I finished my explanation with how Jet had stormed out of the restaurant, leaving me there with his family, and how I had gone out to talk to him, only to get into a huge fight with him about secrets, the past, my ex, and the fact that we would only ever be just friends. I was exhausted by the time I finished the story. I downed the rest of my beer while Julie sat there looking shell shocked. I got up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed us both another beer. I headed back into the living room and plopped back down on the couch.
“Jet, actually called his dad's girlfriend a whore?”
I laughed. “Yeah, it was something to see, for sure.”
“Oh my God, how do I keep missing these things? That whole story was better than watching an episode of The Guiding Light.”
“I know. I feel emotionally drained from being a part of it.”
Well, that's one hell of a story, Natalie. There's clearly a lot of history between Jet and his dad that they will probably have to work out together, or maybe just not be a part of each other’s lives.”
I nodded, feeling sad about the whole thing. Poor Jet. I knew what it was like to have dysfunction in the family, and I also didn't have the best relationship with my dad. It was nothing like Jet's issues, but we had our own issues we had to figure out.
“Anyway, I decided that I would send a message to Jet later tonight, and tell him I want to break contact. I don't even want to be friends anymore.”
“Well why would you do a thing like that?”
I looked at her, confused. “Isn't it obvious? Look at us―we're a mess, and we can't seem to figure things out properly. I don't want things to continue on like this; we are far too complicated for two people who are just friends.”
“Well for one thing, you guys were never just friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well; even if you leave out the sex that's happened between you two, you are way more than just friends. He for sure has wanted more from you right from the beginning, but you have just chosen to ignore his wants out of fear. But even leaving that part out, look at the two of you together. Everyone can see it Natalie, that's why no one can figure out why you aren't together with him. I understand you’re scared of getting hurt because of what happened with Tom, but unless you're going to become a nun, you have to learn to trust someone eventually.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You guys have great chemistry, and you have a blast together, and hello―he's hot. The sex is great ... I can keep going on if you want. I think it's a mistake to have a friends with benefits pact with this guy, but I think it’s an even bigger mistake for you to drop him out of your life completely. I think you want something serious with Jet; you're just too scared to do anything about it.”
I stared at her, shocked, and wondered how right she was about everything. I decided to hold off on my text to Jet, and see how I felt about things in the morning.
Chapter Ten
Jet
It was round two of the conference finals, and the crowd was wild as the bell rang for the second round to commence. I moved forward toward my opponent, Jan, who was trying to take me down. He was a strong fighter, and he had almost mastered me in the first round, until I got him onto the ground in a triangle hold. I almost had him submitted to tap when the bell rang to announce the round had ended. I got up off the ground and went to my corner, pissed off.
“It's okay, Jet. You will get him next round.”
I wasn't breathing heavy at all. My cardio was excellent, but I could not deny that it had been a hard round. I was fighting in the finals, and the guy I was up against was a great fighter, maybe one of the best in our weight class. If I won that fight, I would be heading to the nationals. I could not wait to get there, and I just needed to mow through Jan here to do it.
Someone screamed, “JET!” as we met in the middle of the cage to begin round two. Everyone got up from their seats, as they were dying to see me kill this round.
Jan hit his mark immediately, throwing a kick into my ribcage, and following it with a front kick. The hit was hard, and the breath came right out of me as I staggered back from the front kick. I ate the hit, unable to check it. But I got back in with a few punches to Jan’s face. My body is strong and flexible, and my movements are fluid. The crowd starts to boo as I take another hit to my torso. Jan followed that with an uppercut to my chin. As my head flew up, I backed away quickly to recover. He was not going to take me down; I refused to let him. I walked back in, and hit him with a four-punch combination.
I regained my position by hitting Jan with a flying knee, and dropping him.
Jan got back up, and came in hard, trying to grab me and keep me in a clinch. He dropped in a few knees as I tried to remove myself from the clinch. I pushed him away from me, and hit him with a jab, and then a right cross. I did it again, and Jan ate both hits.
My corner was screaming at me to just keep going, that I was knocking him down. I needed to get this in, to conquer Jan, and move on to the nationals. This was my dream, and I was going to prove my father wrong. Prove to him that I could do this, be the best, and have the career I always wanted in the MMA.
I went in fast and hard just as he recovered from my one two shot. I swung high and fast with a kick, and clocked him right in the head, and he was down for the count. The medics went in, and the fight was called. The medics stayed with Jan to make sure he was okay, and then he joined me in the middle for the call from the judges.
My hands went high in the air as my name was called, and I had won the fight through TKO. My corner came rushing into the cage to congratulate me, and I had the press in there as well, to interview me. I was going to the nationals. I felt like I was flying high, about to take over the world. I had never wanted anything more in my life, and there I was, the winner.
I slipped into my shirt, and headed out of the cage with my tea. We went back to the lockers and started collecting our things to leave.
It was party time as my team and I headed out to celebrate my victory with everyone. No one could kill my high at that point, and I knew that the nationals would be mine as well.
