John’s head turns the moment Elsie steps foot into the large space. He senses her, even though she’s across the room with bodies jabbing and moving between them. Elsie’s eyes zero in on him, finding him immediately through the movements of the other men. John’s eyes follow the two women as they move across the room, appearing not to notice the sweat-covered male bodies surrounding them, the women seem oblivious to the looks they’re getting. They enter the studio where the class is held. No one else has arrived yet, so they make themselves comfortable and begin the stretches that they were taught in a prior class.
“Hold up, Bri, I’m gonna go put on some music for the girls to do their warm-ups to,” John shouts to Brian, breaking through his haze of focused concentration.
“Oh, yeah, sure, I didn’t realize it was time for class,” Brian stops his relentless pounding.
John straightens, letting go of the bag, “It’s not, they’re early, but it’s cool.”
Brian smiles his playboy grin, swinging his head to get his hair out of his face and sending sweat droplets spraying, “You bet your sweet ass it’s cool. Damn, they look good, don’t you think, Bro?”
“Yeah, they do. I’ll be right back,” John grunts to his friend.
Brian notices John’s tone and gives him a questioning look.
I’ll be damed if I’m telling Brian that Elsie’s all I’ve fucking thought about since Friday night, my dick has stayed hard all weekend, he growls to himself. If having a constant hard-on for a girl who says with words that she doesn’t want you while her body tells you she’s dying for you won’t keep you frustrated, nothing will.
“Hi ladies, I hope your weekend was good,” John says smoothly, trying not to let the frustration he’s been feeling about Elsie show in his voice. When he enters the studio, his eyes move from Janie to Elsie.
Elsie’s breath catches with her first good look at John tonight. She didn’t think he could look any sexier, any more seductively dark, but tonight, he makes her breath stop. His hair is pulled back again, in a ponytail, and he’s dressed in all black; the black, second skin, gym t-shirt molds to the dips and curves of his muscles, and black running pants that are hanging low on his waist. Elsie is certain they’re caught up by his hip bones which jut out just below the ‘V’ of muscles, she remembers every contour of his naked torso from Friday night. But, what really makes him sinfully sultry are the two thick, silver, hoop earrings he’s wearing, one in each ear, like a pirate.
“Yes, it was, John,” Janie speaks up quickly. “How about yours?”
“It was a little long. Did Elsie tell you about the party Friday night?” John asks Janie, apparently knowing exactly where she was going with her questioning.
“Yes, she did, she said she and Elizabeth had a nice time. What about you, even though you had to work, did you have a good time?” Janie asks him, arching an eyebrow, daring him to deny he did.
“It was the best Halloween I’ve had a in a long time,” he can’t stop the smile from lifting the corners of his mouth in a shy grin. “How about you, Elsie, did you enjoy Friday night?” he puts the question to her, trying to get a feel of what she thought about it.
The blush instantly spreads across her pale face causing her to jerk her head down. Her mind and body are flooded with images and feelings from the intense moment they’d shared. She feels the soft stroke of his tongue on her lips and her hands itch to reach up and touch them. Elsie remembers the feel of his erection rubbing against her, and the size of it, and suddenly she can’t stop her eyes from going there.
Shit! she yells at herself scrunching her eyes shut. Her heat rises and she feels herself blush. Elsie knows John saw her looking at his crotch.
“Yes,” is all she can croak out.
“Good, glad to hear it,” he says quietly, his voice a little deeper than before.
The beast in his pants is starting to stir from that little glance she just gave him. Down boy, this is NOT the time, John tells his dick.
Elsie quickly changes the subject, “So, Mountain Man, are you teaching the class tonight or is the Sweat Hog out there doing it?”
John dips his head back, laughing at the accurate name for his buddy. “Yes, I am. Brian’s gonna work out with Marco, he and Elizabeth should be here in a few minutes. You ladies are a little early.”
“Yeah,” Janie replies. “We wanted to beat the rush,” she jokes with him.
John laughs, “Well then, you two can pick tonight’s mix. What’ll it be, house party mix, or alternative?”
