I was at the studio, and it was getting late in the afternoon. I’d been staying over until the place closed because I had nothing better to do. I wanted to keep my mind off the thing with Lydia because it was stressing me out.

Would she choose me? Or the man she’d known far longer and had a child with?

There was no way to know. I thought my chances were good, but I couldn’t disagree if she didn’t pick me, either. I remembered how nice it was to have both my parents around, even in spite of the shit that kept coming between us. None of it meant I loved my parents any less.

How could I deny Bryson, a child with a so far unusual childhood, having both his parents around for him? I couldn’t imagine my parents separating.

I didn’t like Mike, but he’d done what he thought was best for his family. How he did it was infuriating, but my parents were no different, were they? Except for the few times they left to go exploring with no explanation.

“Boss?”

I looked up at the instructor I’d hired to help me out with the studio. He was standing just off to the side from where I’d been lost in thought, eyebrows arched in curiosity.

Shit. How long had I been frozen for? I was in the middle of the floor, surrounded by people either working out on the gym equipment or with gloves on, hitting the sandbags, or working in pairs.

“Do you need something?” I asked, scratching the back of my neck.

He still looked curious, but I knew he wasn’t going to say anything. He wasn’t the kind of guy to pry.

“I just wanted to let you know, that if it’s okay with you, I can lock up today? I’ll need to stay over later with a few clients for a class.”

I frowned. I didn’t remember booking anything like that. “Is the class yours or mine? I don’t remember it…”

He hesitated. “Technically, boss, it is supposed to be your class. But I thought I’d it take over, just this once. I’ve already talked to them about it, and they don’t mind.”

“If it’s my job, I’ll do it,” I said, frowning deeper. “Why don’t I remember setting the class up?”

He sighed. “No offense, boss, but you haven’t been yourself the past week.”

My eyes widened, though I wondered why I was even surprised. Even I knew I’d been way too distracted at work. He wasn’t an idiot who wouldn’t notice. He just wouldn’t ask me what the problem was.

“I can…” I started to say, only for my voice to trail off. I could… what?

My employee looked at me with sympathetic eyes. “Look, boss. I’m not going to ask you what’s wrong because that’s your business.” I laughed, internally, because I’d guessed that much right. He arched an eyebrow at me, probably wondering why I suddenly looked amused. “But anyway, I think you need to go home, and maybe spend the weekend thinking about this thing that has you so in a twist. It’s not my place to say, but…”

“But?” I prompted, curious now what he had to say.

“But it’s been going on for a while, and I don’t think that’s healthy. It’s gotten worse recently, and it’s probably time for you to put your foot down and take care of whatever it is.”

Ah. He was right. I’d been busy with work and ignoring Lydia before. He’d caught that. Then, he’d caught when it got worse when it wasn’t just me worrying about her possibly being a murderer, but worrying about her letting me go and going to another man. I could have acted all hurt, pretended like the situation was a lot like what happened with Ella. But the truth was, this was so different.

Lydia wasn’t just going to leave me for any other man. It was her ex-husband, the man that left her with their son to look for greener pastures. I couldn’t blame her if she wanted to end up with him.

But… did that mean I had to do nothing at all?

Shit. There goes a wasted week.

“You know what?” I told my employee, my face lighting up with my sudden epiphany. “You’re right. I think I’m going to be taking off early today. Can you hold the fort while I’m out?”

He grinned at me and gave me a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”

I threw him an answering grin, then went to my office, where I picked up my jacket, my keys, and locked up as I left in a hurry. I waved at a few people that called out to me on my way out and practically jumped into my truck.

“I’m a fucking idiot,” I growled to myself, as I drove at the highest speed I could, heading for home.

What the fuck was I doing, just sitting by idly waiting for Lydia to make her decision? That was playing it safe, and I just realized, it was exactly what I’d done with Ella. There had been signs I could have picked up on and talked to her about. How she wouldn’t sleep over, or when she did she was gone in the morning. Plenty of other shit. But I let it go, I played by the rules. Boxing was the only area I wouldn’t give up.

That was my mistake.

I wanted to keep Lydia. It would hurt if I lost her. Even worse, we were fucking neighbors, so I would have to watch her be all lovey-dovey with her husband and son right next door to me. Just the thought of it hurt so badly; I felt my chest was caving in on itself. What was I thinking, this past week, just staying away when I needed to fight for what we had, for what I wanted, and not just in the ring?

