by Marie York
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 date,” 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 forceful
ly 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.
She nodded. “He didn’t do anything.”
He made her uncomfortable, invaded her space after she told him no. “He did enough.”
She nodded again, and her arms were a little shaky.
A strange urge to reach for her, hold her against my chest and comfort her, came over me. But Brooklyn didn’t like to be touched and she was already uncomfortable, so I controlled my urges. “You sure you’re okay?”
Her teeth slid out over her bottom lip, and she took a deep breath. “I just… I hate feeling like I can’t defend myself if I have to. I don’t want to feel weak and incapable. I don’t want to feel fear. I thought working out would make me feel stronger, but it’s making me feel weaker. I just want to learn how to defend myself.”
The sadness in her tone snaked right into my fucking heart, slithering around it and squeezing. “What time do you get out of work?” I asked.
She gave me a weird look before answering. “I have the early shift today, so nine.”
I leaned into her car and grabbed a crumpled up receipt and a pen. I scribbled an address down and handed it to her. “Meet me here after your shift.”
Her eyebrows pinched together above the bridge of her nose. “What is this?”
“You want to learn to fight?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then don’t ask questions.”
“I’m not going to meet a person whose real name I don’t even know at some undisclosed location. I may be weak, but I’m not stupid.”
I didn’t tell girls my real name. It was something they didn’t need to know. Besides, they wanted the cage fighter; they didn’t give a shit about who I really was.
There was something different about Brooklyn though. Something that I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but made me look at things in a completely different light.
“Nixon.” I smiled at her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Chapter 7
Brooklyn
I finally got him to tell me his real name. The smallest of victories, but I would still take it. I already knew his name anyway, I just wanted to know that he trusted me, too. If he wanted me to give him my full trust than it needed to be a two-way street. And now, I would finally learn how to fight. To defend myself. I couldn’t wait for my shift to be over.
I dropped off a plate of burgers at the table in the far corner and tried not to cringe when my leg muscles ached at the movement. I turned the wince of pain into a smile for the older couple who came in at least twice a week for lunch, and always tipped well. Janice let me take the table this time. We tried to shift the good tippers back and forth between us.
Janice stood at the counter, waiting for an order. She was older, in her fifties, and the lines around her face told me she lived a hard life. There was a rough edge to her voice that reinforced my thoughts, but she was kindhearted, and always willing to help me out. She even covered several shifts for me when I first started, when my anxiety got the best of me, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave my apartment. She made me feel comfortable here when I didn’t think I could feel comfortable anywhere.
“You should make sure you grab a piece of that coconut cream pie before it’s gone.” Janice nodded to the glass refrigerator that displayed all the desserts. She loved her pies and always made sure to hide a piece for herself before each shift.
Coconut cream pie wasn’t exactly on my meal plan though. Even if it was the idea of filling up on pie then going to learn how to fight didn’t seem like it would be the best combination. “I think I’m going to pass today.”
“Pass on pie? Honey, you do not know what you’re missing out on. But don’t worry, I’ll eat the piece for you.”
I laughed. “Go for it.”
“After our shift I’ll be doing a little shopping if you want to tag along.” Janice always invited me to go places with her and I was never sure if it was because she was lonely or she thought I was. I’d been tempted a few times, but making friends had never been a part of my agenda. The more people who knew me, the more danger I put not only myself in but them as well. This time I didn’t have to lie though.
“I actually have plans.”
Janice smiled, her bright red lipstick leaving a streak on her teeth. “Good on you! I hope it’s a hot date.”
“Not exactly.” Though there was no denying Nixon was hot, but it was far from a date. Not like he’d ever want to date someone like me. I remembered clearly the girl he was with that night on the hood of his car. If that was his type I wasn’t even close.
A pang of disappointment hit my gut and shocked the hell out of me. I had no desire to date, at least I didn’t think I did, so why did the thought of not being Nixon’s type bother me so much?
“Can I get some more coffee?” The man at Janice’s table called out.
“Duty calls,” she said. “But don’t think I didn’t notice that spark in your eyes. She patted my shoulder and grabbed the coffee pot.
I spent the rest of my shift, trying not to think about Nixon, but knowing I’d see him in a few hours, made it impossible.
***
Nixon
I pulled into the parking lot a little before nine that night and smiled when I saw Brooklyn’s car already there. After I walked away from her this morning, I wasn’t sure if she’d actually show. She was probably in a shitload of pain from our earlier workout. Lucky for her, we weren’t going to do anything too strenuous. I’d start off with the basics and we would go from there.
She got out of her car, and was wearing different clothes from what she had been wearing earlier, though they were still two sizes too big.
“You came,” I stated, as I pulled myself out of Tanya, my Mustang, and the only girl who ever left me begging for more.
Brooklyn shrugged. “I figured it was time to stop being scared. Besides, I have a feeling your bite is a lot softer than your bark.”
My dick hardened at the thought of biting her. “Keep saying things like that, and I may just have to prove you wrong.”
Her weight shifted from one foot to the other. “So, what is this place?” she asked.
“Follow me.” I walked over to the side door of the warehouse and unlocked it. I stepped inside and Brooklyn followed.
“My God, it’s hot in here,” she said from the doorway, as I went to flip the light switch. “And it smells like feet.”
“Anything else?” I asked as the lights flickered on across the large space.
She scanned the now lit space, taking in the free weights, punching bags and the ring in the
middle.
“Now I know why it smells like feet.” She smiled, and usually a girl’s smile had no effect on me, but hers not only caused my dick to twitch in eagerness but also stirred something inside me I had never felt before. Like my hard on, I ignored it.
“They turn the AC off in here at night to save on costs. Besides.” I ripped my shirt off. “There’s nothing wrong with a little sweating.”
Her eyes widened as she took me in. She went to speak, but stumbled on her words before finally darting her gaze away. “Is this where you train?” she asked, trying to keep eye contact.
I lifted an eyebrow in her direction. Most people knew I was a fighter, but she didn’t take me as a person who paid attention to that stuff. “You stalking me?”
She rolled her eyes. “You wish. I saw a flyer in the gym for your next fight.”
I moved toward her and leaned in close. Close enough that my lips just barely grazed her ear. “You’re right. I do wish.”
She sucked in a jagged breath, and I laughed as I made my way to the ring. I jumped through the ropes and held my hand down to her. “You coming?”
It was only a moment of hesitation, but it felt like a goddamn lifetime before she placed her hand in mine, and let me help her into the ring. I was not one for handholding, but there was something about the way our hands molded together that felt so right. As Brooklyn straightened up and let go of my hand, breaking the connection, she winced slightly.
“How you feeling?” I asked, knowing how hard I pushed her earlier.
She walked around the ring and came to a stop in the middle. “I’m hurting in places I didn’t know could hurt.”
I smirked. I could make her hurt in even more places if she would just let me. “You’re welcome.”
“You’re right, you are a sadist,” she said, but this time there was no hate in her tone. It was more playful. Maybe she was finally warming up to me enough to let me see what was beneath those baggy ass sweats. Because, goddammit, I wanted to know. “So, you’re going to teach me to fight?”