Howard glares at me as I walk into Lou’s. Hell, how does he know? I’m positive he does. He must suspect something because he has eyes and ears literally everywhere. I’m ready to defend myself no matter what. I didn’t insinuate the fight, the asshole did.
“Austin, my office now,” he says firmly.
I keep my head held high as I walk past Lance. He has a strange look on his face. I know he doesn’t realize anything that’s happened. I haven’t talked to him.
I step into the office and shut the door like he instructs me to. I begin to open my mouth and tell him just what happened but he shuts me down. “You haven’t been part of the family for long, but I distinctively remember explaining the rules to you.”
“Yes, sir.” I hang my head. “But, Howard—”
“But Howard nothing. You know what you did was wrong. Now, before I decide the disciplinary action, would you care to explain?”
He sets his hands on his desk and stares at me. This is my time to tell him the truth and I am beyond ready. “I took the girl I like on a date. We went and ate burgers. When it was time to leave, some asshole started calling me a freak.” My eyes begin to water. I can’t believe I’m about to cry right now. “I told him to leave me alone but he kept on. I just couldn’t take it. I should have walked away but I didn’t. I knew being different wasn’t going to be easy, but I wasn’t ready for that.”
Howard sighs and looks at me. I wipe a lone tear from my eye and wait for what he has to say. “Did you throw the first punch?”
“Yes, sir, I did. He tried to hit me back but I caught his arm and threw him on the ground. I didn’t hit him again after.”
“I don’t condone fighting outside of here in any form, but I’m glad you stood up for yourself. It’s not going to be easy, and assholes like him are everywhere. I’ll let this one slide, but if it happens again, I won’t be so nice.”
“Thank you so much, Howard. I swear, it won’t happen again.”
“I’m trusting you. Don’t let me down.” He stands and opens the door. Lance nearly falls over, completely unprepared for it. “You were listening, weren’t you, Lanc
e?”
“I was. That’s bullshit, Austin. I’m glad you did something about it.”
“Thanks, man,” I tell him, hoping he stops this conversation before Howard changes his mind and decides to punish me.
“I wish I could have seen your moves.” Yeah, he isn’t dropping it.
Howard clears his throat, reminding us why we’re here and it’s time to get to work. I grab my phone and text Paige before putting on my glove. Lance and I spar continuously.
“So, show me your kick ass moves from last night.” Lance grins.
“No,” I deadpan. “But if you insist, I’ll recap in case you didn’t hear me tell Howard. Basically, I punched him in the face before grabbing his shirt and throwing him to the ground. I may have also sunk my foot into his chest.”
“And I missed this? Holy shit, you really are badass!” He gets all giddy, jumping around like a kid in a candy store.
“I know I’m not supposed to street fight and I’m not trying to brag, but he had to be put in his place,” I say, more to myself than to him.
I look at the old clock on the wall after a while and notice it’s around lunch time. I wonder if Paige has replied yet. I go check my phone and saw she answered my first message. We exchange a few texts and she tells me she’s on lunch. I reply but she doesn’t. I guess she went back to work.
Garrett comes walking in late and explains Raegan wasn’t feeling well this morning so he stayed with her until her stepmom could come by. He asks how my sparring has been going. Lance opens his big mouth and tells him all about the fight last night. Garrett raises his eyebrow and I confirm it all. His eyes widen and even he tells me he would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.
“Hey, Raegan told me she saw your car last night. You’re driving again?”
“Last night was the first time since the accident. I took Paige on a date and apparently y’all live in the same complex,” I tell him.
“Oh yeah, Raegan told me she met her the other day. Helped her carry a few bags to her apartment.”
“Looks like we may all be seeing more of each other.” I grin.
“Well, you know y’all are always welcome. Except for now since Raegan is sick. She must have a stomach bug. She’s never sick.”
“Or you may have implanted your seed into her again.” Lance grins. I burst out laughing.
“Who the fuck talks that way?” Garrett laughs too.