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The Diner Fiasco

Chapter Nine – The Diner Fiasco

"Ow! Damnit," I cursed, letting a string of other profanities fall from my lips as Jack pinned my arm behind my back.

"You were distracted."

"You distracted me."

"That was the point."

I huffed and blew my bangs out of my face. "Whatever."

"Juliette, you have to pay more attention to what I'm doing. Otherwise this is what is always going to happen. Or worse." He made his point even clearer by twisting my arm harder, causing a shooting pain to rip through my shoulder.

I hissed at the sensation and tore myself out of his arms the way he had shown me, and proceeded to throw a punch at his chest as hard as I could. I was pissed. However, I was pleasantly surprised when Jack acted as if he were short of breath. "Shit, are you okay?" I asked, dropping my fists and hurrying to his side.

A flicker in his eyes alerted me to his intent, and I was able to sidestep him when he lunged for me. "Much better," he applauded when he turned back to face me.

"You're tricky," I said with narrowed eyes, but I couldn't help the smile that overcame my face.

"And you're a quick study," he replied. He walked over to the far side of the room to a mini fridge that I hadn't noticed earlier. Bending down, he withdrew a bottle of water and held it up in question. When I nodded, he tossed it to me. After I caught it I greedily ripped the cap off and began to drink. "Slow down," he told me as he raised his own bottle to his lips. "You don't want to shock your system."

Nodding again, I capped the bottle and set it next to my feet. "Thank you," I said. "For all of this."

"No problem, it's always nice to get some new people in here that are actually willing to follow instruction."

"Are we done for today?" I asked, grinning as I rubbed my knuckles. His chest was hard.

"Yeah, but I want you back in here in a few days."

"How much do I owe you?" I questioned, making my way over to my purse.

He followed me and placed his hands over mine when I brought out my wallet. "Nothing for today." His warm eyes met mine as he grinned. "You can have your next few lessons for free. If you want to continue seeing me after the start of next month, we'll talk money."

"I'm not going to not pay you," I stated, narrowing my eyes again. What was transpiring felt awful close to flirting, and I was not ready for that. He was offering me a full month of training for free.

"Think of it as a trial basis, okay?" he reasoned, taking a step back from me. "A trainer-trainee relationship like this can never work out if there isn't trust. I know you don't trust me, so I don't want to take your money."

"How do you –"

"You lied to me about why you're here," he said, his voice so matter-of-fact that I was taken aback. "Your moment of hesitation was all I needed. Whatever – or whoever – you're afraid of, you need to be able to tell me."

"I'll think about it."

Jack searched my face, but backed off all the same. "Then I'll see you on Wednesday."

Hiking my bag up onto my shoulder, I nodded and headed for the exit. I threw a quick goodbye over my shoulder, but then I was out the door. The sun was warm on my face, and I heaved out a sigh before heading home. I was exhausted. Muscles that I didn't even know I had were sore. There was no way I was going to be worth a damn at work that night, and I knew it. I would be moody and more than likely end up scaring people away. It took a few minutes rummaging around in my purse, but I was finally able to dig out my phone. Anthony was my first contact, and I hit the call button.