I pull on the gloves. They're warm and I feel left over sweat from Antonio. Before I do this though, I pull my hair into a ponytail, not wanting it to get in my way. I tighten the straps on the gloves because my hands and wrists are smaller then Antonio's. I don't really know what to do now. I just stand there, kinda awkwardly, with my now heavy hands hanging at my sides while I wait for Theo to adjust his gloves. Once he likes how they feel on his hands he turns back around and stares at me expectantly. I stare back, not knowing what to do.
" Um..." I shuffle my feet, "what do I do now?" Theo smiles and I can tell he's amused by how little I know about boxing.
" You try to punch me. I don't want Antonio to ring the bell yet for a fight because I want to see how good you are, if you're good at all." I nod and smile slightly.
" You don't think I don't know how to punch?"
" Well I know you can slap." he says and I remember earlier today. I remind myself that I'll have to slap that kid again.
" True." Is all I say before we start. We circle around for a bit. I keep my gloves near my face so if I have to block any of his punches I'll be ready. Then I remember something from the real boxing that I had watched on tv.
" Wait," I say, letting my hands drop by my sides," don't we wear like masks or something to protect our head and face?" Theo doesn't say anything. It's Antonio who replies.
" In real boxing they do and in their training, but we just box for fun. We don't do any competitions so we normally don't wear head protection in practice either. It makes it more fun." he wiggles his eyebrows and smiles at his last sentence. I now notice a little red mixed in with Antonio's dark skin. I look back at Theo and realize he's bleeding from his nose. I hadn't realized it while they were fighting but I guess I don't really pay that much attention to their faces. I pay attention to Theo's face. I push the thought away and move my hands back up to my face.
All of a sudden Theo lunges forward, his arm outstretched. It collides with my gloves that had involuntarily moved up to block my face. I jump back, moving around. Theo follows me. He punches me a few more times. I block his every move.
Then he takes a different approach and throws his arm to the side, going to punch me in my left ribs. I take a chance and dive, punching him straight in the stomach. His arm comes back and he clutches his stomach, groaning.
I gasp. I'm trying to decide wether to help or laugh at what just happened. I decide to help. I throw off my boxing gloves and reach forward to help him. I stop right as my fingertips almost touch his skin. If I were him right now I wouldn't want anyone touching me, even if it were Theo. I step back as Antonio races forward and helps Theo unwind from his hunched over state. When he recovers himself enough to talk he looks up at me.
" You're one strong badass girl." right now, for him to say this in this situation is so out of the blue and funny that I can't hide my smile. I laugh and Theo starts laughing too but then stops and throws up in the corner. After Theo's stomach settles I check my phone to see what time it is. 5:15! And I have 5 missed calls from my mom. Oh my god. She is going to kill me.
" Theo!" I practically scream. " you have to take me home, NOW!" I grab my stuff and his jacket and make my way back to the ring where my driver is sitting on the ground. He looks up. He doesn't look sick anymore and when he gets up he doesn't wobble like he's drunk. He walks over to me.
" Ok, let's go." When he walks out of the warehouse though(saying good-bye to Antonio) he clutches his stomach. I really didn't think I punched him that hard. Apparently I did.
" Are you okay? I didn't think I punched you that hard?" he looks up and shows me his side. There's a long scratch that goes from his left hip to his right hip. I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before.
" Did I do that?!" Theo just smiles.
" No no. I got in a car accident this last summer and cut myself. Had to get stitches. It just sometimes hurts." I don't know what to say. Somehow 'that sucks' doesn't sound too good a thing to say.
" Oh...um, sorry." he smiles and rests his arm on my back. Instantly his touch sends shivers down my back. Theo looks down at me, confused.
" Are you cold? Here, put on my jacket." he hands me his jacket. I put it on and it's at least 3 sizes too big. I laugh and shake my arms out in front of me and the extra fabric wiggles in the air and I feel like a dinosaur. Theo laughs, a deep good laugh, that makes me laugh even harder.
As we get into his car we're still laughing. Finally, when I gasp in air, something hits me about Theo's car accident.
" Aren't you afraid of driving? You know...because of what happened..." I don't know if I should be talking about Theo's car accident with him. It might be a touchy subject. His smile fades but there's no anger in his voice.
" Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will." I blink.
The rest of the car ride is in silence. I stare out the window, thinking over what Theo said. As we pull up the long driveway into the mansion my mom bought for us to live here, Theo finally breaks the silence.
" So Lilyanna Coleman. What's so special about you?" I am surprised by his question.
" What do you mean? I'm totally NOT special." I say and start to get out of the car.
" I don't know, but there's something definitely special about you, I just can't put my finger on it."
" That was a nice saying." I smile and take off his jacket. He smiles back like a 2-year old.
" That's what's special about me. I like sayings." I'm a little confused about what he just said. I feel like I've been confused this whole day.
I lean my arms inside the rolled down window of the car, thinking he's going to explain what he said to me when he says another saying.
" The worst thing about falling apart is that humans can do it so quietly."
