“So, you just happened to stumble upon her in the bathroom?”
“Well…”
“That’s what I figured,” he gives me a look of disapproval. “I hope she’s worth it, man, because when you two get caught…”
Since when did Jase become a moral compass?
“I’m gonna crash. I’m exhausted.”
“Okay, bro. See you in the morning,” he says, letting me off the hook way too easily.
“’Night.”
“Jesus, Say, you look a hot mess,” Salem says aloud to her reflection. Her body is still recovering from the amazing sex she and Gabriel had less than five minutes ago. Just at the thought, a chill shoots through her body and her legs get weak. Desperately in need of cooling down and making herself look presentable, she reaches for the paper towels and runs a few under cool water before laying them on the back of her neck. She then swipes the cool towels over her face to remove any sweat. The last thing she needs is Blaine noticing anything out of the ordinary; he’s already been questioning her about the lack of time they spend together.
She runs her hands through her hair to smooth out any that might be out of place, and at closer inspection, she notices how flushed her face is. Her fingertips touch her crimson cheeks; they’re hot to the touch. The corners of her swollen mouth curl up, forming a small smirk. She can almost feel Gabriel touching her and it ignites a fire in her belly; her entire body begins to tingle.
Taking in a deep, cleansing breath, she gathers her wits about her and steps out into the hallway. “I was beginning to worry about you!” Blaine rushes to her side.
“I’m not feeling so hot,” she groans, hoping he’ll fall for her act. “Will you take me home?”
“I should’ve known by your third Midori Sour that you’d be puking in the bathroom,” he mutters condescendingly.
“You know me; I’m a lightweight.”
“I think Jimmy and I may stick around for a few more rounds. Do you think Jocelyn could come and pick you up?”
Salem’s first thought is, “What a prick,” but a huge wave of relief washes over her when Blaine suggests Jocelyn come and pick her up. That means, no need for excuses on how she’s going to get out of sex with him tonight. “Uh, I can text her and see.”
“Yeah, why don’t you do that,” he encourages.
Salem takes the empty seat next to Jimmy. While she digs through her purse, she can feel Jimmy’s eyes on her, but he quickly turns his head in the other direction when she looks up at him. Finally, she finds her phone at the bottom of her bag and texts Jocelyn.
Salem – Can you come and get me?
Within a matter of seconds, there’s a response.
Jocelyn – Where are you?
Salem – Um, I don’t know.
“Jimmy, where are we?”
“Patsy’s, on the corner of Powers and Cleveland Street.”
Surprised that he actually answered, Salem relays the street address to Jocelyn.
Jocelyn – I’ll be there in thirty minutes.
Out of the corner of her eye, Salem catches Jimmy looking at her once again. “Is there something you’d like to ask me, Jimmy?”
His head shoots in the opposite direction again.
“I can feel you staring at me.”
“Uh… uh…” he stammers.
“Just spit it out.” Salem’s a bit more brazen than normal because of the buzz she still has from all of those drinks.
“You and Saint…” is all Jimmy is able to utter.
“What about us?”
“You’re different than the others.”
“Different?” Salem asks.
“Yeah, different. Saint’s kind of a… hmmm… how should I put this?”
“A Neanderthal?” Salem blurts out, finishing Jimmy’s sentence for him.
He nearly spits out his beer. “No,” he rolls his eyes at her. “Damn, you really have a thing for that word.”
“Well, I actually think it’s pretty accurate.” She tries to play it off, “Aaand, we’re just friends.”
Cocking his head at her, Jimmy asks skeptically, “Friends?”
“Yes, friends.”
“I’ve known Saint for a very long time, and he’s never had a friend like you.”
“Well, maybe you don’t know Gabriel as well as you thought you did.”
“Oh, I know him and he’s never had a ‘girl’ friend,” Jimmy uses his fingers to make quotations marks in the air, “in any sense of the word. And none of his friends call him ‘Gabriel,’ might I add.”
