“Hey, good. What're you listening to?” I chirp awkwardly. I'm not even sure why since he seems cool and pleased to see me.
“Blonde Redhead. Listen, my roomie Josh may be able to hook me up with two tickets to I Prevail this weekend. You game?"
Jesus, of course I'm game. Or at least, I would have been a week ago. Now? I'm afraid it might turn into a date. I bite my lower lip, trying to calculate my next move.
"It's not a date," he says dryly, putting me out of my misery.
"Obviously, I knew that. Sure, I'm in. So how's your research going?" I tilt my chin toward class and we make our way, climbing up the stairs to our usual spots. He runs his hand through his messy blond hair and puffs out his cheeks.
"I called Izzy, but she didn't pick up."
"She's in Asia. You probably called her in the middle of the night. She'll get back to you." But somehow, I'm almost sure she won't.
"You?" he asks.
I blow a lock of hair out of my eyes. "I need to ask Dawson a few more questions and I still haven't interviewed Ty."
"Get it over with, B. Getting all the info and interviews is not even the hard part. Putting it together is the real bitch."
I chew on my lower lip. He's right. I need to get it done if I want to graduate. And I do want to graduate, even if none of my family members actually believe that I will. I make a mental note to pay a visit to The Grind and to yell at Izzy for not getting back to Shane.
Damn, since when did being a responsible grown-up suck so bad?
***
On Thursday, I arrive at The Grind straight from school. Scott greets me at the reception desk with a smile and a fist kiss.
“Stern, Stern, Stern.” He strokes his beard and scans me over like I’m dinner. I guess I attract guys like Scott, with my casual wardrobe and low-maintenance vibe.
“You gonna work out today or are you here for more interviews? Gonna try to force everyone into verbal diarrhea mode again?” He cups his chin with his thumb and index finger, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.
"Interviews," I answer shortly. I'm not in the mood for chitchat, just wanting to get out of here.
"Too bad. There's a circuit training class at four, and it's the hottest class around nowadays." Scott tears open a cardboard box and stocks the shelves behind him with XWL baseball caps.
My convo with Bree still echoes in my mind, and the thought of Ty refusing to give me the interview makes me anxious that Mom's assumption that I won't graduate will actually end up being true.
"Where’s Dawson?" I ask, scanning the venue.
“Upstairs in his office.” He reads my mind, adding, "Ty said you kicked ass in class last week. You should really try circuit training."
"Interviews," I repeat. Why the hell was Ty talking about me, anyway? He’s avoided me every time I’ve spotted him at the gym. Remember, Blaire, you don't care.
Scott boomerangs one of the hats in my direction. He grins at me when I catch it mid-air.
“Good instincts,” he says. “By the way, the guy you’re really looking for isn’t here. He’s filming a promotional video in San Francisco for the Eoghan Doherty fight.”
I shrug off his remark and pretend to check my phone. My cheeks are so hot, I feel like I just got caught masturbating in a church.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“He’ll be here in a couple of hours. I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.” Scott shakes his head and resumes stocking the baseball caps.
“Whatever, I’m going to see Dawson.” I wave my hand at him impatiently and leave.
Dawson makes time for me, even though I dropped by unannounced. I guess that's what you do when you're passionate about your job.
“You got pretty cool stuff for your article by now, don’t you, Blaire?” He jerks his chin toward my laptop as I type away at some notes in his office.
I nod eagerly, still looking at my screen. “Yeah, actually, the only person I’ve yet to interview here is Ty.”
“You gotta speak to him. He’ll be fighting Doherty on June 13th in Vegas. It’s a huge deal. If he wins, he might get a shot at the championship belt.”
I stop typing and my head shoots up. “He’s not very cooperative.”
“He’s got his issues.” Dawson doesn’t sound the least apologetic about Ty’s behavior. “His life’s a bit of a mess. He’ll talk to you eventually.”
“He’s having a hard time dealing with something?” I ask, trying to dig for some info about Ty’s life.
Dawson smirks at me and tosses the weekly class schedule into my lap to let me know this discussion is over. “Ty rolls with the punches.”
I’m ready to shut down my computer and head back home, but I decide the schedule is a sign. I could use to let off some steam.
Circuit training is the perfect outlet. The class is taught by a guy named Angel. It's intense but has nothing to do with MMA, just a hell lot of aerobic exercises, and I end up dog-tired. After I sweat my own body weight, I opt for a quick shower before heading back home. I crawl into the girls’ locker room and peel off my damp clothes. There’s an LED TV mounted on the wall in front of the mirrors, and it’s showing an old bout Ty participated in with a guy named Jason Monrose that I‘ve already watched. (Ty won by submission.)