We all went to our usual party spot, and I realized then how much I missed Natalie. I should have invited her to the fight, but I never really knew what was going on between us. She kept me constantly confused, and to be honest, a little mystified. I looked around the room, hoping that I would see her, that she would show up with Julie, and sit at her usual spot at the bar. I wanted to see her gloomy and sassy as she pounded back drink after drink. The first time I had seen her at the bar I thought I had fallen in love, and believe me, I don't get that feeling around many girls. But Natalie, yeah, Natalie instilled that sort of thing in me.
Chapter Eleven
Natalie
I was lying on my bed, trying to wrap my head around the story I was writing. I felt like I needed more drama and intrigue in it, but I was stuck as to how better to spice up the story. Ugh! I rolled over in bed, and considered heading to the kitchen to make some tea. Surely there had to be a better way to figure this out. Writing a story was so much harder than I thought, and I needed to consider the fact that it wasn't my calling. I could create magic when it came to photography or the visual arts, but put a blank piece of paper in front of me, and I was totally lost. I got up to go to the kitchen to make that tea. Maybe when I came back, my writers block would be over.
As I was about to leave my bedroom the phone rang. I stopped and turned around. I considered ignoring it and grabbing my tea, but I thought it might be just the welcome distraction that I needed. I snapped it up from my bed, and was stunned to see that it was Tom calling again. I stared shocked at the phone, unsure of what to do. I couldn't imagine what he wanted, and I was sure I didn't really want to find out. He had destroyed me for an eight-month span of time, and I had finally started to get a handle on my life again, only to have him start calling me now, the insensitive prick. Without knowing why I did it, I clicked on the call and said
hello.
“Hey, Natalie ...”
And then there was silence. His voice―it had been so long since I heard his voice. I had forgotten just how much I liked his voice. It used to soothe me when I cried or had a bad day. It also stirred me when he used to whisper my name when we lay in bed together. All it would take was for him to touch my body and whisper my name, and I was undone. Now here he was again, saying my name as if nothing had changed, as if he hadn't torn my heart in two.
“Tom, why are you calling me?”
There was a pause before he said, “I don't know. I've been thinking about you a lot lately. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Why would you care?”
“Natalie, come on.”
I felt tears well up in my eyes. “No, really, Tom, why would you give a shit at all?”
“Just because we aren't together it doesn't mean I never cared about you. We were together for years.”
“That didn't stop you from fucking my best friend, though, did it?”
He sighed deeply on his end. “I'm sorry, Natalie, if have no idea. I never wanted to hurt you; things just spun out of control. I never meant for you to find out that way.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks as my mind raced.
“Natalie, I miss you.”
Oh, fuck.
“Oh, are things not working out with Lisa?”
“Lisa and I are fine. But things are confusing. There are times I wonder if I made the right decision, especially since I still miss you after all this time.”
“You sonofabitch.”
“Natalie, since when do you talk like that?”
I snorted. “Since you and my best friend fucked me over. How dare you tell me you miss me. I was ready and willing to spend my entire life with you. And all the while you were sleeping with someone else, behind my back. It just makes me sick. Why are you calling me? What the hell do you want?”
“I told you, Natalie, I just wanted to see if you were okay. We never talked after the incident; you were so upset. I felt terrible, and I regret all the pain I must have caused you.”
“The incident? You had my best friend bent over our couch. The same couch we used to sit and watch movies on. You made love to me on that same couch, and you tainted it with her. Yeah, that was some incident.”
“Can you meet me some time to talk?”
I hung up. I hung up before he could say another word. I did not want to hear sorry; I did not want feelings for him to come through again. I didn't want to believe he was sorry, or that he missed me. God, he missed me. What did that mean? Was he unhappy with Lisa now? Did he wish he was still with me? Man, I did not need thoughts like that traipsing through my brain; they were stupid. But I couldn't help wonder where I would be at that moment had we never broken up. Had he chosen me over Lisa, and ended things with her before I found out. Would we still be together? Would we have been happy? Would he have stayed loyal from that moment on?
I would never know, and now here he was, calling again and telling me he missed me, and there was a part of me that liked the fact that he missed me. That part was dangerous; I should not want him to miss me. But there was a small amount of satisfaction in the fact that I left him, and now he missed me. Did that mean he wanted me back? Was that why he wanted to get together―to ask me if we could try again?
I wiped away the tears from my eyes, and headed out of my bedroom. I needed to get out of the house. I would not be making tea and working on my story. I was getting out and getting drunk. Julie was in the kitchen when I marched in and opened the fridge. I grabbed a beer and cracked the top, taking a long pull on it.
“Uhhh, is everything okay? I thought you were staying in tonight, and working on schoolwork.”
I turned toward her and set my beer down on the table. “Tom called, and I answered the phone.”
“Oh shit. What did he want?”
“He was checking in. He told me he missed me.”
“What a bastard! How dare he even call you? He has no right.”
