by Claire Adams
My clothes were scattered all over the place, and it took me awhile to find them all. The last thing I needed was for Kyle to walk in and see me naked again, though I supposed that was unlikely, since he actually knew I was there that time. I wanted to die at the memory of him coming out into the living room and seeing Jet and I rolling on the couch together. He had been just as impressed with us as everyone else was. I silently slipped into my panties and clothing, and wished that I had brought a brush with me. My hair must have looked a mess, and I had nothing to apply fresh makeup with.
My head was pounding and I did not want to have to rush out. I wanted water, drugs, and sleep, not in that particular order, but I was certain that I did not want to be there when Jet woke up. I wished I could sleep for the entire day, but I needed to find my way back to my own bed first. Every time I was around Jet I behaved like an idiot―well, when alcohol was involved, anyway. I was not impressed with my behavior the night before. I never did stuff like that, and I was starting to think that maybe Jet was a bad influence. Sometimes that was a good thing if someone could bring you out of your shell, but waking up hungover and sore probably wasn't the best result of that.
I quickly took a peek at myself in his bathroom mirror and groaned. I looked exactly as bad as I felt. My hair was a mess and I had bags under my eyes from no sleep. In fact, I could go as far as saying I could use a complete spa day to start looking normal again. As I was tiptoeing to his bedroom door, my phone buzzed. I looked up quickly, but Jet had not moved at all. It was possible that the guy was in a coma. If it wasn't for his intense snoring, I might have checked to see if he was still breathing.
I looked at my phone, thinking that it must be Julie trying to track my whereabouts again. She was worried that I hadn't returned home the night before, but I was sure that she must have talked to Brenda and assumed where I had ended up. She was just mad that I ended up here; the question and exclamation marks told me all I needed to know about her mood.
Shock hit my body when I saw that it wasn't a message at all, but that my ex-boyfriend Tom was calling me. Actually calling me on the phone at 9:00 a.m. I couldn't imagine what that asshole would want after all that time, but I wasn't about to find out while I was standing alarmed in Jet's bedroom. I turned the phone off so that I wouldn't wake Jet, and I slipped out his bedroom door, closing it behind me. Kyle's door was also closed, and I sighed with relief. As I was walking down the hallway I found pieces of Jet's clothing, marking our trail to the bedroom last night. Shirt, jeans, and oh, God, underwear. Mortified, I hurried to the front door, thankful that I was lucky enough to get out of there without either of the guys seeing me. I would hardly have been a sight for sore eyes for Jet when he awoke that morning.
I made a slow progression down the stairs, and Tom came to mind again. I couldn't figure out at all why he would be calling me. He was off in paradise with my ex-best friend; why did he feel the need to call me now? Was he feeling guilty? Did he want to offer his apologies to me again? He couldn't think that he would get a good response out of me, so I had to give him credit for having the balls to call me after so much time had passed. I didn't want to hear any more apologies, though, and I had no interest in hearing him tell me again that he was meant to be with my friend. It sickened me that I had wasted years with a man, only to have him tell me he found his soul mate in my best friend.
I pushed open the front door of the building and stepped outside. As I stepped out into the bright morning sunshine, I shielded my eyes, and made a quick call for a cab to meet me a few streets down from Jet's place. I wasn't sure how long the cab would take to get there, but I didn't want to be caught by Jet outside waiting for one. I told the cab company where I would be, and was told it would be a 20-minute wait, which really wasn't that bad. It would probably take me that long to get to the street.
I disconnected the call and started walking towards my destination. As I made my way down the street, a group of college kids were walking toward me, and the closer they got, a few of them started giggling. They whispered as they looked me up and down, a few of them shaking their heads. They knew exactly what I looked like, and why I looked that way at 9:00 a.m. Anyone who was doing what I was doing at 9:00 a.m. was doing the walk of shame.