“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.” Salem has a smug look on her face.
Giving it right back to her, Jimmy continues, “Yes, because it’s completely normal for friends to leave hickeys on each other’s necks.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You left hickeys all over his neck.”
“I did no such thing,” her voice begins to rise.
“Well, unless he was with someone else in that bathroom, you did.”
“I think I would remember giving him a hickey,” her face is full of disgust.
“I’m not sure how much you’re gonna remember of this entire night after all the drinks you had at dinner.”
“Were you counting my drinks?”
“It was kinda hard to miss. You and Saint were actin’ like you had a bet goin’ to see who could consume more alcohol.”
Salem cringes, “We were that bad?”
“Yeah, it was pretty bad.”
Shaking her head when she learns of her actions, Salem mumbles, “Oh boy.”
“There you are!” Jocelyn proclaims as she walks up to Salem and Jimmy. “I can’t believe you’re in a place like this,” she looks around at the clientele curiously.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jimmy snaps gruffly, taking offense to what Jocelyn just said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend you. I, for one, love a good dive bar. But this prima donna, here,” she points to Salem, “she’d never be caught dead in one.”
Jimmy chuckles, “Yeah, she’s definitely outta her element here.”
“I can hear you,” Salem gripes.
“I know you can, sweetie,” Jocelyn reaches down and pulls her friend up to a standing position. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“Can you drop me off at Gabriel’s?”
“Salem, you need to keep your voice down,” Jocelyn scolds her. “And the answer to the question is no. You’re coming home with me.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I think you’ve had all the fun you’re going to have tonight.” Jocelyn leads Salem away by her arm.
Just as the two of them are about to walk out the door, in walks Blaine. “Oh great, you got ahold of Jocelyn.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, Blaine. I’ll take her home and tuck her into bed,” Jocelyn’s lip curls up in anger.
Completely ignoring Jocelyn’s comment, Blaine closes in on Salem to give her a kiss. “I’ll call you in the morning, babe. I hope you feel better.”
“Time to go!” Jocelyn announces loudly, pulling Salem away from Blaine just before he can plant his lips on hers.
“Phew! That was a close one,” Salem announces as they walk, arm-in-arm, to Jocelyn’s car.
“How many drinks have you had tonight?”
“I don’t even know, but apparently enough to give Gabriel hickeys.”
“Salem Marie Harris, you dirty little hussy!”
“Well, that’s according to Jimmy, Gabriel’s friend. You know, the guy that helped him with our class? But I don’t recall giving him any hickeys.”
Jocelyn opens the passenger’s side door for her friend and helps her into the car. By the time she’s in the driver’s seat, Salem’s eyes are closed and she has a goofy smile on her face.
“Whatcha smiling at over there?”
The sound of Jocelyn’s door shutting startles her. “I’m not smiling.”
“Oh, you were mo
st definitely smiling.”
“I was just thinking.”
“Thinking about…? Do you plan on expanding?”
“Stuff.”
“Okay, Salem, you need to spill it. I’m not gonna sit here and pull out every single piece of information. I would like to go to sleep at some point tonight.” Jocelyn then starts her car and begins to drive.
Salem sits quietly, still with the grin on her face.
“So, exactly how did you manage to get Gabriel alone to put hickeys on his neck?”
“We were in the bathroom,” she sighs dreamily.
“The bathroom?! Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”
“Oh Jocey…”
“Oh Jocey, what?”
“He fucks me so good...” as soon as those words pass Salem’s lips, her hand covers her mouth.
Jocelyn slams on her brakes. “Do you mean to tell me, that the two of you got it on in the bathroom of that dive bar, with your boyfriend not even twenty feet away?!”
Salem’s hand is still covering her mouth. Her eyes are wide open now and she’s nodding her head profusely.
Jocelyn throws her car into park and tries to pry her friend’s hand off her mouth. “You’re not going to drop a bomb like that on me and then go mute. Spill it!”
