boxer!michael coming home from a tough match one night with his SnapBack lowered over his head, hand shoved in his pockets and feet dragging so you assume he either had a tough match and won, or got the crap beat out of him so you stand and pull off his hat, seeing a slightly crooked nose, dried, not totally cleaned blood on top of his lip and bruised cheeks. He would give you a crooked smile, assuring you he won, but you wouldn’t be happy because you don’t want him to continue. “Michael you’re gonna break your brain,” you would whisper as you cleaned up his face. “Babe this is how we’re living, I can’t quit now, especially since im 10 and 0!” he would raise his voice and you would step away, knowing his anger. he would gently walk over and hug you, trying to calm himself down, and he would stroke your hair as a few small tears streaked down your face. “Let’s see how this year goes, and maybe I can find something better, yeah?” he would look at you with his glassy broken eyes and you would nod, kissing the tip of his broken nose.
this was the first time that you had been to michael’s apartment, and to say you were surprised with the interior was an understatement. you expected some comic books, piles of video games and dirty laundry littering the floor. you weren’t completely wrong, but you had missed a big detail.
the boxing memorabilia and the punching bag that hung in the corner. you knew michael had watched boxing a lot, but you never thought that he, himself, had done it.
his light green eyes followed you as you scanned the shelves of trophies, the pictures that hung on the wall and the pair of gloves that were signed hanging beneath the shelf. you hesitated to reach out and trail your fingers over the trophies, seeing his name printed on each of them.
“you’ve won so many,” you uttered, simply stunned at how well michael could box. you turned to look at him, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his skinny jeans. looking at him now, you never would have guessed that he was a champion boxer.
he shrugged, “yeah, i guess so.”
“teach me how to fight,” the words were out of your mouth before you could even stop them. and before you could finish, he was already shaking his head.
“no, no way,” he refused, despite your pout. “i don’t want you to want to fight. the boxing is a cruel world. it’s not what you think it is. sometimes you lose yourself in the punches,” he explained, his voice softening at your unease.
“michael,” you began, but he continued.
“promise me,” he started. “that you’ll only see me as me. and not who i am in the ring.”
you nodded, wrapping your arms around his torso, pressing your cheek against his chest to feel his heart thumping against your skin. “i promise.”
Omg we need number 12 with either Ash or Mikey, pleeeeeeeaaasseeee
12.You guys both always drop in to blow off steam, and eventually find other ways to relax if you know what I mean
This was the tenth night in a rowthat you had had dropped in to blow off some steam, and this was the tenthnight in a row that Michael had been here too.
You guys weren’t friends, persay, but you guys got along great.
“Hey,” you said, placing your bagdown on the floor next to the practice dummies.
Michael was viciously attacking apunching bag, seeming more pissed than usual nights. He stopped when he heardyou, a turned to face you. He was shirtless, basketball shorts hanging low onhis hips, chest glistening with sweat and his hair stuck to his forehead.
You pulled off your shirt, leavingyou a sports bra. You saw Michael’s eyes trailing down to your chest, and youbent down to pull off your sweatpants, revealing your sweatpants.
You went to the bag next to his,after doing a small warm up.
You stumbled over the mat; almostface planting on the floor. Michael moved quickly, catching you and stoppingyou from falling over. Michael moved quickly, catching you and stopping youfrom falling over. You held onto his arm, stopping you from falling into himeven more.
You could feel his breath hit theback of your neck, and the feeling of his fingertips against your skin burned ontoyou.
“Y’know,” you heard him whisper,after the both of you standing there unmoving. “We come here every night torelieve stress, but it’s been proven that there are other ways to blow offsteam.”
“Really?” You smirked, looking up to meet his eyes. “Andwhat are those ways?”
“Well, they do say that uh-“ Heplaced his hands on your hips, pulling you in.
“Yeah?” You whispered, faceinching closer to his. He slid his hands down to your thighs, and you jumped upand wrapped your legs round his hips. He walked you guys closer to the wall,pressing you back against it.