I took the hit, walked with my head down, and avoided eye contact with the rest of them. I quickly passed them and made my way down the street. I turned to look behind me, and a few of the girls turned as well, and laughed at the sight of me. It was one of those moments when you wished you had travelled with an overnight kit, but again I should have ended up at my own place, not at Jet's. In fact, it made no sense for me to have been at Jet's, because his car was at my place. But maybe that was his plan―to come see me in the morning, just in case I sneaked out on him again. Maybe he knew me better than I thought. I didn't care what he did; I would not be answering the buzzer to let him in to see me today. I was taking the day off from spending any time with Jet. It was all about relaxation and removing the pain from my body and mind.
I sighed gratefully as I saw the cab pull up to the curb. I got in, gave the cabbie my address, and closed my eyes for the entire trip home.
Chapter Two
Jet
When I woke up that morning, I thought I would find a beautiful redhead beside me, one who was shy about the night before, but happy about it, too. Instead, I found myself alone, trying to figure out how that little vixen snuck out on me once again. I was starting to think she was a ninja, as she was able to get out of the bed and get dressed, leaving me behind without me hearing a thing. I didn't know what I was going to do with her, but I was not happy at all that she had left. A note would have been nice, or even sending a text message that said, “You snore too loud.” Something, anything, to not make me think that I was totally and completely wasting my time hanging out with her. Because one thing was becoming shockingly clear to me, and that was that I had no idea what was going on in that redhead’s brain. Just when I thought that I was starting to figure her out, she left me alone in my own bed, feeling like I was the one-night stand that got ditched.
I checked my phone, realizing that I had slept later than I wanted to. I had to train that day with Coach and I was already feeling quite ill. I would have to grab a Gatorade out of the fridge and try to replenish what the alcohol had taken away from me that night. Pre-workout was something that I used occasionally. It wasn't part of my regular workout routine but I made note to make some for this workout because I would need all the energy I could get my hands on.
Rolling out of bed, I quickly dressed in training gear and went to find Kyle. He was up finishing off his breakfast when he saw me walking down the hall.
He smirked and shook his head, and I remembered how he had found Natalie and I the night before. I wasn't about to get in that conversation with him at that point.
“Is she in there?” Kyle motioned towards my bedroom.
“No, she left before I got up.”
Kyle chuckled. “Man, you are a glutton for punishment. That girl must have a golden pussy for you to chase her like you do.”
I bristled. “I don't chase anyone, Kyle.”
“Sure you don't. She would just rather do the walk of shame in the a.m. rather than hang out with you for the day.”
“Shut the fuck up, Kyle, you have no idea what you're talking about. I had to train today, I couldn't hang out.”
Kyle just nodded as he mopped up the rest of his egg yolk with his toast.
“I need you to give me a ride to Natalie's, though, so I can get my car.”
Kyle looked up and grinned. “Sure man, whatever you want.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Seriously, shut up, man.”
When I walked into the training center I was about 15 minutes early for my training session. Coach had messaged me and cancelled my regular training session, so I had call my brother down to kill an arm and shoulder day with me. I didn't see him there yet so I put my bag down and did some stretching befo
re he arrived.
I did three minutes of shadow boxing in front of the mirror, working my techniques. I wanted to make sure of what I was throwing and how often my hands dropped, and it was rare.
“Hey, man, your technique looks good. Ready to smash some weights?”
“You got it.”
“No fights coming up anytime soon?”
“Don't joke around man, you know I have no conference fights, I'm on the bench.”
I laughed. “Yeah, yeah, won't be for long, I'm sure.”
We headed to the weight area and I planned for us to do bicep curls and tricep extensions. I could do 120 on each arm, and I loved seeing my veins pop. It was important to combine strength with MMA training so that your punches and kicks had power behind them.
We did three sets of each one, grunting through our progression. I did drop sets next for bicep curls. I started at 100, doing a set of 12, and I then went to 80, and finished with 12. I went from 60 to 40, and ended with 20, which at that point felt like it weighed 100 all over again.
“Those look sick, man. Set me up for those as well.” Craig said.
