After lunch, we all head our separate ways, everyone but me to normal classes. I work the rest of the day and get credits for work experience which is really helpful to aide Damien in making ends meet. I enjoy being able to pay some of my own expenses and taking a little of the strain off his shoulders. I’ve begged him several times to let me drop out of school and work full time instead but he threatens to beat me within an inch of my life every time I bring it up. He’s always going on about how high school is so important though I’ve yet to see how.

I make my way out of the school and backtrack towards Lilly’s school. A few blocks away is Gerry’s Gym, my home away from home. I push inside, the bell above the door announcing my arrival. Instantly the sound of feet moving across mats, gloves hitting bags and flesh, grunts, and hissing breaths fill my ears. I inhale deeply, a calm washing over me as I make my way towards the back room to drop off my bag. Some might be put off by the smell (a mixture of cleaning supplies, colognes, rubber mats, and a faint lingering of sweat) but to me it’s soothing.

I exchange nods with the few guys I pass, each of them too in the zone to exchange words. Shouldering open the door to the back room I make my way to my locker, opening it and shoving my backpack inside. Relieved of that burden I make my way back out onto the floor. I get cuffed in the ear as soon as I push through the door.

“Fuck!” I clutch the side of my head, dodging the hand flying towards the opposite side of my head. My feet tangle up and I almost fall but I catch myself on the wall, grimacing.

“Watch your mouth, boy. You’re late.” I look up into stern eyes as I straighten up, but before I’m even fully rightened they soften and a shit-eating grin stretches across Gerry’s face, the skin around his brown eyes crinkling. “Been a while since I’ve got the better of you.”

I can’t help but laugh, even though the side of my head still stings. Gerry and I have a very odd relationship, at least from the outside looking in. He’s filled the father role that I lack for many years now, ever since I first discovered this gym. I came in a little shit that needed to be taught some respect and Gerry didn’t hesitate for a moment to be the one to teach it to me. I owed him a lot.

“You got lucky today, my mind is somewhere else.”

“Well get it back here, the bathrooms need your full focus.” He slaps me on the shoulder as he moves past me towards his office and I groan. There’s not much worse than cleaning a bathroom that a bunch of guys share, especially when said guys are usually soaked in sweat when they’re using it.

I grab my cleaning supplies and head to the bathroom before pulling on my protective flamingo pink gloves. They’re a running joke with the other guys but I have no shame. No way in hell am I touching someone else’s piss or shit with my bare hands. I scrub the bathroom top to bottom as quickly as I can before peeling off my gloves and heading back out to the floor.

I round up any equipment anyone may have forgotten to put away before I clean off the tall mirrors that are placed around the gym so you can watch your form as you work. I finish by wiping down all the equipment and then return my cleaning supplies to the cleaning closet. By that point, a few hours have passed and I poke my head into Gerry’s office.

“I’ll be right back,” I let him know, and he nods, knowing that I’m going to go grab Lilly from school. I exit the building and head towards the school in a light jog since I’m running a bit late, glad to see that when I arrive she’s only a few steps out the door and still with her group of friends.

I stand to the side, hands stuck in my pockets, as I wait for her to say her goodbyes and head my way. She narrows her eyes and sighs, shoving me in the direction of the gym once she reaches me.

“Are you ever going to stop treating me like I’m five years old? I can walk a few blocks by myself.” We fall into step beside each other and I throw my arm over her shoulder and squeeze her against me.

“You can walk a few blocks by yourself when you’re thirty. Until then you’re stuck with me.”

She grimaces and tries to pull away but I only squeeze her tighter until she punches me in the gut. I let out a whoosh of air and release her, smiling even though she’s nailed me pretty good.

“Right form and everything, just like I taught you!”

She rolls her eyes and quickens her pace so she’s walking ahead of me so she doesn’t have to see my proud smile. At least I know she can deal with any guy that might make a wrong move. I can’t protect her from everything, even though I wish I could, so it’s nice to know she’s got at least that much under control.

Before long we’ve reached the gym and Gerry comes out of his office, making a sweeping bow to Lilly as she approaches. “The desk awaits you, my lady.” She giggles, giving him a big hug, before going into his office and shutting the door so that she can do her homework.

