"You know that Diaz is a good fighter. Better than Ray. I'll need to be on top of my game with him. He's a good boxer and damn good submissions. This is going to be tough." He wasn't worried he just needed to be focused like Luke said. It's a big fight. He was fighting the fight right before the main event. That's pretty big.
He smiled and shook his head. "I never said 'only' Just that it would be nice after fights. It could help keep me loose before a fight." He leaned over and gave her a kiss before he got up to put his dish in the sink. He grabbed his bag and told her he was ready. They drove to the gym. Don't forget to wash the car before the fight."
Once they got to the gym he went up to the movie room to go over the game plan and watch tape on Diaz. This would be his toughest fight yet and the pressure was wearing on him to do his best. If he lost, it would show he isn't ready for the championship shot but if he won it could. It could show his real strength and talent.
"Oh did you say 'only'?" She teased. She nodded her head to washing the car and out it in her phone so she didn't forget. She could do I later today or maybe tomorrow. He had some interviews to do for ESPN before the fight so she could wash the car while he did that.
They went their separate ways when they stepped into the gym. Jake went to the movie room and she went to a treadmill and ran for a worked on abs and did some squats. While she was doing squats one of the trainers walked over to her and they started to talk. She was a friendly person so she talked to him while she worked out. He was in between clients so he had some time to kill. He was probably trying to add her to his roster but she could get a good work out on her own.
He did give her a couple tips though and taught her a better way to squat. It was harder though but he told her it only hurt because it was working. He left for a while and came back as Jake was coming out of the movie room. He handed her his card and told her to call him. She nodded her head and put the card in her pocket. She stopped working out so she could get some water.
While he was wrapping up his hands she walked over, "I am going to take a shower and got get your car washed, okay?"
He saw the trainer with Adri and he started to boil. He shot a look to Luke and Luke shook his head. Jake went down to the ring and was trying hard not to go punch the dude in the face. The guy was clearly flirting with her and it bothered him to no end.
Jake couldn't believe Adri would just flirt with this guy. He wondered what else she did while he was in going over things with Luke. When she came over he didn't even look at her. "Sure whatever." He wanted to snap something else but but instead he just focused on what Luke was doing with his hands.
They weren't going to go full force he just needed to go over a few moves to counter some of Diaz's moves. "Jake no going full go..." Luke looked at him. "Jake..." He knew he was pissed and was going to try to take it out on Luke.
Adri looked at Luke and then Jake, "I'll try to make it back before you are finished. I'll leave a smoothie in the fridge in Luke's office." She figured he just wanted to focus so she didn't take up too much of his time. She went to the kitchen to make the smoothie and then put it in Luke's fridge. She took a quick shower and then put on a cute summer dress and converse shoes. She took his car to get washed, which took longer than she wanted but it was nice and shiny when she came back to the gym she left her bag in the trunk and entered the gym.
She took a seat and waited for Jake to come to the door so they could leave. It still seemed like a quiet day after this so they could go to her place and relax. She probably had something he could swim in at her place so they could get into the hot tub if he wanted too. Or she could just give him a back massage. She would be fine either way.
The trainer was off working with his client so she was all alone. She was playing a brain game on her phone blissfully unaware that Jake was upset with her. She looked up and smiled when he did appear. She closed out of the app and locked her phone. She stood up and tugged her dress down, "How was it?" She asked about the work out.
Luke showed him some moves to get out of potential locks and holds. He told him to stay off the cage cause of how Diaz likes to pin his opponents against the cage and strike. They tried some moves and Jake was doing horrible at following directions.
"Jake...focus...get Adri out of your head." Jake shot a look at Luke and wanted to punch him. "I'm fine Luke..."
"You need to get her out of your head or you are gonna get in the Octagon and lose cause you're thinking of some girl..." Luke knew Adri wasn't just some girl but he was right that Jake needed to focus.
He started to finally get in the zone a bit and get the moves down. He couldn't help but think about Adri and the trainer. The guy clearly knew she was here with him yet still hit on her. After the training he went to shower. He took a long hot shower and then grabbed the smoothie from the fridge. He found Adri. "It was fine." He had his bag on his shoulder and made his way out to the car. He didn't bother with her door like normal and threw his bag in the back and got in.
The drive home was quiet. He was trying really hard not to blow a gasket.