“Yeah, I got you. What's your max weight?”
“More than yours.”
I laughed, and set him up with 110. “Don't get too carried away.”
He jacked up his arms, and as he did his sets of 10, I lowered the weight for him. I kept pushing him to work harder when he was close to giving up. “Come on man, one more set, let’s go.” I set the last one to 20 and he killed it.
We continued on with biceps and triceps and then moved on to shoulders. We did shoulder presses, chin-ups, and push-ups. I was exhausted by the time we were done, and we went to the water cooler to grab some Gatorade. Craig and I sat on the bench, lost in our own thoughts as we chugged our drinks.
“So, Jet, why didn't you come to that dinner with Dad? I invited you and your little girlfriend and you didn't show up. We were expecting you.”
“She's not my girlfriend. And maybe all of you guys should just stop expecting me.”
“Oh believe me; no one's expecting anything, Jet.”
“Craig, just drop it, okay?”
“I have been inviting you to dinner for months now, Jet. When are you going to show up to one? Don't you think this is upsetting for everyone? What about Mom, don't you even care?”
“Oh come on, man. You know exactly why I don't come. If he wanted me there bad enough he would call me. Stop being his errand boy.”
“I'm not his errand boy, Jet. I just think you should be at dinner just like the rest of us.”
“It's not the rest of us. You don't get hounded the way I do.”
“He just wants the best for you, Jet. Taking over the company isn't such a terrible thing.”
“Then you do it.”
“Seriously, don't be an asshole.”
“I don't want that life. I am building the life I want, or don't you see that?”
“What are you going to do when you retire from MMA? Don't you want something to fall back on?”
“I don't need anything to fall back on. I'm making it to the big leagues, man. I am going all the way. I will have all the money I need.”
“I'm going to see Dad in a few days. Why don't you come along?”
I laughed. “You don't stop, do you?”
“No, and I'm not going to.”
I looked around the gym. In mid-afternoon the place was really busy, and I felt weird about having that conversation with Craig there.
“When are you going to forgive him?”
I groaned. “Craig, do we have to do this right now?”
“Yeah, man, I think we do, because you won't deal with it any other time.”
I sighed. “I don't want to forgive him.”
“I have.”
“Yeah, I'm aware of that.”
“Shit happens, man.”
“He cheated on our mother with his secretary. He wasn't even original about it. If that wasn't bad enough, he left that great woman we call Mom, and shacked up with that girl. He broke your mother’s heart, and you want to forgive? You want me to have dinner with him and his new girlfriend? You must be kidding me.”
“He's my father too, and I don't agree with what he did. But I love him, too, and what happened is between Mom and him. I don't like being angry all the time, and you shouldn't be either, Jet. At least talk to him about it.”
“I don't know.”
“Just come with me this time, please. Just come. Do it for me.”
“Okay, I promise I will go this time. Just get off my back.”
Craig laughed. “Thank God. I have to get out of here, but I will message you the details later. Don't blow me off.”
I waved him off and got the hell out of the gym.
Chapter Three
Natalie
Halloween was right around the corner, and festivities were being held all over campus. Decorations were up and people were out looking for costumes. Guys always bought the ridiculous ones, and of course, girls found a reason to dress completely slutty for one day of the year. I had never been one for dress-up, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Julie and Brenda had been talking about finding a party or going to the club, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to partake. I had done so much drinking over the past few months that I felt I was accruing brain damage. Look at the decisions I had been making lately―all bad news. Jet alone was the result of all my drinking, I didn't think I would have done half those things with him had I not been half out of my mind.
Searching for costumes wasn't the only thing students were doing these days. For the whole month of October, the haunted house was set up as well. It was a scare house set up for kids to go in and have the wits scared out of them for fun. For as many years as it had been in town, I had only ever gone once. That was enough for me. I had been scared so badly I had no desire to ever return. Call me a scaredy-cat or not, I wasn't going back.
