Maniac [BOXER]

MANIAC

My mind was never more at ease, and my body was never more alive than when I was running out in the wild. Headphones. Fresh air. The light glows from the morning sun. The wind in my air. I later soothed the ache in my calves with a quick dunk in an ice bath at the gym.

Maniac’s Gym.

My pride and joy. My life’s work.

I held the national record for winning The Boxing Grand Slam twice in a row. After that part of my life had ended, I wasn’t ready to let go of boxing. Truthfully, I don’t think I ever will be. And so, I opened Maniac’s Gym two years ago, and my life has been fulfilled ever since.

But I wanted more.

A greedy motherfucker like myself always wanted more.

The Boxing Grand Slam took place every five years, and tryouts were next month. This time, I was entering the competition as a coach instead of a boxer but I had to admit, the boxer that I had submitted–the best boxer at my gym–didn’t stand a chance. If he, Bulldozer, by some miracle, made it through tryouts to round 1, I couldn’t see him getting any further than that. He was good by amateur standards, but not professional.

I knew it from the very beginning, and perhaps it would have been better to not enter anyone into the competition in the first place. The need to put Maniac’s Gym on the map drove me, but as the competition drew nearer, I was starting to regret it. Maniac’s Gym had only been open for two years. It wasn’t ready. We weren’t ready. And I fucking hated to admit it.

There were still four weeks for me to continue training Bulldozer, but I knew in my gut that it wasn’t enough time. That he wouldn’t be ready in time.

I turned up the music, wanting my head clear for the rest of the run. I usually ran eight to ten miles in the morning before heading to open up the gym in the morning. Even on a rest day. That meant that I was up at the crack of dawn, but I had no complaints. That was the life of a boxer, and it hadn’t changed since I became a coach.

My mind was at peace for a total of five minutes before I turned a corner and my eyes landed on a leggy brunette with a heart-shaped face, the most adorable rounded-tip nose that I had ever seen, eyes that I could never decide if they were grey or blue, and curves that kept me up more nights than I cared to admit. My eyes immediately fell on her rounded ass which was especially delectable today in the tight little pencil skirt she wore, and it was tougher than any opponent to bring myself to look away. And even then, my eyes flickered up to her beautiful face.

Brooklyn Ackers was the most beautiful woman I had ever set eyes on, and I had thought that when I first saw her two years ago. It was when I had just moved to Saranac Lake. The gym was set to open the next week, and the contractors were cutting it close with the renovations. It was late at night when I finally locked up the place to head home, and that’s when I saw her.

She was walking down the street with a small group of friends, a mixture of men and women. They were all either tipsy, wasted, or flat-out drunk. Brooklyn was giggly and tipsy as she stumbled down the sidewalk with her heels in her hands, unable to walk straight even without them on. Her hair was shorter then, but I still imagined what it would look like spread over my pillow. One of her friends said something, and I watched as she threw her head back and laughed. It put a small smile on my usually sullen face, and when she turned her head, our eyes caught for the first time. They looked blue in the darkness of the night, and I craved to know what they would look like in the sunlight. Every time after that, I couldn’t agree whether her eyes were grey or blue.

I was mesmerised then, and I still am today.

Usually, it lasted for minutes. Sometimes longer. And I always went home and thought about her late at night when it was just me, my thoughts, and sometimes my left hand as well. I couldn’t be the only man who jerked himself at night at the thought of Brooklyn Ackers, but I was probably the only one who wasn’t an acquaintance, friend or knew her in real life.

Every time I saw her, I craved to know her. To be her friend. To be more than that, but I kept away. I fed off the little I did get to see her in passing like this because a man like me didn’t deserve a woman like Brooklyn Ackers. I wasn’t good for her. I would be too much for her to handle. Just as I was for every other woman that had been in my life.

Too obsessed with boxing.

Too overbearing.

Too bossy.

Too grumpy.

Too obsessive.

At my grand old age of thirty-five, I hadn’t been able to keep a girlfriend for more than six months. That had only been one relationship–the others lasted no more than four months–and was mostly because we spent nearly all of it long-distance.