“It doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm getting the hell out of here, and I'm getting wasted.”
“Oh, Natalie, I think that's a mistake. You can't let him get to you all over again. You have come too far.”
“I need to get out of this apartment, and I want to have fun. I don't want to think about Tom.”
“Natalie, just stay here, and we'll talk about it. You'll feel better once you have a chance to talk about it.”
“I don't want to talk about it. I'm sick of it.”
“I think you're making a mistake.”
“Julie, I'm fine.” I finished my beer in a couple of gulps. I headed to my bedroom to put on something a little more appropriate for the bar. Julie followed me into my bedroom, and watched as I got changed.
“You're really going?”
“Yes.”
“Fine, I'm going with you.”
We walked into the club, and head straight for the bar. We sidled up in our usual spots and ordered a round of drinks. It had been a little while since the two of us had done this, but I needed to forget―that was the most important thing at that point.
As I stirred my drink, I turned in my seat, only to be faced with Jet on the dance floor. He looked a little beat up, and I wondered if he had a fight that night. Just then, I realized who the girl was that he was dancing with. It was the female MMA fighter, Katie, was it? They were dancing really close, and she often put her hand on his shoulder as she moved in close to him. I could tell by her movements and body language that she was really into Jet. She probably had been trying to make a play for him all along. Jealousy coursed red hot through me. I had no reason to be jealous or to have a problem with anyone that Jet spent time with. After all, I had told him numerous times that he and I were just friends. It didn't seem to matter, though, because the sight of them made me want to scream.
“Oh my God, what the hell is that?” Julie gasped. I didn't have to look at her to see what she was talking about. I knew she was looking at the exact same thing I was.
“Ugh, Natalie, I told you we shouldn't have come out. Please tell me you're not going to snap and kill everyone in here.”
I laughed and turned back around. “It's okay, I couldn’t care less.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. I'll be right back. I'm having a little chat with Jet.”
“Julie, don't.”
“I'll be right back. Don't get drunk without me.”
I looked into my drink and picked it up to take a sip. There was a tap on my shoulder, and I set the glass back down. I turned to find Jet there, and he was smiling.
“What do you want, Jet?”
“Sunshine personified as always, aren't you?” he said while laughing. “I came to see if you were alright. Actually you know, it's kind of funny, because when I first got here, I looked around hoping you would be here, and you ended up here after all.”
“Oh, well, isn't it just your lucky night?” I said sarcastically.
“Maybe it is.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why don't you go back to your girlfriend? I'm sure she misses you.” I looked over his shoulder, and saw Katie amongst their friends, pacing like a puma ready to strike. Julie had mysteriously disappeared.
“I'm not here for Katie. I told you that there is nothing between Katie and me. I'm here for you. That's where I want to be.”
Great, Julie had clearly gone over and told Jet about my ex calling. Had she left after doing it too? I could just kill that girl sometimes. I went to pick up my drink, and he pushed it away. Confused, I looked at him. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in close, kissing me hard on the lips. His lips burned against mine, and it was the first time we had ever kissed without me being intoxicated. He tasted like beer, and the heat radiating off him took me in. I wanted to be close to him, but my mind was screaming no. I pushed him away from me, and as I did, I looked him right in the eyes. I paused as I continued looking at him, and saw more in his gaze than I had ever notic
ed before. In seconds my mouth was on his again, and the heat took me over again as his tongue found its way into my mouth. I suddenly lost all sense of reason.
Chapter Twelve
Jet
We ended up back at my apartment; we had left the club immediately. I was determined to have Natalie in my bed, sober this time. When we entered the apartment, I was grateful to see that we were alone. Kyle had not come home yet. The moment our lips touched, my mind exploded. It was like the Fourth of July all around us, and we were amidst a fireworks display. I had been longing for her for so long. She made my body hum, and for the first time, my mind was opening up to some incredible feelings.
I held Natalie tightly against me, and nuzzled into the skin of her neck. My body was alive against hers, and I ached the closer we got. A moan escaped her, and it was the greatest sound in the world. She had driven me mad with lust, and I was so thrilled to have her alone with me, finally. I kissed her deeply, which caused her to respond with fire in her eyes. I released her lips, and looked into her eyes. Her gaze hot and powerful. I gazed at her possessively, as if I had owned her my entire life.
“Tonight, my beautiful Natalie, you are me.” All I could see in her eyes was desire. I was becoming lost in those beautiful eyes, and I did not want to deny her anything. Natalie nodded in agreement.
“I want you so badly, Natalie. How do you like it?”
“Anyway that you like it.”
I kissed her mouth deeply, feeling myself growing rock hard.
I cupped her jaw and put my lips to hers with a softness that I didn't even know I was capable of. Natalie moaned, and parted her lips slightly as she pushed her body against mine. I wanted to put my hands all over her body. In fact, I needed to put my hands on her body. Natalie's hands were trembling when she grabbed my face and kissed me harder, causing me to ache.
Broken #3 (The Broken Series - Book #3) Page 8