The Predator [1]

by Brooke May

  This is horrible.

  “Want to tell me what is going on?”

  I tell Fiona about the wonderful week I had with Chamberlain and how it came to a screeching halt when Gwen arrived. I told her about how they are with one another and what was said last night when they both thought I was asleep. Surprisingly, no more tears fall. I think I’m out of them.

  Fiona sits and listens in her armchair, nodding every once in a while, and stays focused on me. When I’m finished, she stands and comes to sit next to me. She gestures for me to lay my head on her lap, much as I did when I was a little girl and didn’t feel good. She runs a warm hand up and down the side of my face.

  “Take the weekend to think everything through about your relationship, K.C. I know you love Chamberlain, but he is your first, well, everything. It doesn’t mean that he is your forever…”

  “But you said we had a ‘fightin’ love.’”

  “I know I did, but maybe Chamberlain isn’t who I thought he was. Take the weekend, baby doll, and go from there. One day at a time.” She kisses my temple, continuing to stroke my face, and starts humming to me. Slowly, my eyes grow heavy, and I succumb to sleep.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  I’M ANXIOUS AND annoyed as I start my ballet class this morning. I spent the weekend thinking through my relationship with Chamberlain. How he makes me feel and really how I have changed since dating him.

  Do I really want to give it up? No, no, I don’t. I just need to find a way to tell him how I feel without getting my heart broken. But Chamberlain also needs to understand that Gwen isn’t a part of our relationship and deal with it. I want to like her but knowing that she doesn’t like me makes it difficult.

  And if Chamberlain is done with me, whatever, I will get over that and move on, eventually. I left my phone off all weekend, so when I turned it on this morning, I had around fifty voicemails and well over one hundred text messages - all from Chamberlain. I went through the text messages while I ate breakfast and listened to the voicemails on my way to the center. Both were pleading me for forgiveness and that he was sorry. The last few voicemails sounded like he was actually crying.

  My hopes of seeing him were dashed when he never came into the workout room while I was there doing my thing. The last of his messages were dated yesterday morning, so maybe it finally hit him that I didn’t want to talk and that makes me ache. I needed space, but I don’t want to leave him. Everything has been so intense between us from the start, and I feel rushed at times. But being in his arms is where I want to be.

  Now, that brings me back to my class, who are lively for a Monday morning while I fall into a little bit of a depression. The girls are getting ready for our first ever recital. We are holding it at the end of May here at the center. The girls and I had sat down and decided to do Cinderella for their first performance. The older girls in my night class agreed with it.

  I walk around the room and aid whichever girl needs it and then go back to the front to dance with them while giving instructions. I really wish I had at least one little boy interested in joining. The side door opens and closes. I just ignore it because parents come and go all the time. But when the girls stop and start giggling, I frown and find Chamberlain standing in the door.

  He looks horrible. His usually sexy stubble is growing into a beard. His hair has grown a little more, leaving it looking disheveled like he ran his hands through it one too many times, and his deep blue eyes are dull and tired.

  “What are you doing here?” I hiss my question. I don’t care how he looks. He knows better than to stop my class.

  “Forgive me, please, Katie.” His voice is forlorn and absolutely hoarse.

  “Stop,” I plead as he advances toward me.

  Please no.

  Not in a room filled with little girls and their parents watching outside. “Chamberlain, can we please talk afterward?”

  “Please, Katie. Forgive me.” He slowly comes toward me, as my eyes grow bigger.

  Why is he doing this now?

  “Chamberlain, afterward please.” My voice cracks from the anger starting to boil. I don’t need drama in this room right now.

  “Ms. Cunningham?” I look at one of my girls; one who I know has a crush on Chamberlain. “Maybe just listen to what he has to say.” She smiles at me.

  How can I say no to that?

  Wait a minute. I shoot my eyes back to Chamberlain. That is his plan? Using my students to get me to forgive him? I clench my fists at my sides. I was all about forgiving him before he pulled this stunt.

