6. Drew
CHAPTER 6
DREW
T hat woman, the one from the bar, she’s even feistier than I thought. Now she wants to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and the thought makes me smirk. She’s just a little thing and I bet she could be sneaky on the mats. She could also be thrown around.
Wonder if she would like that.
Shaking the thought away, I continue to prep the gym for the first class of the day. I didn’t mind, but since my injury I miss being in the cage and getting to practice what I’m teaching. Training is the closest Adam lets me come to fighting. Even though I’m fine and my knee hasn’t really bothered me in a month, he’s convinced I need more time off of it and I can’t risk a full-blown fight.
He doesn’t know that I’ve convinced Caine to spar with me a couple of times and there’s been no issues. It’s starting to piss me off, though, that he thinks I can’t handle it. If I didn’t love this gym, and if it wasn’t the only one in this tiny town, I would try to go somewhere else.
The first class is small, and the hour goes by quickly and then it’s time for the one I enrolled Max in. I wasn’t sure if she had work or something already planned for the day, which is why I wasn’t sure if she would show up. Yet, she’s the first one to walk in the door. She’s wearing a pair of tight shorts that cover her thighs, ending just above her knee. Her torso is covered by a loose T-shirt that looks at least two sizes too big, falling off her shoulder and giving me a peek at the sports bra underneath.
“You made it,” I state, keeping my face blank as usual.
“Looks like it.” She folds her arms across her chest and narrows her eyes.
I nod toward the mats. “Start stretching while we wait for everyone else to show up.”
She looks over at them and bites her bottom lip with a nod.
“There a problem, Maxine?” I ask.
“Max,” she snaps suddenly, her face hardening. “It’s just Max.”
“There a problem, Max?”
“No problem.” She walks away, dropping down to the mat starting some basic stretches.
I watch her for longer than I should, the way her limber body folds and moves already. I clear my throat, trying to also clear the thoughts causing my dick to start to harden. Luckily, I’m wearing a gi which is thick enough to not make it obvious. I don’t usually train in one, but since today is just BJJ I decided to wear it, which was obviously the right choice.
“Hi Drew,” another feminine voice coos, and it takes my attention from Max with a groan.
“Karissa.” I nod, simply, not giving her any more attention than that. You give her an inch and she wants a mile. It doesn’t matter who it is, she’s always trying to get on someone’s dick here. Mine, Adam, Caine, Cal, Alexander, she just wants the attention.
“Can you show me those stretches again, I forgot.” She twirls a strand of hair around her finger.
I nod toward Max. “You can ask our newcomer, she seems to know what she’s doing.”
Karissa scowls over at Max. “Who is she?”
I ignore her, focusing on the other couple of people that are here for class.
“Alright, let’s get started,” I announce.
The group of students here for class stand up and wait for the first instruction I give. As I explain what I want them to do, I try my best not to watch Max too intently, but there are times I can’t help it. She takes in everything I say without showing a single emotion. No confusion, no questions, no nervousness. I would almost think that she’s done BJJ before if it weren’t for the slight furrow of her brow when I tell them all to go practice.
But she doesn’t ask for help. She just keeps trying to figure it out on her own with her partner.
I have them practicing a pretty basic guard and I can see she’s struggling to get a good grip. I kneel down close to her before offering, “You need some help, little one?”
She scowls at the nickname. “No. I got it.”
I leave her to it and check in with the rest of the class, since she doesn’t need the help I’m not going to hover.
“ Drew,” Karissa croons. “I need some help.”
I hide my eye roll by running a hand down my face at her shrill voice and do my best to help her without losing my shit. She doesn’t need help, she’s just not trying. And if her tits were pushed up anymore her nipples would be out of the tight little sports bra she’s wearing. Beginners don’t tend to wear gi’s since a lot of them aren’t sure if they are going to stick with it.