The girls look at each other, nodding their heads, answering together, “House party mix.”
“Mix it is then,” he says moving to the stereo, to put on the music. He turns back to them, “I saw you were starting your stretches, that’s excellent. I’m going to finish Brian’s preliminary work out, we’ve got just a few more minutes then I’ll be back in. Ok?”
Janie answers him, “Go ahead, I’ve got your girl.”
That term of endearment surprises him, but it sounded good and makes him want to smile. He stops the thought before it can pop out, his internal voices reprimanding him for even thinking he could consider that.
John turns and leaves them as the beat starts pumping, and he feels their eyes on him as he goes.
“You never did tell me how Friday night went, Dude,” Brian asks John when he gets back behind the bag, pushing his weight into it to give Brian more resistance.
“It was fine, I drove her home,” John snaps.
“I gotta tell you, I was shocked when she ran from us, Bro, I could have sworn...,” Brian says almost absent-mindedly.
“I know,” John cuts in as his mind fills with thoughts of Elsie, still trying to figure her out.
“She wants to, you know,” Brian continues between jabs.
“I fucking know, Brian, but there’s something going on with her that she won’t talk about,” John nearly shouts at his friend, his frustration almost getting the better of him.
“Don’t freak, Dude, she’ll grow to trust us and it will come out, whatever she’s hiding. Then it’ll happen, just like you want,” Brian says switching to weaving and moving between hits.
“Hey Fellas, who’s the new guy up front with Scott? Marco asks coming up behind them.
“Hey, man, what’s up? You ready to get your ass kicked tonight Old Man?” Brian teases him.
“How many times do I have to tell you, you can suck on my Old Man right nut, Bro.” Marco smirks at them as he and John do their whole hand shaking, back slapping thing. Brian stops his dance with the bag and lays one hand on it, leaning against it.
“Fuck that, we’ll see about that later, man. And no clue, there’s a new guy joining?” Brian asks looking towards the entrance of the gym to see if he can get a look at who Marco was talking about. Marco and John’s gaze follow his, the three of them looking like old ladies, trying to see who moved in next door.
Their gazes follow Scott with the new man as he is apparently giving him a tour of the facility and probably explaining how things are done, Scott’s mouth moving constantly since they started walking. But taking a closer look, Scott’s posture seems rigid and tense, almost as if something has triggered an alert sensor in him.
“Good looking guy, sharp dresser,” Marco comments, assessing him.
“Yeah,” Brian replies absently, making his own observation.
“Yeah, but…,” John adds in, still watching as the two move slowly, through the gym.
“…there’s something about him,” Marco and Brian finish John’s thought.
All of John’s sensors are picking something up from this new guy, his skin is tingling and his hair stands on end. He doesn’t want to let him out of his sight. All of his alarms are screaming ‘CAUTION’!
“He looks like a cleaned up gangbanger, from the hood,” John says.
He’s right. The new guy is obviously Latin, but tall. He has classic, stunning, good looks, with chiseled features, and a sleek toned body which was dr
essed in a crisp white dress shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, revealing a gold crucifix hanging from his neck. The Latinos do love to show off their Catholicism. He wore expensive, perfectly fitting jeans, with butter-soft leather driving shoes on his feet, and his long black hair is slicked back off of his face. This guy has been out of the hood for a long time. But make no mistake, he uses his street smarts just as much as he uses his looks, and by the way he carries himself, he has fine-tuned both with masterful expertise. He must have felt the three men watching him, because he turns his face and his gaze pinpoints all of them in one look. He assesses them all in a fraction of a moment and smirks at them, lifting his chin up as if to say, ‘Yeah, that’s right mother fuckers, I’m in the house now, let’s get ready to have some fun.’
This guy’s a barracuda in a room full of sharks.
“Looks like shit’s ‘bout to get real in here, boys,” John, mumbles as he returns the greeting to Mr. Latin Man.
“No doubt,” Brian agrees.
