Page 74 of Fight For Her
We had the gym to ourselves since we decided to come in outside of class to practice. Dina sat in the office doing paperwork and checking in on us every so often.
“We didn’t break anything off.” I rolled up to a sitting position and wiped my sweaty palms against my shirt. “We’re doing the long-distance thing for a while.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Sorry, I kind of thought that given how I know you feel about relationships that you guys would have taken a break or moved on to someone new.”
I ground my teeth together, thinking of a reply that didn’t come off douchey. “People change. You should know that.”
He sat next to me on the floor and suddenly this felt like it was turning into some kind of emotional sharing circle. I hadn’t signed up for this shit.
“You’re right. Sorry, man. I hope things work out for you guys. I may not have started out in your corner, but I can tell you’re good for Kendahl. Plus, Mia would kick your ass if you ever hurt her best friend. So since she isn’t planning an attack yet, you’re still in the clear.” He chuckled and the sound lightened the mood.
“I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. I already fucked up once, I won’t do it again,” I said through gritted teeth.
Shawn pulled his knees up to his chest. “All I have to say is, if you’re not going to go after her, someone else will. She’s special. A woman like that, single in a city like LA… I don’t envy you, man.” He stood up and pulled me up to a stand. “Ready to get your ass beat again?”
Fucking dick.
He had a point though. My idea of surprising Kendahl over the weekend had just become a full blown plan.I sighed and got back into position. “Bring it on.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. The TSA agent in front of me shook his head and gestured to the small room off to the side. I knew not to put up a fight when it came to this kind of thing, but fuck. I was already running late for my flight and the next one was a red-eye. “Can you tell me why? Is it something I said?” I asked him, knowing it was a pointless question.
“It’s random, sir.” He lowered his voice, “If I could, I’d let you through but I’m being audited today.”
“It’s fine,” I huffed, even though it really wasn’t.
Two more agents followed us into their screening room, one held my luggage and the other held the bin containing my phone, wallet and keys. God sure did enjoy fucking with me lately. All that was missing from this shitshow was another hurricane. My phone vibrated against the plastic bin and I almost reached out to grab it, but thought better of it when the second, much less friendly agent, glared at me.
I watched the second hand tick on the clock hanging from the wall.Tick, tick, tick.Each one took away precious time that I could have been spending with Kendahl. The agents had gone through my bag, examining every item, including the new Bluetooth vibrator I’d bought for Kendahl. The looks they gave me when they pulled that out were something I’d laugh about later when I wasn’t so pissed off.
I sat idly watching the supervisor walk the agents through their protocol, using me as some sort of test subject for training. When the clock showed that I’d missed my boarding call, I bit my tongue to keep myself from blowing up.
They finished with me over an hour later. Exhausted, I dragged my suitcase to customer service and changed my flight. I wasn’t usually a complainer, but in this case, I unloaded on the poor worker. He placated me with an upgrade and use of the VIP lounge until I’d board my red-eye flight into LA.
Seated in a plush recliner, with a much needed beer in my hand, I finally checked my phone.
“Shit,” I said, causing a snooty looking businessman to look my way and scoff. I’d missed a call from Kendahl. Hopefully she was okay. It was almost better that I wasn’t able to pick up. I was such a shitty liar that she may have noticed something up with me. The last thing I wanted to do was give away my surprise visit. I hadn’t told anyone from the gym about coming either. I couldn’t trust that Mia and Shawn would keep quiet. With my luck she’d hear a boarding announcement and ask questions about where I was.
It was too late to call her back anyway. My whole plan of meeting her at her apartment after work was ruined. Fucking TSA. I’d have to surprise her at her office now. While I waited for my new flight, I looked up the addresses I’d need and cemented my plans for the morning.
Of course my rental car would get a flat in the middle of a four lane LA highway. And of course, the shitty rental company didn’t have a jack or a spare.
I stood up, staying as close to the right side of the shoulder as I could, and yanked my hand through my hair. Cars sped past, not giving me a second look. If I were in Palm Cove at least three people would have pulled over to help me by now.
The combination of morning heat and car exhaust fumes gave this nightmare a fun little added bonus. I coughed and wiped a bead of sweat from my brow. Cities were the fucking worst.
It was already past eight o’clock and Kendahl was likely either at work or on her way in. I really didn’t want to call her and ruin the surprise, especially if it pulled her from important work meetings.
Back inside the car, I looked up a tow company and called them. Thinking about seeing Kendahl’s face soon was the only thing keeping me going.
It took all day for the tow to pick me up, get me to a shop, and for the shop to change the fucking flat. They were all moving so slow, that at one point I wanted to rip the wrench from the mechanic’s hand and do it myself.
I was finally on my way to Kendahl’s office. Once she was in my arms, none of the bullshit from the past twenty four hours would matter. I turned up the radio, drumming the beat of aMetallicasong on the steering wheel. My chest felt lighter with each mile that brought me closer to her. When I made it to the parking lot of her office building I was so giddy I could float.
I peeked at myself in the visor mirror, cursing under my breath at how disheveled I looked. What else could I expect after the ordeal I went through. I changed my shirt and did my best to fix my hair, thinking, it was now or never.
As I made my way into her building, I was hyper aware of all the sensations around me. The overly bright waiting area that smelled of expensive perfume, the chattering of too many voices, the clicking of keyboards coming from offices down the hall, the frigid air blasting from overhead vents.
This was where Kendahl spent her days. Nothing about this place carried the same warmth that she gave off. Maybe I’d expected something else, something more comfortable. It didn’t matter, she was here, so it was already the only place I wanted to be.
