Page 13 of Nights at Seaside
“You actually get into a ring and punch people?” she asked. “And they punch you?”
He smiled at the simplification. “Yes, but it’s really more than that.”
“Enlighten me,” she said, pushing up on her elbow so they were eye to eye.
“I take it you’re not a fan?” He reached for her hand to see how far she was withdrawing, and thankfully, she laid her hand in his.
“I don’t love the idea of fighting,” she said. “But to think that you willingly do it? Let’s just say I’m curious, but not a fan, no.”
“When I was a kid, I was in organized sports. Pee-wee football, soccer, baseball. And as I got older I was frustrated because the bottom line of winning or losing was out of my control. I wanted something where winning or losing came down to my own skills. My own drive and determination. My dad traveled a lot when I was younger, and my mom was busy, and I went searching…”
“Searching?” It came out sounding like a question.
He met her gaze again, and something about the intense way she was looking at him, as if she were trying to seeinsidehim, made the truth spill out.
“I started hanging out with these older kids. Part of me knew they were no good, but they were tough, and that was intriguing to me. Well, that lasted about ten minutes. My father came home one weekend and caught me mouthing off to our neighbor. It’s embarrassing to think about now, but at thirteen, what did I know? Anyway, my father’s got this way of seeing right through people, and he knew exactly what I needed. He dragged my butt down to the local fight club and handed me over to Roach.”
“Roach?”
“MannyRoachRegan. He’s been my trainer forever, but it didn’t start out that way. My father took me to a fight club and told Roach to show me what it meant to be respectful, and then he walked out the door.”
“He left you at the fight club?” Her eyes widened. “When you were thirteen?” Her fingers inched across the sand and covered his.
“Yeah,” he said with a smile, because looking back, he knew his father realized exactly what he was doing. “That one afternoon changed the course of my life. Roach is a no-bull guy. He was in his twenties, and he was massive. He had me taking out the trash, cleaning the gym,andworking the bags.”
“And you didn’t hate your dad for leaving you there?” She sat up, and he could see the tension in her shoulders. “Weren’t you scared?”
“Scared to death. I thought I was tough, and then suddenly this monster of a guy is looming over me. Roach is intimidating to adults, so at thirteen…” He shook his head with the memory. “Let me tell you, I didn’t feel so tough after about two minutes with the guy. But I was a quick study, and something about his toughness spoke to me. I went back the next day, and the next. And eventually I got over my frustration and anger at my father for dumping me off on Roach, because really, he was saving my life.”
“And now you fight.” Her eyes moved over his face, and she shook her head, as if she couldn’t make sense of what she saw.
“Yes. I’m a fighter. It’s who I am.” He paused, thinking about that statement, and changed his mind. “Actually, it really isn’t who I am, Sky. It’s what I do. And Roach? He became my mentor and one of my best buddies. He taught me to respect everyone and everything, and part of respect is knowing when it’s okay to fight. When two people agree to the rules and engage in a safe environment—in the ring—that’s cool. Street fighting or bullying is not.”
“But…” Her brows knitted together. “How can you punch some guy in the head? I don’t watch boxing, obviously, but I’ve seen clips on television. It’s so violent.”
“That’s how most people see it. A lot of people correlate boxing to Mike Tyson and the whole ear-biting fiasco—all that nonsense and hype that surrounded him in the years following that fight. But you’ve just spent hours with me. Do I seem like an aggressive media seeker to you?”
She shook her head, and a genuine smile lifted her lips as she reached up and touched his cheek. He leaned in to her touch.
“No. I can’t imagine someone punching this face. In fact, it’s hard to put the idea of you boxing together with the man that I’ve just gotten to know and the man I saw singing at open mic night. You’re either really good at pretending to be someone you’re not, or you’ve managed to divide and conquer your inner self.”
“Divide and conquer my inner self? That’s the perfect way to say it.” Her hand slipped from his cheek. “When I was younger, all my mother wanted for me was to be true to myself. I loved music, and she signed me up for guitar and piano lessons. I’m surprised I didn’t end up a boxeranda professional musician, quite honestly.”
“Well, you do write songs and sing them in bars. How does your mom feel about your fighting?”
A breeze swept off the water, causing goose bumps to rise on Sky’s arms. Sawyer pulled her in close, loving the feel of her against him.
“She won’t come to my fights, but she supports me. She came to a few when I was younger, but it was too hard for her to watch herlittle boypunch and be punched.”
“I can only imagine.” Sky sank down to her back again.
He leaned over her and asked, “Is this too much for you?”
She shrugged like it was no big deal, but the look in her eyes and her wrinkled brow told him that it was a very big deal. “I think I’m with your mom. I don’t think I could watch you fight, but I guess I won’t really know unless I try at some point. When do you fight?”
“Well, right now I’m training for a title fight.”
“A title fight? Is that a big deal?”
