“Can you afford it?” Rick whispered.
“We do payment plans.” Hugh took the guitar from Max. “I’ll get her packed up ready to go.”
“Thanks, bud.” Max paused for a moment, unsure of whether to share his situation with Rick, but then he shrugged. What the hell? “I have a bit saved from the tour, and I get an allowance from a savings account my dad set up for me before he left. This band is my life, Rick. It’s not about whether I can justify paying out this kind of money on a guitar, but can I afford not to?”
“When you put it like that, it kind of makes sense,” Rick said.
“Music is the only thing I’ve ever been any good at. If Purple Method doesn’t work out for me, I’m going to end up busking on a street someplace to make a living, and I gotta say, that doesn’t appeal. Have you seen how fucking hot it is out there today?”
Rick let out a sad laugh. “If Purple Method didn’t work out, some other band would snap you up. You’d have options.”
“I guess that would depend on the reason I left.” Max held Rick’s eye for a long moment. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
After paying for the guitar and a case, Max hauled it onto his back, threading his arms through the handles of the case. “What do you want to do now?”
“I’m teaching in about a half hour, so I have to get back to the dojo. Don’t suppose you want to come and take a look? I’m pretty sure I can take you on my bike with that on your back.”
“Thanks, but I have the ambulance around the corner in the Torrens Club parking lot.”
“So, does that mean you want to come?”
“Will anyone else be there?”
“Probably not. Is that a problem? I’m pretty sure I can manage to keep my hands off you if that’s what you’re worried about?”
Heat prickled up the back of Max’s neck and settled in his cheeks. “Is that a promise?”
“Yeah. Friends, right?”
Max chuckled. Like Rick believed that for a second. The tension between them was undeniable. “Okay… you win.” Max shoved Rick out the mall doors and into the unbearable afternoon heat. “Show me what all the fuss is about with this ninja shit.”
“IT SMELLS funny in here.” Max scrunched up his nose as he followed Rick into the building. “Like sweat and cologne.”
“Have you even been in a gym before?” Rick cleared some papers from the desk in the office and shoved them into the filing cabinet.
“Na, I get enough exercise onstage.” Max hoisted himself up so he was sitting on the desk. There were two doors, the one they had come in, and he guessed the other must lead to the hall, as there wasn’t enough room in this tiny office for kick-ass ninja moves.
“You look good on it.”
“The exercise or the stage?” The words were out of his mouth before he thought to stop them, but he wasn’t sure he regretted them. It was just the two of them there, after all, and somehow he felt safe, despite barely knowing Rick. It was weird.
“Both.” Rick stood in front of him, and Max’s pulse skyrocketed.
“Both?”
“Yeah, both.” Rick reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind Max’s ear, sending tingles down Max’s neck, and he shivered. “You know, this is the first time I’ve seen you when you haven’t been drinking.”
“I was sober before the Vanquished gig. And at the mall.”
“They don’t count. I barely got to talk to you before you had a beer.”
“So… what now?” Max licked his dry lips.
Rick stepped back. “Come on, I’ll show you where we train.”
The training hall was impressive. Along the far wall, four well-used heavy bags hung from large hooks. A set of blue mats was laid out in the middle of the hall, and cabinets lined the wall to their left. The cabinets were filled with all kinds of strange equipment that Max didn’t recognize. He picked up a pair of boxing gloves and regretted it—they stank. He’d never smelled anything so bad, not even the garage the day after a heavy night of partying.
“Ugh, that’s disgusting. Do people actually wear these?”
“Most have their own gloves, so it’s usually the beginners who end up with these. They don’t all smell so bad.”
“Do I get a demonstration, then?”
“If you like. It’s a bit more difficult in jeans, and I’m guessing you’d rather I didn’t strip down in front of you.” How the hell was he supposed to answer that? Luckily, Rick didn’t seem to expect him to respond. “I’ll show you one of the drills I’m going to be teaching in a minute, if you like?”
