by Kent, Julia
The trainer strides up like a drill sergeant. “Back to work. Twenty lengths of the mat, squat to side kicks.”
“Let’s go,” Colt says. He takes my hand and everything goes warm. He leads me over to the long length of blue floor mat on the far side of the ring. “Do what I do.”
He steps in front of me, legs wide, and drops down low. His thigh muscles bulge. I’m so distracted by this that when he leans for a side kick, I still haven’t moved.
The trainer looks disgusted. “Keep moving,” he says to Colt. To me, he says, “Get low, weight in your heels. When you come up, explode from the hip into the kick.”
I do what he says.
“Good,” he says. “Watch your form. Go.”
Colt is already halfway down the mat. I don’t try to catch up, just follow his lead. He arrives at the end and begins his return. He smiles over his shoulder when we pass.
I’m dying. By the end of the mat, my butt is screaming for mercy. My leg is barely getting two feet off the ground. I start the way back. Colt catches up, finishes the length, and laps me.
When I make it to the end, the trainer says, “Eighteen more to go.” I can see the smirk in his eyes.
I start the second round. It’s actually a little easier to keep momentum, so I speed up. The trainer yells, “Form! Height! Explode!” But I pretend that it is for Colt and ignore him.
There’s no way I’ll make it to twenty. By the time Colt finishes his rounds, I’m only halfway through. He watches for a minute, and I flood with embarrassment. But he just nods in encouragement and puts on the gloves his trainer hands him.
They disappear on the other side of the ring, where the bags are. I keep going as best I can. My legs are wobbly now, and every once in a while I feel a burst of lightheadedness, like I might faint. Some tough fighter I’m turning out to be. I clamp my jaw and force myself to get through it.
When I finally get to twenty, I no longer care what anyone thinks. I flop to the ground. My legs quiver, refusing to lie still.
Colt has moved into the ring. His shirt and shoes are off. He pushes against the mesh wall above me. “Good work, rookie,” he says. “Go do some speed reps.”
I groan. I can’t even get up. I close my eyes. After a second, I feel water splattering on my face. I sit up with a start. Brittany laughs. “Tough first day?” She holds a water bottle at an angle, like she’s about to do it again.
She tosses a pair of slender black gloves in my lap. “It ain’t over yet.” She flounces away.
Is she going to be in here too? I put on the gloves slowly, to buy a little more recovery time. Colt is back to pounding the pads the trainer is holding. He moves around the ring, his feet never still.
I have to roll to my knees and use my arms to help me stand. It hits me just how far I have to go.
The speed bag is a relief compared to the squats. I begin to relax. Working out in the same room with Colt makes me feel like we’re connected.
“Lunch,” the trainer says. “I’ll go pick it up.”
“I’ll go with you,” Brittany says. “Yesterday’s was crap. I want to see what choices they have.”
“Back in twenty,” the trainer says to Colt. “Do some bag work.”
He doesn’t acknowledge me. I keep the bag going, glad I’ve been practicing.
When we’re alone in the addition, Colt opens the cage. “Come on up here,” he says.
I stop the speed bag. My heart is in my throat. I walk over to the steps, but when I try to go up the first one, my leg gives out.
Colt reaches down to catch my arm. “I can’t believe you did them all.”
I feel humiliated that I can barely get up the steps. I clutch his arm as I make my way. “I generally do what I’m told,” I say.
“Do you, now?” His voice has taken on that sexy rumble.
Suddenly I can’t breathe. He’s close, his skin covered with a light sheen of sweat. I know there are people on the other side of the accordion door, but right now, we’re very much alone.
Chapter 8
I lean against the mesh of the cage. “What did you want to do up here?” I ask.
“Something like this,” he says, and he leans in.
When his lips brush against mine, I ignite. After a day without him, I feel desperate. My arms go right around him to press in close.
