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A laugh sounds from the other side of the gym, and my eyes follow it to find Luca, casually leaning against a wall and talking to Seb. And a sigh of annoyance escapes me. He’s been here for almost an hour now, since he gets off work before everyone else, and he hasn’t even changed into his fight shorts yet.
“Kick his ass,” Adão says with a wink, pulling a chuckle from me.
“Absolutely.”
As I head to the locker room, I bring my focus back to my plan to return to full-training mode. I’ve had this plan from day one of my time off, and I’ve remained focused on the steps I needed to get here, and the ones I’ll be taking now that I can return to striking. But what I haven’t done is allow myself to think about what it will feel like getting back into it. How I’ll finally feel whole again.
“You look determined,” Luca says as he falls into step beside me.
“I am.” I pull the locker room door open and let it hit him as I enter. “You should try it sometime.”
Luca gasps so loudly I can’t help but turn around, wondering if the door actually hurt him.
But he’s staring at me with his mouth open and his hand over his chest. “Tyler.” He slowly shakes his head. “That was witty. Nice one.”
I roll my eyes and turn towards my locker. “Fuck off.”
“Hm,” Luca hums, “not as strong. That one’s a little overused.”
I take in a deep breath and ignore him as I focus on getting changed. And thankfully he does the same.
“So,” Luca says, eventually breaking the silence, as usual. “We didn’t get to that dick sucking you promised me.”
I glance over my shoulder at him in his bright yellow fight shorts as he tosses his t-shirt in his locker. “I didn’t promise you anything.”
He walks over to me and leans against the locker beside me, crossing his arms. “Alright then. So no foreplay for this tussle. Afterplay it is. Is that a thing?” He stares off into the distance thoughtfully, with a slight nod. “It will be now.”
With yet another sigh, I grab my hand wraps and close my locker door, a familiar question entering my thoughts… How the fuck did I end up falling for him?
But he answers that question when he grabs my elbow before I can turn to leave.
“It’ll feel good to have you back in the ring.” His hazel eyes flick between mine as he keeps his hand on my elbow. “I’ve missed it.”
I let him pull me in closer, and slide my hand over the moon and stars tattoo on his ribs. “Me too.”
His eyes drop to my lips and he smiles softly. “I like it when you’re excited and happy.”
The corner of my lips tip up into a smile as well. “Me too.”
His smile then widens as he lifts his eyes to mine again. “But there’s something else that would also feel good…”
And he’s back.
I push him away from me and head out the door into the gym, Luca laughing loudly behind me.
When we reach the boxing ring, Max is waiting for us.
“Welcome back, Ty Roscoe.” He smiles, and Elijah and Rosa cheer from the heavy bags behind us.
I lower my gaze to my hands and focus on wrapping them, trying to ignore the attention on me.
“Alright, drills today,” Max says, thankfully getting right into business. “Start with some low kick check drills to warm up, then some kick-punch combos, and if you’re feeling good, finish with a flow drill.”
“Aye aye, Cap’n,” Luca says, then hops into the ring.
I grab my gloves and get in after him, putting them on as adrenaline starts pumping through my veins. This is perfect. Checking kicks will help me get on my defense, condition my shins and work on my form before we put it all together in a flow drill without worrying about the power behind my strikes.
“I think I know the answer to this, but you want to attack or defend first?” Luca asks, shoving his mouthguard in.
