Chapter 27

Xander had won every fight since his accident. He made himself into something of a local celebrity, even having a difficult time going to the grocery store without being recognized and bombarded with questions about his next fight. Women had been flocking to him, asking questions about his love life. Xander was well aware of what they were after, and remained indifferent—his mind preoccupied by someone else.

In Xander’s imagination, Molly had been at every single fight. Any woman in the crowd slightly resembling Molly was enough to motivate Xander to put on his best show. In the gym, he daydreamed of her, sometimes zoning out for minutes at a time. During sparring sessions he would have thoughts of her racing through his mind and frequently had to remind himself to focus on the task at hand—or he might be the one face down.

Tommy had scheduled a ‘talk’ with Xander today, not specifying what it was about. Tommy wasn’t known for being subtle.

“Xan, come on in. Alright let me cut right to the chase. You’ve been kicking ass all over town, but something’s been up with you when you’re here in the gym. I’ve seen you stare out that window for more than three minutes at a time, and this isn’t a single occasion I’m talkin’ about here. You’re in la-la land and I wanna know what’s gotta happen to bring you back to reality.”

Xander felt his face getting hot.

“What does it matter if I’m staring out of windows in here if I’m winning the fights out there, Tommy? Isn’t that the part that actually matters? The reason I’m here to begin with? I’m sacrificing everything to win fights. For God’s sake, I can’t even be with the girl I’m in—”

Love. The girl I’m in love with.

Tommy walked around his desk to where Xander was sitting. Picking up a framed photograph from his desk, Tommy turned it around to show Xander. In the picture, a younger Tommy was holding a slender, blonde-haired woman. They were in an orchard, and Xander could see that Tommy was helping her to grab an apple, smiling up at her while she threw her head back laughing.

“That very thing is what almost ruined my career, Xan. She made me choose, and it almost tore me apart. In the end, I chose to fight and if I hadn’t made that decision, I wouldn’t have had the gym, the cars, the money ... any of it. You can’t allow yourself to lose sight of your goals. Don’t get yourself to the point where you have to choose. Focus on the fight. Trust me.”

He’s right. Even if he isn’t, I already promised him a second time that I would focus on the fights and only the fights. I can’t let him down again.

“Nothing will happen. With her, or with anyone else. Just the fight, Tommy. Just the fight.”

Tommy placed the photo face down on his desk, put a hand on Xander’s shoulder and squeezed.

“That’s my boy. Now get back to training.”

Xander left Tommy’s office with only a few minutes left before it was his turn in the ring.

I won’t look for too long. I just want to see her.

Taking his phone from his locker, Xander opened his browser and clicked on Molly’s profile. He had been following her on social media for a few weeks, occasionally feeling like a stalker for how often he checked her updates. Usually her page was full of photos of her and Elodie at the beach, or grabbing coffee at her favorite barista’s café, but as Xander scrolled today, he noticed that she had tagged herself in a new location.

Two hours earlier, Molly had posted a photo of her holding a bouquet of flowers beside a scraggly, middle-aged man.

‘The customers here just make my day. Thank you for the surprise flowers, Jim!’

Tiny’s Bar and Grill? Does she work there now?

Everyone in the area had been to Tiny’s, or at the very least had heard about their famous burgers and their even more famous customers.

Xander had driven by it a million times, but never thought to go inside for food. His friends had asked him before if he wanted to grab a bite to eat there, but Xander had been wary of eating at any restaurant known for their ‘artery clogging burgers.’

Driving home that night, Xander took the long route around the city.

I’ll only drive by… just to see if she’s there.

Xander slowed down as he passed the restaurant window. Molly was bussing tables, wearing a bright blue apron and balancing trays of plates and cutlery on each arm.

Okay, one minute and then you have to leave.

Parking across the street, he lowered his seat to make sure that she wouldn’t see him.

God, I’m such a creep.

An older couple walked into Tiny’s and sat down at a booth. Molly grabbed her pen and notepad and walked over to the table.

Molly could be seen saying something, making her customers laugh. She smiled, shaking her head before grabbing her pen to write down their order.

Your smile could light up an entire city, Molly Tompkins.

Xander had vivid memories of that smile. In the club the first time they met, Xander remembered how he tried hard to make her laugh, just so he could see the expression on her face once more. And again, in the back of his truck. How he wanted her to feel comfortable, like she could truly be herself around him. Underneath him, her eyes glimmering and the corners of her lips upturned. When he touched her, it was like an electric force pulsated through his body, and even now, he felt shivers going up his spine when he thought about the way she had felt in his hands.

Xander looked more closely through the window at Molly. She was tying her unruly hair into a high ponytail and as she combed her fingers through the knots, her shirt lifted slightly.

The birthmark. The one above her right hip.

While undoing her pants that night, Molly had shown him her mark. She told him he was ‘the only one who wasn’t related’ to her that had seen it, ‘aside from Elodie, of course.’ He thought of what a special privilege it was to be the first one to have seen it, and how it must have felt for Molly to show him something so personal, so private.

A knock on Xander’s window cut his daydreaming short. A man wearing a metal band tee shirt and khaki shorts stood with his arms crossed. Moving his seat up, Xander rolled down the window and stuck his head out.

“Can I help you?”

The stranger scoffed, “Help me? Yeah you can help me. By moving your ass out of the handicapped spot. There are people that actually need them. They’re not just free spaces for pretty boys like yourself.”

Xander looked at the sign to the right of his car and shook his head.

“Sorry, man, I didn’t see it. But I’m leaving now anyway.”

He started his truck and pulled out of the space. Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw Molly grabbing the sign from outside, closing up the restaurant for the night.

Okay. That’s enough. Now you can focus on fighting.