His reaction is almost instant between us, a sudden hard bulge against my belly. I am shocked at how easy it comes. His mouth isn’t gentle now, and he strips off his gloves behind my back. They drop to the floor.
Now his hands are on my hips, driving us together. My legs start to give so he lifts me, drawing my knees around him. I’m straddling him in midair. He rocks against me. I can feel every solid inch through my sweats. I can follow his rhythm, how the thrusts would go if this were for real. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if he were inside me. But the rub against my sensitive parts is excruciating. I want it harder, I want it connected.
I do something I’ve never done in my whole life and reach down to touch him. My hand snakes between us. I can’t do much in the gloves, but I straighten him so he’s up and down, and the contact is more direct.
He groans against my mouth and breaks the kiss. His breathing is fast against my neck.
Now he’s sliding the full length against me, lifting and lowering my body. He steps up to the wall of the cage and pushes me against one of the padded poles. This frees up one hand to snake beneath my shirt.
When his fingers graze my bare skin, I lurch against him. I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to feel this way. If only I had known. Every part of me is completely on fire.
Each touch is electric. His thumb crosses a nipple on the outside of my bra, and I jump again. I grind against him, not caring about the burn in my thighs. It’s nothing compared to everything else.
I want more connection. More skin. I want his mouth on me. The need for release is intense. But I’m not sure there is even anything I could do to myself that would quench this. It will have to be him. I just don’t know how or where.
A lifetime of hiding is ending. I can’t help myself, but reach for the bottom of my shirt and whip it off. It’s nothing, really, showing the oversized athletic bra, no less than what the other girls wear every day. Colt knows what I’m after, and his mouth covers a breast, his breath hot even through the fabric. He lifts the cell phone out of his way and drops it on my shirt.
I’m dying. I want to completely forget everything I’ve ever been, and all that I’ve been afraid of. It doesn’t matter where we are. I want to do everything with this man. I don’t care about the risk, getting caught, any consequences. I want to touch him, really touch him. I strip the gloves off my hands. My fingers run through his hair as his teeth find a taut nipple, and my body responds again.
I memorize the feel of his corded neck, the bulge of his shoulders, and the flexed arms holding me against the cage. I want his mouth on me, right on me. I arch against him, hoping he’ll understand. And he does it, lifting the bottom edge of the bra. I’m exposed, completely at his mercy. When his lips close over my bare breast, it happens. I start to come.
Colt feels that shudder in me. He knows what it is, and drives his hips against me. Even through the shifting fabric of my sweats, the hard length of him in spandex fighting shorts slides just the right way, triggering another cascade of pleasure. His mouth tugs at my nipple, and now it’s unstoppable. The shock waves cascade through me, and all I can do is hang on. I bury my face in the crook of my elbow to avoid crying out. He holds me until it starts to subside.
I’m shocked at myself. I can’t believe I’ve just done this. The cool air chills my damp breast, and I shiver. Colt presses me tight against him. We breathe together. I’m not sure what to feel. Ashamed, maybe, that I was so brazen. Desperate, too, because I need him like nothing else I’ve ever felt. Is he weirded out? I don’t seem to have pushed him to where he wants to take it all the way. At least not here, where anyone can walk in
.
He lets my legs come down. I stand a little unsteadily. He tugs my bra back into position.
I can’t look him in the face, so I lean my forehead on his chest. His arms stay around me.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” he says.
I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.
When I don’t speak, he lifts my chin. His eyes are shining happy. “I am going to fall so hard for you.”
I realize that I already have.
The accordion door bangs open. “Break it up, lovebirds!” Brittany calls out. “You have spectators.”
I scramble for my shirt. Colt turns his back to the mesh to block their view of me as I yank it on. I reach for my gloves, and when I stand, he’s still watching me. “Have lunch with us?” he asks.
I shake my head. I don’t feel ready to be around other people. “I should do some work,” I say.
Colt reaches for my phone and hands it to me. “I like knowing where this is,” he says, and the sexiness in his voice sends another spark through me. “Expect some really hot messages direct to your skin.”
