by M. N. Forgy
Camden’s mother walks in, tucking her phone in her purse.
“Okay Camden, let’s get going and give Tatum some rest.”
“See you later boxing buddy.” Camden winks.
Looking down at my cast I see what he drew. It wasn’t his name, but two boxing gloves that if you turned your head just right… it kind of looks like hearts.
Chapter Seven
Tate
Chewing on my nails I walk up the street where my dad is watering the bushes out front. He’s got a tight grip on the green hose, his eyes squinted as the mist of water sprays about.
Stepping up behind him, I spit out a piece of nail and take a deep breath. This is going to go horrible, I know it.
Closing my eyes I feel my heart continuing to break. Dad and I used to be so close before the world fell apart at our feet. I’d do anything to get us back, but to do that… it’s going to take a couple hits to the chest.
“Dad,” I mumble. He keeps spraying, my voice not loud enough. “Dad!”
He whips around, nearly spraying me in the face.
“Oh shit, sorry.” He lowers the hose, twisting the nozzle to turn it off. I attempt a smile, but it’s not genuine. He drops the hose, and rubs the back of his neck.
“I hope you’re here to tell me good news.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms in front of my chest. “And what would that be? Hmm?”
He scoffs. “That you’re going back to school. That you’re not going to throw away your life.”
“Would you just stop!” I argue. “I’m so sick of it. You’re always on my ass, but you never hassled Journey about school. Why?”
He shifts on his feet, his brows rising at my back talking. “Because Journey was never in trouble as a child, Tate. You were. You defied your mother and I. The school was always calling us telling us of your brawls and arguments. But you are so smart, so goddamn smart if you’d just apply yourself.”
I point at him, my body temperature rising with the morning sun. “I was a typical kid. I took after my father, my role model. Why was that so bad?” I shrug.
He shakes his head, stepping toward the porch. My eyes sting with the urge to cry, so I look away, not wanting to look weak. Only my dad and Camden can affect me the way they do.
“I wanted a different life for you Tate, because look at me now.” He says it so softly I barely hear him before he slams the screen door.
Turning away from the house I use the back of my hand to cover my mouth as an unexpected sob breaks through my trembling lips.
I wish he could see how great he was and is.
He is my dad, and I want us back.
Staring at the gym I second guess going in. I second guess a lot of things. Why am I here, and not just Chicago but this damn gym that I know Camden will be at? He hates me and that kills me. I wish I could go back and change so many things. The way Camden looks at me destroys me from the inside out. Maybe it was a mistake to leave college to chase a dream. I must be insane to think I can do this.
Closing my eyes, I lower my head and sigh. This is what I wanted to be since I was a little girl. I can’t let anyone stand in the way of that. Not anymore. I didn’t come this far, just to come this far.
“You can do this,” I whisper to myself. I’ve never been known to back down, and I’m not about to start now.
Blowing out a breath of second guesses, I grab my gym bag and climb out of the car.
The wind is blowing hard this morning, causing a chill to run up my spine.
Once inside my eyes adjust to the dim light, and my skin instantly warms.
“You’re early, Thomas will like the dedication.” My head whips in the direction of the voice, finding Cate flipping on a set of lights that hover over the ring.
“Is Thomas here?”
“Not yet, but he should be any minute,” she responds, pulling her hair up into a ponytail.
I nod, looking around the place. I’m not sure where to put my stuff, or if there’s even a locker room for females. Thomas did say he didn’t train women, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s not one.
Cate heads towards me, her hands on her hips. A black sports bra and spandex shorts is all that she’s wearing.
“Don’t let them push you around. There’s a reason I’m the only female around here.” I turn my head, not sure what she’s going on about. “I don’t put up with their shit. They push, I push back twice as hard. You want to fight amongst them, you’ll have to push five times as hard.”
The door opens letting in a whoosh of air. Thomas walks in with a thermos of coffee and ball cap lowered on his face.
