Page 51 of New Girl in the City
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I want to ask you to come to a fight.”
I nodded. “I could do that.”
“Tonight’s fight.”
Oh. Shit.
“Tonight?” I squeaked.
He nodded and continued to give me a nervous look that had me feeling off kilter. A shy and nervous look from a man like Liam was incredibly sexy. I wasn’t used to seeing this side of him. “Yeah, tonight. Figure we may as well if we’re going to make a go of it. You should see it up front and quick. You can decide if it’s for you. If not, then it’s alright. No hard feelings. We go back to me driving you like none of it ever happened.”
We both knew he meant him. He was asking me to decide if I wanted him. He was also giving me an out in case I didn’t. Both made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. I kept my voice even, a smile on my face that I hoped came off as reassuring because, god, that was all I wanted to give him right now. Reassurance.
“I want to go,” I said, my earlier nervousness gone. If he wanted this for us, I was game. After all he’d told me, it was plain to see he wasn’t going to give up fighting. It was better to see that now. I understood what it was that he was offering me.
This was personal, intimate even. Yes, it was him coming to blows with another man for cash, but it went deeper for him, and I knew why. It was for family. It was for love and honor, and dreams and all that good shit that people needed to hold close. And he was sharing it with me.
I reached out, snagging his hand in both of mine and smiled at him again. This time I knew it came across as reassuring. I could see it mirrored back at me in the way he looked at me. He was looking at me like he knew it, that he felt my acceptance, and that made me glad.
“I’m game. Are heels fight footwear?” I asked, sticking a leg out from under our table and wiggling my foot for emphasis. “I’ve never been to a fight, let alone a super-secret one. What if I have to run?”
He laughed and swatted my foot with a hand. “You’re not going to have to run,” he said.
“But what if the cops come?” I asked, setting my foot down with a shrug. “It could happen. I mean, it does in the movies.”
“Those are all trash. This is big money. Cops aren’t getting wind of this. And if they are, it’s because they’re in on the purse.”
I swallowed hard at that. Shit. Okay.
“Well, alright then…”
“Look, this isn’t some amateur thing. You’re going to be fine. No running going on. I’m gonna make sure you’re somewhere comfortable, somewhere safe, and you can relax. Watch me do my thing and make some cash. After I’ll take you on a walk, take you home, and eat your pussy.”
I had been sipping my Michelada, listening along to what Liam was saying, all of it agreeable until suddenly I was choking on my drink. I coughed, doubling over the table. I wasn’t surprised when he thumped me on the back, hard, more than once, until I was able to wave him off.
“I’m fine,” I got out, shooting a glare his way. “Warn a woman next time you just decide to drop oral on the table though will you. It’s only polite.”
“I’d like to give you oral on a table.”
“Goddammit, Liam.”
* * *
“Where is this?”I asked, turning to look around us and seeing, well, not a whole lot I recognized. I was sitting up front in the car. A big change from where I normally was. Liam was loosening his tie as we drove. Another thing I had to add to the “very sexy and hot” things this man did without thinking.
“Queens,” he said, turning us on to a street that was far quieter than I was used to in Manhattan. “It’s got the space for what we need.” There were warehouses now, the residential and commercial vibe of the streets I was used to seeing gone and replaced with the more industrial warehouses meant for shipping and receiving. The warehouses were big and dark, only some of the shipping docks were active with workers on site. The further we drove the less populated and the streets less busy, or at least they were until we pulled up in front of what could only be our intended destination.
A warehouse it was, but empty it was not. A parking lot to the side of it was filled with gleaming cars, all the models expensive and immaculately kept. I blew out a whistle as we drove past an Aston Martin and then what I thought was the newest Tesla. I even noticed that a few of the cars had what looked like drivers of their own lounging outside the cars or reading the paper sitting inside of them.
Whoever was here to watch Liam fight had money. Suddenly all the cash he’d alluded to, the paying of Juilliard tuition made sense. I bit my lip as he parked our car and came to a stop. This was a whole new world I had no understanding of, but I knew there was a lot of money involved in it. I peered out of the window and towards the warehouse when I saw a side door open. Light spilled out onto the asphalt of the lot. Before it closed I saw a crowd of people and bright lights flashing inside.
“What’s that?” I whispered, even though there was no reason for me to keep my voice down. It was just us in the car after all. Liam put a hand on my knee, and I jumped slightly
“It’s the crowd. The inside of this place is a lot fancier than it looks on the outside, Princess. I’ll take you to a nice spot to watch the fight.”
I nodded and followed him out of the car. He went to the back and popped the trunk, pulling out a duffle bag which he slung over his shoulder before he held his hand out to me. “Stay close to me,” he said leading me towards the door. “‘I’m not saying not to talk to anyone, but it’s better to follow your gut. I’m going to take you inside and get you settled. After that it should be fine. People will know you’re my woman. They won’t get too close.”
