Married to the Dragon

by Selina Coffey

  Chapter One

  I grabbed Lincoln by the back of his shirt collar, as he narrowly missed colliding with the young couple and child exiting the studio.

  “Lincoln, calm down! What’s the rush?” I asked, exasperated, speaking to the air. The blur of movement that was my son escaped from my grasp and dashed through the door. I didn’t know if he had outright failed to acknowledge my question, or simply hadn’t heard me. Either way, I didn’t bother attempting to keep up with him. It was a battle I never won and I realised that it was a futile effort on my part. Besides, he was in a closed room with lots of other kids; he wouldn’t get that far.

  I studied the room as Lincoln came to a halt about ten feet in front of me and stopped to turn around. He smiled mischievously in my direction as I did my best to look serious, although I couldn’t stop the hint of a smile pulling at the edges of my lips. Lincoln was a handful, but he was a sweet kid through and through.

  As I neared him, I took note of the gleaming wood floors and the mirrors that lined the entire right side of half the studio. The room was pretty large: one half boasted gleaming wooden flooring, the other was covered in mats of various sizes. Children ranging from ages four to twelve were bustling about wearing white karate uniforms. I had heard them referred to as karategi and couldn’t wait to see Lincoln in one.

  As I predicted, Lincoln didn’t get too far; an attractive woman dressed in a karategi stepped away from a class and extended her hand, blocking Lincoln from going any further.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa where are you going so fast?” she asked, looking around for a parent. I guiltily waved in her direction and the woman gave me a dismissive look. She was clearly unimpressed with my parenting skills (or lack thereof, as the case might be).

  “Is this your son?” she asked me when I came within earshot. I nodded and reached for Lincoln’s hand. He gave me a questioning look, with big brown eyes, sensing the woman’s distaste for him, me, the situation or all of the above.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. He’s quite energetic so he got away from me. He’s normally well-behaved but he’s been so excited to learn karate. It’s all he’s talked about for weeks.”

  The woman didn’t return my smile and continued as if I hadn’t said a word. “We teach discipline and restraint here. Are you sure your son will adjust to this environment? He seems to be lacking---.”

  The woman stopped abruptly as I looked at her sharply, a scathing retort was on the tip of my tongue when a warm voice said behind me, “That’s enough, Ronan. I’m sure you’re needed elsewhere.”

  I didn’t turn around to see who was talking to us, given that I was giving Ronan my version of a death stare. As I glared, Ronan gave the person behind me a weak smile and then quickly began to explain herself, “I just want to make sure the child is a good fit---”

  “The child has a name,” I growled, “And that name is Lincoln.”

  Ronan’s expression moved from feigned concern to irritation as she opened her mouth to speak. I placed my hand on my hip and turned my body completely in her direction, waiting for Ronan’s response, when the person behind me stepped into view, shot Ronan a warning look and knelt down next to Lincoln.

  Although I was angry, I wasn’t angry enough to not notice that this new arrival was gorgeous. Even as he squatted next to my son, I realized that he was a large man. All sinewy muscle, with wide shoulders and an expansive chest, he gave me an apologetic smile as he looked up at me, our eyes locking. His light blue eyes held mine for a moment before he reluctantly broke eye contact with me and turned to address Lincoln.

  “So are you ready to learn karate?”

  “Yes, sir” Lincoln said saluting the man as if he were an officer. The man laughed and said, “My name’s Jonathan. Is this beautiful woman next to me your mom?”

  I blushed as Lincoln nodded solemnly, “Yes, her name’s Mia, but I just call her Mom.”

  “Well, I think that next time your mom asks you to do something, you should. It’s a sign of respect and respect is very important, Lincoln.”

  Lincoln nodded his head, taking in every word. He looked up at me “Sorry, Mom for running off like that,” he whispered as I ruffled his hair and smiled thankfully at Jonathan. Ronan watched the entire exchange with displeasure etched across her face and then muttered a barely audible, “Excuse me,” before she disappeared back into the crowd.

