Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Jason laughed. “True that. You’re looking good, man.” He glanced at my body, but it was a purely platonic check-out. Fighters did it to each other all the time.
When you made a living with your body, people had a tendency to look at it, to see what the fuss was all about or to gauge what kind of shape you were in. Often, it was just an appreciation of the human form. Over the years, I’d gotten good at telling the difference between one of those kinds of glances and genuine interest.
That’s how I’d known Jamie wanted me from the first night we’d met. The heat coming off of that boy had me sweating so bad I thought I was going to have to start shedding clothes to cool down. What I did not get from him at the time was a straight vibe. I genuinely believed he was flirting with me. But then he does a lot of flirting that he doesn’t even notice he’s doing. It’s like he thinks if he’s not saying something cute or sexual, then it doesn’t count as flirting.
I wish he could see himself from the outside just once. See the way he postures and preens in a way that is distinctly sexual, and the way his movements are so precisely choreographed to draw attention. A squaring of the shoulders, a shift of the hip, a flick of the tongue… All simple movements, but when he does them, they’re somehow elevated. Most of all, I wish he could see the way his dark eyes hang onto mine, suggesting in a very virtuous, unassuming way that he needs to be fucked good and hard. If he could see that, he would understand why I’d had to pursue him, even after I found out he was straight. Even when I could list a hundred different reasons why I shouldn’t.
The way Jason looked at me was nothing like that. There was certainly a deep affection there that came from years of being friends and trusting each other as training partners, but nothing even remotely sexual. I wasn’t attracted to him, either, because I’d never been drawn to fighters. They were too much like me. I’d noticed a lot of men being attracted to guys who looked a lot like them, with the same body type, similar coloring and facial structure. Jamie was nothing like me, and that’s the way I liked it. When I’d mentioned it to Dr. Tanner, she suggested that my personality was skewed so far to one side, maybe I needed someone to counterbalance me. I think maybe she was right.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have that counterbalance anymore. I’d left him behind, and now I was on my own. Maybe that would prove to be a good thing during camp.
“Do I hear women?” I asked as Jason pulled me through the front door of the mansion.
“Oh, yeah. Really hot women, and they’re wearing bikinis. We’ve got a harem out there at the pool, dude. I don’t know what kind of camp they thought this was supposed to be, but I think Hugh Hefner is running it.”
“Maybe they live here,” I suggested, taking in the impressive foyer and the curved staircase.
“Nope,” Jason said. “They showed up after I did. I’m sure it’s supposed to be some mental thing. Get enough testosterone floating around here, and it’ll make you sharper. Plus, I know after I fight, I wanna fuck. Don’t you?”
I mumbled something that was barely suggestive of words. Because, yeah, I wanted to fuck after a fight, probably more desperately than any of them. But I didn’t want to have to back up that claim in this house with the current residents.
To be honest, I was a little pissed about the whole thing. I didn’t want to be a slave driver, but this training camp was serious business for me. What if my partners were too busy chasing tail to get their heads in the game?
Marco came into the foyer then and greeted me, and I’d never been so glad to see him.
“Did you have enough of a vacation?” he asked. “Ready to get started? As you know, the guy you’re fighting is no match for you. Not even close. But dropping so much weight is going to be a challenge. You’re not going to be as strong or heavy as you’re used to, and the cut is going to steal energy from you. An opponent who wouldn’t normally be a threat might surprise you when you’re in a weakened state.”
Good old Marco. All work and no play. I loved that about him, especially at that moment when I needed to be saved from Jason trying to tempt me into partying.
“Yeah, Marco, I’m ready. Just show me my room and let me get changed, then we can get busy.”