But now she smiled, thinking of Larson, about the way he made her feel, about the fact he loved her, wanted to be with her, and that when she was with him she didn’t feel like she had to pretend to be anyone but herself. He accepted her for who she was, didn’t want her to change, and never made her feel like she was less than what she was. He was a good man with a scarred past, but he was hers, and she wouldn’t change any of that for anything or anyone.
“It’s good.” She couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice.
Sunny smiled in return, and then looked over her shoulder. Tasha did the same, saw Larson in the cage with the Russian fighter named Mack, and her heart sped up as she looked at her man.
“I can see he cares about you.”
Tasha turned around, surprised at what the other woman said. “Excuse me?”
Sunny gave her a small smile. “Before London and I got together and let everyone know, I was so scared to be with him, so afraid of what my dad and the other fighters thought.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t because I was afraid to be with him, or ashamed. It was because I knew how hard a fighter’s life was, knew their reputation.” Sunny moved closer and sat in the empty seat beside Tasha.
“I didn’t know that.” Of course she didn’t. She’d only been working here for a year, but hearing Sunny open up to her like this made her feel even more wanted and connected.
“But Larson is different. He isn’t like the other guys here, doesn’t care about the title of being a champion, of winning, or anything else that almost seems superficial sometimes.”
Tasha looked at Larson again, saw him clap Mack on the back, and then he climbed out of the cage and headed to the locker room. “He is different.” Tasha hadn’t meant to say anything out loud, but when she turned back around and faced Sunny it was to see this smile on the other woman’s face.
“I don’t know what’s going on between you two—”
“I—”
Sunny held up her hand, cutting Tasha off. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to try and talk you out of it, or tell you it isn’t a good idea.” Sunny surprised her again by reaching out and grabbing her hand in hers. “I don’t judge. I just want to say that whatever is going on between the two of you is making Larson happy, and I haven’t seen him like that in…” She paused. “I’ve never seen him like that since I’ve known him, actually.” This sad expression covered Sunny’s face.
“You know about his…” Tasha didn’t finish, because although she was pretty sure Sunny knew about Larson’s past from being a part of the gym, she didn’t want to confide something to the other woman that Larson didn’t want said.
Sunny nodded, let go of Tasha’s hand, and breathed out. “I know about everything Larson went through, as does most of the town. But it isn’t because he shared any of it with anyone. He’s a private person, as I’m sure you know, and it was all over the news. I heard about it while working in the gym when some of the newer fighters were asking about it when they realized who he was.” This sad look crossed her face.
“He is a private person, but things have … progressed between us.” She stared at Sunny. “I love him,” Tasha said softly, so only Sunny heard. The sound of men fighting together, fists and legs hitting punching bags, and of curses in friendly banter, filled her ears.
“And he loves you,” Sunny said without question.
A smile covered Tasha’s face. “He does.” She felt her cheeks become hot and knew she was blushing.
“I’m glad you’re happy, and I’m glad he finally found someone that can make him feel like he deserves to be loved.”
“Sunny, can you help with these?” Mack called out.
Sunny stood, smiled down at her, and patted her on the shoulder. “If you want to talk I’m here. I know we haven’t really sat down and talked other than gym related stuff, but I’m here.”
“Sunny,” Mack called out again, the Russian fighter sounding sterner.
Sunny smiled again and turned to leave.
For several moments Tasha sat there, thinking about everything Sunny had said, and wanting to see Larson at that very moment. She stood, looked into the gym, and saw that everyone was occupied with their own workouts. She looked at the locker room door, thought about how she’d do this, then grabbed a stack of freshly laundered and folded towels and headed to where Larson was.
****
Larson got out of the shower, grabbed his towel, and quickly dried off. He wanted to take Tasha out tonight, maybe for a drive, or maybe just spend the evening with her inside, watching a movie, and holding her close. It had been so long since he’d been able to even think about doing that with a woman again. And although it may seem bland in comparison to what he could have done with her and where he could have taken her, sitting on the couch with her in his lap, holding her, and just enjoying her company and presence, was what he yearned for.