Page 48 of Bad Teammate
“No—I meant, you’re not just some ‘random woman.’ ”
She laughed. “Oh, please. Don’t act like you care about me.”
But I do,I thought.
She cut me off before I could voice the words. “No, Derek. Don’t even. You don’t knowanything about me.”
Katerina breathed in a second wind of rage. She grabbed hold of my arm, dug her heels in, and tried yanking me off the couch all over again. I’ll give her credit, her second attempt was a lot more spirited, but it still wasn’t enough to move my two-hundred-forty pounds.
“You screw tons of women in that bed, and I think that’sgross,and I’m not going to sleep in it another night,” she yelled as she jerked my arm again and again.
During the frenzy, she’d tried to pull me by my undershirt, and somehow managed to yank it right over my head and off.
“Tons of women?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re acting crazy, Katerina.”
She didn’t like hearing that, either. Changing strategies, Katerina climbed onto my back, wedged herself between me and the couch, and tried pushing me off with her legs.
“Quit it, will ya?” I still wasn’t going anywhere, but this gamewasstarting to get a little annoying. “You’re kicking me in the ribs and it kinda hurts.”
“Good. I’m glad.”Wham,she kicked me harder. “I hope it hurts.”Wham.“A lot.”
I’d had enough. I sat up and wrapped my arms around her torso. She squealed“No!”but I’d already snagged her tight. I tackled her into the couch cushions and pinned her beneath my bare chest.
“Calm down,” I said firmly.
Her arms flailed as she tried to strike me. I grabbed hold and pinned her arms above her head. Still not ready to submit, she tried kneeing me in the groin. I trapped her legs between my powerful thighs and squeezed, and that put an end to that.
“Katerina. Stop.” I shushed her until she stopped squirming. “I’ll let you go as soon as you quit trying to hit me.”
I laid on top of her, face-to-face. I let a moment or two pass until the storm seemed to have passed.
“Are you done trying to hit me?”
She nodded, surrender in her eyes.
But the second I let her go, she smashed her balled fist on my neck.
“Ow,” I bellowed. “Really? You punched myneck?”
Quickly, I wrapped her limbs up again. She fought like hell, trying to wriggle free from my grasp. The harder she fought, the tighter I squeezed her, until she stopped struggling.
She got in my face and stared me down until the tip of her nose touched mine.
“Let. Me. Go.”
“Katerina.” I spoke her name calmly, hoping to reason with her. “I want to let you go. And I will let you go. But I’m afraid you’re going to hit me again, so—”
“Good, because I will.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “Thank you for being honest with me. But now I’m not letting you go until I can trust you.”
She squirmed and writhed all over again until she left herself panting.
“Are you done yet?” I asked.
“No! If you truly wanted me to be comfortable like you said, you’d trade with me.”
“Okay—fine. As soon as you stop trying to hit me, I’ll let you up. And then we can trade, if that’s what youreallywant.”
