30
“JESUS, KATY, YOUR PUNCHES ARE GETTING STRONGER,” JARED GRUNTED AS I PUNCHED THE BAG.
I snorted. “Stop trying to make me feel better. I know you’re not feeling that,” I rolled my eyes.
My cast had come off over a week ago and Jared was just now letting me join him at the gym. I think he was afraid I’d break it again. Sometimes, he worried way too much about me.
Jared chuckled and let go of the bag, coming around and wrapping his arms around my waist. He kissed my neck, then my chin, before finally, kissing my lips.
He let go and grabbed my arm. “Look, you’re getting some serious muscle definition,” he squeezed it.
I swatted at his side. “You are so full of crap.”
“The truth isn’t ‘crap.’” He held his fingers up in air quotes.
I pushed his shoulder. “Just go lift weights so I can watch you.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Why does that make me feel like I’m a piece of man meat?”
I giggled. “Man meat?”
“You said you wanted to watch me,” he chuckled. “That makes me man meat.”
“You’re full of yourself, today,” I followed him over to the weight station.
“Here,” he handed me some light weights. “You can use these.” He picked up much heavier ones for himself and started to flex, his arms completely bare in his sleeveless top.
“Show off,” I muttered.
He grunted as he brought the weight back up. “Kitten, this isn’t showing off. Would you like me to show you what ‘showing off’ is?”
“Yeah,” I smirked.
He put the weights down and took mine from me, stacking them both back on the rack in their rightful places.
“Come here,” he took my hand, guiding me to an empty area of floor, covered in a blue mat. “Lay down.”
“O-o-kay,” my voice quaked.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said with a chuckle, lowering himself over top of me. I was so short that his feet stretched way beyond mine. His hands rested flat on the mat, holding him above me. Our faces were even, just inches apart. “This,” he said, raising himself and then lowering, “is showing off.”
He did another pushup but this time when he came down he pecked my lips.
“Hmmm, I could get used to this. It’s like a reward system,” he kissed me a little longer this time before going back up.
“How long are you going to do this?” I asked.
“At least seventy-five more times, kittycat. Remember, this, is showing off,” he smirked.
“I get it, you have endurance and strength. Point proven, Jared,” I stared up into his warm brown eyes. “You can stop now.”
“But you look so cute lying beneath me,” he winked.
I paled, a part of me wanting to get mad, but I laughed instead. “Well, aren’t you being quite the naughty boy.”
He chuckled, kissing the side of my mouth.
“Yeah, my naughty side decided to come out to play. I try to keep it on a short leash,” he winked, grinning crookedly at me.
He continued to do his pushups, kissing me periodically.
“I’m getting tired just watching you,” I said.
He chuckled. “How is that possible? I’m doing all the work.”
“And it looks exhausting,” I replied.
“Eh, it’s not that bad,” he chuckled.
“Show off,” I said again, poking the cleft in his stubbled chin.
He surprised me by catching my retreating index finger between his teeth. He lightly bit it before releasing.
“Don’t poke me,” he purred.
I bit my lip. “If you’re doing pushups with me underneath you, what are you going to do with me, when you do sit-ups?”
“Hmmm,” he pondered. “I’ll think of something.”
He finished his pushups, stopping at one hundred and twenty-five.
“Sit up time,” he said rolling over and getting in position. “Maybe you can straddle me?” he winked. “As much as I like being on top, sometimes it’s nice to change up the view.”
“You are soooo,” I drew out the word, “full of it today.”
He grinned, watching me as he did his sit ups. “I like to lighten the mood. I don’t like it when things get so serious between us and we dwell on things we shouldn’t.”
I laughed. “It’s just surprising, seeing this side of you, that’s all.”
“You know I’m just joking, right?” he asked. “Although, I could get used to that view while I work-out.”
“I know, Jared. I’m not as breakable as you think I am, at least, not anymore,” I smiled. I had really changed since Jared came into my life. I wasn’t as easily startled. I laughed and I smiled more. I felt like an entirely different person.
