Chapter 44
It’s Thursday night, and I’m out getting something to eat. Rey had wanted me to stay over, but I’d never get my studying done. I’ll be too busy on him or under him. Every time I’m in bed with him, I want to explore every inch of his hard body.
I enter a local college spot to pick up the food. I don’t feel like cooking because I have a term paper due, and I’m halfway done.
I’m standing in line when I notice a lot of people with Flyers T-shirts and hats.
I look through the take-out window. The place has wood paneling, with dollar bills stuck on the wood. There are signatures of students who have come through over the years. Some have gone pro. People cheer while watching TV and drinking beer. I walk down the bar. College students wearing Flyers jerseys and T-shirts line up at the bar to order drinks.
Dread crawls down my spine because I hope it means people are just watching a game on TV.
This place serves good food, is cheap, and is also a sports bar where students hang out to drink and watch the games.
Since breaking up with Jimmy, I haven’t watched a single hockey game. I don’t even know what their schedule is.
I hear shouting in the back. Guys are chanting for some girls to take shots .
I’m sure it’s their way to get the girls shit-faced so they can get a quick bang on a Thursday night.
Why do girls fall for that? But then again, some girls don’t even care. They’ll do anything to sleep with a guy if he’s hot, especially for free shots.
“Oh my God, it is you.” I hear a girl say to my right.
I turn while waiting in the ridiculous line to pick up my food. Why is the line long when my food is supposed to be ready? It is takeout for a reason and the point of ordering it by phone beforehand. Sometimes I don’t understand restaurants, but this is better than a greasy fast food burger that will give me a stomachache in the morning.
“It is,” the girl to my right says.
“Are you talking to me?” I ask.
“Oh yeah, I’m sorry. My name is Ginger.” She picks up a strand of her hair to show me how she got her name.
“I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“I’m sorry, but you have been all over social media since you started dating the hot-ass boxer Rey Vicente. I noticed it was you because his brother always posts pictures of you guys training. It is so cute that he is teaching you how to box. There are also people posting that you used to be in a serious relationship with Jimmy Harding.”
I notice she is with a group of friends, and they all have drinks in their hands.
One of them smiles at me. “You have to tell us your secret.”
“Secret?”
“Yeah, how did you land two rich athletes?”
I scratch the top of my head, trying to figure out why girls are this shallow and ask stupid questions. There is no secret.
“It sure isn’t drinking at a bar. I met Rey through his brother and Jimmy when he attended Penn State before he went pro. Which means when he was broke. ”
They all look at each other, and I know whatever I said flew over their heads, but at least I tried.
The crowd parts, and the last person I want to see walks through.
Shit. Jimmy.
If the universe could swallow me whole, I would love for it to happen right now so I can escape.
I look away before he spots me, but when I glance over, he is looking at me appreciatively. He motions to one of his teammates with the neck of his beer and tells him something.
His friend looks over at me and winks. I roll my eyes.
The restraining order was temporary, and I didn’t have enough evidence to prove he was a danger to my life to make it permanent, so the judge dropped it.
The line begins to move faster, and the group of girls moves to the other side of the bar. I open my phone and the social media app to see what they are talking about. I click on Rey’s profile, and there are cute pictures of Rey and me at the gym. There are good shots of him teaching me and others where he is right behind me and is standing closer than necessary. There is even one where he is kissing my head.
“Your smile is still beautiful, Ari.” My head snaps up when I heard Jimmy’s voice.
“Jimmy, you?—”
He raises his hands. “I know. I just can’t help but say that I still love you.”
I shake my head, annoyed that he still doesn’t get it. Jimmy’s problem isn’t that he loves me. He doesn’t like to lose.
He steps back. His friends smirk like they were in on a secret I was unaware of. I grab my food and pay for it, trying to get out of there as fast as I can.
I unlock my car, get in, and lock the doors. I back out and head home .
I text Rey when I make it home.
Ari: I made it home. When I was getting my food, I ran into Jimmy.
Rey: Shit, Ari. Did he say anything to you?
Ari: Yeah, he came up with his friends and said he still loved me, but I warned him. He backed off, and I’m home.
Rey: Tell me if you need me to come and get you.