I swallow hard. I’m not able to say the words, but I definitely can’t wait.
Chapter 9
Colt’s training gets increasingly intense. His manager has scheduled a secret match for Saturday. Colt hasn’t been in the ring since he canceled the title fight, and everyone is on edge. After getting caught with me in the cage, nobody lets him be alone for even five minutes.
It’s like I’m some sort of threat.
But Colt doesn’t think so. He sends me text messages throughout the day. Sometimes they are just little notes of encouragement about my progress during workouts. Sometimes they are hard core, about my body, his need for me. Things he’d like to do. He just can’t get away to do them right now.
When I think back on the pizza night, it seems like a faraway dream. Something is happening between us, but I’m not allowed any chance to get him alone. He’s at the gym long after Buster escorts me out. There are no more moments like the one in the ring.
I want so much more, but I don’t know how to get it. Maybe Colt doesn’t either right now.
Normally I work even on Saturday, but Buster tells me to take the day off. Everyone’s anxious about the match.
“You going?” Brent asks me as I leave on Friday.
“I don’t know,” I say. My heart starts hammering. Brent doesn’t realize I’m not supposed to know about it. “Are you?”
“Heck, yeah. The whole gym is shut down for it.”
Maybe that’s why I got the day off. “Is it here?” I ask.
I try to be nonchalant about the fact that I don’t know where the fight is. I overheard some discussion of it, but if the trainer or one of the sparring partners talked about the location with me around, they got silenced by Brittany.
Brent cocks his head in surprise. “I thought you would have known. It’s over at the Herd, some street-fighting club. Colt bought it out for the night. Only the privileged few get in.” He elbows me. “That includes us.”
Brent takes off across the gym like the matter is settled, and I’m going. But I’m not sure if Colt wants me there. He hasn’t asked me. And Brittany has definitely tried to avoid me knowing about it.
But now I wonder if I can sneak in. Thanks to Brent, I know where the match will be held. I’m not afraid of Brittany.
But Colt. If he doesn’t want me, maybe I shouldn’t go.
I pull out my phone and hold it in my hand. It’s so simple. Just send a quick message to Colt asking if I should come. I start to type it.
But I can’t hit send.
I don’t know what is happening between us. It’s something amazing, I know that. But I don’t understand how I fit into his life. Maybe I’m supposed to remain a secret. Maybe I will throw him off at the fight if I go.
I head out into the chilly evening and walk over to the cafe where Zero works. He’ll be off in half an hour. Maybe we can come up with some sort of plan.
I slide into a booth, realizing I can actually pay for a meal if I want to. I know my next paycheck will cover rent. I still have a little left from the last one. High cotton, my grandma would have called it. I think for a second about her necklace. If only I could have held on to it.
The place is pretty busy. By the time Zero can come by to talk, he’s almost off. “Need me to bring you something before I clock out?” he asks.
I shake my head. I’m trying to eat more like Colt does. I can’t afford the fancy supplements or personalized meals, but I get the general idea. Greasy cafe food isn’t on the menu.
When we walk outside, it’s fully dark. “So, still no alone time with fighter boy?” Zero asks.
“Nope.”
Zero puts on a pout. “Maybe this weekend?”
“Hopefully, if he wins the match.”
“So, are we going?” Zero’s face lights up with mischief. “I can whip up something devious to make us totally incognito.”
“Colt would have asked me if he wanted me.”
“Pshaw,” Zero says. “He doesn’t even have to know.”
“It’s a pretty secret gig,” I say.
“Jo Jo knows a way!” he says. “I can tell!”
We cross the street. We’re heading to his place, since his heat works better and he has cable. “Would it be too terrible to sneak in?” I ask.
Zero makes a little hop in the air. “Of course not! It’s proof of your undying devotion to get into his pants.”
I give him a light punch. “You’re terrible.”