Women like to get to know me. They liked to unravel the grumpy mystery that I was but once I laid myself out on a platter for them to see, they never wanted me. Not the true me.

A lot of women had come and gone in my life, and a few of them had hurt, but I knew all of those added together would be nothing in comparison to Brooklyn leaving my life. And I was sure of that even before she had come into it.

It hurt to keep my distance, but I knew it would hurt so much more if she left me like all the others.

I was clearly destined to be alone, and I had come to terms with my fate around the same time I stopped boxing professionally. Five years without a partner was a long time, but I had put all that energy in setting up looking after my health and then setting up Maniac’s Gym.

I nearly tripped over my feet when a sharp sting bit my calf.

“Aslan. What have I said about you biting my leg to get my attention? You’re a fucking dog. Bark!” I growled and glared at my dog who always came for a run with me, and then spent all day at the gym with me. Thankfully, there was a backyard and plenty of space for the Big Dame to run around, and plenty of people coming in and out of the gym to keep him entertained.

Aslan chose that moment to bark and my eyes followed him as he ran ahead of me. He stopped behind Brooklyn, barking loudly as she stepped out onto the street without looking both ways. And I knew that because if she had checked, she would have noticed the Range Rover coming at full speed and without guarantee of stopping in time.

Did she have a fucking death wish or something?

Panic washed through me, and I ran toward her at full speed.

Aslan jumped up and dug his teeth into the bottom of her skirt before I could reach her, pulling her back. Brooklyn gasped and tried to push him away, but the car still hadn’t slowed down.

“Down, boy! Down, Aslan! I’m here now!”

Aslan let go of her skirt at the sound of my voice, but not without ripping a chunk out of it. The impact sent her stumbling forward, and I curled an arm around her waist from behind, lifted her into the air and rushed us both back to the sidewalk only moments before we were both run over. The jerk in the Range Rover didn’t even stop to check if we were okay and instead, continued down the street like nothing had almost happened.

“You fucker!” I yelled after the car. “Watch where you’re fucking going!”

“What the fuck?” Brooklyn screeched in my arms. Her nails dug into my arm that was wrapped around her waist, but it did no more than sting. If anything, I hardly noticed it with how right she felt in my arms, pressed up against my chest. The sweet strawberry scent of her shampoo, mixed with something earthy and fresh wafted over me, and I knew I was already addicted. I had stayed away from her all these years for these very years and now that I had felt her in my arms once, I knew I was a goner.

I knew I would never forget this feeling.

“Let go of me!” Brooklyn yelled, digging her nails harder into my arm and kicking out her legs, kicking my calves, but Aslan’s teeth hurt more than the heel of her boots did. “Help! Help! I’m being kidnapped! Please! I need help!”

“Kidnapped?” I scoffed and lowered Brooklyn to the ground.

She immediately rushed away from me, putting several feet of space between us.

“Stay away!” She screamed at me with wild eyes. She slipped her hand into her purse, desperately searching around for something but coming up with nothing. “I have Mace with me. I’ll blind you with it if you come any closer.”

“You’re going to pay me back for saving your life by blinding me with Mace? I just saved your life, Tiger. I thought you’d be a little bit more grateful,” I chuckled and slipped a finger into Aslan’s collar, keeping him by my side. Brooklyn was already spooked and he had taken a bite out of her skirt. I didn’t want to risk him spooking her again even though his intentions would no doubt be honourable. Just as mine had been when I pulled her out of the street.

“Saved my life?” She scoffed. “The only thing you and your mutt did was ruin my skirt.” Her face flushed and I groaned internally as it was another addition to the spank bank. “How am I supposed to go to work my ass hanging out?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you turn around and show me how bad it is, Tiger?” I chuckled.

Her eyes darkened, looking more blue than grey, and her cheeks flushed harder. I craved to know if the pink flush covered any other part of her body as well as her face.

“Tiger?”

I cursed myself for slipping up. I nicknamed her Tiger two years ago when I first saw her because she was beautiful, majestic, and confident. Just like a Tiger. It had stuck, and I had been calling her that in my head ever since.

