8
Bobby
Twenty Questions
She’s so fucking cute.
She’s totally into me, and fuck if that doesn’t make me happy.
A blush burns from her shoulders to her ears, and although I find it to be the sexiest thing I’ve seen this year, and though I’d love to take her shirt off just to see how far it spreads, I show mercy and change the subject. “So, you’re a Trace fan, huh?”
Kit wipes her hand across her cheek as though to wipe away the blush. “Yeah.” She clears her throat. “I mean, she scares the crap out of me, but if she wasn’t so badass, she’d totally be my female fling.”
I want to impress her, I’d do anything to make her smile, so I pull out the big guns. “I’ve met her.”
Kit’s mouth opens and closes like a guppy fish. Finally, it’s my turn to surprise her. She smacks my thigh. “No fucking way?”
“I totally have.” I laugh and grab at my leg. I pretend to be wounded, but mostly I just want to catch her hand if she does it twice. “We’re not besties or anything, and she probably wouldn’t remember me, but yeah, Aiden scored all access passes to a fight last year, so I got to meet her. She’s actually really cool. And humble.”
“No way,” she repeats softly. “That’s so cool. I can’t believe you were at that fight. Can you believe they went right till the third round?”
“You watched it?” I mean, anyone can say they’re a fan, that fight was huge in the media, so she could easily pick up snippets without trying, but for her to have actually ordered the pay per view and watched it…
“Yeah, it was an amazing fight. The guys and I got a bunch of pizza and had a fun night watching–”
“Whoa up, woman.”Stop demanding! Demand more.“What guys?”
“Yeah, the guys…” She bites her lip to hold back a smirk. “You know, a typical Friday night at my house.” I narrow my eyes, which only breaks her composure. She laughs and bumps her shoulder against mine. “The guys, as in Jack, Michael, and Callum.”
“Jack, your brother. Michael, his whiny, bitch friend. Callum’s the third guy that rounds out Jack’s trio of assholes?”
Her laughter trails off, though her eyes continue to twinkle. “Yes, Callum is Jack’s friend. He’s actually a decent kid.”
Relief intoxicates me enough to make me laugh. “Okay, fine. I’ll be nice. So just you and those three, right? No other guys?”
She nods and studies my hand. “Yup. Just those three.”
“Alright. You can continue your story.”
“Gee, thanks.” She laughs. “So, Jack’s always been into watching the fights – which is how I knew training here was really important to him. After having him and the guys over for so many fight nights, I started paying attention, I learned stats, backed my favorites. I even made a bet once.” Her eyes twinkle with fun. “I lost my ten bucks, but the fun was totally worth the price of admission. Now it’s become tradition. We hang out, eat bad food, and argue over the results.”
She looks toward the younger guys as they practice their roundhouse kicks. Jack’s not nearly as uncoordinated as I expected. Tall guy who’s new, you expect a newborn giraffe, but he’s doing alright.
I watch her watch her brother for a long minute, but as each slap of the pads makes her twitch, I think about her on a personal level – and I don’t mean my attraction to the beautiful woman – but her relationship with the giant boy.
I hate myself for what I have to ask, I hate to take away her smile, but I need to do it. I need to know who’s in my gym, but even more potent, is my need to knowher. “I know we’re practically strangers, I don’t want to push you for information, but… since Jack’s in my gym…”
Sighing with defeat, she slumps against the wall. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“Why are you so involved with Jack’s day to day life?” I lean into her in a silent plea that she doesn’t close me out. “Don’t misunderstand me, I get he’s your brother… but why are you bringing him to a gym? Why are you paying his fees? Why are you hosting fight nights for him and his friends? Why are you so involved with getting his ass home when he’s busted for partying?”
She bites her plump bottom lip and watches Jack. “He lives with me now. He’s my responsibility.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Our mom died when we were really young.”
One lash across my heart for this girl missing her mom. “I’m really sorry to hear that. What about your dad?”