“You sent flowers to my job. I’m sure you already know the answer.”
I shrugged off her sarcasm. “You could be a receptionist.”
“Nursing. I went to school for nursing.”
“Oh, that’s how you got the potion?”
She snickered and pushed her shoulders back with pride. “Nope. I made it. It’s one of my favorite recipes.”
“Recipes? Elaborate.”
Her darting tongue laid moisture along her full lips. “When I was in middle school, my grandmother was sick, and her insurance was bogus. I started doing research and learned about natural medicine, which led to mixing herbs and oils to ease her joint pain. Eventually, I started working with toxic flowers that could put a bear to sleep.” She snickered. “What do you do besides chop up bodies?”
“I do everything. Sometimes, I’m running shit at the casino. Other times, I’m helping at one of our liquor stores. It all depends on the day.”
We made it to our destination less than ten minutes after we left the mortuary. As expected, the gym was busy, so I took Kannon to a private room my cousin usually rented out to professional fighters.
“Put your bag on the bench, and take off the hoodie.”
As I emptied my hands, I watched Kannon, pleasantly surprised that she followed instructions and wore workout clothes. My only complaint was the wig.
“You could’ve left the extra hair at home.” I blurted out what came to mind.
“That’s the same place you could’ve left your attitude. I hate a man telling a woman how she should dress or wear her hair.”
“Your face is pretty, so I’m not saying it makes you look bad,” I clarified. “I really don’t give a shit about your style. I just think the hair will be a disadvantage in the ring.”
“Oh, trust me. My hair won’t stop me from kicking your ass.”
Her slick tongue carried the corners of my lips into a smile. “Kannon, please. If you believe that, you’re more delusional than I thought.”
“You might be right. I’ve convinced myself our night together never happened. If I really believed you fucked me, kicked me out of some stranger’s house, then sent me to pick up a Plan B, I wouldn’t be here.”
The fever of unspoken truths made it hard to breathe. Even though I didn’t regret sending Kannon home after we had sex, the evidence of pain in her tone made me uneasy. I wouldn’t admit it, but the intimacy I showed Kannon that night was outside of my boundaries. I could count on one hand how many women I kissed on the lips, and I tongued her down like I had known her for years. A few nights, I had flashbacks of the condom breaking as soon as I busted a nut. Even with her taking birth control, I knew our recklessness may have gotten us into some shit, but if Kannon was pregnant, there was nothing we could do about it now. An abortion was out of the question. If she was grown enough to fuck me, she was grown enough to have my baby.
After I wrapped Kannon’s hands, I climbed in the ring. She shoved my hand away when I offered to help her inside, making me chuckle at her stubborn attitude.
“Okay, so what are we doing?” she asked, bouncing around like Muhammed Ali.
“You have to beable to protect yourself without a gun.”
In the blink of an eye, Kannon slapped me so fast I wouldn’t have believed it happened if my cheek didn’t sting.
“I guess I’m good in that department.” She backpedaled when I stomped toward her. “Don’t be mad. You should’ve had your guard up. This is the second time I caught you slipping.”
“That’s what I let you believe.”
“Are you saying youletus kidnap you? Bullshit!”
“Let’s just say there were times I could’ve put you down, but my curiosity calmed the storm.”
“Yeah, okay. I believe you,” she responded, her tone oozing with sarcasm. “Show me what I’m doing here.”
“Do you know how to fight?”
Kannon’s brows knitted together as she looked me up and down. When she charged my way, swimming in the air, I stoodfirm. Most of her pillow soft punches landed in the center of my chest, while the others nipped my chin. My petite opponent started feeling herself, but I lifted her off her feet and tossed her to the mat. She spat out profanities and tried to jerk out of my grasp, but I pinned her down.
“I asked if you knew how to fight, not swim. Keep your head up. You can’t be afraid to get hit.” I squeezed her wrists tighter when she tried to break free. “There’s one more thing you have to do.”
