More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,14

buzz cut. He wore a ripped-up T-shirt with a colorful sleeve of tats decorating one arm. Oranges and reds and blues bleeding together, telling a story that only he knew. I’d admired his ink when we first met, and he said it was a reminder of where he’d been, and where he was now. I didn’t push it. The dude was intense, and I liked him. There was no bullshit where he was concerned.

I sparred for the next fifteen minutes with Gio shouting out tips from beside the ring. We’d been matched well, and we each took the other down a few times.

We pounded fists at the end. The dude I sparred with studied me. His name was Simon and he was a big deal around the gym. “Nice work. You new?”

“I’ve been at it a few weeks, yeah.”

“Fuck,” he said with a laugh, and raised a brow at his trainer who stood beside Gio. “I’ve been at it for years. I’m probably the best fighter in this gym.”

“You are the best fighter in this gym,” his trainer interrupted with a chuckle.

“I’m not so sure, brother. This guy just held his own against me. I wasn’t holding anything back.” He nodded at me before climbing out of the ring.

It felt good to be focused on something. Working at something. Not controlled by booze and pills and all the other bullshit. Not a slave to something that was destroying my life. I hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten until I’d stepped away. That’s the thing about addiction. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. I rubbed the pad of my thumb over Jade’s fingernail marks on my forearm.

Always a reminder.

I guess in a way I was like Gio. My ink told a story too. Of a place I’d been and would never return.

“Nice job, buddy.” Gio clapped my shoulder and we walked over to the mats.

“Thanks.”

“How’d you like sparring?”

“It was cool. You have to be alert and on your game, that’s for damn sure,” I said, wiping my face with a towel.

“No kidding. But you’ve got natural talent. If you ever want to quit the band, you could fight for a living.” He smirked.

“Nah, I like working out with you, and I don’t mind sparring at all. But I like that I do it as an outlet, not as another thing I have to do. That’s why I don’t work out with the guys. This is something just for me and I don’t want to share it with anyone.”

I realized in that moment that so much of my life was shared. My private life had been splashed all over the tabloids and social media. Everyone knew I’d gone to rehab, and hell, I didn’t give a shit. But at some point, I needed something that was just mine. What Jade and I shared—it was just ours. Sure, our relationship had been scrutinized, but she’d remained very private, and she’d always protected what we had. I hadn’t realized the importance of that until now. Now that there was a gaping hole in my life that I couldn’t fill.

“I get that, man. Good for you. That’s how it should be.” Gio handed me a bottle of water, and I downed it in one swig.

“Are you meeting the guys now?” I asked.

“Yeah. They don’t last as long as you, so I’ll be lucky to have them for an hour.” He crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled.

“Alright. I’ll catch you tomorrow,” I said, and we pounded fists.

I headed back to my place and grabbed a shower. It was nice having our home base back in Chicago versus the tour bus. We didn’t have long stints at home, but I’d take what I could get. We were heading out for a two-week tour of back-to-back shows. We’d agreed to a European tour in the fall, but it was half the shows we’d played last year, so it would be easier to manage. And I’d allow myself time to adapt to the time change, instead of finding ways to sleep when my body wasn’t ready to. I’d learned