by York, Marie
“Goodbye, Viper.”
“Maybe next time,” I said, and she rolled her eyes.
She could roll those eyes all she wanted because I knew damn well that one of these days, I’d have her bent over the hood of her car, and she was going to love every fucking second of it.
***
Brooklyn
I got home, locked all the locks and made a quick check of the apartment. Once I knew I was safe, I pulled out the paper Nixon had given to me. I scanned it over and sighed. Nixon’s meal plan wasn’t going to be easy, especially on my salary, but I was determined to get healthier and stronger. I would pick up extra shifts at the diner if I had to. Tips weren’t the greatest, but some customers were generous enough and those few would make all the difference.
Besides, I couldn’t continue to live off of Ramen and dollar store frozen dinners. If my past didn’t catch up and kill me then the sodium intake alone would.
I opened my cabinets and scanned the little bit of food I had stacked away. It wasn’t much, but I was trying to save my money in case I needed to drop everything and leave. Wasting money on food seemed pointless to me. But I made the first step by going to that gym, the second step by meeting with a trainer and a third by committing. All baby steps, but they were leading toward the biggest step of all. They were leading me toward putting roots in a place.
I was done running. I grabbed a garbage bag and filled it up with all the food that wasn’t on my meal plan. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out though, so I placed it to the side.
After a much needed shower, I lifted a floorboard in my bedroom and pulled out the cookie tin I kept hidden beneath the surface. I opened it, revealing my emergency stash: cash, passport, Fake ID and a list of places where someone could go and disappear.
I took a hundred dollars and put everything back in place. One day, I wouldn’t need an emergency stash. One day I’d be able to live in harmony instead of fear, but until then, I continued to take precautions.
I dropped the food off at the church down the road before heading to the supermarket.
The priest was happy to take the food for their soup kitchen and I felt good knowing it wouldn’t go to waste. I had been in those shoes myself and to give back was the least I could do.
Cars filled almost every spot in the supermarket parking lot. I drove up and down the aisles, looking for a place to park. A spot opened but it was between two big pickup trucks, so I decided against it. I preferred something that wasn’t so tightly hidden.
Finally, a spot next to a Prius and a Camry opened up and I claimed it as mine. With the car in park, I gave a quick glance around the parking lot before getting out. I kept my focus on the door, but let my eyes continue to comb the surrounding areas. My muscles tightened as I hurried to the door. Inside with people and security cameras, I’d feel safer.
I continued and all seemed to be clear. Thank God. The tension in my shoulders eased as I stepped through the sliding glass door. I grabbed a cart and took out the list.
Nixon’s handwriting was barely legible but that didn’t surprise me. He was active and full of energy, I’m sure it was hard for him to sit still for long to compose a list. I headed to the vegetable aisle first and looked at all the options. I usually bought canned vegetables since they had great shelf life, buying fresh seemed like a luxury that I never had.
“You look lost.” I jumped at the unexpected voice and the slight caress of warm breath against my ear.
I spun, annoyed that I let vegetables take down my guard. My fear dissipated when my eyes met Nixon’s. He was still in his gym clothes, but smelled like freshly applied deodorant.
“I…” I took a deep breath, swallowing down my nerves. “I’m afraid I won’t eat all these vegetables in time and they’ll go to waste.”
“Frozen works too,” he said.
“It does?” The excitement in my voice was impossible to ignore and Nixon laughed. It was far from the stone-cold demeaner he tended to carry at most times. The simple movement, curved his lips and softened his features.
“Of course.”
“Okay then I’ll get frozen.” An awkward silence spread between us, though I doubt much made Nixon feel awkward. I glanced down at my list and pointed to a word I couldn’t read. “What’s this?” I asked.
“Can’t read my handwriting?”
“It was a bit of a challenge.”
“I never did have nice handwriting. My parents used to give me hell for it. My dad called it chicken scratch and an embarrassment unlike my sisters whose was perfect.” A darkness swept across his features at the mention of his sister. “Anyway, let me see.” He looked at the paper and nodded. “Stevia, it’s a natural sweetener and better than sugar, but also much sweeter so you don’t need nearly as much.”
“Where would I find that?”
He smirked, and though I never thought I’d be able to swoon at man’s charm ever again, I found my legs weakened. “I’m heading that way. I’ll show you.”
Years of experience, told me to walk away, men were evil and he’d hurt me. But I knew that wasn’t true. Nixon might have been a fighter in the cage, a vicious animal, but outside the octagon, though he had rough edges, he wasn’t evil. He’d never hurt me, physically at least, and I had vowed to trust him.
I pushed aside years of embedded irrational thoughts and followed him. I still hadn’t won the battle, but bit by bit, I was building my strength, and whether Nixon knew it or not, he was the one helping me get there both physically and mentally.
Chapter 6
Nixon
The sun began to rise, as I rounded the block and slowed my pace. Sweat dripped from my forehead, and my t-shirt clung to my chest. Five miles before six a.m. was the only way to start my day.
