The Fighter's Block (15 page)

His arms were wrapped around her, and she ever so slightly put her hand on his. He responded to the
touch, which told her
he was still awake, so she turned around to face him, burrowing her face against his chest as he re-gathered her in his arms.

“You can’t sleep?” she asked softly.

Van paused for a second, deciding what to say. He could see the clock and it was almost
two
in the morning. “Nah, not yet. I think I’ve been awake for so long that my mind is taking a while to shut down.”

She knew that was true, especially because of the night they’d had.
“
W
ell
,
I was thinking…”

Van smiled, and even felt
himself
relax just from the sound of her voice.

“Maybe after we sleep in really, really late, we can head up north for a night, catch a Mets game, and just…enjoy the next day doing absolutely nothing.”

“Mm
m
, I like the sound of that.”

“Or…we could head down to Atlantic City for a night, win a lot of money, and still enjoy doing absolutely nothing the next day.”

“I like that too.”

“Or…maybe we should
just hole up here and pretend we’re not home.”

“We do that
all the time
anyway,” Van chuckled.

“True,” she smiled.

“But I think I like the idea of going somewhere with you. We haven’t had a full weekend together for a
while
.”

“Okay, so let’s go somewhere tomorrow. Up to New York, or down to Atlantic City?”

“You choose.”

She scoffed.
“
Nice, defer it to me.
You’re such a man.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled and slid her hand against his neck to kiss him. “Fine, I’ll have an answer for you in the morning. But first you have to go to sleep.”

“After you kiss me like that?”

“Kiss you like what?” she teased.

“Ooh, you are
sexy
, you know that?”

“Am I? Hmm, well I must get that from you.”

He
laughed again
. “Yeah, right.”

Chapter Eight

If there was a better weekend that Van could experience, he wasn’t sure what it would consist of. He and Dani heade
d out on Saturday morning
, both excited to
make the trip
to Atlantic City. Just the drive there was fun
, and Dani liked being a passenger in her own car while Van drove.

Over the past few weeks Van had come to realize that Dani was a talented photographer like her father. She had show
n him some of her parents’ work
and it was all really good, but Dani also had an eye for
visual art
. She appreciated the value of capturing a moment in time—or anything that interested her, really—and she wasn’t too proud to admit to anyone, including her father, that she loved photography.

Dani was peering through her lens while the two of them were on the boardwalk
Sunday
morning
. She was focused on
Van leaning against the railing, but
had to pause for several seconds
to stare at him
.

“What?” he finally asked with a smile. He was still trying to get used to all of her attention, but he was curious as to why she was looking at him in such a way.

She smiled and lowered the camera as she approached him. “Well, you’re my most fascinating subject ever.”

He kind of scoffed and shook his head at her.

“I’m being serious,” she told him. “You’re just…very photogenic. I thought I was just being biased because of how hot you are, but you
have this…this quality about you that’s…
I don’t know,
intriguing to capture.”

Van raised an eyebrow at her.

“See? You have this…casual yet sexy demeanor to you that is so magnetic—”

“Okay, you’re really nuts.”

She laughed. “I am not! You’ll see what I mean when I develop these. Well maybe you’re too stubborn to see what I mean, but I bet you anything that any professional would feel the same way.”

“And what about you? You seem to be very photogenic as well. You said you used to do shoots for your parents… I think I’d like to see some of ‘em.”

Dani smiled and shook her head. “That’s all in the past.”

“And you’re not going to let me see evidence of it?” he teased, pulling her close
to him
.

She
wrapped her arms around his waist and replied, “Maybe someday.”

Van kissed her just as his phone rang. He wasn’t going to answer it, but he
decided to
since Dani stepped away with her camera to take more
shots
of the scenery.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he said to
Cody
.

There was a brief pause and then, “Uh, I’m not sure how to tell you this…”

Van was instantly alert, and he took a few steps away to sit on a bench. “Then just say it. What happened?”

“Uh…your truck, man. It’s…”

“It’s what?”

“Someone r
eally went to town on it, Van—t
he windows, the tires,
the doors,
the paint…everyt
hing. It’s completely destroyed
. I’m sorry.
I came out
early
this morning to head to the gym and it was just…”

“Wait a minute,” he said quietly.
“
Someone vandalized my truck?”

“Uh, not just someone. Someone with a serious vengeance, if you know what I mean.”

Van closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He glanced at Dani near the railing as she made adjustments to her camera, and when she looked up and smiled at him, he smiled back.

“So what are you saying,” he
asked
, continuing to speak
so Dani couldn’t hear
. “Beyond shop repair? I
mean is it all cosmetic damage? C
an it be fixed?”

