Kissing on Third, page 15
part #6 of Belltown Six Pack Series
Mark continued giving her accolades in the microphone, recapping the two rounds, and Shirley Temple was being checked over by her trainer.
Not caring really what happened next, Finley left the ring and went into the back room. She entered the small bathroom and splashed water on her face and arms. Then she grabbed a couple of paper towels and pressed them against her face, keeping her eyes closed.
She focused on her breathing, focused on calming her heart rate. She didn’t want to return to the crowd and hear their praises and accept the bounty. She was more than ready to call it a night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Levi pushed through the crowd celebrating Finley’s win. She’d left the ring and disappeared through the back door. Was she going to change, then return and celebrate? Levi didn’t know, and it looked like her dad was busy chatting with other people.
So Levi made his way around the crowd and opened the door that Finley had disappeared through. No one questioned him or stopped him, not that anyone would be able to.
He found her sitting on a low bench, packing her gloves into a duffle bag. She’d pulled on yoga pants and a cropped T-shirt over her boxing outfit. She looked up, and he winced at the sight of the bruising that had darkened across her cheek and around her eye.
“You okay?” Finley asked.
“Me?” Levi stopped in front of her. “You just won a boxing match, and you’re asking if I’m okay?”
She looked down at the bag and zipped it up. “When you went outside, I was afraid that you . . .”
She didn’t need to finish.
A rock had settled into Levi’s stomach. “You thought I’d assault the guy? Add to my record?” He hadn’t meant his voice to sound bitter, but that was how it came out.
Finley didn’t respond. She rose to her feet, now closer to him, and shouldered her bag. An unmistakable flash of pain crossed her face.
Levi reached for the bag and almost expected her to move away from him, but she let him take it.
“Are you going back out there?” he asked.
“No.” Her brown eyes focused on him, and in them, he saw the questions she wasn’t asking.
And this small basement room wasn’t the place to talk.
“Want a ride home?” he asked in a quieter voice.
She blinked, breaking her intense focus on him. Then she nodded.
The rock in Levi’s stomach lightened. Maybe things were okay. Maybe she didn’t think he was such a loose screw. But, in truth, despite his rollercoaster life, he’d never felt angrier than he had when he’d overheard what that idiot in the pub had said to Finley tonight. That’s why Levi had to leave for a while. Not to punch the guy’s lights out—which would have been nice—but to put some distance between himself and his intense emotions.
It was only after he saw Finley’s dad arrive at the pub that Levi decided to attend the match. Then it was all he could do to not intervene after that first round and tell her to back out of the match. He hadn’t been in any mood to watch her get beat up—even if it was a women’s boxing match.
But through his turbulent emotions, he knew there was no way he could ask that of Finley. He wasn’t being logical or reasonable. Maybe he did have a loose screw.
Finley led the way along the corridor to the back door that led to another exit, taking them to the parking lot. Levi followed. Finley didn’t speak, and it was better if he didn’t right now either.
When they reached his Bronco, Levi opened the passenger door for her, and she let him help her in. As he drove, she pulled out her phone and texted someone. He assumed it was her dad, or Mark, or both.
Leaving the site of the pub was already helping Levi feel more calm. He parked at the curb in front of her building, then opened his door. She hadn’t invited him up, but she hadn’t uninvited him either. When they reached her apartment, Finley unlocked the door and flipped on the lights as she went inside. Levi stopped in the doorway.
A couch sat halfway between the kitchen and living room, probably because that was the only place it would fit among all the other furniture pieces.
“It’s not finished yet,” Finley said, walking around it and heading toward the kitchen.
The fabric was some sort of dark-gray suede, and the wood frame had been painted or stained a deep brown, almost black. The cushions had all been re-covered, and the sides and bottom tacked on. But the suede fabric draped over the back hadn’t been fastened yet.
Levi walked over to inspect it. “This is amazing.”
Finley didn’t answer, but she opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of ice.
“I can get that,” he said. “You should sit down.”
She turned to face him, the ice bag still in hand. “Do you like the color?”
He crossed to her and took the ice bag. “Since it’s my favorite color, I love it.”
The edge of her mouth lifted, and Levi considered it progress.
“Come on, you should be sitting down.” He grasped her hand, and she let him draw her to the couch that belonged permanently in her apartment.
She sat down, then he went to prepare an ice bag and found a dishcloth to use between her skin and the ice. When he returned she was leaning her head against the couch, her eyes closed.
He sat a cushion away from her and said, “Lie down.”
She opened an eye, then scooted so that she put her head on his leg. He set the cloth over half of her face, then carefully put on the ice bag.
“You don’t have to play nurse,” she said.
“You don’t always get to order me around.”
Her smile was faint, but it was there.
Levi smoothed the hair from her forehead. “Does anything else hurt?”
“My back aches some, but the thing that hurts most is my wrist, where I blocked Goatee Guy’s punch to your throat.”
“Goatee Guy?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“Next time, don’t stand between me and a guy who wants to throw a punch,” he said. “If he’d hit you, he’d be in the hospital, and I’d be in jail right now.”
