Broken #2 (The Broken Series - Book #2) (3 page)

“I
had a good day with training, thanks.”

“Do
you actually ever go to class?” I laughed.

He
laughed along with me, and said, “Sometimes. Hey it's not my fault if the
school values my sports career over everything else.”

“Uh-huh,
and God forbid you decide to have a higher calling than fists of fury.”

He
chuckled loudly.
“How about we leave that topic of
conversation for my father to obsess over.”

“Your
dad doesn't like your career choice, does he?”

“No
Natalie, my father is a very wealthy man. He started a company from scratch and
turned it into a billion dollar operation.”

“Ooh-la-la.”

“Yes,
I can see you are really impressed. Trust me; I feel the same way. My dad does
not like my career aspirations, because he would prefer if I went into the
family business.”

“So
why don't you?”

He
sighed and looked like he was about to open up, spill the beans, and act like a
human being, right before my eyes. He looked away from me, however, and caught
himself before he spilled too many feelings all at once. He almost shook his
thoughts clean from his mind. He looked at me, and smiled a sad sort of wistful
smile. I didn't smile back. I didn't understand why he was the way he was, and
to be honest, I didn't really want to know why.

He
sighed. “Look Natalie, the reason I came to meet you was because I wanted to
apologize for my roommate walking in on you. It must have been embarrassing,
and I gave Kyle an earful. He shouldn't be going in my room if he has no idea
who is in there.”

“Hey,
don't worry about it. He didn't know, and I'm over it.”

“Can
we grab a cup of coffee, and chat, ya know, figure some things out?”

“Jet,
I'm busy. I didn't get much sleep last night. I need to study. I have projects
coming out of everywhere, and right now you are an unwelcome distraction.”

He
chuckled. “Don't hold anything back on account of my feelings.”

“Like you really care there,
Jet.”

He
looked down at his feet and paused momentarily. “What do you say we try out
more of that
self-defense
? You did pretty well last
time. I think it would be good for you.”

“No, really.
I
think I'm good now. I feel like I could probably handle a situation a lot
better than I did before,” I smiled sheepishly. I didn't want to get more
involved with Jet. If anything, I wanted to get the hell away from him. I felt
foolish about our drunken escapade, and it made me feel uncomfortable in his
presence.

“I
don't think that's true, Natalie. People train in
self-defense
for years. You just had one lesson, so when it comes to a high-pressure
situation, you could easily forget everything I taught you.”

I
sighed. “Okay, look, fine. I'll come and do more if you promise to stop
bothering me about it.”

“You
really want me to stop bothering you?”

I
laughed. “Yes, please. Anyway, that's the deal. Now I have to go study.”

“Alright, Natalie.
Have fun with that.”

I
waved him off as I walked away, and headed over to the library to get some more
studying in.

Chapter Four

Jet

Class
ran a little late, which annoyed me a little, because I needed to get back to
my apartment on time. I had a whole day planned, and getting caught up in class
wasn't part of that plan. I normally would have just skipped the class, but we
had a test that day and I couldn't get to the point where I failed anything. My
classes were always flexible in my mind, but if I wanted my father to continue
to pay for my schooling, that meant not failing one class. If I flunked out of
school, I would lose my chances to fight on the school MMA team. So it meant
making sure my grades didn't get out of hand.

I
hurried from the school, and got in my car. I drove probably a little too fast
in order to get to my apartment. I wanted to change and get some other items
before I headed to the gym. It was the day that I was to teach Natalie more
self-defense
, and I was running late. I didn't want her to
show up there, and think that I had blown her off. That was the last thing I
wanted. She would probably not give me another chance to spend time with her,
and she was already busting my balls over it. She wasn't the type of girl to
give too many second chances. I pulled up to my apartment, and rushed inside
the building. The door was already unlocked so I didn't need to worry about
digging around for keys. I pushed through the door, and saw Kyle in the kitchen
cooking lunch. It was a nice change of pace to see him someplace other than in
front of a video game.

I
rushed down the hall into my bedroom and pulled drawers open to get the stuff I
needed for the gym. I cursed myself for not just bringing it all with me to
class, but I thought I would have plenty of time afterwards to come home and
get what I needed. When I had what I needed, I hurried back out into the living
room, and put everything into my gym bag. I went into the kitchen and opened
the fridge, grabbing some water bottles and throwing them in my bag as well.

“Hey
man, what are you in such a hurry for?”

I
grabbed my bag and head for the door, and as I swung it open, I shouted over my
shoulder, “Natalie,” and left it at that.

As
the door closed behind me, I heard Kyle say, “Of course.” I knew my friends
couldn’t figure out what I was doing with Natalie, or why I hadn't just dropped
her after I slept with her. I couldn't explain it myself, but I didn't owe Kyle
or anyone else any answers. I was just living my life and seeing how things
went on my own. Once I had it all figured out, I would start discussing it with
others. At the rate I was going anyway, the girl probably wouldn't be talking
to me much anymore.

When
I walked into the gym, I scanned the area immediately, and saw Natalie on the
far end of the gym on the bench. A few of my teammates were talking to her
while she was waiting. I was extremely pleased to see that she hadn't
completely abandoned me, when I didn't show up on time, but something akin to
jealousy rose up in me when I saw guys talking with her. I didn't want any of
my friends anywhere near her―she was all mine. Or at least, I was trying
to make her mine, but she certainly wasn't making it easy on me. I hurried over
to where she was sitting, and she turned as she saw me approaching.

