Gaining Gibbs (Marco's MMA Boys #4) (5 page)

CHAPTER 9

GIBBS

“All right, kids. What is one of the key factors in good self-defense?”

“Be aware of your surroundings,” they say as a group.

I nod. “Okay, what’s another good tip?”

“Safety in numbers,” they answer.

“What if a stranger tries to talk to you?”

“Don’t speak back.” “Tell them to go away.”

Nodding, I laugh. “Yes, all of those are great answers.” I look amongst the group and see a shy girl. “Carrie?” She nods. “Come up here with me for a minute.”

She steps in front of me, looking at the floor.

I lift her chin up. “Always look up. Don’t look down at the ground. Be aware of everything going on around you.”

She lifts her head.

I lift my hands up. “I want you to put your hands up like this.” Once she does, I say, “Okay, now bring your fingers down and close your thumb around like this.” I show her as I’m doing it. She copies me. “Now bring your left foot back a little. Like a fighting stance.” She does. “Now yell, ‘GET BACK!’” I motion to her. “Now you try.”

She mimics me. “GET BACK!” Her face blushes.

I pat her on the shoulder. “Good job, girl. Now take your fists like you’re beating a drum.” I show her. “Okay, now it doesn’t matter how they try to reach in and grab you, you can use this to beat their arms away. Now I want you to act like you’re stomping a bug, but stomp my foot.” She does. “Good, another key is your attacker may be bigger than you, but you can get in smaller places. That stomping and punching is to give you the opportunity to run. Once you run, put anything in between you that you can. A garbage can, a clothing rack, a bench, anything you can until you can get to someone else.” I look back at her then to the rest of the class. “Okay, I’m gonna try that with each of you, so line up and let’s get started.”

Working with these kids is great. I even like working with the old ladies. Huck’s talked to me about taking on some more classes, maybe even training some young fighters. It would be a great career move for me. I mean I have plenty of money, so the work really isn’t what I worry about. Well, I’ve had money since I emancipated myself from my bloodsucking aunt and uncle who tried to spend every dime of my parent’s life insurance. For the first time since my parents died, I’m starting to feel whole. I feel like I’m part of something important.

Once I do a run through with the kids a couple of times, I clap my hands. “You guys have done great today. Now, Ms. Sloan has set out some juice and cookies for you guys while your moms are finishing up their class with Sly, Lox and Liz. Grab some of those cookies because I know for a fact that she makes awesome cookies.”

They all start toward the table and I see Carrie still acting shy. “Carrie girl, come here.”

She looks up at me with her adorable freckles and bright red hair. “Y-yes?”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “You did great today, beautiful girl.”

“Thank you,” she says quietly.

“Hey, none of that shy stuff with me. I know for a fact that you could beat me up,” I say, acting silly.

She giggles. “Come on, Mr. Gibbs, I know that’s not true.”

I squat down on her level and look her in the eyes. “Well, you don’t need to be shy, but I want you to remember what we talked about today. Keep your head up all the time. Know what’s going on around you, pretty girl.”

“Why do you call me pretty girl?” she asks quietly. “I know I’m not.”

I act offended. “I know pretty when I see it. Who says you aren’t pretty?”             

“Just boys at school. It’s because of my freckles and red hair.”

“Well that’s just stupid on their part. I’m going to share a secret with you. I like redheads and I think freckles are super cute.” I touch her nose with my finger tip.

“Well that’s good to know,” I hear her voice behind me.

I stand up and turn to face Jade. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

She points to Krista. “I’m dropping her off with her daddy. My sister is a little worn out so the princess and I went to the park.”

“Oh. Did you have fun at the park, Princess?”

“Yes!” she squeals, clapping.

“Oh Jade, Krista, this is my friend Carrie,” I say, pointing to Carrie. “You walked up while I was explaining to her that I think she’s a pretty girl. She says that people pick on her because of her hair and freckles. I told her they’re stupid.”

Jade nods her head at Carrie. “Yes, they are. Trust me, I went through all of the jokes, but I didn’t let it bother me. If you were older, I’d tell you exactly what I told them, but you’re too young.”

Carrie laughs. “Really?”

Jade nods with a bright smile. “Really. How old are you now?”

Carrie grins. “I’m ten.”

“Well, when you’re fifteen I’ll tell you what I told those boys,” she says as she ruffles Carrie’s red hair.

The little girl laughs and we hear Krista squeal. I see her running to the door in her gym shirt, a red tutu and red boots. “DADDY! DADDY!”

Sly picks her up and tosses her up in the air a little as he walks over to us. He gives me a fist bump. “How did the class go, man?”

“Great, this little girl right here was my star pupil of the day,” I say with my hand on top of Carrie’s head.

