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, Crystal. 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.
I found a girl named Jessie doing The Starry Night on a pumpkin, and her friend beside her was managing quite well depicting irises.
“I love these; it's so nice to see beautiful color on the pumpkins. The dean is going to be thrilled with these.”
“Thanks, Natalie.”
I went around the room and saw a Twilight-themed pumpkin, as well as a sunset on a beach. What a great idea this had been; every pumpkin was more unique than the last one. I sat down at a desk and did a quick sketch of an MMA fighter silhouetted with his hands up in the air in victory. When I finished drawing it, I took a bottle of ink and dipped a brush into it. I slid the brush over the lines until the picture came to life in black. It was a powerful pose, and I smiled when it was completed. I signed the bottom of it and picked the pumpkin up. I left my seat and put it on the desk of the professor for all to see. Clapping rang out all over the room, and I smiled. Everyone had done such a great job. As pumpkins were finished, they were put on carts so that students could distribute them all over campus. I couldn't wait to hear feedback from the public, as well as the dean, on the impact they had on students.
I helped the professor clean up the room, and started packing my own bag. I was tired from class and looked forward to going home to relax.
I was heading across campus when I saw Jet coming out of one of the buildings. He saw me right away, and I sighed as I watched him walk up to me.
“Hey, what are you doing here so late?”
“I was helping the art students create pumpkins for Halloween. You will see them all over campus.”
“That's cool.”
“I didn't know you had some night classes.”
He shrugged. “Well, it makes it easier to train during the day this way.”
I just nodded, feeling awkward around him.
“Can I give you a ride home, Natalie? It's really late.”
“Nope, I'm okay, but thank you. I had a good time the other night, by the way.”
“Oh yeah, sure you did. Is that why you disappeared the next morning?”
I laughed nervously. “Well, I'm not very good in those situations, but I still had fun.”
“Me too; I had fun too. Sorry I haven't called or anything. I've been busy.”
I shrugged nonchalantly. He didn't owe me anything, so there was no need to make a big deal out of it.
“Hey, if you're not doing anything, some buddies and I are heading to that haunted house for a good scare. Why don't you come with us?”
“Oh really? Wow, no, you assume I enjoy having the shit scared out of me, but I don't.”
He laughed. “It'll be fun. You're not the only one who will get scared.” He winked at me, and I found it charming.
“I'm tired, Jet. I just want to go chill out.”
“No, that's a terrible idea. You can sleep when you're dead. Come on, it will be fun. Trust me.”
“Oh, I definitely don't trust you, Jet,” I whispered.
He chuckled. “Please? Don't make me beg. I will get you home promptly after that, I promise.”
I paused, thinking about it. I couldn't seem to shake this guy, no matter what I did. It wasn't like it was a date; in fact, his buddies were going to be there, so what was the big deal if I went? It's not like I was encouraging advances from Jet. We were just friends, and I was no different than the buddies he was going with ... okay, maybe a little different.
I hoped Kyle wouldn't be there, though. I got the idea that he didn't like me much. Considering he had been around on more than one occasion when Jet and I had slept together and seen me naked, I think we’d met our quota on how much time we should be around each other.
“Okay, I guess it won't hurt. But if I pee my pants, you are in big trouble.”
“Right back at you.”
I giggled as I followed him off campus.
We walked to Jet's car on the other side of the lot, where Kyle was already waiting. I groaned inwardly, as I had hoped I would not run in to him anytime in the near future. By the look on his face, he didn't seem too impressed to see me.
“Hey, Jet, what's going on?”
“Natalie here decided to join us at the haunted house.”
“Ahh, cool. Hi,” he said to me.
“Hi, Kyle, nice seeing you again.”
He nodded while he looked down at his shoes.
“So, are we meeting everyone else there?”
Kyle looked up. “Yeah, they are meeting us.”
I looked at Jet. “Am I the only girl going, because I don't want to intrude.”
Jet laughed. “Don't be silly. It's a haunted house; you aren't intruding. But to answer your question, no, you aren't the only girl. I think one of the guys is bringing his girlfriend, and there are a few girls from the gym going. So, no big deal, right?”
