GIRL ADDICTION

Chapter 6: Fighting One's Feelings

~Chris~

I cracked and eye open, then another. I was alone on the sofa. I put my head back down and sighed. She had left.

I got up, stumbled towards the bathroom and stripped, turning on the shower to let it flow hot and steaming, all over my body.

I smiled wryly to myself. This was not looking good. If she went home after that, knowing Sa, that basically meant the *end of conversation*. She wasn't having this. Having me.

I dressed and went for my taekwondo class. The kids were ranging from seven, to seventeen. My favorite pupil, Gwen, was right on time as always. She was remarkable; swift, a quick learner and even quicker tongued, she reminded me of a younger version of me at times... or maybe I was taking too much pride from having trained her for the last three years or so.

"Hey Teach~!" Gwen said as I came into the studio. I rented the place from a local arts center. Luckily they only needed the front few rooms, so I had been running my classes Sunday mornings for the last three years for a decent enough rent under very accommodating landlords.

"Hey G. What's up?" I grinned and fuzzed her hair.

Gwen grimaced and whacked my hand away "This girl. I don't know. I made a mistake. I like, touched her and shit and she basically freaked out on me. Now I'm like...fuck...I don't want her to get the wrong idea about me, you know? It's not like I'm into her or anything"

"Eh? You felt up a girl who you don't like for kicks? Man, are you stupid? Do you want a truckload of drama on your hands?" I snapped, rolling my eyes.

"Fuck. Coming from you that sounds like a load of bull" Gwen snapped back as she tied on her black belt.

"No, that's a load of experience. Trust me, cut it off with her and leave her alone. Don't make her life anymore harder than it already is you twerp" I replied then smiled "as you said, you're not into her or anything"

Gwen grinned but said nothing, and then she frowned. I decided not to get any further involved. Some things you got to let time teach you, or you're screwed....

'Like me. Damn it.' I thought to myself 'Sa actually left? I mean... she does like me, right? Was I that horrid?'

I shook my head as I tightened my belt and put my focus back on the class at hand. Sa and the feelings associated with her, I'd deal with later.

Gwen and I spared for a bit as usual while the others did their warm-ups. I corrected a few quirks in her stance and posture and then let her pair off with the other black belt in my class while I began drills with the rest.

It was always refreshing to start the week with my martial arts practice. It was the one thing that cleared my mind and senses of all the negative baggage of the week and got me thinking in a more positive direction to face the future. Surrounded by a bunch of eager learners was also a humongous ego boost; at least here is a bunch of people who don't think I'm a flirt and a cad and are actually willing to look up to me and respect me.

I also signed my kids up for competitions, but I encouraged them and their parents to be good-natured about it, and have been very proud to say that for the last two years, my kids have always ended up first or second place. I'm not boosting; my students are just really amazing.

After class I headed back to my apartment, which was only a few blocks away, to change and get ready for my shift at the restaurant. I dressed and headed out, the restaurant only being a street away in a cozy nook in the richer part of town.

"Hey, Chris! Looking good today~ how was class?" Simon, the restaurant's Barista said as he carried a crate of oranges in from the fruits truck that was stationed out back behind the restaurant.

"Good. I'll head in and get to work before Chef gives me an earful about yesterday" I grinned and entered the restaurant.

"Chris! You ready to put a day's worth of work in today?" Danni bellowed from across the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed an apron hanging from the supplies cabinet - I always forgot my own.

I headed over to the meats section, which was where I was posted. I washed my hands before I grabbed a pair of disposable gloves as I surveyed the stainless steel tins of beef and mutton. I was much better at desserts than anything else, but that was also exactly why I didn't want to work with them at the restaurant - I wanted my deserts to be something I made entirely for leisure.

The restaurant opened at three in the afternoon for high tea, and continued into the evening for dinner, and late at night until about 4 am when it closed. This was entirely because Chef is such a night owl, so her restaurant hours catered to her. It was also the allure of the restaurant – fine dining long past midnight

I usually came in around twelve or one, to season and marinate the meats, followed by assisting with the preparation and cooking of the main courses and left around eight or nine as the supper kitchen closed at ten and the midnight-snack staff came in at ten. For me, the work hours were good and kept me active and interested in my chosen profession, even if in the long run, I wanted to open my own Bakery.

"The Bakery...." I muttered to myself as I plunged my gloved hands into a pound of sliced beef. I suddenly remembered how the only one I've told about that would be Sa. And Sa left me.

"FUCK~!" I exclaimed. Then blinked and looked around.

The crew stared at me like a bunch of startled deer, then scurried away, minding their own business.

"Damn it..." I groaned as I heard the large braced footsteps of Danni approaching and decided that I needed to spend a bit more time at my martial arts class from now on, obviously, that morning's training hadn't allowed me to get rid of enough nasty emotions.