Unexpected Forfeit

by Sapphire Knight

  She gasps softly and her eyes dilate at the sudden impact of our bodies meeting. It seems like she finally gets exactly what it is that I want. I lick my lips a little and then suck on her bottom lip. I pull her soft lip into my mouth with mine and draw on it lightly. I nibble a little before pulling back and releasing it.

  “Oh, Jace.” She lets out a little moan, and I pull her so tight to me she can feel the erection she just gave me with that one little moan. My cock is beating down my zipper trying to take what he wants at this rate.

  I lean in quick, because…fuck slow at this point! I take her mouth like I own it, like it’s always been mine. I taste the rich chocolate flavor, and when her tongue caresses mine, I groan into her mouth. My stomach feels like it’s doing flips having her in this position.

  I can’t help but imagine how exquisite she would look naked. Especially after the little peep show she had given me earlier. I explore her mouth for a minute and then slowly pull back to suck on her bottom lip again.

  Her eyelids are droopy, and I feel like I’m waking up in a fog. She looks so gorgeous right now with her dazed expression, lips red and swollen from my kiss and her hair a little messy from me rubbing my hands in it. This chick was made for the bedroom—damn!

  I move away from her, but grab her delicate hand in my big scarred-up paw. After years of fighting I have so many little scars all over, especially on my hands. “Come on baby, let’s go check out the rest of the aquarium with Gavin and Aria.” I whisper out and she nods silently.

  CHYNA

  That kiss completely blew me away. I was startled that he actually went for it in the first place. When he groaned, I thought I was going to jump him right there in the middle of the aquarium. I can say in all my years of kissing boys and then men, I have never been kissed like that. He kissed me as if I was the only one he would ever kiss again. I was literally speechless with the thoughts racing through my head after that.

  We eventually finish up with the aquarium and head over to the beach to swim before we have to drive back to Austin. I haven’t been down here to visit Corpus since my father still lived in Texas. I hate that he’s never here, but there’s nothing I can do. Jace hasn’t mentioned his family at all. I wonder if he has issues with his family, too.

  Jace hops out of his Jeep once we park and peels his shirt off. He reaches back with one hand and pulls it over his head. It gets caught for a second and I get that extra time to stare him down. His body is cut with little muscles I didn’t even know existed. I lick my lips and try not to moan as he rubs his hand over his pecs and abs. I hear a throat clear and glance up. Shit! I zoned out on him. I really have to stop doing that! Not just on him, but spacing out in general. Maybe Vivid is right and I should be careful driving.

  “See something you like, Kiki?” He has his eyebrow raised and is wearing a little smirk.

  “Oh you know, just trying to see what brand your shirt is.” I can’t let his head get too big; it wouldn’t fit in the door to the gym.

  “Yeah, clearly. Come on; let’s go get our swim on.” He rolls his eyes and turns towards the beach.

  I throw my clothes on the seat quickly, turning and running to the water. The sand is warm but thankfully not hot yet. In the summer the sand gets so hot it will tear your feet up without shoes. Today is a gorgeous spring day, about eighty degrees and sunny. My favorite weather in Texas are days like this, where you are able to do pretty much anything outside.

  I blow right past Jace, sticking my tongue out as I pass him by. He laughs and sticks his tongue out back at me.

  My feet hit the cool water and it sends tiny goose bumps up my legs. Great, now my nipples are going to be hard little points for everyone and their brother to see. Most people are at work, but I can only imagine what Jace will think if he gets a good look at my breasts. I’m not in the mood for a wet T-shirt contest today. Especially after that kiss that took away my breath and sucker-punched me in my gut.

  I’m down for fun anytime, but I don’t get too close to people. They always leave in the end—whether it’s drugs, money, or whatever. My ex, who I loved so much, decided drugs were more important than me. I tried to give him everything, including myself. I worked more hours to give him more money that wasn’t my father’s. I knew the drugs were bad, but I felt that if he had what he wanted it would keep him happy. I gave up all of my friends because he would get paranoid which resulted in him getting jealous. I devoted all of my time and energy to him, and it still wasn’t enough.