I nodded, and we all piled into the car, Kyle allowing me to have shotgun privileges. I sat in the seat and put my purse at my feet. I started fiddling with the radio station until I was able to find some tunes we all liked. It wasn't a very long drive, as the haunted house was downtown, which was close to school.
When we arrived, Jet found parking, but it was evident the area was very busy. We climbed out of the car and saw his friends in a large group. There were some surprised looks on some of his friends’ faces, especially the girls, when Jet walked up to them with me in tow. Kyle circled us and went to talk to one of the gym girls.
“Hey guys, this is Natalie; she decided to join us tonight.”
Everyone said hi to me, and Jet introduced everyone by name so I would know who was who. There were so many of them that I was sure I would lose all the names anyway.
We all headed to the ticket stand and bought tickets for the scare house. Jet offered to pay for mine, and I allowed him to. We then headed to the haunted house.
It was an imposing structure, much larger than you would anticipate a mobile unit to be. Although it was imposing from the outside, it looked smaller outside than it did on the inside. The front of the structure was decorated in blacks, whites, and reds. The red depicted blood and slaughter, and the drawings were that of madmen, skulls, witches, and spiders. Although they were harmless drawings, the whole scene completely creeped me out, but I guess that was the purpose of it.
“Hey, beautiful, are you okay?” he said it lightly, with humor in his tone.
I looked over at him and smiled. “Don't start with me, Jet.”
He chuckled. “You don't need to worry. I will protect you from all the ghouls and goblins.”
“Yeah, well I should probably be more afraid of you than any ghoul or goblin.”
He winked at me. “Maybe.”
I looked back at the scare house as we waited for everyone to get tickets and meet us over there. The haunted house didn't have the best history, which was probably why people found it so creepy, and wanted to take the walk for themselves. I didn't like the history; in fact, it was the reason why I didn't want to go in. Twenty years ago when the haunted house first opened to scare unsuspecting teens and adults, a 20-year-old-girl had been raped and murdered inside the house.
No one had heard her, because the place had been filled with people running and screaming. It wasn't until the haunted house closed for the night and they turned on the lights that they had found her. She had been a young college student with a bright future, and she was found covered in blood, having been stabbed repeatedly. The weapon was never found, and forensics had showed that she had been raped right before she was murdered. The killer had never been found, either, and that was the most disturbing part of all. They had interviewed everyone who was there that night, including staff, and they were not able to determine if it was someone who had gone into the funhouse with her, or whether she had been murdered by a staff member whose job it was to jump up and scare people.
I shivered at the thought. How terrible to have been raped and to be screaming, and no one comes to your aid. It was the perfect place to murder someone, because you couldn't tell one scream from another. Surprisingly, the haunted house didn't close down after that as was expected; it just grew in popularity. There were rumors and legends going around that the killer probably still worked there and was in search of his next victim. Whether the killer had been a staff member or not; that person had gotten away with it and was still out there in the world, possibly killing more.
Since the murder, the rules had changed so that no one was to go into the house alone, and all staff members had to wear a GoPro camera, so whatever they did was recorded in the main office. The owners were determined not to have another murder happen in their place.
All Jet's friends met in front of the house, and we went to the ticket guy, who started letting us in two by two as he took our tickets. Jet clasped my hand in his as it was our turn to go into the house. He squeezed my hand gently as we walked into the darkness.
The house was set up so that it was pitch black in hallways, and whenever you came to an opening, you could see different rooms and objects, sometimes even people, through lamplight. Staff workers would often jump out and grab you, or you could turn a corner and see one just be standing there silently watching you, like the little girl in The Ring. You never knew what was going to happen, because it always changed. Every time you entered the haunted house, it was different.
We could hear screams coming from up ahead, and I wondered what we were about to walk into. I couldn't see a thing as we navigated a hallway. My heart pounded through my chest and I clasped Jet's hand even tighter. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.
As we shambled down the hallway, looking for a way out, I felt something brush against my feet, and I screamed.
“What?!” Jet yelled.
“Something touched my foot. There's someone in this hallway.” I was trembling with the idea that someone could be beside me, and I had no idea who.
