Page 60 of Not Fooling Anyone

I blink at him. “I don’t.”

He shrugs, clearly not convinced. “If you say so.”

“I don’t,” I insist. “He’s ridiculous half the time, making jokes and trying to embarrass me. He pushes things too far.” I struggle for something else to come up with. “He only listens during a lecture and somehow makes an A.” Okay, that’s not his fault. It’s just annoying to me. “And he’s too… perfect looking.”

He bites his bottom lip, as if he’s holding back a smile. “Okay, you realize none of that helps your case, right?”

I grip the edges of my seat, wishing I could leave, but there’s still a bunch of dye in my hair. “How long till I’m done?”

He smiles, coming over to inspect my hair. “Touchy, touchy. Let’s give it ten more minutes.” He leans against the back of the chair, looking at me through the mirror’s reflection. “How about I leave you alone with your thoughts? You think about all the ways youdon’tlike your boy toy.”

Ugh. How does Travis put up with him? I was just trying to get an idea of how to act around Ethan, not suggest I’m interested in him. I’m obviously not.

If Ethan wants to act like it wasn’t a big deal, then I’ll follow suit. There. Problem solved.

No thanks to Isaac.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

ETHAN

I glancebehind me for about the hundredth time, but I still can’t see Lexie from this angle. She’s holed herself up in Marty’s office for an hour already, barely looking at me as she entered the gym.

Not that I expected her to come over and kiss me hello, but something other than a brief glance my way would have been nice.

“That your girl?”

I glance over at Austin, his question punching me in the gut. I’d slipped up calling her that earlier, but she hadn’t said anything about it. Probably because I’d kissed her right after. “No. A friend.”

He shrugs, satisfied with my answer, and turns back toward the action, crossing his arms over his chest. Lawrence is almost finished with Johnson, then it’s our turn.

“His elbows aren’t low enough,” he comments, just as Lawrence says the same thing in the ring. “He’s getting tired.”

“Sloppy,” Lawrence shouts as he gets past Johnson’s guard.

I’m silent, listening to Austin’s quiet commentary, noticing everything Johnson’s doing right and wrong as he mentions them. Would I have seen the same things on my own?

“You study a lot of other boxers?” I ask when they pause in the ring for a water break.

He shakes his shoulder-length blond hair behind him, pulling a hair tie out of his pocket to tie it back. “You have to find out your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Then you can develop your strategy.”

He sounds serious about it. If this is your livelihood, though, you have to be.

“And what would be your strategy against him?”

He scratches at his jaw, a calculating gleam in his eye. “Johnson’s got a wicked right hook, but he tries to rely too much on knockouts. I’d stay away, tire him out while he throws punches. Then come at him when his stamina runs out.”

Sounds like a solid plan. “Do you study everyone here?”

“Yeah. Especially those in my division.”

“What’s your weight class?”

“Light heavyweight. But I’m trying to get down to super middleweight.”

Good thing I’m middleweight. I wouldn’t want to face him in the ring based on what I’ve seen.

“You haven’t competed yet, have you?” he asks, eyeing me.

---