Damaged and the Dragon (3 page)

“
What’s her
name?

“
You don’t remember calling
me that, do you?”

Frowning, I shook my head. “I never called
you that.”

Nick grinned. “Anyway, girls around here
really want a piece of Dragon. I don’t blame them. I’m on a winning
streak. Problem is I’m bored of easy pussy and that’s all they’re
offering. I don’t want to tell them that though. Why hurt their
feelings when they’re trying to be nice to me? Instead, I tell them
about my townie girlfriend named Betsy.”

“
Wait, so…

After giving a head nod to someone he
recognized, Nick downed his soda, started in with the appetizers,
and drank his beer. I wanted to ask about his fake girlfriend, but
he ignored me until the food arrived. Suddenly, Nick looked at me
and smiled.

“
Are you waxed?” Nick
asked.

“
Excuse me?”

“
Is your pussy waxed?” he
asked, digging into the pork nachos.

“
What does that
matter?”

“
Just curious.”

Hands in fists, I wanted to storm out. Or
throw my drink at him. Maybe pull my gun and make him piss himself.
Mostly, I needed to punish him for making me feel like shit.

I didn’t do any of those things though
because I had waited too long for him to pay attention to me. Deep
inside I was disappointed Nick wasn’t the guy I imagined. His nice
guy persona was a lie. Or maybe he had been nice, but bitches like
me made him harder. Meaner too.

“
I’m not waxed,” I
whispered, ready to cry. “You’re not like I thought you’d
be.”

Even without crying, I hid my face in my
hands. I felt like a fool to have spent so long idealizing this
guy.

Nick said nothing as he sat
next to me. Glancing up, I wanted to be pissed and say he was shit.
Except I’d made him feel like a loser a year earlier.
Was this my punishment?

“
Why now?” he asked,
wrapping an arm around my shoulders and reaching for a fry. “Is it
really because I smelled like bacon?”

With Nick sitting against me and the feel of
his arm around my shoulders, I really wished he wasn’t a jackass
loser.

“
I thought you were nice
and I want a nice guy.”

“
Nice, huh?” he said,
popping an onion ring into his mouth. “Why do you want someone
nice?”

“
I want you.”

“
Why?”

“
I don’t know. Why do you
want me?” I asked, remembering my new boobs.

Nick finished chewing his food then cleared
his throat. “You’re beautiful and I’m shallow.”

“
Well, you’re hot so that’s
why I like you.”

“
You like watching me
fight?”

My cocky smile faded. “No. I like when the
other guys fight, but not you.”

“
Why?”

“
I don’t like seeing you
bleed.”

Nick’s face was unreadable then he lowered
his lips to mine and this time I took advantage of the kiss. I
wanted him so much even if he was an asshole. Before I could get
too comfortable with the spicy taste of him, Nick pulled away his
lips.

“
Does it really matter if
I’m waxed?” I asked when he returned to eating.

Nick shook his head. “I just wanted to mess
with you.”

“
Why?”

“
To see if you’d freak out
and leave.”

“
No offense, but what the
fuck?”

Nick gave me a side glance then grinned. “I
told you. I’m a hot commodity, but I don’t want a groupie. You’re
the hottest chick in town and now you’re into me. I wanted to know
if it was a passing thing. Like if I pissed you off, would you run
off to the next guy?”

“
So the waxed thing was a
test?” I asked, irritated, yet relieved.

“
I like you Bailey and I
don’t give a shit if you’re waxed. I do care if you’re going to
toss me aside after showing me off to your stupid
friends.”

“
My friends aren’t stupid,”
I growled without thinking. “I’ll kick your ass for saying
otherwise.”

“
Those dippy chicks you
hang around with at school are stupid.”

“
Fine, but they’re not my
friends. They’re my groupies. Winnie, Raven, Tawny, and Lark are my
friends. Farah and Maddy are my family. Talk shit about them and
I’ll cut you.”

Nick laughed. “You can’t know what you look
like when you threaten people. The expression on your face is
classic.”

