Part 14 (1/2)
Sawyer paced the ring, itching to go again. Roach stepped up close, and Sawyer was sure he was going to give him h.e.l.l for going after Delroy so hard.
”You paying attention to your body? Any numbness in your fingers? Blurred vision?”
Sawyer gritted his teeth, holding Roach's dark gaze. ”A warning doesn't suddenly f.u.c.k me up, Roach. Back off. I'm fighting.” Guilt clawed at his shoulders. Roach had been with him since the start, and Sawyer loved him like a brother, but he wasn't going to let him come between him and winning that t.i.tle fight for his father. ”I've got this, and no, no signs of any of that horses.h.i.+t.”
Roach nodded. ”Stubborn a.s.s.” Roach glanced over his shoulder at the front of the gym and asked, ”You expecting company?”
Sawyer looked over Roach's shoulder and saw Sky, wide-eyed and holding on to the registration desk as if she needed to in order to remain standing.
He removed his gloves and climbed from the ring. ”Give me a sec.”
”Sky.” Up close, nervousness radiated from her entire being, like a wounded bird with a cat hovering above.
As if she'd noticed this slight reveal, she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, hoping to ease the shock of seeing him fight, but she remained rigid beneath his touch.
”I didn't know you were coming by.” He glanced at Brock, standing behind the counter, and Brock respectfully turned away.
”Neither did I.” She looked past him at Delroy. ”Is that guy okay? You punched him in the neck.”
”Delroy?” He glanced back at his sparring partner, who was engaged in a serious conversation with Roach. He reminded himself that what he saw and what Sky saw were probably two very different things. ”He's my sparring partner. He's paid to fight.”
”But look at his neck.”
”It's not as bad as it looks.” He reached for her hand, and although she didn't readily grasp it, she also didn't pull away. He was so thankful that he nearly said it aloud as he guided her away from the reception desk. The gym didn't have sofas or chairs or a cozy nook in which to talk, but the other men in the gym were respectful enough to turn away.
”I...I should go. I don't want to interrupt your training.”
”Sky.” He stepped in closer, and the wounded look in her eyes softened, although they were still bouncing between him and the back of the gym. He laced his fingers with hers, and when she accepted them, truly embraced his hand, a relieved sigh slipped from his lungs.
”I know this is probably hard for you to understand, but boxing is more than just two guys beating the h.e.l.l out of each other.”
”How? I just don't understand it, Sawyer. I came here thinking that maybe I was overthinking your fighting. That maybe we weren't so far apart in our beliefs, since we're so close in every other way. But...”
”Don't say but, Sky. Not yet. Boxing is just another art form. Like tattooing or singing, or playing the drums, or dancing.”
She scoffed. ”You're not serious.”
”Totally serious.” He wasn't used to defending his career. Most people thought it was cool and exciting that he fought-but he didn't give a d.a.m.n about most people. He gave a d.a.m.n about Sky. ”Sky, I've worked for years to perfect my techniques and conquer my weight cla.s.s. I've put years of study, years of practice into figuring out what worked, and honed my skills so I could beat everyone else. It's not a game, or a way to just let loose and hurt someone. Boxing takes finesse as well as power.” The forcefulness of his tone surprised him, but he didn't want to take a chance that she'd walk out that door without at least trying to understand. ”I've gone through years of grueling workouts and given up significant parts of my life for months at a time. Fighting is a part of me, Sky. It's what I've done since I was thirteen.”
Her lips parted as if she was going to say something, but no words came.
Acutely aware of Roach's and Delroy's time, he glanced over his shoulder and found them both watching him impatiently.
He turned back to Sky, trying to figure out how to squeeze a day's worth of explanation into the next three minutes. ”Where are you headed?”
”Work, I think. I...Work.” She nodded, and he could see she was even more conflicted than she'd been when he'd dropped her off at the cottage earlier that morning.
”Can I come by and see you later?”
She dropped her eyes to the floor, taking his stomach with them.
”Sky.” Her name slipped from his lips on a whisper. He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes, needing her to see him and not only what he did for a living.
He ran his hands down her arms, gently bringing her closer and wanting to bring her closer still. ”Sky, I'm the same guy I was last night. The same guy you were with this morning on the beach. The same guy who gets crazier about you every second we're together-and twice as head over heels when we're apart.”
”I know.” Her voice was thin, tethered.
”Then give me a chance? I've got one more fight to win, Sky, and nothing will keep me from it. I hope you can understand that. This one's for my father.” He wanted to bend down and press his lips to hers. To remind her of the man he was, separate from boxing, but he respected her too much to do that. He knew this decision had to be made with her heart. Not based on their s.e.xual chemistry.
She surprised him then and placed her hands around his waist and nodded.
He touched his forehead to hers. ”My sweet, sweet summer Sky. Thank you.”
Roach cleared his throat as he approached, bringing Sawyer back to the world he'd stepped away from only moments earlier. Sky had once again transported him away from everything else around them. How did she do that?
”I should go.” Her eyes darted to Roach, who'd stopped by the desk to talk with Brock.
”How late do you work?”
A tentative smile finally lifted her lips and reached her eyes. ”How late do you want me to work?”
He shook his head and smiled, feeling like he'd just been given a gift. ”d.a.m.n, Sky. You're going to drive me batty. I thought I'd lost you just now.”
She pressed her finger to the center of his chest and said, ”I'm not going to lie and say I'm okay with...” She s.h.i.+fted her eyes to the ring, then met his gaze again with the familiar warmth that made his pulse go crazy. ”All of this. But I really like spending time with you. I like who you are, and I like how you think. And I like who I am and how I feel when I'm with you.”
”But, Sky, I can't change this part of me.”
”I know,” she said softly.
”This isn't the place to discuss it. Can we talk more later? I need to get some work done at the house this afternoon. The company that's installing the interior ramp is coming by for another preinstallation something or other. Can I come by the shop and see you around six? You said you had some shopping to do. Want to do that together?”
”Interior ramp?” Without giving him a chance to explain, she added, ”I'd love that, and six is perfect.” She lowered her voice to a whisper and said, ”I think I'd better go. That guy looks like he's ready to blow his top.”
”The ramp is for my dad. It'll allow him to go up to the skycap again. I can build the smaller ramps, but the interior one was a major renovation. And that guy over there you asked about? That's my trainer, Roach. The guy he's talking to is Brock. Roach always looks like that, but he's a good guy. Hey, why don't I introduce you?”
”Um.” Her forehead wrinkled with indecision.
”It would mean a lot to me if you could meet the guy who helped me get where I am. He's a good friend. He just looks like a Rottweiler-he's really more like a German shepherd.”
”Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She reached for his hand as Brock looked over at them.
Sawyer ran his eyes down her white tank top to her emerald-green miniskirt, which he hadn't had a second to appreciate, and a spear of jealousy shot through him. The leather and silver bangles settled around her wrist as he lifted her hand, and the anklet she wore had a starfish ornament hanging from a chain that went down the center of her foot-all very Sky. What was he thinking? He might as well have put her on a silver platter for Brock and Roach to ogle. What man wouldn't want to gobble her up?
”Trust me?” he asked, wis.h.i.+ng he'd just walked her out to her car instead.
She nodded, and the way she looked at him, like he was the only man she wanted, despite his fighting, plucked the claws of jealousy out of his neck.
Sawyer was around the guys so often that he forgot how imposing they probably looked to her. Sky tightened her grip on his hand, and in an effort to make her more comfortable, and because he adored holding her, he draped an arm over her shoulder and proudly introduced her to his buddies.