Chapter Thirteen
Ryan
Sleeping with Blaire had been even better than I had imagined it to be, which was really something because I had a tendency to blow things up in my head. I was used to disappointment because of my overactive imagination, but my night with Blaire had far exceeded my high expectations. It wasn’t wild, but my goodness, was it amazing. It had something to do with the way she had looked at me. For a movie star, she was very reserved, and definitely a lot more timid than I would expect from someone in her field. But in the bed, she was the polar opposite of shy. There was something about that contrast that really appealed to me, especially since I knew she didn’t show that side of her to the rest of the world. I’m not sure why she trusted me enough to show it to me, but I wasn’t complaining.
I spent most of the morning with her on Sunday too. It was my day off from training, and the two of us had a lazy morning together drinking coffee in bed. Afterward, I went home wondering how it could be so easy with someone I had just met. Usually, I wanted nothing more than to run away back home after sleeping with a girl. I would’ve actually been happy spending the whole day with her, but I decided not to push it too soon. I had no idea what was happening with us yet.
When Monday rolled around, I made my way over to the training facility. I always looked forward to it after a day off.
“Hey, congrats on the fight,” I said to one of the guys that was walking out. He had just been involved in his very first local fight, and he’d come out a winner. I was always glad to see people from my training facility do well. It reminded me so much of when I had first started out. It was still exciting to fight and to come out a winner, but there was nothing quite like the first fight or the first win. That feeling stays with you forever.
“Thank you. What a rush, man,” he said. “It’s mostly because of you and Nick, though. If you guys hadn’t pushed me the way you did, I’m not sure I would’ve had the guts to do this. I hated you guys while I was training.”
I laughed. “I know. I hate Nick most of the time too, but he knows what he’s doing. I’m glad to see I’m doing the same. You should never like your trainer while you’re training. I always swear at him and then want to take him for a beer afterward.”
“It’s a crazy relationship. Well, thanks again. I had so much fun out there. Now I see what you guys are talking about. There’s no going back once you get started.”
“Oh no, you’re in this for the rest of your life. That’s for sure.”
“I don’t doubt it. Well, I have to run. Enjoy your training today. Nick’s already in there.”
“Of course he is. Thanks, man,” I said and shook my head. Of course Nick was there. Nick was always there before me.
“I’m getting here an hour earlier next time,” I said when I saw him.
“And I’ll get here an hour before that.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Everything is a competition with you. You even want to be the first to come into the training,” he teased.
“Well yeah, but you keep beating me. It’s infuriating. Anyway, where’s my tea?” I demanded.
He burst out laughing. “You’re in luck. I’m going to make myself one now.”
I went to the changing to get ready, and when I got back, there was a cup of tea waiting for me on the table.
“You do realize we’re going to be known as the tea boys one of these days?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been getting some of the other guys into it too. It’s surprisingly good before a fight. Beer comes after.”
I took a sip. “It’s good.”
“I know. So, how was your date with Blaire?”
Ahh, Sunny, I thought and grinned to myself. I hadn’t stopped thinking about my date with Blaire. Right now my mind kept wondering between her and fighting. “It was great.”
“Better than the last time?” he asked. I knew exactly what he meant by that question of course.
“Much better. This time, she let me in.”
“In more ways than one I hope?” he said.
I laughed. “Oh yeah.”
“You sound very happy. And you haven’t stopped smiling since I asked you about her. Sounds like you really like this girl.”
“I do. I mean, you’ve seen what she looks like.”
“She’s hot,” Nick admitted.
“And not only that, but she’s so easy to talk to. Remember my last date? The two of us had nothing to talk about. She invited me to her house for dinner, and we just sat there picking at the food without saying anything. Every now and again one of us would mention how delicious the food was. Which it wasn’t, by the way. I ended up sleeping with her just because the conversation was so awkward.”
“Poor you,” Nick said. “Although, didn’t you say the sex was bad too?”
“It was terrible. We were completely incompatible. I ran out of there was fast as I could. I actually saw her the other day, and we both walked past each other like we had never seen each other before. It’s definitely different with Blaire. We got along great in and out the bed. And in the morning, things weren’t awkward at all.”
“In the morning? What do you mean? Did you sleep over?”
“Yeah, I did. I wasn’t going to. I mean, I didn’t exactly plan to sleep over.”
