In one day with Mack and Andi, I’ve learned more about best practices, techniques and strategies than in all my years of street fighting combined. The exercise program she designed for me is pure genius. I’m already pretty damn buff, if I do say so myself, but her regimen just amped up my routine to the max. I can’t wait to see what else I learn from this great group of people who just openly took me in today.
Even Will the Giant seems to be warming up to me, but that may be because I’ve kept more than three inches distance from Andi for the last several hours. But now I’m watching some pretty-boy manhandle her and I don’t like it one bit. He wrapped his arms around her from behind as she was saying goodbye to Mack. She didn’t even know he’d come up behind her. I looked around at a couple of the other guys and they had an amused smirk on their face but no one looked surprised.
Pretty-boy flipped her upside down and just walked off across the damn gym with her laughing, screaming and calling him every name in the book. When he put her down, she turned on him and I half expected her to lay into him for touching her like that. But imagine my surprise when she flew into his arms instead. His arms wrapped around her waist and crushed her to him and there’s no doubt she liked it.
The sight of Andi in Pretty-boy’s embrace has me seeing red. I don’t even realize my feet are moving fast in their direction, my strides quickly eating up the space between us, the space where Pretty-boy carried her away from me. My eyes never leave them as they continue their embrace and her bright, honest smile aimed at him is like a dagger in my chest. Andi meest my gaze and I see a flicker of something that looks like a mixture of guilt and a brief glint of fear.
Gently, Andi pulls back from his embrace and keeps that sweet smile on her face. His back is to me and he doesn’t know I’m coming up behind him. Andi takes a step to the side and extends her hand towards me, “Shane, let me introduce you to someone.”
Pretty-boy Shane follows Andi’s gaze and outstretched arm as he turns fully to face me. Andi’s voice still sounds happy as she introduces us, “Shane, this is Luke Woods. He just started with us today but he has an impressive background of fights. Luke, this is Shane Fowler. Shane is in line to be the next light-heavyweight champion and for all intents and purposes, he’s my brother. Pop pretty much adopted us both when we were teenagers.”
Shane extends his hand to shake mine as he smiles, “How ya doing, Luke? Welcome to the family, bro!”
If he noticed how I was charging towards him and Andi, or how red with fury my face must be, he has the good nature of not mentioning it. I extend my hand and shake his, noting a firm grip but nothing in it is threatening.
“Thanks, Shane. I appreciate that. Good to meet you.”
My eyes flick to Andi and I see her visibly exhale a really long breath. She must have been holding it while she waited to see what I’d do. Shit, I feel like such a dumbass right now. The guy’s like a brother to her and I just made a complete fool of myself over a girl who isn’t even mine.What the fuck is wrong with me? Maybe I need to go back to the club tonight and find a hot barfly to ease some of my tension before I go off on the wrong person. Like Shane – the guy who’s favored to be the next light-heavyweight champion.
I can feel Andi staring at me, and she expects me to look at her, but I just can’t make myself do it. I know she deserves better than this from me but I can barely keep myself in control around her. That’s pretty obvious from everything’s that went down today. But the vision of her in another man’s arms is still fresh in my mind and I can’t seem to shake how much I hated seeing that.
I’m cool with Shane now after she said he’s basically her brother but this jealousy thing is new to me. I don’t get jealous over girls. They get jealous over me. They cry, beg, threaten - hell, even fight each other over me – but I’ve never reacted to any of them like I just did with Andi. And I don’t like it at all. I don’t like someone else having that kind of control over me so it’s best to stop this attraction now before it gets out of hand.
After another half-hour of getting to know Shane and hearing all about the intense conditioning camp he just finished, Andi finally says goodbye to everyone again. She gave up on trying to get my attention a while ago. When she turns to pick up her stuff, I finally look at her again and I feel like such a dick.
From her profile, I can see her confusion etched in her beautiful face and she has a sad look about her that hasn’t been there at any other point during the day. I silently swear at myself because I know I did that to her.
She saw me coming for Shane and she moved quickly to save me from my own actions again. She’s almost to the door when I finally call out to her, “Andi!” But she keeps going like she didn’t hear me.
Shane’s big hand claps me on the shoulder, “Hey man – why don’t you come out with us tonight? Several of us guys are going to The Beta Room. Andi will be there, too.”
“Sure – sounds fun. She go there with her boyfriend?” I incline my chin towards the door Andi just left, indicating I’m asking about her. I’m trying to be as nonchalant as possible but I know I’m transparent as hell.
“Nah, man, she doesn’t have a boyfriend. She’ll be there with her girlfriends. If you’re looking to hook up with someone for the night, most of her friends are pretty hot.” Shane sounds casual but his eyes are hard as steel. The message is loud and clear –hook up with her friends but don’t even think about Andi.
“You got something going on with Andi, man?” I give my best smile and keep any emotion out of my voice. Just two guys chatting here – nothing to see.
Shane’s laugh has no humor in it, “No, Luke, nothing like that. She really is like my sister – we practically grew up together under Mack’s guidance. And as her only brother, there’s absolutelynothingI wouldn’t do to protect her. From anyone.”
Shane’s hard eyes pin me to the wall and he knows it. He knows I’m somewhat interested and he’s letting me know we will have no problem as long as I leave Andi alone.
“Plenty of guys try to pick her up every weekend at the club. She goes to have fun with her friends, have a few drinks and laughs, and she loves to sing karaoke. She’s great at it, too. But she’s not a one-night stand kind of girl and I’m not about to let anyone take advantage of her. She’s too good of a person for that. She deserves better.”
“What if that’s what she wants? A one-night, no strings attached, good fuck?”
Shane’s scowl increases as the timbre of his voice deepens, “Shedoesn’twant that. At all. And anyone who wants that with her will have to get through me first. And I can guarantee you one thing – no man who would treat her like that will ever get through me.”
I give him a single nod and say, “You’re a good brother, Shane.”And I am a complete shithead.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANDI
I’m sitting in the club with my girlfriends Christina, Tania and Katie, and we’re on our third round of drinks. Christina leaves the table for a few minutes and has two rounds of tequila shots for all of us when she returns. I’ve just finished telling them about my confusing day with Luke and the shitty way it ended when I left the gym. Or I should say, the shitty way he ended our day.
Yeah, I heard him call for me when I was walking out the door, but that’s just it. He waited until that exact moment and I know he counted on me either not hearing or not caring that he yelled my name. And he was right – by that time, I wouldn’t have turned around for him for anything in the world. So, knowing how pissed off I am at him and how much that is so unlike me to care enough about any man to even get pissed off, my girlfriends have decided I mustsecretlylike him.
I vehemently disagreed with them on that assumption. There’s no way it’s asecret. And that royally pisses me off, too.
