Songbird

Chapter 4 ~ Natural

The fist had barely missed Jace's head. He spun around, hands up to protect his face in a defensive fighting stance, but then he stopped.

"Tim?"

An older man, his dark skin lined with age but his eyes shining, stepped back. "You're getting slow, my boy. I almost hooked ya."

Jace rolled his eyes while Tim laughed. "I didn't expect anyone to come in and punch the back of my head, now, did I?" said Jace defensively.

"Expect the unexpected, and the unexpected won't catch you off guard," said Tim.

Jace just shook his head. "What brings you in today? I thought I was opening alone."

"You were. I just wanted to see you."

Tim had been the father figure in Jace's life for so long, Jace saw him as an actual father. Never knowing his real dad, and his mother passing away when he was young, Jace was left alone in the world. That was when Tim saved him, took the boy under his wing, and raised him into the fighter (literally and figuratively) that he was today.

Jace ran his hand through his dark hair, a sign that he was nervous or uncomfortable. "I... met a girl last night."

"Another one? J, you're gonna have to settle down eventually because these 'girlfriends' that you have for a couple of months—"

"No, no, it wasn't like that this time," said Jace. "It was... It felt... natural. Like we clicked, even in the few minutes we talked."

"You only talked for a few minutes? And you felt that connection?" Tim let out a low whistle. "You've got it bad for her already, son. You seein' her again?"

"Yeah, tonight. If I could pay for a phone, I'd call her. I probably sounded like such a fool saying I didn't have her phone when she was trying to give me her number..."

"Yes, you probably did," said Tim. Jace gave him a glare. "What? What 22-year-old doesn't have a phone nowadays?"

"If I could afford it and had the time, I'd get one," said Jace with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, this isn't a phone, but I thought I'd give you something..." Tim pulled out a small brown box. "It is your birthday, after all."

Jace took the box and opened it. Inside was a leather woven bracelet, brown and plain, but it was just the thing Tim would give and Jace would wear. "Thank you, Tim. Seriously." He put it on.

Tim smiled gently, knowingly. "Anyways, did you hear about the new owner of the Pit?"

Tim knew about Jace's fighting. When he was young, Tim saw the potential, and he helped Jace grow into the fighter he was today. At first it was just for protection, but Jace grew to love it, and he continued it long after Tim suggested he should stop. Tim kept supporting him, even though he thought Jace went overboard. In Tim's opinion, Jace shouldn't have ever gotten near the illegal, underground fight club circuit.

"New owner?" asked Jace, resuming his hits against the punching bag.

"Yeah. Guy named Drake, I guess." Tim was quiet for a moment, listening to the sound of Jace's expert, well-placed hits on the swinging bag. "Maybe get on his good side, Jace. You never know when that relationship could be of use."

Jace stopped his hits and turned back to Tim. "Okay, I'll try to find him."

"And Jace?"

"Mm?"

"If that girl is something special... don't let her go."

Jace smiled. "We'll see tonight."

Jace worked at the gym all day as members steadily came in and out. Because he didn't sleep at all the night before, he was exhausted, but he had been longer without sleep and was used to pushing through the tiredness.