Broken (11 page)

I laughed for the first time that
evening.

“Sorry I ruined your hookup.” It
was the first time I brought up the blonde he was leaving the club with. He
looked a little embarrassed at my mentioning it.

“
Naw
,
you probably did me a favor. Besides, I would much rather you
be
here.”

I crawled into bed and drew the
covers up around me. I lay my head down on the pillow and Jet did the same. We
faced each other and I smiled to lighten the butterflies that were in my
stomach causing a stir.

“Can we talk about the kiss?”

He nodded. “It was a pretty great
kiss.”

I laughed, “Yes it was. I'm sorry
I sent you away, it kind of scared me. I just didn't handle it well.”

“You did fine. I'm just an idiot.
I should know when to take things slow. You're not like other girls.”

“You know what you handled badly?
The next day.”

By the look on his face, he knew
that I knew about the lie.

“Yeah, like I said, I'm an idiot.
If it makes you feel better, I didn't expect it to go beyond this apartment.
Believe
me,
Kyle got a beating when I found it went
public.”

“But why did you say it to begin
with? Why would you tell him something like that when it wasn't true?”

“I don't know. I thought you blew
me off. I was hurt and angry, and when I got back home, Kyle was already sure
we had slept together, and I just didn't want to look like a fool for not
having sealed the deal.”

“Why? What's the big deal that we
didn't?”

“It's just the way guys are,
Natalie. We consider that shit important for some reason. It was never my
intention to hurt you, and I was pretty devastated when I found out most people
knew. If I could take it all back, I would.”

I stared at him for a moment or two
before saying, “I forgive you. As long as you promise me you will never do
anything like that again.”

“You have my word.” I smiled,
feeling the anxiety of the evening drifting out of my body. “You know, I don't
always have it together,
ya
know. I may seem cool and
collected, but I'm messed up myself, and that's probably why I say and do
things that I shouldn't. I used to be real scared when I was a kid. It's no
excuse for my behavior, but I just want you to know I really am sorry.”

“I know.” I paused before I
asked, “Why were you scared as a kid?”

He smiled softly and had a sad
look on his face. “You should get some rest, beautiful. Tomorrow is another
day.”

Confused, I decided to let it go
for the time being. As my eyelids fluttered closed, it wasn't long before I
fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Jet

I rolled over in bed to see the
most beautiful creature beside me. Sunlight shone through the window and
caressed her face. I didn’t want to wake her; I just wanted to watch her while
she slept. She was peaceful and beautiful, and when she opened her eyes, the
spell was broken. Her eyes fluttered open and closed repeatedly as she full
awakened.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby. You have a nice
bed.”

I laughed. “The parental units
spared no expense.”

“Must be nice.”

“It's alright. Doesn't matter to
me what kind of bed I sleep in.”

“Yeah, you say that until you
sleep in a bad bed and wake up sore.”

I smiled.
“Maybe.”

She rubbed her eyes, and brushed
her hand through her hair. She wasn't self-conscious at all; there was no rush
to get to the bathroom to put on makeup. Her movements were from habit, not out
of insecurities. She rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. I
wondered what went through her head; l wished I knew.

“Would you like some breakfast?”
I asked.

She turned her head to me and
grinned. “I would love some.”

“Okay, I will meet you in the
kitchen. Feel free to use the bathroom to freshen up.”

“Thanks.”

I rolled out of bed and waited
until she got out and went into the bathroom. I changed out of my flannel pants
and put on some clothes. I exited the bedroom and headed to the kitchen. Kyle
was
up,
and already playing video games.

“Hey, man, what time did you get
in?”

Kyle looked up and answered,
“Like, 4:00 a.m. You left the bar pretty quickly. You found a girl real quick,
right?”

“Something
like
that.”

“What time did she leave?”

“She didn't. She's still here, so
behave
yourself
.”

“You let her sleep over?
Seriously?
When have you ever done that?”

I went into the kitchen and
started to put some coffee on. I grabbed a filter and put it in the coffee
machine. I added a scoop of coffee and then filled the pot with water. Once I
emptied it into the machine, I turned it on. I loved the smell of coffee in the
morning because it always reminded me of possibilities, of a fresh start to
take over the world.

I opened the fridge and pulled
out some cream. I assessed the rest of the fridge to determine what there would
be for breakfast. It looked like it was going to be bacon and eggs. I turned on
the stove, and started to put slices of bacon in a pan. I waited to hear the
sizzling of the bacon cooking. I pulled out the eggs as well, but they would
have to wait.

When I turned around, Natalie was
behind me, and Kyle's jaw was on the floor. Yes, I would have some explaining
to do later. However, for the time being, it was sort of amusing that Kyle was
so shocked that it was the artist I had brought home from the bar.

“Kyle, this is Natalie. Natalie
... Kyle. Kyle is my roommate and teammate.”

“Hi,” she said tentatively.

“Hey, what's up?
Nice to meet you.”

I could tell by Natalie's
expression that she realized that Kyle was the one who told everyone we had
slept together. She held herself together pretty well, though, not giving
anything away.

I turned back to the bacon, and
started flipping the pieces while she moved up beside me and smiled.

“Bacon.
How healthy.”

I laughed, “Please tell me you're
not on a diet.”

“No, but aren't you supposed to
eat properly?”

