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“Sure, it is. On Halloween.”
I held up my middle finger and grinned. “How much time do I have?”
His eyebrows shot up. “You’re coming willingly?”
“You did say you weren’t carrying me around anymore.”
He smirked, as he walked to the door. “You’ve got twenty minutes.” He swung the door open, and turned back to look at me. “You really think Charlotte will come around?”
I nodded. “I know she will.”
I closed the door behind him, and made a beeline for the shower. I scrubbed my face and body, without enough time to bother with my hair. I quickly changed into grey sweat pants and a matching hoodie. To say my eyes were puffy and red was an understatement, but with Tanner waiting outside, I had no time to fuss with my appearance.
In the passenger seat, I tapped out texts to Shelly and Tina, letting them know that I was alive. Tanner drove in silence, and I was grateful. Within five minutes, we had arrived, and he zipped into a spot.
When we stepped inside the gym, I was hit with the musty smell of sweat. There were dozens of punching bags hanging around the spacious room. To the left, large men grunted as they flipped over giant sized tires; to the right, muscular women took turns slapping thick ropes against the ground. My eyes finally settled on the caged-in ring that sat in the center of the gym.
Inside the ring were two men. The shorter of the two wore padded headgear, and a mouthpiece that made his lips protrude; he was wearing a t-shirt with the gym logo on the front. He was sweating profusely, and breathing heavy. Just by looking, I could tell that he was the one being trained.
The taller man, towering over his opponent, wore no headgear. His dark hair was buzzed on the sides, matching the stubble on his face, and longer on the top. He sported a scar over his left eyebrow. Tattoos covered every inch of his bare upper body, including one that twisted up onto the side of his neck. He looked every part the fighter, mean and tough, with the menacing muscles to match. As we got closer, I noticed how puffy and disfigured his ears were from being punched one too many times – they were the only imperfect things on him. He moved so fluidly around his opponent, it was almost graceful. I could not take my eyes off of him.
“That,” Tanner said, pointing, “is T.J.”
“That’s your coach?” I asked, slightly intimidated yet slightly intrigued.
“Yup. I’ll introduce you when he’s done.”
We waited at the bottom of the ring for him to finish. T.J. acknowledged Tanner with a nod as he swayed from side to side. He glared down at me with his piercing blue eyes, then smiled wide to reveal the words “FUCK YOU” scrolled across his mouth guard. I grinned, and he turned his attention back to his opponent, who was taking this time to catch his breath. The two circled each other for another minute, until the man in the shirt swung his fist.
T.J. stepped back, dodging the swing with ease. Then, he lunged forward, and tackled the man onto his back. They crashed into the floor of the ring with a loud thud. Every muscle in T.J.’s shredded body stretched and tensed as he unleashed a series of punches into the man’s abdomen. In the time it took me to blink, T.J. took hold of the man’s arm, spun around, and locked his arm in between his legs. The man furiously tapped T.J.’s leg, begging him to release his arm before it snapped in half.
My mouth was left half-open. I closed it when I noticed Tanner smiling at me.
“I knew you’d love this place,” he said, leaning in.
After helping the winded man up, T.J. shook his hand. He hopped out of the ring, and pulled his mouth piece out as he came down the stairs. My eyes were fixated on his tattoos, each one flowing into the other, as if they were telling a story.
“T.J. Cutler, this is Merritt Adams. Merritt, this is T.J., my coach.”
T.J. stuck his hand out. “Nice to meet you. I like your name.”
“Thanks. I like that Ninja Turtle spinny thing you did to that guy’s arm.”
He grinned, surprisingly revealing a full set of teeth. “That was called an arm bar, though I like Ninja Turtle spinny thing better.”
I smiled, and breathed a sigh of relief that he had a sense of humor.
Tanner placed his hand on my shoulder. “Take care of her, Teej. She’s stubborn, but she’s got fight in her.”
T.J. raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “More stubborn than you?”
Tanner grinned as he backed away. “She might take the cake.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I mean, I’m standing right here.”
T.J. gestured to the stairs leading into the ring. “Alright, Merritt Adams. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
My eyes widened. “We’re starting in there? Don’t you think that’s something we need to work up to?”
