughed. “This wasn’t a date.”
“Oh. What was it then?”
“A test run. Tomorrow will be a date.”
“Tomorrow?” I asked, embracing a glimmer of hope.
“Yeah,” he said, brushing hair off my bare shoulders. When I shivered at his touch, Nick smiled in a really soft beautiful way. “Let’s skip the study group and go on a real date.”
“That sounds nice.”
Nick shoved his hands in his pockets and squinted at me. “Bailey, I’ve liked you for a long fucking time and you didn’t seem to know I existed. Now when everyone thinks I’m special just because I can take a punch, you show interest in me. I wanted to know if it was a game for you. I tested to make sure you weren’t a little bitch using me. You seem like a girl who’s really interested in me.”
“I am,” I said, irritated I had to jump through hoops.
“So tomorrow no talk of waxed pussies or trailer trash. We’ll do wherever you want and have a real date. What happens afterwards happens, but I needed to know we were starting from a real place.”
Despite my hurt feelings from earlier, I realized Nick and I were on the same page. He didn’t see me as a hang and bang girl. He liked me for me. I really liked him too, even after realizing he was more complicated than I’d thought. He wasn’t a dream and I wasn’t a fantasy. We were real and tomorrow we got to start again.
Chapter Four ~ Nick
Bailey didn’t want to leave me when I dropped her off near her red SUV. She tried to get a conversation going and I considered sticking around. Her skin was so soft and I loved the feel of her arms around me. The thought of talking all night and kissing her until our lips were chapped felt right, but I still told her good night.
As much as I loved the money, fighting left me tired. I was always training, fighting, or studying. Never a restful sleeper, lately I couldn’t get comfortable because of fight injuries or muscle strains. My time at the Thunderdome left me hurting in a way I hadn’t suffered since I was a teenager. Not since I stood up to my old man and made clear I wasn’t a viable punching bag anymore.
Arriving at my apartment, I still tasted Bailey on my lips. I’d waited a long year to kiss her and I found myself smiling the whole ride home. Even with the happy end to my night, I felt the darkness rising up in me.
My roommate, Danny Boy, wasn’t home to my relief. While he was a nice kid, the guy was pussy obsessed. Nothing else mattered. Not classes or friends. Not even remembering to eat or sleep. I didn’t know what he left behind at home, but the guy acted as if he’d never seen a pretty girl before.
I locked my bedroom door then walked to the adjoining bathroom. Over the summer, I moved to a nicer apartment with two bedrooms and baths. Danny Boy used the one in the hall while I enjoyed the master bathroom. He didn’t mind since the guy enjoyed walking around half naked.
The hot water felt good on my bruised shoulder. My left hip hurt too, but the shoulder was killing me all day. I might be on a winning streak, but that didn’t mean the losers didn’t make me suffer before my win.