Page 18 of Off Balance

"He's not putting me down."

"Like hell he wasn't!"

I clear my throat.

"Sorry," I say in a much quieter voice. "I'm not mad at you."

"You don't need to be mad at anyone."

He turns to walk back the way he was going, to the kitchen, I assume. Before he's out of my sight, I blurt out a question that is absolutely none of my business. One that couldn't be explained away as simply looking out for him because he's my family now.

"Does he ever make you feel good?"

Cameron stops but doesn't turn around. He doesn't answer or even acknowledge my inappropriate question. He pauses in the doorway for a moment and then continues walking.

"About time you got your lazy ass out of bed," Dwayne yells across the gym when I walk through the front door.

Except I haven't been to bed. I tried to sleep after returning home to the apartment above the gym, but couldn't get any rest. I went for a jog around four in the morning, and I've been walking around the city ever since.Now I’m extra exhausted on top of my headache.

"I went for a run."

Dwayne makes a noncommittal sound that suggests he doesn't believe me. I don't have it in me to spar with him today.

"Grab a cup of coffee. I've got some ideas I want to run past you."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all."

Dwayne chuckles as he walks into his office and takes a seat. I pour myself a cup of much needed caffeine and follow him in. Sitting down in the chair opposite his desk, I wince at the bitter flavor of the coffee.

"This coffee is crap."

He takes a sip of his own sludge. "I think it's fine."

I attempt another sip and frown. "It tastes like you brewed asphalt. But moving on, what are these ideas you wanted to talk about?"

"Ah, yes!" He looks excited, which puts me on guard. The last time he was this excited, he'd scouted an opportunity to do a commercial with a local used car dealership. I could have killed him. "I've got you set up for a couple of local fights." I sit up straighter, immediately interested. "No one high profile, but good fighters that will challenge you."

"When?"

"Two weeks. It’s an amateur gig hosted by one of the bigger fight clubs. They agreed to put you on the roster if we let them flash your name around a bit.”

Great. Because more publicity is what I need. "We can’t get anything sooner? This fight with Hoyt is coming up fast.”

"You still need work. Your balance is off and your footwork is lacking."

"I'm telling you, the best way for me to improve on that is to get in the ring?—"

"And we're doing that," Dwayne interrupts. "This is my attempt at a compromise. I set you up with some real fights, and you try something new for me in the meantime."

"Something new?" I’m feeling wary again.

"A new training technique. Something, uh, a bit different. I've been doing a lot of research since last night, and I think it could work."

"Last night?"

Dwayne's grin nearly splits his face in two, and it only gets wider when he looks down at his buzzing phone. "He's here!" He stands, knocking into his desk and nearly sending his coffee everywhere.

"Who’s here? What the hell are you up to?"

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