Sparring Partners [18+]

Chapter 12.5 (BONUS MARKUS POV)

(Markus)

"You said what?" Alec spluttered through howling laughter. The fake-blond was curled into himself on the sofa, skinny arms wrapped around his midsection as his entire body convulsed.

"I prefer, 'Yes Daddy'," I uttered through gritted teeth, aware of the heat burning at the back of my neck and creeping into my cheeks. It felt as if my entire face was on fire.

"What the fuck, Grim!" Alec unfurled, his laughter waning. He wiped actual tears away as he tried to catch his breath.

It wasn't that fucking funny.

"Did she- ah- did she look into it, at least?" Alec's voice quivered, barely able to restrain his amusement.

"No," I growled out snappishly, head falling into my hands to hide myself away as Alec's laughter continued. "She looked like I'd just decked someone in front of her. I didn't wait around for anything else. Just drove off."

"Oh man," Alec sighed shakily. His face was bright red and his eyes were squinted as he wiped at his damp cheeks. "You have the worst time with women. How you managed to pull her in the first place is a mystery to me. She's a solid ten, and you're - if we're talking purely about your game and ability to flirt and not the fact that you were so clearly born to be an underwear model - you're at best a two."

He didn't need to remind me. Every time she was near me I lost all ability to speak like a fucking normal person. This surely wouldn't be the first time I was going to embarrass myself like this. Why Daisy continued to put up with me, I couldn't understand. She must have found something interesting in me, I must be doing something right around her, but it was a fucking mystery to me.

"You're seeing her tomorrow, right? You're training her?"

"Yes," I sighed. How was I even supposed to look at her now?

"Absolutely bloody hilarious. I'm telling Andres I'm sick and can't go to work tomorrow. There's no way I'm missing this."

"How you two run a fucking business is beyond me," I growled. They were barely ever at work. Between them, they probably managed one full time position. The fact that they'd both been hanging around the gym more than usual in the past few weeks was no coincidence. I knew they simply wanted to laugh at how fucking awkward I was around Daisy.

"Alright, alright," he breathed, his eyes still damp with tears. "I won't... I'll just get Lynch to record it for me."

I shoved him away from me, and he fell sideways on the sofa, laughing again. "Fucking assholes, all of you."

"Oh woe is you, having such horrible friends," Alec teased, not looking at all guilty. He never did. They all loved to tease me mercilessly any chance they got since I started talking to Daisy.

Usually Lynch faced the brunt of our jokes. Especially when Andres was absent and we could talk about Roman. Lynch hung on to every single word Roman said as if his voice were liquid-bloody-gold. I'm sure he was ecstatic by the relief my situation with Daisy had now brought him. Now, they could all turn their horrid attention to me, and remind me of how hopeless I was around girls daily.

It was a wonder I told them anything.

"Things are okay again between you then?"

I shrugged, blowing out a large puff of air. "Yes? I think so. She doesn't seem to hate me anymore."

"Well, I don't think she ever hated you," Alec rolled his eyes. "You were just being dramatic as usual."

"What else was I supposed to think, given what happened?"

"Considering she asked us if you hated her last night, I'd say you were unquestionably being dramatic. Despite your uselessness with the opposite sex, I think you'll be okay. As long as you don't do anything legitimately horrible."

Someone was clawing at my heart. That was the only explanation for this burning pain in my chest right now. "She thought I hated her?"

"Well you do have a very unapproachable look about you about 98% of the time. You also seem to glare around her, a lot, more than you usually do. Glare at her actually. Seriously... what's that about?" Alec asked, giving me a look I couldn't decipher. "You're not so hopeless that you don't know glaring at your crush would send mixed messages."

"I panic, okay?" I snapped defensively, rubbing at the back of my neck as I turned away from him on the sofa. "She's... she's her and I'm... You know?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Right, obviously."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Just because I'm not attracted to people doesn't mean I don't understand shit like that. I just don't understand your specific brand of fucked up. You're both clearly into each other. Stop panicking about it. Just get together."

A God-awful sound, somewhere between a scoff and a scream, caught in my throat as I shot to my feet, a scowl directed at my roommate. "It's not that easy."

"It actually is."

I shot to my feet, turning my back to him as I headed towards the kitchen. "Fuck off. You're no help."

"Okay then, ignore me and continue to struggle. But I absolutely reserve the right to mock you at all times. Because, once again you're making things so unnecessarily difficult for yourself."

I flipped him off behind my back. "We're not talking about this, anymore."