Romance: JADEN: An MMA Fighter Romance (Bad Boy Tattoo Romance) (New Adult Pregnancy Short Stories) (2 page)

“Hey you came?”

“Yeah.” 

I pushed out a weak smile.

“Did you enjoy it?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Everything I expected.”

Of course, he didn’t click on to the fact that that didn’t necessarily mean it was good.

“Oh, good.”

He seemingly relaxed instead.  I let him think it anyway.  If he didn’t understand my humour, then me explaining it would not make it any funnier than he had originally thought—which was not at all.

“I was wondering if you would enjoy yourself.  Glad you did.”

“It was fine.”

“So you’ll be back next week?” 

This was the most animated I had seen him.  Well, the entire class really.  I could really see how passionate he was about his sport and it quietly made me like him even more.

“I don’t think so…”

I just couldn’t come back and face such humiliation again.

“Oh…”

He was taken aback by my response; shocked; completely confused as if I hadn’t expressed my dislike for the class well enough in the previous parts of the conversation.

“Okay.  Yeah no worries.  That’s cool.”

Damn.  I think I had just prematurely ended our chat altogether.  An awkward silence snuck in between us and we both were lost with where to take the conversation next or how to politely leave each other’s presence. 

“Was it the crowd?  Was a bit busy tonight.”

“Yeah, bit intimidating.” 

It was partly true, although not the real reason I didn’t want to come back, but I wanted to keep the conversation going so I just decided to agree.

“Yeah can be.  I can do a private session with you if ya want?”

My heart started beating even faster and my mind felt like it had a million cars racing around in it.  Had he just asked me for a private session?  Just me and him?  As excited as I was though, I couldn’t help but think that he was genuinely just trying to help me out, and he just loved martial arts so much that it really didn’t seem like a special offer to take me on privately.  This wasn’t what I wanted though.  If I was going to embarrass myself, it would have to be for a much better reason.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to.  I’m just really busy at the moment.  But thanks for the offer.”

“Oh, yeah, of course.  Well, if you change your mind, just give us a shout.”

I smiled painfully, trying to mask my heavy disappointment.

“Sure.”

I turned, walking away and I felt my tears rush to the start line, ready to begin the race down my cheeks.  I sucked in a deep breath and then I heard my name again.

“Alyssa!”

I tensed up again and let his voice light up my hope ever so slightly.  I turned around and saw his endearing eyes smiling at me.

“It was great to see you.”

I smiled, my heart skipping a beat.

“You too.”

I paused waiting to see if further words would leave his lips, but instead he stood there seeming to be doing the same thing.  Of course, when I went to turn away again though, he began to talk again, and I was stopped.

“Just be careful.”

“Okay.”

I nodded, smiling.  I was beginning to think this was his way of showing a girl he was interested.  He didn’t know quite what to say but it actually seemed like he didn’t want me to leave.  I was so confused.  His signals were so mixed up and incoherent, I didn’t know which way he wanted me to go, or what he wanted me to do, or what he even felt.  Right now I felt as though he was wanting to see me again, but just moments ago and rewinding back the last hour, he had acted as if I didn’t even exist.  I thought girls were supposed to be the complicated ones but Jaden was definitely giving that theory a run for its money.

“I think I can convince you to come back.”

I looked at him confused, not sure where he was intending to go with this.

“Can we chat this week sometime, you know, just so we can work out something?”

“Work out what?”

Shit, I didn’t want to be so abrupt but I really didn’t know what he was on about.  I should have taken his invite with open arms but my head obviously didn’t agree.

“Training.”  He spoke matter-of-factly, like what else would he be talking about?

I suddenly realised what he had been meaning this whole time, and my wall of defence came up immediately.  He thought that he could help me become a thin gym junkie like his other barbie dolls.  My anger rose considerably fast.

“Why do you want me to train so badly?”

“Shit.  No I don’t.”

“Whatever.”

My heart couldn’t take anymore and my brain couldn’t muster together any more polite responses.  He had just made it very clear that I didn’t belong in his world and I definitely wasn’t good enough.  I walked out, this time, desperate to leave the room without another interruption.  As soon as I felt the air on the other side of the door rush against my face, relief hit my anger and calmed me down.  I continued walking until I reached my car and then slowed down, relaxing my anxious breathing. 

I sat in my car and I saw Jaden walking towards me.  He just couldn’t take no as an answer and I was beginning to really dislike him now.  I pretended not to see him and I checked my phone to avoid his eye contact.  There was a knock at my window, and even though I knew it was Jaden, I jumped automatically, momentarily, scared by the sudden noise at my side.  I rolled down the window and faced my new found nemesis.

“Are you crying because of me?”

I felt my cheeks and the wetness on my fingertips surprised me.  I hadn’t actually realised that my tears had won the war against my head.

“No.”

I lied angrily.

“Sorry.”

He stood at my door looking helpless and uncomfortable.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know.  I just wanted to apologise.”

“For what?”  I asked snidely. 

I hated when people apologised just because they thought they should, without actually knowing why.

“For making you upset?”

“Do you even know why I’m upset?”

“Um…not really.” 

He sounded scared of what my reaction to his honesty might be.

“Do you think you can just turn me into another one of those model whores back there?”

“What?  No.”

He seemed genuinely shocked and confused.

“I don’t need you to change me okay?”

“What?  I don’t want to change you.”

