Chapter 14
Rafi
I'm on fire. I have been, every day this week. I have just under a month until my next big fight—the biggest of my career so far—and if I keep fighting like this, I have no doubt I'll win.
I just left the ring and I barely broke a sweat, taking Stetson down in seconds. Seconds. Coach and I talked about hiring a few guys from out of state to come and work with me, just to give me more challenge, variety. I'm all for it, I am ready.
This is that feeling I told Emma about, when I tried to describe to her that it wasn't really about the win, it was about the fight. The adrenaline, the skill, the challenge. That's what I love about this sport.
I hop in the shower to rinse off. It's getting late, the sun is still out, but the gym typically closes around 5 pm, and I'm ready to wrap it up. Double Down doesn't cater to a working-class schedule, it's a place for serious fighters only, so we don't have to worry about it getting crowded with on-lookers or people trying to prove they've got something they don't.
Nothing wrong with a weekend warrior gym rat, but this isn't the place for them. So I assume, as I'm stepping out of the shower, that I'd be alone.
But I'm not.
"What the fuck!" I shout, when I see Tina's little blonde head spin away from me to cover her eyes.
"Omigod, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were in here!"
"Right. Well, get the fuck out." I growl, reaching for a towel on the hook. I don't bother drying myself off, I just wrap it around my waist so she can't perv out on me. Too late for that though.
"Wait, are you covered? I was looking for you. I just, umm, I need to tell you something."
I let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. She doesn't need to tell me shit. But she's not leaving.
"What," I spit out.
She immediately turns around, gaze dropping to my junk. Fortunately, I'm covered.
"It's about that girl, the one you were hooking up with?"
Emma. Goddammit, I knew this crazy bitch would be an issue. "What about her, and speak very fucking carefully, 'cause she's not some girl I'm hooking up with. She's my girlfriend."
She nods dramatically, her blonde hair swaying around her face. She's wearing a low-cut bustier and booty shorts, what the fuck was she thinking coming in here?
"I just thought you should know that… Well, you see, when I met her, I thought there was something off about her. She’s just… she’s weird, ya know? She’s so weird. So I tried to look her up online and there's nothing, nothing about her on there, she barely uses social media, she has like, one account. But then I stumbled into this sketchy website—"
I don't let her finish. "Tina, stop. I don't know what you're trying to do here, but stop. I need you to listen very carefully, okay?"
She presses her lips together, angry I'm not listening.
"You need to leave Emma alone. You need to leave me alone. I don't ever want to see you again, especially in the men's locker room at a gym you're not even allowed to be in. If you don't back the fuck up, I'll get a restraining order."
Her eyes widen and she starts tearing up. "I'm not crazy! She's a freak! You just haven't figured it out yet!" She spins on her feet and stomps toward the door.
I wait a beat to be sure she's not coming back, then rush around the space to get dressed.
I head out front where I find Stetson. "What the hell, man?" I shout at him.
"What? Wait, huh?" He can see how pissed I am, but looks genuinely confused.
"That fucking psycho bitch Tina? Why the fuck would you let her in here?"
"Wait, what are you talking about? I haven't let her in anywhere. I haven't seen her since your fight night."
I press my lips together, furious. I jog around the gym, the whole perimeter, looking behind closet doors. There aren't any cameras in this place, Coach figures if anyone needs to steal a treadmill, have at it. I walk back to Stetson and Gerry, an older guy who used to fight professionally. Still has a killer right hook.
They both look at me like I'm nuts. "Tina just ambushed me in the locker room and started threatening Emma." I'm so pissed right now and some of it is directed at Stetson because I warned him that chick was going to be a problem and he's the fucking idiot who kept letting her come around.
"Shit, are you serious?"
"Yes!"
"What's she look like?" Gerry asks. Stetson describes her and I want to punch him when he says 'killer body.'
"I haven't seen her, but I'll keep a lookout. Let Max know and he'll pass the word, that she's banned from the gym. She shouldn't have been in here, anyway."
"Right," I agree, giving Stetson a disapproving glare.
"Look man, I'm sorry. I didn't know she'd do something like that. I'll try to see if Roxy can get me in touch with her, see if I can talk her down."
"No, don't bother. I'd stay away from her if I were you. Just, ignore her and kick her out if you see her here."
We finish our conversation, stepping outside, Gerry locking the doors behind us. We say goodnight and start the long walk back to our place.
"You stopping by Emma's?"
"No, not tonight. She had to go have dinner with her folks and said she wanted to leave me at home so I didn't witness her slapping her sister," I laugh at the last part. Picturing her slapping anyone is hilarious, mostly because I know she won't really do it.
She's always complained about her sister Stephanie, but in a familial way. They love each other deeply. Though I've never met them, it feels like I've known her family for as long as I've been friends with Emma. They all seem really loving and close.
"Word. Look, I am sorry about Tina. I didn't realize she was that obsessed."
"I get it. But fuck, I know you knew better. I knew the first moment I saw her that something was off. I wish you thought with more than your dick."