“
Don’t make fun of
me.”

“
See, I was right. If you
knew how you looked, you’d know I was snug in the jeans
now.”

“
You’re being gross. Is
that a test?”

Nick leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I
haven’t gotten laid in over six months and I’m sitting next to you
and you smell so fucking good.” Nick paused and his green eyes
studied my face. “No, it’s not a test. Our food is here.”

Nick looked ready to stand and return to the
other side of the table. I placed my hand on his strong thigh and
stopped him.

“
Can you stay over
here?”

His eyes were a darker green in the dimly
lit backyard. I smiled when he gestured for the waitress to place
his food on the same side as mine. Even after he agreed to sit
close, Nick’s demeanor felt distant now. Cold maybe.

We devoured mounds of pork along with mash
potatoes covered in pork sauce until I felt stuffed. Nick kept
eating then finished mine. He was like my brothers when they would
go through growth spurts in their teens.

“
I’m sorry I called you
trailer trash,” I said, staring up at him. “I really don’t remember
saying it, but I was mouthing off a lot that first week of school.
There were a lot of new girls and some were really hot and I felt
insecure. I get rude when I’m nervous.”

Nick finally glanced down at me and nodded.
“You really do. It’s like your mouth is on crack.”

Feeling like a loser, I lowered my head and
wished to go back to when I was dreaming about the other Nick. The
nice one, instead of the real guy who thought I was shit.

“
I like when you mouth
off,” he said, wrapping hair behind my ear. “It’s
funny.”

“
You think I’m funny?” I
muttered.

Nick didn’t answer. Instead, he checked his
watch and sighed. “I need to get going. I didn’t sleep much last
night and I need to get up early for the gym.”

“
Oh.”

Nick waved over the waitress and paid the
bill. After downing a soda, he stood and reached his hand out for
me. I took it and followed him to the Harley.

“
Thanks for the date,” I
mumbled, ready to cry for real this time.

Nick laughed. “This wasn’t a date.”

“
Oh. What was it
then?”

“
A test run. Tomorrow will
be a date.”

“
Tomorrow?” I asked,
embracing a glimmer of hope.

“
Yeah,” he said, brushing
hair off my bare shoulders. When I shivered at his touch, Nick
smiled in a really soft beautiful way. “Let’s skip the study group
and go on a real date.”

“
That sounds
nice.”

Nick shoved his hands in his pockets and
squinted at me. “Bailey, I’ve liked you for a long fucking time and
you didn’t seem to know I existed. Now when everyone thinks I’m
special just because I can take a punch, you show interest in me. I
wanted to know if it was a game for you. I tested to make sure you
weren’t a little bitch using me. You seem like a girl who’s really
interested in me.”

“
I am,” I said, irritated I
had to jump through hoops.

“
So tomorrow no talk of
waxed pussies or trailer trash. We’ll do wherever you want and have
a real date. What happens afterwards happens, but I needed to know
we were starting from a real place.”

Despite my hurt feelings from earlier, I
realized Nick and I were on the same page. He didn’t see me as a
hang and bang girl. He liked me for me. I really liked him too,
even after realizing he was more complicated than I’d thought. He
wasn’t a dream and I wasn’t a fantasy. We were real and tomorrow we
got to start again.

Bailey didn’t want to leave me when I
dropped her off near her red SUV. She tried to get a conversation
going and I considered sticking around. Her skin was so soft and I
loved the feel of her arms around me. The thought of talking all
night and kissing her until our lips were chapped felt right, but I
still told her good night.

As much as I loved the money, fighting left
me tired. I was always training, fighting, or studying. Never a
restful sleeper, lately I couldn’t get comfortable because of fight
injuries or muscle strains. My time at the Thunderdome left me
hurting in a way I hadn’t suffered since I was a teenager. Not
since I stood up to my old man and made clear I wasn’t a viable
punching bag anymore.

Arriving at my apartment, I still tasted
Bailey on my lips. I’d waited a long year to kiss her and I found
myself smiling the whole ride home. Even with the happy end to my
night, I felt the darkness rising up in me.