“You’ve really come out of your shell,” he agreed. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” he ceased his sit ups, drawing a leg up and draping his arm over his knee.
“What?” I asked, a bit warily.
“Thanksgiving is next week, I really want you to come with me and Karlie, to Dan and Patsy’s,” he reached for my hand.
“J-Jared, I can’t,” I shook my head. “That would be imposing.”
“Dan and Patsy already told me to invite you before I could even broach the subject. They’d love to get to know you better.” With his free hand he forced my chin up so I had to look him in the eyes. “Please?”
“I don’t know,” I tried to pry my chin from his hand, so I could look away from his intense brown eyes.
“Please, Katy? We all want you there.” A thought seemed to occur to him. “You don’t have to go to your mom’s do you?”
I snorted. “She’ll probably call me the day before, telling me she’s away on some exotic vacation and she promises to be home next year.”
Jared looked at me sadly. “All the more reason for you to celebrate with us.”
I could see I wasn’t going to win this argument with him. “Sure. I’ll go.”
He grinned, licking his lips. “Excellent. Karlie and I will pick you up Thanksgiving morning.”
“What can I bring? I won’t feel right if I don’t bring a dish,” I asked.
Jared snorted. “Trust me, you won’t need to bring anything. Patsy makes enough food to feed a small army. She can’t help herself.”
“Are you sure? I can make something? Or buy something?” I rambled.
He put a finger to my lips. “Don’t worry about it, kitten. Just wear something nice. Patsy likes for us all to dress up.”
“I can do that,” I nodded.
He leaned over, kissing my cheek and then my lips. “Okay, it’s time to get you in the ring.”
“Jared,” I whined as he helped me up. “I don’t want to.”
“Trust me, you’ll love it,” he guided me over to an area beside the ring. He’d already wrapped my hands, but now he handed me a light pair of boxing gloves. “Put those on,” he commanded.
“So bossy,” I smiled, slipping them on.
He grabbed some of those flat cushioned things that I’d seen the coaches put on their hands when they were practicing with their fighters.
Jared climbed into the ring and held the rope up for me.
With a groan, I tossed my leg over and ducked under.
Jared slipped the punching pads on, I guessed that’s what you called them, and said, “Hit them as hard as you can.”
I closed my eyes, steadying myself, and threw a punch. “Come on, you can do better than that!” Jared clapped the pads together before holding them out for me again. “Hit them like you mean it, Katy. Take all your anger, all your fear, out on them.”
I narrowed my eyes, pretending the pads were Preston, just like I did with the punching bag.
I punched, the loud slap echoing around the room.
Jared grinned, “Now that’s my girl.”
I hit the other one and Jared whistled. “I felt that one, Katy.”
Jared’s training and my self-defense training, kicked in and I punched those pads as hard as I could. I let all the hatred pour out of my body. I needed to let it all go. I needed to find my peace.
Jared’s encouragements faded to the background. The only thing I could focus on was punching the smile off that f*cker’s face. He deserved to pay for what he did to me. Why should he get to go on with his life and be free and happy, when I had been stuck in this miserable in-between state? Why was I the one that had to suffer? He should too.
With a cry, I fell to the floor of the ring. Sobs raked my body; I couldn’t get enough oxygen to breathe properly.
“Katy,” I heard Jared say, tossing the pads away and sinking to his knees in front of me.
I tried to stop crying. I didn’t want to cry over what had happened anymore. I wanted to let it go. I wiped my face, the sobs still making my body flail.
“Katy, please, tell me what to do,” Jared pleaded, his brown eyes full of remorse. “Let me help you.” He reached out for me and I collapsed in his arms, wrapping mine around his neck. I held on to him like he was a life jacket keeping me afloat.
“I want to forget, all I want is to forget,” I sobbed.
He ran his long fingers through my hair. “I know, kitten, I know,” he said, and I believed him.