He pressed your lips together,the kiss immediately getting heated. He started to kiss down your neck, suckingharshly on the skin below your jaw.
“They say orgasms relieve stress.”He said, fingers trailing down underneath the hem of your shorts.
5. They always tease you and you finally take them up on the offer of fighting them even if they were just kidding
“Wow, Y/N. You actually hit thebag for once.” You heard Michael say from behind you.
“Fuck off Michael. Try practicinginstead of wasting your time bothering me. I know you could use the practice.”
“Oh big words. Doesn’t mean thatyou can actually win in a fight.”
“You wouldn’t know.”
“You’re right, we should fight.”Michael said in a teasing tone.
“Yeah, let’s do it.” You said inall seriousness, fixing you gloves around your wrists.
You caught him off guard. “What?”
You nodded, motioning for him tocome over. “Yeah, come on lets fight.”
“What?” He seemed to snap out ofhis daze. “Okay, let’s do it.”
He walked in front of you, fixinghis own gloves and put his hands up. You did the same action, and decided thatyou’d wait for him to throw the first punch.
He finally did, but it was soslow that you rolled your eyes. “Don’t go easy on my Clifford. You know I cantake you.”
He nodded, and you guys foughtfor maybe 2 minutes. He had got a clear in your stomach, but you had alsogotten a good hit on his jaw.
He wiped his mouth with the backof his hand.
I felt better. It was good tofight him; it made me feel much better.
Billie’d thought that if she had more information about Chris that she’d be able to concentrate on work. Boy, was she wrong.
No matter what she did, he kept popping into her head: the warmth of his hands, the rough callouses gently caressing her, the look in his eyes, like he wanted to pull her onto his lap and talk and kiss and… Billie caught herself sighing and almost swore up a blue streak, but stopped just in time. Every time she thought of him, that handshake, the look in his eyes, those lips: chills came over her, sweeping over her whole body, causing the little hairs to stand on end.
She wondered what he had going on under his sweats, how muscular his chest and shoulders were, how narrow his waist and hips and how long his… legs were. She had an idea as to what he looked like under all that, but she wanted, no, needed confirmation. He was going to be occupying her thoughts for many a night to come and she wanted details.
Not only physical details, though. She needed more. Like, how had he become like a son to Dave, and why hadn’t she heard his name before now? It had taken forever for Dave to feel like family. Sure, Billie had fought him every step of the way. She had lost her mom, after all, and she never had a dad. But it hadn’t felt like she’d fit into his life until just before she’d headed off to design school. And what, Chris is here for five years and it’s obvious that Dave trusts him, relies upon him, even respects him. Billie wondered if Dave thought he could rely upon her. Maybe that was why he hadn’t confided in her. She did breeze into town during only one holiday per year, using the travel time from LA to Louisville and work as an excuse. Early on, while she had been in school she’d come home every chance she got. But then her life started happening. She did call Dave every week. Well, every week? She realized she’d been calling less and less and then it hit her and her chest burned with the weight of her guilt and shame. She’d been such a bad daughter!
And that thought startled her: daughter? Did she really think of Dave as her father? She’d broached the subject with him back when she was still living with him, asking if she could call him Dad. He’d said no, that she already had a dad. Maybe she could convince him to change his mind on that. She let that thought sit in the back of her mind and percolate for a while as her thoughts turned back to Chris. No! Work! She needed to work!
And then Chris had the nerve, the absolute gall, to come back inside from his run and take off his sweatshirt. His sweat-soaked t-shirt clung to him as it rode up his torso, revealing his abs and there should not be people like him who walk this damn earth was the thought running through Billie’s head as her mouth dried up and was that a moan that escaped her? She surreptitiously watched as he pulled the t-shirt down his trunk and Billie realized she no longer needed to imagine what he looked like. His shoulders really were that broad and fully muscled and rock solid, but she still longed to feel them, to feel him. And his back actually had that ‘V’ outline, with its match etched into his body below his abs, and his arms, holy hell, his biceps had to be bigger than her head. She watched as he began wrapping his hands while he and Tommy talked. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him and was pleased she’d thought to bring in a table lamp rather than use the overhead fluorescent that always felt like it was sapping her life from her body. She couldn’t wait to see if he’d strip down to his shorts during the workout. Given how the rest of him looked, she was pretty sure-
“Billie Jo, are you just about done staring at my fighter?”
