Jess ducked a punch from Leo and back flipped out of the way of a leg swipe.
"Good. Use your acrobatics to your advantage."
The brunette gave a curt nod before charging him. She placed a hand on either shoulder and flipped over the blue clad turtle jamming a foot into the back of his knee. She rolled away and hopped back onto her feet while Leo regained his balance.
"Very good," he grumbled. "Quit holding back. Attack me. We're working on your offense, remember?"
Jess sucked in a breath of courage. Leo blocked or dodged all of her advances with ease. Frustrated, Jess jumped back and rethought her strategy.
"You're still holding back," Leo chastised letting her take a breather.
Jess went in again forcing herself to get closer to him and managed to get one hit to his shoulder. "This isn't really fair," she breathed throwing another punch which he blocked. "Punching your chest hurts like hell."
"Then you'll have to get creative." He shoved her away throwing a few punches of his own. Leo watched Jess curiously seeing the gears turning in her head. He leaned just out of the way of a punch to the nose only to get an elbow to the cheek.
Jess took that moment to try and break his balance again, but Leo jumped out of the way and grabbed her from behind.
"Good," he huffed working his jaw. "But not good enough." When she struggled, he pulled the arm behind her back a bit forcing her to stop. He leaned forward enjoying the feeling of her against him a little too much. "Why are you holding back? You don't spar like this with Raph."
Jess was mentally fighting with herself. She'd made the decision to try and be friends with Leo before taking things further, but he was making it difficult. Though sparing together in a room alone together in minimal tight-fitting clothing probably wasn't the best idea either.
"I get along with Raph," she struggled against his grip.
Leo wrapped his arms around her abdomen, pinning her arms to her side, and lifted her off the ground. "We don't get along?" he asked innocently.
"Alright! You won can you put me down?"
"When you answer my question."
Jess rolled her eyes getting annoyed with his antics. "Put me down, asshat."
"As you wish," Leo smirked pining Jess to the floor.
Jess glared up at him when she got her senses about her again from the fast movement. "That is NOT what I meant, Leonardo."
"If we're going make these training sessions beneficial, we have to figure out how to get along, Jessica," he mocked.
"You are so full of shit," she sneered struggling in his grip knowing damn well she wasn't getting out of till he let her.
"Maybe, but I have your best intentions in mind."
Jess felt her face flush. She had to wonder what point he was trying to prove. "No Purple Dragon fights like you or your brothers. I don't know how to fight you."
"That's the point of this, Jess."
"I really don't see how pinning me to the floor is helpful."
"What will you do when one of the bad guys gets the upper hand? When you're pinned to the wall and we aren't there to help you. What will you do?"
"It's different," she spat.
"It's not."
"It is!"
They stared down each other waiting for the other to break.
"How is it different?"
Jess rolled her hazel eyes, "They're trying to kill me. You're not."
"And Raph is? Is that why you two 'get along'?"
"No! You're being ridiculous, Leo! Raph and I are friends. We just get along well." She searched Leo's stony face for anything that would give her a clue what he was thinking. She relaxed against his grip in defeat finding nothing that would let her in on his mind. She met his dark blue eyes wishing he'd pull her closer and didn't even try to fight the intrusive thought. "I just—I can't read you," she finally admitted wising she could sink into the floor and disappear just so she wouldn't have to deal with the feelings building for the guy pinning her to the floor.
Leo stood and helped her to her feet. "You want to know what I'm thinking?"
"No," Jess admitted throwing a punch that he easily side stepped. "I don't need to hear you judging my every move."
Leo went for his own attack, but she back flipped out of the way. "Is that what you think I'm thinking?"
"Something along those lines," she smirked and managed to elbow him along his side where he had no shell.
He winced and blocked her next few advances. He smiled at the ferocity of her punches hoping he'd gotten through to her. Too caught up in his thoughts he felt her grip his arm and lift with her legs. Before he could break the hold, he found himself staring at the ceiling with Jess's arm pressed against his throat foot on his chest.
"Ok, that time you were just not paying attention." Jess poked his nose annoyed that he let her win.
"Yeah, maybe we should call it a quits."
"I'm kinda enjoying this actually," Jess grinned pressing her arm against his windpipe a little harder.
He glared up at her, "I can get out of this easily."
As if to prove a point Jess found herself pinned to the floor for the second time. "Really?" she groaned wishing she'd agreed to a quits.
"Given how you've been sparing today I thought you liked being pinned to the floor."
"Fuck you." Jess managed to slip a hand from his grip and nail him in the side. She knew it wouldn't be enough to get out completely, but it was worth the annoyed look on his face.
Leo slipped and caught himself on his forearm mere inches from her face. He glared at her for punching him in the ribs but feeling her so close clouded his thoughts and hers too if he was picking up the sweetness on her scent correctly.
Her face flushed having not thought about what would happen when Leo lost his balance and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. . .Leo," her voice a bit too breathy.
Leo let a low growl slip wanting nothing more than to make her say his name again and again but forced himself into calling an official quits.
