Axel: A Bad Boy Romance (6 page)

Chapter Ten

It was strange how quickly Marie settled into her new routine. It was easy for her to close her eyes and pretend she had always been here. Her past life didn’t exist and she wasn't running from anything. This was her home. Cate ran a little ahead and Marie made herself let go of her daughter’s hand. It still hurt, but it was getting easier and she knew it was important to give her daughter room to grow.

Like an expert after all of three days, Cate raced into the daycare center ahead of Marie and carefully took her shoes off and put them and her snack in a little cubby stenciled with her name. Marie smiled at the daycare worker and gave one last look at Cate before walking back out. She was fitting right in. Already she had a little crowd of friends happy to see her. Marie had been worried about Cate. What if she had trouble fitting in or trouble making friends in a new town? They had been isolated back in Arizona and she hadn’t spent much time with children her own age. But now Cate was doing a better job adjusting than Marie was.

Not needing to be back at work for a few hours, Marie stood in front of the daycare deciding what to do. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. She had passed the gym the other day and she thought she might check it out again. She felt a little nervous, but she did her best to ignore her roiling stomach as she walked down Main Street. As she came upon the building she saw the people working out inside, so confident and coordinated, and she lost her nerve and with her head down she kept walking.

She wished she had a friend to join the gym with. That was what she needed, someone else with her who also had no idea what she was doing. They could learn together. The sad fact was Ingrid was her only friend and she wasn’t really interested in speed walking with Ingrid. She wanted to get stronger and tougher. She didn’t want to learn how to run or walk really fast; she wanted to learn how to throw a punch and deliver a kick. She made a fist and frowned at it. It looked way too small to actually hurt someone.

In high school, before she had gotten pregnant with Cate, she had been a cheerleader. She had always like learning the routines and the lifts. She liked the workouts they had before practice. She remembered the feeling of her heart pounding as she ran, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She had to quit senior year when Austin got jealous. He was convinced she was spending time with the football players instead of the other girls on her squad. She tried to explain to him that they almost never saw the players, but he refused to listen.

Why did she quit? Why did she let him boss her around like that? In the later years it had been because she was afraid of him. But back in high school, why hadn’t she stood up for herself? But all she could remember of that time was loving him unconditionally and unreasonably. She was blind to his temper and his cruelty. She was lost in being in love and after enough time she simply thought that was what love looked like.

So what did it really look like? What was her life now without Austin? Who was she? What did she want? She didn’t even know anymore. She had spent so much time trying to make someone else happy and she had received nothing but hatred back. So what was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to finally be herself if she didn’t know who that person was?

She wanted to go to the gym. She just wanted to check it out; that was all. But she was letting fear stop her. She was letting Austin and his cruelty stop her from trying something new. She couldn’t let that happen. With a deep breath, Marie turned around and walked back to the gym. She squared her shoulders and kept her eyes straight ahead.

What was there to be afraid of? It was just a gym. Certainly nothing bad would happen. The worst thing would be that she didn’t like it and then she would never have to come back. It was a no lose scenario. She was back at the front door of the gym and without a second thought she pushed it open and took a step inside.

It was bright and smelled clean and airy. The sound of machines squeaking and people talking could be heard along with the radio, which was currently planning the new Rihanna song. It looked like a friendly enough place. She turned to the desk, but no one was there. Disappointed, Marie stood with her arms crossed and waited for someone to come back.

She waited for a few minutes, but no one came.
Not a good sign,
she thought to herself as she walked farther into the gym. She passed a set of machines where she saw a beautiful woman who was wearing quite a bit of makeup. The woman was leaning on a complicated looking machine, but not using it. She put her left hip out and made a duck face at her own reflection tilting her head down and pushing her breasts forward. Taking a strand of hair, she twirled it around her finger and snapped about a dozen pictures on her phone in rapid success.

Then her eyes made contact with Marie’s in the mirror and Marie realized she had just been caught staring. The other woman glared at Marie from her mirror. Blushing, Marie looked away and walked to the next room, which was filled with treadmills. She could feel her face growing red and she kept it facing the floor and so she didn’t see him until she had practically run into him.

“Sorry,” Marie sputtered as she backed away from the man. He was tall with tattoo-covered muscles and a steely gaze. He had short dark light and blue eyes with pale skin. Marie looked away. She didn’t know what else to say; the man wasn’t saying anything. He was just standing there and staring at her.

