“The self-defense one?” he asked, and she nodded in response as Casey grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the locker room.

“Let me know if you ever need any extra tutoring,” he called after her, and she blushed, recalling their previous conversation.

Casey rolled her eyes and then pushed Clare into the locker room. The interaction wasn’t easily forgotten as Clare showered and got ready for the rest of her day.

—

“That might work for an offensive strike, but what are you going to do if your opponent has the upper hand?” Rory asked Kane, less than an hour after his encounter with Clare.

“How about I learn enough offensive techniques that he never gets the chance? Just ground and pound the fuck out of him!” Kane fooled around as he rewrapped his hands.

“I’m not going to train you if you’re going to be a cocky son of a bitch.” Rory glared at Kane.

“All right, all right. Have it your way.” Kane put his hands up in surrender, seeing Rory was in no mood for bullshit.

Kane moved past where Ace was sitting on the sidelines lazily watching them, and bent under the ropes, climbing back into one of the many fighters’ rings located throughout the expansive main floor of Legends. The building itself was open, like a giant warehouse filled with fighting equipment, rings, televisions, punching bags, weight machines, and all other types of gym equipment.

“I’m coming at you hard, about to jab. What do you do?” Rory asked, putting his wrapped fists up and squaring off with his brother in the ring.

Kane looked uncertain, then raised his fists as well, unsuccessfully fending off Rory as he came at him with a jab. Rory slammed him into the ground with one jab and a sweep, causing his brother to tap out immediately.

“Fuck, Rory. You don’t have to go so hard.” Kane rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the ground.

“If you can’t handle a simple takedown in practice, then you’re never going to make it through the first minute of a fight. Now come on, use my weight against me. I’m coming at you—move out of the way, then get me with an elbow strike. I’ll be off balance and not expecting it. You have to use the opponent’s own moves to your advantage instead of trying to counter them.” Rory squared off with him again, this time going more slowly and allowing Kane the opportunity to move out of the way of his jab, turn on him, and land an elbow right between Rory’s shoulder blades.

“Easier, right?” Rory pushed himself up off the mat and turned to Kane, who was clearly proud of himself.

He bit back a groan as the pain from Kane’s strike radiated through his body, almost intoxicating in its intensity. He had missed the sensation of a fight, missed being in the ring. He hated to admit that his father was right, but his adrenaline was pumping already and his muscles were begging to be let loose on an opponent.

He felt a twinge of jealousy as he faced off with Kane, showing him another move. His brother was just starting his training, just beginning the life of an MMA fighter.

Rory knew his days were over.

That was the only part of fighting that really hurt.

—

The brothers repeated the same routine the next morning, ending up drenched in sweat and aching from their training in the ring. Finishing their session, Rory stepped out onto the club floor where Ace was waiting for him as always.

The duo marched over to the offices. Rory grabbed himself a towel and water bottle on the way, wiping the sweat from his face. He stuck his head in the office and smiled at his mother and cousin, who were busy working on the bookkeeping and membership of the gym.

“Hey, Ma. Casey, shouldn’t you be at school by now?” Rory asked. “Midterms and all that?” He leaned against the doorframe and took several swigs of water.

“My first one isn’t until tomorrow, and I spent all weekend studying.”

“Don’t get her more nervous than she already is, Rory. Hi, Ace.” Deirdre peered over her glasses at him, before reaching out and petting his dog, then went back to the papers she was sorting through.

“She doesn’t have anything to be nervous about. The smartest Kavanagh we’ve got.” He wasn’t being sarcastic, but Casey still rolled her eyes in response.

“That’s not much of a compliment since you guys don’t exactly set the bar high,” Casey teased.

“Oh, ouch. I’m wounded here,” Rory said in a mocking tone, bending over and clutching his stomach as if in pain.

“All right, both of you, out. I need to concentrate on these membership dues.” Dee motioned for them to go.

“We’re going,”

“Casey, help the client that just walked in, please,” she called out as the two filed away from the office.

Turning to the club entrance, they saw a young woman standing awkwardly in front of the door, glancing around. Casey waved a friendly greeting and headed over to her, smiling. Rory recognized the petite blonde immediately and his face lit up in response.

Casey was already chatting with Clare as if they had known each other for years, both women giggling. Rory pushed away the nerves he always felt stumbling around in his belly when he was around Clare and took a deep breath, mentally scolding himself for acting this way over a girl. Dismayed, Rory realized that Ace had already trotted over to Clare, begging her for some attention.

Ace’s friendliness surprised Rory, but it made him like this tiny blonde even more. If his dog was giving her the stamp of approval, then he knew she must be special. He forced himself to stroll over as calmly as possible, hoping to convince himself that the fluttering he felt in his gut was just a fluke.

Women fell all over him, never the other way around.

“Casey, need any help with this client?” He smiled at Clare, displaying a false bravado to hide his nerves.

Clare met his eyes when he spoke, blushing, as he noticed she always did around him. Heat flushed across his skin at the close proximity to her, becoming even more intense when her bright green eyes melted into a warm smile.

He unapologetically let his eyes roam across her small frame, stopping only to linger on her mouth as she nibbled her lower lip and stared down nervously. A signature move unique to Clare that he found adorable.

“She isn’t just a client, idiot. This is Clare, one of my friends now. Clare, I don’t know if I ever formally introduced you to my cousin when he was hitting on you in the hall yesterday. This is Rory.” Casey gestured between the two, unaware of the unspoken words passing between them.

“We met before yesterday, actually. Saturday night. I believe your fist was going through my boss’s face?” Clare’s taunting grin stretched from ear to ear as Casey’s jaw dropped and she turned to glare at her brother.

“Seriously, Rory? Dad was talking about O’Leary’s? We go there all the time!” She tossed her hands up in aggravation.

“If it makes you feel any better, it was Cian,” Rory told her, knowing how much Casey disliked him.

“Oh.” Her annoyed look changed at that revelation. “That’s forgivable then. Sorry, Clare, you know men. Complete asses.”

“Maybe other men, but not me. I’m a perfect gentleman.” He winked at Clare while he continued to needle his cousin.

He loved the way Clare’s breath hitched slightly as she scanned his body. Her eyes blatantly traveled over the massive width of the broad shoulders, clearly defined chest, and sculpted abs that he knew were visible through his T-shirt.

He loved that she was ogling him so overtly, without seeming to realize he had noticed. When she did finally glance back up, her cheeks blushed into a deep crimson color. He didn’t let up on her though, because the way she squirmed beneath his gaze—yeah, he loved that. The corner of his lips tilted up.

Clare’s eyes wrenched over to Casey and he immediately missed the sense of connection to her. “Um, I was just popping in to ask you if you had any jumper cables, Casey?” she asked. “My car won’t start.”