  Jonathan stood up as she left and said, “You’ll have to forgive Ronan. She’s one of our best instructors, but her people skills are definitely lacking.”

  I noted that as Jonathan spoke, he subtly checked me out. I shifted from foot to foot, holding on to Lincoln’s hand, suddenly uncomfortable under Jonathan’s gaze. He was well over my own 5’10” stature and I immediately noticed he had beautiful hands. Hands that I imagined a musician would have, instead of someone who made his living showing other people how to defend themselves. I also noted that he didn’t wear a ring and blushed, trying to get my thoughts back on track.

  “I guess I should formally introduce myself, I’m Jonathan Warren. I’m the owner.”

  I extended my hand and Jonathan’s warm hand slid into my own. He had a striking, white smile as well and I found myself immediately attracted to him.

  “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mia Sanders and you already met my son, Lincoln.”

  He smiled at Lincoln and Lincoln smiled back at him, giving him a wide toothy grin.

  Self-consciously, I brushed at my wrinkled work clothes, now extremely aware of my dishevelled appearance. I sighed to myself as I tried to smooth down the wrinkles of my skirt and pretended the stain on my white blouse was non-existent. I knew that I had left the house perfectly clean and presentable this morning, but as soon as I picked up Lincoln from school and grabbed a quick dinner for the two of us, it had all changed. There was nothing I could do about it now, I thought resignedly. Instead I just hoped my light brown curly hair that stuck up in a million directions on a daily basis was still controlled by the pony-tail I had pulled it into earlier. I attempted to subtly look in the mirror across from where we stood and wanted to scream in frustration when I caught a glimpse of myself. Strands of my hair had escaped from the hair clip which seemed to be hanging haphazardly to one side.

  I reached up and patted at my hair, trying to be discrete as I removed the hair clip and released the few curls it had been holding in place. I focused my own large brown eyes on him and he smiled with unconcealed amusement.

  “Let me take you to my secretary. She can handle everything for you.”

  “Great,” I said forcing my voice to sound chipper.

  He led me down the hall and through another door which I realised led to another side of the building. We walked a couple of feet with Lincoln singing along the way and Jonathan gave me a significant parting glance before leaving me at his secretary’s desk.

  “See you in class, Lincoln” he said to my son and disappeared down the hall.

  I didn’t realize that I had been staring in his direction until the secretary cleared her throat and gave me a wry smile and a knowing look.

  I blushed and looked away.

  Chapter Two

  “So then he says to me, ‘How about a nightcap?’ and I’m like, seriously, dude? You bought me a hot dog for dinner, tried to grope me under the table and then forgot my name and called me Melissa half the night,” Luzianne stopped to take a breath and looked at me strangely, “Hello? Earth to Mia. Are you even listening?”

  I looked up at her, batting my eyelashes a couple of times. I hadn’t been listening. I wasn’t even aware that she still had been talking.

  “What’s on your mind lately?” She asked, now sounding pouty. Luzianne was probably one of my best friends and we had a weird relationship. She had been my mother’s best friend before my mother had passed away when I was eighteen. Somehow we both had needed each other to fill that gap my mother’s death had left in our lives, albeit in different ways. So we had developed a relationship that most people
would assume was more of a mother and daughter relationship, but no. Luzianne was in her mid-fifties, wore gaudy jewellery, tight clothing, could swear like a sailor and there was nothing motherly about her at all.

  I, on the other hand, could be probably nominated for sainthood as far as Luzianne was concerned. I was too much of a goody-two shoes for her taste and so she treated it as her personal mission to convince me to take risks and do things that were outside of my comfort zone. Normally that meant trying a new restaurant or buying shoes with higher heels. She was also my personal cheerleader but was pretty harsh on me when it came to my dating life. Or rather: non-existent dating life.

  “I’m sorry, Luz, I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

  “All related to boring stuff, I’m sure.”

