Dark Realms (51 page)

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I
just smiled.

“Okay, you two. Better get
going,
time’s-a-wasting
,” said Master Jordan. “Bryce, if you could work with Cassie
on some of her kicks? She may need a little encouragement keeping
those legs high up in the air.”

I just wanted to fade away when I noticed
Bryce’s devilish grin.

“
You know, I’m just going
to let that one go,” he replied softly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t
soft enough because Nora snorted from across the room, and oh how I
wanted to punch her.

“Keep it clean, De Luca,” said Master
Jordan. “You don’t want to mess with that one, her kicks are
lethal.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like an interesting
challenge.”

“Well, just never say I didn’t warn you,
buddy,” replied Master Jordan. He then winked at me and stepped
into his office.

I think Bryce must have thought I was
anxious about sparring with someone more advanced, which wasn’t
really the case. It was the way he looked at me that started my
heart pounding madly in my chest.

“Hey, Cassandra, I was just kidding. I’ll go
easy on you,” said Bryce.

“No, don’t. I can handle it,” I replied
breathlessly.

His piercing blue eyes met mine. “Look, I
don’t want to hurt you. I’m obviously twice your size and much
farther along in my training. You don’t have a chance against
someone as formidable as me.”

My fantasy of him being a total Adonis
crumbled, and I stared at him in amazement, wondering if he was for
real. I cleared my throat. “You’re serious? You think I’m not going
to be challenging enough for you?” I asked.

“Most women aren’t,” he stated
confidently.

His arrogance irritated
me. I’d worked hard on earning my Belt and prided myself on being
just as good if not better than many of the guys in my class.
Chauvinism was something I simply had no tolerance for. I stomped
out the small fire he’d created in my stomach and ignored how cute
his butt looked in his uniform. “Well, I think the only
thing
you
should
go easy on is your own ego.”

He gave me a surprised
look then chuckled. “Ouch. Man…you are a little
wild
one aren’t you?”

You’re going to soon find
out
, I thought as I put on my helmet and
mouth guard.

Bryce took his time putting on his own gear,
glancing at me occasionally with a wry smile. I refused to let him
bother me, though. I couldn’t wait to wipe the cocky grin from his
face.

“Ready yet?” I snapped impatiently.

“Oh, I’m ready alright.
The question is, are you
ready for
me
, Wild?
” he
replied, jumping fluidly to his feet. I had to admit, with his
height and combat gear in place, he
was
intimidating.

“I’ve
been
ready. And by the way, I prefer
to be called
Cassie
.”

He laughed at that, adding more fuel to the
fire. I pushed aside my anxiety and let his irritating personality
feed my adrenaline. We tapped gloves and I charged after him before
he had a chance to study my fighting style. I started with a burst
of fast charges and strikes, which took him a little by surprise. I
bit my lip to keep from smirking as I circled around Bryce, waiting
for his move.

Bryce nodded his approval then came at me
with a roundhouse kick, which I quickly blocked and countered with
a couple of moves that would show him how challenging I could be. I
jumped up and did a combination roundhouse with an ax-kick. I
swiftly followed that move with a hard side thrust kick. This time
I couldn’t hide my satisfied grin when I heard him grunt.

“Okay, not bad,” he said.

“Told you,” said Master Jordan, who was now
standing outside of his office, watching us. “She may have just
gotten her Black Belt, but she’s always been a natural martial
artist. Her strikes are quick and solid.”

I opened my eyes
innocently. “Bryce, next time don’t hold back. Give me all you’ve
got. Or aren’t you
man
enough.”

He gave me a crooked smile and opened his
mouth to respond when Master Jordan interrupted. “Like I said, keep
it clean over there, Mr. De Luca. She‘s a minor.”

“I’ll be eighteen next month,” I
countered.

Bryce stared at me for a moment, his face
crestfallen. “Sorry,” he said. “I thought you were older.”

“So?” I shrugged. “What
does
that
have to
do with anything?”

He frowned and took a sip of water. “Forget
about it,” he said. “Let’s just keep practicing.”

