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I looked down at the business card with his handwriting scrolled on the back, pausing for just a minute before picking it up and looking at it closely. His office number, his personal number and his email. Something niggled at the back of my mind as I shoved the card into my jacket pocket, and I thought maybe the session helped, if only a little.
I nodded my head. I knew my family worried about me, especially now because of what happened. But if they showed any more concern I would suffocate. They needed to let me figure out my feelings on my own. I was back in Port James and under the watchful eye of my brothers, and I needed that to be enough for everyone.
I walked Dr. Van Sant to the door and offered a quiet goodbye. I was about to close the door when he turned around and said, “Maybe you should try to get out for a bit. Reconnect with some old friends.”
Knox’s face immediately came to mind.
“Maybe I will.”
I paced back and forth at the back entrance of Fitzgerald Boxing. The alley was small and there was garbage and random objects pieces of broken gym equipment leaned up against the old brick. I shouldn’t be here, I thought to myself for the umpteenth time. Back in Port James for less than a week and I was already looking for reasons to see Knox. How desperate was that?
Technically, I’m just doing what the good doctor suggested, I mused and cocked my head to the side, staring at the back door that would lead to his office. It was odd to think he was now running the gym, the big man on campus, the head honcho. But Fitzgerald Boxing had been the family business ever since his dad opened it back in the late eighties. It quickly became popular among Port James teens and eventually m
orphed into a sort of safe haven for at-risk youths. Knox and I used to spend hours there when we were in high school, talking to some of the other kids and trying to help them work through their problems.
I rolled my eyes thinking back on how proud we were, feeling like we were making a difference. It was so simple then. So easy.
Go inside.
Go home.
Go inside.
Jesus, I was getting a headache. Not giving myself another second to dwell on it, I pulled the heavy metal door and stepped inside. I could hear loud voices and the slapping of gloves on punching bags. Any more familiarity and I was afraid I’d permanently get stuck in the Twilight Zone.
I toyed with the zipper on my hoodie, tugging it down and then tugging it back up. I was standing just inside the door, craning my neck to see if my infinitely handsome ex boyfriend was in his office, but he wasn’t. All that was there with a desk with a laptop in the center of it and old photos hanging on the slate gray walls. A small door off to the side led to a private bathroom with a shower that looked like it had definitely been updated since I was last in the gym. There was a large sectional against the wall and it looked well worn and inviting. All of it felt so much like Knox that I could almost smell him.
“Hey, cut the shit,” an all too familiar voice spoke harshly. Always so bossy.
“Breathe,” I whispered to myself and walked down the short hall, tip toeing as I entered the main area of the large gym.
Knox was standing in one of the two rings with his back to me, scolding a boy that couldn’t be older than seventeen. “He isn’t your enemy,” he barked, pointing to a scrawny blonde boy with greasy hair. “Stop treating him like one. If you want to act like that then you can get the hell out of my gym because that isn’t how we do things around here.”
I took the time to admire him from behind. Clad in only a pair of black basketball shorts I took in the breadth of his naked shoulders and the way his back tapered down to a lean, strong waist. The veins in his forearms curved down to his wrists and he had a set of gloves on- sweet Jesus, Knox in boxing gloves was my weakness- and his shorts were riding low revealing back dimples I once adored.
Okay, I still adored them.
“Uh, boss…” Greasy Hair said and lifted a gloved hand in my direction. “I think someone’s here to see you.”
Knox turned to face me, and wow did I get an eyeful. He’d always been built, even when we were younger. John Fitzgerald, may he rest in peace, kept his son in shape and working out multiple times a week. Not that Knox cared, he pretty much lived at his father’s gym. But now his chest looked solid and his washboard stomach had my mouth watering. The v-line of his hips made me realize how low his shorts really were and I wondered-
“Hey,” Knox said with a knowing smirk. I was clearly busted. “Nice of you to stop by and check the place out, Abbs.”
His double entendre had me blushing and I looked down before taking a deep breath and looking back up at him.
“If you’re busy I can…” I trailed off and pointed towards the front door hinting that I could leave if it was a bad time.
He shook his head and shrugged out of the gloves, stepping out of the ring and walking over to me. Strength radiated off him and it was very obvious that he was in his element. “I was just getting ready to close up shop for the night,” he responded and turned to look at the boys who were watching us with rapt attention. “Guys, get cleaned up and head home. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow.”
I waited quietly while the boys gathered their belongings, hiding my smirk when Knox stepped in front of me after realizing Greasy Hair was checking me out.
“So,” he said after he locked the door and walked to his office. I sat down on the couch while he pulled a t-shirt over his head. “What brings you to Fitzgerald Boxing?”
“An old friend,” I said quietly as I leaned back against the suede cushions.
Knox checked me out. Not in a sexual way; it was as though he was trying to feel me out and see what was going through my head. He finally sat down at the edge of the couch and nodded. “You doing alright? You look like you haven’t slept in days.”
I could have lied to him. Hell, maybe I should have lied to him. I didn’t though. I almost felt obligated to be honest with Knox, not because I felt as though I owed him for leaving but because we’d always prided each other on being honest with each other. He was never just my boyfriend, once upon a time he was my best friend and confidant. “I feel like I haven’t slept in days,” I laughed. “Which is odd because Robbie’s house is probably the quietest place in Port James.”
