Page 1 of Falling for the Knockout

Anthony

Anthony Vitale, Jr. was living in his father’s shadow. He’d usually tell people that it started when he stepped into the ring as a boxer, just as his father had thirty years earlier, but it probably started when he was born and given his father’s name. Sr. had always wanted a boy to train to be just like him—it was inevitable, but him dying when Tony was only ten kind of ruined his plans. At least, that’s what his mother told him. He didn’t remember a lot about his father, but from the things he held onto, she wasn’t kidding when she told him that his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps.

Being second generation Italian, born in the States, kind of sealed his fate. When his mother had trouble filling in details about his father as he grew up, he went to his grandfather. His Nonno Elio was born in the “Old Country” as he called it. He told Tony stories about being a kid in Sicily and when he finished with those tales, they moved on to stories about his dad, but most of them involved boxing. He knew that his grandfather was proud of his son’s boxing career, but Tony needed details about his father’s life that didn’t involve the sport that ended up killinghim.

Sr. was fighting outside of his weight class during his fatal last bout. Under his direction, his cornerman had paid off the referee to let him fight someone who was one weight class above his, and that proved deadly for his dad. Sr. was stubborn, and getting the shit beat out of him wasn’t enough to have him stop the fight. Hell, his cornerman or ref should have called a technical knockout, but a TKO wasn’t how Sr. wanted to win. And when his body hit the mat in the eight roundsSr., gone. He never stood a chance, and when he didn’t come home that night, his mother woke Tony to tell him about Sr., and it felt as though she was letting him know that a complete stranger had died. Her tone was flat and almost uncaring, and Tony was too young to know back then, but his mom was in shock. Later, when he told her that he wanted to get into boxing, she said that he’d end up like his father and admitted that she just couldn’t take that again.

She had checked out for some time, leaving Tony to practically raise himself during his preteen years. At first, he was fine with the lack of attention, but after a while, he began to feel like it was him against the rest of the world. That’s when he started fighting—not in a ring, but on the streets. Tony showed up from school with more scrapes and broken bones than his mother could keep up with, and that was when she sent him to live with his Nonno Elio. He couldn’t fault his mother—he had become a handful, but his grandfather was just as ill-equipped to take care of an angry, confused teenager as his mom was. His Nonno tried, and that meant something to Tony, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it.

The stories about his dad helped too, and when his Nonno Elio gave him his first pair of gloves and signed him up at the local gym to spar with other teenagers from town, he was hooked. Hiscoach taught him patience and how to throw a right hook. His grandfather cheered him on, and his mother became even more distant. She refused to watch any of his bouts, saying that she wouldn’t live that life again and lose someone else that she loved. He resented her for that decision, but a part of him was glad that she wasn’t there. It gave him the push that he needed to be as ruthless with his opponents as he wanted to be—well, within the limits and rules of boxing.

Tony graduated from high school and told his grandfather that he wanted to become a boxer. There was no point in telling his mother since she wasn’t really talking to him at that point. She would have only tried to talk him out of it anyway, but his Nonno didn’t. He even became one of his cornermen and traveled with Tony everywhere that he went. He was the one who convinced Tony to go professional and join the World Series of Boxing, or WSB. Nonno Elio was even trying to convince him to train for the Olympics, but Tony knew that was just a pipe dream. He had to focus on one goal at a time, or he’d never get anywhere. That was something that he had learned about himself the hard way.

Years passed and his career seemed to stall as younger fighters came up through the ranks. Elio got to be too old to travel with him, and Tony felt as though he was losing some of the fire he had when he was younger. He was pushing thirty-two, and that was usually when most boxers retired. He knew that making it big at his age was a long shot, but he couldn’t give up now—he’d already come so far.