Dave didn’t only have a knack for hearing what he shouldn’t. He also had a knack for seeing things he shouldn’t.
His voice came from directly behind her so she knew she’d been caught staring at Chris. He flipped on the overhead light as she peeled herself off the ceiling. It took her a bit before she answered him. She decided he needed tons of her attitude.
“Nope. Not anywhere close.”
He roared with laughter, startling everyone in the gym, but no one as much as Billie, before answering back. Billie noticed that all eyes were on them, and she hoped one set, in particular, was on her, but she didn’t dare chance a look.
“That’s my girl.” He bent over and gave her a kiss on the crown of her head before mussing her hair like he used to do when she was still a kid. “Hey, when were you planning on dinner?”
“Isn’t 6:30 your normal time?” She was running her hands through her hair, getting it resituated.
“It is, but I’ve just heard from my guy who’s getting back today.” Dave checked his watch before continuing. “He should be here in the next couple of hours, and he’s got 23 days until his fight. I’m staying downstairs later for him today. Can we make dinner closer to 8?”
“Sure. That’ll give me a chance to go for another run. The first one didn’t clear my head like I needed. I’ll get everything baking and then run. We can eat as late as you need.”
“Michael will be joining us for dinner, too.” He was almost out the door.
“Hold on there, big fella. Who’s Michael?”
“He’s the guy coming in tonight. Wait, we haven’t talked yet, have we? Well, he’s staying here for the last part of his training. He’s down at my end of the hall so you shouldn’t run into him all that much. I think we’re gonna need to go over the rules, and anything else at dinner tonight. Do you know how long I get to see you this visit?”
“I was hoping we’d have time to talk. And have it be just the two of us, okay?”
Billie heard a low, familiar growl coming from Dave and got the biggest smile on her face. It’d been ages since she’d heard the Deliberation Grumble!
“What on earth is that look for?”
“You’re not gonna like it when I say it.”
“What!”
“It’s back. The Deliberation Grumble.” She was the recipient of a playful scowl and it was her turn to bark her laughter. “Anyway. We can have dinner with Michael, you can go over your rules, and then afterwards, you and I can talk. Okay?”
“Sure. Now, you, back to work. Stop daydreaming over these meatheads.”
“But Uncle Dave, they’re just so pretty!” She heard his exasperated sigh. “You know me. I would never jeopardize their shot. Never.”
“Not intentionally, Doll, I know you wouldn’t. But you are very distracting.”
“Well, then you don’t have as tight a leash over them as you should. I shouldn’t be a distraction. I sure don’t distract you and Tommy.”
“You do, a little, but in a good way, not the way I’m talking about. I meant it yesterday: you are prettier than your momma ever was. You’re not quite as sweet. Then again, I don’t think anyone on this earth is as sweet as she was, but you sure are prettier.”
“And just whose fault is it that I’m not as sweet? I think that would be yours, sir.” She left alone the whole ‘you’re prettier’ part. No one could ever be prettier than her mom.
“Billie Jo, I’m serious. You should pay attention to that room when you’re in there, see just how many of those men look at you or stare at you. I know you’re a grown woman and can take care of yourself, but Doll, you need to learn the effect you have on a room, for your own sake, as well as others.”
Billie was looking for an out and Tommy provided a nicely timed one when he shouted for Dave to “quit his loitering and get back to work! We all know the scenery is much nicer in the office now…”
“Told you. See you tonight at dinner, Doll.”
><
Billie got back to work and was able to make some headway in the design work she was doing. Her job nowadays consisted mostly of managing others and strategizing and long-term plans and client hand-holding and sales and administrivia, as she liked to call it. So when she had an opportunity to do what she loved, she always jumped at it. She looked up when she needed to stretch her neck and noticed that the afternoon had completely passed her by.
