Shifting Gears: The Complete Series (Sports Bad Boy Romance) (64 page)

“Huh! The horror!” I was still laughing.
“You were so serious; I really thought you were going to tell me you were
transgender or something.”

“Whew! Nothing that serious,” he said.
“Being vegan is a hard thing for a man to admit sometimes. People are so
judgmental and they want to put a label on everything and everybody. Don’t let
my food choices scare you away though. This restaurant is great and the things
on the menu that aren’t vegan are highlighted so it’s easy for “normal” people
to order.”

“What makes you think I’m not vegan too?”

“Are you?” He looked hopeful.

“No, but how did you know I wasn’t?”

He pulled up in the valet parking area and
turned to me and said, “Because then you would be just too damned perfect to be
real.” While I waited for him to come around and open the door, I wondered
which one of us was too damned perfect.

The restaurant was located inside of an
old theatre. The ambience was incredible and we were seated way in the back
near a huge, beautiful stone fireplace. We were inside, but with all of the
plants and the subtle lighting it had kind of an outdoor feel to it. It was definitely
one of the nicer places I’ve ever been, but at the same time no one seemed to
be too dressed up so those of us who wore our new jeans didn’t feel
uncomfortable.

We skipped the wine list and both ordered
a beer. Justin was right; the menu was easy to read. I followed the highlights
at first, but decided since I really did love vegetables and I’d be a little
uncomfortable eating meat…even fish, in front of a vegan. I was going to go
with the buffalo cauliflower and a veggie pizza. Justin seemed amused by that.
He ordered some kind of mushroom thing that actually looked incredibly good
when it was served.

“You want to try some?” he asked when he
noticed me staring at it.

“No, mine is fine, thanks. It looks really
good.”

“It’s delicious,” he said, taking a bite.
I took a bite of mine and I have to say that I think I fell in love. It was
hardly recognizable as cauliflower and it was more packed with flavor than any
steak I’d ever eaten.

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“Ah! She’s coming over to the dark side,”
he said with a grin.

“Maybe not just yet. Sometimes I just have
to have a steak. So why are you a vegan?” I asked him.

“I’m compelled to launch into a litany of
how it protects the earth and the animals that inhabited it long before we were
here…but I won’t,” he said with a grin. “I love animals, don’t get me wrong.
But, I became a vegan for purely selfish, and some might say vain reasons.
Plant based diets….those that are well planned are rich in protein, iron,
calcium…on and on and on. Lots of good stuff. They’re low in saturated fat,
high in fiber, anti-oxidants…Once I started this diet I was suddenly more
energetic because I slept so well at night, my skin looks amazing and I started
packing on the muscle. It helped me start winning marathons and that was always
the main goal.” I don’t know how I was looking at him but he suddenly laughed
and said, “I’m sorry. TMI?”

“No. You’re just so well-informed about
your diet. That’s great. It’s not what I normally see with people that I
train.”

“My parents are both very health conscious
and they raised us kids to be the same, so that helped a lot.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Five sisters and a brother.”

“Oh my God, seriously?”

He laughed, “Yeah, the vegan diet worked
great for dad too, I guess.”

“I don’t have any siblings.” I often
wished I did. When it came to my mother a little help would have been nice.
Then I think about wishing her on someone else and I feel a little bad…not for
Mom, but the other person.

“It’s fun sometimes, a pain in the ass
others,” he said. “I love the holidays with all the chaos and noise of us all
being together. I wouldn’t know what to do without that. But there are times
when you just want to disappear from the world for a day or two…I can’t ever
shut down without a sibling or two calling to make sure I’m alive.”

I laughed. “It would have to be nice to
know you’re cared about that much though, right?”

“It is, yes. I’m just as guilty of calling
them as they are calling me too, especially my sisters. I worry about them.”

There was that sister thing again,
reminding me of Paul. I changed the subject again and said, “So where is your
next marathon?”

“San Francisco,” he said.

