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  "Well, I'm not in here for my health," I shot back, rinsing out my mouth with my water bottle. Benji had gotten me good earlier, and my mouth still tasted of blood.

  "Fine, alright," Larry exclaimed throwing up his hands in the air. "I'll help, but I don't think this is a good idea. You could cripple yourself by going back into that cage."

  "That's not going to happen," I growled, throwing the bottle back into the corner of the cage. I was going to come out of this smelling like a rose and prove to all of them that I could still fight and fight well.

  Larry sighed. "Well you're a dumbass, but I can't stand by and watch you fight like a pussy. Come on, let's work on your jabs."

  A little while later I walked out of the gym, barely forcing my legs to move toward the car. Every muscle in my body screamed for a tub full of warm water and a shot of liquor, but I was going to have to settle for a cool shower and a mug of coffee instead. My apartment didn't come equipped with a tub, and I wasn't going anywhere near the bar to even be tempted into drinking. I looked over and saw the light on in the bakery, wondering what she was still doing here. Last night had been a fluke chance, but as soon as I had walked in, I knew something was up. Whoever that guy was, he was an asshole, and he had scared the shit out of her, so he had to go. I just hoped I had scared him off enough to leave her alone. Still, I had found myself enjoying her company after the fact, liking that she could dish it out as fast I could give it to her, and another look at her body made me want to give it to her good. I didn't know what kind of pull she had on me, but she had been the first in quite a while. After Gina, I had sworn off all women, unable to take care of myself much less another person. But now, Hannah, the baker, had my engines revving something fierce and before I knew it, I was opening the door to the bakery, frowning as I found it unlocked despite the late hour. She really needed to be locking the door.

  Music filled the air, some of that new pop music that was popular, but there was no sign of the baker behind the counter. Curious, I walked behind the display case and around the corner, finding her in front of the steel island, her hands buried in a bowl as she hummed along to the music. From this vantage point, I took in her nicely rounded ass, the way she swayed her hips to the beat. Despite being a curvy girl, she was still turning me on. I typically dated the complete polar opposite, model types who seemed to never eat unless forced to. Gina hated when I pointed out that she hadn't eaten, complaining that she had to watch her figure to continue to be the cage card girl before she was bumped. But Hannah, clearly she had no problems eating. Not that she was fat. She wasn't, but more curvy with a generous amount of hips and breasts for any man to enjoy.

  A grin slid over my face as I thought about gripping those hips and pressing her against me, reveling in the feel of a woman once more. Maybe I should explore getting involved with her, an outlet to my fighting. It wasn't healthy to have that be the only thing in my life as most fighters did, someone to go home to after a bout. A fling with the baker, the boys would like it.

  Walking toward her, I tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around so fast that I didn't have time to react, a cloud of white stuff filling the air as she did. I stood there, feeling the drifts of white stuff fall around me.

  "Oh no," she said, placing the bowl back on the island before grabbing a towel. "I'm so sorry, Anthony. You startled me, and I was sifting flour, and I am so sorry."

  "It's fine," I forced out, glad that it was only flour. She brushed at my shoulders and upper torso as I shook out my hair, glad that all the other guys were gone for the night or else they would have a field day with this. "I should have said something."

  She looked at me with a reluctant smile, handing me the towel to finish the rest of the job. "I wasn't expecting anyone."

  "Your door was unlocked," I said, brushing the rest of the flour from my shirt before handing it back to her. "You really should lock it."

  "I know," she said, dropping the towel on the table behind her. "I get busy with baking and forget to do it when Lillian leaves."

  I looked over her shoulder. "What are you making?"

  She blushed and stepped aside, showing me the pans of cookies that were waiting to be baked. They were all shaped as, well, as penises. "Bachelorette party," she squeaked out, clearly embarrassed.

  I laughed, mainly because it was hilarious anyone would want penis cookies. "Next time just tell me it's none of my business."

