It was fun and exhilarating, and although she knew she wasn’t ready to fight Tim, Katherine felt more prepared with each blow. She was becoming the woman she wanted to be, but her old baggage seemed to constantly weigh her down.
Talia had tried talking to her about separating her abusive relationship from everyone else in her life. In a way, Tim had darkened the world to Katherine, making everyone appear to be out to get her. Katherine knew Talia was right, she was definitely too paranoid and closed off, but she wasn’t sure how to change.
Obviously, she didn’t want to give Tim continued opportunity to control of her life by allowing him to affect her current relationships, but what choice did she have? Someone was out to get her, so she had to be careful.
From the outside looking in, it could seem like Katherine was overly cautious, but she was the only one who had seen what Tim was capable of. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she always knew that one day she would finally have to face the monster who had ruined her life.
“Good job!” Katie yelled, when Katherine successfully completed a new combination of punches.
She hadn’t considered how calming boxing would be. Up there in the ring, she felt above all of the drama of her life, thinking clear for once. Whenever Katherine was going about her normal routine, her mind was a wreck with worry and possibilities for danger, but when she exercised, she felt nothing but the strain of her muscles. She was free, and it felt incredible.
Things were really shaping up in her life, and she wanted to embrace it rather than fear the inevitable destruction. Running for all this time had made Katherine afraid of close bonds, because she knew how hard it was to walk away from a place or person that she had developed a connection with.
To avoid that heartbreak, she had learned to not to let anyone too close, or let herself get too involved with a community. San Francisco had blown that plan up without a second thought, it seemed. Not only did she have a job, but she had made a great friend in Talia.
Working was her way of getting out, but she didn’t expect to find someone so kind and caring to introduce her to her new home. Talia made it difficult to remain closed off, because every day she had new recommendations for fun things to try, and Katherine found that she had a ball every single time.
Just yesterday, they had gone to an ice cream parlor serving the last batch of what Talia claimed was the best peach ice cream in the world. Preparing for the fall weather, they had to say goodbye to the sweet tastes of summer, and the girls had made a day of sitting in the park and enjoying the last days of warm weather.
“Two more!” Katie yelled, and Katherine threw two jabs with her right hand.
“Whoo!” Katherine exhaled loudly as her arms fell to her side like heavy logs.
During the workout, everything felt amazing, but as soon as it was over, fatigue hit her and she knew it had been a great session. It was after the most painful work that she saw the most results, so she instantly wanted more.
“Let’s do another round,” she suggested, but Katie had to run to a private session with a client.
Katherine was leaning against the ropes, catching her breath, when she saw Benjamin walk into the gym. He was as handsome as the last time she saw him, but now she felt awful for how she had treated him.
The previous day he sent a beautiful bouquet of roses to the bakery, with a note apologizing for making her uncomfortable. She knew it was her fault for the way things had gone between them, and she wanted to let him know he had nothing to be sorry about.
Talia had talked to her about giving people a fresh start, as opposed to assuming the worst, as she automatically did. It was true, and she knew if she was ever going to break free of the hold put on her by Tim, she would have to meet new people and learn to trust again.
She had done that with Talia, and it was proving to be a great idea. So, with that optimism on her mind, she climbed out of the ring and made her way across the room to where Ben stood, searching through a gym bag resting on a wooden bench.
Walking over, she reminded herself to stay calm and be open. It was against all of her safety precautions to open her life up to anyone else, but at the least she had to apologize for making him feel so bad.
“Hi,” Katherine said nervously.
“Hi—oh, hi!” Ben smiled, his green eyes gleaming. “You’re not here to beat me up, are you?” he asked, looking down at her hands, still wrapped in the boxing gloves.
“Oh, no! I’m sorry. I came to apologize.” She shook her head, realizing how aggressive she must have looked coming over to him in boxing gear.
“You don’t need to apologize, Katherine. It was my fault,” Ben stopped her, remorse evident on his face.
“Well, I got your flowers, they were very nice. Seriously, you didn’t have to do that,” she smiled. Katherine couldn’t believe the trouble he had gone through to apologize for making her uncomfortable.
After years in an abusive marriage, she didn’t think guys like that existed, but here he was. Talia was even impressed by his grand apology, and Katherine knew her friend would be proud of her for approaching him. In the back of her mind, she was already looking forward to sharing the details.
There were butterflies beginning to flutter in her belly the longer Katherine was around him, and what shocked her the most was the fact that she enjoyed them. It had been a while since she felt any type of positive nerves or excitement when it came to a man. The past two years had been lonely, but busy, so she rarely had time to even look at men.
Ben was a sight for sore eyes. He was so tall, standing at least a foot taller than her small five-foot three frame, and even through his workout gear, Katherine could see the outline of his muscles. His biceps were on full display in his sleeveless tank, and she made a note to stop staring at them, which was harder than it should have been.
“I never should have pushed you. I just wanted to get to know you, but I understand and respect your decision. I should have taken the hint,” Ben explained, pleading with his eyes as he looked to Katherine.
“No, it was my fault. I didn’t have to be so weird. I’m new here, so everything can be a bit intimidating, but I didn’t mean to creep you out,” Katherine said.
“Oh, I think I win the creep award for how I behaved, but I promise I’m not a stalker or anything crazy. I was just trying to ask a pretty woman out and screwed it up royally,” Ben shook his head, remembering their awkward interaction.