AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know,” I agreed. “But I think it might be too easy for a week to become a month, then a year.”
“Okay. But so the fuck what? You need me, I’ll be there.”
“Which is very sweet of you, but not realistic. Or healthy. I need to be comfortable going out with just my friends. Or alone,” I said, though my stomach twisted hard at even the idea of that.
One day, I reminded myself.
One day, I would go out alone.
Not today.
But eventually, I would be ready.
That was why the self-defense classes were so important. To build my confidence. So I could get my independence back.
“But I really appreciate the offer,” I added, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.
I think, to an extent, he was worried about me leaving too. As much as this event had happened to me, it had happened to him as well. To us.
And he’d been such an attentive caretaker. Especially for someone to whom it didn’t come naturally. He was always bringing me drinks and snacks and meals, never letting me miss a dose of the pain meds and ibuprofen to help with the swelling. He put on my shows and refreshed my ice packs.
It was probably making him anxious to have me out of his sight.
But, again, that was all the more reason to go.
I never could have anticipated that a trip to a workout studio might change the trajectory of the rest of my life.
Slash - 6 months
Nyx had thrown herself into self-defense/martial arts the way I hadn’t seen her throw herself into anything.
I guess, yeah, if I’d been made to feel that defenseless, and had gotten that hurt, I would want to get stronger, to learn how to defend myself too.
But it was more than that.
I caught her scribbling in a notebook, trying to figure something out, plan something, and I had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with those classes she was taking four or more times a week now, having to travel several towns over to do so.
I was just waiting for the day that she decided to bring me in on her plans, and her hopes for the future. Especially since I had a ring in my closet that was hoping she would say yes and want me in it with her.
Maybe it seemed soon.
Six months.
But Nyx and I had been hooking up for years, had known each other for longer than that even.
And we’d been living together since she showed up at our doorstep asking for help.
It kinda pushed everything into overdrive in a way.
That said, I wasn’t going to ask until I was sure she was going to say yes. And the only way I could be sure is if she finally brought the plans to me.
She’d been back to The Bog, but only to help train the new bartenders that the Murphy brothers had exhaustively vetted to make sure they didn’t belong to any goddamn crime syndicate.
But it was clear that she didn’t plan to go back. Which was fine by me. If all she wanted to do for the rest of her life was to fuck around with makeup and get tattoos done, so long as she did that shit around me, I didn’t care. I’d be happy to support her. I made more than enough for the two of us.
“Okay,” Nyx said, coming in from another class, a flush still creeping over her cheeks, nose, and over her chest. “I need to talk to you about something,” she went on.
“About your plans to open a self-defense gym?” I asked, smirking at the way her lips fell open.
