"My gym." He opens the door for me and ushers me inside. Holy shit, this isn't any gym I'm used to. It's one huge room, with a loft above. There are treadmills and elipticals in the loft. Around the perimeter of the main room are punching bags suspended from the ceiling, mats for sit ups and push-ups, free weights, medicine balls and metal bars also suspended from the ceiling for pull ups.
On one side, there are large tractor-size tires, and men are flipping them over, then jumping through the hole and flipping them again.
Holy shit, this isn't just working out, this is a sport.
In the center of this place is a ring. Two men are inside with protective head gear and white tape around their fists, sparring.
"Jesus, Nate, I've never seen anything like it."
"This is where I've always trained."
"When you fought?" I ask. He grins mischievously down at me and winks.
"Yes, and I still work out here."
"How often?"
"Five days a week, when possible." He grabs my hand and pulls me into the room and I realize that I'm the only woman here.
"Well, look who's here! Hey, son!" A large, well build older man walks over and pulls Nate into a boy-hug, slaps him on the back and steps back, smiling wide. His face is handsome, his nose has obviously been broken a few times. He has dark hair, and he's solid muscle.
"Hey, dad, I'd like you to meet Julianne."
Dad? Did he just say dad?
I plaster a smile on my face and hold my hand out. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Call me Rich, everyone does." He winks at me and I immediately see the family resemblance.
"Please, call me Jules. Everyone does, except your stubborn son."
A look passes between Rich and Nate that I don't understand, but Rich quickly recovers and grins at his son. "She's got you pegged, son. What are you two going to do?"
"I'm going to kick his ass," I reply before Nate can speak and both men look down at me, surprised, and then laugh again.
"I guess she's going to kick my ass, dad."
"Good luck with that." Rich winks at me and then wanders back to the ring to yell out orders to the fighters.
"You could have warned me that I'd be meeting your father," I murmur as Nate takes my bag and jacket and hangs them on a coat tree near the door along with his own.
"Yeah, but then you wouldn't have come." He turns to me, his hands on his hips, prepared for a fight. And I'm suddenly in the mood to give him one.
Maybe it's all the testosterone I'm surrounded by.
"I don't do well with half-truths, Nate."
"Look, I'm sorry. I wanted to be here with you today. It'll be fun. My dad owns the place, he was my trainer and my manager when I fought, so of course this is where I work out." He shrugs and looks around the gym.
I eye him for a moment, enjoying the view. "Where do you want to start?" I ask.
"You still want to work out?"
"Yes, we're here. Let's go."
"Okay, let's warm up with the jump ropes and see what you can do." He grins and leads me over to a matt, handing me a jump rope.
Should I mention to him that my brother Will used to make me train with him for football season?
No.
Nate sets his watch timer for two minutes and I jump easily, using the form my brother taught me. Nate watches me, also jumping with ease. I'm hardly panting when the two minutes are up,
and inside I'm smug. I keep a bored, bland look on my face.
"Next?" I ask.
"You've done this before," he murmurs.
I shrug and drop the rope on the mat. "What's next, ace?"
"Can you do a pull-up?" he asks, his eyebrow raised.
"I can do one or two," I respond and smile. I have to call Will later and thank him profusely for being such a hard ass on me. Thanks to him, exercise comes easily to me, and my body is in excellent shape. I love to sweat.
Nate guides me over to the metal bars.
"Do you need a boost?" he asks.
I look up at the bar. It's probably about seven feet off the ground. "I think I got it," I respond.
"Ladies first." He motions for me to go first. I rub my hands down my pants, then hop up, gripping the bar. I find the space between my hands that I like and begin to pull myself up, using a style Will taught me that he uses in Crossfit. As I come down, I push in an arc away from the bar, then swing back up, pulling the bar under my chin.
God, this feels fantastic! I manage twenty pull-ups, then drop to the mat, shaking my arms and panting.
"Your turn," I plant my hands on my hips and look up at Nate, who is gazing at me with a huge smile plastered on his handsome face.
"What?" I ask, but I know I just shocked the shit out of him. I glance around to find all the men in the gym are watching me, their mouths dropped.