Bruised

23.

The Golden Ring was empty, except for a few lingering boxers scattered around the room.

"They're training," Leon explained, waving as they passed.

He led Natalie to an empty corner of the ring. Without the big crowds and loud music, it looked a lot more like a gym than a club, not to mention the workout equipment that had been set up here and there.

"Warming up for their fights tonight," he continued.

Natalie nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from the boxers. Some were so big, they could have been double Leon's size.

"Do you have a fight tonight?" she asked.

He nodded, dropping his school bag, and beginning to unbutton his shirt. She blushed, ready to look away, when he revealed his undershirt beneath.

"It'll be an easy fight," he replied. "I've never lost against him before. And now that I've got my lucky charm here..."

She laughed lightly, batting his hand away and gazing around at his potential competition.

"Who are you fighting?" she asked. "Is he in here?"

"He's the one I waved at when we walked in," he said pointing. Natalie's eyes bulged as she followed his gaze to a towering man with muscles the size of her head.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nah, he's a big softie. Slow, too," Leon replied, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go dump this in the back. Wait here a second?"

She nodded, watching as he began walking away. He hesitated for a minute, turning to the so-called 'big softie' and shouting, "Hey, I'm gonna be a sec. Can you watch Natalie for me?"

Natalie blinked, a million thoughts starting to run through her head. Leon shot her a thumbs-up and vanished as the man nodded, marching his way over.

Natalie felt like shrivelling up inside of her skin.

"Hey," the man said. Up close, she could see just how big his muscles really were. Not only his biceps, but his legs. She didn't even know they could get that big.

"Hi," Natalie squeaked.

He laughed, his face seeming to lighten up. "I'm not as scary as I look. Promise. Leon isn't either, you know. I'm Rob."

Natalie snorted. Now that she'd seen Leon in all his shades of colour, she knew he definitely was not as scary as she had first expected him to be. That first day when he wiped the blood from his lip with a swipe of his thumb, had he even realised how he looked to her?

"I'm Natalie," she said.

"I know you are. Leon never shuts up about you," he replied. "I followed you on Instagram."

"Oh." She frowned. That explained the sudden influx of requests she'd been getting lately. She had ignored them all, thinking she'd been targeted by spam accounts. "Sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's fine," he said, waving a hand. "I just wanted to see this girl Leon keeps going on about, and now I can. I've known him since he was a kid, you know. He had this obsession with unicorns."

Natalie laughed, hard. "So, I've heard."

"Yeah, and then it progressed to aliens," he continued. "And now it's boxing. Little shit got better than me quick. His dad would be proud. Horrified, but proud."

"Horrified?"

"Oh, yeah. His dad was such a pacifist. I don't think he ever threw a fist once in his life."