Billie headed up to the residence to start fixing dinner when she almost ran into someone barreling down the stairs at breakneck speed. He came to a screeching halt in front of Billie and she tried to pass him.
“You don’t get to just pass me by, beautiful. Dave didn’t tell me he took on any more tenants. Is he trying to keep you all to himself?” His grin had entirely too many teeth, disarmingly so.
“Yes, as a matter of fact he is. I take it you’re Michael?”
“Ah, my reputation precedes me, and you are…?”
“Billie. Where’re you from? You’ve got a slight accent.”
“From Ireland. But spent several years in London. It’s why the accent isn’t more pronounced.”
“Great, well, don’t let me keep you.”
“You can keep me all you want, beautiful. I’ve got all the time in the world for you.”
Billie barely kept herself from rolling her eyes. “No, you don’t. Not with Dave waiting on you. I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”
“Maybe then I can get your story.”
“Sure. Or, you could just ask Dave.”
“I’d rather get it from you, give you an excuse to see me again. See you at dinner, beautiful.”
Michael startled Billie as he passed her. He reached up and gently caressed her face with the backs of his fingers. She didn’t realize what he’d done until after he’d passed by.
She continued up the stairs and into the kitchen where she started dinner. It was going to be a simple meal, but one she knew Dave loved. She wondered if Michael would like it.
Mmm, Michael. Wait! How dare he! How dare Dave have, not one, not two, but three good-looking men working out at his gym. Hell, they weren’t even just good looking; they were drop dead gorgeous! Billie realized she was going to have a very hard time getting to sleep. She was going to have to work out morning, noon, and night to tire herself out enough to guarantee she wasn’t tossing and turning in her bed, her mind distracted by the three, what, Amigos, Stooges or Musketeers?
She got the chicken washed and stuffed with quartered lemons and cloves of garlic inside and sliced lemons under the skin with olive oil slathered on top. She put it in the oven and knew it was going to make everything smell wonderful. She was happy to find the rice cooker and set the quinoa up and all that would be left was the broccoli which wouldn’t take but 15 minutes. She cleaned up the kitchen and headed up to her room to change for her run.
When she got down to the gym, she first did some stretches that would help warm her up. Billie knew she’d be hard pressed to find a good yoga instructor while she was in town, at least one close to the gym. She did a series of poses and then hopped onto the treadmill, starting it up and increasing the speed until she was in a good rhythm. She’d decided to just run tonight, not to try to work while running. She had her playlist for this type of run on and did what she could to clear her mind.
Instead of thinking of work, she was thinking about Dave, and his gym, and what he was going through. She rehearsed several different ways the conversation could go, trying to think of all the angles and all the possible ways that he could try to come back at her. And then a thought hit her, something that had been gnawing at her all day and she realized why she’d had so much trouble, and she knew just how to approach everything.
Billie finished up her run shortly after that realization and did the same series of yoga poses as her cool down, noting just how much deeper she was able to settle into each one. She was finding it very difficult to concentrate as much as she should have been. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the gym was not empty, not by a long shot, and a number of eyes were trained on her. She was pretty sure that just about any woman in the gym would be getting the same treatment.
Billie caught Chris coming out of the locker room, freshly scrubbed and still talking to Tommy. When he saw her movement he stopped in his tracks. He got a grin on his face that, had she not been flushed from her run, he would’ve seen a blush spread from her chest north to her hairline.
She finished up her poses and grabbed her towel and water. She started talking to the room before she’d completely turned around.
“Some woman comes into this gym, does some running, a few yoga poses and what, you can’t keep your eyes in your sockets? Y’all should be able to exhibit a bit more self-control than you are right now. Shouldn’t you be concentrating on your training?”
Dave and Tommy exchanged knowing looks and Billie saw their shoulders start to shake. A couple of the guys turned away slowly. Most turned quickly. Chris’s grin got wider. And Michael and Henry? Echoed Chris’s brashness.
Billie turned to Dave.
“Dinner still in 45?”
“Thereabouts.”
“See you then.”
