by Goode, Ella
“You’ve been holding out on me, Tank.” Morry makes a tsking sound as she comes over to stand next to me. “You never move that fast in the ring.”
“I don’t need to.” He shrugs before he jumps easily into the ring. My mouth falls open as he lands with a loud thunk on his feet. No, I don’t think Tank would have to move much if he didn’t want to. I haven’t even seen him fight and I can already tell he easily dominates the ring. He seems so focused once he’s inside those ropes. It’s like the outside world ceases to exist. It reminds me of the way he is when he’s with me and other girls look at him with dreamy eyes. He doesn’t even notice them. He just sees me.
Tank turns and walks over to the corner. He doesn’t need to try and intimidate anyone. His appearance is intimidating on its own.
“Come here, Treasure.” He motions for me to climb up on the ring apron.
“Knock the crap off, Tank. Start warming up,” Morry shouts. She wanders off for a moment and Tank moves over to where I am, offering me his hand. I take it and he pulls me up into the ring with him.
“I’m already warmed up.” He pulls me into him, making me giggle. He cuts my laugh off with a kiss. “Watch me. I bet you could give me a few tips.”
“Whatever.” I smack his chest. It’s sweet he wants to include me, but I know nothing about boxing.
“I’m serious. Watch my leg work. How I move. If anyone is quick on their toes it’s a dancer. Think of what I’m doing as if it’s a dance. I’m sure you’ll have all kinds of things to teach me.”
“Okay,” I breathe out. Tank doesn’t know it, but teaching has always been something I’ve wanted to do. Teaching dance would be a dream come true. This man keeps opening my eyes in so many ways. The life that had been mapped out for me by my parents is changing.
“Now I want a kiss.” Before I can tell him he can have one, he’s taking it.
“That's enough of that for now,” Morry says. She throws some wrap-looking things up to us. Tank catches them. “Teach your girl to wrap you,” she tosses out.
“That’s never going to happen. I’m always going to take your pussy bare,” Tank whispers so that only I can hear.
“Tank.” I smack his chest. I can’t believe he said that. He fakes that my hit actually hurt him.
“I think she could take you,” Morry jokes.
“She could.” He smiles, his voice dropping low again for only me. “Anytime and anywhere.” I roll my eyes at him as I climb down from the ring and stand where I think I can get the best view.
“Show me what you got, big fella,” I yell as Tank warms up. Sweat is starting to bead on his chest and he bobs and weaves while throwing punches. I stare at him in awe, watching him work like he’s a well-oiled machine. The origin of his nickname becomes clear. He is indeed a tank. I wait for his opponent to step in the ring, already feeling sorry for whoever it’s going to be.
I’m shocked when I see a kid that can’t be but thirteen step into the ring with Tank. I glance to Morry, whom I’ve taken up residence next to. Well, she technically took it up next to me by coming to stand by me.
I watch as Tank goes a few rounds with the kid, letting him get in a few hits while showing him what he did wrong.
“He’s good with him.”
Morry nods in agreement. “Because he used to be him.” My heart feels heavy thinking about how Tank might have grown up. My mom and dad were jerks at times, but they kept a roof over my head. There might have been a lock on the refrigerator, but they fed me and kept me safe to a certain degree.
“Has Tank told you much about his past?” Morry asks.
“No. Not really. He said that you and his foster mother saved him by introducing him to boxing, but not much more than that.” And I never pressed because I don’t like talking about my past. I figured that if I didn’t want to talk about how I grew up, I didn't have the right to ask those questions of Tank.
“He’s not embarrassed by it, so I don’t mind telling you. He had a shitty childhood. He ran away from home quite a few times because his mother was a drug addict who spent more time looking for her next fix than taking care of him. He would get caught and sent back. Finally, the state stepped in and put him in a foster home. When Patty got him, he was a mess. He wanted to fight everyone.”
“He doesn’t seem like that at all now.” Tank said he had a temper, but I’ve never seen it.
