librarian look going for her, which I assume she’ll use to her advantage if she does try to pick up a fighter at Derrick’s next match.
I roll my eyes at her, “Of course you do. Fine, there’s a fight this Friday, I think, out in Philly.”
“Philly sounds good,” her cattish eyes peer over her coffee mug at me as she takes another sip.
I smirk, “You know, I seriously doubt any of the guys you’ll meet there will have ever heard of Woolf or Longfellow, or any of your favorites for that matter. In fact, I doubt any of them have ever picked up a book before, unless there was a centerfold in it.”
“Hmm, that’s okay,” she moans after another sip, “No reading is required for what I’m wanting,” she winks.
“You’re incorrigible, Cameron,” I giggle.
“I know, that’s why you love me.”
I smile, the first real smile I’ve had in a very long time.
Chapter 2
The drive from Baltimore to Philadelphia is long. Derrick is quiet in the driver’s seat, focused on the road ahead. Cameron is in the back seat, reading a book. Sitting with my legs curled up into the seat, I listen to the radio and think about the conversation Derrick and I had last night. I frown. It didn’t go anything like how I had expected it to...
“Can I go with you to Philly this weekend?” I muttered between sips of my wine.
Derrick didn’t look up from his bowl of pasta, “I guess,” his tone was not at all reassuring.
“Are you sure?”
“Mhm,” he groaned while chewing on his penne noodles.
I sighed, “Baby, what’s going on between us?”
Derrick looked up from his bowl of noodles with a completely dumbfounded look on his face, “Whatcha talkin’ about, Tash? I’m just tryin’ to eat my food.”
“Nothing,” I sigh as I pick at my noodles.
“Can Cameron come with us?” I mutter.
“Yeah, sure,” Derrick says without even looking at me.
Derrick bursted out in laughter at something on the television, drawing me out of my self-loathing. I swallowed the hard lump that had formed in my throat. Food no longer sounded appealing. I left the couch, placed my bowl of noodles in the fridge, and chugged the last bit of wine that was in my cup. Derrick’s obnoxious laughter filled my head as I made my way to the bedroom. I climbed into the bed, pulled the quilts up to my chin, and wept until sleep took me. When I woke up, Derrick was yelling from within the bathroom, saying that if I wanted to go with him still, I needed to get ready.
The car horn blaring pulls me out of my trance.
“Asshole!” Derrick shouts at the car in front of us.
“So, who’s this scuffle against?” I ask before Derrick’s road rage escalates. Cameron continues to read her book, without looking up.
“Luke Richards.”
I frown, “That name doesn’t sound familiar.”
“He hasn’t been in this area in a while. He’s been mostly competing on the west coast. He used to be pretty high up, like undefeated and everything, but he’s been losing a lot this last year. I need to beat him in order to go on to Ohio next month.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
“What is?”
“That he’s been losing so much. I wonder what happened to him.”
“I know he fired one his trainers about a year ago. Been goin’ mostly solo ever since. Richards is probably just some idiot who thought he was better than what he really is. Don’t worry, baby, I’ll put him in his place,” Derrick smirks.
I notice Cameron shaking her head from the visor mirror. Cameron’s never been Derrick’s biggest fan. ‘All dick and muscles, no brains,’ is how she referred to him on numerous occasions.
I roll my eyes at him, “Yeah, you do that. It’s such a turn on when you teach other fighters a lesson.”
Derrick turns to look at me, oblivious to my sarcasm, “Oh really? I should do it more often, then,” he winks at me. A warm feeling flows through my body, and
I roll my eyes at her, “Of course you do. Fine, there’s a fight this Friday, I think, out in Philly.”
“Philly sounds good,” her cattish eyes peer over her coffee mug at me as she takes another sip.
I smirk, “You know, I seriously doubt any of the guys you’ll meet there will have ever heard of Woolf or Longfellow, or any of your favorites for that matter. In fact, I doubt any of them have ever picked up a book before, unless there was a centerfold in it.”
“Hmm, that’s okay,” she moans after another sip, “No reading is required for what I’m wanting,” she winks.
“You’re incorrigible, Cameron,” I giggle.
“I know, that’s why you love me.”
I smile, the first real smile I’ve had in a very long time.
Chapter 2
The drive from Baltimore to Philadelphia is long. Derrick is quiet in the driver’s seat, focused on the road ahead. Cameron is in the back seat, reading a book. Sitting with my legs curled up into the seat, I listen to the radio and think about the conversation Derrick and I had last night. I frown. It didn’t go anything like how I had expected it to...
“Can I go with you to Philly this weekend?” I muttered between sips of my wine.
Derrick didn’t look up from his bowl of pasta, “I guess,” his tone was not at all reassuring.
“Are you sure?”
“Mhm,” he groaned while chewing on his penne noodles.
I sighed, “Baby, what’s going on between us?”
Derrick looked up from his bowl of noodles with a completely dumbfounded look on his face, “Whatcha talkin’ about, Tash? I’m just tryin’ to eat my food.”
“Nothing,” I sigh as I pick at my noodles.
“Can Cameron come with us?” I mutter.
“Yeah, sure,” Derrick says without even looking at me.
Derrick bursted out in laughter at something on the television, drawing me out of my self-loathing. I swallowed the hard lump that had formed in my throat. Food no longer sounded appealing. I left the couch, placed my bowl of noodles in the fridge, and chugged the last bit of wine that was in my cup. Derrick’s obnoxious laughter filled my head as I made my way to the bedroom. I climbed into the bed, pulled the quilts up to my chin, and wept until sleep took me. When I woke up, Derrick was yelling from within the bathroom, saying that if I wanted to go with him still, I needed to get ready.
The car horn blaring pulls me out of my trance.
“Asshole!” Derrick shouts at the car in front of us.
“So, who’s this scuffle against?” I ask before Derrick’s road rage escalates. Cameron continues to read her book, without looking up.
“Luke Richards.”
I frown, “That name doesn’t sound familiar.”
“He hasn’t been in this area in a while. He’s been mostly competing on the west coast. He used to be pretty high up, like undefeated and everything, but he’s been losing a lot this last year. I need to beat him in order to go on to Ohio next month.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
“What is?”
“That he’s been losing so much. I wonder what happened to him.”
“I know he fired one his trainers about a year ago. Been goin’ mostly solo ever since. Richards is probably just some idiot who thought he was better than what he really is. Don’t worry, baby, I’ll put him in his place,” Derrick smirks.
I notice Cameron shaking her head from the visor mirror. Cameron’s never been Derrick’s biggest fan. ‘All dick and muscles, no brains,’ is how she referred to him on numerous occasions.
I roll my eyes at him, “Yeah, you do that. It’s such a turn on when you teach other fighters a lesson.”
Derrick turns to look at me, oblivious to my sarcasm, “Oh really? I should do it more often, then,” he winks at me. A warm feeling flows through my body, and
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