><
The three of them, Dave, Michael, and Billie, sat down to supper and things were quiet as they served themselves and ate. They were almost done when Dave finally spoke.
“Doll, that was quite some display earlier.”
“I thought you might get a kick out of it, Uncle Dave, especially after the conversation we had.”
“Uncle Dave?” Michael was now starting to catch on.
“So, now that everyone knows who Billie is, I want to cover my house rules. This is going to apply to everyone, even to you, Billie. If you’re under my roof, you live by my rules.”
“In which case, if I don’t like your rules, I can go stay elsewhere.”
“No, young lady, you’ll be staying here.”
“You cover your rules and we’ll see if I’ll be staying here.”
“First, no member of the opposite sex on the third floor.”
“Then I shouldn’t even be here.”
“In your rooms, smart ass. Michael, no women. Billie, no men.”
“I can live with that.”
“Me, too.”
Dave continued. “If you are going to have a guest over, I want to meet them.”
“Seriously-”
“Billie, I just want to know who’s in my house.”
She thought about it for a moment, and then she realized why this was a good idea. “Okay, no problem.” She started to listen to his rules with a different mindset.
“I want to know when you are going out and coming back. And there will be a curfew: 11 on the weeknights and 1 on the weekends.”
“You and I are going to have a conversation about these rules, among other things.”
“Here’s the final one. I know you bought that new huge television, but it’s in my house, so it’s mine. My television, my remote, and there will be no discussion on that.”
“Watch all the History Channel you want, to your heart’s content. I have a television up in my room, so not a problem.”
“You put a TV in your room? When am I gonna see you?”
“Don’t watch the History Channel 24/7 and you’ll see me more frequently.” She heard his grumble start. “Listen, we don’t have to have the television on to see each other. But, if you do want something on in the background, I’ll have a suggestion or two for you. We’ll try ‘em out sometime, see how they go. You game?”
“Sure. You done with dinner? Can we go talk about whatever you need to talk about? I’ve got some stuff I need to do.”
“Yeah, let me just clear the dishes, get them in the dishwasher.”
“No,” Billie was startled when Michael put his hand on her arm. She’d forgotten he was still at the table. “You cooked, I’ll clean up. It was a good dinner, by the way.”
“Thanks, pretty simple and basic for last minute. You’re what, about three weeks away from your fight?” She saw his nod and continued. “I’m assuming that Dave’ll have you on a pretty strict diet. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that anything I do has his approval for your meal.”
“You don’t need to cook for me, beautiful.”
“Would you stop flirting with my niece? You don’t have time for any of this nonsense. You need to do the dishes and get to bed. You need sleep.”
“Maybe we could just cuddle, keep each other warm.” Michael’s over exaggerated wink gave Billie the giggles. She knew he was just playing with Dave and she was enjoying his torment.
“Michael!”
“Uncle Dave, he’s just trying to get a rise out of you, and he’s doing a damn good job at it! Besides, with us following your rules, we’d have to snuggle in the hallway, one of the spare bedrooms, or the sofa in the living room. No, wait, the couch in your den. Perfect! We can go cuddle there, it’s very comfy. It is a little small, though. One of us may need to be on top of the other. We’ll keep each other extra warm that way.” Billie returned the exaggerated wink and this time, Michael laughed.
“Wilhelmina Josephine!” With Dave’s bellow, Billie dissolved into fits of laughter.
“Fine! I’ll go wait for you in your den.” She knew she’d pushed a bit far, but those rules! She understood them, especially now, but she didn’t like being treated like a child. She owned a house, for crying out loud!
She was seated on the couch when he came in and closed the door. He sat next to her.
“What has gotten into you? You know I love your sense of humor, Doll, but I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
“I’m not one of your fighters. I don’t have to be scared of you.” She grabbed his hand. She’d always liked holding his hand. “I could never be scared of the man who helped put me back together. I was broken when I first came here. You saw me at my absolute worst and you helped me heal.”
“You healed yourself.”
“No, Dave, you healed me. I don’t know that I’ve ever thanked you for that.”
