Page 25 of Breaking the Habit

Holt’s was bright and clamorous as usual when she breezed in around one p.m. Every time she entered, she was overcome by possibilities. Did she want to run the track? What about trying a Pilates class? Or would she join the muscly guys in the weight room?

She already knew the answer. She’d pick endless cycling while she quietly peered at the other gym patrons, wondering why everyone else seemed to have their lives sotogether. Wondering what everyone else’s bank accounts looked like. Except today, all she’d think about wassexiest thighs.She wasn’t even to the locker room, and it was already on repeat in her gray matter.

Before she could reach the reception desk, Travis was waving at her from across the foyer.

“Rileeeey.” He jogged toward her, a bigger smile than usual on his face. “Did you hear the news?”

Curiosity jolted through her. “I know of no news.”

He tutted, digging his phone out of his gym shorts pocket. He shook his head while he swiped. “Levi got picked up. Or should I say,your picturegot picked up.” A laugh burst out of him, and he showed her the phone. “Check this out!”

It was a Buzzfeed article.

And her picture of Levi, his fist deep in the jaw of his opponent from the day before, had become a meme.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, gently taking Travis’s phone as he offered it. She’d stared at this picture a million times already, embarrassingly, but seeing it in this context made it feel totally new. Foreign, even.

“Isn’t it great?” Travis beamed like a proud father.

And it was. The expression on the opponent’s face was pure despair. The caption on the image read “Walking into this job interview like…” Someone had added in their post:I’m about to take prisoners with this interview! I’d say wish me luck, but I don’t need it, just like this MMA hotshot LEVI!!!!

“It’s a meme!” She exclaimed. At the bottom, in tiny print, was the photo credit: R. Montagne.

“It’s been shared like, nine thousand times already?” He checked the picture again. “I think we’re in viral territory.”

“Does Levi know?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s pumped as hell.” Travis pocketed his phone. “I’m gonna keep an eye on it, see how it affects gym enrollments and everything.”

“Smart idea.” Riley paused, hoisting her gym bag higher on her shoulder. “Seems like Levi is waiting for the spotlight.”

She was testing this hypothesis with Travis, the man who probably knew him best. Maybe he could confirm the dark fear that lined her attraction to Levi.

“I think he was born for it.” Travis’s smiled kicked back up to beaming. “He’s a smart guy. You wouldn’t believe how much work he puts into his career. It’s one of the reasons I took him on.”

“What does he do, exactly? For his career, I mean.” She picked at the cuticle of her thumbnail, embarrassed about how little she knew, but desperate to learn everything. “I don’t know much about what you guys do on the business side.”

“Levi hunts sponsors like a shark,” Travis said. “I’ve never seen someone with his dedication. When I picked him up in Chicago, he had fifteen sponsors. And we’re talking in a little league of MMA fighting, you know? Even his favorite brand of almonds he’d gotten as a sponsor.” Travis hefted with a laugh. “That’s the thing. I only picked him up becauseheemailedme.”

“Oh, so you didn’t like, find him on your own?”

“I wouldn’t have. But he sent me a pitch. Like a business proposal. I flew out to Chicago to watch him fight. And I was blown away. The kid goes after what he wants and doesn’t accept any less. That’s why we made your contract for as long as we did—Levi is winning the title.”

Travis’s glowing review spurred butterflies in her belly. It was hard not to get excited about Levi’s career or get swept up in the outcomes of his hard work and dedication.

“I can tell he’s a really good guy,” Riley said, the words damn near sticking in her throat. It felt like a confession. Something fit for a priest.

“The best. He makes it easy to overlook his bad habits, you know? I’m gonna blow up this picture and hang it in the back gym. I can’t wait till he sees it.” Travis laughed as the receptionist called for his attention. Riley waved as he trotted off to attend to an issue, his words sticking in her head.

His bad habits.

What the hell did that mean? His chronic nail biting or something worse? Maybe he meant the dad jokes. Those could be considered a bad habit. But no—those didn’t need overlooking. Those required tolerating.

Travis’s insights unfortunately inspired hundreds more questions, and the only person fit to answer them was Levi. She felt like a detective of the worst kind—inquiring about a crush because she was too chickenshit to admit she had one. And the more she learned, the more the information acted like cold water on the flames of her desire.

But one thing was clear. Levi was headed for greatness. She’d suspected it the minute he walked into her studio. He’d confirmed it with his bravado. Whether he got there by nudes or memes or sheer physical superiority, Levi would get there.

Because he wasn’t simply open to fame. He was hungry for it.

---