“What else is going on in that noggin of yours?” she whispered breathlessly as I drew lazy patterns on the inside of her thigh with my finger.

“You’ll think I’m insecure and needy,” I admitted.

“I already know you’re insecure and needy. But I am too, which is why we’re so perfect for each other.”

“I don’t like the idea of some cut, cocky American spending time with my gorgeous wife. Especially when you talk about books and education. You don’t need any reminders that you could have done far better than me.”

Wrapping her arms around my neck, she turned to face me. “What’s a rope-a-dope?” Confused about where she was going with this, I answered her.

“It’s when you trick a boxer into thinking he has you on the ropes, then you use up all your energy hitting him while he lets the ropes take the impact of the hits. When you’re out of energy, he’ll flip your positions and finish you off. It’s what happened to me in the Temple fight.”

“Who is the longest-reigning World Heavyweight title holder?” she asked.

She asked three more questions like that before I cottoned on. “You looked all that stuff up didn’t you, to make me feel better about how much I know about boxing.”

“No, love. I looked that stuff up because I get sick of feeling like an idiot around you and the other guys. A year ago, the only thing I knew about George Foreman was that he made grills! You’re one of the most intelligent and logical men that I’ve ever met, and your opinion matters to me more than anyone else’s. So don’t belittle yourself by thinking you’re any less of a person for not having a degree. It pisses me off.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, imitating Earnshaw’s American accent. Truthfully, I fucking loved how fiercely Em defended me. Seeing myself through her eyes always made me feel better.

* * *

I spent the rest of the afternoon working out as much frustration as I could.

“Hey, Con,” a familiar voice said from behind me. I stopped punching long enough to see who it belonged to.

“Albie, what’re you doing here?” I asked, noting the training bag slung over his shoulder.

“Danny had an opening for a couple of new members. University gym is packed during the day so Danny said I could train here,” he explained.

“Good idea,” I agreed.

“You looking to toughen up a bit? Student life making you a bit soft is it?” Kieran added, as he slung an arm playfully around Albie’s neck.

“Rugby might not be boxing, but I’m doing okay,” he answered and lifted his shirt. An impressive set of abs proved his point.

“Hey, fuckers, what’d we miss?” Tommy said, as he and Liam joined us, both acknowledging Albie with a nod.

“University gym is full so Albie’s training here. Kieran’s worried student life is making him soft and Albie proved he’s got nothing to worry about. Oh, and I’ve got a new fucking manager from the US who’s gonna get his fucking nose broken if he looks twice at Em,” I summarized. The group stared at me in silence.

“Don’t worry about him, Con,” Tommy told me seriously with a pat on the back. “If Em’s gonna leave you for anyone. It’s definitely going to be me.”

“Come on,” Kieran said to Albie, “I’ll show you where the spare lockers are. You can train and watch Con put Tommy on his arse at the same time. It’s quite entertaining actually.”

* * *

I stood under the piping hot water and willed it to take away my aches and pains. Danny had definitely been pissed at my reaction to Earnshaw because he trained me harder than he ever had, even before the Temple fight. I closed my eyes and thought over what Em had said. I needed to let this Earnshaw guy do his stuff. But knowing I needed to do something and actually doing it were two different things.

Earnshaw had a long way to go to prove himself to me. I just need to work on reining in my inner arsehole long enough to let that happen. When the water had worked well enough to turn the ache to tiredness, I switched it off and reached for my towel. I was so wiped out I hadn’t even bothered to turn on the shower lights, the light from the locker room in front let me see well enough. There was no one here but me anyway. Danny wasn’t done with me when Em had finished, so Kieran had given her a ride home. Only a couple of the guys had been training when Danny sent me on a five-mile run to finish out my day. He left just as I got back and I told him I’d lock up, so I was alone. At least that’s what I thought until the lockers behind the shower banged loudly, like someone was being thrown against them. I smiled when I heard the unmistakable sound of two people kissing. Danny was gonna shit bricks if he caught one of the boys sneaking a girl in. A guy groaned in pure ecstasy as they bounced off the locker doors. Whoever they were, they were going at it pretty hot and heavy. Flesh smacked against flesh and teeth clashed as I stayed silent, hoping they’d be done quickly so I could get home to my girl. When I heard the sound of a second, much deeper groan, I froze.

“You feel so fucking good,” the deeper voice whispered.

“Why did we wait so long to do this?” the other voice replied.

“Fuck knows,” said the deep voice, “but I ain’t waiting no more.”

I gave them five more minutes of kissing and fuck knows what else. I was stunned to realize one of the guys at the gym was gay. I racked my brain trying to think of whose voice it could be. After five minutes of freezing my arse off, I didn’t give a shit. When both their breathing became labored and belt buckles jangled as they were removed, I decided that enough was enough. Coughing conspicuously, I figured the polite thing to do was give them five minutes to leave.

“What was that?”

“Shit,” the deeper voice answered as they scrambled to dress.

“Go. I’ll call you later.” They kissed briefly, and I heard one of them leave. “Okay. You can come out now.” As soon as he said it, I knew who it was. Walking around the lockers, I confirmed my suspicions.

“Hey, Liam,” I said with a nod.

“Bit cold are we?” he asked.

“Freezing my feckin’ balls off actually. Speaking of which, Danny will have yours off if he catches you sneaking someone in here again.”

“Fair enough,” he replied. “Look, Con, what you heard…” He started to explain, but he was searching for words to tell me what I already knew.