Next Time (13 page)

Payton waited for Ryann to continue, and when she didn’t, she asked, “What?”

Ryann smiled. “I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.”

“Oh, you’ve got it, you don’t have to worry.”

Ryann gazed at her for a moment with a lingering smile. “I realized that Leigh and I were never truly friends. We were lovers first and basically roommates next. I guess I didn’t realize that we were lacking one of the most important ingredients for a successful relationship, and that’s friendship. That’s why you and I can’t be friends with benefits.”

Payton blinked rapidly. “I…what?”

“Shelly suggested that we…you know.” Ryann dropped the spoon into the wok and unplugged it. Then she put both hands on the counter and stared at the wall. “You’re my friend, and I don’t want to play games with you. If we’re intimate, and I feel like we will be, I want it to mean something.” Ryann held up a hand when Payton began to speak. “I’ve said that, I mean it, but my body is miles ahead of my convictions. You should be prepared because I may become weak and start listening to what my body has to say more than my brain. So I elect you the responsible one.”

“I’ve been crazy about you since we met. You’ve elected Bill Clinton president of the chastity club.”

Ryann’s body shook with laughter, but she still refused to look at Payton.

Payton pounded the counter with her fist. “We can do this. We’ll date old-school style. I’ll pick you up at the door when we go one dates, kiss you good night on the front step, and go home. We’ll do that until we’re both ready to take the next step.”

“Okay, that’s a plan. Let’s eat and go kick the shit out of something. Stay over there, don’t come any closer,” Ryann said with a sigh.

*******

Ryann leaned close to Payton after they’d walked through the door of the school. “This is a straight woman’s dream.”

There were only two other women in the class, which was huge. Men of all ages, shapes, and sizes were paired off practicing different fighting techniques. Grunts and the sounds of strikes rang out in the room.

Payton swallowed hard and said, “These dudes are actually hitting each other.”

“Not hard. It takes practice and trust in your partner to really execute the moves.”

Payton and Ryann turned to face a very short bald black man. He was fit, though; his shirt clung to every ripple of muscle in his chest and abdomen. He smiled and put out his hand. “I’m Keith Bellasario, owner and instructor.”

“I’m Payton Foret, and this is Ryann Seely. Drago recommended you.”

“Great,” Keith said with a delighted smile. “Everyone should learn how to defend themselves.” He grabbed Payton so fast she didn’t even realize what was happening until they were face to face. “Attacks happen just that fast. My goal is to teach you to avoid being in a situation like this and how to get out of it if it happens.”

“I’m sold,” Ryann said as Keith released Payton.

“I apologize for startling you, but I could go on for hours telling you all the reasons you should learn Krav Maga. Sometimes, actions speak louder.” Keith smacked Payton on the shoulder. “You okay?”

“I will be after therapy.”

Keith pressed his hands together and held them in front of his chest. “I promise the class will be fast-paced and exciting. Try it tonight, you’ll learn a lot. If you enjoy it, come back and sign up. I’ll give you both the family discount.”

Payton glanced at Ryann, who was nodding, and said, “Okay.”

They started off with the dreaded plank. Payton was finally truly thankful for her time spent at the gym because it took everything she had to keep her body suspended on her forearms and toes. Pride made her want to outlast Ryann, even though every muscle in her body was begging her to give up.

“Go ahead, relax,” Ryann whispered shakily.

“You go first.”

“I can hang here all night,” Ryann said, but she was beginning to wobble.

“Go order us a pizza. I’ll be here when you get back.”

Ryann started laughing and fell. Then she poked Payton in the ribs and made her lose her form. And while their bodies felt like rubber, Keith got them up and had them punch a pad until they were soaked with sweat.

“Now that you’re warmed up, we’re ready to get to work,” he said cheerfully.

“Gotta love those warmups,” Payton said listlessly as she followed Keith to a spot on the mat.

Ryann trailed behind her and whispered, “I thought we were done.”

