Letting Lox In Read online

  He nods. “Yeah, I surely don’t want to hurt like this again. Where do I set that up?”

  “Come on and I’ll walk you up front. We’ll get you scheduled.”

  As we approach the desk, I hand Kara his chart. “Doc wants him to come in on a regular schedule.”

  Kara smiles. “Okay Lox, how often do you want to come in?’

  He looks at me, giving me a soft grin. “How often do you suggest?”

  I shrug. “We could start with once every other week and when your body adjusts, we could back it off to every three weeks. I should probably see you again at the first of next week to work this problem area again, unless you have a fight this weekend. If you do, I should see you on Friday.”

  He gives me a slight grin that would melt the panties off of a nun. “I don’t have a match for another two weeks so whatever you think is best.”

  I nod and try to compose myself, but I can feel the redness in my cheeks. “Kara, put him in Monday.”

  I turn and start walking back to my room to clean and set up for my next patient. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I spin around to see Lox. “Thanks for your help today.”

  I smile. “You’re welcome, see you Monday.”

  I finish making my way back to my treatment room and start pulling the sheets and setting up for the next client. Kara walks in with a grin on her face. “So, on a scale from sexy to smokin’ hot, how all of the above was he?”

  I shake my head. “He was nice looking.”

  She puts her hand to her chest like she’s going to have a heart attack. “Sloan, honey, I think you need to have your damn vision checked if you think that boy was anything other than effing sexy as hell.”

  I sigh. “Yes, he was hot. Very hot. Just so you know, yes, my libido is still very much alive.”

  She claps her hands. “Awesome. He said to give you this.”

  I take the twenty dollar bill from her hand. “He tipped me?”

  “Yes, he tipped you and you didn’t even have to give him a happy ending. Yet.” She winks and walks out the door.

  I don’t have anyone for another forty-five minutes so I try to finish up some of my CEU stuff.

  ~*~*~

  “Mommy!” My son, Sage, comes running up to me and wraps his arms around my legs.

  I hug him back. “Hey, Bud. Did you have a good day today?” I say as I sign him out of the aftercare program at his school.

  “Yes, ma’am. I made you this.” He shoves a coloring page at me.

  “Wow, that looks awesome. What is that?” I point to a brown blob on the paper. Please don’t say shit, please don’t say shit. I’m pretty good about watching my mouth around him but I slip sometimes and he seems like my little repeater. When we lived with my brother, he wasn’t always the greatest about watching his words either. He’d say things like, “I gotta shit, get out of the bathroom.” I’m afraid he’s going to repeat one of those words at school.

  “A football.” He looks at me so innocently proud. “I’m gonna be a football player when I grow up.”

  Bless his heart, he doesn’t know the personal Hell that brings me. “Don’t you want to play baseball or something else?”

  I start walking us in the direction of our car after I help him with his backpack.

  He nods his head. “Yeah, that too, or a fireman.” He’s acting so grown and serious, like he needs to make this decision today at the ripe old age of five.

  I breathe a sigh of relief. “Sounds good to me, Bud. What do you want for supper tonight?”

  “Mac ‘n cheese with hot dogs.”

  I laugh. “You always say that.” Which I hate saying is good since I’m on a tight budget.

  He giggles. “I know. I always want it.”

  I reach down and tickle him. “You’re rotten. You know that?” He climbs in his booster seat and buckles his seatbelt.

  He looks up at me and smiles. All I feel is his love. “Yep, I know I am.”

  After I get in my seat, I look back and remember the lady from the local pizza place gave us all a gift certificate the other day when she was in. I never buy pizza. Sometimes when they have a sale on frozen ones, I get those, but not straight from the restaurant. “How about pizza tonight instead of mac ‘n cheese and hot dogs?”

  He grins and pumps his fist. “Yes!”

  I nod. “All right, pizza it is.”