Finley lifted her hand and removed the ice bag. She blinked up at him. “He wasn’t worth it.”
“Which is exactly why I can’t figure out why you thought you could take him on,” Levi said.
“I . . .” She paused. “I guess I thought if he hit you, and you hit him back, then the cops would come . . . Like that time you were arrested in another pub.”
Levi exhaled. “This is exactly why I normally stay away from pubs.”
“I know.” She pushed herself into a sitting position, unable to hide her wince.
“Do you want some aspirin?” he asked.
“I already took some,” she said.
He wanted to do something for her, anything. “Do you want a bath?”
One of her brows lifted, the one not surrounded by bruising. “You’re going to draw me a bath?”
He couldn’t tell if she wanted to laugh at his offer—or maybe she was surprised. “If you want me to, I will.”
She moved closer and placed a hand on his chest. His heart thumped in response, and goose bumps raced across his skin at her touch.
“Don’t start fights in pubs anymore,” she whispered.
His lips twitched. “I’m working on that weakness.”
She smiled at last, those dimples appearing, and he leaned closer, gauging for her reaction. He wanted to kiss her, but was she in too much pain?
“Am I too ugly to kiss?” she asked.
He ran his fingers along her neck, careful to avoid any place she might be hurting. “Never.” Pressing a soft kiss on her mouth was about all he could allow himself to do. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain.
“I think you can do better than that, Mr. Florida,” she said, sliding her hand up his chest, then around his neck.
So he kissed her for real. Keeping in mind that she’d just finished a boxing match. She was warm, and she smelled of hand soap she must have used after the fight, but he didn’t mind. She was Finley, the woman he was falling in love with. And he was pretty sure she’d forgiven him for the incident in the pub, because she was kissing him back too.
Levi slid his hands around her waist, over the skin that had been exposed by her cropped T-shirt. Then he moved one hand up her back, and she drew in her breath sharply.
He pulled away. “Sorry.”
“I think I cracked a rib.”
Levi stared at her. “You cracked a rib . . . and you’re trying to make out with me?”
Finley laughed, then she winced again. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Turn around,” Levi said, and she obeyed.
He lifted the back of her shirt and pressed his fingers lightly along each of her ribs until she said, “That one!”
“I’m taking you to the doctor,” Levi said.
“No, it’s the middle of the night,” she said. “Besides, there’s nothing they’ll do for a cracked rib. Just tell me to ice it and take ibuprofen.”
Levi knew that, and apparently Finley did too.
He lowered her shirt. “You should still get x-rayed.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, looking over at him.
He nodded, but he still wished she wasn’t being so stubborn. “So, an ice bath?”
“Stop fussing over me.” She moved close again and laid her head on his lap.
He replaced the ice bag on her face.
She linked one of her hands with his and closed her good eye.
He watched her for a moment, then he said, “Are you ever going to tell me why you fight? You didn’t even stay to accept congratulations after beating Shirley Temple.”
Her words came slowly. “Like I said, it burns off my energy.”
Levi pulled her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. “You did say you’d be my girlfriend, so I was hoping for a real answer.”
She cracked an eye open. Closed it again. Then she exhaled.
He waited.
“I told you my mom left when I was a kid,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“My dad was enough for a long time,” she continued in a quiet voice. “But then one day, he wasn’t enough. I wanted a mom too. I watched the kids at school get picked up by their moms. Moms who’d come in and do reading time, or put together a class party, or bring cookies to the school fundraisers.”
She stopped talking again, but Levi waited for her to continue.
“When I was about eleven, I got in an argument with the prettiest girl in class,” Finley said. “She made me so mad that I punched her. She started bawling, of course, and I got into big trouble. By my teacher and principal, at least. My dad was mad, but he was kind of impressed too. When he got me home that day, he said maybe I should be a boxer someday.”
Levi raised his brows. “Your dad said that?”
“He was kidding,” she said. “But it made me curious. I started watching women’s boxing. And it sent a rush of adrenaline through me every time I watched. And I wanted to do the punching.”
“Get all that energy out,” Levi said.
She removed the ice pack again, and he set it on the cushion on the other side. “But now it’s different,” she said in a quiet voice.
This surprised him. “What do you mean?”
She held his gaze for a moment. “I thought winning Shirley Temple would be amazing, make me feel amazing. Happy too. But it didn’t.”
Levi traced the edge of her jaw, then rested his hand on her neck. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know what I’m saying,” she said. “Maybe I’m tired. But I do know that since I’ve met you, the anger hasn’t been the same. I don’t know if it’s all the way gone, but a lot of it is.”
Levi leaned down and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “I don’t think anyone has ever told me something so nice.”
Her smile was faint, and she closed her eyes again. She didn’t say anything more, and Levi was pretty sure she was falling asleep. He also didn’t want to make her move again. So when her breathing evened out, he leaned his head against the couch and closed his own eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Are you sure about this, Fin?” her dad said as they waited together on the street corner for Levi to show up. The summer day was already plenty warm at eight in the morning.
