Chapter Ten
Jet
Every year after the championship fights were over, the school hosted a parade for the community. It was a great way for the school to get out in the community and raise awareness for the MMA program, which was still fairly new in the area. The school had all the art students help with building and decorating floats, and when it was all said and done, everything looked pretty cool. All my teammates were there, getting ready to board floats and celebrate, and the mood in the air was very festive.
It was a cool winter day for the parade, but there was no snow on the ground that would affect the floats driving around. I was personally hoping that the parade didn't last very long, because I wasn't a fan of the cold, and the idea of being out in frigid temperatures didn't make me feel very happy.
I was the king of the show, of course, due to my win at the finals, so I sat in a special chair at the top of one of the floats as if I was homecoming queen. The whole thing seemed pretty absurd to me, but it was gonna be just the beginning of my fame. I had big plans for my future, and one day I wouldn't have to worry about being involved in community parades.
Natalie was also there, helping out due to her art class, and she wanted to be there to support me as well. Ever since she landed the I love you bomb on me, things had been a little tense between us. I felt terrible that whole ride home after Christmas, and I wished that I could turn back the clock and change that, because she must have felt terrible the whole ride home, and I did nothing about it. In fact, I probably hurt her a great deal, and did nothing about it. She had just caught me off guard, and hearing her say those words to me had not only stunned me, but scared me as well. This was all new to me, and I didn't want to rush into anything without being sure that I was doing the right thing, not only for myself, but her as well.
She didn't deserve the reaction she got from me, and I felt terrible about it. She had expected me to say the same thing back to her, and instead I had ignored her, and then proceeded to not talk to her for the next 10 hours. It was a stupid thing for me to have done, and I should be grateful she didn't dump me on the spot. She was still there, however, and I would have to make sure I didn't lose her over something so stupid.
“Okay, guys, let's get into positions, and get this parade on the go,” the dean announced, and Coach got us all settled into our positions on the floats.
The parade lasted about 45 minutes in total, and by the time it was done, my nose was red, and I was in desperate need of a hot chocolate. The school had thrown a small party after the parade, with plenty of hot chocolate.
Natalie found me talking to some teammates as we were warming ourselves with our hot drinks.
“Hey, Jet, how did the parade go? I saw you guys up there; it looked like fun.” She was acting perfectly normal and happy, but there was something about her body language that told me she was keeping her distance from me, and that was the last thing I wanted. I said goodbye to my friends and pulled Natalie aside.
“Hey, can we talk?”
She suddenly looked embarrassed. “Of course. What's up?”
“Things have been a little weird between us since Christmas, Natalie, and I don't know what to do about it.”
“Yeah, I guess it has been weird.”
“So, let’s talk about it, figure things out. What are your thoughts? I need to know why you are acting this way.”
“You mean to tell me that you don't know?”
“No, I'm pretty sure I do know. But I would still like you to tell me.”
“Well, I guess I just don't know where I stand anymore in our relationship, so it makes me feel uncomfortable around you.”
“You're my girlfriend, that's where you stand. I know you wanted me to say I love you back, Natalie, but when I didn't, it wasn’t for the reason you thought it was.”
“It wasn't?”
“No, of course not, I'm crazy about you. You know that. This is just all new to me, Natalie, having a girlfriend, and I just need time, that's all. It doesn't mean that I don't care about you, or that I want to break up. It just means that I need to do things in my own time.”
“I can understand that. I'm sorry. We probably should have talked about it before.”
“Yeah, and again, that was probably my fault. I didn't handle any of it properly.” I laughed ruefully. “You just really caught me off guard, and I didn't really want to say anything that I wasn't ready to back up at that point. I hope that's okay.”
“Of course it is. And I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have overreacted. I just got scared, that's all.”
I hugged her then. “There is nothing to be scared about; I would never do anything to hurt you, ever.”
“I know you wouldn't, Jet, and thank you for talking to me about it. I want us to always have open communication, as we can really ruin our relationship by not talking through our problems. Please don't shut me out again. If there is a problem, talk to me about it.”
She grabbed me by the back of my head and pulled me in close for a kiss. Our mouths met, and once again, it felt like nothing had changed between us. She was very possibly going to be my rock.