Chapter Fifty-FiveJett
Chapter Fifty-Five
Jett
M y phone beeped as I pulled into the garage of the house. For a Tuesday, work had been especially busy.
A text from Cam, my co-worker at the station, lit up my phone.
Cam
Can you teach my 7 pm class at the gym? Please?
Why couldn’t she have asked earlier? I got out of the car and looked at the group chat. Evan and Wes were working late, and Spencer was taking Riley to get new skate smash gear for the upcoming tryouts.
I texted Brennan as I went inside the quiet house.
Me
Working late? They need me to teach a class at the gym.
As I walked up the stairs, I heard Volkov’s Sonata in D being played on the piano. Was Brennan home? That was one of his go-to I hate the world pieces. When I got to the second floor, a little blonde was hunched over the piano, pounding out the notes of the dark and powerful piece.
They both liked Volkov. Huh. They had more in common than they wanted to admit. While a lot of things didn’t add up when it came to Grace, I still liked her.
It was also obvious that she was thriving here with Wes and Evan. It could be because Wes was her mate. But affection, regular meals, cuddles, and kind words probably had a lot to do with it.
He texted me back.
Brennan
Go for it. I’m trying to close on the estate so Evan can get married in a fucking rose garden.
Wow. He was going ahead and trying to buy the estate so Evan could marry Grace there?
But Brennan would give Evan pretty much anything.
It was also nice that he was coming around to the fact that Grace wasn’t going anywhere.
Grace and Evan mated during their romantic weekend .
While Evan had talked to us about wanting to bond her, we didn't realize he’d do it so soon.
Brennan was a little miffed about it, because the investigations weren’t even closed yet. But he’d shut those feelings down as soon as he saw how it hurt Evan. I texted Cam back.
Me
Sure.
Might as well. I felt like I always owed her for something, anyway. It wasn’t my favorite, and she knew it. It wasn’t because it was a ladies' class. We had some bad bitches at my gym, and I was happy to work with them. It was because it was a boxerobics class to pop music.
Pop music was also not my thing.
Grace looked over when she finished playing. “How’d it sound? Sucky? It felt sucky. This piece is difficult.”
“You play it faster than Bren, but it sounded fine,” I replied. Classical music wasn’t my thing either.
Maybe Brennan could eventually put his issues aside and take Grace to classical music concerts. Someone should appreciate them, and not just go to be in the dark with Brennan for a few hours.
A thought struck me. “How are you feeling? I have to teach a class at my boxing gym. Do you want to come with me?”
I should find out what she could do and teach her some things. Especially after seeing her whack a shooter with a chair.
“Can we take the motorcycles?” Her eyes lit up. “I’m cleared for exercise. Also, after playing the dance game, I realized I should probably add more cardio back into my life.”
“We have a gym in the basement, and you can use it whenever you want. I’ll take you on my motorcycle.
You don’t have a license. Evan’s motorcycle is way too high for you.
Your toes won’t touch the ground. But, you can try mine later, and show me what you can do, so we can get you signed up for the test,” I told her.
Her head lolled from side to side. “Fair. When do we leave? What do I wear?”
“Wear whatever you want to exercise in, and sneakers. You can wear Riley’s gloves. You can bring your stuff and change there. We should leave soon.” I went into my room to get my stuff.
Our living room doubled as Brennan’s office, which is why I often watched TV with Evan in his room. That and no one else would watch cheesy foreign subtitled action movies with me.
Would Grace like them? She liked regular action movies.
I got my boxing bag out of the closet and made sure Riley’s gloves were in there. I should take them both regularly. Riley picked up fast and would do well if we put some time and effort into her training.
Going back downstairs, I put my bag on the table, filled up a water bottle for each of us, and got myself a snack. Grace came downstairs in jeans, one of Evan’s shirts, and her leather jacket. She had her helmet in one hand and a bag in the other.
“Ready? We can grab food after class,” I told her. Would she like my usual places?
Grace nodded. We put on our shoes and went into the garage. She immediately went to Evan’s bike, which stood next to mine. Brennan took his to work nearly every day because he didn’t like cars. I usually drove my convertible.
“This is beautiful,” she sighed.
“What did you have back at university?” Probably a scooter. I grabbed my helmet.
“A little pink street bike. Nothing exciting, but it got me where I needed to go,” she replied, pulling on her helmet.
