Chapter Three

Love Sends a Little Gift of Roses

“WHAT THE hell, Jasper? I thought you said I was going up against Travis?”

Eli stood silently by as Jessie furiously paced from one side of the small dressing room to the other. From the moment they had arrived at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan, Jessie had stated something was amiss. There were triple the number of attendees than any of them had anticipated. Once Jasper spoke to the promoting manager, they discovered the reason behind the sudden influx in ticket sales.

“You were, until the idjit slipped on his kid’s goddamn set of jacks two days ago and ended up on crutches.”

“So what, they replace him with Hewett?” Jessie spat out. “I didn’t come here to be humiliated, Jasper. It’s supposed be a charity event, not a goddamn massacre.”

In all his years of being around Jessie, Eli had never seen the man exude anything other than confidence, no matter who he was going up against, no matter how staggering the odds. Jessie Dalton never left his dressing room without a playful grin and a can-do attitude. It was what folks admired most about him. The last week had been difficult for Eli, watching Jessie get ready for the match. He was still one hell of a boxer, but his lack of faith in himself reflected in his fighting, and it had broken Eli’s heart all over again. He took a deep breath and decided to hell with it. “You can take him.”

Jessie stopped pacing and spun toward him. “What?”

“You can beat Hewett,” Eli stated firmly, believing every word. “I know you can.”

“That’s real sweet, kid, but no, I can’t.” Jessie shook his head and let out a humorless laugh. “Please tell me you’re not about to break out the ‘I believe in you’ pep talk.”

“Why can’t you beat him? Because he’s younger than you?”

“Younger, faster, healthier—you want me to keep going? How about the fact that he’s been training the last two years for a shot at the heavyweight title? That kid’s out for blood, and I sure as hell ain’t volunteering to give him mine.”

“I knew you’d lost your edge; I didn’t realize you’d become a coward.”

That stopped Jessie dead in his tracks, and he marched over to Eli. “What did you call me?”

“You’re afraid to fight him in front of all those people because if you lose, it will confirm you’ve got nothing left, but you’re wrong.”

“Kid,” Jasper warned, edging a little closer to Eli, probably afraid he was about to say something to get himself pummeled. Eli wasn’t about to back down.

“No, he needs to hear this.” He kept his gaze on Jessie. “I don’t care if you get sick of me all over again. I’m not letting you walk away from this.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” To Jessie’s credit, he looked completely perplexed.

Walking over to the door, Jasper turned the lock and stepped outside. “It’s time you two hashed this out. You got some time. Jessie’s not due out in the ring yet. Eli, don’t sock him. He’ll be gettin’ plenty of that soon enough.” With that he was gone.

Jessie threw up his hands in frustration and went over to the beat-up old couch, where he dropped himself down with a huff. “I’m surrounded by lunatics.” He looked up at Eli and glared at him. “Care to clarify what the hell you meant by me getting sick of you again?”

Well, it was now or never. “Hey, I get it. I was a dumb kid who was always in your hair, and after the trial, you had enough problems without me following you around like some puppy. It may seem like I’m doing that again, but I’m not—”

“Wait, you think I stopped having you around because I got tired of you? Did Jasper tell you that?”

Eli cleared his throat. “Uh, no, I assumed—”

“Well, don’t,” Jessie snapped. “I got enough folks trying to think for me. I don’t need it from you of all people.”

“Then why didn’t you want me around anymore? And who was the woman who answered your door?” As much as Eli didn’t want to reopen any old wounds, the least he deserved was an explanation.

“Why are you springing all this on me now?”

“Because it’s important,” Eli replied angrily. “I went to see you a couple of months after the trial one night, and some blonde woman answered your door in a pink nightie.”

“Kid, I was drunk out of my head,” Jessie muttered, as if that explained everything.

“That’s comforting.”

“Look, nothing happened with that dame. I thought maybe it would help me… not be me, but instead I drank until I blacked out. She nabbed what was in my wallet and made tracks. That satisfy you?”

“So you weren’t attracted to her?” Eli asked, taking a step closer to Jessie.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“For crying out loud, Eli.” Jessie sat forward and rubbed his hands over his face. “I’d been through hell, and all I could think about was what could have happened that night if you had been there. And it wasn’t just your safety I was worried about. The papers were tearing me apart. I couldn’t so much as have a sandwich without someone turning it into a headline against me. If they got wind of some good-looking college kid nearly half my age hanging around me, they would have dragged your name through the mud too. I couldn’t have that.”

“So let me get this straight. It’s not okay for me to assume what you’re thinking, but it’s okay for you to make decisions for me?” Eli couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It was the right thing to do,” Jessie insisted.

“It wasn’t your decision to make!” Eli was all but vibrating with anger. All those years of heartache, and for what? To find out Jessie had felt something for him and had decided to throw away whatever future they might have without so much as asking Eli what his thoughts were on the matter.

“What the hell are you yelling at me for?”

“Because I was in love with you, you son of a bitch, and you sent me away!”

Jessie opened his mouth and closed it before finally managing to get himself to speak up. When he did, his voice was quiet. “I’m sorry. I thought I was doing right by you.”

“Well, you weren’t,” Eli replied, taking a deep, calming breath. “You broke my heart, Jessie.”