“You came.” His tone of voice indicating he’d hoped I hadn’t.
“Of course, a deal’s a deal.” I shrug, my hand gripping the straps of my bag like a life line.
“Deal is off,” he clips.
“What?!”
“I have a contract with Camden, and he’s not keen on the idea of me training you,” Thomas explains, striding behind the main counter to put his stuff away.
“Too bad, we made a bet!” I remind him, following closely behind him.
“Easy HellCat.” His eyes snap to mine. “I have someone coming to help train you. She’s good at what she does. She helps coach a couple of fighters who come through here.”
Glancing behind me I look at Cate, curious as to what she thinks.
She shrugs. That doesn’t help.
Looking back at Thomas, I cross my arms and eye him suspiciously.
“Who is she, this trainer?”
“Her name is Debs.” He sips his coffee right out of the thermos, his eyes peeking just above the top. The door opens and the wind blows posters along the wall. “Speak of the devil.” He juts his chin toward the door.
A short stalky woman rushes through the door, the wind blowing her red hair everywhere. She has on a green hoody and black stretchy looking capris.
“Debs, this is…” he pauses, eyeing me to find the right words, “HellCat, good luck.”
She turns, her hands frantically smoothing out the rats nest the wind caused of her thin hair.
“Tate. My name is Tate.” I smile.
Her bright green eyes meet mine, they’re fierce looking.
“Tate, I’m Debs.” She smacks her gum, walking toward me. “Let’s get one thing straight. If you don’t give me all you got, then we’re done. I ain’t got time for little girls looking for a life altering experience. You want a thrill, do a line of cocaine and play hopscotch on the train tracks.” She lowers her head, her eyes penetrating me like daggers.
Cate clears her throat, catching my attention. She uses her hands like she’s pushing something. Push back.
Push back. Years ago I would have set this woman straight. Seems I lost a lot more than my heart when I moved to LA.
Digging deep, I find my bravado and pull it out.
“Well, you got one thing straight. I’m not looking for some lady on a power trip. I need someone who knows what they’re doing, and has the patience to teach me what I need to know. If control is what you’re after, then coach some cheerleaders,” I jab. My stomach flutters with butterflies. A rush of adrenaline surfs through my limbs, and a wicked smile forms on my face. Damn, that felt good.
Her lips curl into a small smile.
“I think we will do just fine.” Her freckled nose twitches. “Lets get you taped up, and see what you’re made of.”
Debs props her foot on the bench in the locker room. Apparently they do have a women’s bathroom, but a lot of the room in here is used for storage. There’s old boxing bags, and equipment sitting in the showers.
“You know how to wrap your hands?” Debs asks, grabbing on my palms.
“Yeah,” I reply, but that doesn’t stop her from continuing. She loops my thumb in the hole at the end of the wrap and starts winding it around my wrists and hands.
“Ok, so I drew up your dietary plan,” Cate states, walking into the locker room.
“Dietary plan?” I scrunch my nose. I knew this was coming, I just dread what it entails.
“You want to be serious about your training, eating is one of the biggest priorities,” Debs adds, wrapping the tape between each of my fingers.
“You need to follow this religiously.” Cate hands me the folder to my hand that isn’t being strangled with boxing tape.
I can’t eat sugar, fast food, soda, chocolate, cheese, and the list goes on. I knew fighters ate a pretty clean diet but this is going to be brutal.
“Do I get to eat popcorn? It’s my favorite snack.” I look through the papers that are labeled with calories, and fat intake.
“No. I mean, you can if its air popped I suppose. Just don’t drown it in butter, that defeats the purpose of air popping it,” Cate instructs. I frown. I love burnt buttered popcorn. I might die without it.
“Do I get a cheat day?” I close the folder and set it down. I can’t look at it anymore. I might cry.
“No,” Debs barks.
“Yes, you get a cheat day,” Cate objects. “If anything you’re underweight.”