  I caught him sleeping with the neighbor. That’s not the bad part. The real kicker is that she was only fourteen years old. Needless to say, I let her know she was a little whore when she asked if I wanted to join them. I love playing with females and couples, but I refuse to cheat or accept being cheated on. That’s a total deal breaker for me. My ex said I could get over it or he would leave. I didn’t get over it; I couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. He left and it hurt, but I’ve finally moved forward.

  I thought I could go to my father for help, but then he left me, too. He met his brand new wife and told me I’d be fine on my own. I knew I was okay on my own, but just having him emotionally would have helped me tremendously.

  He bought me a car and then moved out of the country. He’s happy to send me gifts or sometimes money, but can’t be the father I really need. I would be happy with just a phone call and a little bit of his time. Instead he’s busy playing house and making a new family. The phone calls I get usually come late at night and are very short. He doesn’t even ask me if I’m okay or if I need him.

  My mother is another doozy; she left long before my father did. I can’t blame my father for moving on. He just wasn’t supposed to move on from me, too. My mom ran off when I was fifteen. She met some long-haired, hippy guy and just vanished. I never heard from her again. I often wonder what it is about me that make’s everyone want to leave me. Surely I can’t be that awful. I have my flaws, but I like myself. I can’t be that bad, right?

  One thing’s for sure though, when I have my own children, I will never leave them. I know people always say they won’t ever be like their parents, but I actually mean it. I refuse to be like them. I will fight tooth and nail every day if I have to. I will love my children and my spouse and pray daily that they won’t leave me. I have to open myself up in order to have the children and spouse in the first place. I’m just not ready to be hurt again. I’m finally doing ok for myself and school is going well so I’ve got to keep pushing toward my goals.

  I sit down in the shallow water, watching Gavin and Aria walk down the beach holding hands. I’m so happy that they’re so in love with each other. They’re both good people and truly deserve to be happy.

  I feel a presence come from behind me and turn my body a little until I see Jace in all his tanned, muscled glory.

  “Hey, what happened to you? I ran to the water and you disappeared. I was kind of expecting you to follow me.”

  “Oh, nothing happened. Just some girl was talking to me for a few seconds.”

  He glances to the side when he says it and red flags fly up in every direction in my head. I glance around quickly but the only females I see is Aria and a pair of really pretty girls walking toward a shop.

  “Hmmm.” I answer and start to play with the wet sand through my fingers. I watch as clumps slide through my fingers like it’s the most interesting thing in the whole world.

  I might have a jealous streak. After everything I went through with my ex though, I can’t really help it. There’s always going to be that nagging voice in the back of my mind making me wonder if there is something wrong or if I don’t measure up. This is another reason why I only have fun and don’t get serious with anyone. It’s so easy to get sucked into jealousy in relationships. I don’t want to be that type of person for myself or for anyone else.

  “Hmmm, huh? Are you jealous right now?” He smirks and it makes me want to glare at him, but I don’t.

  I act indifferent with a little
shrug. At least I hope I look indifferent; I could appear to have a screwed up face with a massive neck twitch. I stand up slowly and make sure to push my chest out a little.

  “Should I be jealous? Do I have a reason to be?” I ask a little snarky. He straightens up and looks at me seriously.

  “No way. You will never have a reason to be jealous. You shouldn’t be jealous of anyone anyhow—you’re striking. Mix in your quirkiness and you’re the complete package, babe.” He bites the corner of his bottom lip, and I smile a large smile. He could not have said anything more perfect. The best part is he looks completely genuine.

  I nod a small nod. Okay, I give in. “Good answer. Want to swim with me since the lovebirds are being antisocial?” I suggest as I stand and shuffle deeper into the water. He catches up to me quickly and grasps my sandy hand to walk beside me. He pulls me towards him and grabs my other hand as well, ignoring the fact that I’m still covered in sand from playing in it.