I jogged up to my apartment and watched as old man Peters stuck his head out of his curtain and looked down at me. I swore he had supersonic hearing because every single time I came and went from this building, he poked his goddamned head out. I assumed he was a paranoid old bastard, so I always made sure to look suspicious just to fuck with him.
I stuck my hand in my pocket and looked around like I just came from a drug deal. His eyes followed every movement, and with one last glance around, I ran into the building.
Think on that, you nosy asshole.
Inside my apartment, I grabbed a towel from the closet and wiped the sweat from my face, which only made me think of Brooklyn once she had finished her work out on the treadmill. That fucking chick. I couldn’t get her out of my head. Then I had seen her at the store and couldn’t help but to walk up to her. I could have easily walked away, but watching her standing there in the middle of the vegetables, I felt compelled to get as close to her as possible. Smell her flowery scent and get another glimpse of those eyes, gray pools that seemed to go on forever.
She was like a gnat that just wouldn’t go away. She wasn’t even my type. One of her tits alone weighed more than most of the girls I’ve fucked.
Thinking about her tits made my dick rock hard. I tossed the towel in the laundry, stepped in the shower, grabbed hold of my dick. I stroked from root to tip, and imagined fucking her pretty little mouth. It didn’t take long before I blew my load. As it poured out of me, and down the drain, I wondered if Brooklyn would spit or swallow.
Not that it mattered, I’d probably never know. I was pretty sure she was scared of me. It was the only explanation of why every time I went near her, she jumped. I knew I had a reputation, but that didn’t mean I was going to try and fuck every girl in my sight, especially if they weren’t willing. I might’ve been an asshole but I wasn’t a fucking monster for crying out loud.
I dried off, wrapped the towel around my waist, and went right to the fridge to grab a cold bottle of water. A soft ball of fur rubbed against my leg and I bent down to scoop up Sassy, the stray cat that I found under the dumpster outside the gym.
At first, like everything else, I ignored her. But, for some reason, every goddamn time I wal
ked to my car, she would come out from the dumpster and follow me. It wasn’t until a rainstorm one night when I found her drenched and shivering in a puddle that I decided to take her home for the night just for some shelter. That was three months ago. One of these days, I’d take her back.
“Hey girl. Are you hungry?” I asked and walked to the cabinet while she purred and rubbed against my hand. I got the bag of food, placed her back on the ground, and poured a little of the dry shit in her bowl.
Like a typical female, as soon as she got what she wanted, she was done with me. I found my cell phone and typed my sister a text. She hadn’t responded to me in over a month, and I guaranteed she and Beckham were fucking again, but I felt the need to remind her of what a douchebag he was. Besides, she didn’t deserve happiness. Neither of them did. One was worse than the other. A spoiled brat and a backstabbing prick.
Nix: Just a reminder to get tested for STD’s. Beckham fucks anything that walks.
A smile spread across my face as I tossed my phone back on the counter. My plan might have backfired on me, but at least I could still make my sister miserable, show her that no matter how hard she tried to force me out of her life, I’d always be there, to knock her off of that damn pedestal.
Sassy finished eating and rubbed up against my leg again. Now, she wanted my attention. I picked her back up and scratched at the scruff on her neck. “What do you plan on doing today?” I asked her like she’d fucking answer me. Though, if she could talk, she’d tell me sleep, eat, and take a shit in the litter box so I’d have something to do when I got home from work.
My phone rang and Sal’s name flashed across the screen. He was the only one who’d call me at this time and he’d better had been calling with good news. I swiped the screen and answered.
“There’s only one reason you should be calling me, so tell me what I want to hear,” I said as I looked for Sassy’s toy mouse. I found it under the couch and swung it in front of her face. She swatted at it and I put them both on the floor.
“I got a hold of Seth’s agent. He said he’ll be free in about three months.”
“Book it. I don’t care when or where, just book it.”
The line went silent for a second which meant Sal was overthinking something. “You sure?”
He was a good agent, but he was seriously a pain in my ass. “Am I sure? Are you fucking kidding me? I told you to book it, so fucking book it.”
“I… I just.”
“Spit it out, Elmer Fudd. I don’t have all goddamn day here.”
He let out a breath like an out of shape fuck that just walked up a flight of stairs. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Anger boiled to the surface. “What did I tell you?” I ground out.
“Book it and let you worry about the rest. Fine. But, if it goes south, I’ll be the first to tell your ass I told you so.”
“It’s not gonna go south.”
“I’ll call you back with the date.”
I hung up the phone and punched the door. Pain and sex were the only things that could calm me down. A sharp ache shot through my knuckles and the frustration began to subside.
Sal was lucky I hadn’t fucking killed him yet. Probably why he always called instead of dropping by. Smart because, I swear to God, I’d have him by the throat right now.
How hard was it to follow fucking instructions? I didn’t have time for this shit. I had to get dressed and get my ass to the gym. Today was the day that I was going to work Brooklyn to her breaking point and I couldn’t fucking wait.
***
Sweat dripped down Brooklyn’s neck and disappeared beneath her t-shirt. Gone was her peaches and cream complexion. Her face was a blotchy mess as she pushed herself into another sit up. I kneeled down beside her, and she rolled her eyes.
