He rolls his eyes. “You do know this is why Vince doesn’t want you with Nikki, right?” Bouncing from foot to foot, he meets me in the center of the ring.
“Don’t say that name,” I say.
“Oh fuck me. You and Nikki already on the outs after you moved all the way up here?”
“I meant Vince.” I circle him and throw a punch, which he blocks.
“Where is he anyway?” Craig asks. “Usually he’s asking me how many times you shit in a day, he wants so many specifics on your training.”
Craig is right, and that’s been my question as well, which is why I checked out Vince’s social media last night. My gut proved right. He’s trying to recruit some up-and-coming MMA fighters. A part of me is pissed and another part is relieved. He’d only be a dick to Nikki if he was here.
“He’s out and about, looking at some younger guys.”
Craig stops and I get in a kick in that takes him to the floor. I hold out my hand to help him back up to his feet. “You’re fucking with me, right? You’re not about to retire, are you?”
“I don’t know. Today, no.” My answer is honest.
“I was going to say do not put that out there until you win this fight.”
“Why?”
He jabs at me, and I get him around and push my elbow toward his nose. That’s the move I have to perfect if I’m going to beat Rinaldo.
“Because we both know that if you lose—”
I give him a look to tell him to watch his words.
He laughs. “If the unthinkable happens, you won’t be retiring.”
“Come on, I don’t think winning is the only thing that matters.”
“Log, we both know you’re not the kind of person who retires on the bottom. If you leave this sport, you’re gonna do it on top.”
Craig knows me well. I can’t deny he’s telling the truth. It’s the reason I’d never announce my retirement now unless something major happened.
The doors to the gym open and I glance over to find Nikki coming in from work. Craig kicks my legs out from under me and I crash to the floor right as she looks over.
Great.
I hop up on my feet. “Oh, look, it’s the wife.”
Nikki says hi to Fisher then comes over. “Hey.”
“Give me a minute,” I say to Craig.
“Hey, Nikki. Want my protective gear?” Craig laughs and slides out of the ring. He pulls out his cell phone and heads outside where cell service is better.
“What’s up?” I ask her, not getting out of the ring.
“I thought maybe we could talk.”
I slide under the ropes and sit on the edge. “Sure.”
“Ethel’s self-defense thing is tonight, and I want us to be talking before. She’ll realize something is up and she’ll corner us.” She crosses her arms.
I take off my gloves and set them beside me, then work on my ankle braces. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle it myself.”
She laughs. “You might think you can, but you can’t. I promise you, those old folks are hard to corral.”
“Aren’t half of them in wheelchairs and use canes? I think I can handle myself.”
Her shoulders fall. “Fine. Go ahead and deal with it on your own.”
She storms off. I watch her back as she swings the door open and flies out of the gym.
Craig returns a minute later. “Wifey doesn’t look happy.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Craig sits on a bench, putting on his sweatshirt and pants. “I know you came from a rough neighborhood, that you and Pauline were poor, but do you ever think that all these years, you’re used to getting what you want pretty easily?”
“What are you talking about?”
He quirks an eyebrow, glances at Fisher, and back at me.
“We’re married,” I say.
“Come on, Log, be straight with me. You and that girl aren’t even sleeping in the same bed.”
I look over my shoulder, but Fisher’s staring pretty intently at Allie doing sit-ups.
“What?” I ask.
“You like her, but whatever you two are right now, it isn’t husband and wife.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shove my stuff in my bag.
“Maybe, but hear me out. Sometimes when you’ve gotten everything you’ve ever wanted and worked for in your life, it’s hard to fathom how someone could see anything as impossible. But for some people, believing in something can be hard. Give the girl some time to come around.”
“I’ve given her time,” I say, basically admitting to what he suspects.
“What? Two weeks?”
I sit and stare down at the floor. Craig has a point. But I feel like I’ve done everything to prove myself to her, and I’ve taken her nos to mean that she’s not into me.
“Thanks,” I say.
He pats my back. “Hey, I gotta keep you in the right frame of mind. I like Nikki, by the way. She’s good for you. You don’t want one of those women who just fall at your feet. Right?”
He is right. I grab my phone from my bag.
Me: Sorry. I’d appreciate it if you went with me to the retirement center.
Three dots appear then disappear before her message flashes up on the screen.
Nikki: Okay. I’ll drive. Let’s leave at six.
Me: Sounds good.
Although I don’t want her to drive, right now is probably not the time to make an argument out of it.
“I’m proud of you. It takes a real man to know when he’s wrong.” Craig clasps me on the shoulder and laughs.
We walk out of Pump It Up. “Who the hell told you that? A woman, I assume?”
“Yep, and it’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten.”
We walk toward the house and I recommit to giving Nikki her space, even if I want to go to battle with her over her fear of letting someone in.
Chapter Seventeen
“What can really go wrong?”
Nikki
Six o’clock rolls around and Logan comes downstairs from his bedroom, freshly showered and smelling amazing.
“Hey, I thought I’d be ready before you.” He stops at the front table and puts his wallet and keys into his pocket.
I turn on my heel to head toward the door. “You look too good to go to a retirement center. Especially since you’re teaching self-defense.”
He makes me look shameful in my leggings and sweatshirt. Grandma Ethel will surely have something to say about my attire in front of her friends.
“I’m wearing workout clothes.” He looks down at himself as if he forgot what he was wearing.
“Yes, but your hair is styled and you smell good.”
He smirks. “So what you’re really saying is that you think I’m hot?” Before I can manage a rebuttal, he puts up his finger. “And that I smell good.”
I roll my eyes playfully because he caught me. “Let’s go.” I open the front door and we step off the porch.