“No, it's too tight in here. You probably just felt a breeze on your leg.”
“I did not just feel a breeze,” I hissed at him.
Just then, my ankle was grabbed by a cold hand. I screamed again, let go of Jet's hand, and ran down the hallway. I needed to get out of there, though I was sure new horrors would find me right around the corner.
“Natalie, wait! Don't run off.”
I could hear him running after me. I slowed as I came to an opening that was filled with jail cells. Jet came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Holy crap, girl, you are scaring me worse than this place. Don't run off like that.”
I turned to face him. “Let's just get through this before I murder you.”
“Alright, fair enough.”
We slowly walked passed the cells, unsure of what might pop out at us. Just as we were about to leave the area, something came running at us from inside the cells. What could only have been described as an insane person grabbed the bars in front of us, and screamed while shaking them. It wasn't even a scream; it was more of a wail, and I screamed and covered my ears. I tried to take another look at the person, as it was hard to believe that it really wasn't just some crazy person. That staff member definitely deserved a raise, because I couldn't believe the behavior was all just an act. We hurried out of the room, only to find ourselves in another dark hallway. We were about through it, when I heard a door slam behind us. I turned to look, but all I could see was darkness ahead of us. There was light, so we quickly moved toward it. All of a sudden, we heard footsteps hurrying behind us.
“Jet!” I shrieked. He took my hand and he ran down the hallway toward the light, with me in tow. It sounded liked the footsteps were growing closer―that the person was gaining on us. My heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest, I was so terrified. I held Jet's hand so hard, hoping he wouldn't let it go for anything. The steps were close now―too close, in fact. I was sure that the person had to be right behind me. I sensed that the person had his hand out, reaching toward me, just a fingertip away from grasping my body or hair, and pulling me to him.
“Jet, get me the hell out of here.”
We reached the light and we spun around, but nothing came out of the darkness. The footsteps were gone, and even though we waited to see what had been behind us, nothing came out.
“Holy shit, that was intense,” Jet said.
“Do you think it was real? Was someone actually behind us, or was it a recording?”
He shrugged. “You tell me.”
“I don't know, it may be paranoia, but I could have sworn it was so close that I could hear it breathing.”
Jet laughed nervously. “Geez, listen to us. We really are losing it in here.”
There were screams ahead of us that startled me. Some were bloodcurdling screams, and they made me wonder. I could definitely see how easy it would be to ignore the screams of a girl being raped and murdered when everyone around me was screaming. Not to mention having to deal with your own fear, which was hard to control, and the last thing I wanted to do was go toward another person's screams. Instinct told me that whatever was out there making them scream should be avoided at all costs.
The light led us into a graveyard, which was scattered with open graves and coffins. Jet clasped my hand once again, and led me around the graves. A moan erupted from one of the graves we were passing. When we peered inside, I couldn't see much, just a shadow of a coffin down below. All we could hear was scratching, as if there was someone inside the coffin who couldn't get out. Then we heard the whispering, “Help me, please, help me. Don't leave me here.” It was coming from the closed coffin, followed by those sickening scratching sounds. We started walking away from the coffin, when I turned to look behind me to see an axe-wielding madman coming at us. I screamed so loud I thought I might lose my voice. Jet turned to see what I was looking at, and when he saw the man he yelled, “Oh shit.”
He pulled me out of the room and away from the man, who was swinging the axe behind us. As we left the room, the girls’ whispers turned to full out screams, “Help me!! Hellllp me!” as the sound of axe hitting wood was heard.
I started whispering, “Oh my God,” over and over again as we were plunged into darkness once more. Shaking, I pulled away from Jet and wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the shakes that were taking over my body.
“I think this might be the end of it, actually.”
We saw a light on at the end of the hallway, and we moved toward it. I heard another door slam, and dread came over me like a flood. We kept moving toward the light, and I wondered what was in the hallway with us. I could hear no footsteps, just like the last time, and I wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
Arms grabbed me from around the waist, and pulled me away from Jet. I screamed bloody murder, and tried to struggle out of the grasp.
“Jet, help me. Something has me.” But at that point I couldn't even see Jet anymore; I could hear him running toward us so I knew he was coming for me.
