Page 73 of Falcon

I approach the table with Faith at my side, unapologetically holding her hand in mine, and of course Nora and Case take notice.

Nora’s eyes lock on mine, and a smile grows on her face. No matter how careful she has told me to be, I know that deep down she is pushing for this.

“Faith. Long time, no see,” Case jokes, because obviously they just saw each other at work this morning.

“Right? It’s like you’re a stranger,” she teases. “Hi, everyone.” She gives them a polite nod and wave.

“I went ahead and ordered drinks for us. Faith, I got you a peach tea and Marco, I got you a beer,” Nora says, as we slip into the booth beside them, Faith next to Nora and me on the outside.

“Perfect,” Faith and I say in unison, then look at each other and laugh.

“Damn, you two are really in sync, I see,” Amelia says, with a grin.

“Just a little,” I agree, sliding my arm around Faith. To my surprise, she leans into me, nuzzling into my side.

“How’s your little girl, Grayson? Cadence, right? She’s so adorable,” she asks. Her voice so soft and sweet compared the music and noises all around us.

“Yeah, Cadence,” Grayson confirms. “She’s a mess, that’s for sure, but she is wonderful. Thanks for asking.” He tips his beer over his lips and takes a swig.

“She’s sassy. I like her,” Faith adds.

I put my hand on her thigh under the table and give it a squeeze. She looks my way and I just smile. This feels good. It feels right.

“So what’s on the agenda when you get back to the West Coast, Falcon?” Grayson asks, as he wraps one of his arms around Amelia, twirling a piece of her fire red hair around his finger.

“Well, I’ll get back into training pretty much immediately. I have a fight in Dallas, Texas pretty soon after that,” I tell him, and I can feel Faith deflate next to me. I give her another reassuring squeeze.

“Which he shouldn’t be doing,” Nora chimes in.

“Fuck’s sake,” I huff out and lean back against the cushioned booth seatback.

“What? It’s true,” she says, giving no fucks at all.

“Nora. Maybe now isn’t the time,” Case adds softly in her ear, but we can all hear it.

“No, it’s okay, Case. She’s just being my sister and she’s worried. That’s fine. She and I have had this conversation time and time again. My doctor has expressed some concern about the toll my career has taken on my body. That’s really the long and short of it,” I defend myself.

We all sit silently for a moment, and I look over at Faith. She angles her face toward me and gives me the smallest, most beautiful smile.

“Well, I say we all drink up, eat some bad for us food, and enjoy the night now. Who’s with me?” the ever-positive ray of sunshine that is Amelia chimes in.

The awkwardness that was there at first slips away, along with the flowing booze and endless supply of incredible food. There are laughter, jokes, stories, and everything in between, but the highlight of the evening is when I’m just staring over at the beautiful soul beside me.

She was so sad and ominous when I picked her up this evening, but now she’s laughing. Not a small one, but the cackling laughs you can’t help. The ones that go on so long they hurt your sides and make others laugh with you.

“So what’s going on with you two? No bullshit, because I can smell bullshit from a mile away,” Amelia asks with a giggle.

“I’ve been asking him this for two weeks.” Nora adds. “Maybe he’ll answer you.”

I go to speak, but Faith chimes in before I can.

“We are having fun. We like spending time together. It’s pretty simple, actually.”

Is it? Because I feel the exact opposite. What I feel right now, for this girl, is anything but simple.

Faith

He hasn’t said much to me since we walked out of the restaurant. We just took our walk in a comfortable, yet still awkward silence, hand in hand.

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