Page 6 of Brighter than the Boss
My phone pinged inside my bag and I fumbled around until I had it in my hand. A text message from my dad was waiting for me.
Dad:Mom's out of surgery. Doc said it went perfectly. We'll be home later tonight.
Tears filled my eyes while I unlocked the screen to text him back. Here I was obsessing over some jerkwad, excuse my language, and I'd completely spaced that my mom was in surgery! I needed to get my priorities straight. Pronto.
Me: Thank goodness! Give her my love and I'll call you guys tonight. Love you, Dad!
I jumped up and dumped my phone back in my bag, ready to get home, eat a grilled cheese sandwich, and talk to my parents. Talking with them made everything better. I probably wouldn't even remember who Cain was by the time I was done catching up about the surgery.
* * *
Turns out my mom was pretty out of it and my dad couldn't talk long on the phone as he was running around taking care of her. I offered again to fly out that night, but he refused, saying she'd be much better by tomorrow. He promised me he'd tell me if they needed me out there.
When I woke up the next morning, Chili even seemed to know it was my day off, letting me sleep in an extra half hour. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, worrying about my mom, worrying about my dad taking care of Mom, and the awkwardness with Cain. As I took Chili out to do his business, I realized I needed my go-to stress reliever: Jiu Jitsu. I'd started taking classes in USC when my roommate had dragged me to a self-defense course. I figured I'd need it living in the big city of Los Angeles. What I didn't realize is that I'd come to love it.
I was short, which is usually a strike against being able to defend oneself, but what I found through Jiu Jitsu is that I could use leverage and pain points to fend off an attacker. It was crazy empowering to know I could take on a two-hundred-pound male as long as I stayed calm and my body responded with what I'd been taught.
Since moving to HB three weeks ago, I hadn't taken the time to find a new studio where I could practice and keep my skills relevant. That was going to be taken care of today.
I marched back inside my apartment and got dressed. I slammed a smoothie (which is no small task, what with the brain freeze and all), texted my mom and dad, and then headed out on my Vespa to the number one recommended studio in Huntington Beach: Strike Ready. Their website listed a 10 a.m. class and I was determined to make it on time.
When I opened up the door to the studio, tucked away on Main Street between a restaurant and a surf apparel shop, I was immediately greeted.
"Yo, you just made it in time. Drop your stuff on the chair and join us on the mat!" an intimidating blonde woman bellowed and waved at me, then turned back to the assembled group of mostly women before her on the mats.
I slipped off my shoes, dropped my bag, and crept over to the back of the group. We were put through some basic warm-ups and then partnered off to practice a choke hold maneuver. Being the new girl, I was paired up with the instructor and I hoped I'd remember my training and not embarrass myself.
She put her arm around my throat from behind and barked at me to begin. I reached around to her hand near the back of my throat, bent her finger back and simultaneously jabbed her in the gut and jammed my foot down on top of hers. She grunted and immediately released me. I turned around to make sure she was okay and to see if I'd done it correctly.
A smile grew on her face until she was transformed into the most beautiful woman I'd seen in a long time. She should do that more often. "Nicely done. You're clearly not a newbie. What's your name, girlie, and where'd you learn to move like that?"
I smiled back, happy to know my training was evident. "I'm Sunny. I've been practicing Jiu Jitsu for about four years now up in South Pasadena. Just moved to HB and thought I'd check this place out."
She patted me on the back, most likely leaving a red handprint. This woman didn't mess around. "Welcome to Strike Ready. I'm Shasta, the owner of this place. You stick around after class today, I got some girls for you to meet."
Then she walked off to yell at everybody else. After a few more practice attempts, we switched partners and I was paired with a man who was taller and bigger. I tried not to grin, but I took it as the compliment it was: Shasta was sure I could take care of myself.
Sweat dotted my forehead and my ears were bright red from all the choke hold practice by the time Shasta called the class. I hung around stretching, hoping to chat with Shasta some more once everyone left. She had a cluster of ladies around her at the moment and I didn't want to interrupt.
"Yo, Sunny! Come here," Shasta hollered.
I rolled my eyes. That woman only had one volume: full blast. Walking over to join the group, I noticed all the women turned to give me a once-over. Not surprisingly, they were all taller than me. And they were all gorgeous. Having lived in L.A. for years now, I was used to it. It really was a city of beautiful people, which left me feeling a bit on the plain side, but I knew I had more going for me than my looks. One day, the right man would notice me. Said my mama.
Shasta grabbed my arm and dragged me into the circle, her arm around my waist. "Sunny, these are my girls: Brinley, Esa, Bailey, Hessa, and Autumn. You don't get to meet Sage quite yet. She's off looking at some property in Newport today. Anyway, these are the girls. Girls, meet Sunny. She's new here and she's got moves."
I wasn't sure who was who, but I looked around at each of them and gave a small smile. I wasn't shy, but I also didn't particularly like being the center of attention.
"Wait a minute!" a blonde girl piped up, an animated smile on her face. "Are you the new lifeguard?"
I tilted my head. "Yes, I am. How'd you know?" I mean, I knew HB was a small town, but not that small.
"I'm Esa. My fiancé is Ivan. He told me the other night that they hired a new lifeguard named Sunny from the L.A. Division." She stepped up to me and wrapped me in a big hug, surprising me. I loved hugs though so I was quick to reciprocate. And hey, she was my boss's fiancée.
My eyes snapped open, aware the other girls were still looking at me, but not able to hide where my train of thought went. If she was engaged to Ivan, did she know about Cain and me and what will forever be dubbed in my brain “The Fingering Incident”?
She released me and stepped back, still looking super friendly and not at all like she thought I was a slutty slut from Slutsville trying to sleep with the boss at my new job. Either that or she was a great actor, which could totally be the case, being SoCal and all.
Before I could think of how to proceed with this new information, a tall brunette stepped up to shake my hand. I knew I was strong, but this girl looked like she'd give me a run for my money with her height and the muscles she had poppin' everywhere.