“Alright, I’m going to take a piss while you do some stretches.” Debs smacks my ass and heads to the one stall not filled with jock straps.
She’s an odd one, there’s something about her I can’t place.
Flexing my fingers wrapped tightly in the wrap I head out of the bathroom. Looking at my hands, not paying attention, I run into someone.
“Shit, I’m so sorry.” Looking up I find Camden, staring down at me with a vengeance. My body tenses, and I shift on my feet nervously.
“You’re here.” His voice is dark, and unfriendly.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Everyone is welcoming me so nicely around here.
“Because I don’t want you here.” He tilts his head to the side and glares. That hurts, and I probably deserve it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to take it though.
“Well, we don’t always get what we want, do we?” I shove past him.
“Stay out of my way, Tate,” he hollers at me.
Anger blooms in my chest with his arrogant tone. Turning, I walk backwards and throw my arms out at my sides.
“Since when did you become a whiny little bitch?” I fire back before turning my back on him.
My heart beats a mile a minute against my chest as this cat and mouse game continues.
Back where Debs is, I begin stretching, but keep my eye on Camden from the corner of my eye.
“Alright. Do twenty pushups, jumping jacks, sit ups, and then we’ll hit the jump rope.” I gulp. I’m going to die.
Taking a deep breath, I drop to the ground and attempt twenty pushups.
My arms shake from my weight and my lungs scream for air.
It takes me entirely too long to finish the set. I’m sure I look pathetic. I never knew how out of shape I was.
Sometime between the jumping jacks and sit ups, Debs got tired of waiting on me and ventured over to Thomas. She’s fluttering her lashes at him and flirting pathetically. I can’t tell if they’re a couple or just fuck buddies. Either way there is some serious attraction going on there.
I take the opportunity to sit back and catch my breath.
“You should just give up,” Camden insults, striking the punching bag like a coiled snake.
“Maybe you should…” I’m so out of breath I can’t even finish that insult. I fall on my back, heaving for air. I want to say something witty and smart, but my chest is on fire from lack of oxygen, I can’t think clearly.
“Tate! Get up and give me twenty more jumping jacks!” Debs orders. Quickly I get to my feet, nervous I got caught slacking.
Jumping in place, I catch Camden smirking at my expense.
“Yeah Tate, get up and stop being a pussy,” Camden laughs.
“Screw you,” I pant between jumps.
He’s such an asshole. I bet he’s loving this.
After Debs is satisfied with my pre-workout, she has me shadow box my reflection. Nothing is faster than your own shadow. If you can beat that, you can beat anyone.
Jumping on my back foot wrong, I fall to the cool ground and grab at my ankle.
“Shit,” I seethe, rubbing the sensitive muscle. Man, I hope I didn’t sprain it.
“Haven’t you heard, girls don’t belong in a man’s gym,” Camden says walking toward the water fountain.
Standing from the floor I roll my eyes at his assumption.
“We’ll see about that when I’m whooping your ass in sparring.”
“Good luck. You better call your friends… you’ll need the help,” he whispers into my ear from behind before walking off. His words tickle the sensitive skin of my ear, running a shiver down my back.
I can’t handle how my body responds to him like old times, meanwhile my heart and mind hate him.
***
Three days of intense training and hostile tension between Camden and I go flying by.
It’s hard to concentrate on what Debs is saying half the time because I can feel Camden’s eyes staring at me each day. They’re cold but spark a blazing trail along my skin. My heart thunders in my chest like a teenager with a crush when our eyes lock, it’s annoying. I should be more focused… but I’m not. When he’s not looking at me, I’m looking at him.
He’s become such a good fighter, it’s hard not to watch him.
He’s quick on his feet, and he’s fucking gorgeous with his shirt off.
Jump roping in place, Debs clocks me.
“Alright you’re still slow, let’s see you hit today.” She consults the stopwatch and drops it to the floor.
