“You dragged yourself all the way over to my shitty apartment to do that? Your place is much nicer,” I told her in disbelief.

“What can I say, bitch. Misery loves company,” she retorted. Having set up the laptop, she climbed under my covers, and we spent the next couple of hours watching movies. My eyes were begging for sleep, but I loved every minute of just chilling out with Nikki, so I wasn’t giving this up. Sleep could wait until later. By the time she left, I was exhausted but less nauseous. After a quick shower that brought me back to life, I climbed into bed and slid my hands under my pillow. The sharp pointed edge of a folded piece of paper jabbed at my fingertip, and I pulled it out with a smile.

Jeez, that boy seriously knew what he was doing. With Nikki gone, I was starting to worry about how I could face everyone tomorrow, knowing that I’d completely humiliated myself by puking all over O’Connell. Now, all that I could think about was my seriously sweet, hot fighter.

THE REST OF THE WEEK rolled by quickly. Despite my anxiety, none of the guys made a big deal about ‘vomit gate’, and I think they knew me well enough to guess that I’d retreat back into my shell if they gave me too hard a time about it. I hadn’t seen O’Connell since Saturday, but I had a note waiting from him every single day, either posted underneath my door before I woke or delivered by Kieran. I was beginning to think that the main entrance to my building was less of a security door and more of an inconvenience to O’Connell, because he never asked me to buzz him up to deliver any of these messages. They were so much better than text messages or emails, though, because each word was in his handwriting and holding them in my hand made them tangible and real. O’Connell hadn’t been able to give me flowers and take me on extravagant dates, but this stack of notes that I kept so carefully was his way of dating me. I loved it. They conveyed so much more than a text ever would have. When his handwriting was messy, I knew that he was tired. When he underlined the word sexy, I knew that he was horny. When he signed with a kiss, I knew that kiss was real. True, I missed his voice, but I really did love these notes.

I CAME OUT OF CLASS Thursday to find Kieran leaning against his fire engine red bike, legs and arms crossed and winking at all the pretty first years.

“Seriously! Don’t you ever get sick of chasing girls?”

“Nope,” he replied. “Having a body like this is a gift, and I feel a moral obligation to share it with the world.”

I wondered if he was joking, but I doubted that he was. There was no denying that Kieran was sex on a stick, but O’Connell was the only flavour I was interested in. I grinned as I waited for him to hand me my note. I really was starting to get a little clingy about those.

“Why is he sending me a note? I’m seeing him later,” I asked.

“Not soon enough, apparently. He sent me to come and get you because he’s having withdrawals.” He reached behind him to grab a helmet.

“No note, then?” I was disappointed about the note, but jump-up-and-down excited that he was as eager to see me as I was to see him.

“Fucking hell. You two are getting ridiculous with these notes. I’m not a fucking postman you know,” he grumbled.

“How does this thing do up?” I asked, ignoring him as I fiddled with the strap of my helmet. Instead of a cool biker chick, I suspected that I looked more like a bobble head. He rolled his eyes and fastened the strap for me.

“Did I ever tell you how awesome you are?” I asked him as I climbed onto the bike behind him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled. “You only love me ‘cause I bring you stuff from your man.”

“He’s not my man, you know,” I reminded him.

“Whatever you say, sunshine.” He sighed, and we pulled off toward the gym.

“THAT WAS AMAZING!” I squealed as I climbed off the bike fifteen minutes later.

“Liked that, did you?” Kieran grinned as he took back my helmet.

“You drive like a demon, but it was amazing.”

“I was going thirty miles an hour most of the way. Con threatened to cut off my balls if ANYTHING happened to you. I don’t think I could take the pressure of giving you a ride again. Besides, I couldn’t breathe anytime we went round a corner. You’re stronger than you look, half pint.”

He rubbed his rock hard stomach as though I’d actually wounded him by clinging on so tight.

“I’m totally getting a bike one day,” I told him seriously.

He laughed out loud at me.

“Unless you can find a way to ride wrapped in bubble wrap, Con’s never gonna let that happen. Do you even know what type of bike this is anyway?”

“Of course, I do. It’s the big shiny red type. I think I’ll get one in black.”

He rolled his eyes at me smiling, but I could tell that he was pleased I’d enjoyed myself. I practically skipped into the gym because I was so excited to see O’Connell. The atmosphere inside was electric, and the place was packed.

“What’s going on?” I asked Kieran who walked in behind me.

“Danny’s got Con a fight in two weeks. The guy he’s fighting is established, meaning there’ll be sponsors there. If he puts on a show, he could get sponsorship, and that’s huge. He’ll get paid to train, and Danny can get his name out there, get him better fights.”

I was so pleased for him but terrified at the same time. An established fighter meant that he’d become established by pounding away at other heavyweights and winning. Danny didn’t usually like me hanging around in the gym when the boys were training. He never said anything to me, just scowled more than usual, which had me scuttling as quickly as I could to get to my office. The clock on the wall at the back of the gym told me that it wasn’t even five, and I wasn’t due to start work for an hour. Deciding that facing Danny’s wrath after a week of O’Connell abstinence was worth the risk, I wandered towards the ring. I found him on the floor doing sit-ups, while Mac was throwing medicine balls on his stomach. He was covered in sweat, but those abs looked like they’d been carved in ice. I didn’t want to interrupt his training, so I hung back, watching my fill. He was so fine that with every rise and fall of his chest I was getting more and more turned on. My palms were sweaty and the heat building between my thighs had me squirming where I stood, giving me away to Danny.