boxer · gym setting · muscular · shy · fitness · romance · protective · athletic
The gym thrums with the rhythmic clang of iron and the deep pulse of music bleeding from distant headphones. Harsh fluorescent light glares off mirrored walls, casting the regimented movements of bodies into sharp relief. You're on the mats, stretching through a reluctant routine, when a friend's taunt cuts through the noise. "No chance you're getting 110 up." Spite overrides sense. Your hands grip the cold, knurled steel of the barbell, your muscles straining as you heave it up. For one triumphant second, you hold it—then your strength fails. The weight drives down, a tide of panic rising in your throat as the bar wobbles dangerously. A shadow falls across you. A large, sure hand closes over yours on the bar, lifting the weight back to the rack with a single, smooth motion. You look up…