Vicious Cycle

Willow smiled before bounding out the door. When we got back into the gym, I noticed two or three of the guys standing stock-still outside of the boxing ring. Instead of their attention being trained on Bishop, they stared off to the side. It took me only a moment to figure out who they were staring at.

I started to tell them to put their tongues back in their mouths, but I never got the chance. Instead, my eyes zeroed in on what they were obsessed with. Outfitted in her own skintight leotard, tights, and skirt, Alex was bent over, ass in the air, with her palms pressed to the mat. I could have never imagined something as simple as stretching could be so fucking sexy.

Oblivious to all the stares, she rose up and then brought her arm over her head. As she leaned in to the stretch, her ass swished provocatively. When she finished with the one arm, she moved on to the next one. And then she pulled a move that proved my undoing. She stretched her leg out next to her head. “Fucking hell,” one of the guys muttered.

“Why are you all staring at Miss Alex?” Willow demanded, bringing me out of my fantasy of how many positions I could put the very limber Alex in.

Willow’s words startled Alex. Her leg dropped down, and then she whirled around. When she saw all the men standing around, her face flushed. Trying to ease her embarrassment, I shouted, “Go on. Show’s over. Go back to work or whatever the hell you were supposed to be doing!”

As the men scrambled, Willow raced over to Alex, who was now cowering in the corner. When I reached them, Alex shook her head. “I don’t think this is going to work.”

“Look, I can promise you what happened was just a onetime thing. There’s never any women down here, so naturally they had to gawk when they saw one.”

Alex’s cheeks were still red. “I won’t feel comfortable. … I won’t be able to focus if I have to worry about being ogled.”

“What’s ogled?” Willow asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” I snapped.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t.”

“You mean I’m not going to get to have ballet lessons?” Willow asked in a small voice.

Before she could throw a fit, I held up my hands. “Just give me a minute to think of a solution, okay?”

Both Willow and Alex crossed their arms over their chests and stared expectantly at me. “The basement,” I blurted.

“What?” Alex asked.

“I can set you up something in the basement.”

“But it’s scary down there,” Willow said in a hushed voice.

“It won’t be when I’m through with it. I’ll put in more lights, clean out some of the junk, and put up some mirrors.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Alex gushed, a pleased smile on her face. I could only imagine that in her white-bread world, she hadn’t had much exposure to the tough-as-shit men who train here, so I guess it made sense she’d be so put off.

“What do you say, kid?” I asked Willow.

“I think it sounds okay.”

I laughed. “Just okay. Man, there’s no pleasing you.”

She nibbled on her lip before asking, “Will you put in a barre, too? You know, like it’s a real studio.”

“I think I can swing that.”

Her face lit up. “Then I love it.”

Before I thought better of it, I reached out and ruffled her hair. “Glad you think so.”

Willow jumped back from me. “Don’t mess my hair up!”

Alex laughed at our exchange. “We wouldn’t want to mess up your bun.” Amusement danced in her eyes when she looked at me. “Did she do that, or did you?”

“I did. Why?”

She shrugged. “I’m just surprised—that’s all.” With a teasing smile, she said, “You’re a man of many talents, Jesse James.”

“Hmm, there’s more of my talents I’d like to acquaint you with.” Inwardly, I cringed. Had I actually just laid some serious innuendo on her? What the hell was my problem? I was just as bad as the Neanderthals who had been panting and drooling over her earlier.

Alex’s eyes widened at my suggestive tone. “Well, I think it’s time that I acquainted Willow with a few basic ballet poses.”

“I’ll keep an eye on things for you.”

After pursing her lips at me, she replied, “Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”

I threw my head back and laughed. “At ease, White-Bread.”

The next half hour passed without Alexandra being eye-fucked by the guys. While I eventually focused back on Bishop in the ring, I threw a look in her and Willow’s direction every few minutes. Jesus, did Alexandra have patience when it came to Willow. She worked over and over with her to make sure she understood the pose things and how to hold her arms. While I would have freaked the fuck out and stalked off, Alex kept her head and never raised her voice.

When the instruction was over, Alex quickly bypassed me for the bathroom to change. “Did I dance good?” Willow asked.

“You did good, kid,” I replied.

“She did well,” Rev emphasized behind me.

After turning around, I rolled my eyes at his grammar-correcting ass and then managed to smack him in the balls with Willow’s bag. “Be careful getting her home.”

Bending double, Rev wheezed out a few breaths. “My pleasure,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

Willow happily reached for Rev’s hand. “Can we get ice cream today?”

Rev refused to meet my glare. Instead, he placed a finger over his lips. “What did I say about keeping secrets?”

She giggled. “Okay.”

As they started for the door hand in hand, I shook my head. I’d seen Rev, with busted and bloodied knuckles, beat a man within an inch of his life. But you put him in a room with a kid, especially Willow, and he was a fucking teddy bear. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like when he finally had a kid of his own.

Although I had indulged in a few X-rated fantasies involving Alexandra, I still thought she was a good match for him. I needed to stay on his ass about asking her out. When I’d first mentioned it to him, he’d argued that he didn’t want to make things complicated for Willow. I told him he was being a pussy, and then he’d walked away. I guess it wasn’t the best pep talk to get him back into the game.

Alexandra emerged from the bathroom wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She looked a hell of a lot different out of her school clothes. I also couldn’t help imagining for a second what she looked like without any clothes on at all.