“You’ve got the spirit of a Tiger in you. Hence, the nickname,” I explained. “Now that we’ve got that cleared up, what the fuck were you thinking walking into the street without looking? You would have been run over if I wasn’t here to stop you.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten run over. The car would have stopped,” she protested with a small pout, looking more adorable than anyone or anything I had ever seen before. The things I would do to see that face every morning.

I quirked a quizzical brow at her. “Like it did to check if we were okay after that close call?”

Brooklyn pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. Her face hardened and she huffed when she didn’t find what she was looking for in her purse.

“What? No Mace?” I chuckled.

“I must have left it at home,” she muttered under her breath. “It must be in my other purse.”

“Well, it’s no use there, is it?” I laughed. “You’re beautiful, Tiger. Stunning. A gorgeous thing like you should carry it around with you at all times because your self-defence skills are terrible.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You think kicking my calves and digging your nails into my arm is good self-defence? I hate to break it to you, Tiger, but you didn’t leave a single mark on my skin. For fuck’s sake, my dog bites harder than you kick. And he wasn’t even trying to hurt me.”

“That’s because you’re a fucking mountain of a man,” she scoffed. “How tall even are you?”

“I’m six-foot-four.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t believe you.”

“I get that a lot,” I said. “I know I look taller, but I really am only six-foot-four. If you have a tape measure in your purse, I’ll let you measure me.”

“You’re not funny.”

“You wound me, Tiger.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like it.”

“That’s too bad because I like it, Tiger. So, it’s going to stick.” I fought a grin, mostly because I knew it would only infuriate her even more which wasn’t a terrible thing because she looked even cuter when angry.

“I’m serious. Cut it out.”

“No can do. Sorry…Tiger,” I grinned, unable to resist.

Her eyes blazed with anger, and she pointed a sharp, baby-pink acrylic nail at me. “How dare you? You…you…you big man!”

“Big man is putting it lightly, Tiger,” I snickered, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You’re disgusting.”

“Maybe, but you’re ungrateful.”

“You don’t know me.”

I gave her a pointed look. “You’re right. I don’t know you, but I do know that I saved your life, and you have yet to thank me.”

“Fine. I’m sorry.” Brooklyn pursed her lips and I just knew that she was doing everything she could to stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Are you going to apologise to me?”

“Why would I apologise to you, Tiger?” I asked, curious as to her reasoning.

“Because your dog ripped my skirt and now my ass is on show.”

“I told you I’d check for you,” I offered again with an even wider grin.

This time, she did roll her eyes. “It’s not funny.”

“Fine. I’m sorry that Aslan ruined your skirt,” I apologised, not meaning it in the slightest. “How much was it? I’ll buy you a new one.”

“It’s fine. There’s no need for that. I’ll just change into something before I get to work.” She pursed her lips again. “And thanks for pulling me out of the road. You’re right. I did save your life.”

“Got a lot on your mind?”

“Kind of,” she murmured. “I have to get going. Thanks again.”

“Anytime, Tiger.”

Brooklyn gave me a forced smile before she turned around to cross the street again. This time, she made sure to check left and right before crossing, and once I was assured that she was safe and didn’t risk getting run over again, my eyes fell on her ass. She was right. Aslan had completely ruined it and her entire left ass cheek was on display, including the hint of red of her thong.

“I should be mad at you, Aslan, but I can’t find it in myself to tell you off,” I chuckled and patted my Big Dame on the head. “Remind me when we get home and I’ll give you a treat.”

Brooklyn either felt my eyes on her, or it was the breeze against her naked behind, but she slapped her purse on her ass and walked the rest of the way like that to a local café.

Another visual for the spank bank.

“Come on, Aslan. We can’t spend all day drooling over beautiful women,” I murmured.

As infuriating as that interaction had been, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I finished my ten miles and ended the run at the gym.

Just because I deemed Brooklyn off-limits didn’t mean that I didn’t drink in the sight of her whenever I saw her. It was just too bad that it was never enough and perhaps, it never would be. I was right to have stayed away this whole time but now that a line had been crossed and we’d interacted, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to go back to how things were before.

-

Layla Knight

24.06.2023