My phone buzzed, causing me to come out of a deep sleep. I was still in the same position I had fallen asleep in, curled up tight under my blanket on top of my comforter. The buzz happened again. I stretched and reached over to see who was bothering me. Blinking a few times to get the screen in focus, I noticed Julian’s name.

Julian: Good morning.

I rolled over onto my back and held the phone up to type a message back. Good morning. You woke me up.

Julian: It’s eleven. It’s time for brunch.

Me: I need coffee first.

Julian: Meet me for coffee.

Me: …

Julian: Are you nervous to see me now?

Me: Maybe.

Julian: Well, let’s get that out of your system and meet for coffee.

There was a soft knock on my door. Was he here at my house? “Yeah?” I said, flying off my bed and grabbing a robe on the floor of my closet.

Charlie opened the door. “You have a visitor.” She winked.

I mouthed the word, Julian. She nodded, and the crinkles on the side of her eyes increased because her smile was so big. Silently, I ran to my bathroom and freshened up. I didn’t have time to shower; hopefully he wouldn’t notice. I brushed out the snarls in my hair and threw it up in a ponytail. I ran to my closet and pulled out a pair of jean shorts and a simple blue, cotton T-shirt. Taking in a few deep breaths, I opened my door and made my way down the hallway. It felt like the walk of shame almost. Then he was there in front of me, and all I wanted was to feel his arms around me.

“Morning,” I said, shoving my phone into my back pocket. “You like to surprise people, huh?”

He stepped forward and grabbed my hand. “Only with you,” he said, tugging me close. “Plus, I said I wanted to have breakfast with you.”

I lightly laughed, resting my forehead on his chest and placing my hands on either side of his waist. “And you always get what you want, don’t you?”

Julian placed his chin on the top of my head. “Always.”

Lifting my head up, I said. “Fine. Feed me, kind sir.”

He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door. I turned back to Charlie. “I guess I’ll see you at the gym later. I have clothes in a locker.” Before I was out the door, I reached for my purse

I could get used to waking up like this.

“Straight up black or do you prefer those fancy-pants coffees?” Julian said in line at the coffee shop. He still was holding my hand, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let go of it anytime soon.

“Medium brew with almond milk and coconut sugar.” I laughed. “What is a fancy-pants coffee anyway?”

He pointed up at the menu board. “Those caramel things and that frozen concoction.”

“They are good.”

“So they say.”

We reached the barista, and the woman’s smile fell. “Julian…um, what can I get you today?”

I had a feeling this woman’s heart just broke into a million tiny pieces at the sight of us together. I was starting to get nervous about going to the gym.

“Lily,” Julian said, squeezing my hand.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll take the medium blend in that cup.” I pointed to the center cup on display in front of the cash register. “Do you have almond milk?”

“No, only soy.” The woman actually sounded pissed when she answered.

“Can you add a few splashes of the soy milk, please?”

Julian took the lead, and we made our way over to an empty two-top table in the back corner of the room. “Is this okay?” he asked.

I plopped down and let out a heavy sigh. “Perfect.” He sat down opposite me and reached his hands out for me to take. “You sure we can train together still?”

“Why wouldn’t we be able to?”

I rolled my eyes. “This is a Captain Obvious moment.” Just then his name was called because our coffee was ready. “Can you grab two natural sugar packets on your way back?” He winked and made his way over to the hand-off area to grab our cups. I sat back and enjoyed the view. He had on worn jeans, which hung low over his hips, a white cotton V-neck T-shirt, and yes, flip flops. A girl could get used to the sight of Julian.

As he made his way back, we both had our eyes locked on each other. I could feel my body react, and he wasn’t even touching me. Today was going to be a very long day.

“They have egg sandwiches available if you’re hungry?” Julian said as he sat down.

“First let me get this in my veins, then we can discuss food.”

“What should we do for the rest of the day?”

I turned my head to the side. “Who said I was spending the day with you?” His face fell like I had wounded him. “I’m kidding.” I reached my hand over the table and patted his cheek. “I do need to get some things done at the house, though.”

“Do they have to be done today?”

“Julian, don’t you have a gym to run?”

“I can take time away, too. My brothers take time off all the time.”

Grabbing my coffee, I brought it close to my nose and inhaled the aroma. Then I took a big gulp, carefully, since it was still pretty hot. As the coffee slid down my throat, I closed my eyes and sighed. “Okay, life can resume.”

“So that means breakfast soon?”

“Or we could train and then have a meal after?”

He flashed this sexy grin. “So you gave up on that stuff that needs to get done at your house?”

“Well, the longer we sit together, I know I’m fucked anyways.”

“Good.” He stood up and reached for my hand. “Let’s get to the gym.”

“What’s the rush?” I stayed rooted to my seat and held my coffee cup in between both hands.

He winked. “I get to touch your breast instead of you this time,” he teased, walking toward the door.

“What?” I yelled a little too loudly and ran after him. Holding my coffee tightly in one hand, I jumped onto his back, and he made sure I was secure with one hand while balancing his coffee in the other. “Who said I would let you touch me?”

