Page 104 of Only You
She didn’t dare finish the thought, instead, flipping onto her side to look at Jack, still fast asleep. She scooted closer, wrapping an arm around him, and buried her face in his shoulder.
Demir ducked under Benny’s arms, weaving out of the way. The punches were slower than they would be in an actual fight, but it forced him to focus on his movement, which would later turn into instinct. It was hard to resist sneaking in a punch. After all, he was a fighter at heart.
Hit or run?
The thought popped into his head suddenly, sounding an awful lot like his aunt, and the question made him pause long enough for Bobby’s fist to graze his ribs before he twisted out the way. He quickly put distance between them, his fists coming up defensively.
‘Lookin’ good ’cept that last one!’
Dropping his stance, Demir looked over his shoulder to see Jack walking over to the ring. He motioned to Benny to take a break and approached the ropes.
‘Welcome back,’ Demir greeted, touching his glove to the fist Jack held out. ‘Had a good trip?’
‘Best yet,’ he declared with a secretive smile. ‘Don’t know how another will top it. Well, I can think of one but that won’t be for a while.’
Demir didn’t pry into what that meant. Jack would tell him sooner or later, whether he wanted to know or not. Instead, he looked over Jack’s shoulder. ‘Where’s Selene?’ Demir smirked. ‘Let me guess: her hair got wet.’
Jack chuckled and, for some reason, it made Demir narrow his eyes in suspicion. It wasn’t like him to roll with quips like that.
‘Hardly. She had to stay late at school to catch up on some assignments, but she’ll meet us at the apartment later.’
Part of Demir bristled at the casual way Jack assumed he would be going over after practice, but he also couldn’t blame him. He had spent more time there in the last few weeks before their holiday than in his own home. It was only natural that he was invited.
‘In the meantime,’ Jack heaved himself into the ring, leaning on one of the corners, ‘let’s see what you’ve been up to while I’ve been gone.’
Benny met Demir in the centre of the ring, and they began. They threw themselves into practice, going through all the drills from top to bottom. Jack’s energy was higher than usual as though he was mere moments from jumping in, excitement pouring from him in a way that Demir hadn’t seen in a long time.
‘That’s it!’ Jack clapped. ‘That’s fucking it, D. Finally got that shit down.’
‘I been mastering it.’ Demir wiped off the sweat from his face as Benny made his way to the bathroom. ‘And with your jumping around, you might as well be in the ring with me.’
‘Hey, don’t let the knee fool you. I can still throw a couple blows,’ Jack defended. ‘Jump in, old man. I’ll make sure not to knock you out.’
Jack laughed but shrugged off his jacket. ‘Don’t forget I taught you everything you know, pretty boy.’ He threw it on the ground and put his hands in front of his face the way he’d shown Demir hundreds of times.
Demir smirked as he mirrored the stance.
They circled each other, throwing out a couple of playful jabs and talking shit. Jack’s speed and accuracy were surprisingly good considering he hadn’t fought in years, but there were plenty of openings. Despite that, Demir never took advantage of them, keeping the match friendly; it wasn’t about winning. If anything, it brought him back to the beginning of everything.
Though similar in skill, Jack and Demir only met in the ring once. How they ended up working together was a blur of memories and conveniences. Times like this, he was reminded why they had become friends, even if he had betrayed him.
Demir waited for the regret to hit him, but it stayed at bay. He had already decided: he wouldn’t interfere with Jack’s relationship. There was no reason to make things difficult if the kiss was a one-time thing. He only hoped Selene didn’t regret it. He could deal with everything but that.
‘You better not be fighting.’
They looked to the side of the ring where Selene was resting against the side of the ring and Demir’s heart lifted at the site of her so close after being gone so long. Her smile was soft and welcoming even though her eyes were tired. He took a step towards her, but Jack beat him to the ropes, pressing a kiss to her cheek before smiling at her fondly.
‘Nothing wrong with a few blows every now and then,’ he teased her.
The moment snuffed out the light in Demir, leaving a dark cloud over him and a sour taste in his mouth. Neither of them seemed to notice as they stared lovingly at each other, and he swallowed the acid-like taste in his mouth as he approached them. Though the way Selene looked at him, gaze full of warmth, helped to soothe the hurt.
‘Hi, Demir,’ she greeted. ‘Have a good workout?’
‘Boring as always,’ he shrugged. ‘How was school? Jack said you had a good time away.’ She looked away, stuffing her hands deep in the jacket she had yet to take off.
‘It was.’ Her voice was smaller than before, and she cleared her throat before looking at him again. Still, she hesitated. ‘School was fine, though. Luckily, a classmate of mine took good notes, so it was easy to catch up.’
‘You would’ve caught up quickly anyway,’ Demir said easily. ‘With how deep your nose is in those books, I’d give it two days before you were back at it.’
