Hector (14 page)

But worst of all, Hector now knew just how
bad Walter had it for Charlee. Walter had told him all about it as Hector
worked him out. This was going to be tough, but the fact of the matter was
Hector could have just about any girl he wanted. It was only fair. If he wanted
to do the right thing by Walter, this time he’d have to stay away from the only
girl that would mean betraying his new friend.

“What the hell are you doing?” Abel asked
from the side of the ring.

“I got this,” Gio said as he applied the
Vaseline over Hector’s brows.

“Yeah, he’s okay.” Noah said, squirting water
into Hector’s mouth. “He still has a few rounds left. He just has to win them.”

“Are you kidding me?” Abel glared at Noah
then turned back to Hector. “Listen to me, Hector. You need to get your head
out of your ass and knock this guy out. If this thing goes to judges, you’d be lucky
if they call it a draw. Guzman took those first three rounds, and if you keep
fighting like that, you’re gonna lose the whole damn thing.”

Gio, who was his actual trainer, started in
on him with what he’d done wrong in the last round and what he needed to do in
the next. “Use your speed, man. What’s wrong with you? You’re way faster than
this guy. Guzman ain’t got shit on your speed.”

Hector closed his eyes but only for a moment
because in the next one the bell rang. “Drop him, Hector,” Abel said even
louder. “Stop wasting time.”

Jumping in place now as he waited for the go-ahead
from the ref, he eyed Guzman. Gio was right. Hector was way faster than this
guy. He’d watched film of the guy’s previous fights and was pretty sure he had
his weaknesses down.

The ref gave the go-ahead, and both he and
Guzman took a few steps toward each other.

“Pick ’
em
up,
Hector!” Gio yelled.

Hector lifted his gloves a few inches to
shield his face. Gio must not have watched as much film on this guy as Hector had.
Guzman went for the body way more often than the face.

Even thinking about watching film on his
opponent brought back thoughts of Charlee and how closely she must’ve studied
his game. Her words came back to him just then. “I didn’t mean anything personal
by it.”
Bullshit!

Hector landed a hard hit to Guzman’s eye,
splitting the skin just under it and prompting to the crowd to jump to its feet
going wild. As much as they all tried to assure the fighters that signed up for
bouts here that they’d be on neutral ground, fighting in your own gym
inevitably made you the favorite.

Just like Hector’s weak spot, his right
eyebrow that had been split enough times that now any good hit to it would have
it split and bleeding, this was Guzman’s weak spot. Every one of the fights the
guy had been in, where it had been stopped because of an injury, it had been
because of that gash.

Before Guzman could recover, Hector landed
another fast one on that same eye. Maybe it did pay to study your opponent so
closely.

Feeling his insides heat just as they had
yesterday when he’d realized what Charlee had done, he landed another then an
even faster and harder one. If it weren’t for the ropes, Guzman would’ve gone
down. The crowd was going wild, chanting and jumping up and down. Hector
couldn’t help thinking this was probably what the rest of his chess teammates
must’ve been feeling inwardly as they watched Charlee take him down.

Clenching his teeth so hard he thought he
might bite through his mouthpiece, Hector went in for the kill. Check-motherfucking-mate!

The last jab was so hard it sent Guzman
crashing onto the floor. The ref jumped in between them, pushing Hector toward
his corner, and started the countdown.

Guzman wasn’t getting up. This was a done
deal.

“Hell yeah, Hector! Now that’s what I’m
talking about!” Gio pulled the mouthpiece out of Hector’s mouth and Noah began
squirting water into it.

Hector gulped the water as he tried to catch
his breath and glanced around the loud and crazed crowd. He nearly choked when
he saw it. It stood out like a flame in the sea of dark hair and pumping fists—
Charlee’s
red flowing hair. Hector coughed uncontrollably
as the water Noah had squirted in his mouth went down the wrong pipe.

“You okay?” Noah asked, offering more water.

Hector pushed it away. What the hell was she
doing here? Glancing back at Noah and pushing the water away, he continued to
cough. Gio patted him on the back as his coughing slowly calmed and he began
breathing easier.

He dare not look back in her direction. Not
only had she shown up but that hair wasn’t up in a ponytail like he’d only seen
it up until now. She wore it down now. That ponytail she usually had it in was
so damn high he never imagined her hair would be this long.

Swallowing hard as Noah wiped his face down,
he turned around to face the ref. The ref, who stood next to a still very dazed
looking Guzman with his eye nearly swollen shut, now motioned for him to come
over. Hector hardly heard a word of what the ref said, but once everyone
started cheering, he knew he’d been announced the winner by way of knockout.

Lifting his glove up at the cheering
spectators and not looking her way was a challenge, but he managed to get
through it. He was already out of the ring and making his way through the
crowd. The real challenge would start now—staying away from her all night.

What a pisser. Here he thought he’d unwind
tonight and let some of the tension out that had built over the past
twenty-four hours. He’d looked forward to throwing a few beers back with the
guys. Having any alcohol now was not a good idea. He might do something bad and
tell her little condescending ass off or worse: he might just be tempted to
finish what he started yesterday.

~*~

They’d been there over an hour now,
and still the only glimpse she’d had of Hector was when he’d been in the ring.
Charlee cursed herself for not having worn higher wedges. When he’d walked
through the crowd, she’d barely been able to see him with all the people in
front of her. She so badly wanted a closer look at that tattoo.

Drew had been
so
excited as they walked into the banquet room where the exclusive party was
being held. She said she’d never felt so special when everyone else had to
leave and they, along with an elite few others, were led into the back of the
gym and down a hallway where the banquet room was located. Charlee, on the
other hand, had never felt so nauseous.