  “Wrap your arms around my neck,” he orders softly as he pulls my arms up toward his shoulders. I comply. I’m curious to see what he plans to do with me like this.

  He lays back and half floats, half swims pulling me around in the water. It’s surprisingly very relaxing, and I giggle a little when he blows bubbles in the water. He’s silly but adorable.

  “Agh! That water is so fucking salty, it’s gross!” He stands up making a disgusted face. I laugh and let go of him to take off swimming toward the shore.

  I love the water, but I’m terrified of sharks. I once read they go all the way up to four feet of water, so I try to stay in the shallow areas. Then there are the jellyfish, which are horrible in this area. I make it to where the water reaches my thighs and Aria waves at me from the shore. I smile and wave back. I can hear Jace walking towards the shallow water still spitting out salty sea water.

  Aria walks into the water up to her calves.

  “Hey, you two lovers done with your walk already?”

  “Yes, we’re ready to head back home. Are y’all?” I turn toward Jace to see what he says.

  “Yeah, that sounds good. We need to change into dry clothes though.”

  Aria nods and walks back to Gavin who’s sitting on one of the metal benches. It’s unfortunate we checked out of the hotel this morning; I could go for another shower.

  Jace grabs a pair of dry basketball shorts out of his bag in the back of the Jeep and we walk to a store to see if we can change. I find a cute pair of white booty shorts that say “Corpus Christi” across the cheeks in black lettering and a black tank top that says “Beach Please” in huge indigo blue letters.

  I pay for them, changing in the restroom to wear my new, dry clothes for the trip home. I also load up on some delicious Gardetto’s snacks and a yellow Gatorade they had for sale by the counter.

  Jace gets a tank top that says “I flexed and my sleeves fell off.” I told him it’s a total tool shirt, but he didn’t care. He just lost some serious cool points, even if he does look insanely hot in it.

  We load up our wet clothes and towels, get settled in and then drive the four hours back to Austin.

  “Straighten your back; your posture is shit,” Sin orders while I beat on the heavy bag. I straighten up and wail on the bag even harder. “That’s it, body shots,” he barks and I hit the bag for five minutes straight. My shoulder blades are on fire from everything we’ve been doing today.

  “Now to knees. Get them higher or you’re running suicides in the parking lot.” Just breathe, you’re almost finished with this set. “Hit them harder, make that bag move!” I blink multiple times and try to focus all of my energy into getting my knees up high enough and hitting the bag with them as hard as he wants. “All right, time!” Woah, deep breaths.

  “Killing me today, huh?” I respond breathlessly. This is my second training session for the day, and I’m already worn out.

  “You want results, you have to push yourself hard. You know this, Jace. What did you eat this weekend? You’re moving like a damn slug.”

  “I ate shit, but I ended up working out and swimming a lot so I got rid of the extra calories.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You know that shitty food will slow you down. If you plan to win this, you have to be at your prime.” I nod and wipe my forehead off with my towel. “Now, clean eating from here on out. Got it?”

  “Yeah, I got it, thanks.” He grins and nods. We fist bump.

  “Later, man.”

  “Later, Sin. Take it easy.”

  Man, some days I can’t believe I actually pay someone to kick my ass. I guess when you commit to certain goals, you do what you have to do to achieve them. I can always count on him riding me to do better, which is exactly what I need in order to make it.

  I head to the locker room, take a cold shower, and put on some dry clothes so I can head home. I need some serious ice therapy tonight before I go to bed; my muscles are screaming in protest today.

  I give Manny, the front desk guy, a small wave as I leave.

  I walk out the front door and straight ahead is a chick bent over. It looks like she might be tying her shoe. I follow shapely calves, up to muscular thighs and a nice ass that’s outlined perfectly in her tight workout shorts.

  The door shuts behind me and she stands up. Long, thick, rich black hair that’s tied in a ponytail cascades over her shoulder as she glances back towards me. I’m met with big, sparkly chocolates. She turns away, and then turns back towards me again, doing a double take.