"Alright then." She laughed and followed him to the car. She handed him the keys and got in. He drove them to his place and she followed him in. She figure he was hungry since he just burned a lot of carbs so she went to the kitchen and made him something to eat.
"You have a free day." She told him and gave him the plate and the remote to the TV. She sat on the couch and crossed her legs.
"Do you want to go to my place later?" She asked and turned to look at him. "I went by the store and got massage oils. I can give you a nice deep tissue massage after a long soak in the hot tub. Sounds nice right?"
He didn't say much when he got home. "I'm not hungry..." He tossed the plate and remote on the coffee table. He had no appetite at all.
Jake looked at Adri when she mentioned stopping at the store. "You don't want to invite your new friend from the gym over? I'm sure he would love hot tub time and a nice massage."
He sat back on the couch and looked away from her. "What all happened while I was tapes and going over the game plan? Is that why you wanted to go to the gym with me to see your new friend?" He spoke harshly.
She watched him toss the plate onto the table and the food bounced off and some of it fell onto the table and floor. The remote bounced off and slid under the love seat. She looked at him and waited for him to pick it up but he showed no signs in doi so. She wasn't going to do it either. He could have easily handed her the food.
"What friend?" She asked honestly confused for a moment. "What are you talking about? I always go to the gym when you train." She thought about it and remembered the trainer. "Are you serious?" She laughed a little bit.
"Are you talking about the trainer that gave me his card? He was looking for new clients. Is that why you are acting like this?" She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the couch. "Wow." She said softly. She took a deep breath and shook her head, "You have no reason to be jealous. You know that right?"
He looked at her even more pissed that she was laughing. "You're seriously laughing at me right now?"
He shook his head and looked away. "Yeah the guy who was practically drooling over you as you worked out. And yes the same guy who gave you his card. He was flirting with you Adri. Whether you thought so or not he was. He checks you out every day while you work out."
Jake looked over at her, "What do you mean I don't have any reason to be jealous? You should know better than put yourself in a situation to make me jealous before a fight. I need to be focusing on Diaz not you and Mr. Trainer Boy."
"What am I supposed to do? He walked over and we talked for a bit. It's not like I'm going to hire him. I'm not going to stop talking to guys when they walk over because it makes you uncomfortable. You need to trust me when I tell you I'm not flirting with other people."
She frowned when he told her she should know better. "I should know better, now? Do you want me to work out in a burka? Youre being an ass. Im not even your girlfriend yet. Women throw themselves at you left and right. One guy comes to flirt with me and it's the end of the world." She got off the couch and Ene tot grab her purse. "Pick up the food you dropped like a child and call me when you grow up. I'm going home."
"I can trust you but doesn't mean I have to trust other guys. I saw how he was looking at you. You don't have to encourage his behavior either."
He watched her closely. "I'm being an ass? Since your not my girlfriend yet means you can do whatever you want? I can't help that chicks throw themselves at me. I don't encourage it. When I'm somewhere where a chick is trying shit who do I pay attention to? YOU." He looked at the food then her. "Don't tell me what the fuck to do."
"Fine go home like you do every time I get upset about something. You want me to trust you I get upset and you freaking run. And I'm sorry I thought what had been going on the last month meant something but since we're not 'official' guess I can do whatever and it's not a big deal right?" He got up and grabbed the plate and remote. He tossed the remote on the couch and tossed the food from the floor into the trash and the plate into the sink.
"There happy?" He turned to head down to the basement.
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Do not twist my words around like that, Jake." She rolled her eyes, "You act like I was begging for his attention. Not once have I flirted with someone else. I have barely looked at any one else. Don't spill your anger out on me because someone actually wants to talk to me."
She let out a frustrated groan. "The same way you run away every time I ask you a question?" She spat. She was only going home to give him time to relax before his big fight but now she felt like she was stuck. If she left he would punch the bag down stairs until his hands bled. If she stayed he would just scream at her and then punch the bag until his hands bled. She slammed the front door closed and put her bag on the counter. She crossed her arms and waited for him to come back.
She let her nerves relax and took a deep breath. He was not going to tell her who she could and couldn't talk too but she was t going to let him release his frustration out on the lunching at when he should be reserving his energy for the fight. She ground her teeth together and went downstairs.