“Natalie, where are you?”
“Here, I'm right here; you're so close.”
Just as Jet came into view, the arms that were wrapped around me let go. I heard footsteps disappearing, and a door slam.
Jet was immediately beside me. “Oh God, Natalie. I’m sorry, that was a little hardcore, wasn't it?”
“You think? You didn't tell me that people could just grab me.”
“I didn't know. It's always different; you know that. The guys that work here are allowed to do anything to scare people.”
“Let's get out of here, please?”
“Of course.”
He grabbed my hand, and we hurried down the hallway toward the light. We reached the end without further incident, and came out into the fresh night air. Some of Jet's friends were outside waiting for us, while others were still inside.
One of the gym girls approached us. “How was it? I almost died in there.”
“Natalie was grabbed, so she's pretty freaked out.”
“You got grabbed? That's nuts, where?” she asked me.
“Just at the end, the last hallway. Someone wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me away. Jet had to come and get me.”
“Oh my God, that's terrifying. No one grabbed me when we were in there.”
“Gee, that's comforting.”
“Well, they always try new things. At least we made it out alive.”
I laughed. “Just barely.”
I realized then that Jet was still holding my hand, and I squeezed it gently. He turned to me and smiled.
“I'm glad you came,” he said.
I woke up the next day with a smile on my face, despite the sheer terror I had experienced the night before. I had also had a really good time with Jet. He had stayed true to his word and brought me right home afterward. I almost regretted that part, though, as they all ended up going out for burgers after. I had been invited, of course, but since I was such a nerd I had told everyone I had a creative writing assignment I needed to work on. They must have loved jabbing Jet about it all night. I could just imagine the things they were saying, like why are you hanging out with a girl who would rather study then spend time with you? Or maybe one of those gym girls spent the night licking his wounds for him.
Either way, I wished now that I had gone with them. It may have done wonders for the rumor mill if his friends actually gotten to know me instead of assuming that I was that weird girl that Jet had hooked up with once.
I rolled over in bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I had to be in the gym in an hour to meet Jet. He had asked me to meet him there to do some more self-defense training. I wasn't entirely sure he even thought I needed it anymore; I guessed he just enjoyed teaching me. I didn't mind though; I was really starting to enjoy it myself. It made me feel tough, and I had never felt tough before. It was nice to feel strong and capable, even if I never got the chance to use my new skills.
I left the bathroom and went to the kitchen to get some fruit. I didn't like feeling too full before a workout, because it made me feel lazy and nauseous. This way, I would have something for energy, and still be able to accomplish what I needed to.
Julie was already in the kitchen, and she turned to smile at me when I came in the room.
“Hey, girl, want a cup of tea?”
“I would love to, but I don't have time. I'm meeting Jet at the gym.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Two days in a row? Wow, lucky him.”
I laughed. “Oh, be quiet. I didn't even know I would be seeing him last night. It was hardly a date. I was terrified the entire time. It doesn't exactly scream romance.”
“Scream ...” she chuckled.
I laughed too. “I'm just grabbing some fruit. I will see you later.”
“Hey, maybe we can have some dinner together later.”
“Sure, I would love that. Pasta though, I have been craving pasta for days.”
Julie nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
I hurried out the door and down the stairs. When I reached outside, it was nice to see that the sun was shining bright. We didn't get that many sunny days now that fall had arrived; we had to enjoy them while we could before winter hit.
I walked briskly as I made my way to the campus. I loved long, crisp walks; they made for refreshing exercise, and woke me right up. Once on campus I made my way into the gym. I was smiling as I looked around for Jet. When I saw him sitting beside a gorgeous and ridiculously fit girl, my smile disappeared. They were whispering and laughing together, and the sight of them turned my stomach. They looked intensely intimate, like new lovers, and I almost felt like walking out of the gym and skipping the training. I didn't know how to feel about what I had seen, and what was worse was that I didn't know why I felt so jealous. I wanted us to remain just friends, didn't I? And yet, there I was, losing my mind over the fact that he was sitting beside another girl. But she was so pretty―way too pretty―far prettier than I. I didn't know what to do, but I felt stupid standing there staring at them.