I started to soften.  He actually sounded as though he was completely unaware of what his words had sounded like to me.  I began to think that maybe I had made a big mistake.  My pride, however, wouldn’t let my embarrassment seep in again, and I stuck firmly to my argument.

“Well, I don’t want to train.”

“We don’t have to.”

“Well stop pushing it.”

“I’m so confused.  I didn’t mean to force you into anything.”

“Okay, cool.  Well, I gotta go.” 

I turned back to look out my front window, ready to drive away.

“I just wanted to see you again.”

I stopped and slowly turned my head towards him.  He was looking down and then slowly raised his head till our eyes met and I once again melted in the intensity of them.

“Really?”

He nodded.

“Why?”

“What?  I dunno, I just…I just couldn’t let you walk out of the room.  I couldn’t let you drive away.  I didn’t mean to keep stopping you but I just did.  It just kept happening.”

I tried to hide my giddiness at his confession.

I searched for a pen in the middle console of my car and then turned back towards him.

“Give me your hand.”

He looked at me nervously and cautiously held his hand out for me.  I grasped his wrist and I felt his warm skin against me.  My breathing quickened.

One of his tattoos caught my eye.  It was positioned on the top of his hand beneath the finger next to his thumb.  He had so many huge and beautiful tattoos but this tiny one of a heartbeat line and a date, was the one that intrigued me the most.  I ran my finger over the lines and I heard him take a deep breath in and then blow out slowly.  I looked up at him and he was staring at the spot where my fingers had just traced.  I decided not to ask him about it though.  It seemed too personal for me to enquire about and I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable with my unnecessary nosiness.  I snapped out of my daze and brought his attention back to me as I brought the pen to his skin.  I wrote my number down and my name underneath.

“So you can call me if you want.”

He smiled at me.

“I’ll think about it.” 

I was shocked by his cheeky tone and grin that now appeared on his face.  Did he just make a joke with me?  One that I would make and he wouldn’t understand?  I stared at him, even more intrigued as he continued to surprise me.  Then it hit me.  What if he wasn’t joking and actually meant he would have to think about it?  That seemed more in line with Jaden, from what I had so far experienced.

“I will…call you.  I was joking.”

He obviously saw my confusion with his first response and cleared up any of my weary thoughts.

“Okay.”

I spoke nervously and he laughed now somehow gaining the upper-hand.  He had just taken a quick turn from the soft-spoken confusing guy to the confident, forward guy I had thought he would have been from the beginning.  Wow, this guy was really baffling everything I thought I knew about the male species.  But he was going to call me, and I couldn’t wait.

***

“Hello?”

“Told you I’d call.”

I was lost for words.  I had only been home for an hour and my phone was already ringing with an unknown number flashing on the screen, and now I was hearing Jaden’s voice on the other end.

“I have to run another class but I just wanted to show you I would call you.”

I laughed.

“Wow, now that is record timing Jaden.”

“Shit, too soon?”

“No, no, not at all.  Just surprised me.”

“I have a feeling I’m going to like surprising you Alyssa.”

“Well, lucky I like surprises.”

“Lucky.  Anyway I gotta go.  I will call you again.”

And I was left listening to the beeping on the phone as he ended our call.  I was still in utter shock that that conversation had just happened.  It was so simple and nothing special, but at the same time, it was adorable and exciting, and I was totally falling for him.  I clung to my phone, lying in my bed that night, dreaming not just of his eyes running through my mind, but now of his touch and his lips and the way his voice made me feel.

Jaden had invited me to come and watch him fight tonight.  His conversation on the phone was quick and straight to the point again but it just made every word he said that much more significant.  I once again was a little confused if my appearance at his fight was his idea of a first date, and the thoughts of him having the intention of just being friends came barging back into my head.  I was, therefore, going to feel incredibly uncomfortable again, but at least this time I could sit down in the crowd and enjoy the show that I, this time, didn’t have to take part in. 

I had no idea how big mixed martial arts was but I was soon caught up to the fact when I entered the arena where the fight was to take place.  Here I was, thinking I was just going to be entering a school gym, and now I was at a ticketed event, pushing my way through crowds, and stepping over fanatic people to get to my seat.  Jaden had saved me a seat right at the front and as much as I appreciated it, as soon as the first fight began, I became terrified at the act I saw in front of me and I actually think I might have enjoyed having more of a skewed view. 

They announced his name and Jaden came out in silky shorts and no top.  My stomach did flips and I felt like I was about to melt into my seat and never be able to stand again.  Every time I saw him, he just got sexier and sexier and my heart became further endangered with going into cardiac arrest.  I had felt the pain of every kick and hit that occurred in the first three fights, but none of it had appropriately prepared me for the sick feeling my body produced when I saw Jaden’s body being brutally abused by his opponent.  I squirmed in my seat and pleaded in my head for him to make it through the fight alive.  He was actually very impressive and as much as it scared me, the way Jaden dodged the other guy’s hands, and the way he struck, actually was turning me on.  I’m crazy, I know. 

And then he was struck hard and went down and the whole crowd roared and rose from their seats.  Jaden didn’t get up.  I felt sicker, and my worry immediately exceeded any concern I’d ever felt for somebody else’s wellbeing before.  The referee instantly paused the fight and Jaden’s trainer ended up helping him out of the ring.  He was hobbling along but still looked like he was in a complete daze and might possibly be concussed.  I had to go and see him.