“What are you up to now?” I ask, grinning.
“You’ll see when you pick me up,” she replies and hangs up—typical Kelly.
After I pick her up and she gets into the car with two sports bags, she still hasn’t told me what she has planned and instead directs me halfway across town.
“You can park here,” Kelly instructs me, and I park in front of a boxing club with a raised eyebrow.
A dilapidated boxing gym, at least that’s what it looks like from the outside. As I turn off the engine, I look at her skeptically, wondering what we’re doing here.
“Don’t look at me like that. The building is under construction, but the interior has been renovated for weeks.”
“The outside needs a do-over, too,” I say skeptically, thinking about how I will get out of this because I know Kelly. There’s no going back once she’s set her mind on something.
“Don’t be so stuffy, Cora,” she scolds me and playfully elbows me in the ribs before getting out.
Sighing and more than reluctantly, I follow her.
“How did you come across this place in the first place?” I continue because I don’t understand what we’re doing here.
Kelly and I like to do workouts together, but boxing? And in a place like this? This doesn’t suit us.
“You’ll see in a minute, and then hopefully, you won’t complain anymore,” she says, silencing me and going inside, leaving me with no choice but to follow her.
Once inside, I’m surprised to admit that the place looks great. There is no trace of the shabby look that the outside façade suggests. Everything here is modern and in pristine condition, as if all the appliances, floors, and equipment were brand new.
I follow Kelly through the large hall in amazement. Here, you can find everything a boxer’s heart desires. There are even three small boxing rings. I spot many small areas with bags of all shapes and sizes in the back corners. And so much more, which I can’t look at while walking, so I follow Kelly until I reach a door.
“You’ve been here before?” I ask her in a whisper as we enter an office.
But she doesn’t answer me and heads straight for the guy behind the desk.
He has his back to us and is sorting files into a cupboard. When he turns around, I freeze. “Ezra?” I blurt out; after that, Kelly turns to me curiously and looks at me questioningly.
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Mrs. Shepherd. To what do I owe this pleasure… and who’s your friend?” He greets not only me with a charming smile but Kelly as well.
Of course, she is immediately enchanted by him and his manners. On the other hand, I am puzzled about what he’s doing here and why he’s suddenly calling me by my last name again, especially considering what happened between us the other day. Or was it my imagination, and Ezra was never in my garden? Oh damn! I’m really going crazy.
Chapter Eleven
You came to me; I knew it.
And here you are now. In my club. Just like I planned.
I knew that your horny girlfriend couldn’t pass up the chance to train with some young hot guys. So, I printed some advertising flyers for my club’s opening and distributed them around town. The fact that a flyer happened to find its way into Kelly’s letterbox might be because I wanted to learn more about you and your life.
I want to know who you surround yourself with and your favorite people. I want to know everything about you, Beauty, and get to know you properly so that I can see behind the perfect housewife façade you carefully wear on your beautiful face every day. But you don’t have to hide or pretend with me. I want to see who you really are.
And now you’re here. You’re with me, and I can’t wait to train with you. It’s time to play, Beauty…
Chapter Twelve
Istand in front of the desk, feeling like a fool, and look at Ezra as if I’m a deer caught in headlights. My brain has simply switched off, depriving me of the ability to speak.
Ezra’s smile widens slightly after a long, and for me, excruciatingly awkward moment. Hello, hole in the ground, please swallow me whole…
“Well… We’re here to have a look at the club. A lot has been done here, we heard there are a lot of new courses, like women’s self-defense. So, we thought we’d pop in and check the place out,” Kelly says for me, for which I’m very grateful.
Strictly speaking, I didn’t know we were going here until now, so what was I supposed to tell Ezra?