Marco pulls their attention away with a question, “What were you guys talking about when I walked up?” It’s obvious from the sound of his voice that he feels the same discomfort about the new guy in town.
“We were just talking about Elsie,” John says letting his gaze stray to the studio where Janie and Elsie have been joined by Elizabeth and a couple of other women from the class. The stretches have stopped and the women are gathered together talking and intermittently turning to scan the larger outer room, probably to study the men.
“Did you fuck her, John?” Marco asks unceremoniously.
“No, I didn’t fuck her. Why does a guy have to fuck a girl, if he takes her home?” John says slightly agitated.
“Because I know you want to,” Marco states flatly, “Bad.” The last word hanging in the air, then falling hard like a lead balloon.
“Fuck you guys, I’ve got a class to teach,” John mumbles, walking towards the studio and the girls. He can hear the snide comments behind him, followed by a few chuckles from his friends.
When John enters the studio the women go silent, waiting on instructions from him. He has to admit, it is quite a challenge teaching a room full of sexually charged women, in a building full of testosterone oozing men. But he has always been one to thrive under a challenge, and he learned a long time ago, you have to use every resource available to you in order to succeed. In this case, he uses his looks and his presence, he knows he’s good looking and he knows he commands attention. It’s his responsibility to make sure these women learn everything they can, to the best of their ability, about self-defense. It could be a matter of life or death for them. And he doesn’t need any more blood on his hands. Helping to save lives also helps John heal, a little bit more each time. When he sees them ‘getting it’, he sleeps a little easier at night and there’d been many nights in the past when he did not sleep at all, rolling around in a cold sweat from night terrors.
“We have a few more minutes before class starts, which will give everyone a chance to arrive, ladies,” he addresses the women who are waiting for some kind of a cue from him.
He can’t help but notice that Elsie’s back is to him, and she’s holding herself around her abdomen. Her stance and body language shout that she’s reserved, nervous, and self-protective. A pang of guilt runs through him along with confusion.
I don’t think she’s scared of me, or Brian, but she’s certainly protecting herself from something, but what? he thinks to himself.
His mind shifts into computer mode, as all the interactions he and Elsie have had begin to flash quickly through it, waiting for something to click. He’s always been an analytical thinker, which made him an asset as a Marine, looking at every possible aspect of a situation. Nothing comes up in his memories, so he decides that it has to do with whatever she’s hiding. Each time they’ve been together, he’s felt the connection between them, the attraction pulling and drawing them together. He knew she was trying to hide behind her tough, smart-mouth façade, using it as an invisible wall so she could keep herself detached…and in her mind safe. But safe from what? Did something happen to her? The thought of someone hurting Elsie fills John with a surging need to protect her, to take care of her, and to heal her. This leaves him with only one alternative: he needed to test her and bring it all out.
The rest of the women have trickled in and said their ‘hellos’ as they get situated. Everyone begins to line up, taking their places, and John can’t help but notice that Elsie has pulled Janie to the back of the room. A safe distance.
A sly smirk begins to play on John’s mouth as he thinks, You can’t run and hide from me, little one. You’re mine, whether I, or you, want it. Fate has dealt our hand and is fucking with us. We might as well get the best out of it. So, I will find out your secret, and I will set you free.
“Ladies, in position please,” John’s commanding voice fills the room.
“Any position you prefer, John?” The question loaded with sexual innuendo came in the singsong voice from a blonde in the front row. She looks like the epitome of a diva, decked in designer duds from head to toe. Her look includes highlights, a manicure, and a belly button piercing, showing below her midriff-baring top. Her spray on tan looks fresh, as it’s so dark.
“Actually, I do have a preference Bambi,” John smiles at her.
Are you fucking kidding me?!! Elsie screams at John in her head. You can’t be that hard up. Anybody else but HER. Anybody!!!
At that precise moment John glances at Elsie and sees the rage evident in her face, from her tense jaw, to her flaring nostrils, and her clenched fists. He smiles with satisfaction.
You bastard! The word is flung, loud and clear, at him from across the room, even if it wasn’t spoken.