“No. He only gets angry in the ring. He’s learned to channel it. He is…he’s just a pure soul,” Morry sighs. “I’ve never really met anyone like him. He decided overnight he didn’t want to be miserable anymore and he devoted himself to boxing and this gym. He’s gentler with these kids than any daycare worker. And they love him.”
I watch a few more boys show up and join in, getting lost in how sweet but stern he is with them. He’s going to make a good father one day. The thought hits me hard and fast, almost knocking the air out of my lungs. Oddly, I don’t panic; instead it’s excitement that creeps in. Maybe not today but one day. I’ve never given the idea of having kids much thought before now. I wasn't sure I was even going to have them. I get my periods but they’re far from regular. My doctors never seem worried about it. They say it’s because I work out so much with dance. Before this moment I’ve never cared. Now it’s all I can think about.
“Treasure.” My head jerks up at the use of my nickname. “Your phone keeps going off.” I look over to my phone, which is indeed ringing.
I answer when I see Liv’s name. Crap, I haven’t talked to her since Tank carried me off. She’s probably freaking.
“Hey,” I say softly. I don’t want to bother anyone who is focused on their training.
“Tell me you’re okay? Why are you whispering?” She throws one question after another.
“Can we talk about this later? I’m kind of…” I pause for a second. Her voice is off. “Are you crying?” I pick up my bag. Tank must see me, so he jumps out of the boxing ring and immediately comes over to me.
“Where are you? I’m coming. Where are your men?” Now it’s me asking the rapid-fire questions.
“What’s wrong?” Tank guides my face with his hand to look up at his, concern written on his features.
“Who’s that?” Now it’s Liv who is whispering. “Is that Tank?” She gasps. “Did you spend the night with him?” Now she’s whisper-yelling at me. We have gotten off track here.
“Liv! Stop. Where are you?” I shout, trying to remind her that she called me in freaking tears. I make sure I have all my stuff before sliding my bag back on my shoulder. Tank is already ripping off the wraps on his hands, making it clear he’s coming with me.
“Our room,” she finally tells me. Maybe I should get that tracking thing on her like the twins have. It took too long to get that out of her. Now I really see why they did it.
“I’m really sorry,” she whispers into the phone, her voice filling with tears again.
“I’m coming,” I tell her. She was right about one thing. Someone’s going to be sorry for whatever they’ve done to her. From the look on Tank’s face right now, he wants part in whatever that payback is going to be.
15
Tank
The entire floor smells like pepperoni and melted cheese, which makes me wonder if instead of egging the dorm room, someone threw pizza all over Erika’s door. There’s no pizza in the room when we arrive, but that’s about all that’s missing.
Despite the attempts to clean up by the twins and their girlfriend, the dorm room still looks like it was ransacked by meth heads looking for their next hit.
“What the fuck happened?” I ask. Erika’s too shaken up to say anything. The girl is sagging in her sneakers. I place a hand at the small of her back to prop her up.
“We’re finding out,” one of the twins says, although I’m not sure which one. They both look the same to me.
“This dorm floor’s got like thirty women and all of them have phones. Someone has to have recorded something.” I’ll pound on their
doors all day long if that’s what it takes, because no one does this to my treasure.
“Why do you think it smells like a pizzeria up here? We already bribed them and have the video.” The same twin waves his phone at my face. “We’re in the process of making an ID.”
I grab the phone and watch two guys wearing collared shirts with khaki shorts stand in front of Erika’s door. Their backs block the view of the door handle and lock, but my guess is they’ve got some tool. The door pops open and they disappear inside. After ten minutes, they exit, leaving the door wide open.
“They’re proud of their work,” I note. The bastards didn’t bother disguising themselves. One of them grins and winks at the camera. I wonder if he’ll enjoy swallowing his own teeth.
“That they are.”
I toss the phone back to the Audley twin. “Text me when you have more deets. I want in.”
“On what?” Sweet, innocent Erika stands up with some of her clothes in her hands and casts me a confused glance.
“I want in on helping you clean up,” I reply blandly. The Audley boys will know what I want. Erika doesn’t need ugly stuff in her life.
It takes about an hour to clean up the room, haul out the trash and pack up a couple bags—one for Erika and one for her roommate. Neither girl is staying here tonight and if I have my way, Erika won’t be back.
She’s quiet as we walk to my truck. I hate that she’s upset. Maybe I should tell her I’m going to rearrange their faces.
“You know that I’m going to make that whole mess right, don’t you?” I say as I help Erika into the truck.
She makes a face. “I’m not bothered about that. I’m…my parents are going to find out and they’ll be mad.”
“Why are they going to find out?”
She pushes a hand over her hair in frustration. “It’s campus policy. Any time you’re the subject of a hate attack, your parents get called. A girl on another floor got a nasty note written on her message board and her parents were called.”
I can tell she’s agitated. I run my palms over her thighs. “Okay. So why will they be mad? It’s not your fault.”
“They won’t see it that way.”
The defeat in her tone makes me want to gnash my teeth together. Maybe it’s not just the two dudes that need a midnight visit. Maybe her parents do, too. But I can’t punch her dad in the face, can I? That seems to cross the line, even for me.
“I think what we both need is some food. Let’s get pasta over at Spinneli’s and then go home and fuck like bunnies.”
I start to slam the door shut when she yells, “Wait.”
I swing it back open. “What?”
“Are we getting extra-cheesy garlic bread and the deep-fried ravioli?”
“We are now.”
That puts a smile on her face. The smile remains because we get all her favorite foods, plus a custard for dessert. She eats everything. When we get home, I feed Tuesday and then lock her out so that I can have my dessert.
After she falls asleep, I call a gym body to come and watch over Erika. I meet him outside.
“Sorry that I’m not letting you in.” I hand him a Benjamin. He slides it into his pocket.
“No problem, man. I’ll just sit here on the floor. It’s cleaner than the mat at the gym.”
“Don’t let Morry hear you say that,” I warn. She takes good care of the place.
He holds his hands over his head. “I was joking. Anyway, like I said, this is fine.”
I leave Brix and walk downstairs to meet the Audley twins. Apparently, the perpetrators belong to some frat house. I hate frat boys and am irrationally pleased we are going to beat up a few tonight.
I slam one fist into my palm and grin at the Audleys.
“We’re not fighting,” one of them tells me.
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because I have other plans. I’ll explain when we get there.”
Hopefully that means we’re torching the place, but when we arrive, one of them tells me that we’re doing everything “by the book,” whatever the fuck that means.
“We’ve promised Olivia that we can’t go to prison because only one of us gets conjugal rights,” one of them explains.
“Can’t you just switch it up? You guys look alike.”
“We could, but Olivia is convinced we’d get caught. To her, we’re as different as night and day.”
I look from one face to the other and back again. The only way to tell these boys apart is to break one of their noses. I don’t do that because I don’t think Erika would be happy. A moving van shows up minutes later, which pisses me off.
“What’s that? We don’t need outside reinforcements…or witnesses.”
“Trust me, Tank. Like I said, we promised Olivia we wouldn’t get in trouble.”
Not getting in trouble apparently means that Zeke Audley buys the damned fraternity house. The main frat dude is looking so distressed, I’m finding it hard to keep a straight face. While Zeke informs the frat boys that the van is there to get them to move out, I do a little investigation, gathering up all the alcohol, weed, pills, and coke they have stashed around the first floor.
The main guy grabs some paperwork from Audley. “There’s a thirty-day termination clause.”
“Not if the landlord has the reasonable belief that there are illegal activities going on. I believe you had a party the other day wherein underage students were allowed to drink. I have statements from various students admitting to this. There is also the matter of the drugs.”
I clear my throat and gesture with both hands at my collection.
