Good Gym Encounter

The next day, I showed up at the gym where Ellie trained, dressed casually and without my usual duffel bag—just a backpack with a quick change of clothes in case we actually ended up working out.

She was there, already in her workout clothes, gloves in hand, training in the ring alongside a girl who looked familiar. I was pretty sure I’d seen her at the tournament with Ellie—she was the girl with heavy goth makeup and purple hair who had immediately come to her friend’s defense with a surly attitude.

Now, as I walked into the gym and greeted Ellie while exchanging polite nods with other people whose eyes met mine, this girl was staring at me intently with an annoyed look, as if I were something that bothered her immensely.

Ellie saw me and came over, hugging me tightly and standing on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.

“I’ve been waiting for you! I just finished telling everyone about our date and how nice you were.” Then, whispering, “And I made sure every girl knows you’re already mine.”

A little embarrassed, I smiled at her. “Thank goodness—I wouldn’t have wanted a flock of girls jumping on me the moment I walked in.”

She let out a little giggle and gave me a light nudge in the ribs.

She introduced me to all her friends and instructors at the gym, but I couldn’t remember all their names right away.

One of her friends, in particular, immediately caught my attention—for all the wrong reasons.

Veronica, the girl who’d been glaring at me.

“And this is Veronica, my friend who came with me to the tournament. You’ve already met, right?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jack,” I said, holding out my hand.

She stood there staring at me, her arms crossed and her boxing gloves clenched tightly around her arms.

She looked first at me and then at my hand, and after a few seconds, I realized she wasn’t going to return the greeting.

“Ooookay. Veronica, don’t be a jerk.” Ellie grabbed her friend’s hand and forced her to shake mine.

After that, we carried on, and I spent a lovely afternoon with my new girlfriend, training with her and showing her all the things I hadn’t had time to show her during our first meeting—techniques for dodging or anticipating an opponent, consistent training methods to build stamina and reflexes, and much more.

Most of the people at the gym crowded around, asking me for advice and opinions on their techniques and workouts. Before I knew it, I’d become the gym’s unofficial coach, with Ellie as my assistant, and together we demonstrated techniques, exchanges of blows, and general situations to take advantage of or avoid during a match.

Almost everyone, that is—because Veronica kept her distance, shooting me only the occasional dirty look whenever I happened to notice her.

Afternoon turned into evening, and soon, after a short break, many people began to leave the gym, but Ellie didn’t seem to want to go. By then, only a few people remained in the gym—just Ellie’s closest friends, with whom I’d spent most of the afternoon—and at that point, she asked me something that caught me off guard.

“I want to have another match with you.”

“What? What do you mean? Now?”

“Yeah. A real match, though. I know you let me win because you fell in love with me halfway through the fight.”

“But… That’s not true—I mean, it’s not exactly like that.”

“Are you trying to make me believe you’re so weak that I could knock you out for real? No, because if you are, I don’t think I could be with a guy who’s physically so much weaker than me.” She said in a mischievous and provocative tone.

“Ellie, but I couldn’t…”

“You couldn’t hit me hard?” she interrupted, her tone softening. “I know. You don’t have to, it's not an official match. I want you to show me the difference in technique and experience between you and me. Block, dodge, hit me with surprise punches just to win on points, but I seriously want to know if I’ve improved or not.”

“Okay, but why right now?”

“Because that way you’ll feel obligated not to make a fool of yourself, not with an audience watching, right? Plus, I have a proposal.”

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

She leaned in close to me, whispering so that only I could hear her: “If you win, we can leave the gym, and you can come to my place and spend the night with me.” I swallowed hard at the mere thought, trying to hold back my excitement.

“But if I win, you’ll have to do me a favor, and only after that will you get me.”

Her voice was so delightful and provocative, like a succubus: I couldn’t refuse, even though I knew it could be the end of me.

“Okay, fine, but I don’t have my gloves with me,” I said, in a final, feeble attempt to avoid the situation.

“No problem.” She motioned to one of her remaining friends, and they brought me a new pair of gloves—much lighter and softer than the usual ones. A similar pair in the same color was put on by Ellie.

“A gift from me, to soften the blow all the punches I’m about to throw at you. Ready?”

I wasn't, but by then there was no turning back. We stepped into the ring, standing in opposite corners, and I waited for the fateful sound of the bell.

“BOX!”