Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
“I’ll take him,” I interjected, and the young man nearly jumped out of his skin. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed me approaching. Spatial awareness would be at the top of the list for our session. “Sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The young man’s eyes stayed wide as they landed on me, but the fear they held was replaced with intrigue as they scanned my body. At six foot four and two hundred fifty seven pounds, I was a lot to take in. Though I no longer competed in the super heavyweight division, I kept up my physique. I routinely lifted weights and sparred with my clients, keeping my muscles large and toned.
I took the opportunity to flex my pecs, and the man swallowed hard at the sight. I didn’t try to hide my smile.
“You sure, Mac?” Caleb asked, interrupting our moment. He sounded surprised, but there was a knowing gleam in his eye. I’d been friends with him for years, and he was well aware of my “type”. My problem was that my type never seemed interested in me once certain things came to light.
“I’m positive.” Although I was attracted to the man, I also wanted to help him. He sounded desperate to train, and I was more than happy to coach anyone with that much drive.
“Okay then.” Caleb gathered up some papers, which he handed to the man. “Avery, just fill these out and bring them back next time.”
“Thank you.” He took the stack and folded it into the bag at his hip. “And thank you so much for taking me on, Mr…?”
“My name’s Troy McAllister,” I replied, “But everyone calls me Mac.”
“Because he’s roughly the size of a truck,” Caleb added with a chuckle.
“I can see that.” Avery’s cheeks pinked, as if he didn’t mean to say the words out loud. Caleb chuckled again, and I patted Avery on the back, nearly knocking him over. Oops.
“Come on, I’ll show you around.”
I took him through the gym, showing him the punching bags, speed bags, and weight benches before taking him to the back corner. “You can put your bag by the wall.” He did as I asked, and then I pointed to a scale. “The first thing we need to do is get your height and weight.”
Avery nodded and stepped onto the base. I raised the height bar and lowered it onto his wavy platinum hair. “Okay, you’re right at five foot six, and…” I scooted the block back and forth until the weight balanced. “One hundred six pounds. That puts you in the straw weight category. Make sure not to miss any meals or you won’t qualify.”
“Oh, I don’t want to fight professionally,” Avery said, shaking his head like the idea terrified him. “Wait; you thought I could?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Maybe because a strong wind would snap me in half?”
His wide eyed expression made me chuckle. He was adorable. “Hey, anyone can box. Have you ever heard the saying, ‘It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog’?” Avery nodded. “It’s true. In the off-season, our fighters will spar outside their weight class for practice. I’ve seen small guys take down opponents twice their size. It all comes down to training and determination.”
“Wow. That’s comforting to know, but I’m still not interested in a fighting career.”
“That’s okay,” I shrugged. “Boxing is still great exercise. It can improve your balance, strength, endurance, and overall health.”
Avery nodded, but none of those benefits seemed to interest him. “Honestly, I’m just needing to learn some self defense moves.”
Unfortunately, everything was beginning to make sense. “Who’s bothering you, Shortstack?” I wanted names and photos so I could teach them some manners…with my fists. Again, not a professional thought, but oh well.
“Just some guys at school.” As he answered, his cheeks pinked, though he had no reason to be embarrassed. It wasn’t his fault people were dicks. “I thought things would get better once I went to college, seeing as we’re adults, but apparently some people won’t grow up. Usually, they just call me names, which I can handle, but today was the first time they got physical. If things get worse than a few shoves, I need to know how to defend myself.”
Anger tore through me, along with a hefty case of guilt. “I didn’t mean to offend you when I called you Shortstack. I’ve never called anyone that before - it just sort of came out, but I didn’t mean any harm by it.”
“I know. I’ve learned to tell the difference.” Avery gave me a smirk which lit up his pretty blue eyes. “But if you get to call me Shortstack, I should get to call you Big Mac.”
I snorted as I shook my head. “You know, I was just starting to like you.” Though in reality, I loved the playful teasing, and even the silly name. “Okay, so if you’re not looking to fight professionally, let’s get right down to business on the basics. Follow me.”