We spent the rest of the time practicing
front, roundhouse, and tornado kicks. I could tell that Bryce still
wasn’t being as aggressive as he could have been, but by the end of
the class, both of us were sweating and out of breath. When we were
finished, he removed his helmet and wiped his forehead with a
towel.

“
Wow, I’m really
impressed,” he said. “You snap those kicks quickly and your balance
is right on. Plus, I haven’t met that many other opponents with as
much power in their roundhouse kicks as you.”

“So I was a little bit of a challenge? Even
for a girl?” I asked.

His smile fell away. “For anyone. Cassie,
I’m sorry for sounding like a complete ass earlier. You obviously
put me in line.”

“You weren’t a
complete
ass,” I said
dryly.

He bit back a smile. “Really, I’m not such a
bad guy once you get to know me.”

I shrugged. “If you say so…”

“Well, I’ll be back tomorrow evening, if you
want to stop in and practice again.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be here tomorrow, but
thanks.” I replied, removing my chest plate.

“Okay, well maybe I’ll see you around.”

I nodded. “Sure. Good luck with your next
tournament.”

“Thanks.”

I grabbed my gym bag and started stuffing my
sparring gear into it. Mae, Master Jordan’s girlfriend, walked over
and congratulated me on getting my Black Belt.

“Thanks,” I said.

As usual her makeup was flawless and she was
dressed like she’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Her
exotic Asian eyes glinted with amusement.

She motioned towards Bryce. “So…you like
that boy?”

“What?” I shook my head vehemently. “No…he’s
just an instructor.”

I could tell by her expression that she
didn’t totally believe me. Neither did I for that matter.

“Cassie, you…very pretty girl. You should
let me shape your eyebrows and give you manicure. I will do it, no
charge. Men like beautiful nails and tidy eyebrows.” Mae owns the
nail shop in the same mini-mall as the karate studio.

“Oh, no…that’s okay, Mae,” I replied, now
feeling self-conscious about my eyebrows. I realized my nails were
a lost cause, but I thought I’d done a pretty decent job plucking
my own eyebrows.

She unexpectedly grabbed my hand and looked
at my nails. “No. You come and let me do this for you. Your nails
are…ugly. This is my treat for earning your Black Belt. Tomorrow
night?”

Embarrassed and defeated, I accepted her
offer. “Um, okay. Thank you?”

Master Jordan joined us and put his arms
around her. “Better listen to Mae. She won’t accept NO for an
answer.”

“Either do you,” she replied firmly.

“What can I say, Mae? I didn’t want you to
miss out on having such a great guy. Besides, you know you couldn’t
resist me. You finally said yes.” He was actually pretty good
looking for someone in their thirties. Blond hair, blue eyes, and
kicking body, he kind of reminds me of Paul Walker, from the “Fast
and The Furious.”

She chuckled. “I gave in so you’d stop
embarrassing me at my shop. How many times a week did you ask for
both pedicure and date?”

“I thought you liked massaging my feet?”

She looked down at his feet. “I got tired of
looking at your corns.”

Master Jordan’s face fell, but I could tell
he was amused. “Corns? Mae, you’re killing me!”

Mae and I burst out
laughing. She then grabbed him around the waist and dragged him
away while he pretended to pout
.

I walked through the locker room and into
the entryway, where Nora was standing. “So, that new instructor was
smoking hot,” she said. “Did you get his number?”

I scowled. “No! Are you kidding? He’s an
instructor. Besides, he’s kind of annoying.”

She smiled. “Well as annoying as he was, he
certainly couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s because we were
sparring, Nora.”

She shook her head. “No, it was more than
that.”

Her words pleased me, though. I was a little
intrigued with him; there was no denying that. But he was an
instructor and too arrogant for my tastes.

“You need a ride home?” I asked her.

“No, Scott’s going to give
me a lift.” This time
Nora’s
cheeks turned bright pink. “It’s no big deal. I
guess he doesn’t live far from my grandma’s. Anyway, I was
wondering if you’d want to hang out this weekend? My dad sent a
copy of his latest CD. We could listen to it and order a pizza or
something. If you don‘t have anything else going on?”

