Chapter 4 - The boxing ring

I returned home after another unsuccessful surveillance. Moe had given me a new target, and I had stalked the man’s usual habits, but he was nowhere in sight. Usually, before moving to the person’s house, I liked to check the less inconspicuous places. If I went directly to their home, they would be wary, and then they could vanish for a couple of days, even entire weeks. I took that as my last resort. It was simpler for me to catch them in public when they least expected it. After all, who would expect a girl bounty hunter?

I locked the door behind me and trailed my fingers on the wall until I hit the light switch.

“Honey, I’m home!” I called out humorously into the empty apartment.

I lived alone in a small bachelor pad. The living room, kitchen, and bedroom were all in one area. My Murphy bed doubled as a library and storage when I folded it up. As for the kitchen, I had a small bar fridge with a few beer cans and some leftover Chinese food in it, but other than that, there was nothing else. I dined out, so there was no need for me to have a stove for cooking. Not that I didn’t know how to cook. It’s just that I found it a waste of time. I got fuel in when I was out looking for my contracts.

I wouldn’t have described my living space as poor, but I thought it best not to have much since people busted through apartments and stole everything the owners possessed all the time. If robbers came, they would be very disappointed with mine. The walls were devoid of decorations. I had no picture frames, no flowers in a vase, nothing. When I moved here, I hadn’t bothered painting the walls, so they were still an awful glossy white.

I stripped and changed into my workout clothes, then dashed down the stairs and stretched before heading for a run. There was a boxing studio close to my apartment complex, and I almost always ended my nights there to boil out the day’s events.

I headed outside the building and slowly ran alongside the sidewalk when I was ready. The evening air was crisp and cool, which made me second guess if I should have brought a jacket. I decided to fuck it and quickened my pace. If I generated enough body heat, I didn’t need a sweater. Besides, I hardly ever got sick.

When I arrived in front of the boxing studio, I pushed the door and fell in, placing my hands on my waist to regain my breath. I looked at my watch and grinned. I had done 5km in twelve minutes.

I followed the hallway while I stretched out my arms, and when I entered the training studio, Sal—the owner, waved at me and beckoned me closer.

The sound of grunting men fighting and hits being punched echoed through the room.

 “David wants a rematch from your last sparring. How does Tuesday work for ya?”

“If he wants his butt kicked again, I’m free every night!” I laughed as I walked straight to my changing room.

I grabbed a towel and returned to Sal’s side.

“I’ve got a fresh set of young fellas over there who are eager to take you on. I keep tellin’ them they ain’t ready, but they ain’t listenin’.” He said as he pulled down the ropes to the ring.

I moved past him and jumped over them, then prepared my hand wraps.

“Have they heard about me?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Only that you’re pretty strong... and hard to take down.”

“Good.” I turned around and whistled at the group of guys looking at me like I was a meal. “Who’s up for some one-on-one?”

Sal shook his head and chuckled when a big tough guy pumped his chest and strolled close to the ring. Sal parted the ropes for him, but the guy sneered as if the old man was beneath him.

I pounded my fist on the inside of my hand and made sure the wrappings were secured correctly. I thought I heard Sal say to the douche, “It’s your funeral,” but I wasn’t sure.

When my opponent stood in front of me, I eyed him, silently asking if he was ready. He nodded, and I dropped, slightly bending my knees while keeping my back straight. I brought my fists close to my face and patiently waited.

I thought he found our fight amusing and wanted to finish it early, so he quickly went straight for a cross. That was a knockout move, and it insulted me.

I groaned and slipped to the side, then proceeded with a rear hook to the body, hitting him in the ribs.

I was small, so I could move with ease around the guy. My opponent shot a series of quick jabs that I could parry with little trouble, then he came at me with a rear hook that I deflected by rolling. This went on for a few minutes. I felt like we were dancing in the ring.

When I had had enough of the guy, I did a quick series of jabs, followed by a cross punch, and finished with a rear uppercut straight on the jaw. The poor guy didn’t see it coming and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

I moved to where the group of guys were staring at us and casually placed my arms on the top rope.

“Who’s next?” I said with a grin.

Fresh meat came on the mat, and I resumed my boxing stance.

Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin” song came up on the radio, so I shouted to increase the volume. I was getting pumped and showed no mercy to the next set of guys who tried to put me down.

None of the men wanted to partake in training with me by the end of the night. I pouted and made to leave the ring when I heard a husky voice behind me.

“I’d like to go next.”

I turned and saw a beautiful tall guy with tanned golden skin and brown curly hair falling in front of his eyes. I had never seen eyes as mesmerizing as his. They were almost the colour of ambers, blazing with heat.

