“Not against that beast.”
Abi laughs.
“Seriously, girls, that’s another reason why I didn’t want you to come. His dad is an asshole. He made him go through a hell of a workout the day after his school fight, obviously not happy his son is bringing bad publicity to the upcoming fight.”
“Well, it’s still publicity. I thought they’d do anything to promote the fights.”
“No, it was on campus and people are not happy. And it doesn’t look good when fighters use their skills against guys who don’t have the same skill set. People think it’s not fair and aren’t rooting for Victor now.”
Victor and his dad talk over each other now; it seems like they’re arguing.
“I didn’t realize all of that.” I swallow hard.
“And the university is making a big deal out of the school fight because they’ve never been able to find and crack down on the secret fight club, and they got criticized. So now if they can, they’ll make an example out of Victor.”
My blood boils. I pretend I haven’t heard anything about the fight club on campus. “But they don’t even know what happened at the fight. It’s still under investigation.”
Alek raises his eyebrows. “It doesn’t matter. Victor is the Bull. He has a reputation. If he charges at someone, the guy is a dead man.”
My brother’s warning is clear. But my heart is pulling me to Victor.
He abruptly turns away from his father and walks in our direction.
“Victor!” His dad yells after him with a threatening voice. A few pairs of eyes stare at us.
Victor stretches his head side to side but keeps on walking.
“Victor!”
I shudder at his dad’s menacing shouting but keep staring at the sexy fighter walking in my direction.
Victor is almost in front of us when Alek clears his throat. I finally peel my eyes off the Bull. My brother crosses his arms and glares at me silently, eyebrows raised in annoyance. He caught me ogling Victor. I glare back at him. I’m not a child anymore. I sense Victor’s presence but don’t break my glare challenge with my brother. In my peripherals, I detect Victor looking at me and then Alek, back and forth, until he sighs heavily.
My shoulders slump as I remember his advice to take it easy on Alek. I break the silent standoff and face Victor. Guilty. What new troubles am I causing? I can feel Alek’s glare on both Victor and me now. I hate that I’m destroying their friendship. If I can keep away from Victor, then my relationship with Alek will improve and Victor’s relationship with his dad should get less tense.
Abi hands over the bag to Victor. Alek crosses his arms across his chest. And I try to make myself small. No one speaks. Victor’s intense gaze falls on me but only for a moment. He sighs again and thanks us for bringing his equipment.
Victor’s dad now stands behind Victor. I lose my ability to speak as I find myself face-to-face with the Bull’s scary dad. He places his hand on Victor’s shoulder but the Bull shakes it off.
“Don’t waste your time. Back to training.”
I don’t miss the meaning behind Victor’s dad’s strident voice.
Alek nods and walks to the exit, followed by Abi, who gives me a side glance. It’s my cue to get the hell out of this place before Alek or Victor’s dad lose their cool. Without a second glance, I dash for the doors. Goose bumps prickle at the back of my neck. I can feel Victor’s eyes boring into my head.
* * *
After we leave, Abi, Alek, and I go grocery shopping. Then the lovebirds leave me alone. Alek wanted to stay in; no doubt he wanted to make sure I’m not alone when Victor comes back. Who knows the condition he’ll be in? But after Abi reminds him it’s Thursday, Alek relents. I clean the apartment and prepare a meal, trying to make myself useful. And when I hear the click at the front door, my heart lifts.
“Hey, I’m going to take a shower quickly.”
He’s talking to me again. Yes!
“I cooked something. You wanna have dinner with me?”
Victor smiles. “What’d you cook?”
“Salad.”