They learned how to exploit weak spots on the human body. The idea of gouging someone in the eyes with her thumbs was gruesome to Payton, but Ryann was into it a hundred percent. She growled as she practiced each move that Keith showed them, then he turned them loose to practice on each other.

Ryann looked feral when she said, “Now I feel like I can make a meat suit.”

“Couldn’t you just be satisfied with a punch to the throat? Is a suit necessary?” Payton asked with a grin as she dodged a playful jab.

Keith watched them for a while and said, “Let me show y’all how to deflect a punch, and after you practice it a few times, you’ll be done for the evening. He demonstrated by having Ryann throw a few full-on punches, and he easily redirected her swing with a brush of his hand. His fist gently connected with her jaw before she could even recoil. “Practice that a few times, but until you really get proficient, don’t swing hard.”

Ryann and Payton took a few turns in the offensive and defensive positions, then Ryann was ready to get real. “Okay, really throw one,” she said with a growl.

“I don’t feel proficient.”

“I’m the one deflecting, and I feel pretty up to speed.” Ryann’s eyes flashed with fire. “Show me what you got.”

Payton batted her lashes. “You make it sound so dirty.”

“Come on.” Ryann motioned with both hands. “Drill me.”

“Are you provoking me to hit you or something else?” Payton asked with a grin as they circled. “Because that just sounds like sweet talk to me.”

Ryann’s gaze was locked on Payton’s. “I know you can do it hard. Give it to me.”

“Now you’re just turning me on,” Payton said with her fists raised.

“Seriously, I want you to do this. Trust me. On the count of three. One…Two…Thr—”

Just as the last number was falling from Ryann’s lips, one of the other students flopped down onto the mat and distracted her. Payton’s fist caught the corner of her mouth and spun her head sideways. For a second, she teetered, then dropped to her knees.

“No!” Payton shouted and fell down beside her. “Ryann! I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Keith rushed over and knelt next to Ryann, whose eyes were watering. “Hey, look at me.”

“I’m fine,” Ryann said slowly. “You know…you really don’t see stars, everything just goes white for a couple of seconds.”

“Oh, my God,” Payton said miserably. “You’re bleeding.”

Ryann’s brow shot up. “I am? Cool!”

“She’s a badass,” Keith shouted, and the whole room applauded, except for Payton.

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Payton said. “Keith, get her to the door, I’m gonna pull the car around.”

“I’m fine, I promise.” Ryann stood without help. “None of my teeth are loose, and it wasn’t a direct hit. You just stunned me. Let’s do it again.”

Payton looked at her like she was insane. “Are you crazy? No.”

Keith patted Ryann on the shoulder. “Let her take you home and put some ice on that, so you won’t bruise as badly.”

Payton glared at an offered sweaty bandanna for the spot of blood on Ryann’s lips. “Thanks, dude, but no. I’m taking the badass home.”

Ryann threw up a fist as Payton dragged her out. “Good night, my brothers!”

Payton inhaled sharply when the cold night air hit her wet clothes. “You are insane.”

“No, I’m a badass,” Ryann said with a grin and winced. “I really enjoyed that class.”

Payton opened Ryann’s door and helped her inside. Then she walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. Ryann had reclined her seat fully and was groaning.

“You really are hurt!”

“Not my face. My ass, legs, arms, and abs are on fire. I didn’t want to wimp out in there, but there were a couple of times I thought my knees might buckle from exhaustion. It was a good time. Honestly, what did you think of it?”

“I was really enjoying myself until I punched you in the face.”

“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll jack your jaw when we get to my place.”

Payton shrugged. “I’m actually considering that.”

“Don’t feel bad. I saw a few guys with bruises.”

“Right, it’s like
Fight Club
in there. No helmets or padding, just some flimsy gloves. I mean, are we crazy?”

“Hey, I think it’s good to take a few soft hits, so if we are ever really attacked, we won’t drop like a sack of rocks.” Ryann touched her face gingerly. “This is the real deal. Just one class and I feel empowered. Can we go back? Pretty please? I really don’t want to hit anyone but you.”

