He’d killed his own damn libido.
“Okay, Tommy, today we’re going to do the MMA portion of the catalog. We’d like to get a picture of you in front of one of the bags Athletic Life offers.”
He’d known this was coming, and he hadn’t been looking forward to it. Even though he’d had a bag set up at his house, still jumped rope and tried to keep to some of his conditioning routines, he hadn’t posed as an actual fighter since he’d stepped out of the cage after his mortifying loss to Ricky Moon.
Bonnie glanced at the group around him. “We want it to look like he’s been working out hard.
So make the man glisten.” She sent him a sidelong look with an inviting purse of her lips.
And again, there was nothing. Not even a twitch.
A pair of boxing shorts was shoved at him with an order to put them on. Dropping trou right there, he shed his jeans and tugged the shorts over his boxer briefs, then yanked off his shirt. The group attacked with baby oil first. Once that had been rubbed on his skin, they spritzed him with water until he looked like he’d been working out for hours.
After they wrapped his hands—which they did a shit job of—and put the gloves on, he was moved to an area that had been cleared out in the back of the store for the photo shoot. A white sheet hung as a backdrop. Later, Bonnie would Photoshop a gym into the background.
As Tommy squared off with the red hanging bag, nostalgia hit him hard. Lowering his hands, he straightened, staring moodily at the piece of equipment that had been such a huge part of his life. Until he’d fucked it up.
“Tommy, are you okay?” Bonnie asked.
He turned to stare at her.
One day you’ll look back and realize you had a career but lost it.
The hell he would.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just realizing I have a few wrongs to set right.”
Starting with his best friend.
Chapter 3
Julie stood outside Tommy’s bedroom door, fist raised to knock, but she couldn’t gather the courage to make her knuckles meet the wood. Wasn’t he making it clear he wasn’t ready to talk?
That he was still furious over last night? Sighing, she lowered her arm.
It was Valentine’s Day, and she hadn’t seen him all day. She never didn’t see Tommy on Valentine’s Day.
Scratch that. Two hours ago, she had caught a glimpse of him as he’d stormed past her sitting on the couch, and he’d gone straight to the bathroom for a shower—without so much as a glance in her direction or a hello tossed her way. He’d never returned to the living room.
She was desperate to make amends with him, but plainly, Tommy wasn’t ready. And if he wanted space, she had to respect that, especially now that he was living here. The last thing she needed was to make him feel like she would push her presence on him even when he was giving a clear “not ready for this” sign.
She went back to her room and closed the door, then walked over to her dresser. She picked up the gift she’d wrapped for him in shiny red paper, feeling stupid for being hurt that he’d forgotten Valentine’s Day. But this was the first year since they were ten they hadn’t exchanged presents, and damn it, it hurt.
She’d never forget their first year. While all their other classmates had received those cheap paper character Valentines, both of them had gotten a “special” real card for the other. The one he’d given her had the cutest puppy on the front of it, and inside it said, “Will you be mine?” Her child’s heart had almost exploded with happiness, just as her adult heart expanded at the memory, because she knew now what Tommy had done to buy that card. His drunk of a mom had begrudgingly bought the other Valentines but refused to buy Julie’s. For a week, Tommy had walked up and down the streets collecting bottles for the deposit until he had enough money.
After she put the present back on the dresser, she slipped between the covers, leaned over, and shut off the light. She’d just stretched out and put her head on the pillow when a loud static sound came from under it. She shot straight up and gaped at it.
“Green Knight to Lady J.”
He didn’t!
She hadn’t heard those nicknames in forever. After introducing himself as the Green Knight the day they’d met, he’d coined her Lady J when he learned her name was Julie. He’d called her Lady J until he outgrew his knight-and-castle phase a little over a year later.
To keep a peal of laughter from erupting, she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth.
Grinning, she shoved her hand under the pillow and pulled out the walkie-talkie. “Lady J, copy.”
“Emergency meeting in the dungeon. Meet me in five. Green Knight out.”
“Copy that.”
Pushing back the covers, she jumped out of bed and rushed for the door, assuming the dungeon would be the living room. As it squeaked open, static screeched in the room.