Page 58 of Movers and Fakers

I turn away from her and do a few jabs, then a hook as demonstration. When I face her again, she’s watching me with an intensity I didn’t expect. It makes my heart pick up speed, adrenaline rushing like I’m in the ring with a real opponent.

“That was a combination,” I explain. “We can try that next. It’ll go like this. Jab.” I touch her gloves with my left one. “Jab.” Another tap. “Duck.” My head drops, then pops back up. “Hook.” I swing my right arm in an arc toward her head, shortening my reach so that I don’t touch her.

Aurora doesn’t flinch once, just watches me with her bright blue eyes, a slight smile on her lips.

“You love this, don’t you?” Her whispered question catches me off guard. I drop my hands to my side, and she does the same.

“What makes you say that?”

“You’re actually teaching me, for one.” She laughs a little, making me smile. “And there’s something … different about you when we’re in here. You’re obnoxiously confident everywhere you go, but you’re comfortable here, like this is your home.”

“In a way, it is, I guess,” I reply in a low voice.

It’s an odd feeling to have someone see the real me. A lot of people look at me, but very few actually see me. I shift on my feet, unused to the sensation and not sure if I like it or not.

As if Aurora can sense my discomfort, she puts her gloves up again.

“Jab, jab, duck, hook.” She echoes my instructions. “Is that right?”

I lift my hands and nod.

She pushes out her left glove once, then another time. Much slower than me, but precise enough to make contact with my gloves. I swing toward her and she ducks. My glove brushes the top of her bun when she doesn’t move fast enough. Then she pops back up and swings, almost losing her balance in the process.

“You’re gonna have to be faster than that if you want to hit someone,” I say, and she scrunches her nose.

“It feels like when I train with wrist and ankle weights, but worse. I don’t know how you move so quickly.”

I shrug. “It takes a lot of practice. Here, let’s try another combination. Don’t duck this time. Jab, jab, hook, jab.”

I demonstrate, then she follows suit. Still too slow to have any hope of hitting me even if I was at half speed, but better than before. Her lips turn down in a frown.

“Come on, Princess, I know you can do better than that.” I tease her, trying to get some more fire in her movements.

I do a couple of quick jabs that would hit her if I didn’t hold back, because she’s doing a poor job of blocking. Her eyes flash with an emotion I can’t quite place. When I pause, she drops her gloves.

“Could you get us some water? I think I’m a little dehydrated after my technique class this morning.”

The question feels out of the blue, but I know she doesn’t like to ask anyone for anything, so I’m glad she did.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” I reply, and immediately turn to head out of the ring.

I get two steps before a weight hits my back. I stumble a little, barely keeping my balance. Aurora’s legs wrap around my waist, her arms around my neck.

“What are you doing?” I laugh.

“Winning,” she whispers against my ear, and warmth spreads from my abdomen outward.

I have maybe three seconds to enjoy her lips near my skin before she starts hitting me haphazardly with her gloves. The punches are as weak as her other ones, if not weaker, and I can’t stop laughing. I get my gloves off while she hits my shoulders and head, then with some work—her grip is much stronger than her punches—I shift her so she’s facing me instead of on my back.

“Now what?” I ask her through labored breaths.

She meets my gaze. Her arms are draped over my shoulders, thighs wrapped tightly around my waist. My hands are on her lower back, and I can feel the heat of her skin through the thin leotard she’s wearing. Her lashes flutter as she looks down at my lips, then back up. One of my hands slides between her shoulder blades, brushing her bare skin.

Aurora’s lips part.

Ask me, I beg her internally. Ask me to kiss you.

The sound of a barbell hitting the floor reverberates through the room. Aurora flinches and immediately drops her legs down, then pulls away from me. My hands tingle from where they touched her, held her.