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Before long, some of the other fighters dragged Frankie away, leaving me and Bones alone.
“Are you enjoying your win?” I smiled at him, wanting him to stay with me now. He made me feel special, and I really didn’t want that to stop.
“I guess so.” He half shrugged back. “But honestly, going out and getting wasted really isn’t my thing. Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore.”
His feelings matched mine exactly, which caused me to blurt out the next statement without even thinking. “Do you want to get out of here? Do you want to go for a nice, quiet walk back to the gym instead? I have my car there and well…”
Shit, was I acting too forward? My pulse rate ripped right through me as I glanced up at him waiting for him to answer.
He glanced over at the others, who were getting louder by the minute, and nodded. “Sounds like a great idea. I would love to.”
I sneakily slipped my fingers through his, and I dragged him from the bar. I wasn’t sure if anyone saw us leaving, but I didn’t really care. This was worth fighting for. I was sure of it.
The walk back to the gym didn’t take long, and luckily for us, the Seattle skies stayed dry. Ballard wasn’t a bad neighborhood, but Frankie would be pissed I’d walked back without him, but then again, I had every intention of pissing Frankie off in more ways than one.
As I unlocked the door, I turned to him and smiled.
“Welcome to my kingdom,” I said, gesturing for him to enter.
I locked the door behind us and turned to face him. His eyes sparkled in the dim light, and I could feel the tension building between us.
“Wow,” Bones said as we stepped into the empty gym. “It’s so quiet, but there’s still a thick energy in the atmosphere. Do you stay here when it’s empty a lot?”
“Not always,” I said. “Whenever I’m behind on bills and paperwork, I guess. But usually this place stays pretty active. But this is my happy place. It’s where I feel most comfortable in the whole world.” I didn’t really know why I was telling him that, but I couldn’t seem to stop the truth from spilling past my lips.
“So,” Bones said as he shot me a killer grin, “do you know how to box? Have you ever been in the ring yourself?”
I smirked. “I could kick your ass.”
He laughed. “Really. That good, huh?”
“I learned by watching the best.”
“Did you ever go pro?” Bones asked.
“No. I don’t think my dad or even Frankie would have allowed it. They were always super protective of me as I grew up. And my father was always busy training someone else. I don’t really mind because it wasn’t something I really wanted. I really loved the business side of the gym. I always knew I would someday run the family business.”
Before I could even finish the sentence, Bones hopped into the ring and extended his hand for me to take and join him. I kicked off my heels, hiked up my skirt a little, and climbed between the ropes with my palm engulfed in his.
“Why don’t you show me what you got. Give me that ass kicking.” He laughed as he put up his fists and acted like he was ready to fight. “Teach me a thing or two.”
I smiled at him, distracted by the glimmer in his eyes for a second, and that caused me to miss seeing him throw a punch my way. I didn’t even realize that I was expected to dodge until Bones punched me in the shoulder, sending me flying backward.
“What the fuck!” I called out, tumbling to the ground. I grabbed onto my arm as Bones raced over to me.
“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry! I expected you to move out of the way or block me! I thought you said you knew how to box, and I was so slow and… stupid. Fuck! I’m sorry,” he apologized profusely as he knelt down and took my arm into his hand and began rubbing out the pain. “I was just trying to be playful, and instead, I fucking hit you! Shit, I really didn’t mean to…”
But as soon as he was close enough to me, I grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss. Sure, the hit from his fist no matter how half-hearted it was, stung somewhat, but I was faking for the most part to get him the hell over here with his lips inches from mine. If I hadn’t been thinking about those lips, I could have dodged the punch, but I didn’t care. This was so much more fun. I’d been wanting to kiss him again for a very long time now, and despite everything that should be warning me off of him, I couldn’t seem to help myself.
