“Oh, is that right?” I said, not really knowing what to say.
“Yeah, Jet talks about you a lot.”
I couldn't even believe he was still standing there talking to me. He was either really slow, or he enjoyed being in the same room with me naked. Or maybe he just enjoyed making me uncomfortable. I decided not to respond, in the hopes that he would take a hint and get the hell out of Jet's room.
There was an awkward silence between us before he said, “Okay, well, nice seeing you again...”
He smiled before he turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. I sat there momentarily, not being able to believe what had just happened. Hopefully the vision he had of me before I was able to cover myself with the sheet would disappear. I rolled my eyes, and decided to get the hell out of there while I could. I dressed quickly and lay back down briefly to rest my eyes before leaving. But I was still hungover and tired, and I slipped back to sleep without realizing it.
Chapter Two
Jet
I pulled into a parking spot at the college and got out of my car. I grabbed my gym bag and headed inside. I headed straight for the locker room to get changed. I grabbed my gear out of my locker and pulled my shorts and T-shirt out of my gym bag, and changed for training. I was meeting my brother, Craig, at the gym that day. We were going to lift some weights and get a little jacked. He was part of the MMA fighting team too, but was a lowerclassman. My brother and I were close, and we often trained and hung out together.
I left the locker room, and headed out to the training area to find my brother. I saw my coach training a few guys, and waved to him as I headed to the weight area.
“Hey Jet, how are you doing?”
“Good, man. Have you seen my brother?”
He shrugged. “No. But I haven't been around the gym yet. He could have slipped by me.”
I laughed. I waved him off and continued on to the weight room. Once I arrived, I saw my brother setting up the bench press because it was chest and shoulder day. He was sliding plates on the weight bar.
“Hey, buddy. Already getting in there, aren't you?”
“Yeah, can't waste any time. We are tanks, bro.”
I laughed. I totally loved that guy. I patted him on the shoulder and went to assess the weight situation. We weren't bodybuilders, but we lifted pretty well. I liked weight days. It was good for the ego to lift weights and feel so much stronger.
“Okay, you do the first set, and I will spot you,” I offered.
“Sounds good.”
He lay himself down on the bench and braced himself under the bar. I stood in front of him, ready to take the bar if needed. He brought it down slowly to his chest and pushed it up. He did a set of 10 with solid weight before he sat up and we pumped fists. He did two more sets like that, adding weight each time.
It was then my turn. I weighed a little more than he did, so I could lift more. He spotted me, and I took it to eight each time. When my sets were done, I went to the water cooler to get a drink. When I came back, he got 60-pound free weights for each arm and did chest presses again. We each worked those sets until we were dripping sweat off our bodies.
“So how's life, man? What have you been doing these days? Haven't seen you in a bit.”
“Not much, really. Training for the fights. Been out a few times, but mostly training, man. And of course school too, but let’s be honest, it's not my focus.”
Craig laughed at that. “No doubt. Heading for the big time, man.”
“You know it.”
“So what about the ladies? I heard you screwed some art student,” he laughed. “Not really your regular type there, is it?”
I didn't like what he said, and I bristled briefly, not saying anything. Fucking Kyle; I could almost kill the guy for opening his mouth, apparently all over campus. He didn't even hang out with my brother, and yet my brother had heard the same gossip everyone else had. I didn't like that my teammates knew about her, and assumed she was just some girl I banged one night. I certainly wasn't going to add insult to injury by continuing on with that kind of talk. There was no way I was going to continue on with the rumors and make the situation worse. I was lucky that Natalie was still talking to me…and fucking me.
“Let's not talk about the girls in my life. How about we talk about the chunky girl you are still dating. Why haven't you unloaded her by now?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Your girlfriend, man. Why are you talking about Natalie? Look at your girlfriend. She put on, like, 20 pounds since you started dating. Why don't you drag her in here? She used to be hot, but she's not anymore.”
“Crystal isn't fat.”