Sly smiles at her. “Hey, your momma must be Amber.”

She grins and nods. “Yes, sir.”

“Well she should be out soon.”

He turns to Jade. “So Kara is resting?”

She nods “Yeah, I told her to take a nap. She looked exhausted when I dropped off groceries and picked up the princess.”

He shakes his head. “This kid is wearing her out.”

Jade nods. “Yeah, I don’t remember her being this tired last time.”

Sly shakes his head. “All right, Princess, let’s go.”

He stops and looks back at us about to say something but he stops, then turns to Jade. “Serge called, your car should be ready tomorrow afternoon.”

She smiles. “Thanks.”

I motion to her as he walks away. “So that’s good. What are you driving now?”

“I’m using Kara’s ride,” she says, looking all over the place.

I nod. “That’s good.”

“So you like teaching the classes?” she says nervously.

“Yeah, I do.” Enough of this. “Okay, we need to talk about last night. Give me a few minutes to wrap stuff up here and we’ll talk.”

After making sure all of the kids are with their parents and cleaning up the snack mess, I motion for Jade to follow me.

Once we’re in the conference room, I motion for her to sit. “So, what in the hell was last night about?”

She shrugs her shoulders, looking down at the table. “I don’t know...I was just...I was…”

“Firecracker, you’ve never been nervous around me in all the time we’ve known each other. What’s up now?” I say, trying to calm her.

“I got drunk, a little brave, a little horny and a little aggravated with Gia. So when Kara dropped me off, I just decided to go for it. The next thing I knew I was knocking on your front door.”

I reach across the table and grab her hands. “Not that you showing up at my house isn’t welcome, and it’s not that I didn’t want what you were offering, it’s just I want you to be sober when you make that decision.”

She nods, “Yeah, I really realized how stupid it was this morning. I really couldn’t even remember if we had sex, but since I didn’t
feel
like we’d had sex, I was pretty sure we didn’t.”

I laugh. “Oh really, you didn’t
feel
like we had? Damn, I didn’t know I could-.” She jumps across the table to try and put her hand over my mouth.

“You idiot. All I meant is that it’s been a while for me, so you know, I would’ve probably been sore.” She gives me a small laugh.

“How long is awhile?” I ask cockily.

She shrugs. “Just a while, okay? Leave it at that.”

Hmm. She has me intrigued. I have to figure this out. She rolls her eyes while we are sitting there staring at each other. “You know how I feel about eye rolling.”

She grins wickedly. “I’d like to see you spank my ass.”

I give her a sideways grin. “Let’s go to dinner one night this week.”

She cocks her head, turning me on even more. “You asking me out on a date, Clay?”

I shrug. “Sure, we can call it that.”

She stands up from the table and starts for the door. “I’ll think about it,” she says before closing the door.

This girl…fuck, she has me sideways.

CHAPTER 10

JADE

I was fucking flirting with him…hard. How do I go from being so nervous around him I can’t see straight, to flirting like I did five years ago? Then the whole spanking thing, God, he drenches my panties. Once I’m in Kara’s car, I rest my head on the steering wheel. “AAARGH! Fuck,” I say out loud to no one really. It’s hell to be horny and alone. That’s what this has to be, I’m just sexually frustrated. I just need to spend some alone time with my vibrator and shake off these feelings. But a vibrator can’t smack my ass when it’s driving into me from behind.

Grabbing my phone, I decide to make a decision before I talk myself out of it.

ME: Pick me up at 6 tonight.

CLAY: You do know you’re texting me right?

ME: Yes. So 6?

CLAY: I take it you thought about it? I’ll see you at 6.

ME: ;)

A few hours later, I’m standing in my bathroom looking at my make-up and double checking that my hair isn’t curling wildly to my head. I have scrubbed my body, showed attention to areas that went lacking while I was swamped with school work and now I’m ready to go get my rocks off. Ugh, that sounded horrible. Am I a horrible person for wanting to have raw, passion-filled, uninhibited, mind blowing monkey sex? I give myself a little grin in the mirror.
Nah!

My mom taps on the door. “Hey, sweetie. You look nice.” If I were a guy, that would have totally ruined my hard on.

I smile in the mirror at her. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Where are you going?”

Do I lie or tell the truth? “I’m going to dinner with Clay,” I say in my best non-nervous voice.

She smiles. “That’s sweet, you two need to catch up. You’ve been so busy with school, I’m glad for you to take a little break.” Okay, that’s not what I was expecting. She has something else on her mind, I just know it. My gut is telling me something is off.

“Mom, you okay?”

She nods. “Yes, just have some things on my mind.”

I turn and put my hands on her shoulders. “Do we need to check your sugar or anything? You look a little flush.”