How did a girl get that fit? She must be in the gym round the clock, and never eat a bowl of ice cream. Was that any way to live? I wondered if I could give up ice cream if it meant looking as hot as she did.
Jet looked up, and saw me staring at him like an idiot. He smiled and waved at me, so there was certainly no way I could walk out of the gym at that point. The girl looked up to see who he was waving at, and she smiled at me as well, but that I didn't think that it was the warmest of smiles. I felt like I was being assessed, and that I failed to impress her.
“Hey, Natalie, I'm glad you came. This is Katie.”
Katie stood up and approached me, holding her hand out. I shook her hand and noticed how firm her grip was.
“Hi Katie; it's nice to meet you. How is it that you know Jet?”
“Oh, Jet and I go way back, don't we, Jet?” She winked at him, and he laughed. She slapped his ass in the same way football players do to each other. I was shocked to see how playful the two of them were together.
“I know Katie through MMA. She's one of my female teammates.”
I looked at her. “You're a fighter as well?”
“Yes, I am.” She grinned proudly.
“Katie is a pro for sure. She hasn't lost one fight yet. She's an awesome fighter, and one of the best in her weight class.”
I just nodded, unsure of how I felt about Katie. Did the two have more than MMA history together, or were they just really, really close buddies?
“Anyway, I invited Katie to train with us today. She will give you some idea what it's like to work with a woman, and what women need to know to protect themselves.”
Oh God, I had to train with that girl? He really should have asked me if it was okay, because the last thing I wanted was to have to play around with a girl who put her hands on Jet whenever she felt like it.
“Cool, sounds great,” I said, but I didn't mean it.
“Great, let's get started. I'm going to show you some basic grappling techniques, and then we will do some pad work.”
We walked over to the mats, where Jet grabbed one of the grappling dummies. “Okay, ladies, I'm going to show you the four points of grappling. Katie, of course, is a veteran with these techniques, but she is also going to help me teach them to you.”
He showed me basic techniques for a first point hold, second, third, and fourth. The movements were subtle. The first required a position beside the dummy, and then a transition with me on my knees facing the dummy. From there I straddled the dummy for the third position, and the fourth had me still straddling, but with arms stretched out, pinning my opponent. They looked pretty easy, and I looked forward to mastering them.
Jet showed me the positions over and over, and then told me to show them to him on the dummy. I did them exactly as he had shown me, and I did it flawlessly.
Jet was clapping, while Katie just held her hands on her hips. “Well done, beautiful; looks like you're a natural.”
“Maybe I just have a good trainer, Jet.”
He laughed and pulled me off the ground.
“Okay, Katie, you're up. Let's show her what all these steps look like on a person.”
I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but as Jet lay down on the ground, I watched as she initiated all four points on him, and I raised my eyebrows when she straddled him. That move seemed far too intimate to me. She pinned him down with her hands above her head and her knees bracing his sides. She was wearing little booty shorts and her body had moulded itself to his. Had they flipped positions he would be nestled between her legs. Did they all really train that way with females? How did they not all get erections?
Katie bent down close to Jet's face, and he smiled up at her. “Do you know what I could do to you right now, Jet?” She was smiling down at him devilishly, and I almost screamed. I was certainly screaming on the inside. I turned around, refusing to watch her hit on Jet right in front of me. Something told me that the two of them had slept together in the past and maybe Katie wanted to rekindle things.
There was giggling going on, but I refused to turn around to see what she was doing. Finally, I turned as Jet was getting up off the ground.
“Okay, Natalie, do you want to give it a try?”
“Oh, I think that's ahead of Natalie right now, Jet. She should focus on the grappling dummy right now. We don't want to give her too much to confuse her.”
My mouth fell open as I gaped at her. I couldn't believe what she was pulling. She didn't want me to be in the same straddling position as she was with Jet. I felt my blood pressure rise, but it only got worse when Jet spoke.
“Yeah, you're probably right. I will keep her on the dummy for a few sessions and go from there.”
“Perfect; I think that's what's best.” She turned to me. “Natalie, let’s see the four points on the dummy again, please.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Whatever.”
