Brenda broke out into a grin and said, “Hey, Jet, nice seeing you again.”
He smiled and nodded at her before his eyes met mine again.
I turned to Brenda, who was still grinning like an idiot.
“So, Natalie, I will catch you later; I got to run.”
“Oh sure, have a good day.” I watched as Brenda hurried away, casting a look at me over her shoulder as she headed off. That left me alone with Jet, and I wasn't happy about it. I had been sure the stalking and showing up at random times and places would have ended once he had his way with me. Why was he back for more? The drunken sex couldn't have been that good.
“Hi, Natalie, how was class?”
“It was peachy, Jet, and how was whatever it is you have been doing all day long?”
“I had a good day with training, thanks.”
“Do you actually ever go to class?” I laughed.
He laughed along with me and said, “Sometimes. Hey, it's not my fault if the school values my sports career over everything else.”
“Uh-huh, and God forbid you decide to have a higher calling than fists of fury.”
He chuckled loudly. “How about we leave that topic of conversation for my father to obsess over.”
“Your dad doesn't like your career choice, does he?”
“No Natalie, my father is a very wealthy man. He started a company from scratch and turned it into a billion-dollar operation.”
“Ooh-la-la.”
“Yes, I can see you are really impressed. Trust me; I feel the same way. My dad does not like my career aspirations, because he would prefer if I went into the family business.”
“So why don't you?”
He sighed and looked like he was about to open up, spill the beans, and act like a human being, right before my eyes. He looked away from me, however, and caught himself before he spilled too many feelings all at once. He almost shook his thoughts clean from his mind. He looked at me, and smiled a sad sort of wistful smile. I didn't smile back. I didn't understand why he was the way he was, and to be honest, I didn't really want to know why.
He sighed. “Look Natalie, the reason I came to meet you was because I wanted to apologize for my roommate walking in on you. It must have been embarrassing, and I gave Kyle an earful. He shouldn't be going in my room if he has no idea who is in there.”
“Hey, don't worry about it. He didn't know, and I'm over it.”
“Can we grab a cup of coffee, and chat, ya know, figure some things out?”
“Jet, I'm busy. I didn't get much sleep last night. I need to study. I have projects coming out of everywhere, and right now you are an unwelcome distraction.”
He chuckled. “Don't hold anything back on account of my feelings.”
“Like you really care there, Jet.”
He looked down at his feet and paused momentarily. “What do you say we try out more of that self-defense? You did pretty well last time. I think it would be good for you.”
“No, really. I think I'm good now. I feel like I could probably handle a situation a lot better than I did before,” I smiled sheepishly. I didn't want to get more involved with Jet. If anything, I wanted to get the hell away from him. I felt foolish about our drunken escapade, and it made me feel uncomfortable in his presence.
“I don't think that's true, Natalie. People train in self-defense for years. You just had one lesson, so when it comes to a high-pressure situation, you could easily forget everything I taught you.”
I sighed. “Okay, look, fine. I'll come and do more if you promise to stop bothering me about it.”
“You really want me to stop bothering you?”
I laughed. “Yes, please. Anyway, that's the deal. Now I have to go study.”