“Doll, I don’t need thanks. Knowing you’re happy, that’s all the thanks I’ll ever need.” He studied her before he continued. “Are you happy?”
Billie’s knee-jerk response was to always say ‘yes, of course I’m happy’, but that was easy to do on the phone. As easy as it was for Billie to get under Dave’s skin, it was even easier for him to read her, to know how honest she was being, and she knew this. It always made for a shorter conversation when she simply told Dave the truth.
“Yeah, mostly, I think. I don’t know, work isn’t quite what I thought it was going to be. I don’t know what I thought it would be. After I got my M.B.A., I thought I’d end up running my own company someday, you know, make a difference, but this climbing the ladder stuff is not what I wanted. The games you have to play, everyone is always waiting for you to fail, make one misstep, or say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It is a damn minefield.”
“Is that why you’re here?” He tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear before caressing the back of her head. “You need to figure out what you want? Take all the time you need, Doll. You know you always have a place here.”
“I’m going to use my time here to think about that stuff, and I may want to run some things by you, but it’s not why I came home.”
“Okay. Is this where you tell me why you came home, Doll?”
“Yeah. But Dave, I need you to hear me out. This is going to be hard for me, but I have something I need to say.”
When she started to twist a lock of hair around her finger, he knew something was up. She gripped his hand just a little bit tighter before she started.
“I talked with Tommy today and I know, I know the extent of what it is that’s going on. I know you’ve got someone trying to get you to sell, and that they’ve started to pull some pretty dirty tricks.”
She wasn’t sure where he was going, but she didn’t like that he was trying to leave. “Dave, I’m not done.” She got up, prepared to chase after him if needed. “Please, come sit back down.” It took him a moment, but he turned. She led him back to the couch. When he was situated again, she took his hand in both of hers. Billie wanted to stay connected to him.
“I know about the vandalism, the rocks through the windows and the spray paint, the ants and the flies,” she shuddered at that thought, “and about the fire that you caught pretty much right after it had been set. I know before all that you had someone approach you to sell and you said no and then this shit, crap! Sorry, sorry about the language! Stuff, this stuff started to happen. And then they came back to you with a lower offer. It’s pretty clear what’s going on, and that’s the reason I came back. I want to help you figure out who’s doing this to you and put a stop to it.”
“I don’t need your help with this, Billie.”
She had known he would say that, but it didn’t stop the hurt she felt at his rejection.
“Dave, you may not need my help, but I need to help you.”
“Doll, why do you need this?”
This was the hard part: confession time.
“I’m sorry that I made it seem like you were a bother when I came home for only one holiday a year. I’m sorry I made you think I didn’t care. Dave, you’re my family, you’re my Dad. I know! I know you don’t want me to call you that, but you are.” She hated that she felt tears in her eyes, but she also didn’t care.
“Billie, my brother is your father.”
It took everything she had not to scream. How could she get it through his thick, stubborn skull? Maybe if she explained? Would he get it then? It was worth a shot.
“I don’t know where William Chapman is, I don’t know what he’s done with his life, if he got married or had kids, and you never talk about him, so I don’t know if you know. I was tempted, at one point, to find out and then I realized something. He never wanted me. He never tried to reach out to me, to contact me, not a thing. It’s not like I was hard to find, either. I’ve been on this planet for over 35 years and he hasn’t tried, not once. He didn’t want me. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just a DNA donor and that’s it. You’re my Dad, Dave.” She couldn’t say what was in her heart. That would hurt too much.
“Billie, about your father-”
“NO!” She’d put this to bed a long time ago. She didn’t want to know. She tried to get up from the couch but Dave wouldn’t let her go. “Dave, I don’t want to know where he is. I don’t want to know what he’s done with his life. It’s going to hurt, too much, no matter the answer. I’d rather not know. Please, don’t tell me.”
The real problem was, she did want to know, but she didn’t want to feel the sting of rejection again. She’d felt it too many times, every birthday, holiday, any time he should have been there. And then after she’d come to live with Dave, it hurt less until he told her he didn’t want her to call him Dad. That was like being rejected, but in person.
