Page 80 of Behind the Bars

My mind was drunk the second I made it up the staircase to my apartment. I needed to clear my head and return it to the state of numbness I preferred it to stay in. Set up in my living room was a punching bag I used every day. I put on my boxing gloves and slam my hands against the punching bag, over and over again until I feltnothing.

Working out was my method of escapism, and even though I tried my best not to think, Jasmine Greene still slipped into the cracks of my mind between every kick, every punch, every set Icompleted.

She looked beautiful, but that wasn’t a surprise. I couldn’t get her eyes out of myhead.

No. Stop, I told myself, punching the bagrepeatedly.

There was no reason for me to think about her. She was a part of my past, and I didn’t live thereanymore.

But thatkiss…

Herlips…

Hertaste…

Hertouch…

“No,” I said aloud, hitting the bag repeatedly. When a knock sounded on my door, I swallowed hard. I took off the gloves and went to open it, half hoping I’d see Jasmine, half hoping Iwouldn’t.

“What in the goddamn hell was that?!” Jason barked, charging into myapartment.

A sigh of relief washed through me upon seeing my best friend. I tossed my gloves back on and returned to hitting the punchingbag.

“Hey, asshole! Speak up! What was that?” hedemanded.

“What are you talkingabout?”

“Oh, I don’t know—maybe I’m talking about the girl you just tongue-fucked down at thebar.”

“I didn’t tongue-fuck her,” I told him, building up asweat.

“The hell you didn’t. You tongue-fucked her better than I actually screw my fiancée. Kelly would kill to be tongue-fucked like that!” he exclaimed, tossing his hands up in the air. “What justhappened?”

“Nothing. It was just a girl I onceknew.”

Jason jumped in front of the punching bag and cringed as my fist stopped inches away from his face. “I’m going to need you to stop your Avengers training and give me more details thanthat.”

“Remember when you were in Nebraska with your mom? And I told you I met agirl?”

“Yes, I fondly remember your hallucinations of the girl who didn’texist.”

“Yeah, well, that washer.”

His jaw dropped. “Shutup.”

“What?”

“You can’t sit here and lie to me by telling me that was the type of girl you were pulling back in high school. No offense, buddy, but I remember you in high school, and you were just about the ugliest person I’d ever seen, besides myself,” he joked. “There’s no way in hell that girl was yourgirl.”

I shrugged. “Shewas.”

“Holy shit. She’shot.”

I didn’t reply. I placed my hands on Jason’s shoulders, moved him to the side and went back to punching andkicking.

“Maybe she can be your plus-one to the wedding,” he joked, nudging me in theside.

“Nope.”

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