Page 8 of Fight For Her
“I heard from a level two that he has a secret family in the Midwest…” I sighed as I listened in on more Coby gossip. I moved closer to the two women. They stopped their conversation mid-sentence and grimaced at me. I didn’t know what was worse, Coby leaving or the rumor mill circulating around the gym. Coby would love to know that all the students were talking about him. I could picture him smirking and saying something cocky like,“How could I blame them.”
Mia poked her head from around the corner and beamed at me. She was assisting a few level one classes now that she was a level two. Shawn was assisting more too especially now that Coby wasn’t around. The way he kept a casual palm on her low back when they stood together in the gym was as cute as it was nauseating.
After giving me a hug, Mia stepped back to appraise me. “Rough day?”
“You could say that.” I sighed and rubbed my temple. I pulled my gloves out of my gym bag and slid them on, adjusting the Velcro. “I’m ready to turn off my brain for the next forty-five minutes.”
Her lips turned down, and she brought one arm around my shoulders. “Want to get dinner afterward and talk?”
An internal battle formed in my mind. Tiny Kendahl’s on my shoulders silently arguing for victory. On one hand, I loved Mia, and she was always great to talk to. But on the other hand, I wasn’t ready to voice some of the thoughts going through my mind to her. Not yet. Like the fact that I daydreamed daily about leaving Palm Cove or that, even though it killed me, I couldn’t get one particular guy out of my head.
“I think I’m just going to go home and heat up some leftovers. Maybe another night this week?”
I tried to avoid her wide eyes and raised brows. “Sure. Whatever you want, love.”
Mark A.K.A. Sifu, formally, came out of his office, patting shoulders with and beaming at his students. “You ready, level one?”
Murmurs spread throughout the other students, and I searched the group for my usual partner, Mia’s sister Olivia, but I guess she hadn’t made it to class.
After stowing my purse and water in a cubby, I took my place in the crowded room. The crimson walls and dark concrete floors woke me instantly. Those and Mark’s booming voice commanding us to do jumping jacks. We warmed up for a good ten minutes, cycling through grueling jump squats, burpees and pushups (I could do maybe three, on my knees. But at least I was trying).
Halfway through the warm-up, Olivia showed up with Alex hobbling behind her on crutches. His clunky leg cast knocked into spare pads along the side of the wall. Poor kid. Being a pre-teen was hard enough without having to lug a heavy cast around. Olivia whispered something in Alex’s ear as she gave him his iPad and pointed to a chair in the waiting area.
She shuffled in beside me, catching the tail end of pushups. Mia saw her from the side of the room where she paced, waiting for the meat of the class to begin, and waved. Coby used to take up that same position except instead of pacing, he’d lounge against the wall like he owned the place.
“Glad you’re here.” I huffed between pushups. “I really didn’t want to have to work with anyone else. How’s Alex doing?”
She shook her head and pretended to pushup. “He’s hanging in there.” She glanced in her son’s direction. “I told him if he was good during class, I’d let him get some in app purchase on his game when we got home. He’s been going stir-crazy not being able to play outside or swim.”
“I can imagine. He’s been through a lot… a move, a new school, a broken leg. How are you holding up?”
We took a second lying flat on our stomachs and catching our breaths. Olivia sighed and stretched her arms above her head.
“It was a shit show of a day to say the least, but I’m glad I made it here.”
Getting back to our feet, I smiled. “Me too. It looks like we both have some emotions to unleash on the pad tonight.”
“You got that right.”
Forty minutes later, breathless and sweating, Olivia and I collected our stuff and chugged from our water bottles. She checked on Alex, then helped him into the gym area. I patted his back as he went by and gave him a thumbs up but he brushed me off, went straight to his favorite dummy in the corner of the room, punched it, and laughed like a little imp.
After every class finished and the next came in, Mark loved to have everyone sit down as a group and give us some inspirational words. He also talked about any news going on in the coming weeks or ribbed on his assistants. He loved fucking with Coby most of all, but since Coby’s been gone, he’d focused his attention on others.
I didn’t mind those moments. They really pushed the whole Krav family sentiment. Plus, it gave me a few minutes to get my heart rate back down to a normal level before getting in the car to drive.
The fluorescent lights shone off Mark’s bald, gleaming head. “Great job, everyone. I’m loving the progress you’re all making on elbow and palm strikes. Remember to move around more. If someone is going to attack you in real life, they’re not going to stand there and come at you like a statue. Other than that, Jill is here with some news.” He motioned to Jill, who hung out against the wall near Mia. Jill was a single mom who hadn’t had it easy especially after she lost everything in a house fire a few months ago. I could still smell the acrid scent of smoke from when I picked Mia up in front of the house that night.Jill looked beautiful standing in front of the room, radiant even. Her normal sallow skin held a glow and she stood up straighter than usual.
“Hey all, I know you’re probably ready to get going, so I’ll make this short.” She motioned her hands to a big guy named Mike, who I’d only spoken to once during a group drill. He stood up, grunting with the effort of it, and cut through the other students toward the front of the room. When he reached Jill, the smile he wore overshadowed anything else about him. They joined hands, and the room quieted.
“Mike and I are getting married.” Jill gushed as she held her left hand out. The glittery rock on her finger was far larger than I would have thought.Go Mike.
A chorus of congratulations and way to go’s echoed from everyone. Mike blushed and kissed Jill’s hand. He looked crazy about her. Good for them. If only my jaw would stop clenching when I attempted a smile. “Thanks, everyone. I’m the luckiest bastard in the world.”
Mike’s voice was deep and gruff much like his outward appearance. Jill cut in. “We’re overjoyed to have met here in class. You’re all like family to us. Especially because everyone came together to help me and Kayla after the fire. You don’t know how much that meant to me.”
“To us.” Mike added with eyes on Jill and Jill alone.
“We want to invite all of you to our wedding. It’s next weekend in the Keys.”
