Page 71 of Only You
As Selene walked up the stairs, Demir contemplated his options. He could walk or wait to catch an early morning train. However, he was farther from home than usual and the thought of being in bed in the next hour was too tempting. He sighed. ‘I should go.’
Nora’s mouth formed a pout, and he kissed it quickly, moving to leave. She caught his collar and reeled him back in. She gave him an intense but too-short kiss, pulling away slowly, her lipstick smudged and tantalising.
‘I’ll be here tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Come pick me up.’
He smirked before pressing a goodbye kiss to her cheek. ‘I’ll see you soon,’ he told her and slid out the booth. He exited the club to see Selene leaning against the car as Jack ranted. She looked as tired as he felt.
‘And he was this close— D! There you are,’ Jack said when he spotted the boxer. ‘What took you so long?’
‘Nora,’ Selene answered matter-of-factly as she dug into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief, holding it out to him. ‘You should wipe off the lipstick.’
‘Wait, he was busy with a girl, and you interrupted him?’ Jack asked Selene incredulously.
‘We were leaving,’ she defended.
‘Fuck that. You see me caught up with a girl, leave me,’ Jack chuckled, but it quickly died when he saw Selene’s scowl. ‘By a girl, I meant you, Sel. You know that.’ She pushed off the car and walked to the other side, climbing in the passenger seat. ‘Sel, come on. Sel!’
‘It’s late,’ she told him before slamming the door shut.
Jack growled in frustration but followed her as Demir slid into the back seat, leaning his head against the window. His eyes started to close, and the last thing he saw before dozing off was Jack reaching out for Selene’s hand.
She kept them in her lap.
Demir was weeks into picking up Selene and the routine was mundane at this point. He worked out while she studied. He fought; she patched him up. She went home with Jack. He met up with Nora. There were no complaints, no more fights, and overall, very little conversation, which both sides were content with. Now the only tension left was the only person that tied them together: Jack.
Every day, Jack worked at a garage till dark, calling everyone he could to set up matches, coaching and negotiating before and after every match for a place where Demir could regularly fight. It was good work but gruelling for everyone.
Especially as Jack’s temper got worse.
‘You have to make it stronger,’ he yelled for the umpteenth time.
Selene watched Demir snarl before loosening his gloves with his teeth, throwing them on the ground and spinning to Jack. ‘What are you talking about? I know what I’m fucking doing,’ the boxer yelled. ‘There’s no making it stronger! I make it “stronger”, I leave myself open.’
‘You make it stronger, we get one less round and extra cash,’ Jack snapped back. ‘Look, everyone knows you’re a fighter and a damn good one! You get in there with the best of the best around here, but it’s not enough. You heard what Mackie said. We need to get you to go pro now!’
‘Well, I can’t go pro anytime soon, not until the Golden Glove tournament in March,’ Demir told him.
‘Yeah, if we can scrape by until then,’ Jack said.
Selene grimaced as she remembered her and Jack pulling money together for the gas bill that morning. It had been tight, but Selene had reached into her emergency fund to cover the last few dollars. She had claimed that it was from some money he had given her a while back. She doubted Jack would ever tell Demir that. She wondered about the boxer’s bills as he narrowed his eyes at Jack.
‘What, you’re saying we can’t afford to keep doing this?’
‘I’m saying that extra cash can really help right now.’ Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets and Selene looked at him in suspicion. He only did that when he was about to give bad news. ‘Look, I went back and talked to Mackie. He agreed to give us some cash in exchange for fighting at his club.’
‘What?’
‘It would only be between fights, like an exhibition,’ Jack argued but Demir raised his hand, silently telling him to stop.
‘Jack, I know money’s tight, but I’m not getting my face bashed in by some random brawler for a few extra bucks!’
‘So, a few more fights aren’t worth twice the cash?’ Jack snapped. ‘We’re just supposed to slum it down here? Maybe you’re not smart enough to see how fucking stupid that is, but I am!’
‘The fuck did you say?’ Demir straightened, inches from his coach and a full head taller. If that wasn’t menacing enough, his arms bulged with tension as though he were moments away from knocking Jack’s head off.
‘Hey, guys,’ Selene called out. ‘Stop!’ The men continued to stare each other down, even when she tried to squeeze in between them, Demir only taking a step back when she pushed at his chest as hard as she could.
‘Both of you need to calm downnow,’ she snapped. ‘We’re getting nowhere like this.’