“Oh that’ll be fun. I love San Francisco.”

“Me too. I love Pier 39 and the Giants and
even the 49ers. I went out and took the Alcatraz tour last time I was up there
too. That’s definitely worth a trip. I could just go and walk around all day.
It’s such a pretty city. You know what the best part is though?”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I can eat vegan there without any fear of
being judged.”

He laughed as I said, “After tasting it
tonight, I will never judge again.”

Dinner was delicious and our conversation
was so comfortable and easy. There was nothing forced or anxiety provoking
about it at all. I wondered what was wrong with me. Why did I seem to seek out
the guys like Paul…and the other Justin…the guys who had problems, the ones who
needed “fixing?” I have no idea, but what I do know is that as gorgeous as this
guy is and athletic and obviously smart and funny…I don’t feel attracted to him
in the same sense as I do Paul. Not even on the same plane. There is definitely
something not right in my head.

We went to the concert after dinner and
Need to Breathe was amazing just as I knew they would be. The seats were great
and Justin bought us matching t-shirts when he went out to use the bathroom. It
was an awesome night…the best one I’d had in a while. Yet when we got back to
my apartment and Justin walked me to the door. I knew that I couldn’t kiss him.
It wouldn’t be fair to him because all I could still think about after all of
that was Paul. When he leaned in to kiss me, I turned my head and he caught me
on the cheek.

I could see the hurt in his eyes, but
proving what a great guy he is all he said was, “Thank you for going tonight,
Jessie. I had a really good time.”

“Thank you. So did I.”

“I’ll see you at the gym,” he said with a
smile. His eyes still looked sad. I felt terrible as I watched him walk back to
the car. When I turned and opened the front door, I nearly knocked my nosy
mother over.

“What are you doing?”

“Why didn’t you let him kiss you?”

“Mother! That is really not your business.
Were you standing here looking out the window this whole time?”

“Yes.” She didn’t even sound a little bit
ashamed of herself. “Why didn’t you kiss him? He’s so handsome. Was he a creep
tonight, or what?”

“No, Mom. He was a perfect gentleman. I
had a really nice time. Why I didn’t kiss him is really not your business. You
don’t know how I’m feeling….”

“I’d have brought him back inside and…”

“Stop! Just stop there, Mom, okay? I know
what you would do. I’m going to bed, goodnight.”

She was shaking her head at me, likely wondering
what the hell was wrong with the daughter she had raised. She seems to
forget…or not even see how different we are sometimes.

CHAPTER
THREE

I was at work the next day, going about my
business working with a client that Sam had referred to me. This one was a
woman so at least I didn’t have to worry she was going to hit on my like Mark
or ask me out like Justin. Not that going out with Justin had been bad; it was
just the opposite as a matter of fact. It had been so nice that I was still
thinking about it and hoping I got a chance to see him to thank him again and
apologize for blowing him off at the front door. The more I thought about that,
the worse I felt about it.

My client, Tanya and I were working on her
upper body. She’s a tennis player and in really good shape, but she wanted to
work on getting more strength in her arms. I left her on the bicep/triceps
machine and went in the back to get some free-weights. Greg was on the mats
with a guy I’d never seen before. He was built like a fighter and had a lot of
tats. Of course I was instantly reminded of Paul and the day he and I worked on
his ground game. I was mad at him that day, but that hadn’t made being that
close to him any less of an erotic experience. I’m sure Greg wasn’t feeling the
same thing…at least for his wife’s sake, I hoped not. I laughed out loud at the
thought and Greg looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

“Are we doing it wrong?” he said with an
amused expression.

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I was thinking about
something else completely. Please! I would never dare correct the way you did
anything…”

He laughed, “Calm down, Jessie. I was
joking. Devon this is Jessie. She is one of my most dedicated employees. She’s
here when I arrive and back before I get here in the morning. Sometimes I think
she might be living here.”

