Fight For You

Chapter 4

"Come on, Nicky, you're half-assing it today." Coach breathed down my neck.

I kept hitting the bag, but I wasn't thinking about the fight. Something very different was on my mind. Something with a pair of long, creamy white legs that I wanted wrapped around me instead of the fucking weights I had strapped to me.

"This isn't like you, Nick. What the hell's the matter with you?" I stopped hitting the bag and put my arms over my head, resting my forehead against the cool cement of the wall. Any other time I'd be up for all the practice, especially when it was the day before a fight. But not tonight. Not when I had other things on my mind.

Coach gripped onto my shoulder, turning me around to face him. He was so close I could see the veins bulging out of his forehead. "What is it, Nick? Be straight with me. Is it your dad? Did he say something to you? You can't let him get into your head like that. That's what he wants. He wants you to lose these fights so you'll give it up."

"It's not Uncle Vinny you should be worried about, Brandon. It's a battona." Shit. I should have known Dom would show up at the gym, and that he would eventually tell Coach about Jackie. I should have kept my fucking mouth shut about her.

Coach glanced back at Dom who strutted into the gym, looking more like he was auditioning for some sort of high-end sportswear commercial than actually trying to work out. Dominic nodded in my direction like the bastardo was actually doing me a favor.

Coach looked back at me, his eyes narrowed. "You mean to tell me that you've been off your game because of a woman? Nicky, tell me it isn't true."

"Well..." I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down.

"Fuck," Coach mumbled and slammed his fists against the wall only a few inches away from my head before he stepped back. "I didn't expect this from you, Nicky. You've always been my rock. The fighter that doesn't let anything get to him. Now a woman?"

I shook my head, finally looking up. "I know, I know, Coach. But this girl is different. She doesn't care that I'm Nick Ragusa. Not about my money. Or my father. Hell, I'm not even sure if she really likes me." Just likes to fuck me. But I didn't really mind that part either. Any girl who was willing to give up a brand new bike and slap me before even saying my name had my attention. She had a Don't Fuck With Me attitude that I didn't see in many other girls and I wanted to keep her around.

"Is she coming to the fight tomorrow?" Coach looked me in the eye.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I texted her and asked her to."

"If she is going to fuck up your fighting, she doesn't belong anywhere near the cage. But if you gotta see her to get back in the game," he pointed toward the door, "then get the hell out of my face and go find her now."

"But, Coach, we've barely been at it an hour and—"

"Go! Get out of my fucking face and get laid, then come back here and finish your workout. Capeesh?" It was the most serious I'd ever seen him.

I licked my lips and nodded. "Okay. I'll go find her."

***

Finding Jackie wasn't that hard. The hair salon she worked at was right around the corner from the gym. I didn't usually explore the neighborhood, but I knew the alley I first saw her in connected a hair salon to some head shop and also a shop that sold dildos.

I opened the door and breathed in the toxic smell. I had to try not to gag on the fumes from all of the hair products. It was worse than going into my aunt Jo's house before Christmas Eve mass. The whole place was a discord of multi-colored hair, angry metal music that blared loudly from the dark purple walls, and lot of black latex, from the chairs to the clothing that everyone was wearing.

"Nick?" I barely heard her voice over the music but when I turned my head I saw Jackie's boots clicking on the checkered floor, and then my eyes followed her long legs up to her short, black mini dress and finally to her face, which definitely wasn't smiling. Shit. She wasn't happy to see me here.

"Yeah, hey, Jackie." I tried to act cool, like I actually belonged in a place where everyone had facial piercings, but I definitely stuck out in my gym shorts and t-shirt.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I just wanted to see you. Is that a bad thing?" I blinked. Maybe I was getting the wrong signals from her. Maybe fucking me was a big mistake and she regretted all of it.

She looked behind her and I caught the eyes of a few of her co-workers who were whispering. Jackie turned back to me and lowered her voice. "Meet me in the alley behind here in five minutes, okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll do that."

I took one last glance at her and turned around. There were a few people sitting in chairs near the front door, looking at some tattoo magazines, who pretended not to stare at me as I walked by. I wanted to ask them what their fucking problem was, but I wasn't about to cause a scene. Not when I wanted to know what Jackie wanted.

I thought I'd have to wait for her, but by the time I jogged around to the back of the building she was already standing out by the dumpster. It was the same spot I saw her get into a fight with her boyfriend the night I met her.

"He—" I barely got the words out when she grabbed me by the collar and pulled me toward her, crushing her lips against mine. I grabbed her ponytail, pulling her head slightly back and deepening our kiss so a soft whimper came from her mouth and into mine. The low sound made me want to throw her up against the brick wall and fuck her right there.

Instead she broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. "Don't come and see me unannounced."

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused. "You just kissed me like you wanted to fuck me then you tell me that. You're giving me some crazy signals."

She sighed and dropped her hands. "I know. It sucks. This situation sucks because you seem like you do have a good heart, but I'm no good for you, Nick. I'm trash. You'd be better to stay away from me."

"Okay, first off, you're not fucking trash so don't call yourself that. Second, I can't stay away from you, even if I tried. If you wanted me to stay away, you shouldn't have kissed me. You should have just told me to leave."

She turned away from me, wrapping her arms around herself and shaking her head. "Nick, you don't understand. My ex, he's not a good guy. If he knew I was talking to you, let alone anything else, he'd have us both killed."

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of that one. If her ex was mafiosa, he probably worked for me. If he was anything else, I'd have him killed first.

Jackie turned around sharply, her eyes narrowed and I could see that her makeup was smeared under her eyes. "It's not funny. He's a fucking prick. And it's nice that you want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself. I've been doing it all my life anyway. I don't need you to step in now."

"I'm sorry that your ex is a dick and I don't want him to come between us. I really want to be with you. I mean that." I took a step closer, putting my hands on her arms and slowly sliding them down until I interlaced our fingers.

"I want to be with you too, Nick. I just don't think it would work between us." She sighed.

"How about this: I have a fight tomorrow night at The Candy Shop. I know your friend Haley works there. You can just go with her and if we happen to hang out afterward, then that'd be great."

"I don't know..."

I leaned in closer, lifting her chin with my thumb and forcing her eyes to meet mine. There was so much sadness in her eyes that all I wanted to do was see her happy. I never wanted to see her cry again. Not for her ex, not for anyone. "I need you there, Jackie. I want to fight for you. Please say you'll come."

She swallowed and then slowly nodded. "Okay, Nick. For you. I'll be there."

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