Banging Reaper (Pounding Hearts 1)

We walk into the gym and I introduce Avery to Dale again and the couple of people there.

I pull her to the side and hand her my keys and wallet. “Lunch is on me. Whenever you get hungry if you want to get something just get me the same thing but double order it for me.”

Avery

I’m a little stunned when Chase hands me the keys to his Jeep and his wallet. Not only does he trust me to drive his car, he trusts me not to take off with all his cash and credit cards.

I slip the keys and wallet in my purse, then give him one last kiss before sending him over to Dale. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a good guy like him, but I’m glad I did it.

And I’m glad that he trusts me, because it only makes me feel like I can trust him more.

I head over to one of the empty benches against the wall and sit down, settling in for the long haul. At first, it feels a little weird watching Chase workout, like I’m some creepy peeping tom. Especially since he’s so focused on what he’s doing and everything Dale is yelling at him, he barely glances over at me.

Whenever I accompanied Ethan to his training sessions for his fights, it always felt like he was showing off. Like he wasn’t really training, he was performing for the crowd.

Ethan would constantly call out to me, “Watch this!” Then do something mildly impressive like ten pushups on one arm.

Chase… Chase is in the zone. Dale pushes him through several different weight lifting machines. He has him working his arms, his shoulders and his legs. There’s even some kind of weird squatting machine that looks like it hurts. When he’s done, I’m flabbergasted to hear that was just the warmup.

I’m exhausted just watching him.

Once Dale breaks out the fighting mitts and starts yelling things at Chase like “That’s all ya got, big boy?” and “Suck it up, Buttercup!” I decide it’s time to grab some lunch.

Grabbing up my things, I wave over at Chase, getting his attention and motion that I’m leaving. He nods and I turn to walk away.

I hear a loud thump then Chase grunts in pain. I turn back around just in time to see Dale yelling at Chase, “Eyes on me.”

Hurrying out the door, I hop into the driver’s seat of the Jeep then have to do some serious adjustments. At first my feet don’t even touch the floor. Once I’m comfortable and have the mirrors pointing the way I need them, I pull out and drive just up the street to grab coffee from my favorite coffee shop. Chase told me to order him double of what I order so I return to the gym after picking up four giant meatball subs.

Chase and Dale break for lunch when I return. And since I picked up enough subs for everyone, the three of us sit down at a table and eat together.

“So, do you train like this every day?” I ask Chase before shoving a meatball in my mouth.

Chase grins at me and shakes his head. “No, these are nightmare days. I do the nightmare days twice a week, then three medium days, then one light day and one day off while I’m training for a fight.”

“Sounds exhausting,” I remark while watching him devour a large chunk of his sub in one bite.

Chase only shrugs and chews.

“Do you do this for the entire three months?”

Chase nods.

“Why do you do it?” I ask.

Chase blinks at me, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you fight? Why put yourself through all of this?”

Dale starts chuckling and excuses himself from the table to take a call.

“Because I like it,” Chase answers and leans over the table towards me. “Because it’s fun.”

“It’s fun? Seriously?”

“Yes,” Chase grins and I can’t help but squirm in my chair the way he looks at me, like he’d like to eat me up. I have flashes of last night. Did it get hot in here?

“It’s fun,” he goes on. “I could probably spout off some philosophical bullshit about Zen and shit, but the truth is I enjoy it. I fucking love it. It’s almost as good as pizza. Almost as good as sex. And I get paid to do it.”