“Uh, I don’t
think so, Van
. I mean I had Jimmy come over and take
a look at it. He
said it’d b
e a shitload of money to fix,
and that it might be better to
—”

“Just haul it to Jimmy’s and I’ll decide later,” Van said quickly as
he noticed
Dani
heading his way
.
He paused for a few seconds as s
he sat down beside him and
laid
her head
against
his shoulder.

“Okay,”
Cody
replied. “You gonna tell Dani?”

“No.”

After Van didn’t say anything further
Cody
asked, “She’s right there?”

“Yep.”

“Okay. Uh, Doug was already over here, too. The police are looking into it, so I’m sure they’ll be able to
tie ass clown to the deed. I’m really sorry, Van. I’ll talk to you later. You’ll be back tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ll be back tonight.”

“Okay, see ya.”

Van hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. If Dani hadn’t been near he might have had a chance to get upset.

“The boys can’t do without you?” she teased.

Van smiled. “Uh, no,
Cody
was just wondering where I was.”

“I thought you told him? Or was that Quincy,” she wondered, not even sure herself.

“Uh, I don’t remember, which means that spending time with you is more important,” he smiled.

“
What happened to bros before hoe
s?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re not my ho; you’re my
whoa
.”

She laughed out loud. “Wow, how clever are you? Wait a minute. Is that w-h-o-a, or w-o-e?”

Van pretended to consider it for a moment. “Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.”

She playfully slugged him in the chest. “Decide very quickly, Mr. Kemp.”

“Definitely w-h-o-a. It’s what was originally in my head, at least.”

“Hmm, then that makes two of us. You’re
my
whoa
also. I’m honestly thinking about making me a calendar,” she added, browsing through the photos on her camera. “Would you consider doing some of these nude?” she asked, hiding a smile.

“Pssh, f
or you? Anytime.
For a calendar?
No way.”

She finally did smile and asked, “Really? You’ve got the best body ever. Don’t tell me you’re shy.”

“Uh, I don’t know, but it’s just not my thing.”

“What if it was for charity?”

“What kind of charity?”

“I don’t know,
dying children or something.”

“Possibly.
But would you really want everyone to see what I save just for you?
”

Dani chuckled and shook her head. “No.”

He
stood and held out his hand for her to stand as well. “Hmm, well do
n’t ever
consider taking
your
clothes off for any type of charity. I would be really bothered by that.”

Dani looked at him for a few seconds, very touched that he was so protective of her.
Some guys would be proud of such a thing, like it was a compliment that their girl was hot enough to pose nude.

But Van took her pause a different way and asked, “Wait, you haven’t…?”

She
waited for him to finish until she realized what he was asking. “What? Oh! No, I’ve never done any nude photos!”

“Well you just paused when I said that, like you were thinking about how to break it to me…”

“No, no,
I was just… I was thinking that you’re very…protective of me and…I like that. I didn’t know
how to respond,” she smiled shyly.

Van was getting that feeling again. The same feeling he’d been getting over and over for the past week. Was he protective of her? Hell yes. And why was that?

“It’s because I love you,” he said, unsure if he really did say it out loud.

It stunned Dani, and she had no response except, “What?”

He
sighed, unsure if he was doing the right thing. But he couldn’t take it back now, and besides…he was only being honest.

“I want to protect you because I love you, Dani. I mean…I’
ve fallen in l
ove with you.”

They were both quiet for several seconds.
He
was afraid of scaring her away
and he feared he said it too soon. After all, she had no response, and if he had
just
ruined everythi
ng between them, he wasn’t sure what he would—

“I love you too, Va
n,
”
she replied softly.
She slid her hands behind his neck and added,
“
I
fell
in love with you the first night I met you.”

He studied her beautiful eyes
, understanding that the moment had changed everything, and then finalized it with a kiss
that clearly proved how they felt about one another
.

“So would you believe me if I said I fell in love with you when I first saw you in the club?” he asked.

She tilted her head with a smile. “Well, I’ll believe anything you tell me. Even if you fluff it up to make it sound better.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “There’s no fluffing involved. Just a really stupid guy that didn’t realize what was happening to him at the time.”

“Hmm, do explain. You never did tell me about that night. I guess we just kind of…pushed it behind us.”

“Maybe we were just letting the bad stuff overshadow the good stuff.”

She thought about that for a
moment
. “I have considered that,” she admitted. “And I decided
since then
that I was meant to have you in my life.”

With a nod he
slowly smiled
. “I agree. Which is why it was odd that I came across you in the parking lot that night.”

“That was odd?”

“Out of all the people there that night? You were the one girl that I couldn’t take my eyes off the entire time.
”

“Really? You told me that you just ‘saw’ me there.”