Afraid to love

Chapter 19

The building we walk to is completely different to the gym we were in before. It doesn't have any signs to specify what it actually is and looks huge, old and uninviting. Daniel pushes open a large metal door. There is a small reception at the front, but no one is on it. We walk past it and into a large open space with six large boxing rings on it. There are men and women fighting in each ring.

"Daniel!" a large guy waves his gloved hand at us, "finally!" he yells. Daniel swats his hand at him, wordlessly telling him they'll talk later.

We're walking past and I realise that Phil is fighting bare chested with another blonde man in one of the rings, Phil pauses when he sees us, almost attaining a punch because of it. He manages to dodge it and walks over to the side, his eyes moving over us both ten times,

"You two together or some shit?" he calls out,

"Piss off Phil" Daniel says, pulls my arm after him. The fights going on around us look brutal. In one ring two women dressed in nothing but short shorts and a bra are fighting it out. They're actually slamming fists at one another. With my free hand I grasp Daniel's wrist, pulling at him to stop. He obliges and looks down at me,

"What's wrong?" he asks,

"I am not getting into one of those rings" I say hurriedly, I don't care if it's his routine or not, I don't want to be punched by someone tonight,

"Don't worry" he laughs, "I'm not getting you to go into a ring. Come with me" I follow, a lot of the people are staring at me. One man even takes a couple of steps towards us, but the deadly look Daniel sends his way makes him retrace his steps, he even says 'sorry' as he does so.

Daniel leads us to the back of the room, where there are numerous large boxing bags set up and tells me to wait next to a bag while he goes and gets something. I stand next to the bag nervously, the gym is dimly lit, and there is a weird rhythmic thud of punching bags and the scent of worn leather. My eyes are glued to Daniel, willing him to hurry up and come back so I am not standing here alone. He picks something up off a bench, and turns to make his way back to me, but some man stops him to talk to him. From how they talk, I can tell they know each other well. One thing I am noticing, is although all the people here are strong and muscular, Daniel still stands out. A silhouette of strength and experience.

He laughs at something the man says, then turns back to me and makes his way over here. He approaches me with an encouraging smile,

"Relax, Sofia, you look stressed as hell"

"Sort of feel out of my element here" I admit,

"Hold your hands out" he says, I don't question him, just do as he tells me. He starts wrapping my hands in coarse, well-worn wraps,

"I thought boxers wear boxing gloves" I comment, looking at the wrapping job he's doing to my hands,

"They do, but you put the wrap on first, to provide support for the wrists" I nod, once he finishes he pulls gloves over my wrapped hands, "your hands are tiny" he comments, and it takes him a moment to ensure the gloves are placed securely. With the gloves, my hands feel large and clunky,

"Right" he steps back when done, "lets start with the basics"

He demonstrates the proper stance, footwork and the mechanics of a punch. I listen and watch carefully, trying to mimic everything as well as I can. I have to admit, despite my uncertainty and inexperience, I also feel a bit of excitement to learn a skill I never even thought to acknowledge. His large, calloused hands guide me through some of the punches, correcting my mistakes. Jab. Hook. Jab. I'm actually enjoying it, boxing is a lot more fun that I thought,