“Do you belong to this gym?”

“No,” Marie said. Her stomach was in knots, but she didn’t know why. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She had nothing to apologize for. She stood up straighter and adjusted her shirt and spoke directly to the man hoping he couldn’t hear the fear in her voice. “I was waiting at the desk, but no one showed up, so I thought I would just take a look around.”

“You interested in joining the gym?”

“Do you offer self-defense classes?” She had seen the sign for boxing and MMA fighting classes on a sign outside.

The man scoffed and looked down at her, “We teach mixed martial arts. It’s not a self-defense class. It’s a tough program and not one for amateurs.”

She wanted to cry. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn’t help it. She had come in here hoping something good would happen. She should have known that her good luck streak was going to come to a screeching halt. Now, instead of feeling like she was walking on cloud nine, Marie was holding back tears at the gym. It wasn’t exactly what she had hoped for. Austin had been right. The gym was a stupid waste of money. She didn’t belong in one any way.

“Okay then,” Marie said. “Thanks a lot,” she turned around and walked past the treadmills wiping an errant tear away from her eye. The overly made up woman from before brushed past her giving her a dirty look as she did so. Of course Marie had made a new enemy. Now this was officially a disaster. “No,” Marie said, stopping herself. This wasn’t how this was going to go down. She had done nothing wrong. He had been wrong. “Do you work here?” Marie said turning around quickly, but to her surprise the man was right behind her as if he had been following her.

“Kind of,” he replied with a smirk.

“Well, you’re not very good at it,” Marie said pulling her courage from some hidden depth inside herself. “I was a potential customer and you were just very rude to me. Now not only are you not going to get my business, but I’m also not going to recommend you to anyone I know. So, really, you lose out in this scenario.”

“I actually own the gym,” he said with a sort of shrug.

“Of course you do,” Marie said after taking a deep breath. “That is just perfect,” she shook her head and turned to walk away.

“Why do you want to learn self-defense?”

Marie froze and then she turned around to face him. “It’s a big dangerous world out there,” she said. “A girl’s gotta be prepared.”

Chapter Eleven

Don’t do it Ax-man,
he said to himself. It was the beautiful girl he had seen walking down the street. Like a gift from heaven she had just walked into his gym. He almost couldn’t believe it. But he couldn’t have her here. That was way, way too dangerous. The gym was his sanctuary. He didn’t think about women at the gym. But if she were here, he would.

He would always be on the lookout for her. Every time he lifted a weight or did a pushup he would be scanning the gym wondering if she could see. She was a distraction, one he could not allow. But then she turned around and called him rude right his face. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had been so honest with him.

She needed to protect herself. He was almost sure she was running from someone. He looked down at the woman in front of him and something in his gut told him he had to help her. She was right; the world was dangerous and she needed to learn how to protect herself. Axel could be the one to teach her. He could show her how to deal with whomever she was running from. She could be his own personal angel of vengeance. He looked her up and down; she was dressed for a workout in actual work out clothes. That was a step in the right direction. She hadn’t asked him about their selfie policy, which was another good sign.

“So you ready to start now?” Axel asked.

“Now?” she demanded tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked around nervously as if she expected the machines to get up and attack her.

“No time like the present,” he said.

“How do I know you own this place?” she asked, taking a step back.

“Hi,” he said extending his hand. “I’m Axel Connelly. This is Connelly’s Gym. Here,” he walked in front of her and guided her back to the entrance where he pointed at a framed news article with a picture of him standing next the sign for the gym. “See, that’s me.”

“Oh,” the girl said, a blush creeping up her cheek.

“So, I’m Axel Connelly. Who are you?” He hoped she would recognize his name. Sometimes it took people a minute to realize how they knew him. They would touch their hand to their chin and look away from his as they wondered just how they knew that name. MMA fighter, ranked number three in the Northeastern Pro Circuit. He had even been on the cover of a few magazines. But he could tell by her expression that she had never heard of him and his ego dimmed a little at that.

“I’m Marie,” she said taking his hand in a firm handshake.

“You work at the museum, right? My mom is on the Historical Society and she’s mentioned the new caretaker of the mansion is named Marie.”

