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Trapped.
Powerless.
I was frozen, and I couldn’t move as my breaths came faster, and everything went black.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying flat on the mat, which had my arms swinging up in panic, as both Pinky and Romeo hovered over me. Romeo was staring at me with concern, and he gently touched my shoulders and asked if I was all right. I pushed to sit up before moving to my feet as his arms helped steady me.
“Take a breath, Demi. You’re okay. You passed out.” The empathy in his gaze relaxed me in the strangest way.
Pinky was standing behind him, looking like he’d committed a crime. “I didn’t mean to scare you or hurt you, Beans.”
It was coming back to me. The way I’d felt trapped. But he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“It wasn’t your fault. I just got a little claustrophobic.”
“Have you fainted like that before?” Romeo asked as he helped me step out of the ring.
“No. It’s a newer problem, I guess.”
Pinky hurried over to the cooler and brought me over a bottle of water. “I’m really sorry about that. I was just giving you a hard time. I wanted you to know how easy it is to give your opponent an opening.”
“We won’t be teaching life lessons in the ring next time,” Romeo hissed at him, and Pinky looked wounded.
“It was not your fault. That was all on me. Now, go get your girl and take her out for Valentine’s Day. I’ll get out of your hair.” I took a swig of water and went to grab my purse, but Romeo stopped me. He gently placed a hand on my shoulder as if I were too fragile to touch now.
Although, the man avoided touching me at all costs anyway.
“Just sit here and finish your water. Pinky, you can take off. I’ll stay here with her.” He walked me over to the bench, and I dropped down like a rag doll. Wow, I really did freak myself out, I guess.
“All right, boss. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. We still good to spar tomorrow, Beans?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I said, wanting desperately to make him feel better.
This had nothing to do with Pinky and everything to do with me.
Everything to do with the reason that I was taking boxing lessons.
He waved and left the gym, leaving just me and Romeo in here now. I was usually the last one here with Pinky because I came after work.
I knew he had a date tonight, so I’d tried to get here a little early.
It was Valentine’s Day, after all.
“You don’t have to sit with me. I can drink water in my apartment. I’m sure you have plans tonight,” I said, because I was dying to know. I wondered if he had a girlfriend. I hadn’t seen him with anyone, but there were a lot of women hanging out at the gym now because Romeo had become a local celebrity due to all the press he was getting about his upcoming fight.
And I wanted to claw every single one of their eyes out, and that alone was mortifying. I had no claim over this man.
We weren’t even really friends.
“Is that your way of asking if I’m going out for Valentine’s Day?”
His voice was so sexy; it was difficult to breathe around him sometimes. His dark gaze did something to me every time it locked with mine.
“No. Why would I care what you do for Valentine’s Day? I just didn’t want to hold you up.”
“What about you? Don’t you have plans tonight? Let me guess, you’re probably dating some rich dude who wears polo shirts and drives a small-dick sports car.”
I tried not to smile, but I couldn’t help it. “Wrong. But is thatyourway of asking if I’m going out for Valentine’s Day?”
