His laugh followed me all the way to the garage. I walked through to the training area, which was deserted save for Zack, who was already there pumping weights while he waited for me.
I could see the impressive size of his bicep as I approached. As usual, he was shirtless, and I felt my pulse race a little faster.
“Ready?” he asked, without even looking up at me.
“Yes.”
“Let’s go then,” he said.
We spent an hour warming up because our training sessions had gotten increasingly more intense. Then, we spent half an hour practicing my boxing before we moved on to weapons fighting. My weapon of choice was a dagger, which was light, small, and easy to use. As it turned out, I was a natural. Even Zack had admitted as much.
“Ok,” Zack said after we had been at it for another half hour. “Take five.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“But… I can go a little longer.”
Zack raised his eyebrows at me. “You need to drink some water, or you’re going to pass out,” he said, throwing me a bottle and gesturing for me to sit down for a moment.
We sat down together side by side, and after I was done, I passed the bottle of water back to him. This was the first time we found ourselves utterly alone in the training room. Usually, other members of the crew filtered in and out, but Sundays were usually reserved for their families. I glanced at Zack, wondering about his relationship with his father and what had led to the fallout Devon had mentioned to me.
“What?” Zack asked, with raised eyebrows, and I realized he had caught me staring.
“Uh… nothing.”
“You were staring.”
“No, I wasn’t,” I said defensively.
He smiled. “It must be hard to keep your eyes off me, huh?” he said. “Don’t worry; I get it. It’s hard for most women.”
I rolled my eyes. “Trust me; it’s not as hard as you think.”
“Sure, Mila,” he said sarcastically. “Whatever you say.”
“You’re not my type, Zack,” I lied.
“Good-looking and masculine is not your type?”
“Arrogant and rude is not my type.”
“You could have fooled me,” he said. “Considering the things you’ve told me about your ex-boyfriend.”
I frowned. He had me there, and he knew it.
“It’s just as well,” he continued. “Devon told me to stay away from you. He seems to agree that I’m not your type either.”
I glanced at Zack, wondering if he was just making things up to try and get a reaction from me. “Devon said that?”
“Sure,” Zack nodded, leaning back a little. “He thought you were too innocent and inexperienced to handle me.”
“Excuse me?” I said, feeling myself rise to the bait despite my better judgment.
“You disagree?”
“I’m not used to this lifestyle,” I said. “But that does not mean I’m… innocent.”