“That is me,” Marie said.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” he said. “Now, if you really want some training, we can do that. But this isn’t some easy gym class that you can take on a whim. It’s an intense six-week course. You’ll train three times a week with a personal trainer and have access to the rest of the gym’s facilities. You’ll be expected workout between your trainings. Are you really ready for something like that? It’s the training regimen we use for people who want to try MMA. It’s not for the lazy or the weak.”

“I’m in,” she said without hesitation.

“Good,” he said with a smile. “Well, your first training is free, so why don’t go down to the boxing gym and I can see what you’ve got. Then we can sign you up for the full course.”

“Okay,” Marie said.

He could tell she didn’t quite believe herself. She was convincing herself to do this. He could see the nervousness written on her shoulders. She slumped down as she walked and tucked her arms into her body as if she was trying to make herself even smaller. He remembered the town gossip about the single mom who had arrived with nothing. Now she wanted self-defense lessons; this would certainly give them something to talk about at the Historical Society.

He walked behind her, watching the way her ass moved in her tight yoga pants. She glanced behind her as they reached the door and their eyes met for just a moment before she quickly looked away. He pushed open the door for her and, tentatively, she stuck her head into the boxing gym.

“No one down there is gonna bite, go on,” Axel said and she nodded and walked quickly down the stairs. He saw a few heads turn as they entered. It was rare for there to be someone knew in the boxing gym; it was only for professionals and those who wanted to be. But this was the best way to know if Marie could handle it. If she couldn’t, she wouldn’t be able to do the program.

“How much do you weigh?” he asked her.

“None of your business,” she replied, crossing her arms.

He threw up his hands in defeat and walked her to a corner of the gym with a weight rack and a wall of mirrors. “How much physical exercise do you get per week?”

“Um...I have a daughter. So I spend a lot of time chasing her around, but not much more than that.”

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s warm up on the rowing machine,” he said. He set her up on the machine and got on the one next to her. This was not a good idea. Technically she didn’t meet the requirements for their training program. Members were supposed to be in excellent shape before joining. But there was no way he was going to send this woman out of his gym. He was the boss, he made the rules, so he could break them. He would catch hell for it from Hayden, but it might be worth it.

She kept up with him pretty well on the machine. She was a little out of breath and there was light film of sweat on her chest. Axel forced himself to focus. He was doing a job here – that was what he was telling himself anyway. This was his gym and he couldn’t send a potential customer away; she was right: it was bad for business. That would be his excuse if anyone asked.

It wasn’t why he was doing it. He had sent plenty of people out of this gym. He wanted her here. It didn’t need to be a dangerous thing. He could just look and imagine. He could appreciate her without actually getting involved. One training session. He just wanted to see what she was like. They might not be compatible at all. He didn’t need to get ahead of himself.

Five minutes were up and they hopped off the machine. “Let’s see you pull some weights,” he said. He grabbed two eight-pound dumbbells and put one in each of her hand. He turned her so she faced the mirror and he reached around her and took her by the wrist and guided the weights up and down. 

“Four sets of ten,” he said and he watched, slightly correcting her form and she lifted the weights.

She was in better shape than he expected. Next time he could bump her up to ten pounds without an issue. Not that he would be training her next time. He was too busy for that. He would assign her to another trainer; maybe Jenny or Lori would be a good fit.

“Good job,” he said as she put the weights down. “Roll your arms and give them a little stretch,” he said. She reached up above her head and Axel forced himself to not look at the way her t-shirt stretched over her breasts. He set her up with another set of dumbbells and watched as she worked. He kept pushing her, expecting her to quit or ask him for a break, but she just grit her teeth and kept going.

Thirty minutes later he brought her over to the squat bar. They faced their own reflection. She was sweaty and her face was bright read. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. She looked at him, ready to hear what would come next.

“You know how to do a squat? Let me see.”

She went down into a squat and stood back up.

He indicated for her to go again and he gently pushed back on her chest to keep from leaning too far forward. “Watch me,” he said. “Don’t let your knees go past your toes,” he said. He lowered himself into a squat and she followed, her form almost perfect. “Good,” he said with a nod.

She stood up and faced him. She was out of breath and her chest rose right underneath her eyes. “So when’s the next training?” She asked him.