"Kinda, I guess," he said, choosing to stop training since they were taking at the moment. "5th ranked middleweight. I beat him, I might get a fight with the champ."
It was hard to tell if he was downplaying it on purpose or he truly thought it wasn't that big of a deal."
“Oh, just the champ you know, no big deal,” She replied sarcastically, though a small smile was on her face showing she was semi impressed at his skill, “Is that the last fight you have if you don’t win?” Looking at her fingernails, she guessed Barry already left, though she didn’t really want to leave right away - talking to him was fun.
He shook his head. "Nah, I signed a contract. Even if I loose this next one, I have two more fights to rebound. Obviously, they'll give me a larger one if I get the belt."
She nodded, her head tipping to the side slightly, “Have you won the belt before?” Vanessa didn’t know much about the fighting he did, she just knew it looked difficult. It intrigued her though, even if she wanted to come to his next fight, she couldn’t be caught there otherwise the rumors of her dating him from today would grow even more.
Lee shook his head. "Never. This is the first time I've even gotten close."
Lee was secretly hoping she stayed as well, but he never let himself get too hopeful. Too many disappointments do that to people.
A smile crossed her face for a second and she pushed herself away from the wall, wandering around the studio to give herself something to do so she didn’t have to leave immediately, “Well then, you better win Mr. amazing abs. I think you have a good shot at it.”
"Moving people are a lot harder to punch than a hanging sack of sand," he said, giving the punching bag a hearty slap. "Especially when they like to punch you back."
“Yeah, it’s not usually as fun when they punch back,” She smiled and laughed lightly, going over to the bag by him and punching it jokingly, “Though even punching a bag of sand and actually moving it without breaking your hand is quite hard, tried it once.”
He shrugged, leaning into bag slightly. "Just takes practice, man. Normal people don't throw punches correctly."
Vanessa raised an eyebrow, arms crossing, “How do you throw a punch correctly? I’m fairly certain I’m not doing it right.” She punched the bag again halfheartedly and looked to him. Learning how to throw a good punch was something she probably needed to learn, it would be a helpful skill to know if creepy fans got too close. Plus, it was an excuse for her to spend more time here.
"A punch - a real punch - should use your whole body instead of just slinging your arm out. It's all about the hips," he said, "a lot like how a baseball swing uses your hips, too."
“Baseball is easy enough,” She agreed, trying to transfer the hip movements from baseball into her punch. She still didn’t hit it hard but she did use the tip he showed her, probably failing quite horribly In the process, “Am I doing this right? It doesn’t feel like I am.”
He let a small smile escape his lips. "More twist. Generate the power from the hips instead of your arm." Lee demonstrated in slow motion.
Vanessa rolled her eyes but watched what he was doing, copying the move right after as well as she could, “Better?” She wanted to learn how to throw a correct punch, but getting the movement and power from her hips was difficult.
Lee sighed, "Close, but not exactly."
After a moment's deliberation, he moved behind where she was standing and gently put his hands on a safe place near her hips so it wouldn't look like he was copping a feel.
"You have to actually twist, not pivot," he said, guiding her body to use the correct form.
A faint blush covered her cheeks at his hands near her hips, though she ignored it the best she could and followed what he was showing her. Punching out jokingly at the same time, she looked at him, “That better? Or worse?”
He pulled his hands away from her and nodded. Lee was careful to give her distance after touching her.
"A lot better," he assured, "But it can always improve."
“So twist my hips to get power and then punch,” She said, mostly to herself as she copied what he did again and actually punched the bag. It hurt a little but she looked to Lee and silently asked the same question as before.
Lee let another small grin slip onto his lips. "Yeah, that was alright. It's not like you're ready to get into the cage or anything, but it was alright."
She rolled her eyes and a small smile twitched at her lips, “Want do you mean? I think you’re just worried I’d beat you,” She said sarcastically. Knowing how to punch was going to come in handy with paparazzi, and it was a good way to take her anger out if she was mad.
"I'm terrified," he said seriously, giving her a playful nudge. "I think Barry might be waiting for you in the car."
“He’s long gone,” She replied with a wave of her hand and a shrug, “I’ll just take a taxi, I don’t really like driving with him anyway.” Her small smile grew and she playfully punched him back, “Right answer, you should be terrified of me.”
"Shivering in my boots," he said, slipping off his gloves and tossing them to the floor. He doubted he would be doing any more training today.
"So," he said, gesturing around the small gym, "What do you think?"
Vanessa looked around and was silent for a moment before she answered, “It’s really cool actually. I don’t think I’ve been in a gym like this before though, with all the fighting equipment.” She glanced at him before starting to walk around the gym, “Do you train here every day?”
"Pretty much," he said with a shrug, giving the punching bag a light jab. "I'm either here, or I'm at my house. Don't ever really go anywhere else."
(Just watch the first 3 seconds)
("Is this guy mocking my for my superior thickness? Not everyone can have a fat ass.")
(XDXDXD)
She raised an eyebrow and looked over at him, hand brushing over some of the equipment, “Wow, you’re even more secluded than I am, and that’s sayin’ something.”
Lee pulled a face. "I make a living punching people in the face. People will see me walking on the same side of the street as them and cross to not be close to me. I apparently have a 'scary demeanor.'"
“Yeah, people are like that, though I have to say, you don’t seem that scary right now.” She shrugged and wandered around some more, eventually making her way around the whole gym and back to where he was.