“The Madison Gym ghost,” Devon said. He
smiled and stood up. Swiping his palm against the white shorts that stood out
against his mocha skin he held his hand out towards me. “I’m pleased to meet
you, Jessie.”

I shook his hand and said, “Devon Rafter?”

“That’s me,” he said. His vanity shone
through for a second as he grinned and said, “I guess my reputation precedes
me.”

“Um…yeah. I’ve heard about how good you
are. You guys are working on the ground game, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m a boxer at heart, but even the
greatest need to switch it up every so often, you know? I have a really
important fight coming up on Friday to defend my title.”

“Friday? Who are you fighting?”

“Paul Delport. You know him?” I was hoping
the look on my face didn’t tell it all. What the hell? Maybe Devon just didn’t
know Paul had taken off.

“Have you talked to Paul lately?” she
asked.

“No, but my manager talked to his
yesterday, why?” I didn’t answer right away so Greg said, “Jessie was probably
just wondering because it’s been about a week since any of us have heard from
him. He was coming in everyday…maybe he found a new place to work-out.”

I hoped that my face didn’t give away how
I was feeling. He was going to be in town in two days for the fight I was
helping him train for and he hadn’t even bothered calling me? What the fuck?
“Well it was nice meeting you Devon. I have a client waiting out front.”

“Nice meeting you too,” he said. “I hope
to see you at the fight on Friday. I can use friendly faces in my corner.”

I smiled and hoped that it reached my eyes
as I turned to go back out front. Was Paul just using his sister as an excuse
to not see me anymore? Could he really be that big of a coward? I wanted to
doubt it. I know he was worried about Marie and Victor. I know that….

“I’m sorry Tanya, here we go,” I told my
client when I got back. I tried to tuck my thoughts about Paul away while we
worked, but they kept sneaking back in. Before I knew it I was worried about
his strategy. He’d been practicing his ground game because Devon was known for
his boxing skills. What if he was going about it all wrong? Devon’s moves…what
I saw of them with Greg, were good. He planned on going in there and taking
Paul out in the one way Paul had expected to do to him. Even if I could get
ahold of him, it was too late now. Shit. It was his own damned fault anyways
for not calling me.

When Tanya and I finished and she had gone
in back for a quick shower I went up to talk to Victoria. “Hey Vic, have you
seen Paul Delport this week at all?”

She shook her head and was typing
something into the computer at the same time. When she looked up she said, “He
hasn’t even paid his dues yet this month. That’s not like him. I haven’t seen
him in over a week.”

“Okay. I was just curious. Devon Rafter is
in the back. He said the fight is still on Friday night.”

“Yeah, about that. Sam got tickets for us
all again if you want to go.” Did I want to go? I really wasn’t sure. I was
saved from having to answer at that moment because Justin walked in the door.

“I’ll talk to you about it later, Vic. Hi
Justin.”

“Hey Jessie. What’s up?”

I walked with him a ways from the desk
before I said, “I wanted to tell you again how much fun I had last night. I
also wanted to apologize…See, I kind of started seeing this guy but then he
left town and I’m just not sure where we’re at. I didn’t want to start
something with you until I knew…it just didn’t seem fair…”

He smiled. Putting his hand on my arm he
said, “Don’t worry about it Jessie, it’s really okay. I had a great time and
I’d like to do it again sometime if you would too. If not, I’ll live.”

Geez! Perfect stinking man. I’m
ridiculous. “Thank you. Who are you working out with today?”

“I was going to go it alone…but if you
have time?”

“Of course I do.”

******

I managed to suck up my anxiety for the
next two days and not let it get the better of me. I had decided to go to the
fight. I don’t think there was ever any real question as to whether I would or
not. I rode with Sam and Debbie and Debbie chattered most of the way there so
at least I didn’t really have to make conversation. Everyone was curious about
where Paul had been and why he hadn’t been coming around the gym. There were
all kinds of interesting theories, but I didn’t weigh in on any of them. I was
curious myself what he had been doing since obviously he was moving forward
with this part of his life at least.