Hit Like A Girl

11 - Greer

"Are you ready for the fight tomorrow?" I tried making small talk on the silent elevator ride down to the small pet yard.

"Nervous if anything," she said as she combed her slender fingers through Atlanta's fur. Which my dog quite thoroughly enjoyed. I, on the other hand, thought it was way too early. I was probably going to go back to sleeping after this.

"I'm really excited I got to meet Atlanta though," she continued on. "She's so massive, it's really great."

"Yea," I smiled a little, "She's my favorite." We both stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway, where we proceeded to walk to the back door. Once we were both in the enclosed area, I let Atlanta off her leash to go do her thing.

"Hey would you want to meet Kameron today?" she asked out of the blue.

I thought about all the ways this could go. We could meet, become friends, or she could hate me. Or I could hate her. "I'd love to," I blurted out.

Yet I was honestly horrified to meet her. My palms became sweaty on the way back up the elevator and they were still sweaty when I retreated back into my room. By this time it was atleast 6:20 A.M. and I honestly still wanted to sleep. Before I could close my hotel door all the way, I saw a figure pass by.

"Hudson?" I asked and stuck my head back out the door. I knew he was my guard and all, but I still had to appreciate the way his back muscles appeared through the transparent fabric of his white T-shirt.

"Just going out for a smoke," he said as he turned around and held the box of cigarettes up, "Need anything?"

"I was just making sure you're okay," I said as I nodded and went to return to my hotel toom.

"I'll come check up on you when I get back, okay?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Okay."

Hudson

Outside I sat on a curb a good distance away from the building and inhaled the toxins which relieved my stress immediately. The sun was barely starting to rise in the distance, yet the hotel parking lot was still dark. The only thing I could think about was how I got here. I was thinking about the moments and decisions in my life that lead me to this very moment.

*
"This is Orlando," said Tony, the man who had been my brother figure for the past year. The airport was over crowded with people who were coming and going, trying to get from one place to the next. Travelers, workers, families, or loners. They all were creating a place in the world, and I was now here to do the same.

Tony and I, along with a few other men, got a rental car and went straight to our hotel. We didn't even bother unpacking because we instantly pulled out a map so Tony could show us each and every place where we were to sell. We were to memorize this map, the routes we were to take, and the exits for emergencies. We were doing whatever Tony wanted, I worked and rearranged my schedule to what he needed me to do. It was worth every nerve racking, bone rattling, gut wrentching experience.

"Haven't you ever left Chicago, kid?" Caesar asked.

"Once," I chuckled, "When I was nine. And my family went to Oklahoma."

"What the fuck is in Oklahoma?" He laughed while coughing up his tar infested lungs. I had never even touched a cigarette in my life until I met Caesar. Drugs, yea, but I knew what cigarettes did to a person, and I wasn't about to ruin myself. I would take risks with drugs and alcohol, but I wouldn't ever touch a cigarette to my lips. Not like my dad did.

*

I was familiar with the streets of Orlando, and had been for the past five years. When I came to this city at eighteen years old, I never pictured where I would be today. Back then, as far as I knew, the law was against me and always would be. After taking one last drag from the poisonious tobacco between my lips, I rubbed it on the pavement, stood from the curb, and tossed it into the trash can on my way inside. Men and women were wandering around the hotel, some leaving for the day, others were getting breakfast. It was almost seven in the morning, much too early for my taste, and I should probably get ready for the day.

The elevator took me up to our floor and I walked straight to Greer's room to check on her. In the room right next to hers I heard two girls arguing, but didn't pay much attention to it, for it wasn't my business. I knocked on Greer's door and waited a minute, but she didn't come. I decided to atleast try the door handle, to make sure it was locked. To my surprise the door opened up, meaning she fell asleep without locking her door. Or she had left. I popped my head into the room to make sure that she was there and sure enough she was passed out in her bed, wrapped up in the blankets, with Atlanta right next to her.

I noticed the way her hair looked like a lion's mane in its natural state. I watched the way the blankets slowly lifted, then fell as she breathed. I saw her lips and the way they slightly parted. I looked at her eyelids and how light and feather like her eyelashes rested on her cheeks. I noticed the way her hand was softly resting on the bed, it looked so tiny and fragile, it looked like it could do no harm.

But most importantly, I noticed her beauty. And I realized how lucky I am to even be a small part of her life.