Gerry waves me toward the back room and I quickly make my way there to change clothes before coming back out again. I approach with a bounce in my step, having needed this all day. Gerry takes the time to wrap my hands before nodding at the speed bag.

“Warm up.”

I don’t hesitate to do just that, jumping in with a slow rhythm and working my way to a quick roll, alternating hands to warm each side equally. The motion makes me kind of proud. It’s easy now but in the beginning, I couldn’t even keep the bag straight, let alone keep a good rhythm. Years of practice have honed the skill and I enjoy utilizing it.

It almost feels too soon when Gerry calls me over and gloves me up. He pulls padded target gloves himself and stands before me, slapping his hands together once before he holds them up between us. Before he’s said a word I strike out with a jab, the gloves meeting issuing a satisfying snap. He swings out at me with the opposite hand and I sidestep quickly to dodge it.

Circling each other he calls out combos and I fling them at his gloves with abandon. My heart pounds in my ears the longer we move around each other, warming me to my core and making my muscles burn. This feeling is my drug. With each blow, my breath hisses out between my teeth and I bounce on the balls of my feet to keep my momentum, sliding my feet across the floor to dodge the hits he sends back my way to keep me on my toes.

By the time we stop I’m drenched in sweat and I have to bend over and rest my elbows on my knees to catch my breath. Gerry removes his gloves and I follow suit, hanging them back on the wall. He slaps me across the back, unphased by my soaking shirt.

“Good job today.”

“Does that mean you’ll finally let me in an actual ring, then?”

He pinches his nose and sighs with so much strain you’d think that single question itself was the source of all of his grey hair. Maybe, in its own way, it was, hearing it from a handful of people over and over again. He might be tired of the question, but I was also sick of asking.

“Can we not just have one good day without you pushing your luck, kid?”

I scoff. “I’m not a kid, old man, and you know that I’m ready so why won’t you let me do it?”

He grumbles under his breath and strides towards his office. “If this old man can get the best of you like I did today, some young punk that’s been training longer than you can do just the same.”

“Seriously?” I call to his back, following after him. “You’re really going to use that as your reason?”

“You’re damn right I am. You think you’re ready but I’m saving you from making a fool of yourself.”

I stop dead in my tracks, anger snaking through my belly. When I force the words past my lips my voice is low and flat, cutting straight to it. “You can’t possibly know that if you don’t let me try.”

He sighs again, knocking gently on his office door before swinging it open. Lilly looks up from her seat at the desk and I can tell by her face she’s heard our discussion. Thankfully everyone else has left for the night and isn’t also privy to me being verbally shut down. My eyes meet with Lilly’s and I know she can see how close I am to snapping.

“Maybe,” she offers, “he needs to get his a- I mean- butt kicked. Getting knocked down a peg might be just what he needs.”

I narrow my eyes at her, amazed at how she’s trying to spin this and win Gerry over to my side. I let her underhanded insult roll off my back, knowing she doesn’t mean it. If it gets me what I want I’ll take it. She smirks at me when Gerry tilts his head back to look towards the ceiling like he’s begging to be beamed up so he doesn’t have to deal with this anymore.

“Fine,” he forces out, not looking one bit happy about it. “One fight. One,” he enunciates, waving a single finger at me.

My mouth falls open while my brain repeats the words back to me over and over again until I really believe it. “Yes! Thank you! I swear that you won’t regret it!”

“I already do,” he grumbles. He waves us both away and Lilly jumps up from his desk, gathering her things. “Now go before you suck what little life I’ve got left in me straight out.”

I roll my eyes. Lilly pats his shoulder gently as he drops into his chair before coming around the desk so we can make our way out. We exchange out goodnights and I head to the back room to gather my things. When we step outside I almost regret not changing back into my other clothes, the air a lot cooler now as the sun begins to set than it was earlier, especially since I’m still damp.

We make our way home in silence, my mind consumed with the thought of finally getting to do a true fight. I’ve been asking for years, so for him to finally say yes has me so wound up I feel like I could fly. I can’t wait to tell Damien about it and I’m glad to see his truck sitting in the driveway as we approach.