She needed to work off some of the adrenaline. Too much good news could rattle her cage. There was something that came with training with a live opponent that steadied her nerves.
Her target grunted and stumbled back. He let out a little growl and brought up his gloves.
“Warned you I hit hard,” Shay said, barely intelligible from the blue mouth guard in the way. “Also mentioned you would regret sparring with me.” She was wearing tight black Lycra shorts and a black sports bra with her long brown hair pulled back in a mound of hair. Her muscles outlined along her legs and down her back as she bounced lightly back and forth in front of him, her skin covered in a sheen of sweat.
The man spit out a trickle of blood. “I’ve been holding back because you’re a chick, but you’re starting to piss me off.”
“Don’t hold back then. You know what they say. Practice like you play.”
The man narrowed his eyes. “You asked for it. You better not bitch when I hit you in your pretty face.”
“Beauty’s a weapon, just like anything else.” Shay winked. “Not my fault you’re so vulnerable to it.”
“You should learn that a few lucky hits and some trash talking ain’t the same thing as being good at boxing.”
“Are you gonna just keep blathering at me until I fall asleep? Is that your strategy?”
The man grunted and threw a right jab, quickly followed by a left uppercut. Shay ducked just in time to miss the last punch as it grazed the top of her head. She always appreciated a close call. Made the work out worth it. She put up her gloves just in time to block a jab and stepped back to regroup.
“Maybe you should wear some glasses when you fight,” she said. “Because I don’t know who the fuck you’re trying to hit.”
Her opponent let out a laugh despite the determined look on his face and centered himself as he shook it off.
He narrowed his eyes and took a step forward.
There’s the tell. Shay watched for the flicker of muscle and saw it coming as he unleashed a series of moves, barely missing her as she stayed just out of reach, like a well-choreographed dance.
“Little lady is running you all over the ring.” An old man leaned on the bottom rope on the sideline, smiling at them. A few of his front teeth were missing and his left ear was in the shape of a piece of cauliflower.
Shay laughed and hunched her shoulders, throwing a hook with her lead hand, pulling back at the last moment and connecting with a cross from her left. Her opponent recovered quickly and landed a blow to her midsection, knocking the wind out of her even as she took in small sips of air to stay alert and on her feet. That just made the fight more interesting for her.
Shay feinted to the side, and the man brought up his gloves, prepared to take the expected blow. Instead, she slammed two quick punches into the side of his head, leaving the man stumbling backward, his gloves raised, covering his face.
She followed up with a solid blow to his midsection, returning the favor.
He fell back hard, landing with a thud on his tailbone as the old man standing outside of the ring let out a whoop and rang the bell.
“Leave some for the next guy, little lady.” He smiled, his tongue darting between the space in his teeth, licking his lips.
Shay offered a hand to the fallen boxer and helped him to a standing position.
“Good fight,” she said, knocking gloves with him when he regained his feet.
“You’ve got some talent. Gotta give you your props. Look for me next time you’re in here. I’ll be ready for you.”
“Deal.”
“Haven’t seen you around in a couple weeks, girl,” said a familiar woman’s voice from the side of the ring. “I see you’re still kicking ass and taking names.”
Shay turned around to find Bella standing on the floor just behind the ropes, still dressed in her street clothes. A tight suit that managed to look conservative while still hugging her curves. She’s got to be with the government. Shay had sparred with the blonde woman a few times, impressed by her skills.
Their first bout, Shay was taken off-guard making the same mistake her last opponent made about her. She thought the attractive woman was just in the gym to play at fighting, but she quickly found out Bella could land a solid punch and was there to win. The blonde might lack the murderous intensity of Shay, but it wasn’t like she needed to kill people from time to time.
Fuck. I’m lying about just being an archaeology professor. Maybe that office she keeps referring to is the CIA.
“Hey, Bella. I’ve been busy with work. Hasn’t been much time to swing by this place.”
“Busy with work?”
“Yeah. The pots won’t dig themselves out of the ground, and no one’s invented a good archaeology drone yet. Only as good as your last big find at the university.”
Bella laughed softly. “Can’t work all the time, girl. You should go slap your department head around to get him to give you more time off. Don’t you have a union or something?”
“Not so far.” Shay picked up her towel from her starting corner of the ring and wiped her forehead, smiling. “I like my job. Makes it hard to know when it’s time to take a break.”
“Still doesn’t mean you don’t need to decompress every now and then and have some fun.” Bella picked up her gym bag and held the top rope for Shay. “That’s why you come to places like this, right?”
Shay stepped through the ropes and dropped to the floor. “Maybe this is my idea of fun.”
“This is work.