  “Katie.” Chamberlain drops to his knees in front of me and makes a grab for my hands. He manages to trap one, but I pull the other up to my chest and stare down at him.

  “Get up,” I hiss quietly under the music, so the girls don’t hear.

  “Not until you accept my apology.” He begs. “Please forgive me, baby. I was an as … jerk. I shouldn’t have said what I did.” His eyes are as pleading as his words. I stare at him for a beat. I do want to forgive him for what he is apologizing for, but he is going to have to do it again for making a scene here.

  “Forgive him, Ms. Cunningham.” Several of the girls plead with me.

  Oh, he’s paying for this.

  I glare down at him, which makes him flinch.

  Good.

  “Yes, you are forgiven for what you said, but not for this.” I gesture to the room, while the girls cheer and giggle.

  Chamberlain’s full megawatt dimpled smile blasts me in the face as he springs to his feet and picks me up, swinging me around. “Thank you, baby.” He showers my face with kisses as he laughs and continues to twirl us. It is a good thing I’m used to spinning; otherwise, I would be sick by now.

  “Oh, you make me so happy.” He finally sets me down on the ground and plants a PG-rated kiss on my lips. He looks down at me after pulling back and runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “Do you have any plans after this?” I shake my head. “Good, you’re coming with me.” He kisses my forehead and leaves me to finish my class.

  I turn back to the girls and give them a look that means we are going back to work. I can’t help the smile that comes back to my face. A smile I haven’t worn since Thursday morning.

  XOXO

  AFTER I DISMISS my class, I find Chamberlain sitting in the corner of the room, watching every movement I make. “Where are we off to?” I put everything away and grab my bag before turning to him.

  He hops up and wraps his hand around mine. “Come on.” He blasts me with another of his smiles. I roll my eyes instead of returning it.

  “I’m mad about what you pulled here,” I inform him as he drags me toward the front of the building.

  “I know, and I have a way for you to pay me back.” He throws me a wink as we clear the doors and head to my car. “Keys?” He sticks out his free hand, waiting.

  Again, I roll my eyes as I hand them over and walk over to the passenger door. “Where is your car?”

  “At the garage.” We get in.

  “Why is it at the garage?” I tilt my head.

  He mimics me, making me finally smile. “Because.” He says no more and takes off.

  All right.

  I watch out the windows as we make our way to our destination. The surroundings start to look familiar, and soon, we are pulling into the parking lot next to his gym. There are no other vehicles around.

  “What are we doing here?” I get out of the car, following his lead.

  “Letting out some frustration.” He unlocks the door, opening up the cool building. I shiver as we walk in. He turns on the lights and music to “Get off my Back” by Bryan Adams. “Come on.”

  We walk over to one of the smaller fighting rings. Chamberlain drops his stuff and pulls his hoodie over his head and then grabs all the stuff to wrap his knuckles, his mouth guard, and his groin guard out of his bag. I follow his lead by taking off my jacket, but I sit down on the bench.

  Am I here to watch him train or something?<
br />
  Chamberlain straddles the bench next to me, like he is going to wrap his hands. “Give me your hands, Katie.” He reaches for me after he finishes his hands. When he starts to put the tape on my hands, it dawns on me what he is doing.

  My frustration, not his.

  I watch in fascination as he wraps my hands and then stands when he is done. “Up you go.”

  I stand and frown. “I don’t have a mouth guard.” He hoists me up into the ring and then jumps in behind me.

  “You won’t be needing one, just me.” He mutters the end while reaching for a pair of gloves and proceeds to put them on each of my hands. When he is finishes with one hand, it drops to my side causing me to go off balance, temporarily.

  Wow, these are heavy.

  He does up my other hand and walks to the center of the ring, putting the headgear on. “You’re going to hit me until you feel better.” He puts his hands and arms up to guard his face and waits.

  “You’re serious?” I’m flabbergasted as I walk up to him; it feels like I’m dragging my hands behind me.

  “Deadly.” He lifts his head and then moves back down. “Give me your worst, panda.”

