Abel

Chapter 7

Two days. It'd been two days since Abel had seen Nellie. The very next day after getting back from San Francisco, he'd been at her place again. She told him about having pushed a few things aside on her schedule to make time for the unexpected trip and that she had her hands full now, making up for it. With the fight less than two weeks away now, Abel had heavy nonstop training that he had to make up as well. Between that and a few radio interviews he had to tape in the evenings, the last two days had been crazy, leaving no time for visits. He was doing his damnedest to keep his mind off her. Not wanting to blow it with her now that his feelings had changed so dramatically, he had to admit that what Noah had warned him about might happen. It was killing his concentration, and he knew more than anything how something like this could so easily throw his training out of whack.

The last-minute hustle with the major promotional appearances was all lined up as well. He'd do the late show in a few days, and then later that week, he'd be off to New York for the shows Andy had lined up for him and Felix to do together. Felix had just recently announced his next bout. It'd take place next year, but Andy said it was never too early to start promoting.

Of course, Abel's first thoughts were to run it past Nellie. These next couple of weeks he'd be so damn busy training and promoting he knew his time with her would be very limited. Even after the fight, Andy had all kinds of shit lined up for him to do. This was exactly why, before he'd gotten involved with Nellie, he insisted he didn't have time for a relationship—because he didn't. But he was determined to make time for Nellie if she asked for it. He'd already asked her to come with him to New York. Unfortunately, she was busy meeting with some of the sponsors of the mixer she was coordinating on the same days he'd be in New York.

Both Gio and Noah had warned him in not so many words that he should shut down his social life from here on until the fight. It was what they all did when a fight was just around the corner, something Abel had always advised as well. Their concentration should be one-hundred percent on training, and they didn't need anything distracting them from it. Noah had even told him to stop reading or even watching any of the tabloid shit. He didn't have to ask Abel twice. He'd stopped reading the bullshit a long time ago. But cut Nellie out for that long? He couldn't even bring himself to stop thinking about her now.

Even on his way to pick up Noah for their run, she was all he could think of. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hide his feelings for her, but until he was sure she was feeling the same way and he was certain he wouldn't be shooting himself in the foot by making her run in the opposite direction, he had to. When Abel had mentioned to Noah as casually as he could that Nellie would be joining him in San Francisco in place of Andy, he hadn't missed the skeptical expression on his nervous friend's face. He didn't entirely buy that Abel had chosen her for her coordinating skills alone.

The very next day after Abel's trip, Noah had annoyingly questioned where he was going. Once again, Abel hadn't slipped into basketball shorts as he normally did when he was headed straight home. Abel knew it was partially concern about his needing to get as much rest as possible now that the fight was so close. But he also knew his questioning had to do with Noah's continual concern over Abel's involvement with Nellie. Abel wasn't about to tell Noah that, after spending the last three nights with Nellie, he was off to her place again, so he referred to a date again leaving out who it was with. Noah hadn't asked with whom, but the relief on his face was telling enough that he assumed it was with someone else.

Just as he reached Noah's, he got a call from Andy. As the fight approached rapidly, he hardly went a day without hearing from Andy anymore. But the last couple of days Andy had been so busy in New York that he'd only gotten the few texts from him confirming the dates of his appearances. It was refreshing. Too much of Andy was tiring.