Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Nox bounces up and down on the spot, shaking out his arms in an attempt to loosen up. He states, “One weapon.”
Rock’s face falls. “One fuckin’ weapon? No way. At least two.”
Nox chuckles, “Always tryna hustle. You wanna do this? We do it my way. One weapon.”
I have no idea what’s going on. My face bunches in confusion while Boo’s body shakes with laughter by my side.
Rock scowls, “Close your eyes, bitch.”
Placing his hands on his hips, Nox closes his eyes and Rock runs over to his bag. Fiddling through it, he takes an object out and places it in his palm, hidden from view. He’s too far away to see what it is, anyway.
Rock walks back to the center and announces, “Your turn.”
Rock closes his eyes, and I watch Nox walk over to his shoes. He pulls something out and places it in his shorts’ pocket before returning to the center of the room.
They stand a few feet apart. Rock says, “High school wrestling rules.”
Nox barks out a laugh, “No fucking way! This is street or nothing. Your choice.”
Rock whines, “Street’s whack!”
Nox prods, “If you’re too weak to handle it, we’ll call it a day.” I have to slap a hand over my mouth to control my giggles when Nox walks forward to Rock, places a hand on his shoulder, and asks in complete seriousness, “How about I run you a nice bubble bath?”
Rock shrugs his hand off harshly. “Fuck you, motherfucker!”
Boo and I remain hidden, bodies shaking in silent laughter. It’s like watching a documentary. Seeing the way wild animals behave when they think no one’s watching.
Nox laughs at his friend. “C’mon. One match. Street. One weapon.” Turning to Rock, he says, “Ready?”
Rock remains sullen for a whole ten seconds before he moves into a grappling stance and utters, “Let’s get it on, bitch.”
Nox chooses a boxing stance and mutters, “Oh, hush now. I don’t wanna hear how you talk to Boo in bed.”
Rock immediately responds, “My woman is a lady, so you better shut your mouth.”
My mouth parts. Placing a hand to my chest, I look up at Boo. She watches Rock through misty eyes.
Rock, you sweetheart!
And Nox smirks, basking in the glow of finally getting one back at Rock. He counts them in, “On three. One. Two. Three.”
They lunge at each other, then grapple, stepping in and out of each other’s space. Nox low kicks at Rock’s knee, but Rock is quick.
Rock high kicks at Nox’s face, but barely skims his ear. My man is pretty quick, too.
When Nox tries to catch Rock, Rock somehow reverses the move and I’m surprised when he catches Nox into a headlock.
It’s kind of alarming, actually.
Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve thought of Nox as a superhero. Nothing bad ever happens to them. They get caught; they fight, and they win every episode.
My heart sinks at the thought of Nox being nothing more than human. Humans can get hurt. They bleed, grow old, and die.
Inside this house, it feels like time stands still. Maybe we can live here together forever?
I’ll have to enquire about this at a more appropriate time.
Rock squeezes his throat closed and mocks in a deep voice that sounds just like Nox, “Street rules or nothin’.”
Nox’s face turns a nice shade of maroon as Rock cuts off his air.
And it’s freaking me out.
Rock doesn’t look like he’ll let up anytime soon. Just then, Nox reaches into his pocket and pulls out his weapon. He shoves it into Rocks mouth and pushes his jaw up to hold it in. Rock’s eyes widen and we hear him yelling through gritted teeth. We can’t make out the words though, being that he’s temporarily gagged.
Not another second passes before Rock releases Nox and gags, then dry heaves. Spitting out the weapon, he coughs and gags again. “You dirty, dirty fucker. A fucking sock? A sweaty sock?” Gagging at a steady pace, he wipes at his tongue.
Nox coughs and laughs at the same time. Rubbing his neck with his palm, he wheezes, “Street rules, bitch. I win.”
While the guys pant and heave on the floor of the workout room, Boo silently motions for me to come with her.
She leads me to the kitchen and when we enter, we look at each other and release the laughter we’ve been holding back from what we just witnessed. Wiping away tears of mirth, we start lunch.
“What do you feel like today?”
Opening the fridge, I search for something I haven’t had in a while. “I don’t know. I want something different today. Like an old favorite.”
Boo’s eyes widen. “Peanut butter and jelly?”
Oh, yum!
I feign disinterest. “Depends. What kind of jelly we got?”
Please say grape! Please say grape!
Spinning on her heel, she turns to the pantry and peers inside. “Hmmm. We have strawberry.”
Bummer.
“And grape.”
SCORE!
“Put me down for two with grape jelly, me thinks.”