  Shaking my head, I get into the stance he taught me and test the weight of the gloves. How does he expect me to hit him if I can barely lift my hands?

  “Let’s go, Katie. I won’t bruise easily. Promise.” He sounds all cocky. I look up from my hands and shoot him a glare.

  “Is this your way of making everything better?” I throw a light punch at him, hitting him on the side. He didn’t even try to block that. He must just want to protect his face.

  “It’s a start.” I continue to throw swing after swing at him. It does make me feel a little better, but I don’t like hitting him to get there. The gloves start to lose more and more weight as I get used to them. “I know you can do better than this,” he taunts.

  I pull back and put all I have into my right fist as it comes around and knocks him off his center. It takes us both by surprise when he falls over. A smile creeps onto my face as I dance around him, feeling great. I managed to knock this six-foot-one beast of a man onto the ground.

  “Whoa!” Chamberlain jumps back up, shaking his head with wide eyes. “Do you feel better now?”

  “Yes!” I jump into his offered arms, knocking him to the canvas once more, with me on top of him. I kiss the exposed skin of his face while pulling the gloves off. When I’m free of the confides of the glove, I grab at his growing beard and pout. “I don’t like this.” I tug on it.

  “Ouch!” He covers my hands with his and pulls them to his lips. “Me either, but I’ve had more important things on my mind. Like what was going on with my sexy girlfriend and why she wasn’t answering my calls.”

  “I wasn’t answering any calls if that makes you feel better,” I offer.

  “No because I’m the only one who calls you besides Fiona, and you were at home with her.”

  “How do you know?” My brows draw together.

  “I talked to her on the phone. She got my number from your phone and called to tell me you were okay and not to worry.”

  “I see you didn’t take her advice.” I snake a hand away and tug again, earning a swat to my bottom. “HEY!”

  “Don’t.” He points a finger at me. “I wanted to hear it from you. But I get why you didn’t answer.”

  “I had my phone off,” I say defensively.

  “I was an asshole.”

  “Yes, you were.” I bend and kiss him. “And you are forgiven, but don’t do it again. I get you two are friends, but I’m your girlfriend. Meaning … you …” I kiss his cheek. “You are supposed to take …” I kiss his other. “My side.” I pull back and express what I just said the best with my eyes.

  “I’m sorry.” He pouts, sticking out his bottom lip.

  I’m about to kiss him again when the music changes and a booming voice comes through the quiet gym. “This is a fucking gym, Lawrence, not a make-out ring!”

  “Oh, shit!’ I laugh as Chamberlain’s eyes bug out of his head, and he springs us both up. “Sorry, Larsen, we were just …”

  “Knocking him on his butt,” I finish when he stops talking. The older man regards the both of us for a moment and stalks off. I leave the ring, leaving Chamberlain there gaping like a fish. I slowly get the tape off my hands and throw the balled up mass into the trash. “Are you coming?”

  “Do you have plans Wednesday night?” He finally joins me down on the bench.

  “No, why?”

  He pulls his hoodie over his head, not bothering to remove his tape yet. “Good, now you do. I want to take you to dinner.” He cuts me off before I can ask.

  “Where?” I hurry to keep up with him.

  “Somewhere nice, wear something … sexy.” He shoots me his predator eyes. Instantly, my body warms.

  “Black and white?”

  “Fuck, yes.” My body starts to tremble with need. It’s hard to believe I was mad at him just a couple of hours ago. Hitting him really did help. Maybe I should look into some classes and surprise him.

  Letting go of his hand, I walk to my side of the car and wait for him to unlock it, but he doesn’t. He slides his hands over my shoulders to rest on the top of my car, effectively caging me between his rippling arms.

  I shiver with desire when I feel his nose rub from the base of my neck up to my ear, his hot breath trailing behind. He lightly bites my ear with a tug. “And wear something even sexier under it. That way, when we are done eating, I can take you home …” He nudges the back of my ear with his nose. “Strip you bare …” He moves down my neck, kissing me. “And fuck you until your voice is hoarse, spent, and we’re laying in a pool of our sweat.”