“Come on, ten more,” I said with the cockiest smirk I could manage.
“Fuck you,” she spat as she collapsed on the floor.
My eyes landed right on her tits as they bounced from the impact. I forced my attention away from them and onto her. “Ten more, or you’ll be on the stair machine next.” She glanced over to the moving staircase. The guy on it was in decent shape and losing steam quick. He held onto the railing and dragged himself from one step to the next.
“I hate you,” she muttered, but managed to pull herself up again.
I rested my hand on her knee and she actually didn’t jump. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”
She didn’t go back down, choosing to stay in the seated position. Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits of hate. “Do you get some sort of sick pleasure out of torturing people?”
“What can I say? I’m a sadist. Now, nine more.”
She practically growled at me then did two more before completely giving up.
“I can’t,” she finally said as she breathed heavily on the floor.
I imagined her naked just after I pounded her into oblivion. Her breaths short from me destroying her with my cock.
My lip curved at the thought, but then I switched back into personal trainer mode. “Seven more.”
“I just said I can’t.”
I leaned over her until she lifted her head to look at me. Her fuck me eyes were plagued with defeat. As a personal trainer, sometimes I had to impart motivational bullshit to get the adrenaline kicking. “The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” I held her gaze, letting the words sink in.
She laughed. She fucking laughed at me. “Did you see that on a poster somewhere?”
So what if I did? It usually had people nodding and ready to push through the hurdle in front of them. Clearly, Brooklyn wasn’t one to be manipulated. She was a challenge, but lucky for me, challenges were my favorite thing.
“I figured it was nicer than saying stop being fucking lazy and finish the goddamn workout.”
She flinched for a second, but brushed it off so quickly that I wondered if I imagined it. “I told you I can’t.” Her voice rose with each word as if her getting angry would have me back down. If anything, it only fueled my fire.
“And I told you that you can. So stop bitching and get it done already. You could have been finished by now.”
“I already am finished,” she countered.
I got her to her breaking point, and while that was my intention, I was still pissed. I was the trainer. Clients didn’t call the shots. I did. If she were serious about this, she would just shut her goddamned mouth, and finish the fucking workout. “Fine. You want to be a lazy slob for the rest of your life, then don’t let me stop you.”
She grabbed her towel, and with the weight of God knows what sitting heavy on her shoulders, she stood up. As she walked past me, she stopped. Her eyes bore into mine, and the hate and determination that was there gave way to pain and suffering. I realized then that the workout didn’t break her. This girl was already broken.
“Fuck you,” she said then stormed off.
I headed over to the desk, and Cindy blinked her brown eyes up at me. She was older, mid-forties, but if you looked close enough, you could almost see the hot girl she used to be. “Another one bites the dust?” she said with a smile.
“I’m not here to work with losers,” I replied. “Waste of my fucking time.”
“Well, your next one isn’t here for a couple hours.”
Good. All I wanted to do was hit the damn bag. Anger and frustration coursed through my veins and I needed a release.
“Gives me time for my own workout,” I said.
I headed out to my car to grab my gloves. Brooklyn was in the same spot she was last time, and she hadn’t left yet. She was talking to the guy who had been staring at her the other day. I stopped walking and watched.
The guy touched her arm for a quick moment, and Brooklyn stiffened. She quickly loosened and offered the schmuck a smile, but shook her head. Whatever he was asking, she was saying no to him. She moved to the driver’s side of her car and opened the door.
“Oh, come on. Just one da
te,” he called out and strode over to her.
She said no again, and he should’ve fucking walked away at this point, but he took a step closer. So did I. He rested his hand on the car, trapping her between him and the door frame. Her body froze, and while she was still being polite, I could see the fear in her stance and even more in her eyes.
I was done watching. I was never one to ask questions then act, anyway. My hand wrapped around the back of the asshole’s neck and I forcefully pulled him away from Brooklyn until I was comfortable with the distance between them.
Brooklyn gasped, but I sensed it was not in fear, as relief seemed to flood her body as she slumped against the door.
“She fucking said no,” I ground out through clenched teeth. I squeezed his neck, pressing into his pressure points. His legs buckled, and I shoved him even farther away from Brooklyn, finally releasing my grip.
He rubbed at his neck like a pussy. “What the fuck, asshole?”
I got in his face and I loved the fear in his eyes. I fed off it and I wanted him to feel the same thing he made Brooklyn endure. Unexplainable rage, so ferocious I couldn’t control it, coursed through my body and I almost unleashed it on this fucker. I inhaled, reminding myself if I killed him now, I’d miss out on my upcoming fights. I’d keep the rage for inside the cage.
“If I ever see you at this gym again. I will fucking kill you.” My biceps twitched as I tried to hold back from bloodying his face. “You got that?” The glare in my eyes told him there was only one answer.
He rubbed at his neck; his gaze wild with disbelief. “You’re fucking crazy.”
“Remember that the next time you even think of pulling into this parking lot. Now, get the fuck out of here.”
He hesitated, so I bucked toward him. His legs stumbled like a newborn animal as he ran off to his car. Fucking asshole.
“You okay?” I asked as I made my way to Brooklyn.