  "You should have seen my first attempt," she said, a blush stealing across her cheeks. "I'm, I mean I can't shape them quite right."

  She looked gorgeous when she blushed, and I felt a jump in my own penis as a result. "They look, er, anatomically correct."

  She blushed again, her face red this time as she covered up the trays. "Why are you over here, Anthony?"

  "I saw the light," I said honestly. "Figured I would stop by."

  "Well I'm sorry it got you a bath of flour," she answered with a little laugh, turning back toward me.

  "It's fine," I said. "Actually, I wanted to ask you out." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to force them back in. Had I really just asked her out? What the hell had brought that on?

  "W-what?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

  "Out, on a date," I said this time, knowing I was doing the right thing. Hell, we would have a blast together. "I'll even spring for dinner."

  She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and looked away. "I don't know."

  "Come on," I urged. The cat was out of the bag now. I wasn't going to let her say no now that I had gone out on a limb. "I'm not a bad sort."

  She looked up at me. "Of course not. You're a nice guy."

  A nice guy. I was far from a nice guy. Nice and I didn't mix at all.

  "Alright," Hannah finally said, giving me a little smile. "Sure, it sounds like fun."

  "You don't even know what we are going to do yet," I said.

  She laughed and the sound jumpstarted every nerve in my body. Her entire face lit up when she laughed. "Well, I guess I should ask before I say that, huh?"

  I gave her a quick grin. "You might want to. I do own a gym."

  Hannah wrinkled her nose. "You're right. Your idea and my idea of fun might be two different things."

  I leaned forward until there wasn't much space between us. "I promise, it will be fun. Come by the gym Thursday night, and we will go from there."

  "I can't wait," she said softly. I walked out of the bakery that had become an unbearably tiny space all of a sudden, my thoughts spinning in my head at what the hell I was going to do for a date. Hannah wasn't just a bar type girl. She was different and deserved better than the dates I could put together normally. Not that I had put any together recently.

  With a groan, I walked to my car. I was going to have to ask for help. Dammit.

  Chapter Eight

  Hannah

  "No not that one. God do you not have anything that is sexy in your closet? We should have raided mine."

  I looked in the mirror at the dress I was wearing, thinking it was quite pretty. I had worn it at the last event James, and I had attended, the shimmering fabric drawing light and making me sparkle. Or at least that was what he had said. "You're right," I answered, pulling it over my head and throwing it on the floor. I would burn it later. "But your closet was definitely not going to help. What are you, like a size two?"

  Lillian stepped outside of my closet and stuck her tongue out. "Yeah right. You've got a great body Hannah, you just need to know how to show it off."

  I turned back to the full-length mirror, frowning as I saw the slightly rounded stomach from eating too many of my own creations, the way that my thighs didn't achieve that perfect gap everyone was talking about. What was Anthony seeing in me? I mean he was perfect, maybe a bit rough around the edges, but made sexy and sinful look good. We were the oddest match made in, well, I wasn't sure where this match had drummed up from. "I should call this off."

  Lillian grabbed a shimmery black top and
hot red pants that I had never worn. "What? Are you crazy? Anthony is hot! Why wouldn't you at least give him one shot?"

  I sat on my bed, which now had half of the contents of my closet on it after Lillian's digging around. "I don't know. I don't think, I mean we are so different."

  She plopped down next to me with a sigh. "Forget the fact that we are even having this conversation. Anthony wants to take you out. You obviously have nothing else to do. You might even like it."

  That was what I was scared of, liking the date and Anthony. Well, I kinda already liked him a little. I believed there was another whole guy underneath his gruff exterior and had seen a glimpse of it myself the other night when he had joked around about our date. Something told me he didn't do that very often. Looking over at the clock, I realized I had exactly one hour to make up my mind about this date. The nervous jitters in my stomach told me not to do it, that I wasn't ready to go out with someone right now, but my good common sense told me otherwise. I was ready. I deserved to move on with my life.

