Eli was thirty and new to the boxing club. Marcus, thirty-four, ran the evening sessions with the quiet authority of someone who never needed to raise his voice. Their first conversation lasted twelve seconds and involved Eli’s poor footwork.
“Again,” Marcus said.
“I thought I was improving.”
“You are. That’s why I’m asking you to try harder.”
The words should have irritated Eli. Instead, they followed him through every round. Marcus corrected his stance with careful hands, asking permission before adjusting Eli’s shoulders or hips. Each brief touch sent a distracting awareness through him.
After class, they stayed behind to wipe down the mats. Rain streaked the high windows, and the club’s old lights flickered once.
“You always train this late?” Eli asked.
“Only when I’m avoiding something.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
Marcus glanced toward the locked office. “Someone’s been leaving notes in my locker. I think it’s a former client, but I can’t prove it.”
The door rattled.
Both men turned. Marcus moved in front of Eli, protective but not possessive. A second rattle came, followed by silence. They checked the corridor together and found nobody—only a white envelope wedged beneath the office door.
Inside was a photograph of Marcus leaving the club. On the back, someone had written: You should have stayed away from him.
Eli felt the air change. “They mean me?”
“Probably,” Marcus said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just don’t decide what I can handle.”
Marcus studied him, then nodded. “Fair.”
They called the club’s owner and waited in the bright reception area. The tension remained, but it had shifted—less fear now, more the closeness of two people choosing to stand together.
“Can I kiss you?” Marcus asked.
Eli answered by stepping near. Their kiss was slow, restrained only by the effort of listening for footsteps outside. Marcus’s hand settled at Eli’s waist; Eli felt the strength there, and the care.
A phone buzzed on the counter.
The owner had sent security footage. The figure in the hallway appeared on-screen, face hidden beneath a hood.
Then the figure looked directly into the camera—and lifted a hand in greeting.
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