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Firing up her laptop on her dining room table, she pulled up a browser and typed in "Abel Ayala’s opponent" Immediately, Nathanial "Hah the photos first There was so ht because she’d definitely seen this guy before She read the short bio under one of his photos He was born and raised in Highland, Michigan, where he and his brothers stayed out of trouble by joining the local boxing gyuys spoke so sourly about McKinley and his brothers last night, they had soe in coht? And they all agreed that the kind of trash talking that he and his brothers did was all part of the hype Abel just didn’t want any part of that So he refused to do any

She skih all the need-to-know stuff about McKinley: how long he’d been the champ, who he beat to win the title, what his weaknesses were, etc Just a few ured she didn’t have to know everything about the guy, just the key things, and she’d covered them all

With a smirk, she deleted the word opponent, hit enter, and then walked away to pour herself some coffee She’d rather drool over photos of Abel than read boring boxing stats of so, and she frohen she saw that it was Roni She had a feeling why she’d be calling this early, but she answered anyway

"Gooda little too cheery

Roni was quiet for a ood o on your brunch date?"

Nellie did the Roni thing and crinkled her nose "U, still feeling the little skip in her step as she walked back toward her laptop "We didn’t ured since I haven’t heard froed his mind"

Okay, that was a little white lie, but it was necessary Roni knew her too well, and if Nellie told her she’d changed her ht she’d cornered her in the kitchen and teased her about her and Abel not being able to keep their eyes off each other Nellie had assured her they were just flirting, reain that they were fk buddies after all Of course, they’d be flirting But as always, she’d seen the worry in Roni’s eyes Though to her credit, Roni kept her proo

"Did you and Abelyou knowlast night?"

"Maybe," Nellie said, her s flat the moment she sat down in front of her laptop She didn’t even hear what Roni said next as her eyes were glued to the latest headline about Abel and the photos just beneath it

Things Heating Up Between Aweless Ayala and Aspiring Fitness Model, Rachel Delgadillo

Never had her mood done such a wild and abrupt about face She literally felt the air sucked out of her The wheezing in her breathing was already feeling heavier with every breath she took, and she reached for the inhaler in her purse Taking a big hit fros ease, she exhaled slowly

The tio Airl, there was one of her running out tolot He wore the very tank and basketball shorts he’d pulled out of his trunk just that ed into She appeared to be very excited to see hiht of Abel, who’d had to practically pry his arirl to him with that same sweet smile she’d seen on hiasped at the photo of the until she heard Roni’s worried words "What’s wrong?"

Knowing there’d be no way she’d be able to hold a conversation with Roni noithout her best friend picking up on her ht excite Roni more than worry her "That’s Sam on the other line Letnearly as excited as Nellie thought she’d be "Oh, okay, well, call eness in Roni’s reaction made Nellie wonder what all she’d missed of Roni’s remarks after she’d confirmed that maybe she and Abel hadyou know But her ive it too ht

With a deep breath, she clicked the photos, her chest tightening with every different one of Abel’s sweet encounter with Rachel "Don’t do this," she whispered to herself as her eyes relued to the photos "This is just how the paparazzi work"

Her head argued with her heart that she needed to give hi they’d had, she owed hi so sweetly at Rachel as he took her in his arile heart a little further Still she held out hope that it was just an innocent exchange--that even though Abel had reached out for her first, the girl was just a touchy-feely bitch who couldn’t keep her hands off hiht of the photo of the heart unbearable