  CHAPTER 3

  LOX

  I’m still a little sore after yesterday’s massage, but overall, much better. I have a better range of motion, that’s for sure. I don’t feel like I’m going to fall over when the pain hits.

  The girl that did my massage was kind of hot. When I looked up to greet her and she spoke so softly, it was all I could do to keep my dick pressed into the table. I was working my brain overtime with thoughts of random shit to keep it down. When she told me to turn over, I just kept praying that he stayed down.

  I shake those thoughts from my head as I start my usual morning run. She doesn’t need me snooping around in her life. She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders. She doesn’t need some jackass like me just trying to get into her panties.

  Huck probably was right the other night, I do need to get some ass. I’m fucking wound up tighter than a meth head on the third of the month.

  Normally, I would never think of a girl like her that way. She doesn’t seem like the type of girl who would be interested in me. A barely dressed girl at a bar or at a fight, yeah. Not a professional like her though.

  Pretty soon, I’m back at my starting point in front of our small house. I run in and grab my stuff for the gym, then I make it down to Marco’s a few minutes later.

  He’s taking a sip of his coffee when I come out of the locker room, wrapping my hands. He looks up, “Hey, did you go see Beck?”

  “Yeah, he was great. Got one of his girls to do a massage on me and they set me up for a schedule.”

  He nods. “Sounds good, looks like you’re moving better. Which girl gave you your massage?”

  I think back to the little bubbly girl running the desk. What did she say? I know I don’t remember what the massage girl said because I was too busy trying to keep my dick under control. “I think the front desk girl said her name was Sloan, maybe.”

  He smiles. “Sloan’s a good girl, only been here about six months. Good momma, proud of her little boy. I think he’s like four or five.”

  I look at him with shock. “Little boy? She doesn’t look old enough to have a kid. Especially not one that old.”

  “Yeah, the way it sounds she was young when she had him. She takes care of him by herself, too. Dickhead that knocked her up ran off like a fucking pussy.” He shakes his head. “Don’t say anything about that. She told me about her boy, but Beck filled me in on what I know about the sperm donor.”

  I feel my anger boiling up. Deadbeat dads piss me off. I shake my head, not your fight, Lox.

  I nod. “Okay. Well, let’s do this.” I clap my hands together.

  “All right! There’s my boy.” We walk to the ring and I climb in.

  I look down at Marco. “You coming in?”

  He shakes his head. “Nope, I got a young guy, Gibbs, that I’m going to send in. He’s little but he’s quick. You got to work on your speed. You fight Mathis next and he’s a quick little shit.” He turns to walk off, but turns back. “Plus, Gibbs needs to learn what the mat feels like, if you get what I mean?”

  I chuckle and smile, giving him a mock salute. “Sure thing, Marco.” He does this when one of us gets a little cocky. He thinks this kid needs a reality check.

  A younger, slender but solid guy makes his way into the ring. He tips his chin up. “Marco sent me in here to spar with you. I’m Gibbs.”

  I reach out and shake his hand. “Lox Storm.”

  He chuckles, shaking my hand. “Yeah, I heard all about you. You’re getting kinda old though.”

  I open my eyes wider. “Kind of old? How old do you think I am?”

  He s
hrugs. “I don’t know. Thirty?”

  “I’m twenty-six.”

  He wipes over his nose. “Still kinda old. I’m only nineteen.”

  I chuckle because now I know why I’m sparring him. He needs that chip knocked off his shoulder, yes, but he’s a kid and Marco has said he doesn’t want any more babies to train. So I’m basically seeing if he’s worth Marco’s time or if that chip is already so big that he wants to just send him somewhere else.

  I chuckle and motion for him. “Come on, let’s get to work.”

  Sure enough like Marco said, he’s quick, but I can tell he’s burning out. We’ve been down on the mat a couple of times now. I can tell his hits are getting softer, he’s tired and winded. After a few more rounds, I stop.

  He grins and is panting. “You give up, old man?”

  I shake my head. “Nope, but you need to rest. You are quick, but you’re burning out early.”