  “Hey, my life isn’t boring!”

  “Oh really, when’s the last time you had any real adventure? Passion?”

  I laughed and ran a hand through my hair, “I don’t really do passion or adventure, you know that.”

  “Yeah, that’s a pity.”

  I ignored her and she said, “So what did you think of that karate studio I sent you to? Isn’t the owner hot?”

  “Wow, is that why you suggested it? Not because of the five-star reviews or its proximity to our house, work and Lincoln’s school?” I frowned, already knowing the answer to the question.

  “Oh please! I didn’t consider any of those things. I just happened to be walking by one day and ran into that hunk of a man and noticed that he wasn’t wearing a ring.”

  “I knew I should have been suspicious as soon as you mentioned the place.”

  “What? You said Lincoln was interested in martial arts and I helped guide you to the world’s sexiest ninja. You should be thanking me.”

  I shook my head. Luz was incorrigible and it was one of the things I loved about her. It was what made her non-profit organization, Sydney’s Angels, which I worked for too, successful. Sydney was my mother’s name and Luz had started the organization while I was still in college. My mother had been a passionate educator and spent her weekends tutoring underprivileged children in the surrounding communities. In her memory, Luz had started an organization that provided that same service, plus more. It had grown into one of the most successful non-profits in the area. Luz handled all the fun stuff like public relations, marketing and fundraising. I handled all the mundane stuff like grant writing, operations and accounting. We made a dynamic team.

  “Hey, I meant to remind you before you leave today: We have the annual city non-profit conference coming up. There’s a sponsor paying for everything, so if you want to go and do a little networking it wouldn’t hurt, plus it’s free.”

  “Hmm....I don’t know, Lincoln’s at an age where----”

  “…He can spend a couple of nights away from his mother. He’s old enough.”

  I thought it over, “Well I guess... if it’s not too much of a hassle for you to take Lincoln that weekend....”

  “A hassle? To take care of my godson? Hush your mouth! You know Lincoln and I are as thick as thieves.”

  I shook my head, “Yeah, that’s sort of part of the problem.”

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that and just contact the coordinator to be sure your name is added to the guest list.”

  “Sounds good,” I said walking away and heading to my office. I was busy and didn’t notice that the clock finally hit four. Lincoln tumbled through the door accompanied by our next door neighbour Mrs. Leonard who brought Lincoln to the office every day after school.

  “Hey Mom!” Lincoln yelled and promptly headed to Luz’s room for snacks. “Thanks for dropping him off Mrs. Leonard.” I said waving in her direction.

  “No problem,” she said heading quickly back out to her car, where I knew her kids sat waiting patiently for her. She was a stay at home mom who had twins in the same class as Lincoln. We traded carpooling every other week.

  “So are you ready to get your karate on?” I heard Luz asking Lincoln, who responded with “Heeyaw! Hiyaw!” and I heard the tell-tale sign of a coffee cup dropping and hitting the floor. Apparently he was ready for karate, but I wasn’t sure the office was.

  That evening, I watched from the sidelines, as I admired Lincoln with pride as he finished up the last of the moves his teacher was guiding his class through. He looked so focused and serious. I had to wrap my head around the fact that my little boy was all grown up.

  “He’s looking good,” a voice said behind me and my pulse immediately quickened. I shyly turned around and made eye contact with Jonathan who stood there in his karate uniform looking unbelievably handsome. The loose fitting nature of the uniform did nothing to hide the fact that his body was nothing but solid, lean muscle.

  I tried to keep my eyes from misbehaving, but it was as if my brain had a mind of its own and wouldn’t stop devouring every detail of Jonathan’s delectable body.

  “He’s really enjoying this. It makes him happy. Probably the happiest I’ve seen him since, I don’t know...Christmas?”

  Jonathan laughed, “Most kids really enjoy the experience. You know some of the parents get together to go to competitions with the kids. You and your husband should consider attending one,” he said giving me a sly look.

