Safe with Me

It’s quite possibly illegal to have two amazingly hot men in the same ring together.

Suddenly, Nate leans in and jabs, and it’s on. For several minutes, they punch and deflect, kick and push and throw each other on the floor, only to bounce right back up.

Their faces are feral, eyes hot and trained on the other, and it’s the hottest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“They’re going to kill each other,” I mutter in awe.

“Maybe,” Jules nods. “Jesus, look at them!”

Nate takes a swing at Caleb’s face, but he grips Nate’s fist in his hands and twirls, picks him up on his back and slams him to the ground, his elbow in Nate’s throat.

Nate kicks out of the hold and they continue, heaving and sweating. Bleeding.

Nate has a trickle of blood coming from his nose, and Caleb is bleeding near his left eye.

And neither looks ready to stop.

Finally, after Nate kicks Caleb in the ribs and follows up with an elbow between his shoulder blades, Nate’s dad rings the bell.

I didn’t even notice that he was here.

“Enough!” Mr. McKenna yells out. “If you have more aggression to get out, take it up with a bag. Not each other.”

Nate and Caleb are both bent at the waist, panting and sweating, catching their breath. Jules and I are both holding ours.

“What the hell was that all about?” I ask.

“Testosterone?” Jules asks with a bewildered shrug. “It was kind of hot though.”

I nod in agreement and watch as Nate stands upright and approaches Caleb, shakes his hand and pulls him in for a man-hug. He talks low for a few moments and Caleb’s eyes narrow before he pulls back and nods, offers Nate a half-smile and pats him hard on the shoulder.

They both come down off the ring and smile at us.

“Feel better?” Jules asks.

“Yeah,” Nate shrugs and offers her a cocky smile. “I could have taken him down.”

“In your dreams, McKenna. I was going easy on you,” Caleb retorts and pushes his arms through his shirt and pulls it over his head.

Oh, don’t put the sweaty muscles away yet!

“We should go,” I murmur and smile at Caleb. He’s still a bit reserved and quiet, and I can’t figure out what’s wrong with him.

“We should go too,” Nate agrees and pulls Jules to him, knowing how sweaty and grimy he is.

“See you tomorrow night!” Jules waves at us, laughing and half-heartedly trying to fight Nate off.

Caleb leads me to the car, opens the door for me without saying a word and then climbs into the driver’s side. After driving for more than ten minutes in complete silence, I decide to clear the air.

“I didn’t flirt back,” I blurt out.

“What?” He asks, barely sparing me a glance.

“With Craig. He flirted with me, but I didn’t flirt back.” I cross my arms over my chest and look out the window, not paying any attention to the sights of downtown Seattle, or the rain as it rolls down the window in ribbons.

“I don’t give a shit about that guy,” Caleb mutters and turns down my street.

“Then what’s wrong?” I ask with a frown.

He swallows and glances at me, rubs his fingers over his lips and looks like he’s going to say something, but changes his mind.

“Nothing.”

He’s lying.

“Caleb…”

“I’m fine,” he cuts me off and shoves the car into park when we reach my house. “Don’t worry about it.”

When we get inside the house and Caleb checks the alarm and the windows and doors, he stops in the kitchen, not meeting my gaze. Bix greets us, happy to see us, and enjoys scratches on the head from Caleb, who is still sweaty and dirty from his vigorous workout with Nate.

“Do you want to join me in the shower?” I ask.

He shakes his head and gestures toward the back yard. “I’m going to go out back and work out. Call me if you need me.”

And with that, he marches out back, dog in tow, and straight to the ropes attached to Natalie’s studio, working them vigorously. By the time he stops, his muscles have to be singing in protest, but he moves straight over to the bar he had installed for pull-ups, jumps up and immediately begins raising and lowering himself on the bar.

Bix lays on the deck, keeping watch.

What the hell is going on his head?

“Mommy! Mommy!” The girls come racing through the front door, coats and backpacks on, excited to be home from school. Matt grins from the doorway.

“Did you have fun at the gym today?” He asks.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I respond with a chuckle. “I can do that now.”

“Good to hear.” He nods and then frowns. “Where is Caleb?”

“Out back. He’s cranky,” I reply with a sigh and relieve the girls of their backpacks.

“In that case, I’ll go. See you all later.” Matt waves and leaves and I kiss the girls in turn.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask them.

“Yeah,” Maddie responds. “Why is Caleb cranky?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s go work out with him,” Josie suggests to Maddie who grins and they both make a beeline for the door before I can tell them to leave him be.

I put their bags away and pull the ingredients for dinner out of the fridge just as I hear high-pitched squeals of laughter coming from the girls in the backyard.