Jet got a confused look on his face, but didn't say anything about my comment. Geez, men could really be dense sometimes. I continued my grappling training on the dummy. I did it so many times that I felt like I could have easily done it in my sleep. Jet shouted out words of praise, as he was clearly happy with my progress. However, despite the fact that he seemed to think I was a “natural,” he still never moved me to the next step. He was listening to Katie's instructions because she was there to help me that day. I hoped that she wouldn't be there again the next time that I had to train with Jet.
“I think we handled enough grappling for the day. Let's work on some pads, ladies.”
Jet went to grab some pads and focus mitts. While he was gone, Katie just stared at me. I couldn't figure out what her problem was. Did she see me as a threat, or was she so confident about her own skills that she didn't believe for a moment that I could get Jet away from her?
“We are going to do defense, so we will go through the slips I showed you last time. Come on Katie, let's show her what I'm looking for.”
They got into position, and by that point, I couldn’t have cared less what he had to show me. I was sick of looking at them together. The entire time he showed her the slips she giggled and circled him. It was like a lover’s dance, a damn violent one, but she loved to play with him, and he was enjoying every minute of it.
They ran through the motions again, and Jet stopped. “Okay, Natalie, I want you to work with Katie now―the same movements I was showing you, and then we will be finished for the day.”
I sighed, moved into the circle with Katie, and slipped the punches she sent my way. I moved fluidly and passed by every one of them without incident. I was getting tired, but it was more mentally tired than physical. Being around Jet was exhausting in more than one way.
“Wonderful, Natalie. Okay, this was a great training session, congrats. We will do some more of that next time.”
“Thanks,” I said.
He turned to Katie. “Thanks for being here and helping. I think it was good for her.”
“No problem. Anytime at all.”
“I'll see you at practice, okay?”
She smiled. “Sure.” She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him tight. Body to body, with no room in between. They separated, and high-fived each other before she waved and headed out the door.
I stared at him as he turned to look and me, and I shook my head.
“What?” he asked.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“What? I don't know what you're talking about.”
I snorted. “Did you fuck her before?”
“Katie? No, of course not.”
“Well, you guys sure looked real close.”
“Oh, come on, Natalie, that's just the way she is. She's like that with everyone. She's one of those girls that has a lot of guy friends. We look at her as one of us.”
“Oh, she's just one of guys? That's how you see her?”
“Natalie, relax. Yes, Katie is hot, but that doesn't mean I'm interested in her.”
“Cut the bullshit, Jet.”
“Natalie, why are you so mad? Seriously, what is the big deal here with Katie?”
“I don't like it. The way you are with her. I thought you liked me. And it's like the two of you were in heat during training.”
“So what if we were?”
“I think it's inappropriate to do that with her when I'm standing right there.”
Jet laughed. “You have to be joking. Natalie, I thought we were just friends. That's what you keep telling me anyway. I can't count how many times you have walked out on me and made me feel like you continue to regret sleeping with me. So if you just want us just to be friends, then why should it matter who I flirt with?”
“I do just want to be friends.”
He looked at me and shook his head. He wasn't happy with my last statement.
“Look, we just slept together a week ago. I think it's inappropriate to be hooking up with other girls when you are sleeping with me. I'm not saying that we ever will again, so please don't get too excited, but when things are so up in the air, you shouldn't be all over other girls. It's not nice, and it’s very hurtful to me.”
He stared at me with shock on his face. Like I said, guys were really clueless sometimes.
“Look, Natalie, despite what you think, despite what you saw with Katie, I haven't slept with another girl since I met you. I certainly wouldn't be sleeping with someone else while I was sleeping with you. I'm not the bad guy that you think I am.”
I just glared at him, wanting to get out of the gym and be done with him for the day. I was immensely irritated by the fact that Katie had been around at all, never mind the way she behaved. But I was tired of having these same conversations over and over again with Jet.
“Natalie, please. I don't want you to be mad at me. In fact, I will do anything to make sure that you aren't mad at me. So please, let me know if there is anything that I can do.”
“Anything?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I want you to take me to my favorite place, then, but I'm not going to tell you where it is.”
He stared at me, unsure how to respond.
He nodded. “Done.”