We got on, and she wrapped her arms around my waist, nice and close. The only girl who had ever been on the back of my bike was Riley.
Taking off, we went back into the city, to an old warehouse that had been converted into a boxing gym.
We went inside, and I waved at the owner, who was at the front desk.
“Jett, great job at the tournament. I didn’t think I’d see you tonight,” Marti said.
She was an older beta, tough as nails, and ran this place with her husband.
I’d been going here since I was at the police academy–which was pre-Brennan.
A lot of us were in law enforcement. It was a no-alpha gym, and nearly everyone was a beta.
“Cam convinced me to teach her 7 pm.” I shrugged.
“Who’s this?” Marti looked appreciatively at Grace, who stood there, taking in what lay beyond the glass separating the reception area from the rest of the gym–there were several rings and open workout areas.
“This is Grace. She’s Evan’s,” I told her.
“You should train her for Omega League,” she replied.
Hmmm. Maybe? I unlocked the door with my handprint and let us into the main gym.
“I’m Evan’s?” Grace said softly, staying close to me.
“You are.” From the moment Evan told me we were bringing a strange girl home–and she let him–I knew. It was in the way she curled into him on the couch. How she trusted him even before she remembered her own name.
It was adorable to see my omega dote on someone that way–and to see her melt for him.
“She doesn’t know Wes, but she’s met Evan many times. He even comes with me sometimes. Change in the locker room and use any empty locker,” I told her.
I changed and got my gloves and hers along with our water bottles and waited for her.
Grace came out a few moments later in some leggings and a T-shirt that had a formula on it. She plopped down. “How much of an ass-kicking am I going to get?”
“It’s an easy class. You might even enjoy it. Do you usually do any sports or classes or anything? Well, besides skate smash?” I took her back to the classroom, where a few ladies were already stretching out.
She frowned. “I’m pretty sure that I haven’t been very active since I finished my PhD. I don’t like running for fun. Hmmm, I think I like cardio-boxing.”
“Noted.” I handed her a water bottle. “This is for you. Warm up, everyone should arrive soon.”
“Ooh, are you teaching tonight, Jett?” one of the regulars asked. Her wife often refereed at my tournaments.
“Yep. Cam can’t make it so you’re stuck with me.” I stretched out, watching Grace, noting how she moved. She was graceful–dance background, probably. Most omegas studied shit like ballet, cheerleading, and ice skating.
The room filled up. I cued up Cam’s playlist and taught the class, correcting everyone’s form when needed. While this was obviously new to Grace, she followed instructions and took feedback well. She also looked like she was having fun. By the end, it was clear she was tired.
“Good night, everyone.” I waved.
Grace laid down on the floor like a starfish. “Oh, my god. Good cardio, but that kicked my ass. I’m going to feel that tomorrow.”
She started stretching her legs, still lying on the floor.
“Stretch, drink water. Did you like it?” I did a few stretches myself.
“I did. It was fun.” She grinned. “Do you teach this often?”
“Not really.” Often enough so that I knew the moves. “Go change, and then we’ll eat. Do you feel like anything in particular?” I gave her a hand up. I was hungry, and well, I should get to know her a little better.
“You know, I could go for a big bowl of spicy noodles. Are there any good noodle shops around here?” Grace chewed on her lower lip as we left the classroom.
“I know a great place. It’s a hole in the wall though,” I told her, wondering if it was a good idea to take her there without one of the alphas. A couple of women in class were licking their lips as she walked past, and they were betas.
We changed, and she eyed my motorcycle as we came back out.
“The parking lot is big, can I give it a go?” she asked.
“Be careful and don’t go fast.” I watched as she got on. It was a little tall for her. Grace took a moment to familiarize herself then she took off around the parking lot.
Finally, she came back. “How’d I do?”
“That was great.” Better than I expected. “Should we go eat?” I’d have to talk to Evan about getting one better suited to her size.
We got on and I took her to the outdoor market, toward the area with strings of small family-run restaurants. The best food was here, not at places like Supressa. Her reaction would tell me a lot about her.
After parking, I brought her inside. The place was small, with a few booths, a bar, and blaring music, and a patio with lights and more tables.
The owner waved and told me in Mandarin to choose a table. I grabbed a menu.
“Reminds me of a place we always ate at when I was getting my PhD,” she said.
“Cheap and tasty? I found this place when I came out here for university,” I told her. We sat down at one of the round metal tables, and I handed her the menu since I knew what I wanted.