The building we walk to is completely different to the gym we were in before. It doesn't have any signs to specify what it actually is and looks huge, old and uninviting. Daniel pushes open a large metal door. There is a small reception at the front, but no one is on it. We walk past it and into a large open space with six large boxing rings on it. There are men and women fighting in each ring.
"Daniel!" a large guy waves his gloved hand at us, "finally!" he yells. Daniel swats his hand at him, wordlessly telling him they'll talk later.
We're walking past and I realise that Phil is fighting bare chested with another blonde man in one of the rings, Phil pauses when he sees us, almost attaining a punch because of it. He manages to dodge it and walks over to the side, his eyes moving over us both ten times,
"You two together or some shit?" he calls out,
"Piss off Phil" Daniel says, pulls my arm after him. The fights going on around us look brutal. In one ring two women dressed in nothing but short shorts and a bra are fighting it out. They're actually slamming fists at one another. With my free hand I grasp Daniel's wrist, pulling at him to stop. He obliges and looks down at me,
"What's wrong?" he asks,
"I am not getting into one of those rings" I say hurriedly, I don't care if it's his routine or not, I don't want to be punched by someone tonight,
"Don't worry" he laughs, "I'm not getting you to go into a ring. Come with me" I follow, a lot of the people are staring at me. One man even takes a couple of steps towards us, but the deadly look Daniel sends his way makes him retrace his steps, he even says 'sorry' as he does so.
Daniel leads us to the back of the room, where there are numerous large boxing bags set up and tells me to wait next to a bag while he goes and gets something. I stand next to the bag nervously, the gym is dimly lit, and there is a weird rhythmic thud of punching bags and the scent of worn leather. My eyes are glued to Daniel, willing him to hurry up and come back so I am not standing here alone. He picks something up off a bench, and turns to make his way back to me, but some man stops him to talk to him. From how they talk, I can tell they know each other well. One thing I am noticing, is although all the people here are strong and muscular, Daniel still stands out. A silhouette of strength and experience.
He laughs at something the man says, then turns back to me and makes his way over here. He approaches me with an encouraging smile,
"Relax, Sofia, you look stressed as hell"
"Sort of feel out of my element here" I admit,
"Hold your hands out" he says, I don't question him, just do as he tells me. He starts wrapping my hands in coarse, well-worn wraps,
"I thought boxers wear boxing gloves" I comment, looking at the wrapping job he's doing to my hands,
"They do, but you put the wrap on first, to provide support for the wrists" I nod, once he finishes he pulls gloves over my wrapped hands, "your hands are tiny" he comments, and it takes him a moment to ensure the gloves are placed securely. With the gloves, my hands feel large and clunky,
"Right" he steps back when done, "lets start with the basics"
He demonstrates the proper stance, footwork and the mechanics of a punch. I listen and watch carefully, trying to mimic everything as well as I can. I have to admit, despite my uncertainty and inexperience, I also feel a bit of excitement to learn a skill I never even thought to acknowledge. His large, calloused hands guide me through some of the punches, correcting my mistakes. Jab. Hook. Jab. I'm actually enjoying it, boxing is a lot more fun that I thought,
"Alright, you've got the basics, now focus on hitting harder" he directs,
"I am hitting hard" I say,
"You want to feel your muscles working here" he reaches out to touch a place between my neck and shoulder, it's like electricity shoots through me when his skin touches mine, I fumble in my punches,
"I already feel it there from the working out before" I mumble,
"You lost your rhythm" he says, "go again"
"I lost my rhythm because you touched me" I glance up at him, "don't touch me and I'll be fine"
"My touch has that effec on you?"
"Not your touch, but anyone's touch. I'm ticklish on my neck" I try and find an excuse, last thing I want is for him to know how attractive I find him when I'm not even his type,
"Okay, I won't touch you there" he says with a smirk. He stands next to me a little longer, correcting my punches when needed, I stop when I'm feeling tired and breathing heavily,
"Your turn" I say, he pulls on a set of gloves and starts punching the same bag I was on.
This time the heavy bag moves in and out after each punch. His muscles ripple under the strain of each strike, I feel my heart race just watching him. The intensity of his training, his focus and precision are incredible to watch. I am relishing the fact that I can observe him without his knowledge,
"What're you doing here with Daniel?" Phil asks, approaching out of nowhere. I quickly tear my eyes from Daniel, hoping Phil didn't see my admiration towards his friend. I feel like a little kid caught in a bad act,
"I... um..." I cross my arms over my chest, feigning indifference though I know my eyes were wide open only seconds earlier, "Daniel offered to take me to his gym" Phil is shirtless. I wonder if Daniel would have been shirtless too had I not been with him. I am thankful he wasn't or I wouldn't know where to look.
"I see that" Phil laughs, "but I am surprised you'd be interested in this"
"We went to the real gym earlier" I explain, "but this is actually pretty fun too. I see why you guys like it"
"We might convert you to boxing then?"
