Dark Realms (54 page)

Bryce avoided eye contact, which made me
even more irritated. I hadn’t done anything to deserve his cruel
attitude today.

“See you guys next week!” waved Master
Jordan as he walked out of the studio.

As I waved, I caught Bryce staring at me
again. He looked away and took a drink of water.

“Ready, guys?” he asked finally. Then he had
us form a line to do several push-ups and sit-ups.

The next half hour we practiced several
difficult kicks and punches which I normally enjoy. Today it was
pure hell. Bryce was so intolerable that even Scott noticed and
started getting frustrated.

“Dude, what is your
problem? Ever since
The Wild One
got here, you’ve been riding our
asses!”

I wanted to kick Scott for saying that. He
liked to tease me about my nickname, too.

Bryce’s face grew hot. “Look,” he said,
“you’re both Black Belts now and I’m here to teach you, not make
things easy or comfortable.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to be a dick about
it,” replied Scott.

Bryce smiled coldly. “If you can’t handle my
way of teaching, then feel free to leave.”

“Best thing you’ve come up with all night.
I’m outta here,” said Scott, grabbing his gym bag. He muttered
something under his breath and stomped out of the dojo. Deep down,
I knew he’s wanted to leave earlier, to check on Nora. I could tell
he was already falling for her.

Bryce turned to me with a
stony expression. “What about you,
Wild
One
?”

I stuck my chin out
defiantly. “What
about
me?”

“You think I’m too demanding?”

“You’re a little…intense.”

Bryce’s mouth twisted into a sardonic grin.
He ran a hand through his wavy hair then gazed candidly at me. “You
know, there’s something different about you today. You’ve done
something…to your hair or face.”

I shrugged. I certainly wasn’t going to tell
him I had my eyebrows waxed. Instead I said, “Could it be the way
my eyes are glaring at you? Oh, wait! They were doing the same
thing yesterday.”

He looked away and chuckled.

His moods were so up and down, I wondered if
he was even aware that he was slightly deranged. “Are we done here?
Because I don’t think I want to spend another half hour with
someone who’s obviously got an issue with me.”

Bryce gave me a confused look. “I don’t
understand what you mean.”

“You’ve been shooting daggers at me since I
got here. I’m not even sure what I’ve done to offend you so much,”
I said and started walking away.

He grabbed my arm. “You don’t offend me at
all.”

“Well you have a strange way of showing it,”
I said looking up at him.

His eyes searched mine and softened. “Your
eyes are so…fascinating,” he said, still holding onto my arm.

I’ve had compliments on my eyes before,
which always puzzled me since I thought they looked like pretty
average brown eyes. My mom says it’s because my lashes are so thick
and long.

He stepped back and cleared
his throat. “Well, listen it’s getting late and I’ve got to get
home. We
should call it a
night.”

I nodded. “I have to pick up my sister
anyway.”

Bryce started shutting off the lights in the
dojo and I went into the locker room to wash up and run a brush
through my hair. When I walked out of the locker room I found him
waiting for me in the entryway, dressed in faded jeans and a tight
blue T-shirt. He was on his cell phone, clearly frustrated with
whomever he was talking to. I waved at him and he hung up the
phone.

“Hold up, I’ll walk you out,” he said,
throwing on a brown leather jacket.

“Okay,” I said.

He locked the front entrance door, set the
alarm, and walked me outside. “Nice night,” he said, looking into
the sky.

There was a soft breeze and the stars
twinkled above us. “Yeah,” I replied.

He followed me to my truck and stood
watching me fumble in my purse for my keys. “Listen,” he said,
clearing his throat. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was being a little
bit of a jerk I guess.”

“You guess?” I asked dryly.

He shrugged. “I just…there’s stuff going on
at home,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

“And then there’s Master Jordan bawling you
out.”

Bryce chuckled. “He told
you, huh? Well, he
was
right. I was out of line and should have been more
professional.”

“It wasn’t a big deal. It really didn’t
bother me.”

