“Ah shit.” Zoey stood over her date’s dazed and barely conscious body inside the ring.
“Holy fucking shit, do you got an arm on you, babe.” James held his head. Everything seemed to be spinning in the room somehow. “Do you think I'll be able to fall in love with you all over again if you give me amnesia?” He asked.
“Probably?” Zoey fought to stop herself from blushing.
It wasn’t that she was in love with James either. She was just weak to compliments and positive attention. Two things James loved to dogpile her with. The worst thing was that she didn’t know if he knew what he was doing to her either. Zoey helped James out of the ring and went to get an ice pack for him.
“Ahaha. I knew it was the right idea to bring you to my private gym. Even though I just got my ass kicked by my girlfriend, I feel like the next time I step into the ring, I'll be even stronger!” James smiled while looking directly into Zoey’s eyes.
Zoey didn’t know when they skipped the dating phase and went straight into the boyfriend and girlfriend phase, but since he had a temporary brain injury that was kind of but not entirely her fault, she decided to let it go. The big muscular bastard was sweet talking her while they were in the middle of a spar! It was his own fault she lost control of her strength for a second. It was one of the reasons why Zoey didn’t talk much during her fights! It was easier to focus on fighting if you weren’t thinking of quips and comebacks.
“Your body is perfect for a slugger, but you fight like a swarmer. Why?” Zoey asked.
Zoey was a boxer-puncher. A combination of all the boxing styles that she could switch between them or use them all together. A slugger was someone who focused less on technique and more on brutally knocking out their opponent with destructive power. While a swarmer focused on sticking to their opponent like glue while avoiding blows and dishing them out when they make an opportunity for it.
“My coach thought it would be better if I had more tools at my disposal than just being big and punching hard,” James answered.
“That’s a waste of your body.” Zoey shook her head as her fighting knowledge reared its head.
Even though their spar wasn’t long, she managed to understand exactly what was best for James to grow as a boxer. Zoey didn’t know if it was because of her own boxing skill or the teaching skill that helped her do this. But it didn’t really matter. Whatever path his coach set him on was not going to help him grow into a better boxer.
“That’s what I said!” James shouted. “Well, I didn’t say exactly that, but I was like, what the fuck, Coach? All this time, you’ve been training me to focus on my punches and my body, but now all of a sudden, I need to “diversify” my skills?”
“Not yet, anyway. You still have more room to grow as a slugger.” Zoey looked down at the sitting James as she inspected his shirtless muscular body. “A stronger base, better balance, and a lot more endurance. A significant change in diet and...” Zoey placed her finger on her chin. “Willpower?” The word came to her, but she didn’t know why.
“You aren’t the undefeated champion of the YFTL for nothing.” James adjusted his shorts as he gave her another stupid smile.
“I can send you a training plan later when I get home if you want.” Zoey looked away while Inner Zoey saved this scene for later.
“That would be fucking fantastic. Becoming the heavyweight world champion in the boxing scene was always a dream of mine growing up, you know? Seeing those big bastards on the screen with everything a young boy could dream of. Women, money, and the power to knock a motherfucker out in one hit. I didn’t understand the losers who didn’t want that life.” James shared.
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“It isn’t going to be easy,” Zoey warned.
“What kind of champion could I be if I pussed out at some hard work? I can handle anything I put my mind to.” James confidently claimed.
Zoey and James soon realized it was getting late, and with James slightly concussed, they decided it would be better not to do anymore training till he got checked out at a hospital. Health was the number one factor for athletes. It didn’t matter how tough they thought they were. The human body was always willing to prove them wrong. They did not decide to split at the entrance of the private gym since James wanted to do the gentlemanly thing and walk her home.
“It's not because I'm worried something will happen to a pretty girl like you walking on her own. I know you can probably knock out any son of a bitch that looks at you wrong. I just want to spend more time with you today.” James honestly shared his feelings.
“...” Zoey remained silent, turned away from him, and simply blushed.
This stupidly big candy-mouthed fucker... Did he want her to drop her pants and fuck him in the middle of the street or something?! Shut the fuck up and stop complimenting her! Geez, maybe this dating thing was too soon. Is it normal for one person to be so blunt, positive, and attractive? Zoey was still just getting over her awkward loser phase! That didn’t mean she was a social butterfly that could adapt to any situation life threw at her!
Just as Inner Zoey was flooding her with mental images of them fucking like wild animals under the streetlights in some alleyway, a figure wearing a black hoodie walked up to them. They deliberately stood in front of their path and prevented them from walking forward.
“Is there something wrong with your fucking brain, pal? There’s more than enough space on this sidewalk for the three of us. Why the fuck are you blocking our way?” James asked nicely.
“Dino sends his regards.” The figure began to pull something from out of their pocket.
James's eyes widened as he attempted to grab Zoey and hug her. Placing his huge back as a shield to block whatever this psycho was about to pull out. As the huge lug tried to grab her, the world slowed to a crawl as Zoey locked in on the weapon he was pulling out. Zoey avoided James’s grab and shot her fist forward like a snake bite. This snake bite knocked the guy in the black hoodie out in an instant. He fell down to the ground unconscious as Zoey grabbed whatever the hell he was about to pull out.
“This isn’t a gun...” Zoey opened up the unlocked phone.
“I almost shit myself.” James didn’t hesitate to admit it.
“It’s showing an address,” Zoey told him.
“Wait, you’re involved with Dino?!" James asked her, remembering what the guy had said.
“Who is Dino?” Zoey acted oblivious.
There was no way she was telling her potential boyfriend about the antics she got up to in the past. What kind of guy would like to hear that his girlfriend got around in the streets before they met? Sure, Zoey was exaggerating what kind of mess she got into with the delinquents but still. She was no longer the desperate fighting junkie who needed her next fighting fix to keep going in life. Coach Scott was actively working toward giving her fights, and there was the magji world.
Frankly, it was a time of shame and fondness now that Zoey thought about it. The freedom she had in exploring her fighting with delinquents. It wasn’t anything like the rules and caution when she fought inside the ring. Back then, she just had to be careful not to kill them. Anything other than that was up to her. Although she could still fight the same way with daemons, there was a difference between fighting humans and fighting daemons.
As a fighting addict, it was hard to explain. One fight scratched a different itch than the other could. Maybe it was because some skills could only rise against daemons while some skills had no choice but to rise when fighting humans. Zoey didn’t know. Probably only her future therapist knew.
“This...” James hesitated to speak. “Don’t worry about this. I’ll handle it. Let’s get you home safely, alright? Just give me the phone.” He held his hand out.
“Okay.” Zoey gave him the phone with the address on it.
Zoey wondered if this big idiot was planning to go to the address by himself later on after dropping her off at home. As he continued to walk her home, much less chatty than his usual self, Zoey’s gut feeling only grew more certain. Inner Zoey couldn’t help but laugh at the idiot. The big strong masculine man had to do everything himself instead of just asking for help.
‘Should I follow him to make sure he’s safe?’ Zoey thought to herself.
Sure, James was strong, but that was only compared to normal people. She had no idea if he was strong enough to face off dozens of weapon-wielding delinquents like Zoey did in the past.