I know this is Karissa’s M.O., and even if it were Adam teaching the class, she would pull the same shit with him. And don’t even get me started if Caine is practicing when she’s here. The difference is, I’m pretty sure Caine has actually fucked her.
It’s the curse of a small town, especially one that is mostly a tourist town. In the off season, the options are limited, and everyone knows everyone’s business.
Except mine. I keep mine to myself, and the people I share that business with know that’s how it’s going to stay.
“What do you need help with, Karissa, looks like you have it?” I respond, dryly.
“Is it like this, though?” she questions, keeping a limp grip on her partner who looks just as annoyed as I feel.
“Tighten your grip.”
Pouting, she says, “I think I need you to show me.”
“I don’t need to show you how to have a tight grip.” I push off my knees, rising to walk back to the front of the room to continue with the class.
After it’s over, everyone is sweaty and breathing hard. I watch Max try to hide it, but she doesn’t do a great job. Part of me wants to stop her and say something, though I’m not sure why. That plan is completely derailed anyway by Karissa stepping in front of me, blocking my access to Max before she’s walking out the door.
“How do I get some extra private training?” Karissa asks.
“Talk to Coach Adam,” I blow her off, walking toward the office just to get away from her, really to get away from everyone. Luckily, this is the last class of the day so once I’m sure the coast is clear I lock the front door and clean up before heading home.
By the time I get home and eat dinner I realize I zoned out for who knows how long. I check my phone and see some texts from the guys about the fights tonight. Caine won, because of fucking course he did, and Adam asked how classes went today.
Drew: Good. New girl signed up.
Adam: New girl?
Drew: Yeah, the one Caine pissed off at the bar.
Adam: You think she’ll stick around?
Drew: Hard to tell.
Adam: Guess we will see.
Tossing my phone to the side I scrub a hand down my face, annoyed that I’m not at the fight with them. I could be, and classes could’ve been canceled this week. But then I would want to be in a fight, and then Adam and I would argue. It’s the current cycle with us. It usually ends with one of us in the other’s bed, but it doesn’t solve shit.
I need a distraction, and for a second I think about going to the bar to see if Max is there. I don’t know why that’s the first thing I think of but there’s something about her. I don’t know what I would even want to say to her, if anything. I should’ve worked the bag while I was still at the gym. Sometimes I go back when I can’t sleep, and I need to clear my mind.
Without thinking about it too much I grab my keys and head out, fully intending to go back to the gym. So, when I actually end up in front of The Tavern I don’t have an explanation. I don’t drink much, not after I saw what it did to my dad. And ending up like him is the last fucking thing I plan to do.
Yet, here I am, walking inside anyway.
I don’t immediately look toward the bar, instead I end up at a table toward the back. That’s when I finally look in the direction of the bar and it’s hard to not miss the flash of red hair that’s pulled up in a ponytail that swings as Max works. It seems like she’s getting less shit than she did that first night, but I notice she hardly smiles.
Most people I’ve ever seen working a bar act so friendly and flirty to try and get a good tip, but not Max. She keeps a straight face with most everyone. There’s an occasional scowl, or eye roll. She intrigues me, and it’s a feeling I haven’t had in a long ass time.
In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was intrigued by anyone.
Attracted, sure. I’m a fucking red-blooded male.
But there’s something with her that’s calling to me on some subconscious level, and it’s fucking weird. Before I let myself wonder about her anymore and end up doing something I might regret, I leave without getting anything and go to the gym like I initially intended.
While I’m there, I beat the fuck out of the bag until I’m exhausted enough that my mind takes a break from trying to drive me insane with memories and thoughts of what would happen if I spoke to Max.
By the time I get home, I don’t even have the energy to shower before falling face first onto my bed and going to sleep. But my mind decides that it wasn’t as tired as I thought, because I’m still plagued by nightmares of everything I try to forget.
I can never forget it, can never fully escape it. It doesn’t matter if it’s been thirteen years—I’ll never be fully free from it.