“I’m trying my best,” I pant, tossing the rope to the side. I haven’t seemed to have pleased her once in all of our training. I can’t tell if she’s just pushing me to my best, or just a bitch.
“Trying is for quitters, doing is for legends. Remember that.” She points at me and winks.
I blink rapidly, I think that’s the most inspirational thing that has come out of Debs’ mouth.
“Stop looking at me like that and get your hands taped up and meet me at the punch bag,” she orders.
Heading toward the locker room Camden steps out of the men’s. Noticing where I’m headed he steps in my way.
“Move,” I instruct, but he doesn’t budge.
“What’s the magic word?” he crosses his arms with a smug look. I can’t help but notice the veins criss cross along his biceps.
“Move or I’ll kick you in the balls?”
His brows lift as if he’s intrigued.
“Ah, and how has that foreplay worked out for you?”
“Never been better,” I reply, hinting that he’s terrible at foreplay.
He steps forward, his face turning hard.
“I think we both know that isn’t true.”
“Do we?” I tilt my head to the side I cross my arms, my fingernails digging into my skin from being nervous. I’ve never done this bantering thing before.
His body inches from mine, he slides a stray hair of mine behind my hair.
“You think you’re being cute, but if I recall you’ve called out my name several times while my head was between those legs.”
My bravado instantly falls as my panties soak from arousal.
Stepping beside me he stops.
“I’d almost believe that you didn’t still want me if your nipples weren’t hard enough to cut glass with.”
My stomach sinks and I look down finding my nipples protruding through my sports bra and shirt.
Fuck!
Lifting my crossed arms to cover myself I head into the locker room.
Cate helps tape my hands up, because Debs has somehow made her way over to Thomas and began her flirt session.
Glancing at the bag, I give it a tap, testing it out. I’ve hit the bags plenty of times before, but this one seems bigger. Maybe it’s because it’s newer.
“You going to dance with it, or hit it?” Debs chimes, stepping up behind me. “Pretend
it’s someone you hate. Like Camden.” She giggles to herself.
“What do you mean?” I try to play it cool, but obviously the tension between Camden and I is that obvious.
“I see the way you two look at each other. Now pretend it’s him and hit the damn bag.”
Positioning myself next to the bag I eye it, then spot Camden in the ring. He is looking at me with a sexy gaze, yet it’s still laced with anger. He looks away like I don’t matter, and anger floods my limbs. His games are exhausting. I don’t know whether I want to hate fuck him, or just hate him.
It pisses me off of how he blames me for everything.
It pisses me off that I am to blame for everything.
It pisses me off that I still want him.
It pisses me off that he doesn’t want me.
Glancing back at the bag a whoosh of air rips from my mouth and I give a one, two, jab, and the bag flies from the impact. Relief blooms through my chest, and I exhale a breath that I’ve been holding in for years.
Debs’ mouth dramatically drops, her eyes looking between the bag and me.
“What?” I question nervous I did something wrong.
She looks at Thomas with surprise on her face.
“I told you she can hit,” Thomas gloats standing by the ring. He’s been instructing Camden for the last hour to give it all he has when sparring. Camden rests his arms on the ropes, his forehead soaked with sweat as he watches me closely. I want to flip him off.
“Do it again,” Debs instructs.
Trying to focus on the bag and not the fact that Camden is watching me, I hit it again, using the same combo as before.
“Alright,” she nods approvingly. “Maybe I have something to work with after all.”
“So you think I can go pro? You think I have a shot at the MFC?” I can’t help but ask. MFC is where everyone wants to be in this career.
She leans in closer, glancing around her. Looking with her I notice everyone’s attention is back on their own drills instead of me. “You think that is where the big money is? Well you’re wrong.” She steps closer, looking around her to see if anyone is paying us any attention before continuing. “Listen to me and we’ll get a fight that will make us both rich!” She waggles her eyebrows, her tongue snaking along her bottom lip.