  I grab hold of his forearms as my legs turn to jelly. I blink rapidly and bite my lip. “I’ll leave you with that thought.” He walks away and over to the driver’s side.

  Jerk.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I DRAG MYSELF into class Tuesday morning. I’m really not looking forward to it. Scott decided to ditch me this morning in favor of a busty redhead, according to Chamberlain. I’m early enough, so I’m walking slowly, just about to round the corner to the hallway my classroom is off when Amber’s voice filters to my ears, causing me to stop.

  “What makes you think it will work?” Amber’s snide voice makes me frown.

  “Because he’ll be shitfaced for his birthday. It’s foolproof,” Lizzy answers her.

  “Whatever, as long as it doesn’t fuck up my chances of getting Chamberlain alone.”

  “It won’t. I just need to make sure he somehow gets my condoms.” Lizzy giggles, but it sounds more like a witch’s cackle.

  “I’ll help you with that, if you can figure out a way to get that bitch away from Chamberlain.” I can hear the smile in Amber’s voice. My temper starts to flare.

  “Which one?”

  “Kaycee of course, you dumb twat.” Amber hisses. “Gwen will be the next one to deal with.”

  “Oh, okay.” Lizzy cackles again. “Don’t worry; I have the bouncer at the bar bribed with blow jobs not to let the little girl in.”

  “Awesome.” They continue to talk, but it grows distant as they walk away. I finish rounding the corner and lean against it, watching as they retreat to the classroom.

  Why do women have to be crazy like this?

  It makes all the sane ones look bad. I’m not going to let them ruin my friend’s life by trapping him with a woman he can’t even stand or bring a poor defenseless baby into the mix.

  Quickly, I pull out my phone and shoot Chamberlain a message.

  Me: Meet for lunch? Bring Scott.

  Chamberlain: Okay, what’s going on?

  Me: I’ll tell you later. <3

  Chamberlain: ‘Kay, I’ll have lunch waiting at the gym.

  I put my phone on silent then walk into the classroom and take my usual seat. I do my best to ignore Amber and Lizzy’s questioning looks when Scott never shows. Throughout class,
I try to focus on the lecture, but my mind wanders to all different aspects that are going on in my life. I come back to the lecture again and look down at my notes, finding doodles instead. I’m not doing well today.

  After class, I duck out quickly to avoid the terrible twosome. I get to my car and see them heading my way. As quickly as I can and not running over anyone in the process, I peel out of the parking lot and take off. I don’t need them ganging up on me today. I have way too much on my plate at the moment. Having them add more isn’t going to help me keep the delicate balance I am trying to maintain.

  I get to the gym in no time at all and find most of the guys who train with Chamberlain and Scott heading off to lunch with Larsen. He lets me know that Chamberlain and Scott are in the break room waiting for me.

  “Hey.” I flop myself down on a chair between them at the little round table.

  “Hey, panda.” Chamberlain greets me with a brief kiss while Scott mumbles to his burrito.

  Okay?

  “Thanks for ditching me today.” I throw a napkin at Scott’s head, which he catches with a smile filled with food. “Gross.”

  “When you got a wild kitty in your bed like I did, you don’t want to leave.” He turns his attention to his burrito, ignoring my repulsed look.

  “Again, gross.” I pull my chair up and unwrap my own burrito, a chicken one.

  “So what’s going on?” Chamberlain swallows; his focus is on me with serious eyes and his tone. This draws Scott’s attention away from his meal.

  “What’s going on?”

  I sigh because it doesn’t look like I’m going to get to eat yet. “Lizzy is planning on getting you in the sack Friday night.”

  Since being around Scott, I’ve used more terminology that I would have never used before.

  “Ha! Yeah, right.” He brushes it off and goes back to his food.

  “It’s true. She’s planning to get pregnant.” Scott pauses, shrugs, and then goes back to his food.

  “So? She won’t succeed. I’ve never been that drunk.”