When she thought of coming to a party where
Hector would be, she pictured lots of people. Even though it was exclusive, she
still thought there would be crowds like the one at the fight that she could
hide behind and become invisible—be in her comfort zone. This crowd so far
consisted of about forty people, not nearly enough for her to get lost in.

Unable to hide what she was feeling, Drew had
noticed
Charlee’s
discomfort and insisted she have a glass
of wine to help her relax. She was on her second glass now, and while it did
help, the knot in her stomach was still there.

“Where do you think he could be?” Drew leaned
in and whispered.

Charlee shook her head with a shrug. Wherever
he was, Charlee only wished he would get there already. He couldn’t be far, and
the anxiety was only building with every minute that passed. She wanted that
first look—glare—whatever she may get from him tonight out of the way.

In the meantime, Charlee had obsessively
watched his brother, Abel. Walter had pointed him out, though it hadn’t really
been necessary. The moment Charlee had spotted him before Walter said anything,
she knew who he was. Not only had she already shamelessly Google-stalked him
but she even watched some of his fights on YouTube, more for the possibility of
seeing Hector in the audience than anything else. Even in a suit and tie,
everything about Abel said heavyweight contender. He was big, built like a truck
and annoyingly as good-looking as Hector, only in a manlier way.
Not that Hector didn’t have the manly thing going on,
but,
obviously, his brother had a few years on him.

Another thing they had in common was the women’s
reaction to them. They zeroed in, made their move, and then clung to them, just
as those girls had Saturday night with Hector. The entire time Charlee had been
standing there with the rest of the handful of people from her chess club,
she’d watched as these scantily dressed women behaved outrageously eager and
disposed.

Unlike Hector, Abel was far more discreet
about his response to them. Although these women made it blatantly obvious that
he had the go-ahead to fondle them if he so wished to by the way they rubbed up
against him when they greeted him, other than the polite hug he responded with,
he kept his hands to himself. Hector had been a much more willing participant
with those two girls Saturday night.

“I guess now we know what kept him so long,”
Drew whispered.

Charlee turned her attention from Abel’s
group to the banquet room door where Drew’s annoyed glare was focused. She only
hoped Drew hadn’t heard the tiny gasp that escaped her as she took in the sight
of Hector. Even under what appeared to be layers of clothes, a dark suit
complete with coat and vest over a dress shirt and tie, there was no hiding his
impressive build.

Swallowing hard, she also took in the two
girls on either side of him, walking in with him: the same two girls from
Saturday night. Apparently, he hadn’t had enough. Both girls looked just as
pleased as they had Saturday. Charlee could only wonder if that look of content
on their faces meant they’d kept him nice and busy all this time.

“Stop staring,” Drew whispered.

Charlee quickly glanced away. She hadn’t
realized she’d been staring so hard. Her eyes were on his brother’s group
again. They had also seen Hector and were now smiling in his direction. Some of
the guys’ big smiles were no doubt an approval of Hector’s grand entrance with
two girls at his side. The only one that didn’t smile as big was Abel. In fact,
if she had to guess, he appeared a bit annoyed. Charlee had to wonder, after
watching Abel’s reserved interest in the women vying so hard for his undivided
attention, if it was expected of Hector to behave this way too.

Though Hector didn’t hold either of the girls’
hands this time like he had in the parking lot last weekend, the two girls’
body language spoke volumes. They were there with him and would undoubtedly
leave with him too.

“Can he really be that outrageous?” Charlee
asked, looking away from Abel and the others in his group as Hector and the two
girls reached them. “Walking in here like that with both of them?”

Charlee welcomed the flames she felt ignite inside
her and all the way up her neck as she sipped her wine. This was a good thing.
It was better that she
lose
all respect for him—hate
him. She had no business fantasizing about this guy, even before she knew
anything about him, and she certainly didn’t anymore, especially now. Watching
him Saturday even as he made out with these girls, she’d been disgusted, but
she hadn’t felt what she felt now.

Doing what he’d done with them in a dimly lit
parking lot was one thing. Everybody had skeletons in the closet—sordid little
secret fantasies. Charlee knew this firsthand. Some people were just brave
enough to act on them in real life. She’d already cut him some slack yesterday
when she got to be so close to him and was back to feeling mesmerized.
Certainly most guys at some point in their lives had fantasized about not only
getting the opportunity to be with more than one girl at once but to actually
be able to handle it. Not surprisingly, Hector was one of the fortunate few who
got the opportunity but apparently seemed more than capable of handling it.

Still, these fantasies should remain just
that—secret. Or at the very least keep them discreet. To walk in here flaunting
what he was doing was just appalling to say the least. Obviously, he was one of
those types of guys. And those girls were those types of sluts. Good. All this
was good. Drew had nearly succeeded in making Charlee believe Hector might
actually have a thing for her.

She felt her face flush suddenly. The very
idea was embarrassing now. While she’d watched Abel with the women who flirted
with him, she’d done it with a purpose. Feeling her face flush even more, she
sipped some more of her wine. To think she actually thought she might pick up a
few pointers. In no way did she want to be slutty or pathetic like those women,
but they all seemed so self-confident. Charlee yearned to pick up on a little
bit of that. She should’ve known after being around Drew for all these years
that wasn’t happening.

“You guys enjoying yourselves?” Charlee had
been so busy doing her best to look in any direction but Hector and his
girlfriends’ that hearing his voice so close startled her.

He stood two people away from her without the
girls he’d walked in with, looking and smelling amazing. She let the rest of
them answer his question while she nodded. When their eyes met, she saw that
hardened look he wore yesterday, and immediately she regretted having come.
Then to her relief, it eased slowly into a smile. Letting out a measured breath,
she smiled back and took another sip of her wine. It was nearly gone now.