Theo's POV
I felt as though my legs were going to give under, as I tried to catch my breath with my hands on my hips.
It's been a week since Maddox came back, and since today he had time to come to the gym with me, and continue where we left off with my training, which I was starting to regret as I could taste blood in my mouth, from how hard he pushed me.
"Come on Theo, you still need to finish your 5km on the treadmill." Theo said, before using the gym towel in his hands to wipe his face free of sweat.
Oh my god, was he seriously trying to kill me? 5km was... forty, thirty minutes? My legs felt as though I would collapse any minute and he's talking about running...
"I... can't." I said, catching my breath, as he looked at me with serious eyes and a frown on his face.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up." I say honestly, as my head felt it was being squeezed, same as my lungs as breathed in and out.
I felt like I was dying, but Maddox had barely broken a sweat as he stood there looking me over, as I pathetically sat on the floor, my hands massaging my legs as they started to ache.
"That's your head talking, Theo, you'll be surprised what your body is capable of." He said, with his arms crossed as he looked down at me with a smirk on his face.
"We can stop here for today and work on durance next time, you're still not hitting your session goal."
I felt pathetic, and weak that I couldn't lift a finger when Maddox had finally taken time out of his busy schedule to train me, but I knew my limits, and I was nowhere close to where I wanted to be, but I wasn't giving up.
I was just not where I wanted to be yet with my training, and Maddox knew that, but despite knowing that he still pushed me to never give up.
"Come on, I'll help you to the showers." He held his hand out, which I took as he pulled me up from the ground, I groaned out in pain as I stood on my feet.
I must be crazy to want this, I can't even feel my legs from how badly they're shaking, my feet also feel like I'm walking on pillows as Maddox helped me walk towards the exit of the underground part of the gym, we were in.
Opening the doors, Maddox helped me up the stairs towards the main part of the gym, to the first floor where the showers were, and with each step I could start to feel better, as the metallic taste in my mouth started to go, and my head pain got less painful.
Maybe Maddox was right, and it was all in my head? I'm starting to feel better.
As Maddox walked me through the gym, Maddox instantly got attention from the other people at the gym once they saw his face, and I know I should be used to this by now, but it still made me feel weird that I was dating this incredible person.
Helping me on the bench, Maddox turns and opens his locker as it's only the two of us inside the men's lockers room at the moment.
"You're getting better, I can tell you've been working out from how long you lasted compared to our last session." He said, as I looked at him, lifting his gym t-shirt over his head, displaying his perfectly defined muscled back, covered in tattoos.
I couldn't help but drool as I admired him, he was still intimating in the sexiest way possible, and sometimes I felt like I was the luckiest idiot alive to have this guy all to myself, I was a nobody compared to Maddox Zane, this beautiful man who was built like a god.
"Who knows, in a few months you might be ready for a fight." He said as he closed his locker, a towel in his hands as he turns around to look at me.
What did he just say? "A fight?" I asked, confused.
"Yeah." He came over to me as I lifted my arms as he started to take my t-shirt off from over my head.
"You're a fast study, Theo, you got some real potential for the ring, if it's all the same to you I could hand your name out to someone I know who'd come and train you when I can't."
"You think I... could become a fighter?" I had never thought about fighting professionally, I still felt like I was nowhere near fighting, but if Maddox thought I had potential...
Still... fighting had always been my weakness, I was always on the short end of the stick when it came to fighting, I was the punching bag, not the puncher.
"I... I don't know, I-I'm not like you Maddox, I can't fight..." I said painfully tight, as Maddox's dark eyes meet mine as his face turned stoic.
"Have you even tried?"
"Don't give up before you even give it a shot, if I listened to myself everytime I doubted myself, I wouldn't be standing here Theo."
What did he mean by that?
Maddox started to get undressed as he took his boxers off, I blushed out and looked away shyly as I started to take my own shorts off, along with my underwear, and from the corner of my eye I couldn't help but look at Maddox, and how amazing his body was.
'Have you even tried'
Have I ever fought back? Now that I thought about it... I had never liked violence, eve after everything Eric did to me, and the football team, I never wanted to hit them back, the thought never crossed my mind.
I just wanted it to stop, I never wanted to fight, I just wanted to feel stronger, so nobody would think of bullying me ever again.
Maddox was right, I wasn't pushing myself enough, and after all he's doing for me, believing in me, training me, not giving up on me, the only one that is letting me down is... myself.
Could I become a fighter though, like Maddox? I... might have thought about it once, but Maddox was what you called a 'natural born talent for fighting' he was a beast in the ring, and unbeaten champion, everyone he went against, he won.
Someday I'd love to be like Maddox, to be that confident, strong and unafraid of anything.
"Here, let me help you." He said, as I looked at his hand held out to me, then his face as he grinned at me.
I took his hand and then I felt my heartbeat skip a beat once he pulled me up, my chest hitting his wide, chiselled one, as he looked down at me, with a look that made my face feel hot, his eyes looking at me the same way they do whenever he wants to touch me.