Instead of watching movies, we make a plan. We use street view to examine all sides of the Herd. It’s two stories and used to be a factory.
“Tons of ways in,” Zero says. “You’ve got loading docks, a bazillion side doors.” He points at the brick wall. “There’s even outside fire escapes to the upper level.” He rubs his hands together. “It’s about time you got ME in a scrape instead of the other way around.”
So, the next night, we meet halfway between our apartments. I’ve gotten a slew of texts from Colt.
“Is he a total bundle of nerves?” Zero asks as he heads toward the Herd.
“Maybe. He wrote me more than usual.”
“Did you confess that you’re going?”
I shake my head. “Nope.” My nerves are strung tight, though. If Brittany sees me, she’ll throw me out. I could lose my job, again. And then there’s Colt. He could be disappointed. I could break the magic between us.
Now I’m nervous.
I stop walking. “I’ve changed my mind,” I say to Zero. “I can’t do it.”
He grabs my arm to keep me moving forward. “Yes, you can.”
“What if he hates me?”
“No man is going to hate a woman who dares defy the blonde bombshell to see him fight.” Zero turns me to him. “You can do this. I’ve never known you to run scared from anything.”
He’s got me there.
We can see the Herd from a couple blocks away. It’s taller than the buildings around it. A few homeless men huddle in the doorways. It’s cold for LA tonight.
“This part of town ain’t much better than ours,” Zero says.
A small crowd of guys jostle one another, spilling out over the curb. Zero and I look at each other, trying to decide whether to walk in the street or cut through them.
One of them looks at Zero and narrows his eyes. We’re both familiar with it, that stare that says, are you queer? We do what we always do, when danger trumps everything else. He clasps my hand in his and kisses my knuckles. I beam up at him like he’s my one great love. I’m probably a whole lot more convincing now than I used to be.
The guys part a little to let us through. We’re coming up on the Herd, so I slow down. Buster is in front of one door, bundled in a ski coat. I suddenly know exactly what to do.
I grab Zero’s arm and drag him around the corner before Buster spots us. I pull my scarf up over my nose and mouth so only my eyes show under my
hat. “Okay, I have an idea.”
We walk a block away and approach the building from the second side. It’s the front facade, where most people are expected to arrive. There, two burly guys are standing by a girl with a clipboard.
She’s wearing a sweat suit that reads BRITTANY THE BOMBSHELL on the back. Must be someone on her team helping out. I’ve never seen her before.
Zero elbows me. “Now what?”
“Let’s try the loading dock.” It makes sense to me that the least likely way in would be the one they would stick the lowest-level employee on.
Sure enough, Brent is sitting on the edge of the dock staring at his phone.
We cross the parking lot. He sees us approach and stands up, puffing with importance. I lower the scarf. “Hey, Brent!” I call out.
“You came!” he says, all smiles since he isn’t going to have to do anything unpleasant.
“Yeah, my friend Zero here talked me into it.”
Brent clasps Zero’s hand. “I saw you talking to the Man the other day. You know Colt?”
“We go way back,” Zero says, and I try to hold back my laugh.
“You convinced Jo to come?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Zero says. “Colt said to come in the back where everybody parked.”
Dang, he’s slick. I’ve totally underestimated him.
“Yeah, his dressing room is just inside, two doors down.” Brent pulls on the handle. “Might be doing some pre-match ritual or something, though. I’d check before going in.”
“How do you get to the ring?” I ask.
“It’s straight down. You can’t miss it,” Brent says.
I’m hoping to find a back way, some place we can go unseen. I don’t want to think about what will happen if we’re spotted by Brittany. Or Colt. My stomach turns over again. What if he sees me? Gets upset? Then loses?
I realize Brent is a liability. He knows I’m here. “Are you stuck out here the whole time?”
“Yeah, sucks,” he says.
I fake a lightness that I don’t feel and punch him in the arm. “I’m sure they knew you were the one to toss people out on their ass.”