Free Fighting Back (Mercy's Angels) by Kirsty Dallas Page A

finish with a sprint. Slipping the buds from my headphones in my ears, I pushed the volume up high and allowed Eminem’s Lose Yourself to numb my thoughts.  I had been blissfully unaware of my surroundings for no less than fifteen minutes when a tap on my arm caught my attention. I barely contained my eye roll as I pulled the buds from my ears. Fuck, I wasn’t in the mood for this shit. I told her how it was from the beginning: one night, let’s have some fun then we go our separate ways. I’ve learned from Jax’s mistakes to be up front and blatantly rude to get what I wanted from a woman. No commitments, no cuddling. I wasn’t a complete asshole, I always made sure the women had a good time. But I never offered more than I was able to give. With Gym Girl, I had been completely upfront as usual. Yet now I get the feeling she hadn’t really heard me. She leaned over the front of the treadmill, her spectacular tits displayed in a tiny pink sports bra, tight black lycra pants wrapped around her long legs. Yeah, she looked good, but not good enough for me to go for seconds, and nowhere near as spectacular as Rebecca.
    “Hey,” I panted, keeping my eyes front and center.
    “You haven’t been around much lately, I thought I might have scared you off,” she said with a sly grin. I shook my head. It would take more than a one night stand with some girl to scare me away from my happy place. I’ve been coming to Lee’s Gym since I was a teenager; since Mercy slapped me upside the head and made me see the dangerous road I was on. She found this gym and enrolled me straight away. Lee was actually General Lee, a sixty year old ex-marine. His father had owned the gym and when he passed away, General Lee automatically took it over. He ran a tight ship, and kept all fights in the ring, and most importantly, he cared about the fighters who came into his gym. He was a good guy, in fact the best, and a studious combination of the General, the gym and Mercy had set my life on a new path. So it would take a hell of a lot more than a one night stand to scare me away from here.
    “Do you think you could spot me on weights when you’re done here?” she asked.
    Not a chance in hell , I thought.
    “Sorry, I have to get out of here as soon as I finish up. Corey is around here somewhere, I’m sure he can help.” She looked a little pouty.  I hated pouty. Rebecca never got pouty. She got pissy and fiery, not pouty.
    “How about we meet up later for a drink, my treat?” she suggested, undeterred by my casual attempt to palm her off onto someone else.
    “Sorry, no can do. As I said, I have to get out of here as soon as I’m done. I’m busy tonight.”
    “Tomorrow night then,” she said. I tried not to cringe. She was relentless, I’d give her that. 
    “Ji…Jenny,” I quickly corrected myself, maybe I was a complete asshole. I slowed my jog to a walk then eventually stopped.
    “I know, you said one night and I’m cool with that. I just thought we could still keep it casual and make one night two, maybe even three or four. I had fun, I know you had fun, too.” Her eyes sparkled.
    Yeah, I had fun, but as soon as the fun was over, I was right back to where I was before the fun began—miserable and empty. The only person who seemed capable of filling that gap didn’t want me, but that didn’t mean I was going to fall into old habits again. I needed to quit this shit and if I thought I might stand even half a chance at winning Rebecca over, I wouldn’t so much as look at another female again.
    “Jenny, you’re a really beautiful woman and you deserve so much more than I can give you. I’m sorry if I led you to believe that there would be anything more than one good night, but that’s all I’ve got to give. There’s Corey if you need a spotter.” I nodded in Corey’s direction, and when she turned to see for herself, I quickly escaped.
    Under the hot spray of the shower, I tried to relax. I took long deep breaths