Spar

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

It had been years since Jaime had felt excited about walking into any dojo. Since Sempai Tyler had taken Jaime under his wing, Jaime had looked forward to the next class with the anticipation of a giddy schoolboy the first day of the new semester. The sessions with Sensei Melissa were excellent, and Jaime was learning a lot, but it was that time afterward when he got to spar with Sempai Tyler that made Jaime’s heart race and his palms sweat. Maybe it was more like that giddy schoolboy on his first date.

There was a sense of dread that came from the skill deficit between him and Sempai Tyler. Jaime knew Sempai Tyler could run circles around him if the man wanted to show off his stuff. That was until Jaime could find a solid hold. Then Sempai Tyler was in for a ride that usually landed him flat on the dojo floor. Beyond the pride of pinning Sempai Tyler, Jaime also delighted in a little s****l thrill that raced through him. It was entirely inappropriate, but no matter how many times he chastised himself, he couldn’t help the feeling. Jaime had sworn off the clubs three months ago, and the sparring matches were the closest he’d come to another man besides a handshake here and there at work.

Jaime tried not to dwell on it. Best to keep the feeling small and easily pushed aside. If he thought about it too much, he knew he’d obsess over it until he drove himself crazy. Instead he took a Zen approach of observing the feeling as it arose and letting it pass. When work dragged on and he had to listen to yet another prima donna tell him how to mix tracks, Jaime found his mind drifting to what his strategy would be the next time he and Sempai Tyler faced off. And about how he was going to pin Sempai Tyler again.

Even as he wrapped up his last session before heading to karate class, Jaime was plotting.

“Are they finished already?” Leila asked as Jaime deposited the paperwork from his last recording session on her desk. Leila scanned the papers. When Jaime had started, she’d saved his bacon on more than one account when he’d put in the wrong billing code or forgotten to log the session length. “Death OverLord? I bet they were real hard-asses.”

“Piece of cake.” Jaime gave her a wink. “Hard asses are my specialty.”

Leila gave a curt laugh, which she stifled as the band members came down the hall. Dressed head to toe in leather and chains, they looked like they had stepped out of a dystopian Mad Max future. Of course, the tats and piercings only added to the image they wanted to portray. The truth was Jaime loved working with death metal bands. They usually turned out to be the most polite and earnest musicians. Nothing like the stuck up American Idol-wannabes who would sell their mothers for a big break.

“Sweet demo.” Shocker, the lead vocal singer with a spiked purple Mohawk, waved the CD at Jaime as he headed for the door. “Next time we get enough coins together for an album we’ll be back.”

“My girlfriend is so going to dig this.” Pale Rider, the base player, gave Jaime the thumbs up before Axel joined him.

“Which one?” Axel threw his arm around Pale Rider. “Got one in every city, right?”

Pale Rider had talked nonstop about his girlfriend, BeeBee, whenever they took a break. It was actually kind of sweet. Although the other guys in the band gave him a hard time about it, Jaime could see envy in their eyes. It was the same envy Jaime felt whenever Pale Rider would rave about BeeBee’s cooking or how she could grow anything green. The only thing Jaime had waiting for him at home was a bottle of scotch and some leftovers, if he was lucky.

“Seriously, man, that was a great session,” Lincoln said as he emerged from the sound studio carrying an amp. “Least I can do is take you out for a drink.”

“You know I’d love to,”—Jaime squirmed at having to turn down the bearded muscle-bound hunk. He was just Jaime’s type. A bear through and through looking for a cub to cuddle—“but I’ve got karate class tonight.”

Every inch of Lincoln was hard and hairy and as gay as a rainbow Pride parade. He just had the good sense to play it subtle. Just like Jaime preferred his playmates. If he hadn’t sworn off the casual stuff, Jaime would have taken Lincoln up on his offer in a heartbeat.

“We’re playing at the Graveyard next month.”

“I’ll check it out.” Jaime extended his hand.

Lincoln’s grip was firm but gentle. All the more reason Jaime didn’t want to just take him to bed and never see the guy again, which was exactly what would happen. Jaime was never good at second dates.

“See ya around.”

Jaime watched Lincoln leave before letting out a heavy sigh.

“Check my pulse.” Leila thrust her arm at Jaime.