"Talk to me." She said softly but he wouldn't hear her over his activity. She walked down and touched his back to get him to stop, "Talk to me!" She said a little bit more forcefully. "You can't do this right now. This needs to be resolved tonight. So talk to me."
"You want to talk to someone else fine. Talk to someone else. I don't own you. We're not even together as you already pointed out. Hell go flirt without whoever you want. We're not together."
He stopped a moment when she mentioned him running away. Shooting a look at her before going down to the basement and slamming the door shut. He went to the stereo and turned music on and grabbed his gloves. He started punching as if the stupid trainer was the punching bag.
When she came down he didn't hear her the first time. Then when she touched his back he turned and looked at her. "What do you want me to say Adriana? Huh?" He went back to punching the bag.
"I said the first thing that came to my mind, alright? I didn't mean to use us going slow against you. I wanted to go slow too. I just didn't think you would want to go slow with getting to know each other. It's been a month and the only thing I know about is your birthday."
She stared at his back when he turned around and she pushed him into it. In hindsight it wasn't the best idea but it was all she had at the moment. "Say something. Yell at me if you have too. Stop ignoring me and using the bag. You're mad at me, right? I'm right here."
She rubbed her lips together and looked into his eyes, "Use your words." She knew he would rather fight than talk but he couldn't fight her and he would have to talk eventually. She didn't want to push him out of his sheep but it seemed to be the only option.
He kept punching for a bit as he listened to her then she pushed him. He stopped and turned around with a more pissed off look. "Don't" He said quietly but firmly. It wasn't smart to push a fighter from behind. If he didn't know it was her he would have turned around and decked her.
"Fine you don't want to go slow anymore getting to know each other...Fine." He looked away a second thinking. "You want to know something about me...okay." He looked at her. "You wanted to know why I'm angry all the damn time? And I'd rather fight than talk?" He nodded. "Okay. Here's one for you. For as long as I can remember my step father beat the shit out of me." His eyes locked on hers. "So I learned how to fight. To fight back. I didn't have a father figure to teach me how to date a woman. Or how to treat a woman in general. The man I knew fought. The man supposed to be teaching me the man I should become beat not only me but my mother and my sister." The bones in his jaw tightened and flex as he took a moment. "So if I would have taken after him your ass would have been flattened on my floor. I don't know how to use my words. We didn't use words in my house. We used our fists."
He stood there looking at her. "There you go now you know my deadbeat stepfather beat the shit out of me and I have a mother and a sister. What else you wanna know?" He made a face like 'well?'
Don't. The way he said it and the way he looked at her sent chills down her spine. She wanted to take a step back but she held her ground and looked into his eyes.
She kept her eyes on his as he told her his history. She kept a straight face at least she tried to. She didn't know what to say to him. She wasn't expecting him to actually talk to her. He never talked to her. She didn't know if she should feel guilty for prying it out of him or happy that he actually trusted her enough to tell her. She stared at him for a little while but she couldn't think of anything to say. It made sense. He didn't let anyone close because he didn't want end up like his stepfather.
She tore her eyes from his and looked down. With nothing to say she did the only thing that felt right and she gave him a hug. "I'm sorry." She said softly into his neck and didn't, and wouldn't, let him go until he gave her a hug back.
He was angry and normally wouldn't have blurted that out. She wanted him to tell her about him so he did. Part of him wondered if she really wanted to hear it because it was nothing glamorous. The opposite in fact.
Then she hugged him. He didn't know what to do at first but then his arms wrapped around her. Jake held onto her tightly. It was nice to finally actually let it out. She did have a right to know. He just hope she didn't want to just work for him now. Jake didn't want to be anything like his stepfather. The man would tell him would never be anything and he wanted to be the best there was to prove him wrong.
Jake held her tighter. He hid his face in her shoulder. He never told anyone any of that. Not even Luke. Truth was he was tired of hiding it and being strong all the time. He wanted to fall apart. She still didn't know the details and there was more he wasn't ready to share yet. He felt he dropped enough of a bomb shell.
She hugged him until he let her go and then she took a small step back. She rubbed his arm, "Thank you for telling me." She said softly and kissed his cheek.
"Let's get out of here." She said gesturing to the basement. She took his hand and walked with him upstairs. She sat on the couch and hugged a pillow. Her mind was racing a mile a minute but she didn't think anything that she said would come out right.