“Good, because I wasn’t trying to bother
you,” he said, looking away. “You just…intrigue me I guess.”

I blushed. “Intrigue you?”
I couldn’t believe a guy found me intriguing. Especially one
that
was
incredibly hot.

He turned to me again. “Yes…but I’m one of
your karate instructors and probably too old for you.”

I searched his face,
trying to decipher how old he actually was. He had a strong jawline
with a five o’clock shadow and thick, dark eyebrows that emphasized
the blueness of his eyes. He was definitely good-looking, but not
the type of perfection that you read about in sappy romance novels.
Bryce’s nose was slightly crooked and there was a white scar near
his chin cleft. “So, how old
are
you?”

He smiled. “Twenty.”

That wasn’t so bad, although I knew my
parents wouldn’t be excited about me dating someone almost old
enough to enter a bar.

His cell chirped and he frowned. “Well, I
better let you get home. I’ve got to take this call; it’s probably
my mother, again.”

“Ok. See you around,” I said, getting into
my truck.

He turned around and began walking towards
his motorcycle.

I admired his derriere again as I stuck my
key into the truck’s ignition. There was a loud click when I turned
the key, but unfortunately nothing else. After a couple more
attempts to start the engine, Bryce noticed and jogged back over. I
rolled my window down.

“Pop the hood,” he said.

I obeyed and he began fiddling around with
things in the engine.

“Try it again!” he called from under the
hood.

Again, nothing happened.

He rubbed the back of his hand against his
forehead and looked down again.

“Okay, now try it!” he yelled again.

This time it fired right up.

He smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. Closing
the hood, he walked over to my open window. “I think you might need
a new carburetor,” he said, wiping his fingers on his jeans. He had
a smudge of grease on his forehead and I smiled, but didn’t tell
him.

“Is it safe to drive?”

“You should be fine. But let me give you my
cell phone number, just in case you have any problems. I’d follow
you, but I really need to get home,” he replied just as his cell
phone began to ring again. He checked his phone but didn’t
answer.

“Thanks,” I said as he gave me his
number.

“Good thing I was still here. This place is
like a ghost town.”

I glanced around the dark
shops and streets. It
was
totally deserted. “It’s the flu, I bet. Nobody is
going anywhere.”

He nodded. “I know what that’s like. My mom
has it, too. That’s why she keeps calling me, hounding me to get
home.”

I smiled at him. “Well, then you better go.
Thanks again, Bryce.”

He slowly leaned forward and brushed a
strand of my hair away from my lips. The smell of leather and his
aftershave was intoxicating. I held my breath as he stared into my
eyes. “Call me when you get home so I know you made it, okay?” he
asked, his voice husky.
I knew right then and there, that I’d never met anyone who’d taken
my breath away as much as Bryce did. “Sure,” I replied softly.

“Okay, well goodbye again, ‘Wild One,’” he
said, turning away.

I watched as Bryce jogged back over to his
motorcycle. He put on his leather jacket and helmet then straddled
the bike. He waited until I started moving then followed me for a
couple of blocks. When his bike turned away and he was no longer in
my rearview mirror, I was already missing him.

Chapter Seven

My phone began vibrating as I headed to
Kylie and Paige’s to pick up Allie, which I’d almost forgotten
about. I grabbed it out of my pocket and read a text from my mom
telling me that school was cancelled for the rest of the week and I
didn’t have to pick up my sister since she was staying
overnight.

Nice
, I thought. That was one less thing I had to worry
about.

I changed directions and started heading
home. I noticed most of the roads were completely deserted, which
wasn’t as surprising as the fact that many of the fast food
restaurants and gas stations I passed were also dark and closed.
The flu was destroying profits for many businesses.

My mom was reading a book
in the
Man Cave
when I got home. “Hi, honey,” she said, setting it down on
the end table.

“Hey,” I replied.

She smiled. “Your eyebrows look
very…chic.”

“Thanks – and check out my nails,” I said,
holding out my hands.

