Gavin grins for a moment and then uses his speed to jump at me again. I move to the side, quicker than I thought I could and narrowly avoid the impact. He turns, and his eyebrows shoot up briefly in surprise before he puts his game face back on.
"Are you going to hit me anytime soon?" he goads with an eyebrow raised, causing more heat to flow to my clenched fists. “Do you even know how to hit someone? I’m guessing you don’t.”
It's me who lunges this time, but he is way too fast and spins out of my reach so that I end up stumbling past him. I turn back around and swing my leg at him, but he grabs my ankle and pulls me so that my body is flush with his. He looks down and smiles at me, cockily. I just glare back at him and push against his chest, hard. He stumbles back a little and has to release my ankle in order to stay upright.
I smirk, feeling a sliver of pride at my little accomplishment.
"That was all right," Gavin says, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess that's all you got." He turns to walk away from me, but I’m not done.
39
I run after him, needing to prove myself. I reach out to him, and he spins back around, swinging a fist toward my face. I duck fast and slam my right fist into his bare stomach on my way down, surprising myself at how quick it happened.
Gavin grunts and reaches to grab the arm that just hit him. I react with more speed than before as I pull my arm back and throw my left fist into his side. I feel some of my hot energy release when I hit his skin and Gavin stumbles back again. I pause for a moment, taken aback by my sudden strength that wasn't there earlier.
My momentary distraction gives Gavin the opportunity to sweep one of his legs under me so that I trip and fall backwards, but before I hit the gym floor, his arms wrap around my waist.
Gavin pulls me right-side-up against his chest and keeps me there for a moment before releasing me.
I am breathing heavily from the amount of energy I just used but a smile graces my parted lips. Gavin has a smile on his handsome face as well, but his breathing is even and slow.
No fair.
I hear Alexa and Kassy clapping behind me, so I turn, a little startled because I forgot that they were there. Alexa jumps up from her seat on the floor. "Great job, El! That was awesome!
You guys need to do that every day. Seriously, you really tapped into something there that I haven't gotten out of you all week!" She is beaming at me with a look of pride on her freckle-filled face.
Gavin dips his head at me. "That was really good, Aella. You surprised me there." He rubs his abdomen.
"Thanks." I say, feeling a little shy. I look down at his stomach and see two dark red marks where my fists made contact. My eyes go wide, and I instinctively reach out to stroke his bruises. "Did I hurt you, Gavin?"
He sucks in a sharp breath and steps back from my touch, causing a small wave of hurt to wash over me.
He clears his throat and shrugs, back to his cocky self. “It stung more than I expected, but next time I won't go so easy on you." He winks at me, turning my insides into jelly.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Maybe I was the one going easy on you. I think I’ve got more than just a ‘sting’ waiting behind the surface, so be careful,” I say, feeling brave after my small accomplishment.
Gavin’s deep laugh fills my ears, causing my heart to do a little sigh inside of me. My lips part and I shift in my spot, wanting to be closer to him. His warm gaze follows my hand as I nervously tuck my hair behind my ear, a habit I can’t seem to break. I notice him flinch like he 40
wants to move but he stays rooted in his position. I can see a war going on within him and I’m not sure who the good or bad guys are, but the standoffish Gavin wins the battle. He steps away from me with a nod and makes his way back to where he was seated before our fight. Sometimes he seems so comfortable with me and then other times he does this.
I watch as he pulls his shirt back over his head and sigh to myself before I remember again that Alexa and Kassy are here. I go over to them and they’re both watching me with something resembling pity in their eyes. Kassy nudges me with her elbow. “That was seriously amazing, El. I think you actually blurred for a second.”
“I gave all I had. It’s still not enough to fight Thrane though.”
Kassy shakes her head. “It was still awesome,” she says and takes off toward the house.
Alexa links my arm through hers and pulls me outside. I shiver when air hits my skin, but I enjoy the breeze after the heat I’ve been experiencing.
“You should really talk to him about your feelings, El,” Alexa says, catching me by surprise.
I ignore her stare as I marvel at the surrounding nature. “I don’t have any feelings for Gavin.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.
She just snorts at