  Lillian stood up and picked up the outfit she had just pulled out of the closet. "Here," she said, thrusting the outfit at me. "You're going to wear this, and you are going to be fabulous tonight. Enjoy yourself. You deserve it."

  I took the outfit and eyed it critically. I could give this one shot. What was the worst that could happen?

  An hour later I walked into the gym for the first time, my palms sweating and feeling slightly nauseous. I had to admit, the outfit was fabulous and paired with a cute pair of heels and my favorite black jacket, I felt pretty amazing. The gym was bigger than I had originally thought, with a small display case near the door that showed off a nice array of gloves and gym things for purchase. Beyond that, I could see a series of rings that were surrounded on the outside with fencing. In one of the rings, I could see two men fighting, and my curiosity got the better of me, walking around the display case and toward the ring. I hadn't been in a place like this before. As I approached the cage, I saw that one of the guys was Anthony and my heart stopped beating in my chest as I watched him throw a few punches toward the other guy. He was dancing around the ring, and for the first time, I saw him without a shirt on, his torso ripped and glistening with sweat. As he turned around, I spied an elaborate tattoo on his back, like flames licking up from his lower back to the upper part of his neck, which now made sense of the glimpse of a tattoo I had seen the other night. I was strangely mesmerized by the ink, never been brave enough to get one myself and despite that it was a big tattoo, it seemed to fit him pretty well. "No, you have to go for the legs!" the other fighter shouted, jarring me out of my observation. "Remember the opening. He's gonna use the opening."

  "I am fucking going for the legs," Anthony said, dropping his arms. "What the hell do you think I've been doing all this time?"

  His partner shook his head. "I don't know where your head is currently, but it's not in this cage right now."

  I swallowed, hoping that I wasn't the cause of his lack of concentration. Whatever he was preparing for, it must be serious. He was really a fighter, not just a gym owner. Strangely, I wasn't scared at the realization.

  Anthony glanced my way, and I saw his eyes light up. "Hannah."

  The other fighter turned, and I saw it was Benji, the one who had come and ordered the cake for Anthony. "Hannah, what are you doing here?"

  "She's here for me," Anthony growled, peeling off his gloves and handing them to Benji as he walked past. I tamped down the flutter of excitement as he started to climb out of the cage, the look on his face purely primal. I had made the right choice in coming tonight. "H-hi," I said as he made it over to me, taking in his sweaty body and bright eyes. "I didn't know we would be fighting tonight or I would have brought my gloves."

  He gave me a slight grin. "Just give me a few minutes to shower and change okay? I lost track of time. Benji here can keep you company."

  "Sure go ahead," I answered. "I'll be right here."

  He nodded and jogged to the back of the gym as Benji came over, wiping his face and neck with a towel. "So you're going on a date?"

  "I, yes," I said, clasping my hands in front of me. "We are."

  "Wow," Benji replied, chugging some water from the bottle he had in his other hand before he sat it on the bench. "I can't believe he actually asked you out. Or was it the other way around?"

  "What does that mean?" I asked, some of those earlier reservations coming back.

  My face must have said it all because Benji held up his hands. "No, don't get me wrong. You're smoking hot." I felt my cheeks burn at his words, pleasing me more than they should have. "I just hadn't expected Tony to jump back into the game. He's had it rough, just be easy on him okay?"

  "I'm not, I mean I don't know what you are talking about," I stammered.

  Benji gave me a tender smile. "You'll figure it out. Tony, he's got a lot of baggage, but he's a good guy. It's time he's found himself someone good."

  I wanted to tell him that I had the same realization. Maybe this was a good match despite the physical appearances. It sounded like we had similar issues as of late and there was no doubt in my mind that he was a good guy. I was more concerned about losing myself to another guy that I thought was great in the beginning, only to find out that it wasn't true far too late in the process. Not only that, but Anthony was a fighter, another concern for me to be worried about his safety in that cage. "Does he still fight?" I asked softly.

  "He's starting back," Benji replied with a chuckle. "The asshole doesn't know when to stop."

