Free Bird

Chapter 61

Danny's POV

Zeke said I need to avoid close toed shoes for awhile and to be barefoot as often as possible, which is actually fine by me because I've never cared much for the restriction of shoes anyway.

Now I'm sitting in Cal's car, my bare feet crossed at the ankles and resting on the window while I admire my latest tattoo.

Maybe I should get something around my wrist next...

"There's a Chinese buffet not too far from here. We could try that or burgers," Cal suggests.

"I mean. I love Chinese, but probably we should go somewhere that I can sit down at," I say, thoughtfully.

"We could go back to my place and order out."

"... No, it's fine to just go to a restaurant," I say after contemplating what going back to his place could entail.

"I'm not going to do anything," he says.

"So what are you doing now that the gym is closed down?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

I'm not gonna lie: I was maliciously pleased to hear about Creed's misfortune in his cash cow being burnt down. Apparently Creed was still hiding out somewhere so no one had been able to call for repairs and the gym was temporarily closed. I kind of suspected one of the guys had something to do with all this but I didn't ask. One because it's best in these situations to know as little as possible and two because it was a little bit scary.

I didn't think Sammy or James would do it because they're now technically unemployed with Creed being gone. That left Zeke, Joshua, and Cal. Cal lost some money with all this, too, but he was pretty much done with that scene anyway. I didn't want to speculate much further than that for the aforementioned reasons.

"I already had a few jobs lined up for my contracting business since I only had two fights left," he answers. "So I'm just moving on with that."

"Wow, dude, you're going full on legit now. Good for you," I say smiling.

"Yeah..." Cal says thoughtfully as he pulls into Betty's.

"What is it?"

"I just- Danny, why don't you drop out of everything? You know, just quit."

"What makes you think I want to?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at him.

This is a really sensitive subject for me and I don't know where Cal and I stand right now so I don't necessarily want to open up to him about it.

"Well, you don't really seem the type to think that this is the way to live your life..."

"Shit like this is why I said we need to get to know each other when we're being totally honest, Cal. For all you know, I am the type," I say. "And what if I am? Will you be done with me then?"

"I- I don't know..."

Ouch.

I mean, I've dreamed of moving on to something else, but let's be real: I don't have any actual skills outside of what I'm already doing. I don't have an education, I don't even have a real fucking name for fuck's sake. So what happens if I let myself hope for that and then I don't get it, huh? Pain. Fucking pain is what happens.

"I mean, it's not you, Danny, obviously. I knew what you were doing and I still wanted to be with you, it's just- I can't risk having that in my life indefinitely when I have Clarice to think about. And my business..." he continues.

"Hey, I get it. No biggie. People with a lot to lose shouldn't gamble it away. I have nothing to lose aside from my freedom," I shrug, purposely hiding my hurt.