Chapter 7
Xander
I don’t know what it is about this girl but something made me stay outside Micky’s bar, like a complete stalker watching and waiting until I could see that she was inside her apartment, safe and sound.
I just stood there, like a fucking loser.
I told her I would see her around and I have never uttered truer words in my life. There is something about her, she has her claws in deep and talking to her in my truck just cemented the fact that she is not like the other girls. She has ambition, a goal, dreams, and a damn backbone to make it happen.
Unlike me who is biding my time, waiting for the shit to hit the fan, rather than make the change for myself. Unlike myself, Charli is an inspiration and she is a damn sexy one at that, one that I can’t get out of my head and one that I want to see the inside of her room and never leave.
She told me about wanting to own her own Hair Salon and I nearly died at how similar her dream was to mine, with me wanting to own my own gym. She would chat and get carried away with the conversation as if she was too excited about her future to stop but then it was almost as if she remembered she was shy and would suddenly cut herself off and start blushing. It was the funniest thing and made me desperate for more.
One thing is for sure though, when she is on a roll, she has absolutely no filter. Whatever she’s thinking just comes flying out like word vomit and I have to admit. It was damn hilarious listening to her trying to backtrack each time she thought she had crossed some invisible line.
Sleep came damn easy that night. With thoughts of Charli roaming around my head added with the knowledge of winning my first fight and getting that first bit of money to put towards my future. Not to mention, I’ve been absolutely exhausted with all the training I’ve been doing. I’m hoping my body will adapt to that change pretty damn soon.
I wake on Monday morning and groan as my alarm screeches into the early morning quiet. “Damn,” I grumble to myself as I drag myself out of bed and pull on a pair of shorts.
I head into the bathroom and take a piss before brushing my teeth and heading downstairs.
I take a seat on my lounge and tie up my shoes before heading out into the morning chill. Most of the hockey guys are already at our morning meeting spot so I join in on a few stretches as we wait. The last thing I need is an injury.
We go for our usual run and workout in the park and before I know it, I’m back at home showering for my business lecture.
My lecture drags on just as I knew it would and I drag my feet back to my truck afterward, desperate for an afternoon nap before I have to go to training at Rebels Advocate. As I’m heading to my truck I see a bank and decide it’s probably a good idea to open a separate bank account for all the money I’ll win in the competition, you know, just in case my parents decide to look into my finances and realise something is up.
I head to the bank and half an hour later, I come out with a heap of paperwork and one more step closer to my goal. The lady said she will post out my new bank card when it is ready so I can make cash deposits at an ATM whenever I need, rather than having to wait for the branch to open.
Just excellent, it seems everything is looking up for me.
Just as I had hoped, I have just enough time to head home and get a decent afternoon nap in before I need to head over to Rebel's Advocate.
FML, Monday’s suck. They’re always so busy. I’ll have training with Cole in the afternoon and then a late Hockey training session before I finally get to call it a day.
After I have finally regained some energy, I head into Rebels Advocate for my training session. Cole clocks me the moment I walk through the door and immediately puts me to work. “Alright, Kid. Drop your shit and get started. We’re doing circuit training today.”
Great. Circuit training. My damn favourite. There is nothing more exhausting than circuit training. It’s fast and exhausting. Designed to use as many muscle groups as possible and when it is run by Cole, it’s just that much more excruciating. Though I have to be honest, he is the best trainer I’ve ever had. He just gets me, knows how to push me to my limits without getting on my nerves.
I don’t know, maybe it’s a respect thing that I don’t find myself lashing out at him when I’m tired, the same way I used to with my old trainer. All I know is that I found Cole on my own, he wasn’t another person my father threw in my face. Maybe that has something to do with it.
I head over to the treadmills and jump on, making sure to warm up properly before Cole comes and kicks my ass. I jog away while I watch Cole strut around the gym getting all the bits and pieces for my session.
“Get your ass over here,” he hollers a few minutes later.
I hit stop on the treadmill and take a quick swig of my drink before I head over.
Ten minutes later, I’m already dripping with sweat. I don’t know how Cole does it. I can skate for hours without breaking a sweat yet here I am with Cole and am a dripping mess in minutes.
“That was a good fight on Friday night,” Cole mentions as I pound into the punching bag.
“Hmm,” I grunt in agreement, not really able to manage a proper response.
“The little show you put on seemed to excite the audience and the bets have been raised for your next one,” he explains.
“Huh?” I grunt in interest as my exhausted arms fall to my sides.
“Keep going,” Cole scolds making me pick my pace right back up. “As I said, you seem to have impressed some big players and they are putting more money on you. We already know you have a shot at taking this thing out but now so does everyone else. They see you as a real contender,” he explains before indicating for me to move over to the free weights for some rapid movement. “You went in there with no reputation and came out with a fucking great one.”
Fucking A. “So, what’s my next payday?” I grunt between sets.
“Next match is scheduled for Wednesday. Eight grand is up for grabs. I’ll find out the location the night before,” he informs me.
“Eight grand?” I ask with raised eyebrows. If I keep going like this, I’ll be loaded… well loaded with my own money, even though it’s dirty and earned illegally. It’s still mine and I would have done it on my own.
“Yep,” Cole confirms as he hands me the skipping rope with a wicked grin. Fuck. I hate the damn skipping rope and this bastard knows it.
An hour later, I collapse on the ground. How the hell am I going to get through Hockey training tonight? I lay on the training mats with my eyes closed, concentrating on my breathing as I wait for the feeling to come back to my arms.
“Get out of here, kid,” Cole says as he walks by, making sure to bump into me as he passes. “You’ll need to get something to eat before you go to hockey training. Replenish your energy.”
Yeah, I should probably take his advice. “Fine,” I groan as I get up off the floor and head into the bathroom. I take a quick shower then drag my feet all the way out to my truck.
I down a full bottle of water and sit in my truck for a few minutes before I find the energy to drive back towards campus. I pull over across the street from a café and hop out of my truck.
I jog across the road and head into the café, studying the menu intently as this café apparently has a bad reputation for making people sick. I settle on a chicken salad and wait out the front for my order to be made.
Movement across the street catches my eye and I notice a pole-dancing studio and have to grin to myself as I recall Jaxon and Bobby bitching to each other about the girls taking a class, though, to be honest, I would have loved to see that. Those girls are wicked fine.
My eyes continue scanning the street then stop when it comes to a familiar dark-haired beauty standing inside a hair salon. Crap. I had literally parked right outside her salon and didn’t notice. A proud smile instantly comes across my face as I remember that she was starting her new job today. I go to make my way across the street when my name is called from inside the café. Shit, just seeing her had me forgetting about my food.
I race inside and grab my lunch before ducking back out across the road. I lean up against my truck as I inhale my lunch and watch her work.
She seems to be in deep concentration as she stands with an older lady who works on a client. From what I can tell, the older lady is teaching her everything she knows and Charli is taking in every last bit of wisdom offered.
Pride surges through me seeing how seriously she is taking her new role. A grin overtakes my face as I lean back on my truck and watch her like a creepy-as-fuck stalker.
That stunning face of hers suddenly turns in my direction and a beautiful smile graces her face just moments before the blush takes over. My grin widens and I have to stop myself from going in there and taking her, right there for the world to see.
Instead, I give her a wink and climb back in my truck, after-all, I don’t want to get her in trouble on her first day of work.
I head off to the ice-rink and after everything I have put my body through today, I suddenly find myself with a shit-load of energy.