Page 97 of With Wine Comes War

Chapter 27

ALEX

After dropping the kids off, Roman looked uneasy. I’m sure it was about my training. I wanted him to watch me. I know I had all this energy from playing with the kids, but I was wondering if it would go away after we dropped them off. Roman made me feel powerful the last time he came. I needed to convince him to stay and watch again, so I don’t go in there and getlaid out.

As we pulled into the parking lot I could feel his uneasiness again. “Babe, it’s going to be fine. It’s just sparring, not fighting, and no one is trying to hurt me.” I put my hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring look.

“I know, just give me a minute to breathe and I’ll be in.”

I waved to Bruce at the counter as I walked up. “You alone again? Roman couldn’t handle it huh?”

“No, he’s out in the car. He’ll be in shortly. I’m going to try and get the guys to sign up for kickboxing with us on Wednesdays. What do you think of that?”

He laughed and said, “Damn, girl. Bring 'em all. Pay my bills.”

“Bruce, I can have this place filled up.”

“Are the guys as fun as you girls?”

“Probably not, but someone’s got to be the adult in the group. We all have fun when we’re together, though.”

“That’s awesome, I’d love to have them all here.” We headed to the ring to get ready, and I saw Roman come in looking much better than I left him in the car. I wondered what kind of pep talk he gave himself.

Before we got started, Bruce got my attention. He had his hands on my shoulders, and he was bent over a little so he could look down at my face. “Now Alex, this is the last class before the hearing starts on Tuesday. I’m not expecting you in class on Tuesday no matter what happens.”

I don’t know if I’m okay with that. I may need the class after the hearing.

“In fact, your class is canceled on Tuesday.”

I’m sure Bruce was reading my facial expressions now.

“I’m going to go sit with Roman and keep him occupied while you and Raphael spar today. I told him to fight you, but not try to hurt you, but I want you to fight for real.”

A worried look crossed my face when I realized Roman was going to be watching this. I was scared of what he might do if he thought for one minute that I might get hurt in here. Raphael is not known for going easy on you. I nodded and shot a quick smile and wink in Roman’s direction.

When Raphael entered the ring, he came over to me and whispered in my ear, “I’m going to kick your ass and humiliate you in front of your boyfriend, there, and there’s nothing he’ll be able to do about it.”

My heart started racing and adrenaline pumped through my veins. I shoved him away from me and he started laughing.

Bruce yelled, “What are you waiting for? Get to it.”

***

ROMAN

Why is this so hard? It’s not like anything’s going to happen to her. They’re just training her to defend herself, not trying to hurt her. Maybe I should relay my concerns to my mom and let her reassure me that I’m not crazy.

She picked up on the first ring, “Hi Honey. How are you? Harrison and Amelia tell me you and Alex had a sleepover with her godchildren last night and that you both spent the day with them today. How did that go?”

I nervously said, “It went well. Can I elaborate on that later?”

“Sure, is everything okay?”

That’s a loaded question.

“I don’t know yet. I let Alex talk me into watching her train again and I feel like I’m going to be sick. She told me she feels powerful withme there. Stronger. How am I supposed to sit there and watch her get hit like that?”

“Does she actually get hurt?”

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