“So what happened? Did she ask you to?”
“No, not at all. But there was a knock on the door and when I went to see who it was, there was nobody there. And it was pretty late. She told me that the same thing happened to her the other day. That time it had happened really early in the morning, and when she looked out, there was nobody there.”
“That’s a bit creepy,” Nick said and frowned.
“Tell me about it. She was trying to pretend like it was no big deal but I could see she was a bit freaked out by it. So I decided to sleep over just in case.”
“Any idea who it might be?”
“She has no idea. I thought maybe she has a stalker or something. I mean, she’s an actress, and there are some weird people out in this world. She doesn’t think so because she hasn’t been in any big movies and she hasn’t seen anyone around watching her. But she said maybe it was the kids across the road or something. She said their parents are never really around and that they are generally mischievous. Maybe they know she’s an actress and they find it funny to mess with her. But I guess it could be anything.”
“More than likely kids,” Nick said. “We all did stupid things like that. I used to do that a lot when I was bored. I thought it was hilarious at the time obviously. I didn’t mean any harm by it.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Kids love doing that. I probably did it too. Well, I hope it was them. They didn’t knock again when I was there, and she hasn’t said anything more to be about it, so it’s probably fine. I’m sure she would’ve told me if it happened again.”
“Oh well, at least you got to sleep over. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Yeah, that’s true. And can you believe she still looks pretty when she wakes up in the morning? I like her without makeup.”
“You’re annoying me right now actually,” Nick said. “You get all the luck. Okay, I’m going to get ready. Another girl talk and more fighting talk. I’ll meet you in the ring in five.”
I chuckled. “Great. I hope you’re scared,” I said.
He laughed. “You’re clearly talking about yourself.”
This time we spent an hour in the ring and then went outside to do a forty-minute run. I wasn’t battling as much with my headache during the training, and I seemed to be a lot better than the last time. I managed to keep up with Nick without gasping for air every few minutes. When we got to the end of the run, Nick threw a bottle of water and grinned at me.
“Much better. And this one was a longer one.”
“Yeah, I felt better this time. I was battling nearly as much as before. I’m surprised. I thought I’d battle again today.”
“You see, what did I tell you? I said you would be better at your training if you slept with Blaire. She might just be the lucky charm you were looking for.”
I liked that idea. “Yeah, maybe. I actually didn’t mind that run so much. Blaire runs too, actually.”
“You’re coming along nicely in your training, Ryan. I still can’t believe how much you have improved in such a short time. You’re one of the most determined guys I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Wow, do my ears deceive me or am I getting actual compliments from you?”
“I don’t mind giving out compliments when they are well-deserved. You know, at this rate, you might even be better than I was one day.”
I laughed. “Oh please, I’m already better than you.”
I was glad that there were no reporters lurking around when I had finished with the training. I was in a good mood that day, and I didn’t want anything to bring me down. I showered at the center, got changed, and headed home.
“Thanks for today, Nick.”
“Anytime.”
I got home feeling exhausted. Nick used to tell me that if I wasn’t exhausted after a training session, then I hadn’t pushed myself enough. So I was now used to this feeling being a good one. I went straight to the kitchen in search of something to eat, and just as I reached up to get a plate, I felt a piercing pain shoot through my head. I put the plate down and squeezed the palm of my hand onto my head.
“Holy crap, that was sore,” I said out loud.
I waited for the pain to subside but it didn’t seem to be going away. I took two Advil with a tall glass of water and went to sit in the living room. The light of the kitchen as annoying me too much and my desire to eat had left me. It felt more like a migraine this time than a headache, and the pain was worse than anything I had felt before. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I sat in the darkened room and just willed the pills to work. When they didn’t, I took two more.
Almost an hour later, the pain finally started to lessen, but I was now feeling queasy from the pills and the lack of food. I made my way back into the kitchen, but I couldn’t seem to find the energy to make anything. Instead, I picked up the phone and called for a pizza.
When the pizza arrived, I sat in front of the TV eating slice after slice until I had polished the entire thing off. It was good to feel normal, and I hoped never to feel that sort of pain again. I couldn’t figure out what had caused it. I had been fine all day, and it had come so suddenly, without any sort of warning like it usually did.
I thought about Reed and decided that I would have to go and see him soon. Maybe he could figure out what was going on. And anyway, it would be nice to see him again.