Page 51 of Bear
“Nope. Keep jabbing.”
She pouts but goes at it again while I lie down on the bench of the leg press and plant my feet on the footplate. She’s quiet for a moment, then out of nowhere, she blurts, “Were you upset with me yesterday?” She doesn’t turn her head, but her eyes have followed me in the mirror as I do a few reps. I’ll stay right here so I can watch what she’s doing. And apparently, she’s decided to be chatty again this morning.
I smoothly push the weights up and down the track. “Upset?” My brows draw together.
“You, um.” She drops her arms and turns toward me. “Sorry. You seemed funny when you first got home yesterday. And maybe later, too, before you went upstairs.”
I glance over to find she’s still standing there, watching me. “I wasn’t upset. Just in a bad mood. I told you my shoulder’s been acting up. And if you’re asking about whatever went on with you, Mason, and Duke—you don’t have to explain a damn thing you do to me. I thought you understood that.”
“Well, I know. But I don’t want you to think I’m a—” She stops and turns back around to face the mirror. “Fuck it,” she growls under her breath as she throws a punch.
I watch her for a beat, realizing she’s moved on to the cross without saying anything, and doesn’t have her form right. Slightly irritated, I let the weights down as fast as I can, get up, and move behind her, grasping her hips in my hands. “Stop.” She goes to punch again, and I clamp down harder, yanking her body back against mine so she can’t very well do jack shit. I grimace as searing pain shoots through my shoulder and down my arm. “Would you hold it a second?” I whisper harshly in her ear.
She glances quickly over her shoulder, her expression one of frustration. “Why?”
I turn her in my arms and grasp her chin in my hand. “Look at me, Lennon.” Her eyes crash shut, and her lips pinch together.Shit, she’s stubborn this morning.“Don’t want me to think you’re a what?” I question softly.
Since they weren’t being forthcoming about it, I’m going to assume that after Mase had a nightmare they all ended up in the bed. Makes sense to me. And who knows what happened to bring us to where we are now. But it seems like she’s worried about where she stands with me, which maybe I can’t quite blame her for, what with my surly-ass attitude yesterday.
“I’m aware of what it must look like.”
“It looks like whatever you or we want it to look like. Period.”
Lennon pulls away, turning back around. She stares into the mirror and resumes the fighting stance I taught her, bringing her right leg back, bending a bit at the knee, and lifting her hands near her face to protect it.
Working my jaw to the side as I consider her words, I watch her pivot properly and throw the right-handed punch. She swivels back and goes again.
I walk around and hold up my hands for her. “Go easy on this, but I want a jab-cross combination.”
Her eyes finally flick up and meet mine. “You want me to…?”
“Hit my hands.” I hold them up. “Hit me with the jab and then the cross. See how they work together.”
She’s a goddamn natural. Jabbing straight out, she follows it with the cross.Smack, smack. Smack, smack. Smack, smack. Over and over again she goes. I knew she’d be good at this—she’s in tune with her body, she has endurance. It’s great.
A little more power begins to come into the punches she’s throwing, and I grimace, then hold up a hand. “You’re doing great. Time for a break.” I exhale deeply. “By the way, I can teach you all the things you want me to, but sometimes, the most effective way to deal with an asshole is to pull your hand into a fist and then”—I make a fist and in slow motion show her what to do, bringing the back of my fist to the tip of her nose—“sharply smack at the nose with the back of your hand.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s smart.” She nods her head. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want another lesson.”
I draw in a breath, moving my arm in a slow, small circle. “I’ll sit over here and watch if you want to keep going.”
“Your arm hurting?”
“Yeah. This is the one I had surgery on a few years ago.” Wide, curious eyes lock on me as her mouth forms an O. I wave it off. “I’ve just gotta give it a break. It’s all good.”
She walks over to some mats and sits down, then lies on her back with her legs bent, feet firmly on the ground. She pats the mat beside her. “Lie down here with me.”
I do as she asks, unable to deny her simple request. I’m unsure if I’d deny her any damn thing. I take a deep breath before diving back into our earlier conversation. “My relationship with you. It’s whatever we want it to be. This shit with Mase and Duke—it’s gotta be fucking confusing.” I pause, giving her a moment. “I don’t know many women who’d want to take on three guys, but you should do what you fucking want, whether it’s relationships or just sex. You do what works for you.”
“I always do. But what if it doesn’t work for you?”
“Me specifically? I don’t have a problem with whatever you want.”
She rolls over, props her head on her elbow, and when I meet her gaze, I see the concern in her eyes. Her lips seal tightly together.
“Come here.”
She hesitates.
