Page 17 of Boxer Next Door

“Ken,” I said immediately. It wasn’t a secret, right?

She nodded. “Well, then. If you’re asking for advice, I’ve got it for you. Don’t take too long, just take what you want. But first, you have to decide what you want. Do you understand me?”

I nodded my head slowly. What I wanted from a man like Ken. A young man. A very hot, steamy, young man. I imagined it was the same as most of the female population would want if they could lay eyes on him.

“I want him to want me,” I said out loud. Annara paused eating, and it made me feel a little self-conscious. But I didn’t shut up. “I want him to ask me to his bed, to ask to do fun and sexy things to me. So maybe if he offered, I wouldn’t have to be so fucking shy like a teenager and I can just… go with the flow.”

Even as I said it, though, I didn’t think it would amount to anything. If it ever did happen… I’d probably agree to it because it wasn’t like I could get a chance this great again. If Ken could keep quiet and had himself under control, then just maybe.

Maybe, I would consider it.

8

Kenji

I looked around the room, studying and admiring. All of this was now mine. There was still work to be done at home, but this was something I couldn’t neglect, either. This was where I’d put in most of my cash after getting the house. Some new place to live wasn’t enough to make me move.

“The equipment looks good,” I said to myself as I walked around. “Now I just have to keep it up. Maintenance can be such a bitch…”

I was looking through the equipment and layout of my new school, or studio. I wasn’t sure what to call it yet. Or I could name it a club instead of a school. I wasn’t sure which was the best name, and my vision for what I wanted kept changing, so I’d kept putting off the decision. It was something simple, but also something that meant a lot to me, so I wasn’t just going to pick something on a whim.

Mom and Dad would probably be proud if they saw this, I said to myself. Shit.

The relationship between my parents and me was incredibly shaky. Still, there were a few things I’d managed to pick up from them. I liked to think I’d inherited a little bit of their craziness.

This boxing school/studio/club was one of them.

Still, I hadn’t been able to get in touch with them. They were probably on some mountain somewhere, doing whatever it was they did outdoors that was so interesting they kept doing it several times a year.

I sat down on a bench and tested its strength, then squirmed around a little, to be sure the supports were set right. If someone had to sit down on a bench to lift some weights or barbells, the worst thing that could happen was that the bench turned out to be wobbly.

Once I was satisfied, I got up.

The room was large, and while I hadn't gotten it cheap, it was still cheaper than what I’d paid for the house. One side of it was set up almost like a gym, with a bunch of weight lifting and exercising equipment. The other side of it was purely a boxing set up, with some handbags hung up, a few other things thrown here and there. I was thinking of setting up a boxing ring, but for the moment, I’d left it out of the plans.

I glanced at the door, frowning. Where are those people?

I was waiting for a crew to come in from the telephone company to do some installations. I’d specifically stopped working at home so I could be here while doing a last minute check, and these guys were taking way too long. I’d been waiting for an hour already, and they’d got me out of the house pretty damn early to begin with.

Even with all the work at the house, I didn’t spend all day at home working, like a lot of people probably thought. Sometimes I’d take a break from fixing the place up to come and set up the studio.

“I should be able to open it soon. I’m probably going to need to do some advertising, and I don’t know how long I want to keep this up to myself. But I do need that phone…”

As if in reply to my words, there was a knock on the door. I sighed in relief as I headed for it, opening it to find a couple of guys in uniform.

“You guys took your time,” I reprimanded lightly. “Please come in. I’m in a hurry, so if you guys could set up as quickly as possible, I would appreciate it, thanks.”

“Sure, sir. We’re sorry for being late. We had a few other stops before we got here.”

I stepped to the side and both men walked in, another coming in behind them with the equipment they’d need for the installations. I left them to their work because I doubted hovering would help them go any faster. Instead, I went back to check the equipment.

“Damn,” I muttered, going back to the bench.

It had been half an hour, I was done with the inspection, but they still weren’t done yet. So I relaxed and looked around the room once more, feeling my mouth turn up at the corners in a smile.

I wouldn’t have had this place if I hadn't received a small inheritance from a distant aunt. She wasn’t someone I’d met all that often in life. She was my mom’s oldest sister, and for a time when I was a kid and my parents still wanted to move around, but I was too young to be going with them, I stayed with my aunt. Of course, I didn’t remember much from that time in my life, but I’d met her a few times after that. She was probably the closest relative I had since my dad’s family refused to have anything to do with him, or with me, because of his lifestyle choices.

The money had been a godsend. I’d been moving around feeling listless at the time, not knowing what to do with my life. With a failed relationship, a failed career, and a somewhat strained relationship with my family, I felt I was at the end of the line. When I got the news that the money had been left to me, I’d started thinking up plans.