Levi and her dad were moving his couch to his apartment today, then the rest of the furniture to the swap meet, where Finley hoped to sell every last piece she’d been working on for the past month. Levi had pretty much forced her to get an X-ray, and it turned out she had two bruised ribs. Nothing cracked or broken, but Levi wouldn’t let her lift anything.
So her dad had showed up with Chad and Brent to move the furniture out of her apartment, although they’d already taken off. Now, Finley looked down at the couch she’d rebuilt for Levi, although she knew that her dad was referring to more than just making furniture. More than the fact that she and Levi were exclusively dating. Levi had invited her to one of his out-of-town games against the Black Racers—Sawyer Bennett’s team. They’d fly to Ohio after the swap meet.
Going with Levi to the game would be another step in the relationship department. Another level up. He told her she could sit in the family section with the wives and girlfriends of some of the players. He’d also invited her dad, but he’d opted out.
“I’m sure,” she finally said. “Levi’s not perfect. But neither am I.”
Her dad nodded. “I know how you are around other people, especially women.”
Finley rested her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to punch any of the women.”
He chuckled. “Are you sure about that?”
She smirked. “I’ll keep my best waitressing manners about me.”
“Good,” he said, then he hesitated, and Finley couldn’t let that pass.
“What else are you worried about, Dad?” she pressed.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his loose jeans. “You’ve never been like this before . . . had a boyfriend. I worry about you getting hurt. I mean, I know Levi’s smitten with you. But things happen.”
“Then this road trip will be a good test for us, right?”
Her dad looked away for a moment, then back to Finley. “Right. I . . . I know I was lacking as a parent, and I hope you didn’t get too jaded growing up.”
Finley frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I know why you box,” he said.
The statement shouldn’t have bothered Finley, but it sort of did. “Yeah, well, it’s better than turning to other self-medicating methods.”
Her dad’s gaze was sharp. “Maybe I should have taken you to a psychologist or something. Or brought you to Minnesota sooner to get away from those bullying girls.”
Finley stared at her dad. His tone was remorseful. Was he really regretting so much? “We both did the best we knew how, Dad.” She walked over to him and put her arms around him. “You’re the best dad. And I would hate it if you were perfect. Mom left both of us, and we stuck together. You’ve been my rock my whole life, so don’t go changing that now because I have a boyfriend.”
Her dad hugged her back. “Thanks, Fin. I don’t know where I’d be in life without you. Definitely not standing on this corner so early in the morning.”
She laughed and squeezed him, then released him as she heard the recognizable sound of the Bronco approaching. “By the way,” she told her dad, “I might be giving up boxing.”
“What?” her dad said. “When did you decide that?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Finley said. “Nothing’s decided.”
The Bronco was closer, and Finley knew she only had a few more seconds to talk to her dad alone. “Don’t say anything to Levi. I want to be sure.”
Her dad nodded. “Okay, honey. Whatever you think is best. I’ll miss it, but I won’t miss worrying about you getting hurt.”
She gave her dad a grateful smile, then turned as Levi stopped his Bronco at the curb. He’d hitched a flatbed trailer to the back. When he climbed out, with a smile on that gorgeous face of his, Finley went all weak-kneed.
She rested a hand on the back of his new couch for good measure.
“Hi, Charlie,” Levi said, his smile cutting from Finley to her dad.
“Cox, you’re late,” her dad said.
Levi chuckled. “Only you would think ten minutes early is actually late.”
Her dad grinned. “True.”
Levi crossed to Finley, and right there in front of her dad, he kissed her cheek. Finley’s face grew warm because she was thinking of other things he could have done too. She didn’t meet her dad’s eyes as she stepped away from the couch. “Get to work, gentlemen.”
She watched as Levi and her dad hoisted the couch into the trailer. Then Levi strapped the thing down with long bungee cords. On the drive over to his apartment, Finley sat in the back, letting her dad take the front seat so that he could drill Levi on the upcoming game against the Black Racers.
Then the questioning turned to the Six Pack, since Sawyer Bennett of the Black Racers was one of the pitchers.
“You’re all still good friends?” her dad asked.
“Yeah,” Levi said. “We don’t see each other as much as a whole group anymore. Maybe two to three times a year, but some of our teams play each other, and we keep in touch by phone.”
“They must be like your family,” her dad mused.
“Next to my brother, they’re the only family I’ve had.”
Finley wondered what her dad was driving at, but she didn’t want to ask him in front of Levi. Her dad was acting more introspective than usual.
Once they reached Levi’s apartment, he handed her his keys, and she went ahead of the men carrying the couch to unlock the door. She held the door wide as Levi and her dad tipped the couch sideways, then wrestled it through the door.
“Oh, wow,” her dad said, looking around before Levi directed him to which wall to set the couch against. “Did you just move here?”
Levi chuckled. “That’s what Finley asked. I’ve been here four years.”
“Huh.” Her dad wiped at his forehead. “Do you at least have a bed?”