  “Oh, I’m not married. Happily divorced actually. Lincoln’s father lives on a completely different continent.”

  “Oh well, I’m not going to pretend that I’m not happy to hear that,”

  I did a double take, not expecting that response.

  “What?” he said innocently.

  “I just think...umm...that we should keep our relationship professional since you’re the owner of the dojo and all,” I said knowing that I sounded prudish, but completely caught off guard by Jonathan’s reaction to me not being married. Being out of practice when it came to talking to men, I had instantly gone into retreat mode.

  Jonathan stared at me and then shrugged, his normally open expression now suddenly guarded, “If that’s what you would like to do, then sure. Forgive me if you thought I was being crass.” He finished formally and I wanted to kick myself for being such a prude.

  “I didn’t think you were being crass. I’m sorry, I’m just...” and my voice trailed off as I tried to find the right words.

  “Not used to the attention of a devastatingly handsome man such as myself?” Jonathan said with a straight-face.

  “Well, I wouldn’t use those exact words,” I said smiling despite herself.

  “No? Maybe devilishly handsome?”

  I shook my head enjoying his sense of humour that completely made the awkwardness I felt earlier fade away.

  “More like sort of on the cute side.”

  “Nonsense, cute is for kittens. I’m insanely good-looking,” he said with mock outrage and made a rude sound with his mouth.

  Caught off guard by his silly sense of humour, I couldn’t help but laugh and he laughed with me. He was about to say something else when we were interrupted by Ronan who had a very irritated look on her face.

  “Tina’s looking for you,” she said to Jonathan, whilst giving me an evil look. I ignored her and Jonathan said, “Tell her that I’ll be right there.”

  He turned away from Ronan dismissively and she stalked off.

  “I think someone likes you and is probably not too happy with you showing another woman any attention.”

  Jonathan frowned, the playful expression now gone from his face. “She was always the possessive type. That’s the reason we broke up.”

  “You dated her? You work with someone you dated?”

  “We dated three days in middle school. She saw me talking to Monica Felipe and freaked out. Tossed her yoghurt on me.” Jonathan said shaking his head.

  “And she’s carried a torch since then?”

  “What can I say? I’m apparently unforgettable.”

  “Or she’s certifiable...”

  “You might actually be right,” he said with a harsh laugh. “We g
rew up together, went to the same schools, trained in the same dojos. So she can get a little mother hen with me sometimes.”

  “No kidding...”

  “Anyway, enough about Ronan. Can I see you sometime, Mia? Outside of the dojo?” he asked catching me off-guard.

  I stuttered, “Yes, that would be great.”

  “Sometime this week maybe?”

  “I’m going out of town this weekend. I have so much to do before I leave, making sure Lincoln’s settled.”

  “I understand,” he said. “I have an engagement this weekend as well. I guess I should prepare for it instead of just showing up and winging it.” Before I could ask about his engagement, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Does it sound desperate if I ask if next weekend would be more suitable?”

  “Doesn’t sound desperate at all. Next weekend sounds great.”

  “Good, so I’ll call you later to make plans.”

  “Sounds good,” I said feeling my heart race in anticipation and Jonathan smiled at me before walking away. I watched him, giving his long legs, slim waist and broad shoulders an appreciative once-over.

  And then remembering that we hadn’t exchanged numbers, I yelled, “Hey, Jonathan!”

  He turned around and came back over to me, smiling.

  “Already missed me?”

  I shook my head at his corny joke and said, “You don’t have my number.”

  “Yes, I do. I was just going to find it in Lincoln’s file. Does that sound creepy?”

  “Umm... just a little bit,” I said flippantly and he laughed saying,

  “I’m looking forward to next weekend already, Mia. That’s for sure...” And he allowed his eyes to travel down my body and I resisted the urge to look away when his eyes came back to mine. I gave a little smile, feeling daring and he returned it with a smile of his own, before turning around and walking confidently away.