My lower belly squirmed at the sight of him. It knocked my breath out of my lungs, even though I wasn't hit on my solar plexus.

I had never seen him before at the gym, so I looked over at Sal, who shrugged his shoulders. I guessed he was new here.

“Are you sure I won’t ruin your pride, big boy? I eat men like you for lunch, in case you didn’t notice,” I grinned, crossing my arms. I hoped he didn’t notice me gawking at him.

“Eat away.” He moved his hands away from his chiselled body, and his smile made me want to melt.

Shit, what the fuck was this feeling? I had never been attracted to someone as much as this tall stranger.

I shook my head, trying to suppress the emotion, and it only made him chuckle more. I turned my back to him, strolling to the corner where Sal was keeping points.

“He’s been watching you fight, so there’s a good chance he’s seen a pattern in your hits. You’ll have to be careful if you don’t want to ruin your winning streak. You’ve been undefeated for months now.”

I clicked my tongue over my teeth at Sal, straightened my back, shook my arms to ease my muscles, and took a deep breath.

“Three minutes tops,” I whispered to the old man.

Sal cocked his head and frowned, looking at his watch. He had nothing to worry about. I knew perfectly well how to handle men, and this mysterious guy was not the exception.

I lightly jumped in place, waiting for Mr. Sex on legs to get himself into position.

A small crowd had gathered around the ring to see us spar, hoping to witness someone finally landing me on my ass.

I hesitated for a few seconds. Did I really want to mess up this beautiful stranger’s face? I closed my eyes and cursed at myself. What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t care less if I broke someone’s nose while fighting. Why was this guy making me think twice?

“You ready?” The man asked while pulling his hair away from his eyes.

I quickly nodded, biting the inside of my cheek.

Like a gentleman, he waited for me to make the first move. I bent my knees and slowly made my way over to him, circling around and assessing what I was up against.

He was at the very least six foot two, with a solid stature and what seemed like a sure footing. This wasn’t his first rodeo, I noted.

I started easy on him to evaluate his weaknesses. I moved swiftly, jabbing him close in the face. He slipped quickly, deflecting my blows and advanced toward me with a right hook. I rolled, but he moved more rapidly than I expected and hit me with a left hook to the body.

I staggered, shocked that he had landed a blow. He didn’t move like the others before him. He was faster and stronger, but so was I.

We danced around each other, evading each of our attacks.

I saw Sal lift two fingers, signalling two minutes had passed. That only meant I had less than one to bring this Adonis down. As we both punched and slipped and hooked and rolled, I saw the crowd looking at us with their mouths open. Everything seemed to move in slow motion around me, except for the fight with the newcomer. His jabs were quick and effective, making me have a hard time dodging them.

“If I win, will you go for coffee with me?” The man’s gaze was heating up my face.

“Sure.”

What? The word came out of my mouth before I could compute what he had just said.

I groaned internally.

I didn’t have time to go out with someone, much less someone I didn’t know. I had to end this, and fast.

When I saw an opening, I landed a rear hook to the man’s side, then a left one, sliding my foot, so I moved away from him and rained a chain combo of jabs to his face then chest. He put me in the corner, and I blocked as many hits as possible.

Sweat was pouring down our faces. I imagined mine was now bright red from the exertion. I noticed him move his left leg, signalling a right hit, so I took that opportunity to do a quick uppercut, resulting in him falling on the mat. His legs tangled in mine, and I slipped on top of him.

He gently took me in his arms to slow down my landing. Both my legs were straddling him, and I felt a bulge right under me. The tips of my ears redden as I hastily moved away, pretending I didn’t notice what had happened.

I looked at Sal, who lowered his eyes and shook his head.

“You both packed a lot of punches, and frankly, you moved so fast it was hard to keep with the points. From what I've counted, I’ll have to give this round to the newcomer. Sorry, Max.” Sal said.

I brushed off some sweat from my forehead, redid my ponytail, and placed the towel in the used bag.

I had found this fight refreshing, but I knew all too well that my body would hate me for it come morning.

Even though I had been defeated, a small smile crept on my face, and I tried to hide the blush rising on my cheeks. I hadn’t had a match like that in ages.

“So, still up for that coffee?” The mysterious stranger asked in a gruff voice.

“A deal’s a deal,” I gingerly stated, removing my hand wraps. I playfully extended my hand. “I’m Max.”

The guy shook my hand, slightly pulling me closer to him. The scent of aftershave hit me and made me sway a little.

“Lukas. A pleasure to meet you.”