  “My fights normally don’t last that long.” He shrugs back. “So I don’t see what the problem is.”

  I see Marco has snuck in the side of the room. He grabs one of the ropes. “No they don’t, but you’d be shit out of luck if they did. Did you watch Lox’s fight last week?” He shakes his head. “No, you were too busy trying to pull pussy from the crowd. Endurance won him that fight.”

  “Yeah but--”

  Marco shakes his head. “But nothing. You want to train with me, you train to go the distance.”

  The kid looks over at me. “Fine.”

  Marco chuckles, knowing he just killed that kid’s spirit a little. “Now get some water and go do some cardio.”

  He looks over at me and barks, “Lox, my office.”

  We make our way into his small office and I sit down. “What’s up?”

  “Do you think that kid is worth it?”

  I nod. “He’s got some raw talent if you could rein in that attitude just a little.”

  He looks at me. “You think you could do it?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been tinkering with the idea of hiring you three knuckle heads to help me run the gym and train.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He sits back in his chair. “Well, I’m getting older and I don’t really have anyone in my life other than you three. So, I’m thinking about remodeling the gym and adding some new equipment to bring in new clientele. I have a nice nest egg, but I damn sure can’t take it with me when I go.”

  I shake my head. “Are you trying to turn this into some yuppie fitness center?”

  “No, not at all. I would like to make it a little more approachable for women. I’d like to start offering kick boxing classes and self-defense classes. We could get you guys certified and you could instruct. We could let you guys start training fighters, too. What do you think? I mean, what are your plans for yourself, Lox?”

  “I want to fight. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love for us to be able to do all of those things here and build your business, too.”

  He sits back in his chair. “It’s possible. It’s not like if you start fighting at the pro level you’re going to move to Vegas permanently. Even if you live there for a little while, you’d still have a place here.”

  I nod, “Yeah, I can see that. This will always be my home.”

  He laces his fingers together, looking at me. “Well, you think about it, talk to Frick and Frack, and see what their thoughts are. I could see this being very profitable and career motivating for all of you. It would put you in the gym several more hours a week and you wouldn’t have to worry about another job.”

  “That sounds really good. We’d be a lot more focused on our training that way.”

  We hear people coming through the gym. He grins, “Well, let’s talk to them now.”

  I nod. “Let’s do it.”

  CHAPTER 4

  SLOAN

  Kara and I are making our way around the office getting ready to close up. I love that we are able to be off early on Friday’s, getting off at lunch time gives me some time to do mommy chores.

  Kara braces herself against the front desk after she shuts down the last computer. “So, I was thinking that you should go see this local band tonight with me at Green’s.”

  I laugh, “Oh yeah, I’m sure we can convince them that Sage is a just a midget.”

  She shakes her head. “Smart ass. No, my little sister, Jade, has been trying to make extra money for her Senior Trip deposit. I offered to pay her to watch Sage so I could get you out of the house.”

  I shift. “I’m not sure. Sage has never stayed with anyone but family.”

  “Come on, Sloan. Sage has met us, he loves Jade and she’s been babysitting forever. Plus, you’ve lived here six months now, you need to start getting out.” She holds up her hand like a scout. “I promise we will not be out super late.”

  I grab my purse. “Let me see how his day has been.”

  She nods. “Okay, I promise good adult conversation, a few drinks, the best damn wings in town and great entertainment. Plus, I’m not going to try and get in your pants at the end of the night.”

  I burst out laughing, “Well, that’s really shit for my confidence.”

  She puts her hands up, “Oh don’t worry, if I ever swung that way or decide to swing that way, you’d be first on my list.”

  I shake my head. “Okay, that was just creepy.”

  “Okay, well I’ll be by your place to pick you up and drop Jade off at seven.”

  Reaching for the door, I nod, “Okay, as long as he’s had a good day.” I stop and turn. “What do I need to wear?”