“I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Look, I don’t need the boring details of the entire night. Just skip to the good stuff.”
“It’s always good with him,” Salem giggles.
“Oh geez.”
“Well, me and the two other girls were out on the dance floor. Gabriel joined us and started to dance with his date,” she makes a face.
“Oh, Heaven forbid he actually dance with his date,” Jocelyn mocks.
Salem’s head whips over in Jocelyn’s direction and she scowls at her.
“Don’t get pissy with me. I told you to dump shithead ages ago.”
“Anyways,” Salem rolls her eyes, “she started feelin’ up on him; I got pissed and stomped off.”
“In typical Salem fashion.”
“Ha, ha, ha, very funny.”
“Can you just get to the good stuff, already?” Jocelyn insists. “I don’t need to know about the almost cat fight on the dance floor.”
“He followed me into the bathroom.”
“I like him better than Blaine already.”
“Do you want to hear the rest of the story or are you just gonna keep interrupting me?”
“Okay, geez, finish. And don’t leave out any juicy details,” Jocelyn warns.
“I tried to throw him out but he cornered me. His eyes…” Salem sighs, “his mouth, his hands. Oh God, his hands…” her eyes close as she speaks.
“Do you need me to roll down a window or leave you alone for a few minutes?”
Salem’s eyes spring open and she smirks, “No.”
“So, you guys really had hot sex in the bathroom?”
Salem nods her head.
“And Blaine has no clue?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Say, you gotta just end it with him. Just rip the Band-Aid off. It’ll be quick and painless, I promise.”
“I will… soon,” Salem responds vacantly as she turns her head to look out the window.
Sucker Punch – An unexpected punch that catches a person completely off guard. The term, sucker punch, dates back to 1947 in the sport of boxing.
Monday morning is here before I know it, and the screaming of my alarm wakes me. As I roll out of bed, I can still feel a small amount of stiffness and pain from the accident, but it’s nothing a few Tylenol can’t handle. At Chris’ suggestion, I had flushed the rest of my prescription pain meds down the toilet, so Tylenol’s pretty much all I have, anyways. Both he and I agree that Jase doesn’t need any sort of temptation.
“Wow, you’re up early!” Jase exclaims as I walk into the kitchen.
“My training starts today.”
“Oh yeah. You don’t think Frankie will take it easy on you? It’s your first day back after the accident.”
“Ha! Are you kiddin’? Frankie isn’t gonna go any easier on me than before, and honestly, he won’t be doing me any favors if he does. It’s time for me to put up or shut up.”
“Okay, bro, if you say so.”
“I know my limits, Jase. I’ll be okay.”
“You wanna grab a pizza or somethin’ for dinner?”
“Yeah, definitely. I’ll bring it home. I’ll see you around seven.”
When I arrive at Frankie’s, the entire place is dark besides the light shining underneath Frankie’s office door. I call out to him as soon as I step foot into the gym, but there’s no response. As I approach his office, I hear his gruff voice, “I know I said the end of last week, but the funding didn’t come in. I’ll have it by Saturday at the very latest.” He gets quiet. I’m reaching for the door handle to enter his office when Frankie’s voice rises into a thunderous boom, “Don’t you threaten me!” I jump back, letting the door handle go and nearly losing my balance.
Again, the room goes quiet, and I lean my ear in, hoping to get a hint of who may be on the other end of the telephone. The next sound I hear is the phone slamming down. I look around the gym, trying to figure out if I should hide and pretend I didn’t hear the conversation or confront him about it. I hear the shuffling around of papers and Frankie grumbling. I decide to just knock on the door; no need to stir the pot even more right now, but I definitely won’t be letting this go. I need to figure out what kind of trouble Frankie’s in and maybe I can help him out of it.
“Who is it?” he shouts from behind the door.
“It’s me,” I answer as I crack his office door open. “We’re trainin’ this morning, or did you forget?”
