Chapter 54: You did not fall in love with me.

As he parked his bike inside the gym building, he saw many ladies from yesterday. They smiled and some waved at him. As he was in their class, he waved back at them.

Locking the bike, he walked ahead and entered the class. The time was 06:58 AM, and Josefina was not here yet. Max went to the corner, picked up a pair of gloves, and wrapped the straps tight around his wrists. Then he stood in front of the sandbag, adjusting his stance and rolling his shoulders loose.

He raised both hands calmly, left foot forward, right foot back, knees slightly bent, his weight balanced on the balls of his feet, memories flowing naturally inside his head, Tom Aspinall’s experience guiding him, how to rotate the hips, how to shift weight, how to let the whole body drive the punch instead of just the arm.

*ZWWOPP* *THANG*

His fist shot out like a piston, shoulder turning, hips snapping, back leg pushing the floor. The punch sank deep into the bag and the iron chain rattled loudly on the ceiling as the whole thing swung back hard. Max was shocked at his own power. The ladies who were beside him were shocked as well. Then he saw Josefina entering, wearing a sports bra and tight sport shorts that hugged her figure, clearly bolder than yesterday.

” Ladies we are going to first train our bodies on the mill, this one doesn’t need any, so I’ll teach him a few moves if you don’t mind? ”

Josefina came in and clapped her hands once to gather attention. All ten of them, including Max, turned toward her. She calmly guided everyone toward the treadmills like usual, setting speeds, adjusting posture with her hands, fixing shoulders and hips, telling them not to lean too much or waste stamina. The machines started humming one after another, the steady sound filling the large gym floor.

She walked down the line slowly, watching each of them for a minute, making sure their breathing stayed even and their steps stayed light, correcting one girl’s footing, tapping another’s knee to bend it properly. Then after seeing everyone settle into rhythm, she stepped away and looked at Max, her eyes sharpening a little. There was no need for him to warm up like the others.

It excited her a bit, finally someone who could keep up with her pace, someone she didn’t have to go easy on. After all, she was a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and very few people could stand across from her without backing down.

Max saw Josefina gesturing for him to come to the mat. She had already cleared a small space and laid it out properly. The others were busy on the treadmills, so the corner was quiet. It looked like she had prepared it to battle it out with him, her stance relaxed but ready, eyes locked on him like a fighter waiting for the bell. Max didn’t shy away either. He walked over calmly and stepped onto the mat without hesitation, rolling his shoulders once and loosening his wrists, treating it like normal practice.

It was fun for him, and she was a great teacher. Every round with her felt real and sharp, not soft training. Every move had weight behind it and she never held back just because he was new, which made the practice feel honest and useful. The Tom Aspinall heavy imprint skill also needed real experience to level up or something like that. Memories alone weren’t enough. Knowing something in the head and doing it with the body were two different things.

He had also noticed his new body was already better than Tom Aspinall’s. It could slowly adapt even against a featherweight challenger like Josefina in pure speed while still carrying his full 118 kg heavyweight mass. He didn’t feel slow or stiff at all. Instead, he felt balanced and controlled, like strength and speed were finally working together.

I need to level it up, let’s see what she got.

” Maxi, hi, you didn’t even give me a hug, I thought we became friends yesterday ”

*Zwooop* *Thaas*

Josefina was already light on her feet as she jumped around the mat, moving left and right, her heels barely touching the ground, her body loose and relaxed like a spring. Max tried to bounce like her but quickly realized he was too heavy for that kind of footwork right now. Every step of his carried weight and the mat dipped slightly under him. He understood right away that he couldn’t copy her style perfectly yet and had to stay grounded instead. With practice he knew he could do it. His body was adaptable after all.

She kept circling him and gesturing with her fingers for him to move, encouraging him to stay active and not stand still, showing him with her own steps. So he adjusted his stance and began stepping forward and back, shoulders tight, hands up, slowly matching her rhythm.

Before he could fully settle, she suddenly dropped low without warning and spun on the floor, her leg sweeping out in a fast clean arc and smacking against his arm with shocking flexibility, the motion so smooth it barely made a sound. He didn’t feel pain because of his build, but he knew if it was any normal man, that strike alone would have dislocated something.

” You’re a Latina alright, feisty like fire ”

Max smiled at first, but the confusion on his face slowly faded and was replaced by seriousness. This Latina looked like a tiger when she got fired up, her eyes sharp and locked onto him like prey, and she was clearly annoyed now just because he didn’t give her a hug. He didn’t fully believe that reason, but looking into her gaze, he calmly raised his guard and prepared for worse.

” I am a Latina, does that bother you? If you were not this good at fighting, I wouldn’t fall in love with you ”

*ZWOOP* *CLAP*

She came in with aggression once again, her feet sliding fast across the mat, body low and light. She stepped in and threw a sharp left straight toward his face. Max saw it clearly and tilted his head just enough to avoid it, but before he could reset, her right hand followed even faster, whipping in like a tight hook, so loose and flexible it almost looked like she didn’t have bones in her arm. Max raised his guard on instinct and barely blocked it, the impact smacking hard against the back of his hand and sending a small sting up his wrist.

She didn’t stop there. Her shoulders kept rolling, another jab, then a body feint, then a quick step to his side, testing his balance, forcing him to turn with her. Max stayed grounded and calm, elbows tucked in, reading every movement, letting her strikes glance off his guard instead of chasing her speed, the mat thudding softly under his weight each time he pivoted.

” You did not fall in love with me ”

Max glanced at the red bruise forming on the back of his hand and smiled lightly, then looked Josefina straight in the eyes, but seeing how serious she actually was, her gaze sharp and burning without even a hint of a joke, his smile slowly stiffened.

” I could not sleep last night for you, and you dare to laugh at me? “

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep