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I got to Roy’s in twenty. Surprise, surprise, Tyler pulled up on his bike just as I did. Maybe he needed to hit some shit too.
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. Seeing Tyler brought a little brightness to my melancholy disposition. Like the grey fog dissipating on an overcast day at the beach, and the sun finally shines through, letting you know it’s going to be a beautiful day.
“Hey,” he greeted me. “You ready for some fun?”
I grunted my response but slipped into his arms without protest.
Tyler didn’t push for information. He didn’t try to get me to talk about what happened. He was just present. For me. Even though I loved his voice, I appreciated his silence. Right now, I couldn’t bear to get into the dreadful call we’d received.
Roy’s was crowded with people. Grunts, shouting, and expletives rang out. People were working out, lifting weights, practicing with coaches.
I walked with Tyler to set me up. He explained our course, and we worked in tandem, side by side, moving through the bags, punching, kicking. Twenty minutes later and we were dripping with sweat. I had thrown off my sweatshirt and shirt and was now only clad in my sports bra. I was at the end of the line, huffing. It felt good to get my aggression out.
“Fun, right?” Drops of sweat dotted his forehead, and trails on either side of his face trickled down. He swiped at them with the back of his wrists.
“This place is cool.” I took a look around again. It was an impressive space. There was a boxing ring, rows and rows of heavy bags like we had just finished with, speed bags, and areas for people to do other free form things like jump rope, shadow box, burpees, or whatever else they wanted.
“You wanna keep going? Or do something else?”
My eyes landed on heavy bags hanging on a nearby wall. These ones weren’t part of the course we’d just run through. “I want to beat the shit outta that bag.”
“Let’s go.”
I set myself up, getting ready to pummel this punching bag to living hell.
“You need some help?”
“No.” I didn’t need help to beat the crap out of this thing.
“Let me steady the bag for you. That way, you can really let loose.”
I shrugged, slapping my gloved hands together. “Yeah, sure.”
Tyler grabbed the bag and held it with both hands, his right leg cocked back and prepared for impact.
I lifted the corner of my mouth into a sly look. “All right.”
Tyler winked. “All right then.”
I held up my gloved hands in front of my face, under my chin. “Thanks,” I told him and let loose with a series of punches.
“Nice.” His compliment gave away his smile before his mouth did.
“Thanks,” I said and continued with another series of punches followed by a lead kick.
He leaned back just in time, my foot missing his face by a fraction of an inch.
“You got good moves.”
“I know.” He grunted a chuckle. “You should know too.” My wink was playful.
His bark of laughter made me smile. “I like that,” he said, still holding the bag.
“What?”
“Your confidence.”
“Oh yeah?” I leaned forward, placing my fists on top of his hands. I couldn’t feel his skin, but the heat between us permeated through my gloves, all the way up my arms and subsequently all the way down my body.
