Page 38 of Embriagado

Only he seemed to be a bit scared, as unlike his friends, who were now lying on the ground with a concussion or two, he didn’t swing at me. Instead, he stayed rooted to the ground, probably pissing himself. Being a considerate man, I took the first step and came to him. He tried hitting me, but I avoided it. Then, without using my dominant arm, I left-hooked him, sending him to the ground with a loud thump.

Guess that was it.

Flexing my fists, I looked around, seeing how all men were alive yet still down. I then grabbed this asshole’s ankles and dragged him away from the van so I’d be able to fucking reverse. Once the road was clear, I jumped back into the driver’s seat to find a stunned gatito next to me.

“Told you not to worry,” I said to Ariyan, who stared at me with pure shock.

His lips slightly parted before he snapped out of it, his eyes pinning on my arm. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not.” He grabbed me. “We need to take care of this⁠—”

His words cut off as he looked up, and once again, we found ourselves a breath away from each other.

“What we need is to get you out of here,” I said as I pushed a stray hair away from his stunning face. His mouth opened and closed before he pressed his lips together and nodded.

“Okay.”

He went back to his seat, clearly shocked over what had just happened. All I wanted was to calm him down, so, without saying a word, I placed my hand behind his headrest as I glanced back and began reversing out of the alley. Quickly, we were back on the main road, and this time, I chose to ignore Ariyan’s directions, as it looked like it was the one thing he wasn’t good at. To his credit, it made sense, as no one was that perfect. But the longer we drove in silence, the more worried I got that he was in shock. While I wasn’t a stranger to street fights, he probably was, and seeing me beating those guys up might have scared him.

“They’re still alive,” I said, hoping it would help.

“I don’t care about them.”

I glanced in his direction to see he was staring ahead.

“Oh… that’s good?”

“You… you really know how to fight, don’t you?”

His voice was low, almost monotonous, and so different from his usual sweet tone, but I ignored it, answering his question.

“Yeah. I told you I used to box and shit.”

“What do you mean by ‘shit’?”

I shrugged. “My dad was a boxer. He owned a boxing gym, and he taught me how to fight since I was a kid. I used to compete until I got locked up.” I let out a short laugh. “Actually, I had my last match the day I was arrested. “

He stayed silent for a while until⁠—

“Did you like it?”

“Boxing?”

“Yes.”

I turned my head to find two golden eyes locked on me. His stare was so intense, it made me hot.

“Like it? I’d die for it.”

Something crossed his face before he retreated into himself and leaned his head back against the seat.

“Do you mind driving us back to the hotel? I’m afraid I need to rest after this incident.”

“What about the flowers?”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I’ll have them sent to the hotel.”