"You're not going to strip off some weight?" Gavin asked.
Cameron shook his head and returned a challenging smile. "Nah, I'm going to keep mine on."
For a moment, Gavin paused. His head cocked to the side as if computing what Cameron was saying. His aqua blue eyes sized up his friend. Standing nearly as tall as Gavin, Cameron didn’t have Gavin's bulk but he did have speed, something Gavin knew firsthand from training with Cameron.
Ebony thought of the second time she had met Cameron years ago. He had shown up to one of their pool parties. Ethan had talked him into going around the party pushing everyone into the pool. He had tried to push her in but Ebony had seen their game and had caught him in a pretty standard joint lock.
Cameron had surprised her and reversed the entire move on her in a blink of an eye. She was still processing what he had done when the water swallowed her whole. Thankfully, Gavin had avenged her and simply lifted Cameron up and tossed him into the deep end.
Gavin grinned in satisfaction at Cameron as he stepped onto the scale. "Oh shit. You want to jump up a weight class," his voice brimming with excitement. "Does my precious son want to fight his sire?" he said, grabbing Cameron and pulling him into a headlock.
Cameron ducked out from under Gavin's hold with a laugh, his eyes briefly flicking to her where she stood now fully dressed in her white Dobok, using their distraction as an opportunity to dress.
"Okay," Gavin warned as he tilted his head left to right, stretching out his neck. "But I need you to speak loudly and clearly into a camera and explain to your coach why you won't be able to come to swim practice due to your impending coma."
Ebony rolled her eyes and turned away from the two. They could and would spend every second up until their match shit-talking one another. With her black belt tightened around her waist and her feet bare, she walked out into the main hall and immediately stopped at the sight in front of her.
The outside doors swung open, revealing a silhouette framed by the bright sunlight. Outlined sharply against the glaring light, she recognized the unmistakable shape of a cowboy hat and the lean, strong body it sat atop—Garrett Kreager. A longtime friendwho lived in the neighboring city Holter and a long-ago secret crush of hers. Garrett's eyes met hers, and a slow smirk spread across his face as he stepped into the hall.
Without hesitation Ebony stepped forward and hugged the giant cowboy. Although no one could ever tell by his face and overall demeanor, Garrett was actually only a year older than her but still a senior. Due to starting school late and his naturally older appearance he often confused people and especially fellow students.
Firm hands suddenly latched onto her waist and pulled her backwards. Ebony only flinched for a moment before the familiar warm scent of cologne alerted her to who it was.
Ebony tilted her head up to glare at Gavin. Gavin smiled meanly back at her. "You need to focus."
She pulled away from him as he turned to Garrett. Their gazes locked, intense and unyielding, the kind of stare only old rivals turned friends could understand. "Hey, but if you want a hug, I got one right here for you." Gavin opened his arms wide and stepped closer to Garrett.
Garrett's smirk turned into a sharp smile. "Touch me, and I will enter this tournament and beat you in front of your parents."
"Parents?" Gavin paused, dropping his arms.
Ebony turned to see the door open again, two people stepping through with the bright sunlight.
Just as the door closed, cutting off the light, her parents came into focus and Grant's glittering gaze settled onto his son's broad back. "All that training and you can't sense when someone is coming up behind you. I want my money back."
Gavin turned with a heavy sigh and eyed his father. "That’s why the hair on the back of my neck was standing up." He rubbed at the back of his neck and winkedat their mother.
Whitney Rosebank just smiled indulgently at her stepson before her eyes coolly settled onto Ebony. Ebony debated walking off and leaving them.
Grant wasn’t done. He leveled a look at Gavin. "Don’t worry, it's just your body realizing someone better and stronger has come onto the scene."
Ebony wanted to groan while next to her Cameron visibly perked up. Nothing made Cameron happier than having Grant Rosebank come to the occasional practice in his own all black Dobok and spar with his son. It was always a near brutal event but more importantly her father was always the victor. But a fight between the two hadn't happened in years although clearly Cameron and even Garrett judging by the lift of his brow was keen on seeing it again.
Gavin continued as if he hadn't heard his father’s dig. "Nope," he refuted. "It was seeing this goddess here. Hello, my one true parent, you look stunning as usual."
Doing her best not to roll her eyes, Ebony slid past Gavin and hugged her father around the waist. "Hi, Daddy."
Grant's thick arm settled protectively around her back and hugged her to his side. His cool blue eyes warmed as he looked down at her. "Hello, my love. Just know that everything goes to you after I'm gone." He threw a caustic look to his son.
Gavin's expression brightened. "Joke’s on you, we already discussed that plan. I'll have you know, I'll be her secretary."
"Secretary?" Her mother laughed.
Putting his arm around her shoulder, Gavin guided their mother down the hallway with Garrett trailing after them as he explained. "Yeah, she's a little outdated, but we'll work on that."
Grant watched his son and wife leave before turning to Cameron. "I saw you on the roster to fight Gavin."
It didn’t matter how many years Cameron had been friends with Gavin and hung out at their house, Cameron always managed to turn into a statue around her father.
