Stern Men Always Finish Last

Chapter 20

Nate POV

It was Monday afternoon and I was taking Peanut over to the Academy gym to work with Kevin. This past weekend we had all discussed how in our effort to boost her self-esteem we were also exposing her to additional Academy members. It was a heated debate but in the end we decided that these outings were a blessing in disguise. Sang was always with an Academy member we trusted and who was aware that she was shy around strangers, but at the same time she wasn't a complete secret. The Academy was already asking questions and we had her formal introduction coming up. Going to places that we knew other Academy members would be meant that she would be introduced to them slowly and that the formal introduction would seem less daunting. Now I just had to get my head around the fact that my Peanut would most likely be joining my brothers and I in the Academy. God, I hope we can protect her when the time comes.

We arrive at the gym and I show Sang where she can change into the clothes Gabe packed for her. The fucker better not have packed anything too revealing for her to work out with Kevin. As I'm waiting for her to emerge Kevin arrives and I wave him over and we embrace with a classic guy hug / hard back slap so that you can say it wasn't just a hug.

"Hey Kevin, thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Can I ask why I'm doing this and not you? My whole team seems to be spending a week at a time with your bird, what gives?" He looks at me quizzically.

"She needs to know that she is just as good as us. So by having others teach her things that we are good at she can see that it's not just us who think that. She can keep up. She can trust us when we say that she is amazing." I almost whisper that last sentence but he hears and his eyes widen is recognition.

"You all love her, don't you?"

"With everything that we are; that I am." He nods.

"Well, I know what it's like to love a woman. So I promise that I won't make this easy for her. If she wants to see what training would be like, she'll find out." He says with a wicked grin. Fuck, he's spent too much time with Raven.

"Well, just don't kill her and if you bruise her up too much North is going to have your head. It was hard enough to convince him that she didn't need a suit made of bubble wrap for the week." I honestly wish I was joking about that.

Thankfully, Kevin seems to find the humor in my statement and is belly laughing as Sang comes out of the changing rooms. "Peanut, this is Kevin from Axel Toma's team. Kevin, this is Sang."

Sang mumbles a quiet hello, but Kevin's face lights up with recognition. "You're the bird who pulled the nail out of my brother Marc! Oh, fuck yeah. This will be a great week. I love girls with something to prove!"

I'm not sure if Sang could die from embarrassment at his mention of the nail incident, but her face lights up at his genuine enthusiasm to work with her. "Ok Peanut, I'm going over to the weight room, I'll see you in a few hours. Have fun and call me if you need anything." A quick kiss on her lips and I watch the two of them head off to one of the private practice rooms. It was then that I noticed the black yoga pants with the red stipe down the side that just seem to hug every curve of her body. Gabe had paired it with a red sports tank top that showed off her neck and arms. Fucker. Now I'm going to have to take a cold shower before weight lifting. Damn she looks hot in that.

Two hours later and I'm waiting outside of the girls changing room for Sang. Kevin was chatting me up about her progress. "Seriously dude, she's awesome. It took forever to get her to calm the fuck down at first, but we worked on a bit of meditation and then I got her up and working on her forms. Basic kicks for today, but the girl has some power in her. If you were to get her on a strength training regimen she'd be a force to reckon with. Where the hell did you find her?"