I get out of my car and lock it, walking up the stairway to the second floor. I’m about to close the door when it is quickly shoved open, causing me to fall back and drop my food.
When I look up, Jimmy smiles at me like a predator that has his prey cornered right where he wants them.
“Hello, Ari.” He leans close after he shuts the door and flicks the locks. “I’ve missed you. I’m glad you invited me to hang out like old times.” I want to puke when I smell the beer on his breath. Rey was right. Jimmy needs mental help.
He grabs my hair, pain shooting in the back of my skull. And drags me toward the bedroom. “Ahh, stop it. You’re hurting me, Jimmy.”
He releases my hair when he shoves me on the bed. I get up and throw a punch to his jaw.
His head rears back, and then he laughs.
“You have been dying to hit me since you found out I was fucking Mandy in the shower. I even liked the way you got all mad because she was riding my dick. But here is the thing.” He leans close, pinning me on the bed. I struggle. He is bigger and stronger. I try to lift my left leg to kick him, but he pushes me into the mattress. His body is over me, and I try to kick, shove, scratch, but he pins me .
“She likes it when I have sex with you, and she cleans me off. She likes it, Ari. She likes the idea of me and you and her on the side.”
“You’re sick,” I say through clenched teeth.
“You were always the first, baby.” He rubs his hard cock into me, and I want to gag. “This is what you do to me, Ari. I get so hard for you.”
“Get off me! HELP! HELP!” I scream.
I’m tired from fighting, and I know he is going to rape me.
I play possum. When he releases my hands, I rear my fist back and punch him in the face.
“You bitch!” He yells in pain, placing his hands over his face.
I scramble from the bed and run to the front door.
The door swings open, and Rey appears. Tears run down my cheeks. He came.
He takes one look at me, and he knows. He can tell that something is wrong.
Jimmy leaves the room with a bloody nose, and Rey doesn’t waste time. He gets in a fighter stance and hits Jimmy with an uppercut.
Jimmy falls back with a thud against the wall. I grab my phone and dial 911.
“Nine one one, what is your emergency?” the operator says through the phone.
I tell them what happened in a shaky voice, looking at Jimmy out cold on the floor.
Rey wraps me in his arms. I’m trembling. “Did he, Ari? Did he?”
I know what he is asking, and I shake my head, and he sighs in relief.
We wait until the cops show up, and I’m grateful Jimmy is still out cold. The cops come and arrest him, and he’s going to jail. Rey says he will take care of everything and that I landed an excellent punch.
Rey: You did good, baby. I'm proud of you.
Ari: How did you know?
Rey: I felt it the day he touched you. I had a bad feeling he wouldn’t let it go, but I had to be sure. That is why I wanted to take you to school and not let you out of my sight.
Ari: Thank you, Rey.
Rey: I’ll feel better if you stay with me.
I look up and nod.
I grabbed enough clothes to stay with Rey for a while. He helped lock up the apartment and throw away anything that could perish.
I didn’t want to involve my parents, but I had to call them so they knew I was okay.
It was quickly all over the news about Jimmy and how Rey came just in time to save me from what Jimmy planned. He was immediately suspended from the Flyers and soon dropped from pro hockey.
Rey texted his lawyer, and I immediately agreed to press charges.
It also meant that I wasn't leaving The Sweat Box. I couldn’t leave Rey.
Rey and Javier were like two guardian angels. It is scary to think of the situation I put myself in getting involved with Jimmy.
What Jimmy revealed to me in my apartment made me realize that I was living with a person who was not right mentally.
Rey sent one of his friends to pick up his car from my apartment and drop it off at his house.
When we arrive, Javier is waiting for us. He walks up to the car, and he gets my bags.
“Hey, Hermanita . Are you okay? I’m glad Rey was there.”
I give him a smile. “Yeah.” I look up when Rey goes and gets my suitcase out of the back. “My badass boyfriend came just in time to kick his ass and save me.”
Javier turns around and looks at Rey, waiting for me to come inside and sign what I just said.
Rey gives me a sexy smile and a wink. “Always. I promised...you. I would never let anyone hurt you, Ari,” he says with so much emotion.
His voice is the best sound in the world.
I run up to him and wrap my hands around his neck. “I love you,” I mouth, reaching up, and he bends so I can press my lips to his.