Julian handed his cup up to me and placed his hands on my behind to keep me securely in place. “Oh, there will be touching.” Then he pulled my core closer to his back and made me suck in a breath. “And hopefully a lot more.”

I rested my head next to his ear. “You mean like sucking?”

He groaned. “Lily.”

“Or licking,” I hissed.

“And a lot of panting,” he finally said in a husky voice.

I held my hands out to ensure the cups would not spill as he let me down. “How are we supposed to train like this?”

He placed his hands on my hips. “We could train at my house?”

“You have a gym at your house? Why am I not surprised?”

“Yeah, I converted the basement into a gym.”

I stood there for a moment, unsure what to say. Right as I was about to say something, someone yelled, “Julian.”

We both turned at the sound of the voice. It was Devon. Well, this was awkward. I handed Julian his coffee and stepped away to lean against the side of his car.

Julian and Devon did some handshake thing and bumped chests. Then Devon turned to me. “I see why Julian fired me from being your trainer.”

I can guarantee I was a dark shade of red at that moment. “Oh, yeah, okay.” I had no idea what to say.

“I fired you because she needs the best training if she is going to become the next bantamweight champion.”

“And?” Devon said.

I cleared my throat. “I do have a meeting with AFC next week, so we are training together for a reason.”

Devon’s eyes went wide. “That’s excellent. So you may get signed on for a future fight ticket with them?”

“No clue,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee. “I hope.”

“Well, you are an excellent fighter. I have no doubt they will sign you on the spot.”

Devon had his moments where he could be a decent guy.

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Julian slapped him on the back. “Okay, we need to get a training session in. We’ll catch you later.”

“Talk about awkward timing,” I teased.

“Are you uncomfortable being with me, Lily?”

“What? No. Not at all.”

“Then what is it?”

I pushed off the side of the car and walked up to him. “This is new. You’re Julian fucking Moore, and the gym owner who is supposed to be my trainer.”

“Yeah?” he said, taking another step closer.

“It’s a lot to take in. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I had phone sex with Julian Moore.”

He burst out laughing and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Really good and unexpected phone sex.”

“It was good.” I went up on my tippy toes. “Let’s practice at the gym.” I paused. “Not the phone sex. Fighting. I really do need to get a good training session in today.” His bottom lip popped out, and I captured it between my teeth. I let go and leaned back slightly. “Maybe we could have two training sessions today?”

Before I could say another word, he placed his lips over mine. Every thought I had at that moment escaped my mind. He pushed my body up against the car. “Lily?”

I was out of breath. “Uh huh?”

“You sure you want to go to the gym like this?”

Was I sure? Fuck no. As he continued to invade every one of my senses, I tried to find a way to have a level head. Pushing him away, I cleared my throat. “Yes, we need to go to the gym and work out.” I could tell he wanted to protest, so I pointed my index finger at his chest. “Be good.” It was difficult, but I managed to get the car door open and slip inside.

As he sat down beside me, he said, “You’re going to be the death of me. You know that, right?”

“What? Did I initiate the launch sequence again?”

“Evil,” he said on a breath while pulling out of the parking space.

The gym was packed. That was normal for a Saturday. I walked in front of Julian and made my way to the locker room. As I reached the door, Charlie popped out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Hey, Lily,” she said while staying attached to me as we walked into the locker room.

“Miss me or something?”

“Or something.” She winked, sitting down on the bench. “How was”—she put in air quotes—“coffee?”

“I repeated her hand signal. “Coffee was actually good. You know that little coffee house that looks so cute on the corner by our place?”

“Oh you went there. Let me try the coffee.” She reached for my cup. “Wait, soy?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “No almond milk. Oh”—I sat down beside her—“the barista has a thing for Julian, so I think she wanted to take me into the ring.”

“Well, there may be a few women here who have their hearts broken, too.”

That took me by surprise. “What? Seriously?”

“Brooks and Tyler said Julian has been the hot catch on the market for quite some time.” She took another drink of my coffee. “Then you come waltzing into town only weeks ago, and he can’t get enough of you.”

I threw my T-shirt in the locker. “Should I feel bad?”

“Yes,” a woman said from behind us.

We both turned at the sound. It was Zoe, the current Strawweight champion.

“Zoe.” I stood up. “I didn’t know you trained at this gym?”

She held her hand out. “I’m fucking with you right now, but Charlie’s right, some women are pissed off.”

“I’m really not with him. I mean, yes, we’ve kissed and flirted.” I rolled my eyes. “And I’m rambling.”

Charlie tugged at my ponytail. “But you’re cute when you ramble.”

Zoe sat down next to Charlie.

“Are you both waiting for me to give you some play-by-play?”

“Pretty much,” Charlie teased.

I threw a tank top on and walked toward the door. “Chat later, ladies.”

“Oh, she is itching to get on that mat,” Charlie said, whistling.

“Do we need to buy extra sanitizer for the mat later?” Zoe barked out in between giggling.

“Fuck you,” I said, holding up my middle finger as I left.