Payton put a hand to her chest and breathed out a sigh. “You really touched me with that.”

Chapter 17

“Have you ever water-skied?”

Olivia blinked at Ryann’s unexpected question. “Yes.”

“That’s what it felt like with Payton then. I was dealing with all of Shelly’s crazy advice and my own physical and mental struggles when I was alone. I felt like I was in the wake of the boat trying to get up on the skis. When I was with Payton, I felt like I had jumped the wake and was skimming over smooth water effortlessly. Being with her felt so natural.”

Payton slapped the table. “Excellent analogy, baby girl. That’s exactly how I felt, too.”

*******

******

***

Grace put a hand to her cheek. “You punched her face?”

“After all I’ve told you, that’s what you’re focusing on? I did say it was an accident.”

“Well, good God, I had no idea that lesbian courtship was so brutal. You should’ve punched the nuts out of that squirrel girl’s jaw.” Grace grinned. “Punched her in the nuts, that’s funny—not exactly what I said, but you do get the meaning.”

“I need your mind off the nuts. I’ve had Jana and my common sense warning me away from Ryann, but when I’m with her, I’ll agree to almost anything.” Payton laid both hands on Grace’s kitchen table. “Here’s the kicker, she admitted that she’s very attracted to me. Her sister even suggested we do the friends with benefits thing, but we discussed it, and we’re going to get to know each other on a deeper level before it gets physical.”

Grace smiled and patted Payton on the hand as though she were five years old and had just told her about finger painting. “That’s adorable, dear. It’s not gonna work, but it’s downright precious.”

Payton’s face went blank. “What?”

“You want her, she wants you. Your minds will play tricks because there’s a big ol’ sexy carrot dangling in front of your faces. You’ll convince yourself that you adore everything about her because you want to sleep with her, and she’ll do the same.”

Payton sank back in her chair. “So what’re you saying?”

“I hope for your sake that the connection you feel is the exact same thing that happened to Myrna and Paul.”

Payton scrubbed at her face wondering if she should’ve talked to Jana first. She’d say taking it slow was a brilliant idea. Grace was making her feel kind of hopeless.

Something that sounded like a gunshot went off in the back of the house. Grace sipped her coffee as though she hadn’t heard it. “What the hell was that?” Payton asked.

“That was a signal that I got a message from one of the other players. To hell with knitting and cataloging birds, I’m killing zombies now. Sophie got me hooked on that game.” Grace sat up straighter with a proud smile. “My handle is Granny Slayer. I should’ve thought it out more because it really makes me sound like I kill grandmas. This morning, I took out a horde of the undead with just a grenade and a shotgun. That advanced me to another level where I got more weapons and ammo.” She sighed. “I’m thinking about setting up a stronghold on the top of a hotel with a couple of other humans now that I have a sniper rifle. I hope my new gaming chair arrives today, it’s supposed to be more supportive of my back.”

Payton stared at her in confusion. “I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time reconciling the woman who extolls the virtue of love at first sight with the one who calls herself Granny Slayer.”

“Right?” Grace said with a laugh. “I’m a piece of work, ain’t I?”

*******

Ryann rushed home from work, started dinner, and went to change her clothes. She was ready to learn more skills and tangle with Payton since that was the only way they were going to get physical for a while. She’d begun to think something was seriously wrong with her when at lunch the salt in her food made the cut on her lip sting, and that filled her with warmth because she thought of Payton.

She was also really proud of her bruise, which was only the size of a quarter, and the split in her lip was just a little red dot. She wore her injury like a badge of honor because it made her feel strong to say she’d taken a punch in a self-defense class. As Ryann picked out what she was going to wear, she wondered why she got such a thrill out of it. The realization began to dawn, and she stood still, clutching a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt to her chest.

