His eyes bug out of his head, and too late, I realize my mistake. “Bobby Kincaid? Holy shit, you’re Bobby Kincaid! Kit, Kit, Kit, Kit!” He grabs her arm like a giddy child. “It’s Bobby Kincaid!”
“Jack!” She attempts to shake his hand off, but when realization hits, she stops and turns to me with fresh eyes. “Huh?”
“Umm–”
“Bobby Kincaid! Reigning champion, national champion, state champion. Fuck, he was high school champion according to his Wiki page.”
She studies me with narrowed eyes. “You have a Wiki page?” Is this it? She’s gonna run because my world is too loud? “Holy shit. I mean, I knew your name, you told me at the club, but I didn’t… Holy shit! Of course you know Trace! You’re kinda famous, too. I heard them talking about you on TV. I never made the connection.”
“You two know each other?” Jack’s voice squeaks. “Like actually knew each other before today?”
“Yeah.” Her face burns red. “I met Bobby at 188 a few weeks ago.”
“OhmyfuckinggGod! You’re the guy from the parking lot? HOLY SHIT!”
Heads turn our way as the class make their way out of the room. “Okay, kid, cool it.” Time for him to pull his head in before he embarrasses his sister.More. “Head over and see Izzy. Get your paperwork started, we’ll be there soon.”
“Yessir.”
He instantly turns on his heel and bolts away from us, and delaying the inevitable, I slowly turn back to her. I’m waiting for her to ditch. I’m waiting for her to punch me in the face for not being completely honest up front.
“So… You’re kind of a big deal, huh?”
Deep breath. Don’t fuck this up. Make her smile. “Well yeah.” I wait for her eyes to meet mine. “I already told you I’m awesome. We had that whole conversation about me being humble…”
She grins. “Yeah, you did try and tell me. You didn’t mention the whole being famous thing, though.”
“I’m notthatfamous… You didn’t recognize me at the club.”Nope. That didn’t work.“Is that a problem for you? I’m not famous here. I’m just me. Then I go on TV a couple times a year and beat someone up.”
“Not a problem for me,” she says easily. “It’s none of my business what you do with your life.”
Well, that’s just bullshit. I want it to be her business. I want to be her business.
“So, you really weren’t joking when you said I should train?”
“No.” I step in and finger the hem of her tank top as Aiden herds the last of his class out and closes the heavy doors behind him. I’m buying him a drink tonight. “You being here, training, wearing teeny tiny little booty shorts – you know, if you were wondering about the dress code – I think it’d be great. But wear slacks until it’s just you and me in the room. No one else is allowed to look.” Her eyes darken as that plump lip gets stuck between her teeth. “Plus, it comes with the added benefit of you getting to spend more time with me.”
“Ha!” She pushes against my chest, but I don’t move. Instead, I trap her hand beneath mine. “I just love how down to earth and unaffected you are.”
“Well,” I twine her fingers between mine, “my mama taught me not to be conceited. She says it’s unattractive.”
“She’s pretty much right,” she giggles softly, “but somehow, you make it almost endearing.”
I can be endearing. I want to be endearing. “Yes.” When her head tilts in question, I clarify, “I really think you should train. It is a special kind of therapy and I swear, it’ll be good for you.”
“How many days a week would I need to commit?”
Seven! Spend seven days a week with me.“As many as you want. As many as you can. At least three…”
She bites her bottom lip in thought. “Okay. I guess I could fit in three, especially if Jack’s here, too. Then I won’t have to worry about what he’s up to.”
“Is he really that much trouble?”
She sighs and breaks the electric current sizzling between us. Stepping back, she turns to walk onto the red mats laid out on the floor. Anybody else, any other time, she’d be dressed down for walking on the mats in shoes. But not by me, not today. “He has been.” She walks up to a bag and taps it with her knuckles. “He’s been a lot of trouble, actually. The stress of this last year alone has me feeling like an old woman. It sucks being in my twenties and feeling like I’m a hundred.” She looks over and meets my eyes. “But he’s really starting to come around lately. Who knew grounding him and taking away all communication to the outside world would reset him?” She chuckles bitterly. “His shitty attitude is getting better. He’s studying and behaving in school. We’ve had no more sneak outs, nor has he been drinking or partying. I mean, I know one month of good behavior doesn’t make for a reformed kid, but it’s a good start.”
I watch her loop between the wall of bags. In and out, an unintentional seduction. “How do you ground him? He’s huge. Physically, you couldn’t stop him from anything he wanted to do.”
She stops and looks back at me with those popped dimples. “Ha, well don’t tell him that.” She shrugs and continues looping. “I guess hechoosesto do as he’s told. He bitches about it, but I think he likes the discipline and routine. My dad was a good man, but I think he was tired the last few years, which means Jack had free reign to do whatever he wanted. It was fun at the time, I’m sure, but all it really got him was bitterness and a giant chip on his shoulder. I see that chip slowly shrinking now.”