Page 40 of Boxer Next Door

I refocused on his face, feeling curious. It was the first time we were meeting face to face in weeks, and the first time Ken had initiated talks between us. I wondered what he had to talk about and if it had anything to do with Mike. I’d mentioned little tidbits of how we met and got together, and our earlier years as a couple. Did he want more detail than that?

“You can talk to me about anything, Ken,” I said honestly. “I’ve really wanted to talk to you, too, just…”

His expression turned sheepish, his lips tilting up at one corner into a smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. Work has been crazy.”

I hummed. “How’s the studio been doing?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s getting off the ground, at least. I have customers coming in, a lot of them. There’s already a gym in town, and they’ve been in the area longer than I have, but because I’m focused on boxing and not just working out, I’m getting a lot of clients. I’ve been so busy organizing the classes, not to mention there are people that will need and are willing to pay for one-on-one instruction.” He sighed. “It’s hectic.”

“What did you do before you came here, anyway?”

“I worked at a gym as a personal trainer. That’s why I just opened my own and know most of what I’m doing. For the business part… when a lot of kids my age were going off to universities, I was taking a bunch of online courses on things like business administration because I didn’t want to be left completely behind. I didn’t think I’d ever use them, just thought it would be useful to know and…”

“Years later, it’s worth something,” I finished for him.

He grinned at me, then sighed and his eyes slid closed. “I’m still worried about the future, though. Yeah, things are fine now. But you never know, things could take a sudden bad turn.”

I pursed my lips, thinking that my situation was quite similar.

“You can't keep worrying about the future, though,” I said quietly. This was something I’d come to find for myself, even if the future I was facing now was less than satisfactory, to put it mildly. “You lose out on a lot if all you keep doing is thinking about what will happen before it happens. Focus on right now, but try to stay cautious, and you should be fine.”

“Is that advice coming from experience?” His eyes opened, and he stared at me.

“You could say so. After Mike left us, I kept wondering what would happen the day I let myself and my son down. I was in a slump over it for a month before my best friend managed to snap me out of it. She’s good at doing that, and she told me something along those same lines. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”

Ken tilted his head a little, his expression thoughtful. “Is there a possibility I could know this friend of yours?”

I frowned, thinking it over seriously. “I don’t think so… I mean, she’s seen us at least once—”

“Wait,” he said, interrupting. “When exactly did she see us?”

I shrugged. “Think back to that first day we went out together when you broke my fence and came to fix it.” My eyebrows arched as I looked down at him, and he had the grace to look sheepish about it.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I was deep in thought when that happened. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose.”

I just chuckled at his hastily thrown out excuse. “I was never mad about it. Plus, I’m grateful it happened, because who knows how long it would have been before you decided to talk to me?”

Ken laughed with me. “I guess there is that.”

He grinned at me, his arms around my waist squeezing me a little.

“So,” I continued with my story, “you and I went out and ended up at a restaurant together, twice, just on the first day. My friend was in the area, and she saw you. She told me about it later. It’s possible that you’ve met her and just don’t realize it’s her. Her name is Annara.”

He frowned and tried to think, but then he was shaking his head.

“Sorry, the name doesn’t ring a bell.”

I wasn’t surprised. She was pretty good at flying under the radar. Plus, I was sure she still had a gym membership at the old place.

“I’ll introduce you to her one day,” I said, without thinking. It took me a minute to realize what I’d just said, and I winced. “Sorry…”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he said quickly. “This is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

My eyebrows shot up. My heart started beating a little fast, as I wondered if I should be worried.

“Really?” I said, trying to make my voice sound casual.

He saw right through me. “You don’t have to doubt yourself, Lydia. I’m not trying to break up with you, it’s just… when I saw that guy at your door making you uncomfortable, I wasn’t sure exactly what we are, and if I had a right to pick a fight with the guy when I didn’t know who he was. If anything, I should be the one worried here.”