The unhappy frat dude flips to the last page of the document he’s reading and curses.
“Fuck you!” he screams, spittle flying out of his mouth. “This is illegal. Wait until my father hears about this.”
I roll my eyes. Oh no, not the father threat. Audley is unimpressed with this as well. After some squabbling, the frat boy tells his sad crew to start packing and the Audleys leave. I wait because I spot one of the dudes from the video just over the left shoulder of the lead frat boy.
“You.” I motion toward the blond dude. All of his housemates turn to look at him.
“Me?” he mouths and points to his chest.
“Yeah, you. I’ve got something to show you.”
“I’m not interested.”
I hold out a closed fist. “You might be into this. It’s something new on the market. Real potent. Will knock a person out for hours with one hit.”
He cocks his head, ponders my words, and then decides my offer sounds good. He pushes his way down the stairs. As soon as he’s within reaching distance, I clock him in the jaw. He goes down like fresh cut timber.
I grin at the other boys, who are frozen on the stairs. “Nice chatting with you dudes. Any time you want more of this, you can find me at Morry’s gym.” I doff an imaginary cap and jog out of the house, whistling under my breath. Today wasn’t such a bad day, after all.
My good mood dissipates the minute I arrive at the condo. My guy is gone. Pissed, I dig out my phone to call him when a text pops up. It’s Erika, telling me she left to go to her dorm.
“Fuck.” I turn around and head for the exit. Did she hear about the frat house thing? Is she mad that I broke that dude’s nose and dislodged a couple of teeth? That was mild compared to what I wanted to do to him.
The hall monitor squawks a protest when I push through the dorm hall entrance.
“No guys in here after ten,” she yells at my back.
I wave a hand of acknowledgment. Girl is just doing her job. I can’t be mad about that, but I’m not stopping either. It takes only a minute to climb the three flights of stairs. My heart stops racing when I see my guy loitering in front of Erika’s dorm room.
“Hey, my man,” Brix calls quietly. “She burst out of the place and I couldn’t tell her to go back inside so I just followed her here,” he explains.
I hand him another hundred and send him on his wa
y.
“Babe? It’s Tank. You okay?”
She opens the door a second later, and by the tight, pinched look on her face, I know my question was a dumb one. She is clearly not okay. “What’s wrong?” Or, in Tank-speak, whose ass am I kicking?
She holds up her phone. “My parents are coming.”
16
Erika
Tank looks at my phone and shrugs. “Tell them to come to our place.” He pushes my door the rest of the way open. I have to step back to make room for him to come in. Our place? My heart gives a happy flutter, but I push it away. I have my parents to deal with first. They’d flip if they thought I was living with some man. The bullshit part about it is they would have never known what I was doing in my life if it weren’t for this dorm room being wrecked. They’d be none the wiser because they aren’t like normal parents who actually gave a shit about their kid. Especially after my leg injury. My mom pretty much wrote me off after that because I was no longer valuable to her. My anxiety is at an all-time high knowing that they are coming. My mom is good at putting me on edge. Everything I say or do is wrong or could be done better in her eyes.
“You can’t stay here,” he adds while looking around the room. It still smells weird in here even after the cleaning. I hadn’t wanted to come back, but this is where my parents will show up to. I’m not sure if they’re coming because they actually care or to save face. I’ve learned to stop hoping that they do anything because they care. I’ve been disappointed by them so many times that now it’s not even disappointment anymore. It just is what it is. That doesn’t mean their ways don’t still sting.
I know that Tank and the Audley twins took care of whoever messed with Liv and our dorm room, but he still isn’t keen on the idea of me sleeping here. I’m not sold on the idea either, but it isn’t because I’m scared to stay in the room or the underlying stench that still lingers. I don’t want to stay anywhere Tank isn’t going to be. How is it possible that a man that I’ve only known for a short period of time could have such a profound impact on my life? His ability to be vulnerable, to love, to have compassion is unlike anything I have ever known.