“Sure.”
Max leaned back against the cabinet and watched as Rick walked away until he was halfway across the hall.
“Ready?” he asked, turning to face Max, and bringing his fists up to his jaw.
“You’re not coming straight at me, are you?”
“Not scared, are you?”
Max shrugged. “I’m guessing you know what you’re doing, so no, not really.”
Spinning around effortlessly, Rick kicked impossibly high in the air, and then did a flurry of punches, elbow strikes, and more fancy kicks. Max’s heart stopped as Rick came closer, but he wasn’t sure if it was from fear of being hurt if Rick didn’t stop in time, or because he looked unbelievably sexy. Mesmerized, he focused on Rick’s boot as it stopped an inch from his face.
“Y-you didn’t even flinch.”
“I didn’t?”
Rick lowered his boot, and Max stared at him, his legs quivering so much it was a miracle they were still holding him up. He couldn’t quite believe what he was about to do.
Nobody had guessed there was anything going on between the two of them when they were in the music store. Would it be possible to have more with Rick under the guise of being friends without anyone guessing the true nature of what was happening between them? As long as they were careful—
“Are you okay? You’ve gone very pale.” Rick reached forward and stroked Max’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare—”
“I don’t want to fight this anymore,” Max whispered, staring at the ground.
“Then don’t,” Rick said quietly. “Don’t fight it. I thought you’d blown me off—”
“Nobody can find out.” Looking up at Rick, Max searched his expression for any hint that he couldn’t be trusted. It was such a huge risk he was taking. “And I mean nobody. If anyone finds out, I’ll deny everything, and whatever we had will be finished forever.” He’d never wanted anyone as badly as he wanted Rick right now. He was aching to touch him.
If anything went wrong, he could deny it all. It had worked in the kitchen the other day, so if he had to do it once more to protect himself… he could do that… couldn’t he? Max chewed on his lower lip and studied Rick.
“Can you promise me you won’t even hint about this to anyone else? That you won’t say a word about us to anyone?”
“I think I can do that.”
“I’m serious, Rick. Promise me you won’t say a word, or this is over before it even begins.”
“So am I.” Rick closed the distance between them. “I can do that. For now.”
“What do you mean ‘for now’?”
“I won’t let you live a lie for the rest of your life, Max.”
“The rest of my life?”
“Yeah. You can’t hide who you are forever. I won’t let you.” Rick brushed his thumb along Max’s lips, and Max’s breathing quickened. “But I can promise that I’ll keep your secret for as long as you need me to. To keep you safe.”
“So… we’re doing this?”
Rick smiled but stayed where he was. Max had expected him to make the first move to kiss him, but that was clearly not going to happen. He sucked his lower lip into his mouth, and his heart thundered in his chest. He’d kissed hundreds of girls, and even kissed Rick twice already. Why was this so hard?
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Max leaned forward and closed his eyes, his senses going
into overload. Rick’s musky citrus cologne and the heat from his skin as their lips touched went straight to Max’s groin, and he grabbed the back of Rick’s head to pull him closer. Max parted his lips, and Rick explored his mouth as their tongues dueled with more intensity than before. Rick’s lips were as soft as Max remembered in his dreams, yet his tongue more experienced. All of Max’s inhibitions melted away as his tongue darted deeper into Rick’s mouth, the way he wished he’d been able to before. His pent-up passion mirrored and intensified as Rick returned the kiss with equal vigor.
CHAPTER SIX
Rick
AS THEY kissed, Rick wondered how far Max would be comfortable taking this, but then suddenly there were voices and laughter. A door banged, and they both jumped, their teeth bashing together. That was close. Max turned away from Rick and smoothed his hair.
“It’s okay. There’s no way they could have seen anything,” Rick said and grabbed the smelly boxing gloves from the cabinet, then thrust them at Max. “Here, hold these.”
“What? Why?” Max scrunched up his nose and gingerly took them.