“All this time….” When Jessie looked up, Eli was taken aback by the tears in his eyes. It was then he saw how much damage the last five years had done to a once confident and resilient man. “I tried my hardest never to disappoint you, and in the end, it’s exactly what I did.”

Eli knelt in front of Jessie and took hold of his hand. “Jessie, stop trying so hard to be my hero and just be the man I fell in love with.”

“And who’s that?”

The pout on Jessie’s face brought a soft laugh out of Eli. “He’s the fella from Brooklyn who likes ice cream sandwiches and falls asleep listening to records. He loves going to the motion pictures, hates wearing tuxedos, and loves animals. Except birds.”

“They have beady eyes and unnatural feet,” Jessie murmured with a frown.

Eli laughed and threw his arms around Jessie’s neck. “That’s the man I fell in love with, right there. Not the big, tough boxing champion, just the fella wearing his gloves. Which, by the way, I’ve been informed you would punch me in the face if I touched them.”

“I would,” Jessie replied, looking dead serious. “Your uncle gave me those gloves on my very first professional match. I take good care of them.”

Eli blinked at him. “Oh, well, I guess I won’t touch them, then.”

“I’m pulling your leg, you pill,” Jessie said with a chuckle and let his head rest against Eli’s. “Of course I wouldn’t punch you.”

“But you’d punch someone else?” Eli was pretty certain he already knew the answer to that.

“Already have. Three times. They were warned.” Jessie’s lips curled into a wicked grin. “You, on the other hand, have my permission to touch anything you like.”

“Well, in that case….” Eli pressed his lips to Jessie’s, releasing a surprised gasp when Jessie threw his arms around him and crushed their bodies together, his lips all but devouring Eli’s. Having waited for this very moment for so long, Eli threw himself into the kiss completely, shoving his fingers into Jessie’s hair and climbing onto his lap, his lips never leaving Jessie’s. Jessie pulled Eli down onto the couch and lay over him, kissing Eli until his lips were swollen and they were both forced to come up for air.

“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since the night at the Ritz,” Jessie said breathlessly. “You did a number on me that night.”

“I knew you wanted to. I could see it in your eyes, which is why I thought—” Eli’s words were cut off by Jessie’s deep, yet gentle kiss. When he pulled back, he ran his thumb across Eli’s bottom lip.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“What happened that night?” Eli asked, softly tracing a finger down the thin scar a hairsbreadth from Jessie’s left eye.

“There were four of them, claimed I put them out of pocket when I lost my title. I knew I could take them, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I tried to walk away, but they weren’t having any of it. So when they came at me, I knocked them on their asses. I thought it was the end of it. We were leaving when someone yelled out. I turned around in time for one of the bastards to catch me with a broken bottle.” Jessie put his finger to his scar and sighed. “When he took a second swing at me, I… well, you know the rest. He ended up in the hospital for three months. Then he pressed charges against me, and I was arrested. If there hadn’t been witnesses that night, and if they hadn’t been honest folk, I’d probably be rotting away in some workhouse right about now. Either way, the newspapers had a field day.”

“I’m so sorry, Jessie.”

“What can you do, huh? That’s life. I’m….” Jessie closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were filled with pain. “I’m so tired, Eli. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. I used to love what I did, and now… I’m hanging on for the sake of hanging on.”

“Then why not retire?”

“And do what? Fighting is all I know how to do. If I don’t fight, I got nothing.” He pulled Eli with him as he sat up and wrapped his arms around Eli, bringing him in close.

“That’s not true. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. You still love the sport, and you’re good at it, one of the best. You could manage someone or open your own gym. Whatever you do, Jasper and I will be there beside you.”

“Yeah?”

“You bet.” Eli beamed up at him, unable to believe he was here in Jessie’s arms. “You can also bet I’m going to give you the ‘I believe in you’ speech.” Jessie let out a loud groan, his head falling back against the couch and making Eli chuckle. “Stop being such a baby.”

“A baby?” Jessie snapped his head up and stared at him. “Have you seen Hewett? I’ve seen redwoods more puny.”

“Be that as it may, you can beat him, and not just because I believe in you, which I do, but because you are Jessie ‘the Demon’ Dalton. You’ve fought against meaner fellas and come out on top. If you decide to make this your last fight, this is your chance to go out with a bang.”

“And if I lose?” Jessie asked, giving Eli a small smile when Eli took Jessie’s hand and placed it to his lips for a kiss.

“Then you lose with pride, knowing ‘the Demon’ gave ’em hell.”

Jessie chuckled and pulled Eli in for a kiss before asking, “And if I win?”

Eli thought about it for a moment and then smiled sweetly. “We book a swanky room at the Ritz, have dinner up on the roof garden, and afterward, we do what we wanted to do to each other that night five years ago.”

Jessie sprang up from the couch so fast he nearly knocked Eli over. For a moment, Eli stared up at the man as if he had lost his marbles. “What’s wrong?”

“Get that sweet keister of yours in the locker room right now. We have a fight to prepare for.”

Feeling deliriously happy, Eli jumped to his feet, ran over to Jessie, and gave his lips a swift but firm kiss before making tracks. His heart pounded wildly in his chest with the knowledge that not only did he finally have the man of his dreams, but that he had every intention of getting that room booked regardless of whether Jessie won or not. He would simply keep that little secret to himself until after the fight.