by Claire Adams
Either way, I wished now that I had gone with them. It may have done wonders for the rumor mill if his friends actually gotten to know me instead of assuming that I was that weird girl that Jet had hooked up with once.
I rolled over in bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I had to be in the gym in an hour to meet Jet. He had asked me to meet him there to do some more self-defense training. I wasn't entirely sure he even thought I needed it anymore; I guessed he just enjoyed teaching me. I didn't mind though; I was really starting to enjoy it myself. It made me feel tough, and I had never felt tough before. It was nice to feel strong and capable, even if I never got the chance to use my new skills.
I left the bathroom and went to the kitchen to get some fruit. I didn't like feeling too full before a workout, because it made me feel lazy and nauseous. This way, I would have something for energy, and still be able to accomplish what I needed to.
Julie was already in the kitchen, and she turned to smile at me when I came in the room.
“Hey, girl, want a cup of tea?”
“I would love to, but I don't have time. I'm meeting Jet at the gym.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Two days in a row? Wow, lucky him.”
I laughed. “Oh, be quiet. I didn't even know I would be seeing him last night. It was hardly a date. I was terrified the entire time. It doesn't exactly scream romance.”
“Scream ...” she chuckled.
I laughed too. “I'm just grabbing some fruit. I will see you later.”
“Hey, maybe we can have some dinner together later.”
“Sure, I would love that. Pasta though, I have been craving pasta for days.”
Julie nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
I hurried out the door and down the stairs. When I reached outside, it was nice to see that the sun was shining bright. We didn't get that many sunny days now that fall had arrived; we had to enjoy them while we could before winter hit.
I walked briskly as I made my way to the campus. I loved long, crisp walks; they made for refreshing exercise, and woke me right up. Once on campus I made my way into the gym. I was smiling as I looked around for Jet. When I saw him sitting beside a gorgeous and ridiculously fit girl, my smile disappeared. They were whispering and laughing together, and the sight of them turned my stomach. They looked intensely intimate, like new lovers, and I almost felt like walking out of the gym and skipping the training. I didn't know how to feel about what I had seen, and what was worse was that I didn't know why I felt so jealous. I wanted us to remain just friends, didn't I? And yet, there I was, losing my mind over the fact that he was sitting beside another girl. But she was so pretty―way too pretty―far prettier than I. I didn't know what to do, but I felt stupid standing there staring at them.
How did a girl get that fit? She must be in the gym round the clock, and never eat a bowl of ice cream. Was that any way to live? I wondered if I could give up ice cream if it meant looking as hot as she did.
Jet looked up, and saw me staring at him like an idiot. He smiled and waved at me, so there was certainly no way I could walk out of the gym at that point. The girl looked up to see who he was waving at, and she smiled at me as well, but that I didn't think that it was the warmest of smiles. I felt like I was being assessed, and that I failed to impress her.
“Hey, Natalie, I'm glad you came. This is Katie.”
Katie stood up and approached me, holding her hand out. I shook her hand and noticed how firm her grip was.
“Hi Katie; it's nice to meet you. How is it that you know Jet?”
“Oh, Jet and I go way back, don't we, Jet?” She winked at him, and he laughed. She slapped his ass in the same way football players do to each other. I was shocked to see how playful the two of them were together.
“I know Katie through MMA. She's one of my female teammates.”
I looked at her. “You're a fighter as well?”
“Yes, I am.” She grinned proudly.
“Katie is a pro for sure. She hasn't lost one fight yet. She's an awesome fighter, and one of the best in her weight class.”
I just nodded, unsure of how I felt about Katie. Did the two have more than MMA history together, or were they just really, really close buddies?
“Anyway, I invited Katie to train with us today. She will give you some idea what it's like to work with a woman, and what women need to know to protect themselves.”
Oh God, I had to train with that girl? He really should have asked me if it was okay, because the last thing I wanted was to have to play around with a girl who put her hands on Jet whenever she felt like it.
“Cool, sounds great,” I said, but I didn't mean it.
“Great, let's get started. I'm going to show you some basic grappling techniques, and then we will do some pad work.”
We walked over to the mats, where Jet grabbed one of the grappling dummies. “Okay, ladies, I'm going to show you the four points of grappling. Katie, of course, is a veteran with these techniques, but she is also going to help me teach them to you.”
He showed me basic techniques for a first point hold, second, third, and fourth. The movements were subtle. The first required a position beside the dummy, and then a transition with me on my knees facing the dummy. From there I straddled the dummy for the third position, and the fourth had me still straddling, but with arms stretched out, pinning my opponent. They looked pretty easy, and I looked forward to mastering them.
Jet showed me the positions over and over, and then told me to show them to him on the dummy. I did them exactly as he had shown me, and I did it flawlessly.
Jet was clapping, while Katie just held her hands on her hips. “Well done, beautiful; looks like you're a natural.”
