She refused to give in and ask what was so funny. Logan had been a bit strange almost from the beginning. After she finished one of her flautas, she slid back in front of her computer and slipped on her glasses. “All right, we have some ground to cover,” she said, already typing.

“Yeah and fast right? Because you gotta get home early.”

Taking a deep breath, she ignored the undertone. Yes, she did want to get home early, and she was absolutely looking forward to it, but she didn’t have to tell Logan about it. Instead, she continued to type, her mind already on what Abel would do to her tonight.

Chapter 9

Bam . . . Bam . . . Bam!

The private training room at 5th Street was obviously not private enough. Already there’d been several people with camera phones at the door windows, trying to take pictures of Abel training. As usual, he’d tried to not let it distract him, even when the would-be amateur photographers were asked to leave. What he had a harder time not being distracted by were thoughts of Nellie and her date tomorrow night with Logan.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

“That a boy,” Gio said, holding the bag. “But remember you’re not wearing gloves. You don’t wanna hurt your knuckles. This is about endurance, not strength, so take it easy.”

Abel nodded and slowed a little taking in a breath.

Bam . . . Bam . . . Bam! Bam!

“There you go,” Noah said, taking a seat on the stool nearby.

Abel wasn’t so sure what was more troubling: the fact that she was going out with this guy she worked with—someone she actually had a relationship not just someone she was planning on just having fun with—or the fact that he cared so much. He’d already made up his mind earlier that day that he had no time for a real relationship. Now was the worst time in his life for that. He had too much going on to be able to give any girl the attention she needed, which was exactly why he thought what he had with Nellie was perfect in the first place. So what if she saw others when he wasn’t around?

Bam! Bam! Bam!

“Easy, Abel!” Gio reminded him again about his knuckles.

So what if she might end up sleeping with Logan tomorrow night?

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

“Dude!” Noah stood up off the stool. “What’re you doin’?”

Abel slammed his fist into the bag one last time before backing away and wiping the sweat off his face with the front of his shoulder. “I’m done,” he said simply. “I gotta get outta here.”

He started to walk away, but Noah stopped him. “What’s wrong with you? Everything okay? You’ve been on edge all week.”

Both Gio and Noah stared at him now. “Nah, I’m good,” he said, afraid to look Noah in the eyes, so he started undoing the wrap on his hands.

“Give me that,” Gio said, reaching out for his hand. Abel reached out and let Gio help him take off the wrap. “Maybe you should take a few days off.” Gio offered.

“Nope,” Abel said, immediately shaking his head. “I just took time off for New York. I can’t take any more off. We’re too close now.”

“Well you need to relax, man.” Gio insisted. “You can’t keep having these kinds of workouts where you’re either beating the shit outta one of the trainers you’re sparring with or your own knuckles. Someone’s gonna get hurt.”

“I’ll relax,” Abel said then smirked. “I know exactly what I need, and I’ll take care of it tonight.”

Noah’s expression soured, but surprisingly he didn’t say anything. Abel had thought about it all damn week. Ever since Noah had told him about Nellie’s date, he’d thought that was it. He’d take a break from his visits to Nellie for a while if not for good. The trip to New York had helped. Hanging out with Felix, whom he hadn’t hung with in a while, was a much needed distraction. The guy knew how to party, and if Abel wasn’t in the middle of such in intense training, he might’ve partied with him. The time he spent with him still served its purpose. Felix was also a pro at handling the media, telling Abel that if he just stopped and posed for a few photos the paparazzi would be more relenting. The only problem with that was that Felix didn’t mind posing with every girl who was all over them. Abel hadn’t bothered to check, but he was certain there were plenty of shots with each of them looking as if they’d for sure gotten laid that night. Felix most likely did. Abel had gone back to his room alone and thought about the same damn thing he’d thought about all week—Nellie’s date.

He’d been so desperate to just get over it that he’d even gone as far as agreeing to have lunch with Rachel, one of the girls who worked the juice bar at the gym. Knowing from experience that she was good for few rounds of fun and wasn’t the clingy type either, he figured that she might do the trick. She was forever dropping hints that she was ready to go at it again whenever he was. Stupidly, or maybe he’d just been naïve, he thought maybe she’d make a nice little stress reliever, just as he’d claimed Nellie was. .

But after spending a whole half hour listening to Rachel’s endless drivel and cheap attempts to be sexy with her fluttering lashes and sucking of her own fingers as she ate, he had to pass. There was zero substance, something Nellie had in buckets and something he hadn’t realized until now that he wanted. He’d decided that he was being an idiot, and not only could he handle the understanding he had with Nellie but doing so was absolutely worth the reward. He wasn’t so sure now. Worse yet, he wasn’t sure if maybe he’d blown it today by making his aversion to her date tomorrow so obvious. He could only hope now she wouldn’t send him packing tonight when he showed up at her place.