  She shrugs, “Green’s is pretty laid back. I normally wear jeans and a cool top with my boots, but I’ve seen girls wearing dresses, sandals, basically whatever you feel comfortable in.”

  I nod, “Okay, I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Walking outside, I unlock my gold 2005 Honda Accord. Cranking it up and hearing the rattle, I know that soon I will have to look at getting a new car and I’m not happy about it. This poor car was meant to get me through college and then I could get something new after I became a doctor. Close to three hundred thousand miles later, it’s still kicking and working as a massage therapist pays decent, but not enough for a single mom to afford a new car.

  Today is payday and with it being my early day, I can get some grocery shopping done before I pick Sage up.

  ~*~*~

  After getting all of my mommy chores done and picking Sage up from school, I call Kara.

  She answers on the third ring. “Hey chick, you better not be pussing out on me.”

  “No, actually I talked to Sage and he’s really excited about Jade coming to hang out.”

  “Great! Has he watched Frozen?”

  “No, he’s been wanting to but the Redbox never has it.”

  “Okay great, she said she was going to bring it.”

  “He’ll be so excited. Thanks for this, Kara.”

  “No prob. See you at seven.”

  “Okay.”

  After hanging up with Kara, I start to get ready. After spending a little extra time in the shower shaving and scrubbing, not that I plan on anything special happening, it’s all about feeling confident, I pull out one of my pair of knock off Miss Me jeans and grab a hot pink plaid button up shirt. I blow dry and straighten my hair and put my make-up on a little heavier than I would wear to work, but not so much that I look like a prostitute. After putting on my clothes and boots, I look at myself in the mirror. Wow. I actually look like someone my age, not like a single parent to a five year old.

  A few minutes until seven, Kara and Jade knock on my door. As soon as Jade walks in, Sage practically tackles her. Kara looks me over. “You look HOT, missy.”

  I smile. “Thanks.”

  Sage looks over, “Yeah momma, you look a lots prettier than you normally do.”

  We all laugh and I kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Bud.”

  He makes a sour face and wipes his cheek. “Yuck! Lipstick is for
girls.”

  I shake my head. “Jade, there is some popcorn in the cabinet above the microwave for you guys during the movie. Also, there is ginger ale in the fridge. Sorry, I don’t keep much in the way of Cokes here.”

  She laughs, “It’s fine. I don’t drink them that much either.”

  “Okay. Sage, be really good for Jade, okay? I love you.”

  He nods smiling. “Yes, ma’am. I love you, too.”

  Kara looks at Jade, “We’ll be back later. Both of us will have our cells on if you need anything.”

  After we get out to Kara’s car, I start trying to take deep calming breathes.

  Kara puts her hand on my knee. “Sloan, sweetie. What has you so worked up?”

  “I’m nervous about going out. I’m nervous about Sage. I’m nervous no one will want to dance with me. I’m nervous that I look ridiculous in all of this make-up.”

  “First off, you look freakin’ hot. Second, Sage will be fine. Third, don’t be nervous, you’re with me. Finally, someone will damn sure ask you to dance. I’ll bet you lunch at Sam’s next week.” Shaking her head, she looks at me. “I don’t know what that last SOB put in your head, but girl, you have men drooling over you all the time. Just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean anything. You’re a freakin’ MILF. Yep, I said it.”

  I burst out laughing. “You have such a way with words.” I look up at her gratefully. “Thanks. You know, for pepping me up and for making me come out tonight.”

  She backs out of my driveway. “See, I’m always awesome.” I just shake my head as she cranks up the radio.

  CHAPTER 5

  LOX

  As Huck and I watch TV, Sly flops down on the couch. “So what do you think about Marco’s ideas?”

  I shrug, “I like the idea of working at the gym full time. Being able to spend time training could mean better and more frequent fights.”

  Huck grins, “Plus, we’ll be getting some ladies in the gym for those self-defense classes. I might really like giving some of them hands on training.”