The whole session I felt it, the tension between us was there, and I could feel Maddox holding himself back because he wanted to train me, and whilst I wanted to train too, I also want to touch him too.
I could see Maddox's face coming closer, as his eyes slowly moved down from my eyes to my lips, but because he could get any closer, the door to the locker room opened, and I pushed Maddox away from me in a panic, and stepped away from him before anyone could see us standing close to each other.
"Oh, Mads, Theo."
My face was hot and when I turned enough to see who it was, I smiled as he looked at me, with a nod as he walked further into the locker room.
Rick... the gym owner, and another guy I was intimidated by from his size alone, even if he was in his 50's, he was terrifyingly lethal looking, with his big muscles and bald head, and big white beard that was perfectly smooth.
"How'd the workout go?" He asked us both, as he opened his locker on the opposite side of the room.
"O-Oh, um, good!" I stuttered out nervously, looking at Maddox who tightened the towel around his waist.
Rick turned around as he laughed a deep throaty laugh. "Mads got you weak at the knees already? Don't worry, you'll adjust in no time."
"Theo's doing just fine." Mads grumbled out, his eyes shifting from mine to Rick's.
"Do you still have Tony's number on your phone? I want to talk to him about taking on Theo, just on days I can't come in." He said, as Ricks eyes widened at us.
"Well, I didn't expect this today." He whistled out, looking at me, his wide muscled arms crossing over his wide chest with a lazy grin on his face.
"I got his number, he'll be onboard to take over, but are you sure this is what you want?" Rick said, before looking at me and asking, as he looked me over.
I swallowed hard, suddenly nervous and unsure what to say.
Was I ready for this? "I..."
No running.... that was the old Theo, if Maddox believed in me, I knew I could do it.
"Yes." I said, looking directly at him, as he looked at me dead in the eyes, as the room goes silent.
Suddenly, Rick walks over to me and slaps me hard on the back and started laughing, as my back felt as though he hit me from the strength of his hand, despite him only tapping me.
"I like it, you got spunk Theo, I'll pass Tony's number on, he's always looking for fresh meat up for the challenge." He said, turning around to get his towel out from his locker as he started to get undressed.
"Come on, let's shower." Maddox says to me, as I follow behind him, not missing the look on Rick's face as he turned and watched us head into the showers, like he wanted to say something more.
Fighting... could I really be a fighter, like Maddox?
As I turned on the shower and stepped into the water as Maddox did the same in the shower next to mine, I couldn't help but second guess everything up until now, like fighting in a ring with someone else, for sport.
All my life I've been beaten, tossed around and broken, and now I had this opportunity to turn the tables around and do something with what I felt inside, all the emptiness I felt growing up, I could forge that into something great.
Just like how Maddox started...
I thought about it, and wondered how Maddox really got into fighting, what I learned about him was what I read online, and apart from coming from a single parent household, and living in one of the worst parts of the city, Maddox was still a mystery, not only to the people who knew him, but also me.
Maddox only told me about his ex-girlfriend, who had a breakdown, and how she got him into fighting, but was there more to it? I had wanted to ask him, but I could never find the timing to ask more about his life, before he became a professional kickboxer.
I trusted Maddox, and it was no secret that I had fallen in love with him, so if he said I had what it took, I was going to try, instead of just give up without giving it a shot, if not for myself, then for Maddox, who I admired, more then he will ever know.
"Theo?"
I turned around and saw that Maddox was leaning against the shower wall next to hear I was, holding out a 3 in 1 shampoo bottle for me, already showered and with a towel wrapped low around his hips.
"Are you okay?"
I took the bottle from his hand and nodded my head as I tried not to give away the fact that I was just thinking about him, and everything else, not wanting him to worry about me.
"Yeah... t-thanks." I said, hinting to the bottle as I poured a generous amount into my hand, and started washing my hair.
I wanted to know everything about Maddox, he was my boyfriend now and pretty soon he'll be busy again with traveling and events, I don't know when I'll ever get the chance to learn more about him, if not now.
"I'll wait for you in the locker room." He said, before he reached out, held my hand in his and turned me around as his face came closer to mine, until his lips touched mine, in a sweet and gentle motion.
Maddox pulled back and squeezed my hand gently in his, before letting go of my hand and then turning around to leave as I watched him walk to the shower room exit, his eyes meeting mine one last time before he opened it and left behind the door.
I put my head against the shower wall and groaned out as I looked down at the effect that Maddox had on me, just from a simple touch of his lips.
I... might have to make him wait just a little longer for me, because there was no way I could leave here with.... this.
Still... I was going to learn to fight, despite not having an interest in it before, apart from self-defence, I was excited to see how far I could take it, not wanting to give up any more just because it's hard.
I wanted to be proud of myself, and fighting could be just the thing to make me feel as though I could stand next to Maddox, and not feel as though I wasn't good enough for him.
Things were changing now, and I was exciting to see where the future was heading, a lot has happened and I was starting to feel like I found my place in the world, now all I had to do was fix this little problem... then I can talk to Maddox more about it.
First things first... I needed to take care of myself, before somebody else came inside, and saw me.