Quickly, she turned up the volume, wanting to know about the media interest. “Scott Wayne making history with his one punch knock-out. His stats are now 19-0. Will there be anyone who will break his winning streak?” The reporter asked the audience, expecting no answer. “Now we will take you to the live interview with Wayne himself.” The screen changed to the arena that Crystal remembered well.
Scott was standing there, sweat covering his body as he breathed heavily. He had a few cuts and bruises here and there and his lip was bleeding. As usual, there was a serious look on his face as the news reporter stood next to him. “How does it feel to emerge victorious tonight?” He asked, before placing the microphone under Scott’s lips. Crystal shivered as she focused on those lips, remembering all they had done to her. How she wished she could feel that sensation once more.
Sighing, she tried to listen to his words. “Good,” he said curtly. The reporter looked a little annoyed as Scott kept giving him one-word answers or grunts as responses. Crystal chuckled, recognizing this personality trait. But who was she kidding, he was a one night stand and they wouldn’t be together, so why was she suddenly acting so interested in his career.
She turned off the TV and got up, going to bed. In the morning, while running errands, all she could hear was the word Scott roaming around the city. Everyone was excited to see him reach his twentieth undefeated match. It was rumored that someone big wanted to contract him, to bring him to a bigger stage, like New York City.
While Crystal tried to convince herself that she had no interest in his life, she still kept tabs on him. A part of her wanted him to lose, so he would remain in the city. She didn’t want him to leave. She believed that if he left, then the possibility of being with him again would be destroyed completely. She knew it was a slim chance with him in town, but a small hope was better than nothing.
She was now in the back room of Bottoms Up, looking through the newspaper, reading the latest article on him. She stared at the small picture in the corner for a moment, forgetting about her surroundings.
“I didn’t know you were the reading type.” A rough female voice sounded behind her. Crystal whipped around, looking at her best friend, Tiffany.
“Tiff… you scared me.” She whispered softly, trying to hide her newspaper.
“Now… don’t hide that from me… I already caught you in the act.” She chuckled, before grabbing the newspaper out of Crystal’s hands. She looked at the article and smirked. “Interested in the fighter too?” She grinned. “He’s a hunk isn’t he?”
Crystal hesitantly nodded, before snatching the paper back. “I sort of had a one night stand with him. Long story.” She mumbled, putting the newspaper in her locker and closing it.
Her friend looked intrigued now. “Oh?” She got close and whispered, “Do tell…” Crystal blushed as the beautiful woman got closer to her.
“It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“No, you don’t.” A voice sounded from the door. “You’re on.” Tiffany pouted, looking at her friend for a moment.
“I can tell, you like him. You should go for it, sweetie. What’s the worst that can happen?” She asked, before walking outside, the sound of the music from the club making its way into the dressing room.
Crystal sighed, thinking about her friend’s words. Would it really be wise to go for him when he was rising to fame and fortune and she was still at the sleazy club, flaunting her body around in order to survive? Their lives seemed worlds apart and Crystal felt intimated about approaching him once more.
Before she could even think about it any further, the manager came in, calling her to the stage. She sighed, clearing her mind of everything as she made her presence known, her hands on her hips and her outfit sparkling in the lights that darted around in the otherwise dark club. As usual, the men howled in her presence.
Chapter 7
“Tiffany… can I talk to you about something that has been bothering me for a while?” Crystal asked her friend as they were getting ready to go home. The woman stopped and looked at the smaller girl with curiosity in her eyes.
“What is it, luv?”
“Well… I’ve missed my period for two months now…” She whispered, looking down, feeling a little embarrassed. Tiffany’s eyes grew large as she looked down at the girl’s stomach. It still looked flat, but two months was a long time. Could it be that she was indeed pregnant?
“Why haven’t you told anyone?”
“Well… I kept telling myself it was normal… you know, since I’m irregular… but now I think… well… you know.” Tiffany sighed. If she was pregnant, the manager would fire her the moment he got word. Knowing Crystal’s situation, she would be without an income and probably without a home when she failed to pay rent. Tiffany contemplated offering her a place to stay, but she had her own problems that could be exasperated with her presence in her home.