It was why he was at the gym every morning at four and back after work every day for more training. Unfortunately, boxing didn’t pay the bills—yet, but that was the dream. So, for now, Tony was going to keep his day job working at his grandmother’s bakery. She passed a few years back but taught him everythinghe knew about running the bakery and making her special recipes from Italy. Plus, he made enough to pay the bills and got to help his Nonno keep the bakery afloat. His grandparents started the bakery over sixty years ago, and selling the business wasn’t something his grandfather thought he could do. He knew that if his Nonna was alive, she’d try to tell him that he had options besides boxing, and he knew that was true. A part of him wondered what his life would look like if he took over the bakery and quit boxing, but he knew that he’d miss that part of himself. Hell, he would miss the bakery if he gave it up, so for now, he’d do both. It was his way of keeping his Nonno happy and his grandmother’s memory alive.

Tony pulled open the back door of the bakery and the smell of freshly baked bread hit him in the face. Just his luck that he’d given up all bread while he was getting ready for his upcoming fight, to make weight. He knew that he’d find Aurora in the kitchen, making everything that they’d sell for the day. Hiring her was his Nonno’s idea and a damn good one. Tony was running himself to the ground making sure that he was at the bakery early enough to bake everything that they needed for the day, and working out twice a day. His grandfather placed the ad behind his back and when pretty little Aurora showed up the next day, he couldn’t be mad at his Nonno. She was a professionally trained baker, which was more than he could say, and she seemed to really love the bakery. Nonno liked to tell him that his grandmother would have approved of Aurora, but Tony was sure that it was for his benefit. His grandfather seemed to like to stick his nose into Tony’s love life—or lack of love life and give him unsolicited advice. Sure, Aurora was beautiful, but he already had too much on his plate to consider adding dating to it.

Aurora smiled at him as he dropped his stuff back in the office. She always smiled at him. Hell, she was friendly and probablysmiled at everyone, but for just a few minutes each morning, he felt like the luckiest man on the planet because Aurora smiled at him. “Morning,” he whispered. Tony was never sure why he whispered to her every morning. Maybe it was because it was still dark and quiet outside in the world. Or maybe he was afraid to speak too loudly to her for fear that she was just a figment of his imagination.

“Good morning,” she whispered back as though playing along with some silly game that neither of them was actually playing. “I’d point out that you’re twenty minutes late, but when your grandfather isn’t here, you’re my boss and I really need this job.” Tony wanted to tell her that he technically wasn’t her boss, even when Nonno Elio wasn’t there, but his tongue didn’t seem to want to work. Aurora had that effect on him—rendering him speechless. She must have thought him to be an idiot. Half the time, he just smiled and nodded when she’d say something or even ask a question. Tony just couldn’t help himself though. Around her, he couldn’t seem to speak.

“You okay?” she asked. “You seem a bit out of it this morning.” He wanted to point out that he always acted this way around her, but didn’t want to draw attention to his own shortcomings. He nodded and she smiled at him as she pulled a tray of fresh bagels from the oven.

“I’m betting that you’re not a morning person,” she said. “I mean, judging by the way you never seem to want to talk to me in the morning. Or the other answer could be that you just don’t like me. Is that it, Tony? God, I hope that I didn’t do anything to upset you.” He smiled over at her and shook his head. It was a simple gesture that had her deflating some. Tony was going to tell her that he never really talked much in the morning to anyone, but that wasn’t the truth. In fact, on the mornings thathis grandfather came into the bakery to check on them, he talked his Nonno’s ear off.

“I just need some coffee, and I should be fine,” he lied. Coffee wasn’t going to help him come up with something clever to say. No, he was probably doomed to keep repeating their silent song and dance every morning until he either worked up the nerve to talk to Aurora, or she ended up leaving the bakery after getting sick of his shit.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” she challenged. “You don’t seem any more sociable after coffee.” Aurora huffed out her breath, put another tray of bagels in the industrial oven, and shut the door. “Listen, just forget that I said anything. Is Elio coming in this morning?” she asked. It had been a few weeks since his grandfather made his way into the bakery. He got the flu and then, walking pneumonia. His Nonno spent a lot of time in bed, resting and recovering, as per the doctor’s orders.