At one time, everyone considered her so strong, physically and emotionally, but that perception had changed subtly over the years. At first, she wanted to blame Leigh because when they’d gotten together, Ryann realized that Leigh was more insecure than she’d let on. In the course of building her up, Ryann had taken a more submissive role, acting as though she needed Leigh to make decisions and be her protector. She’d seen Shelly do the same thing with Evan, pretending to be unable to even change a flat tire, when all the Seely girls had been taught to do that before the age of ten.

Ryann grabbed her phone and took her clothes into the bathroom. “Do you think I’m a sissy girl?” she asked when Shelly answered the phone.

“Well, you were afraid of the ferret when we thought it was a squirrel, but I’d consider that more wise than sissy.” Shelly breathed out heavily. “What’s this about?”

“It just occurred to me that we both were a lot tougher before we got into serious relationships. I changed, for sure, and I have to wonder if maybe that was what really killed me and Leigh.”

“Honey, people cheat for all kinds of reasons, but those who make a habit out of it like she did have some really deep issues that only they can fix. Is that where you’re at now—blaming yourself for her mistakes?”

“No. I just realized that I really did change, and I thought I was doing it for all the right reasons…maybe I was wrong. I used to be the go-to girl, everyone came to me when they needed help. Now it seems, I’m the one being nursed along. I don’t like it. I want to be me again.”

“Then be you. Now tell me what this is all about.”

Payton punched me in the face last night, and I really liked it. I’ve got a split on my lip and a bruise, and I feel like a million bucks.”

Shelly was silent for a moment, then said, “Oh, it happened in that class y’all are taking.”

“Yes, it was an accident.”

“Good, because I was just about to go find a bat. So you feel you shortchanged yourself and Leigh by being someone you’re really not. That’s fine, but just don’t start blaming yourself for her infidelities. Everybody makes mistakes, but she made a career out of it, so remember that.”

“Got it.”

“Feel better?”

“I do,” Ryann said with a happy sigh. “Thanks for the pep talk. I have to get dressed now, so I can go learn to kill.”

“About that…you’re not taking this class so you can kick Leigh’s ass, are you?”

“No, I want to be able to kick everybody’s ass.”

“That’s my girl. I may join you one day, but right now, I have to go plunge a toilet. Don’t be jealous, not everyone can live the glamorous life.”

“Good luck with that. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Shelly said with a laugh and hung up.

*******

Ryann was dressed and had dinner just about ready when Payton knocked on her door. She pranced over and threw it open, a big smile on her face. “I am a badass.”

“Yes, you are,” Payton agreed with a nod and winced at the bruise. “Is it sore?”

“A little, but everyone at school was impressed when they heard how I got it.” Ryann grabbed Payton by the arm and dragged her inside. “What hurts worse are my arms and back. I’m really hoping that tonight will work out some of the stiffness.” She stared at Payton’s solemn expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I have two confidants, Jana and my neighbor Grace. I told Grace this morning about our courtship plans, and she pooh-poohed them. She says what we’re doing isn’t gonna work.”

“Come sit down, I’m about to serve dinner. I want to hear all about this.”

Payton didn’t listen. She wandered around the kitchen until she found the glasses and plates. “Grace says since we’re already attracted to each other that basically subconsciously we’ll like whatever the other one does to get to the carrot. I find this disconcerting because we might fall into all of the same romantic traps. And you’re still dealing with your loss, so you’ve got all those emotions to contend with. So now I’m worried that we’re headed for disaster, and I really like you.”

Ryann turned the stove off and turned to Payton. “You’re an overthinker, aren’t you?”

“It’s overexposure to Jana, she’s rubbed off on me. I’m just thankful I didn’t make a pie chart.”

“People have been pairing off since the dawn of humanity, it’s pretty simple. I like you, you like me, we’re going to see how that goes. Frankly, I think we’re off to a good start.” Ryann held her hand high, then lowered it to her waist. “I need you to bring all of the analyzing and worry from up there to here. Let’s just live a little and see how it goes. We haven’t even kissed yet.”