That was surprising. “I might be able to
Saturday night. I’ll call you.”

Just then Scott walked up and hip-checked
me. “Hey, girl, you ready for prom?”

“Almost,” I replied.

Nora’s face fell. “You guys are going to the
prom together?”

“Just as friends!” we both said at the same
time.

Her face brightened immediately. “Oh, well
that’s cool! Have fun.”

“You’re not going?” Scott asked Nora.

She shook her head and began picking at lint
on her karate uniform.

“Well, why not?” he asked.

Nora sighed and lifted her arms up. “Are you
kidding me? Could you picture me at prom?”

“Actually, yes I could. I’m kind of shocked
that nobody asked you,” replied Scott.

Nora rolled her eyes. “Don’t be. It really
isn’t my thing anyway. Look, we’d better get going. I have to check
on Grams, make sure she’s okay.”

“No problem,” said Scott. He turned to me.
“I’ll talk to you at school tomorrow.”

“Bye, you guys,” I said. “I’ll catch you
tomorrow, Nora.”

She nodded and I watched as they left
together. When he opened the passenger door for her, she appeared
surprised, then flashed him one of her rare smiles. It suddenly all
made sense to me; Nora was totally into Scott, and seeing the way
Scott responded to Nora, he probably felt the same way.

Chapter Four

When I picked up Allie from her dance class,
she was unusually quiet.

“Is everything okay?” I asked her.

“Yeah,” she replied, laying her blond head
back against the seat. Normally she was a chatterbox, so I knew
something was bothering her.

I turned down my radio. “Spill it…what’s
wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Allie and I didn‘t always get along, but
she’s still my little sister and I don’t like seeing her glum.
“Okay. But if you need my advice on anything…”

She let out a dramatic sigh. “Well, if you
really want to know…” Then she rambled on about some boy she had a
crush on at school. Apparently he teased her in front of everyone,
completely humiliating her. “He actually said I was high
maintenance!”

It took all my will to hold back my smile.
Obviously he knew Allie pretty well. “Listen, boys your age are
clueless. Forget about him and focus on something else, like
getting good grades, or hanging out with your friends. In a couple
of years, the guys will be following you around like puppy dogs.”
It was true, with her blond hair, blue eyes, and radiant smile, she
had absolutely nothing to worry about.

“You sound just like mom,” she pouted.

I cringed, although I agreed with my mother
on this one. “Well this time she’s right.”

Allie fell silent again and took out her
cell phone. A minute later she was on the phone with Kylie, Paige’s
younger sister. They were close friends. They chatted for a few
minutes, making plans for the weekend. When she hung up, she was
her usual upbeat self.

“Kylie wants to see a movie this weekend and
have a sleepover.”

“That sounds like fun,” I replied.

Allie‘s eyes lit up. “Hey,
you should come over, too. We could order a pizza and swim in the
indoor pool at night. It‘s
so
cool.”

Paige and Kylie’s mother, Kristie, just
recently married this rich guy named Dan. He owns several
restaurants in the area and they now live in a huge mansion with
two swimming pools, a tennis court, and a shooting range. Allie
spends more time there than she does at home.

I narrowed my eyes. “Kristie is going to be
gone? That could lead to trouble.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking
cross.

Kylie is a nice girl, but
she tends to attract trouble, even when she isn’t looking for it.
My mom says that Kylie reminds her exactly of Kristie when she was
little. Our moms had played together as children, and I guess
Kristie had been a real
hell-raiser
growing up. Frankly, she’s still pretty feisty
and you never know what she’ll say or do next. Kylie has the same
fiery spirit as her mom and it’s gotten both Allie and herself in
trouble in the past.

“Forget about it. Well, it sounds
interesting but I promised Nora I’d hang out with her Saturday
night. She‘s depressed about her dad being away. She lost her
driver’s license a few months ago and doesn‘t have many
friends.”