“Very nice,” she replied, lifting them
up.

I sunk into the oversized couch next to her
favorite chair. “So, school’s closed. That’s a first.”

“Yes, it’s on the news. All of the schools
have been shut down temporarily, due to the flu.” She stretched her
arms and stood up. “Are you hungry? I could make you a
sandwich.”

“Yes, I’m starving! Thanks, mom.”

I got up and followed her into the kitchen
where she began making me a tuna and pickle sandwich. I washed my
hands and sat down.

Just then my dad walked into the
kitchen.

“Hello, ladies,” he said, kissing us both on
the cheek.

“Hi, dad,” I said.

My mom smiled. “Hi, honey, how was your
day?”

He gave us a despairing look and sat down by
the counter. “It was a complete waste of time, with absolutely no
customers. It’s almost the end of the month and they still expect
us to move cars. Everyone has the flu. How do I overcome that
obstacle?”

“I’m sorry,” said my mom as she moved behind
him and began rubbing his shoulders.

He closed his eyes and smiled. “Thanks, that
feels good.”

“Maybe business will pick up tomorrow?”
asked my mom.

“Doubtful. Damn, I just need to find a new
job.”

My mom and I both looked at each other but
didn’t say anything.

He grabbed my mom and hugged her. “Can we
switch jobs for a day? Let me corral the daycare kids and you can
sell cars. Come on, hon.”

My mom smiled sympathetically. “You wouldn’t
survive a day.”

“I could put them in kennels? Lock them up
and feed them when they get hungry,” he said, smiling.

“Very funny,” my mom answered.

My cell phone began to ring. It was Bryce!
I’d forgotten to call him back.

“I’m sorry!” I answered into the phone.

My parents stared curiously as I hurried out
of the kitchen.

“You should be. I was getting worried about
you,” Bryce said sternly.

I smiled with pleasure. Bryce was actually
worried about me.

“I made it. I survived,” I said.

He chuckled. “So, did you
notice the roads? How deserted they were? I thought maybe I was in
one of those old episodes of the
Twilight
Zone
or something. It was really
weird.”

“It
was
totally odd. This flu virus must
be really getting out of control,” I said.

“Tell me about it. My mother is so sick, I
don’t know how she’s going to care for my brother tomorrow,” he
muttered.

“I didn’t know you had a brother. How old is
he?”

“Bobby? He’s six.”

“Well, my mother runs a daycare. She might
be willing to watch him until your mom gets better.”

I could almost see the smile spreading
across his face. “Wow, really? I have to work tomorrow, otherwise
I’d just stay home with him,” he paused. “I work for a construction
company and we have this major deadline coming up. My boss already
called me tonight to make sure I was still coming in. Most of the
guys on this job are sick and he’s frantic.”

“If you promise to be nice to me, I might
ask her to watch him.”

Bryce laughed wickedly. “Really? Well, I can
be extremely nice if it gets me what I want.”

I groaned. “You’re such a…man.”

“You didn’t notice before?”

“Believe
me…
everyone
notices.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know about that.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” I blurted. I’m
not sure where it came from but I was dying to know.

He paused then said, “No, not at the
moment.”

I was glad he couldn’t see my face, because
it was burning. I couldn’t believe I’d asked him like that, out of
the blue. Like a little schoolgirl.

“You still there?” he asked softly.

I took a deep breath, “Um…yeah. So…your
brother, does he have any allergies?”

“No…but I suppose I should mention that he
has Down’s Syndrome. He’s a great kid; really friendly and gets
along with everyone. But, obviously he needs special attention
sometimes.”

“My mom’s great with children. She’ll take
really good care of him.”

“Okay, if you could talk to her and let me
know. I’d really appreciate it.”

“I’ll call you right back.”

“Thanks, Cassie.”

I hung up and talked it over with my mom,
leaving out the fact that Bryce was gorgeous and my heart raced
every time he came near me. She agreed to talk to him and work out
the details. I called him back and told him the good news.