Rick turned to the hall door.
“Art, William, hey, guys. How’s it going?”
“Hi, Rick,” William said.
“Your hair is awesome, man,” Max said. The tips of William’s short bleached hair were multicolored. Like they’d been dipped in a paint box. William was always changing his hair, so Rick was kinda used to it.
“Thanks.”
“Max here was thinking about taking up MMA,” Rick said and grinned at Max, who scowled.
He was probably pushing his luck, but it would be the best cover for them spending time together if everyone thought he was giving Max martial arts lessons. Plus, if Tony was right, this would be perfect for Max right now. It would give him more confidence in his ability to protect himself, and not just physically, that was for sure. Rick had seen it time and again. It could be exactly what they both needed. It would put his mind at rest about taking things further with Max. He’d never forgive himself if something bad happened to Max as a result of them seeing each other. Plus it would be fun.
“You totally should,” William said. “Best workout there is, especially if you’ve had a bad day. There’s nothing like punching the shit out of the heavy bag. Right, Art?”
“Sparring’s better.”
William looked thoughtful. “Yeah, you got me there. When are you starting?”
“Um.” Max glared at Rick and said through gritted teeth, “I haven’t decided yet.”
Okay, maybe he had overstepped. “You don’t have to decide right away. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
“I can’t believe you went there,” Max said and dumped the gloves on the desk as they walked into the office, but Rick laughed.
“You might find it fun.”
“I told you, I don’t do exercise.”
“Shame. It’d be the perfect reason to give for us spending time together.”
“The problem is that none of my friends would believe it.”
“I could teach you a couple of simple moves to convince them, if that would help?” Rick shrugged. “Up to you, anyway.”
“Fuck.” Max banged his head against the filing cabinet. “I’m going to have to take up ninja shit. Aren’t I? I have zero coordination.”
Rick laughed. “I’m sure that’s not true. Tell you what. Why don’t you join in this class? Try it at least.” Then he whispered, “If you don’t enjoy it, then we can figure something else out, okay?”
“You seriously think this will be a good idea, don’t you.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You see me make a total fool of myself.”
“You won’t be the only beginner in the class. Promise.”
“I guess I do have some time before band practice.” Max glared at him. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“You won’t.” Rick grinned. This was going to be so much fun. Showing Max how awesome martial arts was and teaching him. One thing, though…. “You’ll need to borrow some board shorts and a T-shirt.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“You’re gonna get sweaty. Wouldn’t you rather borrow some clothes? There are showers in the changing rooms so you can change back before you go.”
Max shook his head. “I’m already regretting this.”
“Come on.” Rick grabbed his arm and nudged him back into the hall. “It’s going to be fun. I promise.”
Max didn’t look convinced, but he did accept the clothing, and Rick gave him some privacy to change.
“What are we doing tonight?” William asked as Rick took his clipboard from the cabinet and ticked off William’s and Art’s names from his list. Most of his students paid monthly, but Rick liked to keep track of how often they were attending.
“Some kickboxing drills, and then I thought we could do some knife self-defense.”
“No sparring?” Art asked.
“Not tonight. We’ll do that next class. Don’t worry, you’ll get some more practice before your fight.”
He was taking the two of them to a competition next Thursday, in a week. William was a black belt, and Art was only halfway through the grading system. It would be his first competition fight, but Rick knew he would do well. Out of all his students, Art showed the most promise of becoming a professional fighter.
Max emerged from the changing rooms and shimmied to avoid the cabinets. He looked a little fed up, and Rick hoped this hadn’t been a bad idea. Max definitely looked the part now, though.
“The shorts are too big.”
He tugged at the waistband. They didn’t look that big. He was probably making excuses so he could change his mind.
Rick walked up to him. “You’re gonna be fine. Just do as much as you can and try to enjoy it, okay? It’s pretty relaxed as martial arts classes go. We work hard, but we have a laugh as well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
The other students were arriving now, and Rick took the opportunity to introduce Max to the two newest, Nicole and Giovanni.