My roommate, Danny Boy, wasn’t home to my
relief. While he was a nice kid, the guy was pussy obsessed.
Nothing else mattered. Not classes or friends. Not even remembering
to eat or sleep. I didn’t know what he left behind at home, but the
guy acted as if he’d never seen a pretty girl before.

I locked my bedroom door then walked to the
adjoining bathroom. Over the summer, I moved to a nicer apartment
with two bedrooms and baths. Danny Boy used the one in the hall
while I enjoyed the master bathroom. He didn’t mind since the guy
enjoyed walking around half naked.

The hot water felt good on my bruised
shoulder. My left hip hurt too, but the shoulder was killing me all
day. I might be on a winning streak, but that didn’t mean the
losers didn’t make me suffer before my win.

As the hot water covered my head, I thought
about how Bailey hated to see me bleed. Her comment surprised me
since I figured she’d like my bruises. A girl with a family like
hers viewed men as either strong or weak. Weak would never win her
heart.

Returning to the cold bedroom, I thought to
turn down the air conditioning. Back in the Arkansas trailer,
summers were suffocating. As cold as the air felt, I enjoyed
knowing I could afford it. I’d rather be cold under the covers than
hot over them.

I flipped on the big screen TV then popped a
Melatonin into my mouth. The sound remained low like I kept it
every night. Sleep was tricky for me on a good night and I knew
this night wouldn’t be a better one. Not with Bailey on my mind and
the heat of my past against my back.

I downed a dose of cold medicine then half
of a cold soda from the mini fridge in my bedroom. Soon, I could
barely keep my eyes open. Resting under the blankets in the cold
room while the silent TV played an Everyone Loves Raymond rerun, I
touched my lips and thought of Bailey.

She was too good for me. While the old Nick
knew this for a fact, Dragon demanded the best. Bailey was the
hottest girl in town. Hell, she was the hottest girl I’d ever seen
and I wanted her. Feeling lonely in the apartment, I considered
calling her. The world was too ugly and my body hurt. Feeling like
a kid again, I imagined hiding in the closet while nursing a
beating.

Never wanting to be that guy ever again, I
wished to forget, but the memories were always with me. Rather than
relief at knowing Bailey wanted me too, I dozed off thinking how
she would figure me out soon enough. The real me. The loser from
the trailer park with the scarred back and millions of little
scares inside me.

Bailey would see it all and ditch me for a
safer, better man. Where the hell would I be then? Would life be
easier without such rejection?

If I dreamed that night, I woke without
remembering them. The alarm clock rang at five like most mornings.
My body didn’t want to move, but I crawled from the bed with Bailey
in mind. I needed to get my work and school done, so I could meet
her and enjoy a real date.

After downing a few breakfast bars, I
showered and headed down to the Harley. Still tired and sore, I
hoped a good workout would give me a little energy. I knew this
plan was dumb. Every morning, I worked out and ended up dead tired
by the evening. I even had to take naps before fights.

The gym was run by a Reaper named Dave.
Figuring we were all snitches, he didn’t like having non-club
members working out there. After Tucker overruled these concerns, I
visited in the morning to avoid the club guys. The Johansson
brothers wouldn’t bother me, but the older members liked to tease
me. I was a bitch in their eyes and they took every opportunity to
remind me.

Knowing I needed to be awake and mobile
later, I didn’t work out as long or hard as usual. I still pushed
myself though. Here with a Reaper watching me like I was scum, I
never showed weakness. While I’d never be one of them, I did have
my eye on the princess of the club.

Hours later, Bailey really looked like a
princess when I caught sight of her on the quad near our English
class. Her blonde hair was lighter after a long sunny summer. She
wore a pink halter-top, showing off her new tits. Holding books in
front of them, she seemed to be hiding them from view. I never
understood why she had to change anything about her body. Despite
what I saw in her, I suspected Bailey didn’t feel like the
prettiest princess.