“Easy, lads!”
We stopped, turning to see that Hud was at the entrance to the gym, his hands on his hips, a look of incredulity on his face.
His booming voice was enough to knock us back into the moment, to make us realize what we were doing.
“There a reason you’re both trying to kill each other during what should be a fun sparring match?”
Pyke and I shared a look, one that made it clear we both realized at that moment that we’d gone too far.
“Get up, Pyke,”Hud demanded.
He did, standing up straight.
“Now, help Kid up, too.”
He did as he was directed and offered me his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me to my feet.
“You guys alright over there?”
Vic’s voice came from the far side of the gym. She’d been facing us as she ran on the treadmill, but as she pulled her AirPods out of her ears, it was clear she hadn’t been listening in.
“We’re fine,” I called out. “Just sparring.”
I knew that was a bit of a lie. The sparring had been more than that, an intense bout between the two of us that had gotten heated to the point where we’d been trading real blows. Who knows how much further it would’ve gone if Hud hadn’t been there to stop us.
Hud looked us over with narrowed eyes as if trying to decide how to handle the situation.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re heading upstairs. I’ll grab Ajax—we need to talk all this shite over.”
Pyke and I shared another look, then headed upstairs. Once in the kitchen, Pyke and I grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the fridge, guzzling them down as we waited for the other two guys to show up. It didn’t take long. Ajax and Hud returned, Ajax wearing an expression of concern on his face.
“What’s the story, boys?” he asked. “Hud tells me that you both nearly beat each other to death down there.”
“It wasn’t quite like that,” I said. “We were doing some hand-to-hand drills, and things got a little…intense.”
Pyke snorted. “Yeah, especially when you went in for that cheap shot to the gut.”
“Cheap? What the hell are you talking about? That was a perfectly legitimate hit.”
“Maybe, if you’re into rabbit punches.”
“You serious? Dude don’t get on my ass because you weren’t able to counter me. I mean, if you want to whine and act like it was my fault when you were just too damn slow to do anything about it…”
“Hey!” Pyke snarled. “That was a cheap shot, and you know it!”
I snorted, shaking my head. “Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Why don’t I come over there and show you what I mean?” Pyke asked. “Teach you a lesson about keeping your mouth shut,Kid.”
He took a step, but that was all he had a chance to do. Hud rushed to me, placing his hand against my chest and Ajax hurried over to Pyke, doing the same.
“Jesus, boys!” Ajax shouted. “You’re acting like a couple of idiot teenagers or some shit! Now, you two are going to apologize to one another for this out-of-line nonsense.”
Just like with Hud downstairs, Ajax’s words managed to snap Pyke and me out of our anger. I felt myself calming down, the fury fading.
“Sorry,” I said. “He’s right—we’re acting irrationally.”
Pyke formed his mouth into a hard line, looking away for several long seconds. I wondered if he actually was about to let it go.