Page 9 of Fighting Fate
With another rev of the bike that I hold a little longer, I watch the dots on my messenger flicker on and off until finally a contact card appears on my screen.
“Thank you!” I say, saluting towards the house as I pocket my phone again and head to the gym. I have a fight to ready for, and I know Willow won’t back down. No, that girl is wild, and she’s going to bite every chance she gets.
* * *
“Oh, come on!”Taylor grunts at the impact of my overhand punch on the punchbag he’s holding. “It’s fucking pathetic that an old man can take this shit.”
When I arrived, I thought he’d be gone. I was wrong, though. With his family back in Boston, he’s got nothing better to do than live at this place until we’re done with the launch and we’re home again. For a man in his sixties, Taylor can still take a good hit, and he’s not shy about taunting me with it.
“Get your head out of whatever fuck cloud you’re on. We both know Reznik is coming for your belts, and that bastard has it in him to take you down,” he taunts with the challenge we both know is coming from my Czech opponent. “Lukasz is younger and at his peak…”
He’s swinging the bag, moving it from side to side as I jab and kick, all minor moves as I glance down at my side where my phone is sitting on my towel along with my water bottle. I’ve been waiting for her reply for the last couple of hours.
Taking a step back to wipe my face, I’m focused on my phone and completely engrossed in my thoughts that I don’t see the bag swing at me until it’s too late and it hits me in the gut.
“Get your head where it needs to be, son,” Taylor says sternly, catching the bag as I scowl at him. “You told me you have at least one more fight in you, and we both know it’s coming. Reznik is coming, and if you don’t get your head out of your ass, he’s going to take the glory from you.”
“Who needs opponents with a coach like you?” I laugh, trying to ignore the twist of my gut at his severe words.
The thought of losing sets me on edge. I’m ready to go at the bag for another hour just to get rid of the tightness in my chest. The feeling coils around my muscles while I saunter in the direction of the changing rooms.
Taylor knows exactly how to get to me. He knows what makes me tick and how I operate. The things that push me to go harder and to focus. The only problem is that this distraction isn’t like any other.
Every pull of my muscle has my mind going back to last night and the way it felt to have Willow beneath me. Every move I’m making is spurred by my frustration at the certainty that she is going to be hard work. You can tell she’s a tough cookie just by looking at her, but she’s so defensive that in her plight to protect herself, she shows her vulnerability.
As I pick up my cell and dial her number, I wonder why she’s so guarded. No one becomes so standoffish the way she is without reason.
Just as she didn’t reply to my text, she ignores my call. It doesn’t stop me from dialling her number again, and again after she declines for the third and fourth time. Deciding to get cleaned up, I head for the office at the back of the building, where I’ve been living the last few weeks since I’ve been working with the launch team. The space is modern and bright, decorated in oranges and blues that match my branding.
After a hot shower and a call with the project manager setting up the press opportunities for next week, I dial Willow again. She’ll cave eventually. A part of me enjoys the challenge of wearing her down. In fact, the more she pushes back, the more this chase becomes a challenge, and I’ve never been one to turn a challenge down. It’s in my nature. It’s who I am. And it’s why I’m a champion.
“Seriously?” she answers on another try. The annoyance in her voice makes me smile victoriously. “Was the not-so-subtle hint that hard for you to—”
“Hello to you too, doll.”
Willow really is that pretty. She could be a porcelain doll with her fair skin and faint freckles, but her eyes are remarkable. A gorgeous shade of green with gold and sapphire flecks that draw you in.
“Wanna grab dinner?” I ask after a silent beat. It seems odd that she hasn’t sassed me back. We may not know each other all that well yet, but the time we’ve spent together was enough for me to know she’s not the quiet type.
“No.”
“Late lunch?”
“I don’t eat,” she replies with a grumble that’s followed by another girl’s laugh. “I don’t date. In fact, I’m not even into guys… Last night…” After a moment of pause, she releases a long exhale. “Last night was a blip. I told you…you got one night, and that’s it.”
“Hey,” I chuckle, tidying the paperwork on my desk before I grab my keys and head out of the door. “I said nothing about another night. I offered to buy you dinner. You’re the one that’s still got her head in the sheets.”
“All right, well, no. Thank you. Delete my number, and cheerio, champ.” Willow ends the call, and I pause on the pavement beside my bike, staring down at my phone and thinking of another way of contacting her while I swipe to her contact card.
Earlier I paid little mind to anything but her number, but with her email and address staring back at me, another plan forms in my head.
She doesn’t want me to call her? No problem.