Keegan makes a sound deep in his throat, something like a restrained chuckle. “Maybe he read Marx and decided he wanted to try something different?”
I scoff. “As if. Well, at least there’s a reason to celebrate. Let’s go out for dinner tonight.”
Keegan smiles at me, but he shakes his head. “There’s a place I need to be.”
Jealousy is a sharp stab to my chest. I arch an eyebrow. “Oh. Why don’t you ask her to join us, then?”
His brows shoot up his forehead, so high they almost lose themselves behind his bangs. “Ask her? Who?”
“The girl you’re seeing.”
Keegan slows until he stops, an odd expression on his face. I glare at him, waiting for him to reply. For him to tell me the girl doesn’t want to meet me, or that he’d never introduce us, or that...
He cracks up. Keegan laughs so hard that he bends at the waist. I don’t even remember the last time I saw him laughing so much. “What?” I squeal, punching him in the shoulder.
“You think I’m going out with a girl?”
“A boy then?”
This makes him laugh even harder. A couple of minutes later, once he sees the serious look on my face, he catches his breath and wipes a tear from his face. “No, Aleida. I’m not seeing anyone. It’s work related.”
“Oh.” How silly of me. Keegan presses a hand to the small of my back, guiding me onward. I keep going, sliding glances in his direction. “Now that I think of it. Where are you working?” He shoots me a glance, but says nothing. “Come on, Keegan. You’ve always been so mysterious about your work.”
“That’s because you wouldn’t like what I do.”
“You never asked me, how would you know?”
“I know you well enough.”
“Try me,” I say, but still he keeps his mouth shut. Reaching out, I grab his hand and tug him to a stop. “Come on, Keegan. I won’t judge you. Honestly.” Does he think I’m such a terrible friend? And here I was daydreaming about taking this farther.
He shakes his head, then gives me one long look. I wonder what he’s hiding. What could be so bad that he wants to hide it from me? Finally, he releases a sigh. “Fine. I’ll take you with me tonight. But only if you promise not to stop talking to me.”
“I would never do that.” Not when he’s my only friend. Not when my heart wants so much more.
He twists his lips, but nods in agreement. “Do you want to change?”
I shoot a glance at my black leggings and the button-down shirt I wear for work. “Not really. Do I need to?”
He shakes his head, and I swear there’s longing in his eyes. It’s gone in a second. “You’ll have to promise to do what I tell you. It’s not the safest of places.”
That piques my curiosity, but I just nod. Something tells me he wouldn’t give me any more info right now. Keegan leads the way, and we take the subway to a spot in town I’ve never been to. I keep quiet, not daring to ask him anything. What if he loses patience and sends me home? I keep my mouth closed even when it dawns on me—how does he know where I work? I don’t remember mentioning it to him.
Before I work up the courage to ask, we exit the subway and walk some ten minutes in silence. Off an avenue, down a dark street, into a darker alley. All sorts of people crowd the place, and I watch several turning their heads to gawk at Keegan.
Where are we? Why do they know him?
He leads me down a narrow staircase to the basement of a bar. At first, I think it’s a speakeasy, but no. The sound of screams and the pound of fists on flesh makes it clear the place is something else.
Keegan leans closer, taking my hand. “Stay close,” he says, his eyes darkening.
I press myself to him. Of course I’ll stay close. He’s just taken me to an illegal fight club. A club he apparently works at.
6
ALEIDA
We push into the crowd, his hand leading me on as we part the crowd and reach the bowels of the open space. The lights are dim everywhere, except at the front where there’s a stage. Two men fight on top of it, and it’s visceral and raw, blood and saliva flying when they hit each other. I gape at the scene, like a car crash you can’t pull your gaze away.