drink of my water.
“That’s bullshit. I just watched you run for five minutes, and you did great. Look at it this way—you can pay me back for making you run.”
“Now that you put it that way, let’s go!”
It’s obvious why Brady has his pick of women. It’s difficult to say no to him.
He takes me into a room that is closed off from the rest of the gym. A boxing ring is in the middle of the room, and bags are hanging from the ceiling along one wall.
He leads me to a long wooden bench. “Sit.”
I do as he says, and he begins wrapping my hands with white tape.
“Whoa. We’re not wearing gloves?” I say, shocked.
“Yeah, we are, but the tape keeps you from getting blisters from the gloves.”
“Okay, you had me worried for a minute.”
His proximity is making me feel anxious. I like it.
“Worried for you , of course,” I add.
“So, you’ve never boxed, right?”
“Other than the few fights my sister and I had when we were kids, no.”
He smiles and then slides the gloves onto my hands, tightly fastening the Velcro straps.
I nod my head and pound my fists together like the pros do. “I’m ready to rumble.”
He laughs as he starts wrapping his own hands. “We’ll see about that, Flower.”
“I’m going to beat you up just for that stupid nickname you gave me.”
He motions for me to follow him to the boxing ring.
“You don’t like it?” He pulls the heavy rope up and places his gloved hand on my back.
I duck under the rope and step into the ring. I purposely don’t answer his question. I don’t like the name, but at the same time, I don’t want him to stop using it.
He slips a puffy foam thing over my head.
“You’re not going to hit me in the head, are you?” I ask.
He shakes his head and puts an identical helmet on his head. By the look on his face, he’s amused by my questions.
I watch Brady dance around the ring as if he’s facing a real opponent.
“This is kinda cool. Are you good at it?” I walk toward him until I’m standing directly in front of him.
“Yes, I am the best.” He smiles that cocky half smile.
All I want to do is the opposite of fight with him.
“What are you thinking?” The words just come out of my mouth.
“Oh, Reese, you’re such a girl!”
“What? You’re so quiet, and that smile tells me you’re thinking something.”
“Don’t worry about what I’m thinking, girl. Let’s box.” He holds his gloves out between us.
I smack mine down on his. Then, I wink and jab him in the gut.
I’m late to school on Tuesday, so I have to run to my first class. I slide into the seat next to Chelsea in our first-hour bio class.
“Ugh.” I find a piece of gum sitting on my desk.
I pick it up and move to toss it into the trash before Chelsea interrupts me, “No, no, no. That’s from your admirer.” She nods her head toward the back of the class.
I glance back to see Brady leaning on the back two legs of his chair, laughing with the girl sitting beside him. She is twisted sideways and facing toward him, trying to invade as much of his personal space as he’ll allow, and he appears not to mind at all.
His eyes find mine. I unwrap the gum, open my mouth, and pop the gum in. Slowly, I chew it as Brady’s lips turn into that cocky grin that I love.
“So, what’s the plan for this weekend? You know that you can still back out, right?” Chelsea whispers to me, pulling my attention away from Brady.
“No, Chels. I put too much work into this planto stop now. I need to know,” I whisper back before opening my book. “Everything’s a go for Saturday night.” I try to pay attention to Mr. Keemper.
Chelsea drops her head to her desk with a loud thud.
“Is everything okay, Miss Benson?”Mr. Keemper asks.
She raises her head. “No, sir, but we can’t do anything about it.”
“Would you like a pass to visit the guidance counselor?” he says as he writes on the whiteboard.
“No, sir. I would just like to learn some bio.
“That’s bullshit. I just watched you run for five minutes, and you did great. Look at it this way—you can pay me back for making you run.”
“Now that you put it that way, let’s go!”
It’s obvious why Brady has his pick of women. It’s difficult to say no to him.
He takes me into a room that is closed off from the rest of the gym. A boxing ring is in the middle of the room, and bags are hanging from the ceiling along one wall.
He leads me to a long wooden bench. “Sit.”
I do as he says, and he begins wrapping my hands with white tape.
“Whoa. We’re not wearing gloves?” I say, shocked.
“Yeah, we are, but the tape keeps you from getting blisters from the gloves.”
“Okay, you had me worried for a minute.”
His proximity is making me feel anxious. I like it.
“Worried for you , of course,” I add.
“So, you’ve never boxed, right?”
“Other than the few fights my sister and I had when we were kids, no.”
He smiles and then slides the gloves onto my hands, tightly fastening the Velcro straps.
I nod my head and pound my fists together like the pros do. “I’m ready to rumble.”
He laughs as he starts wrapping his own hands. “We’ll see about that, Flower.”
“I’m going to beat you up just for that stupid nickname you gave me.”
He motions for me to follow him to the boxing ring.
“You don’t like it?” He pulls the heavy rope up and places his gloved hand on my back.
I duck under the rope and step into the ring. I purposely don’t answer his question. I don’t like the name, but at the same time, I don’t want him to stop using it.
He slips a puffy foam thing over my head.
“You’re not going to hit me in the head, are you?” I ask.
He shakes his head and puts an identical helmet on his head. By the look on his face, he’s amused by my questions.
I watch Brady dance around the ring as if he’s facing a real opponent.
“This is kinda cool. Are you good at it?” I walk toward him until I’m standing directly in front of him.
“Yes, I am the best.” He smiles that cocky half smile.
All I want to do is the opposite of fight with him.
“What are you thinking?” The words just come out of my mouth.
“Oh, Reese, you’re such a girl!”
“What? You’re so quiet, and that smile tells me you’re thinking something.”
“Don’t worry about what I’m thinking, girl. Let’s box.” He holds his gloves out between us.
I smack mine down on his. Then, I wink and jab him in the gut.
I’m late to school on Tuesday, so I have to run to my first class. I slide into the seat next to Chelsea in our first-hour bio class.
“Ugh.” I find a piece of gum sitting on my desk.
I pick it up and move to toss it into the trash before Chelsea interrupts me, “No, no, no. That’s from your admirer.” She nods her head toward the back of the class.
I glance back to see Brady leaning on the back two legs of his chair, laughing with the girl sitting beside him. She is twisted sideways and facing toward him, trying to invade as much of his personal space as he’ll allow, and he appears not to mind at all.
His eyes find mine. I unwrap the gum, open my mouth, and pop the gum in. Slowly, I chew it as Brady’s lips turn into that cocky grin that I love.
“So, what’s the plan for this weekend? You know that you can still back out, right?” Chelsea whispers to me, pulling my attention away from Brady.
“No, Chels. I put too much work into this planto stop now. I need to know,” I whisper back before opening my book. “Everything’s a go for Saturday night.” I try to pay attention to Mr. Keemper.
Chelsea drops her head to her desk with a loud thud.
“Is everything okay, Miss Benson?”Mr. Keemper asks.
She raises her head. “No, sir, but we can’t do anything about it.”
“Would you like a pass to visit the guidance counselor?” he says as he writes on the whiteboard.
“No, sir. I would just like to learn some bio.
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