“No, I didn’t forget. I just didn’t expect you this early.”
“I’m not early, Frankie. The kids are gonna be here any minute.”
“What the…?” he looks down at his watch. “I guess I lost track of time. Will you turn the lights on for me, kid?”
Giving him a strange look, I reply, “Yeah, of course.”
“What’s that look for?”
“What look?”
“The look you have on your face.”
“I dunno. I guess I’m just a little confused.”
“About what?”
“You’ve been actin’ kinda strange lately. You forgot we were trainin’ today, and you had no idea what time it was. That’s not like you, Frankie.”
“I didn’t forget we were trainin’, and I knew exactly what time it was,” he barks back at me.
“I think you’re hidin’ somethin’ from me.”
“Hidin’ somethin’, like what?” His brow furrows as he crosses his arms over his chest.
“I don’t know.”
Frankie begins to laugh a deep, belly laugh. “You’ve got some imagination, kid. You know that?” Slapping his hand down on his knee, he’s laughing so hard that tears begin to run down his cheeks. I stare at him, confused, and I begin to wonder what the hell I’m missing. Did I not just hear him scream at someone not to threaten him and then slam the phone down?
Frankie finally regains his composure and wipes the tears from underneath his eyes. “Thanks for the laugh. I really needed that this morning.”
Still baffled by it all, I say, “Uh… sure, anytime.”
“Once you get back from takin’ the kids to school, we’ll head over to Blaine’s.”
“Yeah, okay.” I turn to leave his office.
“Hey, come here for a minute.”
I turn in his direction.
Frankie’s eyes are squinting as if he’s straining to see something, and his index finger is calling me over to him.
Not hiding the annoyance in my voice, I ask, “What?”
“Come here,” he insists.
Stomping my feet like a child, I make my way over to Frankie’s desk. “Whatcha got on your neck?”
Instantly, my hands cover
my throat. Jesus, how the fuck could I have forgotten?!
“Is that what I think it is?”
“No, it’s a monkey bite. Jimmy and I were goofin’ around the other night.” Jimmy and I used to always give each other monkey bites when we were younger. You basically pinch and twist the skin on the neck, giving it the look of a hickey. We would then walk around proudly, trying to pass them off as real hickeys to impress the other guys in our school. We’d actually go as far as making up girls’ names and saying they were from another school outside of our district, each of us vouching for the other one’s story.
Frankie just nods his head, not believing a word I just told him. “Remember, no broads.”
“How could I forget?”
“I’m just makin’ sure you got it all outta your system this past weekend, and that we’re both on the same page.”
“Got it.” I salute him and turn toward the door.
“Who was it, anyways?”
“Who was, what?”
“The one who marked up your neck. Anyone I know?” Frankie’s eyes hone in on me.
“Nah, just some girl I met the other night.”
“You finally got Blaine’s broad outta your head?”
“She was never in my head, Frankie.”
Raising an eyebrow at me, he continues, “Uh-huh. Well, not according to your brother.”
“Don’t listen to Jase; he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talkin’ about.”
“I think I’m more apt to believe your brother over you when it comes to a woman.”
“Believe what you want, old man, but nothin’ happened between us.” Christ, I hate having to lie right to his face.
“Hey, man, I hope you had a good time Saturday night,” Blaine smiles warmly as Frankie and I walk through the door at TKO.
“I’d say he had fun; look at his neck,” Frankie chimes in, unamused.
“When the hell did that happen?”
“To be completely honest, I don’t even remember it happening.”
“Well, your date was pretty hot for you. She didn’t take her eyes off of you for a second.”
I shrug my shoulders. “We’re just friends. I’m not allowed to get involved while I’m trainin’.”
“That’s right. Don’t give him any ideas, Blaine,” Frankie grumbles. “We need his head clear for the fight. This may be his one and only shot for a title fight, and we don’t need him fuckin’ it up because of a broad.”
Going the Distance Page 17
