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I felt my cheeks flush instantly. “I’m not hungover.”
“Bloodshot, baggy eyes,” he pointed at my face. “You look tired and weak. Plus, you’re sweating a lot.”
“Maybe I just sweat a lot.”
“Or maybe you drank until you puked.”
We stared into each other’s eyes, neither one of us wanting to break first.
He grinned. “Tanner is right. I see it in your eyes.”
“See what?”
“The fight. You’ve got passion inside of you. That’s only the first step.”
“Okay. So, what’s the second step?”
“You tell me.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one teaching me?”
“Think about it. What else do you need besides passion to do what I do?”
I chewed my lip as I thought. “I need to know how to fight.”
“Right. Over the next few months, I’ll be training you how to channel your anger – to hone your emotions. You’ll need to do two things, though.”
“Let me guess – you want me to tell you what those two things are?”
He crossed his arms over his bare chest, wearing an amused expression. “You catch on quick.”
“Okay, let me see,” I said, thinking aloud. “I need to be dedicated to your training.”
“That’s one.”
“I need to…” I looked around at everyone in the gym. “Build muscle?”
“Nope. You don’t need huge muscles to be a good fighter. This one is going to be a bit of a challenge for you: you need to trust me.”
I laughed once. “What makes you think that would be hard for me?”
“Call it a hunch.”
I put my hands on my hips. “What exactly did Tanner tell you about me?”
“He said you went through a lot of shit, and you needed help. I plan on getting the rest of your story from you.” He picked up the pad. “You’re going to tell me everything I need to know.”
I wondered what it was that he would need to know.
“Oh, and one other thing. Don’t ever show up here hungover again.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“If you feel like shit, you fight like shit. Plus, you look like shit.”
“What does it matter what I look like?” I asked defensively. “Maybe you don’t look so great yourself.”
“Of course I do.” He grinned as he smacked the pad several times. “Let’s go.”
