A series of hands raised, and Buddy looked back at me.
“Line ‘em the fuck up.”
Syd
“What the hell am I doing?” I asked myself for at least the fortieth time, that night. No, wait, it wasn’t night. Looking at my watch, I realized it was nearing three o’clock in the morning.
My ass should be asleep. I should be in bed, resting to wake up the next day and go shopping with Luke’s sister-in-law, Grace, like I said I would. We were going to find something for me to wear to their opening, after Grace insisted I attend. That’s what I should’ve been doing. But what was I actually doing?
Pacing.
Like a dumbass, I stood in front of Luke’s hotel room door, pacing back and forth, waiting for him to arrive. I hated to admit that I’d been there for over an hour, like a damn neglected wife waiting for her cheating ass husband to arrive home. Or worse, a parent whose rebellious teenager snuck out late thinking no one would notice.
I loathed the idea and yet, I couldn’t move away from the door. I tried to force myself back to my own hotel room, to mind my business. Had even been successful on a few attempts, but then I just ended up walking in circles in my own room, and at every noise or person I heard in the hallway I peaked my head out to see if it was Luke. Around two a.m. was when I finally gave up and decided to pace outside his room, waiting.
Why was I waiting?
Good question.
I told myself it was because Luke was my trainee, it was my responsibility to ensure he kept on his strict diet and workout regimen to prepare for his next fight. However, that was nonsense and I didn’t even bother to try to convince myself it wasn’t. Luke had been fighting for most of his adult life. He knew what limits to push and not push to ensure he’d be able to train, I supposed.
No. The truthful reason I waited outside of Luke’s hotel room was because I was curious. More than curious, actually. I was driven by a need to know he was all right. He’d been quiet throughout most of our dinner with his brother.
At first, I thought it was because I’d intruded on his time with his brother and sister-in-law. But the more I thought about it, the more I recognized he’d been behaving this way even before this trip to Williamsport. Maybe that’s why I got on that plane to come here in the first place.
Honestly, the truth was that I didn’t want to admit why I was so concerned about Luke and what would make him stay out nearly all night, when we had an early morning workout session scheduled. I bit my bottom lip, thinking of the possibility he could’ve been out with a woman, and simply enjoying himself. That thought alone almost sent me back to my room with my tail between my legs.
Of course, that was the likeliest of answers. Luke was a good-looking man, a professional athlete who was in great shape. And a grade A asshole. Women flocked to men like him. Why wouldn’t he be out with a woman at this time of night?
That realization had my stomach sinking. There in that hallway, standing in front of his door, I had to admit to myself that somehow, I’d gone ahead and developed an attraction for the man I was supposed to be training.
Dumbass.
Yup. I couldn’t even refute that snarky voice in my head who called me names. I was a real fool for this one.
Yet, I continued to linger in front of his door, working up the dignity to turn my ass around and get back to my hotel room before anyone else saw me.
Then, just like that, the hotel’s elevator doors parted and Luke stepped off. Though his head was down, and I could only see his profile, I knew it was him. The way my heart rate picked up and the butterflies in my belly danced, my body knew who it was without seeing his actual face.
When he did lift his head and turned to look down the hallway toward his room, an involuntary gasp escaped my lips.
“What the hell happened?” I blurted out as he moved closer, the purple bruising around his eye and swelling becoming more evident.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” He barked, looking me up and down. “Dressed like that.”
I looked down, having forgotten I was out in the hallway, dressed in my light blue shorts and button up cotton pajama set. With my matching bootie slippers.
“Waiting on you,” I answered back almost as sharply.
“Why?”
He had the nerve to be angry. As if he hadn’t just come back to the hotel at three in the morning with a bruised face.
“Don’t answer that. Go back to your room, Syd,” he growled as he inserted the plastic keycard into his own room’s door, pushing himself inside.
I did the very opposite of what he’d wanted me to do, and charged inside after him, slamming the door shut behind us both. I didn’t give him a chance to remove the leather jacket he wore, as I charged over to the center of the suite’s living room, taking his right hand into the both of mine, lifting it to get a clear view.
I deepened my frown when I saw the swelling and bruising around his knuckles. I did the same with his left hand and it was the same there.