I growled at myself for my stupidity.

“Phone, phone…” I muttered, reaching for it in my pocket. My home wasn’t far, but it felt like it was several miles away. I held the phone up, ready to text or call, whichever was most convenient. But the screen wouldn’t light up, no matter how much I pressed the power button.

“Shit,” I cursed. My phone was dead. When was the last time I even charged it?

I put it back in my pocket and focused on the road ahead of me. After several tense minutes, I arrived. I parked the truck in my driveway quickly, then jumped up and raced over to her house. I knocked on the door and waited anxiously for it to open.

“Lydia,” I started when the door was suddenly pulled back, and she was right there.

I didn’t get any further, though. Lydia caught my arm and dragged me inside. The surprise was what had me moving as she did, then she shut the door behind us and pushed me against it, so my back slammed into the door. She plastered her body to my front, slanting her lips over mine in a desperate kiss. She licked all over my lips until I opened them for her, then her tongue was sliding into my mouth and exploring.

“Fuck,” I cursed, gasping when she pulled back for a short break, only to dive back in.

This time, I kissed her back with just as much passion, my arms going around her waist and holding her close to me. My hands slid down to her cup her ass cheeks, and I rocked my growing erection against her abdomen.

We moaned in unison and started stripping each other down desperately. She wasn’t in anything delicate that I could rip, so I didn’t hold back. We stumbled further into the house as we lost piece after piece of clothing. The bedroom was too far, so we moved to the couch and fell on it, half naked. We were grinding against each other like a couple of horny teenagers, and my heart had never been happier.

“I missed you,” Lydia admitted, wrapping her limbs around me and mouthing at my neck, letting me breathe. “I missed you so fucking much, Ken, you have no idea.”

I gave a strained chuckle, moving my hips against hers, grinding into her sensitive center in ways that made her gasp.

“Oh, Lydia, trust me. I have some idea.” I breathed the words against her overheating neck, need driving every move I made.

We managed to detach from each other to get off our last piece of clothing. Then she was wrapping her legs around my hips, her arms around my back, and my cock was sliding into her warm, wet heat, making us both moan. I was too impatient to take things slow, and I didn’t think she’d mind either. I fucked her fast and hard, holding her body to me as I pressed nips and kisses all over the skin I could reach.

“Like that,” Lydia moaned, her nails digging into my back making me growl. “Just like that, Ken. Faster! Fuck!”

Lydia wasn’t usually so vocal in bed, and I hadn't realized just how hot it was. Soon, a little too soon, it was over. Lydia threw her head back as she cried out, her walls convulsing hard around my cock, her body shuddering in my arms. I climaxed right after her, biting her throat and leaving another mark there because the ones I’d made before had faded.

We slumped against the couch, and I shifted over so I was lying on my side with her body held to me and I wasn’t crushing her under my weight. There was silence between us until I decided to break it.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone for a week, Lydia.” She squirmed against me, and I explained before she could protest. “What I mean is, I know you needed space, but I shouldn’t have just walked away like I did, either. I should have at least told you what this relationship means to me. I care for you a lot, Lydia, more than I thought I would when I first met you.”

We were silent again, our breathing calming. She didn’t reply, but I knew what I wanted to do now, so it didn’t make me anxious.

“I was coming to tell you that I was willing to fight for us,” I admitted. “I’m not going to let you go that easily, Lydia. I should have made it clear to you before.”

She grinned at me. “Funny. I was going to tell you something along the same lines. Ken, I am happier with you than I have been in a long time, even when I was with Mike. That’s not something I want to give up. And…” She turned shy, ducking her head down so I wouldn’t see, but her voice was clear. “I love you, Kenji.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, at the declaration, or use of my name, I wasn’t sure. I did like how my name sounded on her tongue, though. I caught her face between my palms for a rough kiss, then met her gaze with mine.

“Me too, Lydia,” I whispered, voice heavy with emotion. “I love you, too.”

I rolled her underneath me once again, taking her lips in a slow, deep, wet kiss. She clung to me, her thoughts aligned with mine, and we made love again on her couch.