“Her name is Kelsey. She signed up yesterday.”
He glanced around the gym for Billy, finding the featherweight fighter in the ring with a blonde who seemed vaguely familiar. With her back toward him he couldn’t be certain, but the rigid set of the woman’s shoulders reminded him of someone. Billy crouched and shuffled around her. Body tensing, she mimicked his stance and followed his movements, slowly turning until her familiar face punched him in the gut. He bit back a groan, muttering, “Fuck me.”
Mac shot him a look. “Do you know her?”
“We had an encounter yesterday. She probably won’t want to train with me.”
Which was fine by him. Other than the little bit he’d shared with Mac a few months ago, she was the only person who knew about his connection to the McNealy cousins. Though she had intrigued the hell out of him yesterday, the smarter thing for him to do would be to stay the fuck away from her.
“What did you do?”
“You know me. I was in a pissy mood, bumped into her, and snapped at her,” he evaded. The last thing he was going to do was tell Mac that the mob squad had tried jumping him, or that a beautiful blonde ninja had stepped in to help.
“You need to get more sleep,” Mac said.
He’d sleep when he was dead, which, considering what had gone down yesterday, might not be that far in the future.
“What’s she looking for?” Lance asked, refocusing on the present. She had impressed him yesterday with her choke hold, but that didn’t mean she knew squat about MMA. That could have simply been adrenaline spurring her on.
“She was pretty specific in what she wants.” A weird expression crossed Mac’s face, a mixture of consternation and intrigue. “She’s not looking for a * workout—her words, not mine. She wants a trainer who knows a lot about ground work, but can also help her build the strength and speed of her stand-up. She wants to be treated just like any of the male fighters in this building, and the most interesting thing is she wanted a light-heavyweight build. That’s you.”
Lance stared at his friend for a second, digesting the information. That was a tall order from someone just coming in for a workout. “Does she fight?”
That was the only explanation for her requests he could think of. In recent years, women fighters had surfaced in the industry, and they kicked some serious ass.
“Nope. Just does this as a hobby.”
Kind of an intense hobby for someone who had no interest in making it a career.
“She’s good,” Mac continued. “Watch her.”
Lance crossed his arms over his chest and studied her inside the ring, still circling with Billy, dodging his attempt at a takedown. She was a beauty. Even with everything that had been happening, he’d noticed that yesterday. Hell, he’d have to be blind to miss it. After she’d sent Ralph to the ground, she stood there with confidence oozing off her. No fear or intimidation had even flicked in her eyes as the man towered over her. Other than the birth of his daughter, it was the most awe inspiring sight he’d ever seen. When Ralph had started to rise, Lance had been uncertain of what the man was capable of, so he’d stepped forward, daring him to try anything. And still, she hadn’t wavered in her fearless stance.
Today she was the same, except she wasn’t wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. No, today she was in a tight teal workout top and matching spandex shorts. The outfit showed off the softs swells of her toned, athletic body.
Suddenly, she went down on both knees and flipped Billy over her back onto his. The canvas thudded under the impact of his body. Impressive.
“I’ve watched her all morning,” Mac said. “She’s fucking amazing, and has been training for a while.”
“Is this all you’ve seen her do?”
“Nah. Billy warmed her up on the bag. Dude, let me tell you, that woman has a fierce right hook. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.”
Mac was exaggerating. As an ex-heavyweight MMA fighter the man had taken some violent hits. But Lance got where he was coming from. The woman, while still shapely and soft, had a steel quality about her—a don’t-even-think-to-fuck-with-me aura. He liked that.
She would be fun to train. As much as he needed to keep his distance from her, a thrill encased him now. Maybe they could leave whatever happened yesterday outside the door.
Billy glanced over and straightened. After saying something to Kelsey, and patting her on the shoulder, he slipped out of the ring and jogged over. “It’s too bad she wants a light-heavyweight trainer. I’d add her to my client list in a fucking second.”
“Did she say why she was focused on that weight class?” Mac asked.