“I’m not sure if he feels one hundred percent still,” Tony said. “He has a doctor's appointment this afternoon, and hopefully, we’ll get some good news.”

“I’m going to cross all of my fingers and toes,” Aurora said. “Can you do me a favor and call me—you know, to give me an update?”

“Of course,” Tony agreed.

“Do you need my number?” Aurora asked. He didn’t want to tell her that he already had her number programmed into his cellphone. He put it in the day she applied for the job and even had a picture of her with her contact information. He had snuck a quick pick while she was decorating some cupcakes. It made him feel a bit creepy, but he just couldn’t help himself.

“Um, no,” he breathed. “I’m sure that my grandfather has it.”

“Don’t be silly,” she insisted. “Give me your phone.” He hesitated, not sure that he wanted to just hand over his phone to her. What if she saw her number and the picture he sneaked of her? That might send her running out of the bakery, and his poor grandfather would have to find someone else to hire.

“How about you just call me, and I’ll save your info,” he offered.

“Oh, sure,” she said. “I’m sorry that I was so pushy. Of course, you don’t want to just give me your phone. That’s your private property. Um, what’s your number?” she asked. Tony rattled off his number and pulled his phone from his pocket when it buzzed from her calling him. He sent the call to voicemail and pretended to type in her name which was already attached to her number in his contacts. Tony was careful not to show his screen to her and felt like a complete ass for not just telling her the truth. He liked her. Hell, he more than liked her, but he was too much of a chicken to tell her that. And there was the fact that he didn’t have time to add dating to his daily calendar—it was already too full for him to handle and there was no way that he’d do things half-assed with Aurora. She deserved someone who could give her their full attention, and that was just not him.

Aurora

Aurora was sure that Tony hated her. That had to be the case because every time she saw him he had some excuse to run off and do something in the back office or even have an errand to run. He avoided talking to her and having any type of conversation with him was painful. Aurora had thought about quitting a few times, but she loved her job. She loved Elio too, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to work around Tony and ignore her own feelings for him. Sooner or later, she’d burst and everything that she had been holding in would finally come out. Tony would surely hate her after that if he didn’t already.

She usually got to the bakery before Tony and his grandfather. Poor Elio had been so sick lately, she worried that he might never be able to come back to the bakery. That would leave her alone with Tony, and working with just him, day in and day out felt wrong. Elio had hired her behind Tony’s back, and she was sure that had to do with why he hated her. He didn’t seem pleased when his grandfather introduced her as their new employee. He told Elio that he didn’t need any help aroundthe bakery, even though his grandfather insisted that he did. Sometimes, when it was the three of them at the bakery, she felt like a third wheel. She’d even talked to Elio about Tony avoiding her and the sweet old man told her to give his grandson some time—but she knew that no amount of time would help her case. She was sure that there was nothing more that she could say or do to get Tony to accept her working there, or to like her. She was going to have to be resolved with being the outcast, and that usually worked for her. But there was something about the sexy, Italian boxer that had her wishing otherwise.

And now, he was standing in front of her, pretending that he didn’t already have her number in his phone. She had chanced a peek at his phone when he left it sitting in the kitchen to run back to the office. She found her phone number and a picture that she didn’t know that he had taken, listed in his contacts. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, it creeped her out, and on the other, she thought that it was super sweet. And if given the same opportunity, to sneak a picture of him and save it to her phone, she would.

Aurora was a natural-born snooper, or that’s what her father used to say. She loved looking at other people’s private things and when it came to gossip, she wanted to know everything. The old saying, “If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, come sit next to me,” was her favorite, and that’s exactly how she felt about gossip. It was a bad trait to have, and one that she didn’t like to tell many people about, so there was no way that she was going to confess to Tony that she knew that he already had her number in his phone.

It was kind of comical watching him pretend to type her information into his phone while she stood there. He did everything that he could to hide his phone screen from her, andher knowing smirk would have given him away, but that would mean that he had actually looked at her. Eye contact wasn’t Tony’s strong suit, and for such a big guy, he was sure shy when it came to talking to her.

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