“Hi, guys. How are you doing?” Rick asked.
“Good, thanks, Sensei.”
“Sensei?” Max said and snickered.
“Don’t laugh,” Rick said. “It’s a sign of respect for your instructor.”
Max was obviously holding in laughter. His eyes were shining and lips pursed.
Rick sighed. “It’s a martial arts thing, okay? Just go with it. Please?”
Nodding, Max said, “I’ll try.”
“Gio, Nicole, would you mind looking out for Max? It’s his first time. If you hadn’t guessed that already.”
“Sure,” Nicole said. “We’ve only been coming a few weeks. It’s hard, but we’re totally hooked.”
“The warmup’s the worst,” Giovanni said as he removed his sneakers and socks. “It gets better after that.”
Rick put his hand on Max’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go and get changed. You going to be okay?”
Max nodded. “Yeah. I think.”
Gio and Nicole didn’t yet have the club uniform, so it was obvious they were new to this. It would be easier for Max to bond with them if Rick was out of the way.
“We’ll be starting in two minutes,” Rick shouted after he’d changed.
While his students finished putting on their hand wraps and making sure their bottles of water were easy to grab at the edge of the hall, Rick ticked off names from his list. There were sixteen of them in total today.
When he took his place at the front of the hall, everyone lined up in formation. Black belts in the first row, brown belts behind them, and so on, with ungraded students right at the back. Once they were all settled, Rick brought his feet together and bowed. His students copied him. It was a tradition he kind of liked. It showed respect and got people’s brains in gear, ready to start some serious training. He caught Max’s eye as he finished bowing. He looked bemused. Nico
le tapped his arm and indicated that Max should copy, and he seemed to reluctantly obey.
“Start running around,” Rick said, and the black belts led everyone in a large circle. He connected his cell phone to the speakers and pressed Play. A high-octane dance track blared around the hall.
Once everyone was jogging around the circle, Rick darted inside and ran in the opposite direction. It gave him a chance to see how everyone was doing. To see if anyone was injured or struggling, and also to gauge how motivated they all were that day.
“When I shout out one, I want you to change direction. Two, you sprint, three, run backward, four, run forward, and five, drop to the ground and give me five push-ups.”
Everyone looked to be in good shape today. Max seemed a little happier now that he was moving.
“One!” Rick pivoted and ran in the other direction.
It took a second for everyone to react, but that was normal at the beginning of the warmup.
“One!” He shouted again as soon as everyone had settled.
Their reactions were slightly faster this time. Just. He kept them running for a couple of laps before he shouted, “Three!”
This time the change was not so successful. Rick changed what the numbers stood for each lesson to keep them on their toes. After all, if their brains weren’t warmed up too, they would be knocked to the canvas before they realized what was going on in a real fight.
When Rick ran past Max running backward, he had to take a second glance at him. He’d taken the instruction too literally. Rick turned so he was going the same way as everyone else, and picked up his pace to catch Max.
“Look where you’re going,” Rick said, trying not to laugh. Max was running backward with his eyes firmly fixed forward. It was a miracle he hadn’t collided with anyone yet—or crashed into the wall. He was either fearless or had zero self-preservation. “Like this,” Rick said, and looked back over his shoulder. Max copied him. “Yep, that’s it.”
Rick left him to it and switched so he was running in the opposite direction again.
“Four!” Rick shouted and ran forward. Most students, apart from the black belts, had forgotten what four stood for. As soon as they had sorted themselves out, Rick shouted, “Five!” and dropped to the ground for five super-fast push-ups. He was on his feet before anyone else and continued running. Max was really struggling with the push-ups. In fact, he was lying on the ground and taking a quick break. Had he attempted any at all? Rick decided to let it go this time. He didn’t want to be too hard on him and put Max off coming again.
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