“Your mouth has to heal first. What if I gave you some sort of infection? You know, human mouths carry a lot of germs and—”

“Stop. You’re taking all of the romanticism out of it.” Ryann took one of the plates and spooned the shrimp and vegetables in a cream sauce onto it. “This looks fattening, but it’s lo-cal. I got the recipe from a woman I work with.”

Payton inhaled deeply and sighed. “It smells delicious. Thank you for feeding me.”

“I love to cook, and if it will entice you to continue taking the classes, I’ll do it before every one we go to.”

“I feel a deal coming on,” Payton said with a grin. “I might be persuaded to agree if you allow me to take you grocery shopping. That’s only fair.”

Ryann held out her hand. “Shake on it.”

*******

Payton and Ryann signed up for six months of lessons, but Ryann balked at the protective gear. “My brothers in there aren’t wearing goofy helmets, I don’t want to, either.”

“Do you like getting your bell rung?” Payton asked.

Keith intervened. “As you progress, the hits get harder. Right now, the class is working on technique. When they spar, they’re suited up in this gear.”

“All right, but I want the mouth guard that looks like fangs,” Ryann said petulantly.

“And you should wear them all the time.” Payton pretended to be interested in something else when Ryann poked her.

“I’m going to whip you down tonight.”

Payton threw back her head and laughed. “Bring it, baby.”

“Oh, I got the heat, you’re gonna feel the burn.”

Keith listened to them banter with a grin. “You two have been a couple for a while, haven’t you? I can always tell. I have a husband and wife that come to the late classes, and we have to pull them off of each other.”

Ryann clamped her lips together tightly and glanced at Payton, who rolled with the misconception. “Ten years this spring. We have a lot of aggression to work out,” she said, jerking a thumb at Ryann. “You ought to see our yard. She buys all kinds of lawn ornament crap. Her latest was a goofy birdbath that looks like a bunny.”

“She belches like a man. Don’t get me started on the rest.” Ryann shrugged when Payton glared at her. “I don’t have to shave my legs anymore because she burns the hair right off. Keith, are you married?”

“Not yet, but someday, I—”

“Don’t,” Ryann and Payton said in unison.

He stared at them both with an awkward smile. “I’m not really sure you should be sparring partners. I’ve tried to talk other couples out of it, but it’s your decision.”

“We’ll be fine,” Ryann said as she popped the kinks out of her neck. “What’s a little bloodletting between lovers?”

*******

Payton never struck Ryann as wimpy, but as she practiced deflecting a blow from Keith and knocking him to the ground, Ryann realized that she was pretty tough. Still, she didn’t like the idea of Payton helping Jana move Melanie out of her house. Ryann was seeing a side of Leigh she didn’t know existed and wondered if she’d really go after Payton if she got a chance. As Keith went flying, Ryann began to kind of worry for Leigh’s safety.

“Okay, you two practice on each other now and try to remember what it was like when you first fell in love,” Keith said before he walked away to assist other students.

Ryann grinned evilly. “Are we going to tell him we lied?”

“And spoil the fun?” Payton looked just as devious as Ryann did. “Show me some of that heat because I’m about to attack.”

As Payton moved on Ryann, she rushed in and mimicked slamming the heel of her hand into Payton’s nose and kneeing her in the crotch. Ryann put one leg behind Payton’s and shoved. She pumped her fist when Payton fell backward onto the mat.

When it was Payton’s turn to be on the defensive, she shoved her hands into Ryann’s armpits. “I found your weak spot,” she said with a laugh while Ryann writhed. “You never know when a tickle attack will come, so you better be prepared.”

“You broke the form,” Ryann said breathlessly and shoved Payton away. “Be serious.”

“Right.” Payton rolled her shoulders. “I’m rea—” Ryann dove and caught her around the thighs, sending her to the floor like a sack of rocks.

Keith appeared above them with a smile while they lay there laughing. “Enjoying your honeymoon?” Before either woman could answer, his expression morphed into something scary, and spit flew from his mouth when he yelled, “There’s no playing in my class. Fifty pushups now, both of you.”