The Bounty Hunter

Chapter Thirty-One

I stood facing Lloyd, breathing heavily from exhaustion. The run here had taken away most of my energy, but I also had no idea the glove weighed three hundred pounds. I should have thought ahead when I saw up close how massive the glove actually was. But I knew I didn't have time for that; I had to convince Lloyd to let Hailey and I come back, no matter what. I watched as Lloyd's eyes went from the glove then back up to me. He seemed shocked to see me and hear my challenge. It made me feel good inside, knowing I could get the better of Lloyd like this. Suddenly he smiled at me and leaned his arm up against the bed and my confidence plummeted. This smile of his was extremely cocky, which irritated me. This match was suppose to be serious and he's smiling like an arrogant child.

"Your terms?"

I swallowed nervously. "If I win, Hailey and I get to come back. No questions asked."

"Alright. And if I win?"

"That's for you to decide, but I can go ahead and tell you that you won't be winning." Lloyd continued to just smile at me. His expression softened and he straightened up, a  devious twinkle showing in his eye. A part of my brain was telling me it was a good time to back out now.

"If I win, you become mine. No questions asked." My eyes narrowed and my cheeks turned slightly red. He still had the guts to make sly jokes like this. Maybe I should've listened to the part of me telling me to drop out. Now I had to deal with something like this.

"Fine," I said as I reached for the glove I put in front of him. Lloyd went over to his second dresser and grabbed his extra one and attached it. He walked back over and watched me as I struggled to lift mine. I was breathing heavily as I glared down at the glove, silently cursing it for being so heavy.

"This is going to be a short match if you can't even lift it."

"Shut up," I said through gritted teeth. I finally managed to strap the glove on. I had to support it with both hands though, which left me at a disadvantage because both of my hands were inside the glove. Lloyd chuckled and shook his head, his free hand slapping his forehead. I lifted the glove to where it was close to my chest, and the weight of the glove took me stumbling to the side. I fought to stay balanced, and Lloyd started to chuckle as I fell onto the side of the bed. Glaring angrily at him for making fun of me, I finally adjusted myself to where I could hold the glove up. I went to hit him and he easily dodged, taking one step to the side as I tumbled past him, the weight of the glove taking me face first into the floor. I rolled head-over-heels, my body coming to a stop as the glove hit the floor, stopping my momentum. I stood back up and faced Lloyd again, who had a giant smile on his face.

"I think the glove weighs more than you."

"Shut up!" I said again, holding back a laugh. I looked up at him and glared. "This is supposed to be serious, so stop trying to make it funny."

"It's really hard when you can't even lift the thing, much less swing it. If you swing too hard that glove is going to take you flying into the wall. I'd hate to have to repair a wall as well." I attempted to swing at him again and I still missed, but I caught myself before I fell over. Lloyd wasn't taking this seriously at all. The smile on his face continued to widen and I could hear him chuckling even louder. I swung upwards at him and he casually grabbed the glove and lifted me up. I was looking right in his face, my hands still locked into the glove, my feet dangling in the air. His gaze was kind and he had that certain look in his eyes again. It really irritated me he could lift both me and the glove as if he was lifting a feather. "Just forfeit before you hurt yourself."

I scowled at him. "I told you I was going to win."

"Why are you trying so hard?" I looked away from him. I couldn't just tell him I liked him. That just wasn't my style.