“I do, for the most part. But I
also indulge. My body burns food up like fuel since I train a lot. I am careful
when I'm preparing for a fight, because I may need to cut weight; but if I'm
not training, then I have a little more leeway.”

She just nodded.

With the bacon well underway, I
fried us up some eggs.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

I poured her a cup of coffee.
“Would do you like in it?”

“I can make my own, thank you.”

I watched as she opened drawers
until she found the silverware. She plucked out a spoon and proceeded to add
cream and sugar to her coffee. I watched her stir it, mesmerized by the
swirling in her cup. I smiled as she looked up at me.

“Have a seat,” I told her.

She carried her cup over to our
small kitchen table. I prepared some plates with bacon and eggs and brought
them over and sat them down.

“So I was thinking that maybe I
could help you out today.”

“Help me again? I think you’re
already doing that with my school assignment.”

“Yeah, well. Good thing I like
you.”

She blushed, and I liked how the
crimson went across her cheeks. “So how are you going to help me?”

“By teaching you some
self-defense
.
That way, if you ever find
yourself in a situation like yesterday, you will be able to defend yourself.”

She thought about it for a moment
and then nodded. “I guess so.”

“Great. Let’s get going then.”

We quickly finished our breakfast
before heading to the gym.

“Okay,
self-defense
is really simple. The movements are basic, and they will ensure your safety the
next time some guy gets in your face.”

I saw her shudder as she
remembered what happened to her the night before. I went through some movements
with her on how to get out of a choke hold, as well as a defensive hold. I
showed her how to use her car keys as a weapon, and how to throw a punch.

“Okay, let's try an attack. I'll
come up from behind you and put my arms around you, and you try to break the
hold.”

She made a face, and then said,
“Sure, let's give it a try.”

I went up behind her nice and
close, wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and pulled tight. It was then that
I realized her hair smelled like strawberries. My heart began to beat hard, and
having her there in such close proximity aroused me the hell out of me.

“Jet?”

I hadn't realized I dazed out for
a bit. I pulled her in tighter, trying to concentrate on the movement, and then
told her to go for it.

In one fluid movement, she
elbowed me in the stomach, which loosened my grip on her. She moved quickly,
grabbing my arm and twisting it around so that I was forced to let go. She spun
around, and only then did she let me go. She was blushing hard, and it made me
think she knew why I was in such a daze.
Oh boy.

“Well that's probably good for
today, you got some basics down, and at least you can throw a clean punch.”

“Yup and next time a guy tries to
mug me he’ll wish he didn’t.”

I wrapped my arm around her neck
and held her for a second before letting her go.

“Well, let’s hope it never comes
to that.”

Chapter Fifteen

Natalie

My phone began to ring and it was
my friend Benny. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Not a lot. Want to go out with
me tonight?”

“Of course.
I have been dying to go out all
week. Since my incident, I have been sort of freaked out, but I think I’m
ready.”

Benny also happened to be on the
MMA team, though we never discussed Jet at all, oddly enough. Probably because
when we hung out, we never really discussed fighting. Benny was an awesome
friend, and we had a lot of fun together; we just never discussed sports, as he
knew I wasn't into athletics that much.

“Meet me at my house.”

“Okay.
Cya
then.”

“Bye.”

I hadn't seen Jet all day, which
was sort of weird, since I had been staying at his apartment all week. It
wasn't what you think―we were still just friends, but I was still so
freaked out over the mugging, that I had a hard time staying in my apartment
with Julie, or even really going out at all. He had offered for me to stay at
his place, and I agreed, as long as the pillows remained between us. He had
practice that day at the gym, and never came home afterwards. It didn't really
matter to me, it's not like he was my boyfriend, so he could do whatever he
wanted.

I did want to remain respectful,
however, so I left him a note letting him know I would be out for the night
with Benny, and that I would talk to him later. I then went into the bathroom
to get ready. Once I had brushed and straightened my hair, I applied makeup.
Now I needed to find an outfit.

I had brought some things from my
apartment back to his place and I remember Julie shaking her head when I did
so. I was aware that I was acting sort of like a pussy, but I didn't care.
Everyone seemed a little perplexed as to what kind of relationship Jet and I
had. Kyle was the most perplexed of everyone. Every time he returned home and I
was still there, his confusion grew. I preferred not to analyze it, however.

I chose an off-the-shoulder black
sweater with a skirt, and assessed myself in the mirror. I had to admit that I
was looking a little hot that night. It was time to forget about the mugging,
and start having fun again. I grabbed my clutch and headed out the door.

The club was booming that night
as Benny escorted me into the bar. The music thumped through the walls, and the
dance floor was full. Benny was not about to let me sit at the bar all night
and drink, however, so I had to follow him around the room, and mingle with his
friends. It was kind of nice, actually, being social again. I hadn't done a lot
of that since my breakup, and it was good to get back out there.

Benny introduced me to a few of
his classmates, who seemed to zero in on me immediately. I danced with one of
them, and the other couldn't stop buying me drinks. I didn't even need to bring
my wallet at all. I was sitting with Benny and a guy named Mike, drinking rye
and Cokes, and laughing my ass off when I saw Jet walk into the bar. I checked
my phone quickly and frowned when I didn't see a message from him on my phone.
He had to have gone home and seen my note, so why didn't he message to meet up?
Why do you care, Natalie? You didn't want a boyfriend, remember?