"Oh, come on. I'm not that bad."
"Right."
He doesn't reply right away. We stop at the crosswalk and wait for the light to turn. An elderly woman passes in front of us with her tiny dog, who starts barking at us like we're the antichrist. The old lady shoots us a glare and scurries along.
"I promise I'll be more discerning in the future when picking out my bedmates, mama bear," he cuffs me on the arm, and I give him a shove.
We stop for tacos at the taco truck near our house on the way home. And when I get inside I take advantage of my time at home and climb into the hot tub for an hour before calling it an early night.
* * *
I'm hovering outside the door, knocking incessantly. Emma should be down here by now and I'm getting worried. She's never late to work. Storybrook doesn't open till 6 am, but still. It's 5:45, she should be here by now. I pull out my phone, ready to call her, when I hear movement inside the coffee shop.
I bang on the door again, after she turns on the lights, and she looks up at me, surprised. I'm still worried until a smile softens her face. She looks tired, like she just rolled out of bed.
Emma unlocks the door and I pull it open.
"What's wrong?" I ask, crowding her space.
"Huh? Nothing. Why? Oh no, did something happen?" She's so sweet it aches.
"No, you're late. You're never late. And you look tired. Are you sick?"
She frowns at me, walks over to the coffee counter, rolls up a paper napkin, then launches it at me.
"Thank you, it's awesome when your boyfriend tells you that you look tired and sick." She smirks, then moves about the shop to open it up. I've watched her do it before, it's mostly just flipping switches on and getting a pot of coffee going. Then she waits, alone, til about 7 am, when people actually start arriving.
"And no, I'm not. Well, I am tired. I was playing Monopoly with my sister and parents and no one wanted to be the first to walk away, but they were all banking on me being the only one who had to get up early and go to bed first. I lost, by the way." She brushes her hair out of her face, the tendrils that have fallen out of her ponytail.
"Oh, I'm sorry babe. Next time I'll play with you and we'll dominate," I tell her, earning me a smile.
"I also may have stayed up late writing. I really only got like three hours of sleep."
"Writing?" I lean on the counter as she makes me a cup of tea to go. I guess the tea has grown on me, because I still drink it. I'll hang out with her for the next hour before I have to get going, and she'll refill my cup with hot water. It's become our morning ritual after nights we don't sleep together. Which are becoming more infrequent, fortunately.
"Yeah, uhmm… I've been writing more."
"The short stories you talked about. Are you going to publish them on your site?"
She chews on her lip and leans back. "I don't know. Maybe. I'll have to pick the best one."
"Is the best one, one we can role-play? Send them to me and I'll pick one out." She knows I'm serious, and a pink blush tinges her cheeks.
"I'll think about it. Anyway, tell me about your day yesterday. How was practice," She blows on her hot coffee and listens intently.
I debate keeping the Tina incident from her, I don't want to worry her. But she needs to know how sketchy the whole situation is, so I tell her everything. Especially the part about Emma.
"Woah. She's bananas. What do you think she was talking about?"
"I wish I knew. I'm really sorry, Emma. I'll happily slap a restraining order on her for the both of us though."
"Hmm… maybe she meant my blog? But there's nothing connecting it to me unless she's a super sleuth. You don't think she is, do you? Oh god, what if she’s a super sleuth?! That would be awful if she knew."
"Why do you care what she thinks?"
"No, not what she thinks. What she'd do with that kind of information. She could like, tell people! Oh, she could tell Alice! She'd think I'm a total pervert!"
"Calm down, babe. You said there's no way to connect your pen name with your real social stuff right? And you don't really use social media anyway?"
"I post pictures of cute bugs or cats sometimes. I have like, ten followers."
I can't help the huge grin I give her. I have just over 1 million Twitter followers and after I win Nationals, it'll probably double.
"Don't laugh at me!" She tosses another rolled napkin at me. I lean over the counter to kiss her and she meets me halfway.
"We'll lay low, I don't want you to worry about her. If she comes around, let me know. For now, hopefully, we ignore her and she fades into the background."
She reluctantly agrees, though I know she's worried. Especially if she starts to post her stories. I need to get to the gym and the coffee shop is starting to fill with the morning grind of tired people, so we start to say goodbye.
I don't leave before convincing her to email me her stories, though, the ones she can't decide on. We argue about it for a bit in between her helping customers, until finally, she gives in. I stand next to the counter and wait for the email to come in from her phone and pull up a pdf that's only a few pages long.
"I'll see you tonight," I kiss her on the cheek and take off. I walk back to Double Down slowly, so I can read some of what she's written. She's a really good writer. I knew she would be, but seeing it, reading it—she's such an impressive woman. I wish she saw in herself what I could see.
One of these we can definitely do, and an idea forms. I'm smirking to myself when a car honks at me, I realize I almost walked into the intersection.
Oh, we're definitely role-playing this one. Being with Emma is really, really fun.