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.I need to at least show a little interest in her.I can’t have Blaine or Jimmy asking her out on a date for me.This isn’t fourth grade.Aimee looks at me inquisitively, as if she’s trying to read my mind.“So, you wanna go out on a date with me and your friends?” she sounds shocked.“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” I do my best to try to sound as convincing as I can, hoping she won’t see through the lie.Truth be told, I like Aimee; we had a fun time together, but she’s not Salem and she never will be.I really hate Jimmy for putting me in this position, making me pretend I want to spend time with her and leading her on.“Sure, why not,” she finally agrees.“Great!” Blaine chimes in.“Once Salem gets here, we’ll iron out all the details.”“Come on, Jimmy, let’s go get ready for class.” I start walking toward the back of the gym.“Saint!” I hear Aimee call out.Shit, just when I thought I was safe.“Yeah?” I spin around on my heel.“Can I talk to you for a quick second?” Jimmy’s standing right next to me, waiting for her to speak.“In private,” she says quietly, so only Jimmy and I can hear.“Oh sure, of course,” Jimmy gets the hint.“Saint, I’ll meet you in the locker room.”“Sure thing.What’s up?” I let her lead the way.“How come you never called me?”Oh Christ, here we go.“You never gave me your number,” I lie.“You’re gonna use that line?” She gives me a look of disapproval.“You could’ve easily asked Steph for my number.”“Yeah, you’re right.I could’ve.” I’m not even trying to make up an excuse.“So, you’re okay with going out on Saturday?”“Sure, why not.I can handle the rejection,” she replies coolly.“Okay, I deserved that,” I respond.“You deserve more than that,” she swats my bicep.“So, I guess I’ll see you Saturday night,” she confirms, then walks away, rejoining her friends.“See you then.” I look over at the three girls who begin laughing.I hustle to the locker room so I can kick Jimmy’s ass for dragging me into this.“Seriously, Jimmy?! What the hell were you thinking?”He nearly jumps out of his skin.“Christ, Saint, you scared the shit outta me.”“I’m gonna kick the shit outta you, next.”“I… I… I’m sorry,” he stutters.“I wanted you to come and Aimee was standing there.”Shaking my head, I scrub my hands over my face.“I can’t go, Jimmy.I can’t see them together.”“See who?” He’s totally confused.“Jimmy, are you a fuckin’ moron?” He truly is clueless.“The other couple we’re goin’ out with on Saturday night.” I hiss, “Blaine and Salem!”Finally, he has a revelation.“Holy shit! I’m so fuckin’ stupid.”I’m certainly not gonna stop him from saying that.“Dude, why do you think I was trying to stop it from happening?”“I guess I just got excited about us all hangin’ out together.I thought it would be fun.”“Fun for you, maybe.”“I’ll tell Blaine I can’t go, that I forgot I have plans,” Jimmy starts to back pedal.“Forget it, Jim.I’ll figure somethin’ out.”“So, are you gonna tell me what’s goin’ on with you two?”I shake my head.“It’s probably better if you stay in the dark.”“Understood,” he nods his head.Jimmy knows I’ve reached my limit on this topic.“I’ll see you out there.” I open up my locker and grab my stuff.I do a quick change and I’m ready for my class.I don’t have to do much, just instruct the girls, make sure they’re hitting and kicking properly, and run drills.As I step out of the locker room, I’m standing face to face with Salem.“Hey,” I smile, happy to see her.But by the look on her face, I know she’s not.“We have to talk,” she whispers.“Sure.”She pulls me out of plain sight.“We’re all going out on Saturday night?” Her eyes anxiously shoot back forth.“Salem, it wasn’t my idea.I tried to get out of it,” I try to explain.“This is bad,” she paces, “really, really bad.”“We’ll get through it,” I do my best to convince her.“What about Jimmy? He saw us kissing.”“Don’t worry about Jimmy.He’s not gonna say a word.”“How about his fiancée, do you trust her?”“Salem, relax,” I stop her from pacing.My hands are firmly on her shoulders.“Jimmy and Steph have my back.”“What if someone can tell by the look on my face?”“No one is gonna find out,” I run my hands up and down her arms to soothe her.“Now, go put those sexy as hell yoga pants on and meet me in the ring.” I squeeze her tight ass.She shoots me a look, her eyes narrowing.“I’ll see you in the ring.”My head rests back against the wall, and I clasp my chest as she vanishes into the ladies’ locker room.“You feelin’ okay, Saint?” My eyes pop open.“Oh yeah, I’m fine.Just gettin’ ready for class.”“This is my favorite class that’s held here.”I give the guy a strange look.“Especially when you make them do jumping jacks!” His face lights up.Not knowing what else to say, I utter, “Well, I’m glad you enjoy it.I better go, I don’t wanna keep the ladies waiting.”“That you don’t.”Rounding the corner, I enter into the main gym area.There’s a group of ladies standing around near the ring, and I can only assume they’re waiting for me.“Are you ladies here for the kickboxing class?” I ask as I get closer.“We sure are,” a buxom blonde says proudly.“Wow, I didn’t expect such a great turnout!” I look at the ring, realizing there’s no way in hell everyone is gonna fit.With at least fifteen women gathering around me, my eyes scan the gym for Jimmy.I think I’m gonna need assistance with this class.“With a group this size, we’re gonna need to split up.Can I have half of you in the ring and the other half on the mats?”“Hey, Jimmy,” I yell across the gym, catching his attention, “can you come here for a minute?” Jimmy saunters over.“Dude, you wanna help me with this class?”“Hell yeah!”“Great, so I’m thinking since it’s such a big group, we’ll split up.We’ll teach ‘em some basic moves, glove ‘em up, and run some drills.”“Sounds like a plan.”“Thanks, man,” I pat Jimmy on the back.“Don’t mention it,” he returns the gesture.“Okay, ladies,” I announce loudly, quieting their chatter.“Jimmy and I are here to teach you some basic boxing moves.We’re gonna go over some of the combinations, and once you’ve got those down, you’re gonna partner up and test them out.”“Jimmy, why don’t you take the mats, and I’ll take the ring.” I have ulterior motives for wanting to take the ring.I told Salem to meet here, and I wanna make damn sure I’m teaching her group.“No problem.”I see Salem, out of the corner of my eye, as she walks up the stairs to the ring, and my heart begins to race.I do my best not to stare at her ass as she bends over, maneuvering herself through the ropes.“Okay, ladies, I need you to spread out, giving yourself enough space to throw some punches.” I can’t help but glance in Salem’s direction.She gives me a small nervous smile, looking very uncomfortable.After spending a good fifteen to twenty minutes warming them up and then going over the combinations, I’m confident these girls know what they’re doing.“Alright, who’s ready to put some gloves on? If you happen to have some already, go get them, but if not, there are some over on that shelf that you can borrow.” I point to the shelf over in the corner of the room.The girls filter out of the ring; Salem is the last one [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]