“Hey, beautiful.
Thanks
for sticking around. I'm sorry I'm late; class ran a little late.”

“Oh,
and here I thought you never bothered with class.”

“I'm
just full of surprises, aren't I?”

She
giggled. “Well, well, well. So what are we doing today?”

I
looked over at the guys standing by watching.
“Hey guys, how
ya doing?
I'm just going to borrow this beauty for a bit.” They chuckled
at me and walked away, taking the hint rather nicely.

“Does
everyone just listen to everything you say?”

I
faced her again. “Well not everyone, darling.”

“Touché.”

I
offered my hand to her. She took it, and I pulled her up from the bench she sat
on. “Well, shall we?”

She
nodded, and we headed away from where the guys were training. I wanted her all
to myself, and I didn't need any of the other guys offering their services. We
went over to the octagon cage and went inside. No one would bother us there,
and I would be assured that she would be mine for at least an hour.

“So
what’s your plan for me for today?”

“I
think we are going to try a different approach. I'm going to show you how to
punch someone properly and then how to defend yourself against a punch.”

“Really?
You
think I can learn to punch? Is that really going to help me defend myself
against an attacker?”

I
laughed. “Of course it will. Besides, I think that we are going to do something
a little more fun today. Hopefully it will make you want to come back for
more.”

“Oh,
is that your hope?”

I
walked over to her and stood real close. I could practically feel the heat
coming off of her. She blinked rapidly at me, suddenly aware of the heat
between us.

“Yes,
Natalie, that is my hope,” I whispered.

“Okay,
down boy. Let's get down to business. I don't have all day.”

I
stood before her and enjoyed her closeness a moment longer before I turned from
her. I went to my bag, which was on the side of the cage. I pulled out some
gloves and brought them to her.

“These
might be a tad big on you, but they will do for now,” I helped her slip them on,
and I tied them up. I thought she looked hot as hell wearing them, but I kept
it to myself for now.

She
caught my look and said, “What?”

I
smirked. “Nothing; do they feel alright to you?”

She
nodded, looking down at her gloves.

I
put on some focus mitts and faced her again. “Okay, just like I showed you
before. Your left hand is your jab, and your right had is your straight or
cross. When I hold up a focus mitt, you will hit it with the appropriate punch.
Just like I showed you last time.
Jab, jab, jab. Or
jab, jab, cross.”

She
looked slightly confused, so I slowed things down for her. “Just take it easy
and we will go slowly for now.”

She
nodded, but she had a hint of a smile on her face, and I thought for a moment
that she might actually be enjoying herself.

We
spent the training session going through various combinations with the focus
mitt. She actually had a pretty solid right hand as we continued working on it.
We threw in some hooks as well, but those had been a little confusing for her
to put together right away. So we focused for the most part on the first two
for now.

“Go
grab a drink of water, beautiful, and then I'll show you how to defend the same
punches.” I helped her take off the gloves, and she turned from me to leave the
cage. She looked over her shoulder before leaving the cage, with a quizzical
look on her face. “Do you really think I'm beautiful?”
 
Her question caught me off guard.
 
I smiled. “I've never seen anything like you,
and that's the honest truth.”

She
met my eyes and held my gaze for a moment, before turning back to the door and
walking out. She hadn't responded to me, and I watched as she walked to the
water cooler and took a drink. She was only gone for a minute before she
started walking back toward me. She didn't speak to me again for the entire
training session. I wasn't sure if it was the comment that rendered her silent
or something else.

“I'm
going to show you how to slip your shoulder slightly to avoid an oncoming punch,
okay, sweetheart?”

She
faltered, and then regained herself, and just nodded. We spent the rest of the
time we had together with me teaching Natalie how to slip and jab, and then how
to slip a jab and a cross together. She started moving fluidly, and I held back
the urge to tell her she looked so sexy. I wasn't sure if my last comment had
scared her off a bit.

Sweat
marked her brow, and I told her we were finished for the day.

“Thanks
for that, Jet. It actually was pretty fun today. I always thought MMA was a
joke, to be honest, but there are pretty solid techniques and skills involved.
There's a reason you do what you do; it's not just men swinging at each other.”

I
nodded. “Well, I'm glad you feel that way now.”

She
waved as she walked away from me, heading to the front door.

I
jogged to the locker room; and changed out of my sweaty shirt and into a new
one. I grabbed my gear for my own training session; and headed back out to the
training area. Some of my teammates were still there; and a guy named Brian
approached me.

“Hey,
what's up with you and the redhead? She's a fox.”

I
held myself back from cutting into him.
“Just teaching the
girl some basic techniques of self- defense.”

“Does
she want to fight?”

I
looked up at him as I started wrapping my hands on the bench.
“No, the opposite actually.
She was mugged a while ago, and
I thought it was a good idea that she
learn
how to
defend herself.”

“Oh,
that's shitty.
Poor girl.
Well, hey, if you're not
getting in with her, do you mind if I do?”

My
stare became hard, and the look caught Brian off guard. “Yeah, actually I do
mind.”

Brian
put his hands up in defense. “Sorry, I didn't know. No problem, man.”

“What
are you two pussies doing over here? We have a training session to do.”

We
both laughed as our Coach walked up to us. He was grinning ear to ear, so we
knew he had pain in store for us that day. I finished wrapping my hands, and
tried to cool my temper from the conversation I had with Brian.