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Anthony chose that moment to reappear, dressed in a pair of low-slung jeans and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled back to his elbows to show off his strong forearms. His eyes were a little bluer tonight, mainly because of his blue shirt, and his hair was slicked back on his head, still wet from his shower. "Sorry," he said as he approached us. "I trust that Benji was a gentleman?"

  "Only because I am sweaty," Benji said, giving me a wink. "Good to see you, Hannah."

  "You too," I answered as he walked toward the back. I looked at Anthony and gave him a little smile. "Well? Do I need to go get my gloves now?"

  He laughed, looking more at ease than I had ever seen him. "No, I don't think you will need gloves for dinner. You ready?"

  I nodded, and he motioned for me to lead the way out of the gym and into the night, where a cool breeze was making it far colder than it should be for this time of year. "I'm over here," he said, pointing to the sleek blue Audi parked near the gym. I tried to hide my surprise as I walked over to the passenger side and allowed him to open the door, climbing into the black leather interior. Business must be really good. Here I was riding around in a four-door sedan, paid off and reliable, and he was riding around in a car that probably cost more than my apartment.

  Anthony slid into the driver's seat and pulled away from the curb. "So, I hope you like seafood."

  "I love seafood," I answered. I really did, though tonight I doubted I would be wearing a plastic bib and cracking open crab legs. Those tended to get messy really quickly.

  "Good," he answered as he pulled into traffic. "What kind of questions do you have?"

  "What?" I asked looking over at him.

  A grin tugged at his mouth as he stared straight ahead, shifting the gears as we moved along. "About the gym and the cage. Most people have tons of questions when they first get a glimpse of the place. I assume you are no different."

  I laughed. "You are correct. I had no idea that's what went on in there. It was quite a surprise. How long have you been fighting?"

  "All my life," he answered as he turned into a parking lot. "I can't remember a time when I didn't have some form of fighting going on."

  I thought about that as he pulled into the parking spot and climbed out, coming around to open the door for me and help me out of the car. Our hands touched briefly, and I felt the sizzle of heat creep up my arm as a result, spreading across my chest and up my neck. Oh, my. I looke
d up to see that we were at a popular seafood restaurant that was fairly new to the area, where reservations were impossible to get, and the prices were ridiculously high. For someone who didn't do much dating, Anthony sure was pulling out all the stops.

  We walked in, and Anthony gave them his name before we were seated a small intimate table near the windows, where the water was visible in the dim lighting. "Have you been here before?" I asked as the waiter handed us our menus and poured some water.

  He shook his head. "I don't get to places like this much. I'm a takeout kind of guy."

  I didn't want to tell him that I was kind of the same. Since James and I had broken up, it was rare that I actually went out to eat, preferring to escape the whole table for one thing and eat in the comfort of my own apartment. I picked up the menu and swallowed against the prices. Who really charged twenty bucks for a garden salad?

  "Would you care for some wine tonight?" the waiter suddenly asked, appearing out of nowhere.

  "No thanks," Anthony said immediately, waving him away. "God they will drive you crazy."

  I smirked and laid down the menu. "So let's make them wait then." He laughed and put his menu down as well, his eyes twinkling in the candlelight. "You're such a rebel."

  "Not so much," I smiled, thinking how sexy he was when he smiled. And by holy he was sexy. "So the fighting you were doing? Is it that cage stuff?"

  He chuckled, shaking his head. "I've never heard it called stuff, but yes it is mixed martial arts fighting. We do fight in cages."

  "Interesting," I said, meaning it. I had done some reading when I was researching his cake and learned that it was pretty popular. "So do you get like seriously hurt in this fighting?"

  A shadow crossed over his face, and I knew immediately I had touched a nerve, a bad one. "Yeah you can get hurt. It's part of the job. You learn to roll with the punches."

  I let it drop with that. It was clear I had touched on a subject he didn't care to talk about, and the last thing I wanted to do was make this date go bad.