"No" I laugh, "don't think that's very likely"
Daniel stops punching the bag, turns to Phil and I,
"Want to do more?" Daniel asks me, I swallow hard when his eyes meet mine. What the hell is up with me? I shake my head no in response to his question,
"Every bit of my body is sore, don't think I could do another round of anything" I say honestly, Daniel's eyes rake down my body, like he can visually check if I'm telling the truth,
"Doubt every bit is sore, but okay" he smirks, "you did well today" I have no idea why he's smiling, but decide not to ask,
"What are you doing here?" he turns back to Phil,
"Talking to her" Phil shrugs, "am I not allowed?"
"She came with me"
"So what? I can talk to her, can't I Sofia?" he asks me but doesn't wait for a response, "want to do one in the ring?" he directs the second question to Daniel,
"No, she has school tomorrow, it's already after ten" he responds,
"I don't mind. You can do it if you want to" I say, but Daniel shakes his head,
"Come" he grasps the top part of my arm and gently pulls me towards the exit. A few people there are calling after Daniel to fight them in the ring, he says no to everyone. We exit the gym. The night is much colder now, and very dark. I pull on my sweater, he does the same,
"Normally I bring a change of clothes, they have showers in there" he explains when we exit,
"Why didn't you bring them today?"
"Wasn't expecting you to actually go for it"
"You didn't think I'd work out?"
"No. Most girls that look like you don't"
"What do you mean, 'girls that look like me'?"
"Pretty, delicate princesses. You surprised me"
"I look like a delicate princess to you?" I ask, leaving out the pretty part. I don't mind if he thinks I am pretty, it's the delicate princess part that vexes me,
"Yup" he says bluntly,
"Well, we'll see how someone that looks like you does in my dance studio" I retort,
"And what do I look like?" he asks with a smirk, I take a moment to think it over. Opposite of delicate princess, what would that be?
"A grumpy rough giant" he bursts out laughing,
"Since when am I grumpy and rough?"
"Add forgetful to the list if you don't know"
"I can back my pretty delicate princess claim, but you can't back grumpy and rough" he laughs again,
"Okay. Back it. How am I a delicate princess?"
"Look at you. You wear pretty clothes, spend your evenings dancing at theatres, untouchable to everyone around you"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you don't know how many hungry eyes watch you when you dance"
"What do you mean?"
"Every man in that audience wanted a piece of you. You know that"
"That's not true"
"It is"
"It's not. And even if it was even remotely true, how does that make me a delicate princess?"
"A pretty princess, loved by everyone, but untouchable. No can reach you, but they all want you. I bet everything goes your way with any man. Delicate in that you're small, gentle, easily hurt"
"That's so not true" I retort,
"Yes it is. Partly. You've proven me slightly wrong tonight. A fully delicate princess wouldn't have put in as much effort as you"
"You really think everything in my life goes my way?"
"A hundred percent. I can't see any man deny you anything you ask for"
"That's crazy. I had many people deny me things" I say,
"Like?"
"The list would be endless" I respond,
"So, now give me yours. Why would I be grumpy and rough? Have I ever been grumpy and rough with you?"
"Yes. You forgot forgetful"
"Okay. So, tell me"
"Well, I may have accused you of things you didn't do, but you didn't react very well to my accusations. Did you forget breaking into the bathroom, threatening me?"
"I thought you were a thief, if you said one word I wouldn't have broken in. And when have I ever threatened you? You're making it up"
"You really forgot telling me you'd give me a reason to be scared of you if I went to the police?" he glances down at me, our eyes meet, his are playful and alive. I am feeling a playful too.
"Oh, that? I forgot. I wasn't serious" he smiles,
"No? So, what would have happened if I told the police about my suspicions?"
"I wouldn't have done anything to you"
"Really? I don't believe that"
"It's true. You really think I'd actually do something to hurt you in any way?" he says this with complete sincerity, I'm a little taken aback, I revert my eyes back to the road. We walk silently towards his car. Once we're in, he turns to me,
"Up for dinner?" he asks, I glance at the clock, it's eleven fifteen, we've been at the gym for close to four hours,
"Diner at midnight?" I ask,
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Uh... okay, sure" I say, not really ready to call it a night either. He drives over to the only open place at this time of night, a takeout fast food eatery. He orders a full mean, and I only go for fries. I don't have a habit of eating this late. We both get large drinks. They give the food to us in a takeout bag,
"The night is pretty warm, we can eat outside?" he asks, and I nod, he parks his car a couple of hundred metres from the restaurant. We get out, it's a little park. With swings and slides, but it seems so large and quiet in the night. No children, no people. Just us among the trees. I follow him to a large rock under a branched out oak tree. We sit on the rock, take our food out and eat. The wind is gentle, the breeze is cool. I feel safe.