“No, it’s fine, I just checked it. I’m a little tired is all. Go and have a good time tonight.” She kisses my cheek.

I nod. “Okay, if you’re sure?”

She gives me a huge smile. “Yes. Now go have fun.”

I give her a smile, even though I’m worried about her. Maybe I’ll get Sly to come by and check on her or something.

A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts.

I open the door. “Hey.”

He gives me that signature panty-dropping grin. “Hey. You look sexy.”

I feel the heat creeping up my face. “Thanks.”

He pokes his head around me. “Hey, Mrs. Chambers.”

She laughs. “I told you to call me Eve, young man.”

He give her a charming grin. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You two kids go on and have fun.”

“See you later, Mom. I love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie.”

Once we get down to his truck, he turns to me. “Is she okay?”

“She says she is, but I have my doubts. Something is going on. I’m going to call Sly and get him to stop by and check on her.”

“Why not your sister?” he asks.

“Kara is having a really hard time with this pregnancy. It’s a lot harder than when she was pregnant with Krista,” I say, trying to convey my concerns.

“Maybe you should send Lox’s mom by, since she’s a nurse. I bet she would, and she could use some excuse about a baby shower or something.”

That’s actually a great plan. “How did you get so smart?”

He shrugs. “Just lucky, I guess.”

I quickly call Lox’s mom, Elaine, and explain my worries. She and my mom have become friends since Kara and Sly got together. She basically raised Sly and Huck so she’s like their mom. “Thank you so much, Elaine.”

“It’s okay, honey. I need to go by and see her anyway,” she says as we are ending the call.

“It’s just this feeling, something is wrong.”

“It’s all right, sweetie. You’re good to worry about her. I’ll call you if she needs you.”

“Thanks, Elaine. I’ll talk to you later.” I end the call, feeling a little better about leaving my mom.

“She gonna go by there?” Clay asks me after I set my phone down.

I nod. “Yeah. Thanks, I’m glad you mentioned that. Sly doesn’t need to have to leave my sister and Krista. I got there today and she was running around naked. My sister was so tired she’d just given up,” I say with a little laugh.

He shakes his head, never taking his eyes from the road. “So how long before everything is final and you’re a legal drug pusher?”

I laugh and pop him on the arm. “Not funny, asshole. A little over a month.” I sigh. “I’m just really ready for it to be over. I’m tired of school. I’ve been going full-time for over four years. Between the classes I took in high school and never taking summers off, I’m exhausted. I just want to sit on a beach and drink. Take a fucking break, you know? But now I have to go to work. The few student loans I have will start having to be paid back in six months. And I really need to find my own place to live, I’m too old to be living at home with my mother. It’s been great this last year since I was doing my hours in nearby hospitals, but now I need to grow up.” I stop, realizing we are in a restaurant parking lot and I’m out of breath.

He laughs, taking the keys from the ignition. “So you’re still the same. You keep everything so locked up that when that dam breaks, all the water rushes in and you flood the village.”

I flip him a bird. Then I realize we’re at John John’s. It’s kind of like a hometown Dave and Buster’s. We used to love to come here, and I get super competitive when we play games. After we get out of the truck he grabs my hand, leading me to the door. “I figured I’d
let you
kick my ass a few times in here and clear out that head of yours.”

I laugh and pull back from him a little. “Oh, you’re going to let me win…I don’t think so. I’m gonna beat your ass, Gibbs. It’s fucking on like donkey kong.”

“I doubt that,” he scoffs.

“Oh it is,” I say as we enter the building.

A few hours later, we’ve played a dozen games of skee-ball, ate an entire large pizza and drained two pitchers of beer. As I swallow the last of my beer, I look to Clay. “Thanks for tonight. I needed this.” I motion around. “I needed a night to just relax.” I motion to the pitcher, “To have a beer, eat food that’s bad for me and kick your ass at skee-ball.”

“You didn’t kick my ass, by the way. We tied.”

I open my mouth. “Oh that’s total bullshit. You shouldn’t have won that one game. You grabbed my ass, that’s interference.”

“That’s all fair game. I don’t know what you’re bitching about.”

Since we’ve already paid our bill, I jump up and start for the door like I’m angry. “Hey, why are you running?”

“You called me a bitch.” I try to act all mad.

“I didn’t call you a bitch.” He reaches out for me and spins me around. “Hey.”

I can’t hold it in anymore. I burst out laughing.

He pushes me against the truck. “I’m gonna spank your ass.”

“Mmm. You already did, that’s what caused us to tie.”

“Oh no, I didn’t. I grabbed your ass. If I spanked you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and we’d have gotten kicked out of John John’s.” He leans in beside my ear. “You know what it’s like when I spank your ass. You enjoy it too much.”