pussy to fight me,” the man said with a chuckle, and JL noticed Enzo immediately tense up. Enzo shifted JL aside and stood, dusting the sand off his hands.
“Raymundo,” Enzo said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Why does that name sound so familiar? Then JL saw the tattoo on his shaved head that said CRAZY, and she remembered Enzo telling her about him. He was the guy Enzo was supposed to fight soon, and damn, he was one big scary-looking ape. The man was shorter and stockier than Enzo, but his neck and arms looked like tree trunks. He had deranged-looking blue eyes and scars everywhere. It made her nervous as hell for Enzo. The man didn’t look like the kind of guy who cared whether he lived or died.
“I am fighting you. Signed up yesterday.”
“Can’t wait to have my hands wrapped around your neck,” the man said with a sinister laugh that exposed his gold grill, sending shivers down JL’s spine. “This your woman?” the guy said, those wild eyes roaming her body. Enzo stepped forward, his hands flexing by his sides, tension radiating off his body.
“You have no business looking at her. I’ll see you in a few months,” Enzo said in a tone that conveyed clearly that the conversation was over. Even with his nerdy glasses and side part, when Enzo’s tone shifted to serious and his back went straight and his arms crossed that way, he was a force to be reckoned with. Hernandez must’ve noticed too, because he put his earbuds back in and lifted his chin. But before he left, he made one more crack. “Maybe after I win we can swap women. Whaddaya say, girl?” He winked over Enzo’s shoulder to JL, the gesture making the tiny hairs on her arms stand up. Without waiting for an answer, he took off on his jog with another nefarious laugh.
Enzo was noticeably riled up and looked like he wanted to maim his opponent. “It’s okay, darlin’,” she said soothingly. “He’s just trying to provoke you. Don’t pay him any mind.”
Enzo’s fists opened and closed at his sides. “I have to go train at least an hour later today,” was all he said as he took her hand gently in preparation for leaving the beach.
“No. I won’t let that weirdo ruin our day,” she said, plopping back down on the sand. “Come on, it’s a beautiful day. Sit with me a little longer.”
He relented and sat down next to her.
“Thinking about it, it is a good idea that you train. A lot. As much as possible, actually. Not that you can’t handle him. But I don’t think you’ll want to swap women, so you really can’t lose. His girlfriend is probably Swamp Thing. Ew.” She smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“So you’d be okay dating him, and you’re just worried about me?” he asked coyly.
“What’s not to like? His crazy unfocused eyes or that crooked gold grill? Oh, wait! It was the tattoo in Old English font on his head that really did it for me. I mean, any man that’ll take the time to carefully chose such an elegant font for a tattoo on his head that says he’s crazy is my kind of guy, bless his heart. Class all the way, don’t you think?”
He looked at her and doubled over in laughter. “You really know how to make me smile.” He brought her closer for a hug. “The things that come out of your mouth…you are kind of amazing, Jamie Lynn Calhoun.”
“You’re kind of amazing yourself, Lorenzo Silva.”
—
It had been an eventful afternoon. Enzo had never been so enraged as he’d been when Hernandez’s beady eyes roamed Jamie Lynn’s body. That and the details about her mother had left him feeling unnerved. And while he had a feeling that there was more to the story, he didn’t want to push her too much. Thankfully, Jamie Lynn had set him at ease with her joking comment, and now, as he held her while she talked all sorts of nonsense about everything and nothing, the tension started melting away.
“Such a nice day, isn’t it?” she said.
“Yes, it is.”
“The ocean’s so—Oh my God! A bug. I have a bug on me!” She stood up and began to jiggle and dance around the sand.
“You’re not afraid of bugs, are you?” he said in amusement as he watched her jump around and cover her ears.
“They breed in your ears, Enzo!” She kept hopping up and