I take one quick step back, place both my hands under my face, but I do it a fraction of a second too late; the incoming fist smashes straight into my defense, pushing its way past my raised hands and hitting me straight in the face.

“Keep your hands up!” One of the random dudes watching the fight cries out, but I barely register his words. I’m too busy trying not to be beaten to death.

“One more,” Tad grunts through his mouthpiece, a crooked smile on his face. He jumps from side to side, throwing soft jabs against my hands as he looks for another opening.

“Screw you,” I pant, avoiding his next punch but almost tripping on my own feet. Taking the chance, he pushes forward and lands another punch straight into my ribs. I try to counter, but that leaves me open for a straight right; it lands on my face and I tumble back, falling on my ass.

“The mighty Kirk has finally gone down!” Tad laughs, taking off his mouthpiece and offering me his hand. I let him pull me up to my feet, and I sigh heavily, hardly believing that I just got knocked down by a guy like Tad. Sure, he’s fast and he hits hard, but this is the first time that he managed to knock me down. Usually I’m the one towering over him after a sparring session.

“Yeah, don’t count on that happening again,” I groan, one hand over the ribs where he landed his punch.

“You’re off your game today,” he continues, looking at me with a curious glance. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing… I just have a lot on my mind,” I reply, ducking under the ropes and jumping off the ring. Taking the boxing gloves off, I run one hand through my sweat-soaked hair and sit down on one of the ring-side chairs.

All around me there’s the sound of weights rattling in their bars, groans of effort filling the whole gym as someone tries to go one more rep. The place doesn’t look like much; it’s a rundown gym, after all, but I’ve been coming here for ages now. I’ve never been a fan of the hip fitness culture, with its bright colors and whatnot, and a place as rugged as this one feels like home to me. Whenever I have some free time, you can usually find me here, hitting the weights or sparring with whoever’s around; more often than not, Tad’s the one facing me.

We’ve been friends for ages and, back when I was getting my business off the ground, he was one of my early investors. I’d say that I owe him, but he made such an enormous profit with his investment in my bars that it’s fair to say I don’t owe him anything anymore.

“Seriously, man,” he says, sitting on the free chair to my right. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look… I don’t know, I’m not used to seeing you like this.”

“Yeah, well… Like I said, I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Business trouble? If you need anything, you can just ask me and —”

“Nah, it’s not that,” I cut him short, and a smile takes over his face in an instant.

“Then it’s a woman, huh?” he laughs, taking his own gloves off and throwing them on the floor at his feet. “It’s always a woman,” he muses to himself knowingly; after all, Tad also has his own reputation as a playboy. I’ve met a lot of his flings, but I never actually met a girlfriend, and that’s because he’s as afraid of a relationship as I am.

Or as I was.

“Yeah, it’s this girl I met…” I admit, distractedly watching as two of the younger kids take over the ring. They help each other put their gloves on and then they move to opposite corners. It doesn’t take long for them to be swinging haymakers at each other, throwing punches as if they were drunk.

“The blonde one…? What was her name?”

“Emily,” I reply, my heart tightening as I feel her name rolling off my tongue. “I don’t even know why I feel like this. You know how I usually do things, one and done, but this time it’s different… I’ve been with her a few times already, and I spend my day thinking of the next time we’ll be together.”

“Woah, man… What have you been drinking, estrogen? Because that’s girl talk,” he laughs, staring at me with a mocking expression. “Soon enough you’ll start to grow boobs.”

“Really fucking mature,” I grumble, and he just places one hand on my shoulder.

“It’s alright, man… It happens. You’re falling for her, aren’t you?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m falling for her,” I confess and, God, it feels good to say it out loud.

“So, what’s the problem? Falling in love isn’t the end of the world. I know I’m always making fun of couples and shit, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in love… I’m just waiting for the right one, you know? And it looks like you’ve found it. So cheer up!”

“It’s not that easy, Tad,” I sigh, Freeway’s text message flashing like a beacon inside my head. “She’s seeing other guys.”

“She’s seeing other guys?” he repeats after me, as if he’s trying to decode my words. “Oh, I see… You told her you didn’t want anything serious, and she took your words at face value, uh?”

“Yeah, I guess you can say it happened like that.”

“Well, that’s your own fault, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter, though; I was right, it seems like you met the right girl for you,” he laughs again, punching my shoulder.

“What do you mean?” I ask him, glancing at him curiously. How does he know that Emily’s the right girl for me? She hasn’t even met her.

“Haven’t you noticed? She’s the female version of you”

The female version of me…?

Fucking Christ.

He’s fucking right.

There’s only one problem.

I can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing.