Serenity [Book 2]

Chapter 16: *keep quiet*

Francesca's POV:

My eyes are heavy as I stir awake, and when I flutter them open, a smile takes over my face. Ethan is watching me, a grin forming when he notices me wake.

"Morning, darling." Ethan murmurs, his morning voice husky and soothing.

"Morning." Instant regret. I sound like Thomas The fucking Tank Engine. My throat is sore, and when I speak, you can hear very clearly that Ethan fucked it raw last night.

Feeling solace here with him, I reach my right hand up to cup his face, stroking over his stubble that is growing more and more into an actual beard – something I definitely don't mind – and he chuckles, watching me stare up at him.

"It's going when we get home." He tells me and I frown.

"No." I fake a whine. "Seriously?"

"You don't want me to?" He asks, seeming honestly shocked.

"Do whatever you like – it's your face, but it does make you look handsome." I give him a smile.

"Noted." He nods to himself. "Um, this week, you know when we get back? I'm going to be a bit... busy."

"I know." I say and he shakes his head, rolling onto his side to speak to me.

"After such a great weekend, I don't want to seem like I'm distancing myself from you. It's just how this match has fallen. I'm going to be in the gym with Scar, Luke and Mike pretty much all week. I'm not even going to college – I will be doing the work, just not going, but I just want to stress that it's not you. I'm just gonna have to focus on this when I get back." He explains himself and I smile, stroking over his face once more.

"Ethan, you don't owe me an explanation." I assure him.

"Then why do I feel like I killed a puppy?" He asks and I grimace at the picture he put in my mind. "You're seriously okay? I know it's not ideal."

"It would be selfish of me if I wasn't. I'm proud of you, and I'm more than okay about it." I nod, giving him a soft smile for extra measure.

"Four AM start tomorrow, Luke is gonna kill me." He groans, and I honestly pity him.

"I have to ask – who the fuck are Mike and Luke?" I feel kind of bad not knowing, but we don't really talk about boxing much, especially since he stopped when we got together – something he says wasn't my fault, but I choose not to believe him.

"Scar is literally just... my dad, I guess? He owns the gym, spars with me and sometimes coaches on the side. Mike is my manager, he organizes my matches, and then discusses with Scar before going to me. Scar has been in the boxing world a long time, even went professional, so having his word on things is good for my head. Um, and Luke, he's my coach. I've had him since I turned eighteen and I started in the amateur division. He's tough but it definitely pays off." He explains.

"Who is in charge of you going pro? I know you told me last night that Scar is withholding it from you until you finish college, but couldn't you just go behind his back?" I'm such a bad influence – why the fuck did I just say that?

"Little rebel." He tuts, shaking his head with an amused low laugh. "To answer your question, I could, yes, but it would be Luke's call to make. And I also don't think I'm ready for that just yet. The training is intense, worse than you can probably imagine, and I won't be able to finish college that way. Mentally, I'm ready. Some would argue that physically, I am too. But I want to make my dad proud, so college first, and honestly, I want to graduate... which is slightly bizarre." He chuckles to himself.

"Proud of you. You've come a long way." I really mean it. He leans towards me, but before he can kiss me, I cover his mouth with the palm of my hand. "Morning breath."