"Are you sure you aren't hungry?" She asked softly and looked up at him. "I can make you something else. If you want." She offered.
Jake took her hand and walked with her back upstairs. He sat next to her as as she hugged a pillow he felt like he should wrap his arms around her but he didn't he just sat there still trying to cool off a bit. He was slowly getting there.
"No I'm not hungry." She made him something nice and he acted like an idiot. Then it hit him, he acted just like his stepfather. His eyes looked down. As much as he didn't want to be the guy, he was turning into that guy.
He got up and searched for his ipod. "I need to go for a bit." He said quietly. "You can stay if you want. Or if you wanna go I understand." He walked to the door.
She watched him when he wasn't looking at her. She nodded her head to him not being hungry and sat back into the couch.
They sat in silence for a while and mulled things over in their heads. She watched him get up and search for something. "It's charging in the kitchen." She said softly.
She sighed, "I'll be here when you come back." She leaned over and picked up the remote. She turned the TV on and switched it something she could get lost in until he came back. She didn't know how long he would be gone but by the time he got back she hoped he would feel better.
He didn't know how she knew exactly what it was he was looking for. He grabbed it and was out the door. He put his headphones in and took off running. He needed to clear his head. He was turning into the very thing he hated. He thought back on other times he had blown up and it was just like his stepfather. That just angered him more. How could he let this happen?
He took off running faster. Jake was basically sprinting. Ahe didn't want him punching anything so he had to run it off. He was gone almost an hour. His first thought was to push her away. How could he talk to her about it when he didn't know how to talk?
Once he got back his first thought was a shower but he stopped and looked at Adri. "I need your help." He said quietly. He stood there between the living room and kitchen trying to catch his breath.
She watched the show until it went off and then she flipped through the channels until she found something else to fill the time. She kept looking at the clock wondering when he would come through the door. She picked at her nails out of boredom and pulled the already chipping paint off of them.
She stood up and paced so she wasn't just sitting on the couch when he came back. Forty five minutes passed and she got nervous. An hour passed and she was ready to call Luke to find him and bring him home. Thankfully he came back a little after an hour and she frowned at him, "Tell me where you are going next time." She knew he was most likely running around the neighborhood but it would be nice to know for sure
He let out a sigh, "Adri I just went for a run." His eyes shifted down. It was nice she was worried about him though. "I was fine..."
Jake didn't know how to say what he wanted to. Leaning against the bar he hoped the words would come to him as he started to speak. "I tried so hard to deal with my anger. And use it for fighting." He shook his head and just kept it down in shame. "I just totally acted how he would have. I don't want to be anything like him Adri." He looked up at her. "My little scene throwing my plate and yelling...he would have done that. He would have taken it farther than I did but that doesn't make me any better. You don't deserve being treated that way. I don't want to treat you that way...I'm sorry." He spoke quiet and calm.
"I don't know how to ask for help with it. Or to talk to you instead of getting angry. Will you help me?"
She turned the TV off and turned her body to face his so he knew he had her complete attention. "You aren't like him. So you threw a plate and you yelled at me. You didn't throw the plate at me. You knew when to stop. Like you said, he would have taken it farther. You know when to stop." She stood up and walked over to him.
She put her hands on his hips, "When you want to talk then tell me. Or just start talking and I'll stop what I am doing and listen. If you can't tell me face to face then go I another room and call me and we can talk like that." She rubbed his cheek, "And you won't always be perfect. Sometimes you'll scream and throw things and maybe punch a wall but we will figure this out together."
She gave him a reassuring smile and kissed him softly. "And know that even if this doesn't work out or if you fire me or I quit you can call me to talk. I'll always be there for you."
He let out a sigh when she walked over to him. Why was she being so amazing about this? He was just a royal pain in the ass and jerk and here she was offering to get through it together. He wrapped his arms around her as he talked to him and came up with different ideas to help him. "Why are you so amazing?" He whispered. "I was just a jerk to you and you're being too amazing to me. I don't deserve you Adri."
Jake kissed her back softly. "Adri I want this to work. Please don't quit. I don't want you to go anywhere. I'm sorry. I'll try harder to keep things in check okay? I'm stressed about this fight...and I don't want another guy to have you. I want you to be mine...."
He looked into her eyes and kissed her softly. "Don't go..." He was scared she had enough of his shit, and he wouldn't blame her, and she would go.
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