The Contender IC

[Ravvyn]

She received a few looks from other gym patrons but wasn't sure if it was because they recognized her or that they were checking her out, regardless she gave them a friendly smile. James brought her out to his car, she supposed he was offering her a lift home something that would be welcome if not for the embarrassing place she called home at the moment.

Reluctantly she got in the car not that she feared him or what he might do, hell he was a big, strong and handsome man but still something nagged at her deep inside. She would soon find out if it was justified or not.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

Pulling out of the parking area he drove with her into one of the more friendly neighborhoods. He stopped in front of a house and got out, he waited for her to join him and then led her to the back of the house where there stood a one bedroom apartment. He unlocked and opened the door, offering her to enter first

"Take a look inside, then tell me what you think"

He took a seat on the stairs and waited for her to return

 

[Ravvyn]

He didn't ask her for her address so he wasn't taking her home, in fact it was the opposite direction. He took her to a nice neighbourhood, a far nicer one than the place she lived in, eventually pulling up to a house and leading her around back to an apartment. He opened the door and told her to take a look around.

The place was immaculate, well-furbished and had enough space for training. She was in love with the place. After wandering around a bit she eventually forced herself back out.

"It's beautiful... but..." The whimsy of it wore off as the reality set in.

"If you're offering it to me. I can't afford it and I don't want charity. I earn my way." she wasn't looking forward to going back to her dungeon and her two hundred roommates who all had the same name C.Roach, but she was wary of what he was offering.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

"You like it, so you can have it"

He got up and pressed the key in her hand, closing her fingers around it

"You will earn it, for now the only thing you will have to do is make me coffee, food and of course clean the dishes"

He pulled a face

"I hate doing dishes so if you accept the offer I will actually be grateful to you. Once we have you going you can start paying rent"

He chuckled

"Did you not notice the very nice bed in the bedroom? Think your body would enjoy that bed right now, or am I wrong?"

 

[Ravvyn]

As much as she wanted to argue with him over lavishing her with such a nice apartment she couldn't argue that she almost collapsed on that bed the moment she saw it. It was kind of weird that all he wanted was basically a maid in return, easy enough chores but wouldn't that be something for a trophy wife to do? Surely someone who had as much success in their career had picked up some playboy model at some point. She didn't however see any ring on his finger, shocking to her considering her previous thoughts on him. What girl didn't want a guy like that?

"Just so we're clear. I cook and clean for you and get that apartment? That's all?" He was too generous, giving her an apartment with no expectation of immediate rent payment. It seemed odd, they'd only met the day before but for whatever reason this guy was pulling out all the stops for her. Was it just because of her boxing? Was he lonely? Was he interested? She would find out the answers to these questions eventually for now she just wanted to collapse.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

"That is all, anything else that is done, will be done because you want to do it"

He had noticed the glance at his hand, but he didn't comment on that

"So Golden Girl, do we have an accord?"

 

[Ravvyn]

She wanted to hold out and say that she didn't feel right accepting what was basically a gift from him but the thought of going back to the crime-riddled rat hole of an apartment she lived in was about as appealing as going back to the gym.

"Play maid for rent and get to train with a boxing legend? Yeah... I think we have an accord." She spoke through a half-smile, relishing the thought of crashing on a real bed and not broken couch.

"Thank you." She followed up with as much sincerity as she could muster, her fortunes were changing and she even felt hopeful that her life was back on track or at least getting there.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

"Good good, now go rest. You made a mistake to tell me that you have the day off. When you get up there will be more training"

He gave her a lopsided grin and then turned to walk to the house, unlocking the back door and closing it behind him as he went inside. He took a quick shower and sat down to set up a training schedule for her. He knew that getting her inside that ring and beating the champion would just cement her name and of course put his name in big bold cast iron letters on the Hall of Fame wall. He chuckled and returned to drafting the schedule and guessed progress.

 

[Ravvyn]

Isabelle didn't need to be told twice to get some rest, it felt like the moment her head hit the pillow she was out. In fact it might have been sooner. She slept straight through the night but as the early hours came on her mind drifted into the past recalling the final moments of her last fight. She could almost feel the punches, recall the loss of equilibrium. Her mind vividly recreated the moments she lay there on the mat, the bell ringing and she watched the people around the ring. In truth she didn't consciously remember anything, she had blacked out but her subconscious seemed to have recorded it all. The bell kept ringing, gradually getting louder and louder, until her conscious mind came to realize it was her alarm going off and not the ring bell.

Her eyes popped open and she sat up quickly a moment of flustered panic as she worried that she was late but the clock read four fifty five and her heart slowly returned to a normal pace. She sighed and rubbed her face, brushing her long blonde hair back as she slipped her legs over the side of the bed. Gradually she pulled herself to her feet, only starting to feel the painful effects of yesterday's training. Maybe it was a mistake telling him she was off from work.

After making her bed she stretched and slipped on some jogging pants and a tank top, filling a bottle with water she stepped outside. It was cold but after a block or two of running it would be more refreshing than condemning. When she returned she would make him coffee and breakfast.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

He had left her to rest, the kid was tired and he did push her a bit, but then again he now had a schedule for her. He prepared his own meals, phoned to make sure everything was fine at the gym, then went to bed early. The next morning he was up at his normal time, he dressed into his gym clothing and left a note for her to meet him at the gym when she was ready. He also left the ankle weights for her with orders to show up wearing them. Half past four he was at the gym, warming up as Jonesy arrived as well.

"Y'know James, that girl has a lot of heart, don't break her"

He looked over at Jonesy

"You didn't break me and I'm sure she will survive it as well"

Jonesy just grunted and sat out the water bottles, James smiled and took the stairs up to the track to start his warm up jog.

 

[Ravvyn]

When she stepped out the door the first thing she saw was a note on the door instructing her to meet at the gym. She then saw the ankle weights he'd left for her and strapped them on with the slightest bit of chagrin. The place wasn't all that far from the gym so she packed up her gym bag, slung it over her back and started at a light jog toward the gym. She didn't want to push too much as she would need all the energy she had to survive what surely would be a long and grueling day with Mr. Lewis. She reached the gym at about five thirty and saw Jonesy already there, James was there too jogging around the track. She smiled and waved at Jonesy, setting her gym bag down before doing some more stretching and heading up the stairs. She waited for James to come around the track again and took up pace beside him.

"Good morning Mr. Lewis." She said with the appropriate amount of respect in her saying of the legends name.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

"Good morning Miss Hackett"

He kept the steady pace he had built up, glad to see that she was wearing the ankle weights. After a few laps to allow her to warm up he started to push the pace. Sure he had been here for some time, she was fresher than him, but yet again he had fitness on his side. Increasing the pace every five laps, soon the pace was punishing, breaths coming in deep gasps, that welcoming burn evident and he was glad to see her keep up. Maybe there was something to this kid after all. He stuck to the pace, waiting to see who would first slack off, him or her.

 

[Ravvyn]

She was feeling a lot better today than yesterday, her body was responding much better to the physical activity it was as if the athlete in her had been awakened and she was back in stride with how she used to be. It was a big wake up call to be training with Lewis, he was renowned for his work ethic and athleticism. She was no slouch in her time either, having been featured on the cover of several fitness magazines.

Izzy managed to keep pace with him, the burn tempting her to slow but it wasn't tempting enough she kept pushing determined to keep going and her body reacted in kind pushing the pain back and allowing adrenaline to drown out the nagging of the tiring muscles.

The pace kept being raised every few laps and he was clearly putting her to the test and likely pushing himself somewhat to. Eventually her body came down from the adrenaline high and despite herself she slowed down slipping behind him until finally it was all she could do to keep a light jog then a walk. Her stomach and legs feeling like someone had taken a blowtorch to them from the inside.

 

[DeathsKnight]

James Lewis

He kept going until he caught up with her, she was improving, but still had a long way to go, he stayed with her as her pace wound down. When she came to a standstill he stopped and took a few deep breaths,

"Right now that you have finished warming up, it's time to work on those legs."

He walked to the stairs and down to the ground floor, he headed for the weight equipment, rope work would follow this, he first had to work out the specific muscle groups in her legs.