“What?”

“My heart must have stopped beating, because there is no way you’d turn down a hunk of junk like that unless you’ve gone straight.” Leila shook her head disapprovingly. “And if that happens I must have died and gone to my own personal heaven. Marry me.”

Leila made goo-goo eyes at Jaime as he batted her arm away.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jaime knew his reputation around the studio involved some degree of infamy. Even though he was good at keeping his business and pleasure separate, word got around quick in a world of music, s*x, and alcohol. “I’m just busy is all.”

“With karate?” Leila tilted her head and scrutinized him like she was trying to decide if his body had been taken over by aliens or Christian reformists. “You don’t fool me. That guy was doing everything but pinning you to the sound board every time he came in the booth.”

Sometimes the glass window between the reception and sound studios was more a curse than an advertising blessing. Jaime was normally so focused on his work he forgot Leila had a front row seat to the booth that was his private world when he had the headphones on. Lincoln had come in several times to check on the percussion tracks while Shocker and Pale Rider jammed. Always polite but friendly, Lincoln had seemed as interested in Jaime as he was in his tracks.

“Do I need to call in the deprogrammers?” Leila asked and picked up the receiver for effect. “Because I will do anything to get my horny sound tech back.”

“I’m just a little tired of waking up alone.”

Jaime found it easy to talk to Leila. Besides her bubbly personality, the alternative was the marketing guys and execs who were duller than dishwater. Leila at least knew how to crack a smile without dollar signs flashing in her eyes.

“I knew it.” Leila slammed the receiver and pulled open her desk drawer. Within a second, she was shoving a photo of a well-attired man in his late twenties in front of Jaime. “He’s good-looking, gainfully employed, and gay. What more could you ask for?”

“A name and a letter of reference?” Jaime avoided taking the photos. A blind date was the last thing he wanted. The man looked perfectly respectable, and to Jaime that was one step below boring. “I’m not really in the market right now. Taking some time off.”

“Oh, come on.” Leila sighed. “If you won’t go out with me, the least you can do is go out with my cousin.”

Jaime frowned. “You’ve never mentioned this cousin before.”

“Because you were such a c**k hound,” Leila put her fingers over her lips too late to stop the words from coming out. “Sorry. You know I love you, sweetie, but you are, were, a dog. There hasn’t been a good-looking man who walked through this door that you haven’t seduced.”

“That’s an exaggeration.” He might like his men toward the straight side, but he drew the line at the unobtainable.

“Okay, I’ll give you that. But you know what I mean. You never walk out of here with the same man twice and certainly don’t show up with them in the morning.” Leila’s pent-up lecture must have been brewing for months. Her apologetic shrug didn’t soften the truth in her words. “That’s not the kind of guy I’d want my cousin to go out with, let alone fall for. He’s had his fair share of disappointment.”

“So why are you showing me his picture now?”

“Because you are a great guy.” Leila’s sweet smile started to take away some of the sting of her words. “You just need to realize you can do better than the s*x fiends. You don’t have to wake up alone if you start thinking with your heart instead of your cock.”

Jaime knew she was right, but the idea of a blind date was too cliché. He just needed to get his mind out of the bedroom altogether. Karate was certainly helping with that. Every class was exhausting—mentally and physically. When his head hit the pillow on nights when he had class, he was asleep within minutes. Sometimes he didn’t even masturbate. The physical contact from sparring was a close second to s*x, and he didn’t have to worry about the awkward conversation afterward.

“I’m going to be late for class if I don’t get going.” Jaime leaned over the counter and gave Leila a peck on the cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Just think about it.” Leila waved the picture of her cousin at Jaime as he retreated through the studio doors.

When Jaime arrived at the dojo, class hadn’t started yet. An instinctive scan of the room and his eyes locked on Sempai Tyler as he emerged from the changing room. Jaime felt the familiar quickening of his pulse and immediately clamped down the response. Maybe he should have taken Lincoln up on his offer. As it was, Jaime’s s*x drive was a little too sensitive for his liking and all manner of inappropriate behaviors involving a certain sempai crossed his mind. Not that Sempai Tyler had given him any indication he was interested.

Jaime took a deep breath and redirected his thoughts to being a good karate student. “Konbanwa, Sempai.”