Kelly Waters got out of her car, looked to the Family Center Gym straight ahead and then to the McDonald’s off to her right. Stupid Big Macs. Why did they have to be so good? She locked her car and headed inside the gym, trying to ignore the scent of French fries enticing her to join the dark side.
If the extra padding at her hips and beneath her biceps and on her thighs and—everywhere else on her body—was any indication, Kelly really, really didn’t need to ingest more junk food.
It was time for a diet. Maybe if she hadn’t spent the last several months as a single woman eating too much ice cream and watching way too much TV, she wouldn’t have gained ten pounds.
Thankfully, once she got inside the gym, the enclosed space and air-conditioning blocked out the divine scent of fast food. A woman in her late twenties with a pink ribbon in her hair greeted Kelly from behind the counter. “How can I help you today?”
Kelly threw her car keys in her backpack. “I’m here for a kickboxing lesson. My brother won it in a radio station contest, and he told me I could use a couple of his lessons. I mean, if that’s okay with you guys.”
“Sure.” The woman flipped through several files in a wire rack on her desk. She pulled out one marked CONTESTS and had Kelly sign a chart beneath several other names. “What was your brother’s name?” the woman asked. “I need to mark down that one of his lessons was used.”
“Todd Waters.”
The woman wrote down Todd’s name and the date. “You’re all set, then. You can go ahead into workout room one, and I’ll let Adam know you’re here.”
“Thanks.” Kelly followed the plastic signs that said WORKOUT ROOMS down a hall and to the left. There she found several doors labeled one through six. The door on room one was open and she went inside.
Her tennis shoes squeaked on freshly polished pine floors. The sun shone through tinted glass on the wall of windows across from her. In the far corner were two blue mats, probably for tumbling.
Kelly set her bag in the corner and went to the windows.
Someone cleared his throat behind Kelly. She whirled around.
“You aren’t Todd,” the guy said.
Kelly couldn’t even shake her head. When Todd offered the free kickboxing lessons, Kelly had assumed she’d get a thirty-something woman as an instructor with an intense attitude and muscles to match.
She’d assumed wrong. This guy was very, very close to oh-my-god hot. Kelly couldn’t pull her eyes away from his extremely toned biceps or his extremely defined abs. It didn’t help that he was wearing one of those stretchy shirts that stuck to every crease of muscle on his upper torso.
“So, where is Todd?” he said.
“Um…well…” Her heart was beating rapidly in her head. She could hardly hear herself think. “I’m his brother.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “I mean, he’s my brother. He asked me to come today in his place.”
The guy shook his head. “So he doesn’t lose his free sessions. I get it.” He approached Kelly, giving her a better view of his face. He had one of those perfect, straight-arrow noses and marble green eyes. Even relaxed, his dark brow etched into a scowl. Dark brown hair fanned into a deliberate mess. The sunlight shining through the windows turned his chin stubble golden.
Kelly couldn’t tell how old he was—maybe eighteen or nineteen. Either way he seemed light years out of her league. He might even have been out of Raven’s league, and she was like an exotic model lost in East Coast suburbia.
“I’m Adam,” he said.
Kelly nodded in acknowledgment. Now she was beginning to fear her clumsiness. What if she fell on her butt in front of this guy? She’d feel like a total freak. There was still time to escape, wasn’t there?
“Let’s get started, then.” Adam opened a closet and dragged out sparring gear. “These are boxing gloves,” he said, holding one out for Kelly to slip into. “Despite the fact that it’s called kickboxing, you’ll be using both your hands and your feet.”
Once Kelly’s hands were in the gloves, Adam slipped round black pads onto his hands.
“Ready?” He clapped the pads together and then squared his feet.
“Yeah,” Kelly said when really, she was nowhere near ready.
An hour later, Kelly was sweating more than she ever had in her life. Her legs were sore. Her arms were dead, but she felt great. Not only was Adam an awesome instructor, but he never once made her feel weak or dumb. Even when she stumbled on a kick and nearly fell over.
“So,” Adam began as he put away the gear, “tell your brother to show up next time or I’m kicking his butt.”
Kelly scooped up her bag and smiled. “I’d like to watch that, actually.”
Adam laughed. “If you keep up with lessons, you might be able to kick his butt.”
Kelly smiled. “That’s true.” She waved good-bye.
By the time she hit the heat outdoors, she’d already come up with five excuses to get her brother out of kickboxing next week. He was so done at Family Center, and Kelly was a new, loyal member.