Page 12 of Falcon

“She’s fine. She seems happy here. Her fiancé, however, I’m still sizing up.” I slide my hand through my hair and scratch my scalp.

“He’s a cop, yeah?”

“Yeah, he is. Seems like a decent dude, but I won’t let her know I feel that way yet.”

“Take it easy on the guy, will ya?”

“I make no promises.” I stand and glance out the window to see the sun starting to peek through the stars.

“All right, well, I’ll keep things as is for now, just promise me you’ll think about all of this.”

“I’ve made my decision. I’m not budging. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

I end the call before he can say anything else. Is it a dick move? Yeah, but I can’t take that conversation anymore. I know what I need to do for me, but I know the right thing, the safe thing to do. I can’t bring myself to consider that right now.

Fighting is what I know. It’s what I’m good at. If that goes, what’s left? Would I go back to construction? Fuck no. That was a means to an end and not what I want for the rest of my life.

I take another peek out the window just in time to see a blonde ponytail bounce on by.

I lean forward just a bit more to get a better look and I see Faith slowly jogging down the street.

What a coincidence.

I could use a run too.

Running soothes the mind and erases the stress.

Plus, catching a glimpse of her ass in those workout pants is a damn good incentive.

Faith

I woke early this morning, even after only sleeping a few hours, and drank a full bottle of water with a twist of lemon, then scrolled social media for a bit before heading upstairs to get dressed.

The sun is just barely peeking through the window when I bend over to lace up my sneakers for my run. It’s going to be a beautiful day and I want to start it off right.

I give myself a glance in the mirror, adjust the ponytail on my head, and my pale purple sports bra to make sure the girls will stay in place. Perfect.

I walk past the window and glance toward the back deck of Nora and Case’s house and memories of last night crawl over my skin.

He was watching me, and I should have been revolted, scared even, but deep in my heart, I know I don’t need to be. My instincts generally serve me well, and my instincts are telling me he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.

There’s something kind about his face. Not just that, but in the way he spoke and kept his distance because he didn’t want to scare me. His smile and his teasing. It all made me feel more at ease than I’ve felt in so long.

And I won’t lie, I did Google him the instant I was alone yesterday when he left my porch. Nora told me once her brother was a pretty well-known MMA fighter. Curiosity never really spiked in my brain, until he told me who he was yesterday, and I saw what he looked like.

I scanned article after article. Fight summary after fight summary. Looked at photos of him with his arms raised in victory and face scowled in defeat. I’ve seen a rainbow of women on his arm or draped over his body. There was even a rumored sex tape that was released a few years ago, but I didn’t care enough to dig for it. I may or may not have used my log in for work to check in on him criminally, and except for some disorderly conduct charges when he was young and a rogue assault charge a few years ago, at least I know he’s not a murderer…and it wasn’t a sex based offense.

The assault charge was filed outside of the state of Georgia, so I don’t have the clearance to see specifics. Does it set off red flags for me? It should…but…

I just wanted to know more about him. That’s all.

I slip my earbuds into my ears, cue up some Halsey, and head out into the warm air. My feet, seemingly without my input, take a different route to get to the sidewalk, making it a point to pass much closer to Case and Nora’s home than I normally would.

I’m not outside for more than a few minutes before sweat is beading on my skin and causing the baby hairs at the base of my neck to curl. It’s never anything but muggy in Georgia this time of year, especially this close to the water.

I run the same route every day. Down to the edge of the neighborhood, north past to the back row of houses, around that street, and up the next and left down mine. It’s a large circle, but it’s safe, contained, and there’s a sidewalk. The perfect place to run.

I’m singing along in my head as Halsey croons on about being bad at love. I can relate, Halsey. I’m bad at love too. I don’t know if I even know how to love someone who isn’t a friend or someone in my family. I have fun, of course, but I’ve never been able to be that serious with anyone since I moved here. I’m not a nun, obviously. I enjoy sex. I made that a point after what happened to me. I refused to let my past strip me of normal feelings, thoughts, and desires. My heart breaks for all the women who have gone through what I did and were unable to move on easily. I’ve spent many evenings in therapy, in group meetings and counseling. I wanted to be the exception. Someone who was sexually assaulted and lived a normal life afterward.

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