  “Oh, Jace!” She smiles slightly. “Hi, were you in the gym, and I didn’t see you?” She looks a little flustered, and I’m thinking it must be the heat today. Summer is approaching fast.

  “No, actually I work out right beside there, in the MMA gym. You know, I’ve been training for the Vegas fights.” I gesture to the door behind us. I think I remember her telling me that she works out at this gym. I’ll have to pop in there periodically to see if she’s ever there.

  “Oh right, I remember you talking about it. How’s your training going?”

  “It’s going rough since we ate like crap yesterday and the day before at the beach,” I huff out. She chuckles, clearly not feeling bad for me at all.

  “That has to suck! Well, I have to go to work, but you could always stop in and have some rabbit food or something if you wanted.” She shrugs and my heart speeds up a little.

  I smile. Is this a date? I doubt it, but I’m going to give her a hard time about it.

  “Kiki…you asking me on a date?”

  “Haha nice try, stud muffin. I just meant so you don’t starve with all those muscles you’re carrying around.”

  I chuckle. “Starve to death? Maybe, but the sustenance I want won’t give me a date.” I don’t even need a date, she could just come home with me and we could settle this now.

  “Hmmm…maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll change her mind?”

  “You’re going to make me beg, aren’t you? You know, under normal circumstances, you’d be the one begging. You’d enjoy every minute of it, too.” I look down over her pert breasts and slim waist. I could have so much fun with that body.

  “Now begging sounds fun! I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

  I grab her wrist, pulling her towards me quickly when she starts to walk away. I swiftly lean in, kiss her cheek, and grin.

  “You’re not getting away that easy,” I rasp. I keep ahold of her hand and walk her to her car. “Go out with me, Kiki. You know you want to.”

  I cage her in with my arms against her car and lean toward her a little.

  “I don’t do the formal dates and stuff Jace, sorry,” she says and looks at the ground. I don’t think so, babe. I don’t want her looking at the ground feeling any negative feelings when it comes to her going out with me.

  “Yeah that’s not going to work for me.” I say and lean in to take her lips with mine. I slip my tongue in her mouth and caress her tongue. I put both of my hands on her jawline and hold her as we kiss. Each time I get this
close to her my stomach quivers in excitement and I feel like I can’t get enough of her.

  We both pull back slowly. It’s like she kisses perfectly for me, like we’ve been doing it for years already. She opens her pretty eyes and smiles a small smile at me. I grin down at her.

  “We’ll see, but I really have to go now.” She moves to get in her car.

  She sticks the keys in the ignition and starts the A/C to cool it down. “Stolen Dance” by Milky Chance is playing on the radio and it makes me laugh. This song is definitely her. I bet she’s one of those that dances around and sings loudly while she drives, too. I hope she doesn’t do the whole applying makeup while driving though. Every time I’ve seen her, though, she’s hardly wearing any makeup at all.

  “I know it was just yesterday, but I’m glad I got to see you today, babe.” I’m such a sappy shit, I swear. She beams a beautiful smile at me. That smile pretty much makes it worth being a sap.

  “Me, too. Bye, Jace.” She buckles her seatbelt and I step back.

  “Bye, Chyna.” I close her door for her and make my own way home.

  She’s on my mind with every mile that passes. I can’t help but wonder if I actually want something more with this girl. Could I make it work? Could I give her the time she needs when I’m always training? That is, if she were to even agree to start seeing me. I’m sure with time I can get her to break down and give in to me. I just have to decide whether I want to give up what little free time I have to spend it with her. That sounds really selfish, but I pretty much eat, breathe, and sleep MMA. I just want to make sure it’s fair to her and that I can make her happy.

  I arrive home and make a disgusting green juice mix with my usual protein powder, then follow it up with a small shot of creatine. The crap is disgusting, but I’m determined to be the best I’m capable of being.

  I’m going to get changed and head to see Chyna at work. I’ve decided she’s going to be mine, no matter how stubborn she plays it with me.