That night I had agreed to go to the school for an extracurricular activity for my art class. We had been asked to decorate pumpkins and put them all over the campus for Halloween. I had gone to class, and the professor asked me to be in charge of determining how the pumpkins should be decorated. So I walked up to the front of the class, feeling nerves tittering in my stomach. I was honored that my professor thought I was talented enough to do this; I wanted to make her proud.
I faced my classmates. “Hey, guys, I was thinking about what we could all do with the pumpkins, and I don't want there to be any carving tonight. Let's use the skills that we have learned so far this semester and create pumpkin art. We can use any type of medium that we like, such as, let's see, how about ink? Paint? We have lots of oils and acrylics that we can use up. Let's have abstract pumpkins, floral design, moody ink work, whatever we want to create, and we'll have the most unique pumpkins on campus this year.”
The class clapped in excitement, and students got up right away to choose what medium they were going to use. I helped the professor pass out pumpkins. We had enough for each student to do three of them, and I was so excited to see what they were going to come up with. Once the pumpkins were passed out, and students found their way back to their seats, I started walking around to see what I could find.
I went up to Crystal, who was an art student often inspired by other artists, and mimicked them in her art. I watched as she poured out various colors of paint and tested them. She was what one would call a free artist, in that when she painted, she never needed to draw pictures first; she painted by freehand. I wished that I had that sort of talent, but art itself never came easily to me. I always had to pencil in items first, and then paint in the colors. I watched as she started in on her pumpkin; I was interested to see who she would emulate this time.
As the paint stroke molded in droopy lines, I realized she was painting the eyes of the pumpkin, using drooping clocks for the eyes. The same sort of clocks that were often depicted in Salvador Dali's famous paintings.
“Wow, Cry
stal. I love it; great idea.”
She turned to face me. “Thanks.”
“It's a unique idea. I love Dali, he's one of my favorite artists, as well. Very tortured.”
“Aren't we all?”
I laughed. “True enough.”
I left Crystal and continued walking around the room. I saw pumpkins that looked like water lilies, and one that had so many floral designs it appeared to be a pumpkin garden. I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone wouldn't want to be an artist, or at least take an art class for fun. The individual ideas that sprung up from nothing were incredible, and often awe-inspiring.
I approached a guy who was painting The Scream on the side of a pumpkin, and I laughed.
“Hey, great idea. Fits in with a Halloween theme for sure. I like your lines; everything flows into the colors perfectly.”
“Thanks, Natalie.” He looked up at me adoringly and his look gave me a cause for concern.
“No problem.”
“Hey, would you like to grab a coffee with me sometime?”
I smiled and laughed a bit nervously. “I’m not dating these days, sorry. Maybe you should focus on your work.”
He looked away sheepishly, and I made note not to step over to his desk again for the rest of the night. I had no idea that anyone in the class had been crushing on me; maybe I was in my own world all the time. I would need to start branching out and talking to people more. And of course, I would need to start considering dating again. Tom had thrown me for quite some loop and before I even had time to heal, there was Jet. What a handle that boy was. I hadn't heard from him since the night of wine and seduction, and I was pretty comfortable with that. I genuinely felt that I just wasn't ready to be with anyone, not even Jet. I was a mess. I kept running out on him, and I knew that it was fear-driven, for the most part. Definitely not fair to anyone. What surprised me more was that he kept coming back. He hadn't given up on me yet; why, I couldn't imagine. There were far prettier and saner girls out there than I. I still didn't know what he saw in me, but I believed truly that he wasn't right for me, and I hoped that we could maintain some level of friendship, and just leave it at that. Maybe in the future when my wounds weren't so raw―maybe then we could have something meaningful, but right now all I could see was some guy who liked to chase tail. I felt that the only reason he kept chasing me was because I was a challenge to him. Had I bowed at his feet a long time ago he probably would have left me the moment we slept together. No, the only reason why he was still around was because I made his life more difficult, and he wanted to break me of that habit.