“Not professionally, but I’ve done pretty well in the unofficial circuit,” I answer confidently.
His smirk tells me he knows exactly what I mean. It’s kind of like saying a homemaker is a domestic engineer. It’s the same fucking thing – only the title makes the job sound more appealing. I know this, he knows it, but I’m sticking with my version of it. I would never show anyone that I’m ashamed of it, ashamed that I haven’t made more of myself in all of my 26 years. And I’m not about to start in front ofthisman, either.
After what feels like a damn eternity, but really was probably less than a minute, our staring contest comes to an end when Mack nods. I hope it’s an approving nod but either way, I’m not leaving here without accomplishing what I set out to do. I will become a professional fighter. I think he sees the determination and complete resolve in my eyes.
Mack holds his gaze directly on mine, his challenge to me is clearly being set. His normally deep voice seems to boom even more as he says, “All right then. Let’s see what you got, kid. Andi, check him out for me – put him through the usual and see if he can hang with the big boys.”
I look over and see the girl of my dreams – both when I’m awake and asleep – is still standing beside me and now she’s looking at me completely different than just a few minutes ago. Another man is standing beside her, eying me in much the same way Mack was doing as he was sizing me up. He looks like an assistant trainer with his sleeveless t-shirt, sweat pants and gym shoes. He’s muscular but not buff like the other fighters in here.
I turn to fully face him and start to speak, “So, Andy, I guess-,“ when my beautiful little vixen suddenly cuts me off.
“Um, Lucas, right?”
I flash her my killer smile, the one that always has the girls falling at my feet. “Just a minute, sweetheart. Let me finish with Andy here and then I’m all yours.”
She smiles back at me, but it’s not the smile I’m expecting. Her smile makes me think of the cat who has a fool-proof plan to eat the canary…….but the canary has no clue the cat is even around. It’s a shit-eating grin that frankly would make me a little nervous if I wasn’t so aware of all the manly men watching me right now.
I turn back to Andy and finish, “So, Andy, as I was saying, I’m ready when you are.”
The guy smiles back at me, “I’m Tom.Sheis Andi,” he says as he gestures towards my little vixen, who is still giving me the same shit-eating grin.Well, isn’t that just fucking great?
CHAPTER TWO
ANDI
I tried to stop him before he embarrassed himself, but when he so arrogantly dismissed me while smiling at me, I decided to let him open his mouth and insert his foot. Until he choked on it. I’m not even trying to contain my smile and satisfaction at this little triumph. I mean really – that smile he gave me? He might as well have patted me on the head while telling me to go back to the kitchen and fix him a sandwich.
He’s obviously used to silly girls dropping their panties as soon as he flashes them that smile that he immediately thought it would work on me. That’s more than a little insulting since he doesn’t know shit about me. A guy like that is more than a turn off to me – I like a man who is confident but not stuck on himself. And he is definitely stuck on himself. I might just have more than a little fun with this one.
“Lucas, right?” I ask again, not hiding the contempt in my voice at having to ask him the same question twice.
“Yes – but you can call me Luke,” he replies, but this time with much more humility and without the fall-on-your-knees smile.
He’s almost somber, as if his blunder will cost him more than a temporarily bruised ego. It is in this moment that I realize – his dream is in my hands and he knows it. This is actually very humbling for me because I don’t take this part of my job here lightly. There’s a different fleeting emotion in his eyes that I can’t quite place before it’s quickly masked, but I know better than to mess with his head right now.
I hold out my hand, palm up, as I say, “Give me your hand.” He gives me a skeptical look for a few seconds, as if he’s weighing whether or not I’m serious, so I raise my eyebrows and incline my head towards his hands, silently giving him the command again. He raises one hand and I cover it with both of mine.
While holding his hand, my fingers glide over callouses that are on his palm and fingers. I feel every ridge and bump. I feel of each finger individually – my thumb and index finger gently stroke each knuckle. I then move to the back of his hand and feel each knuckle there before moving on to every bone in his hand. I hold his hand and move his wrist in a circular motion, testing mobility and feeling for any tension or resistance.
Before I finish the first hand, I hear his breathing become heavier and faster. I can see the quickening rise and fall of his massive chest as I take my time with his hand. He takes a half-step closer to me and now he’s towering over me. I can feel his hot breath and his all-male scent envelops me. I’m not short by any means but I’m not super-model tall either. I’m just the average 5-foot-5-inch female. He’s a couple of inches over 6-foot, with wide shoulders, muscular arms, trim waist and muscular legs. And not an ounce of fat anywhere I can see with him wearing this tank top and shorts.
The hands and wrists of a fighter are important – any weaknesses in them could mean the difference between a win and a career-ending loss. The fact that my touch is turning him on is just a plus that I hadn’t intended and I really have to focus to keep from enjoying it too much myself. Right now, I’m pretty sure I have ADD because I can’t keep my mind where it’s supposed to be. And that’s even more obvious since I didn’t even notice William approaching us from the other side of the gym until he was almost touching my arm.
Luke’s smooth voice is low but it still startles me when he says, “You have a great voice. I liked watching you on stage last night.”
I can feel the warmth spread to my cheeks and I know I’m blushing. For one thing, I jumped a little when he spoke, but the main reason I’m blushing was the way he said it. He knew I was looking at him, singing to him, last night. I didn’t have a clue who he was and with the lights pointed at the stage, I couldn’t even see him that well. But I saw his eyes well enough and they were glued to mine just like they were earlier today. I considered approaching him after my song was over but I chickened out. I’m not into one-night stands and any girl who leaves a club with a guy knows that’s all it will ever really be.
I finally find my voice after the heat in my face starts to fade. I smile at him and respond, “Thanks. It took me a few minutes to realize that you’re the guy I saw there last night. Those stage lightssort of blind you, but I recognized your eyes.”
William Lancaster is a big guy and has been coming to Mack’s gym for several years. He’s not really interested in being the next big name in boxing but he does enjoy sparring with the others. His muscles aren’t cut and defined like most of the other guys in here, but make no mistake that the man is all muscle. He’s thick like a power lifter. I think he has a bit of a crush on me though he’s never made a move. It could be more of a protective big brother thing, I’m really not sure. But right now, one thing I am sure of is that he doesn’t like Luke.
“Andi,” William says with a deceptively calm voice, “why is this guy so close to you?” William is talking to me but his eyes are cutting through Luke like a hot knife through butter. I have to give Luke credit – he doesn’t move or show the slightest bit of fear. That’s actually pretty impressive because William is no less than daunting.
“It’s ok, Will. Pop asked me to check him out and I need to make sure his hands are ok before I put him on the bag or the speed ball.” I keep my voice calm and even because William will not hesitate to pounce on him if he hears the slightest tremor in my voice. He would take it as fear when I’m really just hyperaware of the intense feelings Luke stirs deep in my belly….and I mean low and deep.
Luke maintains eye contact with Will and even though I respect him for it, Will is a little like a wild animal in this sense. Eye contact is a direct challenge and he’s surprisingly fast for his size and thickness. I place one hand on Will’s arm, causing him to look at me and break the silent argument of which man has the most testosterone. I don’t do this to make Will “lose” this contest; I do this to save Luke without embarrassing him.
I give Will a sweet smile, truly meaning it because I know without a doubt he would protect me and I love him for it. “I’m ok, Will. Really. You know I’d tell you if I was uncomfortable.”
