Brawler Read Online Free

off and stuffed it in the bag. Now dressed in nothing but shorts and a sports bra, I shouldered my bag and walked toward the locker room.
    I’d never been a pretentious or conceited woman, but I was well aware that I was attractive. I was in great physical shape, my ass was cute, and my tits were fantastic. I wouldn’t argue that my hair needed to be cut, but pulled into a ponytail, it looked as good as anyone else’s.
    And I had it in a ponytail.
    I strutted past Ethan and toward the far end of the gym, doing my best to look irresistible. Fighting the urge not to turn around, I walked into the locker room, looked in the mirror, and exhaled. I looked great. How could he not see it? I got undressed and took a shower, wondering the entire time if he’d noticed me, and if he did, what he was thinking.
    Being fascinated by someone and having them show no interest in return isn’t an easy thing for a woman to accept, and I wasn’t much different than anyone else in that respect. Wondering what it was about me that he didn’t like, I got dressed and left the locker room.
    I walked past him again, poking my earbuds in my ears as I passed by. When I was almost to the door, I could see his reflection in the glass.
    “I wasn’t trying to be an asshole,” he said.
    I didn’t even have my iPod turned on and had heard him just fine, but I didn’t want him to know it. I pulled my right earbud out, turned around, and shot him a false look of surprise. “Did you say something?”
    He was so attractive it made me nervous to stand there looking at him. Turning away wasn’t really an option, though.
    “I said I wasn’t trying to be an asshole.”
    I draped the earbud over my shoulder. “Just comes natural for you?”
    His eyes fell to the floor for a few seconds. After a light sigh, he looked up. “You’re intimidating.”
    What? Me?
    I was shocked. And this time it wasn’t a show. “Me? How would I be intimidating to you ?”
    “Don’t act like you don’t know you’re gorgeous,” he said. “And. Well. After seeing what you did to that guy at Starbucks, it’s pretty obvious you’re a much better fighter than I’ll ever be.”
    I stood and gawked at him, partially because he was so fucking handsome, and in part because of the compliments he had just given me. I was flattered. “I don’t know about all that, but thank you” I said. “And don’t worry, I won’t bite. I mean, not unless you want me to.”
    He looked embarrassed. As always, I came off a little too strong. It was one of my strengths – or weaknesses – depending on how one looked at it. He grinned nonetheless. “So, Ripp said he’s going to train you.”
    “Yeah. Looks that way. Does he train you?”
    He shook his head. “No. One of the other guys here does.”
    “Oh,” I said.
    I wondered where Ripp ranked in comparison to the other trainers, and hoped I made the right choice regarding having him train me. “So, how does Ripp compare to the other guys as far as training goes?”
    He widened his eyes and chuckled. “As far as the other guys go, there’s no comparison. Kelsey’s first and Ripp’s second. But Kelsey doesn’t train anyone but Dekk.”
    “Who’s Dekk?”
    “Seriously?”
    “Yeah.” I shrugged. “I don’t know anyone yet.”
    He waved his arms toward the open facility. “Dekk. He owns the place. He’s the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Shane Dekkar’s his real name. Kelsey trains him. He’s best friends with Ripp.”
    “Ripp said he was friends with the owner. I guess that explains it.”
    “I can’t believe you didn’t know who he was.”
    “I haven’t followed the sport since I was sixteen,” I said, feeling slightly foolish for not knowing. “I know now, though.”
    He grinned and nodded. “I’ll point him out when he comes in.”
    At that moment, I really didn’t care who the champion was, who owned the gym, or how well-connected Ripp was with him. I wanted to get to know Ethan. “So, are you