Having Roxie here made me feel stronger, had my blood rushing through my veins, my heart pumping harder, faster. I glanced at the girl I loved—secretly—and saw that she was worried. This was only practice, me boxing with one of the guys at the gym, one of my friends, but she worried for me.

“Dude, pay attention,” Lenny said, his words muffled by the mouth guard. He glanced at Roxie, and I saw the smirk that covered his face. I swung out, knocking him back with the force.

One of these days I was going to grow some balls, pull Roxie in close, and kiss her senseless. One of these fucking days I’d tell Roxie I loved her, damned if the friendship was ruined or not. Being around her and not kissing her, holding her, letting the world see she was mine was so fucking painful I’d risk anything for the chance to claim her.

I just needed to grow those balls first.

* * *

I always hated watching Axel fight, even though I knew he’d win. The fact he was getting violent with someone else scared the shit out of me.

Axel ducked, dodged the punch, swung out, and drew blood. He was vicious in the ring, his blue boxing gloves standing out against the red of his opponent’s. Over and over he did this, hitting, blocking, his focus on the other guy, his moves precise. I glanced at the clock, the time seeming to speed up, then slow to a halt. I had to leave for work soon, but not before I saw him win.

This was only practice, but I had to make sure he was okay.

I saw the other boxer say something to Axel, although it was too low for me to hear. And then the other guy glanced at me, grinning around his mouth guard, making me feel pissed for Axel. The guy did this to piss Axel off. I knew that, knew he was trying to get under Axel’s skin.

But he should have known better, should have known taunting Axel would only lead to him on his ass.

And sure enough, Axel delivered a punch to the face that had the guy on his back, out cold.

I took a few steps away as the trainer went closer and motioned Axel over. They started talking. I turned my back to the ring, grabbed the rest of my stuff, and felt someone behind me. I smiled and turned around.

Axel stood there, all six-foot-three inches of him, his body glossy with sweat, his massive chest rising and falling. He grinned down at me, gestured to my bag, and because I knew he’d keep bugging me until I gave in, I handed it over.

“You have time for me to shower?”

I glanced at the clock. “Only if you can do it in five minutes.”

“Done.” He turned, but I called him back.

“Um, my bag.” I chuckled when he handed it over. “You can be all manly and carry it when you’re done.”

He winked and I felt my heart start to race. I watched him walk away, not knowing if I’d ever have the nerve to tell the boy I cared about—the man he’d grown into—that I loved him. For years, ever since I knew what the word meant, what it would feel like, I knew I wanted Axel as mine.

I needed to be his, wanted to show him that we were meant for each other. I could pretend that I “saw” the way he looked at me, that maybe he felt the same way. But at twenty-two, the years passing, and nothing being said, I pushed any notion about that I’d have anything with her.

I chalked it up to my own fantasies.

I brought my bag over to the bench, sat down, and stared at the other boxers training. Some were back in the ring; others were working out or hitting the red punching bag violently.

“Hey.”

I glanced up at Liam, one of the other boxers Axel trained with. He was younger, maybe eighteen.

“Hi,” I said. He was a lot smaller than Axel, leaner, like a swimmer. He was either coming or going, with his bag slung over his shoulder and his jacket on.

“There’s a small party later tonight at one of the guys’ houses. Everyone from the gym should be there, and lots of food and booze. If you don’t have any plans, we can hit it up, relax a bit?”

A shadow crossed over Liam, and I knew Axel was already out of the shower and standing right behind me.

“If she does end up going, it’ll be with me.” Axel’s voice was hard, unforgiving, and he moved right beside me. He was my best friend, and because of that he’d always been very protective, almost overbearing at times. But truth was I loved it and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Liam looked at me. “Hey, man.” A moment of silence passed. “You guys, like…” He looked between us. “Dating now or something? That why she’d be going with you?” I could hear in Liam’s voice that he was genuinely curious.

“Like I’m going to let her go to a party with a bunch of sexed-up boxers who have been drinking all night?” Axel lifted a brow and stared Liam down.

Liam held his hand up. “Cool. Well, I’ll see you guys there then?” He didn’t wait for either of us to answer. He headed out the front doors.

I stared at Axel.

“What?”

I was the one to lift a brow now. “Sexed-up?” I chuckled at that and shook my head. “None of these guys would dare put a finger on me.”

I stood and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in. I loved the feel of his hard, warm body close to mine, even if it was just in a friendly manner.

“Yeah, but sometimes they like to push, to see if they can get their dick wet.”

I scrunched my nose. “That’s nasty.”

“Unfortunately that’s the truth and how most of these assholes think.”

We headed outside to his SUV. “Are you wanting to go to the party?” I turned and looked at him. He appeared like he wanted to say no, and I knew it was because of what we’d just talked about. “It’ll be fun, and honestly I’d like to get out of the house. My roommate brings her boyfriend over constantly, and I can hear them having sex through my bedroom wall.” I felt my face heat.

I spoke with Axel about anything and everything. Nothing was ever hidden between us. But talking about sex with him—when I knew nothing about it, and because of how I felt toward him—always made me feel on edge.

I could assume Axel knew nothing about sex either, was a virgin just like me since I’d never seen him with any women, but I didn’t want to assume. He was big and strong, attractive and powerful, and I knew the opposite sex wanted him. I saw how they looked at him while he boxed and trained.

“If you really want to hang out there, I’m game.” The way he stared at me, his blue eyes piercing, his focus trained on me, had this chill racing up my spine. “And I hate that you’re staying at her place. You know I still have a room open if you want. It’s yours, always will be.”

As much as the prospect of staying with Axel, living with him under the same roof was oh so appealing, because we were “just friends” I didn’t want to put myself in that situation. And by situation I meant inadvertently walking in on him with a woman in his bed, or hearing him talk to his friends about females, or anything that had to do with the opposite sex.

“I know, and I appreciate it, but you know I like living on my own…kind of.” He smiled at me, and once we were in his SUV and headed to my work, I tried to put any worries I had about me and Axel, and what we did or didn’t have, to the back of my head.