“I wish it had been you Josie had fallen for. She would’ve been happy with you. I know I was, I am. You’re in trouble. Someone’s coming after you and you are in trouble. I want to help. I can. I can help.”
“You can help. What can you do?”
“Do you know who it is who is doing this to you?”
“I have suspicions, but no.”
“Well, I’ve got connections. People I went to school with. I know I didn’t get along with most of them when we were in high school, but something changed when we all went off to college. I’ve kept in touch with a lot of them. I know a couple of lawyers, and someone with the District Attorney’s office. There’s also an assistant to the governor who I dated, twice, until you sat him down and had one of your talks that ended up scaring all the boys off. So I have some connections that we might be able to use.”
“You can talk to your connections from anywhere, you don’t have to be here.”
“True. But you’ve got some pretty big fights coming up and, if I am the distraction you claim I am, then I just might be able to use that.”
“How?”
“Well, they’re escalating, whoever’s doing this. Do they want the building or do they want the property? Was the fire set so you’d catch it but need to call the fire department, hoping that you’d end up being cited for some sort of violation? Or did they want to burn the building down? And since that didn’t work, what else are they going to try? What’s your plan to figure all this out and put a stop to it?”
“I don’t know. The fire only happened a few days ago and that’s when I knew someone was up to something. I’ve been so concentrated on my fighters I haven’t had time to give it much thought, other than to try to figure out who.”
“And that’s where I can help. We can talk, strategize, plan. I can visit places during the workday when you and Tommy are busy. My guess: next is going to be the health department. You’re probably going to be cited for something, and maybe it’s real and maybe it’s not, but it would be great to beat them to the punch. That’s the kind of stuff I can do, that I can help with. Please, let me?”
“I don’t know, Billie. I don’t want you to get hurt. I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt.”
“I know how to take care of myself. You were a good teacher. Maybe I need a refresher, make you feel more comfortable with me staying here. But I am not leaving. You are going to have to kick me out. Dave, let me work with you on this. Please let me help you.”
“Let me think about it. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”
“Okay. Now, one more question. And get yourself ready, it is, by far, the most serious one. You ready?”
He took a deep breath, not knowing what could possibly be bigger.
“Okay. Shoot.”
“What the hell do you put in the water around here to make the men so damned gorgeous?”
finally started posting for Heavyweight with boxer!Chris and boxer!Henry definitely in the mix and i feel the need to state some things up front:
1. the boxing world is quite complex with a number of governing bodies. I'm going to make up my own (FBA - Fassyanon Boxing Association) because it would simply be too much to follow someone else's rules. there will be a bit of controversy ('cause, um hello, otherwise there wouldn't really be a story) with the FBA and this way my story is not libelous towards any existing boxing governing body. I am going to borrow rules from other associations 'cause I'm not going to make them up.
2. given the speculation about where Evans and Cavill were for weight for their roles as Cap and Sup, respectively, I have decided to add height and weight to them in order for them to be in the heavyweight weight class (they need to be over 200lbs).
3. given where the two main characters (Chris and Billie) are in their careers and what I want to do with the story, they are going to be in their mid 30s (he, 36 she, 35)
4. i am not going to provide face claims for the various characters (other than you know what Chris and Henry and, if he makes an appearance, Michael look like), but i have them for the characters i consider to be important (Billie Jo, Uncle Dave, and some others not yet named). That way I can stay consistent. There will be some physical characteristics I consider to be important enough for the story so i will share those, but other than that, I'm not planning on sharing.
5. I really don't know right now if Michael will join the cast, but I'm thinking he should because there needs to be some sort of dramatic weigh in where someone strips down to pretty much nothing and that wouldn't happen in the Heavyweight class, but in the Light Heavyweight class (I'd add a couple of pounds to him as well to get him there) where there is a limit? Can't you just see Michael dramatically stripping down to nothing? I'm thinking if for no other reason, I need to make that happen.
I have a fairly extensive outline and now that I've set some other things aside (Colin the plot bunny: please stay away), I felt like I could start posting. i just hope these characters play along!