“Maybe I just have a good trainer, Jet.”
He laughed and pulled me off the ground.
“Okay, Katie, you're up. Let's show her what all these steps look like on a person.”
I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but as Jet lay down on the ground, I watched as she initiated all four points on him, and I raised my eyebrows when she straddled him. That move seemed far too intimate to me. She pinned him down with her hands above her head and her knees bracing his sides. She was wearing little booty shorts and her body had moulded itself to his. Had they flipped positions he would be nestled between her legs. Did they all really train that way with females? How did they not all get erections?
Katie bent down close to Jet's face, and he smiled up at her. “Do you know what I could do to you right now, Jet?” She was smiling down at him devilishly, and I almost screamed. I was certainly screaming on the inside. I turned around, refusing to watch her hit on Jet right in front of me. Something told me that the two of them had slept together in the past and maybe Katie wanted to rekindle things.
There was giggling going on, but I refused to turn around to see what she was doing. Finally, I turned as Jet was getting up off the ground.
“Okay, Natalie, do you want to give it a try?”
“Oh, I think that's ahead of Natalie right now, Jet. She should focus on the grappling dummy right now. We don't want to give her too much to confuse her.”
My mouth fell open as I gaped at her. I couldn't believe what she was pulling. She didn't want me to be in the same straddling position as she was with Jet. I felt my blood pressure rise, but it only got worse when Jet spoke.
“Yeah, you're probably right. I will keep her on the dummy for a few sessions and go from there.”
“Perfect; I think that's what's best.” She turned to me. “Natalie, let’s see the four points on the dummy again, please.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Whatever.”
Jet got a confused look on his face, but didn't say anything about my comment. Geez, men could really be dense sometimes. I continued my grappling training on the dummy. I did it so many times that I felt like I could have easily done it in my sleep. Jet shouted out words of praise, as he was clearly happy with my progress. However, despite the fact th
at he seemed to think I was a “natural,” he still never moved me to the next step. He was listening to Katie's instructions because she was there to help me that day. I hoped that she wouldn't be there again the next time that I had to train with Jet.
“I think we handled enough grappling for the day. Let's work on some pads, ladies.”
Jet went to grab some pads and focus mitts. While he was gone, Katie just stared at me. I couldn't figure out what her problem was. Did she see me as a threat, or was she so confident about her own skills that she didn't believe for a moment that I could get Jet away from her?
“We are going to do defense, so we will go through the slips I showed you last time. Come on Katie, let's show her what I'm looking for.”
They got into position, and by that point, I couldn’t have cared less what he had to show me. I was sick of looking at them together. The entire time he showed her the slips she giggled and circled him. It was like a lover’s dance, a damn violent one, but she loved to play with him, and he was enjoying every minute of it.
They ran through the motions again, and Jet stopped. “Okay, Natalie, I want you to work with Katie now―the same movements I was showing you, and then we will be finished for the day.”
I sighed, moved into the circle with Katie, and slipped the punches she sent my way. I moved fluidly and passed by every one of them without incident. I was getting tired, but it was more mentally tired than physical. Being around Jet was exhausting in more than one way.
“Wonderful, Natalie. Okay, this was a great training session, congrats. We will do some more of that next time.”
“Thanks,” I said.
He turned to Katie. “Thanks for being here and helping. I think it was good for her.”
“No problem. Anytime at all.”
“I'll see you at practice, okay?”
She smiled. “Sure.” She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him tight. Body to body, with no room in between. They separated, and high-fived each other before she waved and headed out the door.
I stared at him as he turned to look and me, and I shook my head.
“What?” he asked.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“What? I don't know what you're talking about.”
I snorted. “Did you fuck her before?”
“Katie? No, of course not.”
“Well, you guys sure looked real close.”
“Oh, come on, Natalie, that's just the way she is. She's like that with everyone. She's one of those girls that has a lot of guy friends. We look at her as one of us.”
“Oh, she's just one of guys? That's how you see her?”
“Natalie, relax. Yes, Katie is hot, but that doesn't mean I'm interested in her.”
“Cut the bullshit, Jet.”
“Natalie, why are you so mad? Seriously, what is the big deal here with Katie?”
“I don't like it. The way you are with her. I thought you liked me. And it's like the two of you were in heat during training.”
“So what if we were?”
“I think it's inappropriate to do that with her when I'm standing right there.”
Jet laughed. “You have to be joking. Natalie, I thought we were just friends. That's what you keep telling me anyway. I can't count how many times you have walked out on me and made me feel like you continue to regret sleeping with me. So if you just want us just to be friends, then why should it matter who I flirt with?”
“I do just want to be friends.”
He looked at me and shook his head. He wasn't happy with my last statement.
“Look, we just slept together a week ago. I think it's inappropriate to be hooking up with other girls when you are sleeping with me. I'm not saying that we ever will again, so please don't get too excited, but when things are so up in the air, you shouldn't be all over other girls. It's not nice, and it’s very hurtful to me.”
He stared at me with shock on his face. Like I said, guys were really clueless sometimes.
“Look, Natalie, despite what you think, despite what you saw with Katie, I haven't slept with another girl since I met you. I certainly wouldn't be sleeping with someone else while I was sleeping with you. I'm not the bad guy that you think I am.”
I just glared at him, wanting to get out of the gym and be done with him for the day. I was immensely irritated by the fact that Katie had been around at all, never mind the way she behaved. But I was tired of having these same conversations over and over again with Jet.
“Natalie, please. I don't want you to be mad at me. In fact, I will do anything to make sure that you aren't mad at me. So please, let me know if there is anything that I can do.”
“Anything?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I want you to take me to my favorite place, then, but I'm not going to tell you where it is.”
He stared at me, unsure how to respond.
He nodded. “Done.”
Chapter Four
Jet
The next night, I was getting ready to go pick up Natalie to take her to her favorite place. I was a little conflicted about what was going on between us. On one hand, it seemed like she wanted more, but she also wasn't giving me more. She was taking me through a torturous relationship, if it could even be called that, and I never knew if it was going to get any better. She was just as likely to start something serious with me as she was to drop me completely. I thought there was always a good chance for us to be friends, but anything beyond that seemed uncertain.
I wasn't sure how to dress for our little rendezvous, as she refused to tell me where we were headed. The girl spun my head in circles sometimes. I assumed, however, that if we were going somewhere fancy, she wouldn't screw me over completely by not telling me to dress properly.
Kyle was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer when I walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, man, how's it going? Want to have a beer with me?”
I checked the time on my phone and decided I had enough time for a beer. I sat down at the table with Kyle while he went to the fridge to grab me a beer.
I cracked it open and took a long swig. The cool liquid tasted delicious as it slid down my throat. There was nothing like a cold beer to make a day complete.
“So what are you up to, man?”
“I'm picking Natalie up and we're hanging out.”
“Oh yeah? Where you guys going?”
“I have no idea.”
“Is this finally a date?”
I laughed. “Again, I have no idea. She's taking me to what she calls her 'favorite place,' but she won't tell me where it is.”
“That girl likes to fuck with your head, man. Why do you let her?”
“’Cause I like her. She challenges me. I'm bored to death with some of the girls, man, aren't you?”
Kyle shrugged. “I don't know, but I wouldn't be putting that much effort into a girl unless she was fucking me daily, that's for sure.”
I laughed. “Well, that's probably why you're single and alone on a Friday night.” I shrugged, too, when he looked up at me, surprised.
I chugged back my beer, no longer interested in discussing Natalie with him.
“I'll see ya later, Kyle. Have a good night.” I set my empty beer down and headed for the door.
I pulled up to Natalie's apartment, and she was already waiting outside for me. I sighed with relief when I saw that she was wearing ripped jeans and a faded Pearl Jam T-shirt. We were obviously not going anywhere fancy, so my attire would suffice for the evening. She slipped into the passenger side and buckled herself in, finally turning my way with a big smile.
“You look fantastic, Natalie. Very edgy.”
She smiled. “Well, you don't look too bad yourself.”
“So, where are we going?”
“Don't worry, I will be your guide.”
She gave me driving instructions that brought us downtown. There were many bars and pubs on the main drag, close to the un
iversity. She had me park there, and we both get out of the car to walk. We walked for about half a block before I found myself in front of a dive bar that I used to go to before I was legal enough to drink.
“This is your favorite place? You're kidding me?”
“No. My dad used to take me here all the time. He wasn't supposed to, of course, but I had an interesting upbringing. He taught me to play pool.”
“Are you any good?”
She laughed. “Of course I am, hot shot.”
We walked into the bar, and not much had changed over the years since I had last been there. It wasn't the kind of bar that had ever been concerned with checking IDs, which was probably why Natalie was able to come into the bar with her father when she was young.
We found a booth and sat down. I knew there wasn’t any point in grabbing a menu; it wasn't the kind of place where you grabbed food. If we got hungry later, I would take us to a burger joint to get some grub. A waitress stopped over at our table, and actually recognized Natalie.
“Hey, sweetie, I haven't seen you in ages. How are you?”
“Oh, I'm busy with school. I'm over at the university now.”
“You're kidding! Well, good for you. How's your dad?”
“Same old guy; he never changes. But overall, he's doing well. I don't think he would complain.”
“That's great. He hasn't been around here in ages.”
“No, he moved to a different area, so he has a new hangout.”
She looked at me, and I smiled up at her.
“Who's your friend here? He's cute, but he looks like trouble.”
“Hey!” I said.
Natalie laughed. “This is Jet. I know him from school, we're buddies.” She winked at me. “But you are right about the trouble part.”
