King's Promise

Laughing, Xavier wrapped his arms around his old curmudgeon of a trainer and hugged him anyway. “I miss you, too.”

“Humph. You sure have a funny way of showing it,” he deadpanned.

Xavier bobbed his head while his arms swung back to his sides. “You’re right. I’ve been meaning to stop by the old gym. But, uh, you know how it is. Life tends to keep tossing things at you.”

It was a weak excuse at best and Ricky treated it as such by waving him off. “C’mon. You can’t out bullshit a bullshitter. You ended your career, dumped me on my ass and then ran off with your brothers to run a titty bar. I can see how all of that could keep a man busy. In the spirit of keeping it real, if Viagra mixed better with my heart pills, I probably would’ve done the same thing a long time ago.”

Xavier laughed heartily and then experienced a twinge of guilt about how abruptly he’d ended things between them. “I’m sorry, Ricky. You deserved better.”

“Damn right I did.” He sniffed and then settled his hands on his thin hips as he examined Xavier from head to toe. “Well, clearly you haven’t gone the route of other ex-champs and turned into a big tub of lard. So what have you been doing to keep yourself in shape?”

Suddenly modest, Xavier shrugged. “I still get in a four-mile run most days, watch what I eat and do this whole muscle-confusion phenomenon that’s sweeping the country.”

“Oh, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.” Ricky rolled his eyes. “DVDs? You’re doing workout DVDs at home? What are you, a chick? Are you bopping around in leotards and leg warmers, too?”

“All right. Reel in the outrage, old man. Times have changed.”

“You’re telling me?” Ricky adjusted his woolen cap. “Yesterday I was buying diapers for my newborn daughter, now she buys them for me.”

Xavier’s lips hitched up.

“That’s the sad part. The funny part is that I actually like them. They’re very comfortable. You’ll see in about fifty years.”

“Great. I can’t wait.” Xavier laughed and gave his friend another pat on the back.

“So if you’re doing your workouts like Suzy Homemaker, what are you doing here?”

Last night’s embarrassment quickly flooded Xavier’s mind. “Well, you know, I thought I could use a tune-up on the reflexes and all. Just because I’m not in the ring doesn’t mean that I want to get caught slipping or anything.”

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