“What I want, Bambi, is for all of you ladies to get serious,” John’s expression has turned firm and he’s suddenly adopted a no-nonsense attitude. With his hands clasped behind his back, he begins to pace back and forth in front of the room. “You could be in a position one day where the one thing that could save your life was missed because,” he pauses and turns to look directly at Bambi, “your mind was elsewhere.” His gaze moves to Elsie, “Get serious,” then to each woman’s face in the crowd. “I have seen results of the most horrible things done to women, and I’ll be damned if I let those things happen to any of you. So, while you’re in here, I want your mind to be focused and serious and ready to learn how to kick my ass. Nothing else should be in your thoughts. Understood?”
John catches a glimpse of the new guy, looking through the glass at his class, from across the room. Their eyes meet for a moment…and he smiles at John, slow and almost lasciviously, lifting his eyebrows suggestively. John glares at him, almost daring him to try anything with his girls. Yes, they’re his, his to protect and keep safe from pigs like that. Mr. Latin Lover throws his head back and laughs at John’s reaction, almost mocking him.
You want it like that? It’s on, Motherfucker, don’t try me. He’s thrown the first blow and John gladly accepts the challenge.
Elsie is somewhat relieved, but she can’t stop the daggers from shooting out of her eyes directly into the Blonde Bitch’s back.
I may not be able to have him, but I’ll be DAMNED if you’ll dig your fake press-on nails into him.
Janie’s hand gently grabs onto Elsie’s forearm, pulling Elsie’s attention back to her. Janie smiles, winks, and whispers to her, “Don’t worry Babe, that shit has no possibility of ever happening. He’s so into you, the guy can’t see straight.”
It’s so good having your Thelma to my Louise.
CHAPTER 4 Eight Years Earlier, Elsie, “No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens. Don’t let them see what goes down in the kitchen. Places, places, get in your places. Get in your dress and put on your doll faces. Everyone thinks that we’re perfect. Please don’t let them look through the curtains.” Lyrics “Dollhouse” by Melanie Martinez
“Why did you cut my pictures from the yearbook layout? The only
ones I took, that are in the yearbook now, are the couple from the debate?” Elsie yells at Joe Stienberg. They’re sitting in the school’s makeshift ‘studio’ for the yearbook.
Joe’s the smartest kid in their senior class, the guy will probably discover the cure for cancer, but he’s such a pussy. He lets people walk all over him and use him, especially the homecoming queen and head cheerleader, Sarah Johnson, who’s boyfriend happens to be the quarterback of the football team, Johnny Simonella, the best looking guy in the whole school. And who is also too good for her. Sarah is the biggest slut in the whole school, but no one would dare whisper a word of what she really is. Ho Bag.
Joe turns to look at Elsie, finally beaten down by the constant badgering she’s been giving him for the past hour, over her pictures getting cut from the yearbook. His eyes are bulging out of his head from the strain of holding himself back, instead of choking the shit out of her. If he had to listen to another minute of her pounding on his brain, all because he cut most of her pictures, he’d snap. He was beginning to doubt if he’ll be able to stop his hands from wrapping around her neck and squeezing until her eyeballs pop out.
“Because,” he begins, almost shouting at her, before regaining his composure, he continues, “Elsie you know how things are. The popular kids get the most attention, and well, they’re the…most popular.”
She can’t believe that just came out of his mouth. Elsie stares at him a minute, in complete shock.
“How can someone so intelligent say something so completely fucking stupid?” Elsie finally says to him, shaking her head in disbelief.
Joe’s mouth clamps shut. The only person in the world who could shake his calm demeanor is Elsie, and his life had been a total hell since they started going through the pictures and choosing the ones that would make the final cut for the yearbook. To be honest, she had every right to be angry. What she was trying to do was assure that everyone had a presence in the yearbook, which was the fair and considerate thing to do. Unfortunately, if he’d stuck to her plan, there wouldn’t be enough pictures of the popular kids. This was politics, and politics aren’t fair. Neither is popularity, and popularity sells. It sucks, but that’s the way life is.
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