Jess left the dojo, practically running, intent on getting space between them and cooling off.
Leo shook his head but her sent still lingered making him want to drag her back and finish what they started.
They could never be friends.
Jess's heart pounded as she exited the dojo and rushed to the bathroom to splash her face with cold water. Her bag was still where she left it so she decided a cold shower all together would be better. She felt like her skin steamed under the ice-cold water finally catching her breath. Shivering she turned the water off and wrapped herself in a towel.
She leaned against the stall wall still feeling like he was right on top of her. Jess cursed under her breath and banged her head against the wall water dripping off her.
"Note to self: avoid being alone with him," she muttered to herself. That would work, but she knew Leo wouldn't let her out of training and he wouldn't allow any distractions in. She let out a huff and used the towel to dry her hair.
She checked her phone to make sure she still had time to get to the studio. There was still mending to do with La'Darius and maybe complaining about her guy troubles would do just that. Maybe if she could just let the feelings out on someone else and sort through them, she could handle being around the eldest brother.
Jess got dressed and kissed her two teens. "I love you. I'll come get you after work."
"Bye!" they chimed.
She rushed to the elevator seeing Leo step out of the dojo just as the doors closed. A shiver went down her spine remembering how he growled. She pinched the bridge of her nose trying to get the image out of her head and focus on getting to her first day of work.
La'Darius watched his team work on a new routine for their next show watching for any flaws. That's what he should've been doing anyway, but his attention was directed at a certain Latina. Despite not having seen her for nearly twenty years she hadn't changed much. There was something bothering her. At one point he was her best friend. At one point he knew everything about her. Which meant he knew how she was involved with the rising gang violence.
His eyes drifted over the other dancers and back to Jess with a small smile. Her wide grin always made her stand out. But it was an act. She was here to do a job and look good doing it. He'd have to get her in pointe shoes if he really wanted to know how she was feeling.
"All right, take five everyone and we'll go again." He approached Jess who was chugging water. "I'll admit I'm impressed."
"You doubted me?" She gasped wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
La'Darius smiled at the brunette, "What's on your mind?"
"Guy troubles," Jess shrugged finishing off the water.
"Guy troubles? Spill!"
Jess patted his chest, "Five minutes is up." She turned to look over her shoulder, "But maybe we can catch up after work?"
"Right," La'Darius grumbled remembering his job, "From the top. Amy, sweety, I love you, but you are not selling it right now."
La'Darius pushed them till he was satisfied with the routine. The performance was still a week away so there was still time to work out the last of the kinks.
"You've sure come a long way, Dar," Jess smiled adjusting the duffel on her shoulder. "Now, how about that drink?"
Jess sipped her iced tea tentatively exhausted from sparing with Leo and rehearsal.
"I want to thank you for the job," Jess started, "I know you get a lot of people far more qualified than my applying."
La'Darius leaned forward on the small table as if to let her in on a secret. "They don't have three national titles," he whispered. Jess blushed and looked away. "Beside you always believed that I could open my own studio when no one else did. Kinda feel like I owe you. Now, tell me about this guy that has your head spinning."
"I met him a few weeks ago. . ." she trailed off wondering how to avoid all the questionable parts. "His name is Leonardo."
"Do you have a picture of this Leonardo?"
Jess shook her head, "No, he doesn't like his photo being taken, but he's like 90% muscles."
La'Darius leaned forward on his elbows with a grin, "Sounds like my kinda guy, but he must have more than that to get your attention."
"He's very frustrating. He knows just how to get under my skin," Jess grumbled working the green straw between her teeth.
"Met your match?"
"It's just complicated. He's Nikki's uncle, not that his dad and I are anything but good friends, but it's been confusing." She slouched into herself a bit.
"Sounds like it, but you like him?" He smiled seeing Jess's cheeks flushed a bright pink. "You've got it bad."
"I know!" Jess groaned leaning back in her chair. "I'm trying to be friends with him first, but he is making it really hard."
"How so?" La'Darius asked genuinely curious how someone managed to get Jessica Gonzalez in such a twist.
"He's been sparring with me. Training me."
La'Darius raised a brow, "So you've got the hots for this guy and then decided to get up close and personal with him while trying to be 'just friends'? You know how stupid that sounds, right?"
Jess sipped her drink a bit embarrassed. "He's very persistent."
"Why don't you train with your baby daddy?"
"If I want a good fight, I will spar with Raph. But if I want to learn something, I need to go to Leo."
"That's a predicament. Wouldn't have anything to do with this gang war, would it?"
"If I had any say in it, I would have nothing to do with it, but fate seems like she wants to drag me in one way or another," Jess grumbled solemnly.
"Can I meet, Nikki?"
Jess met La'Darius's dark brown eyes lined in gold. "Maybe one day, but right now's just not a good time."
He decided to not push further. "Back to this Leo guy, how bad do you have it?"
Jess rested her cheek on her hand thinking. "Sex dreams. All I want is for him to touch me. He's insufferable," she listed, raising a finger with each reason.
La'Darius considered the information with a frown crossing his fingers under his chin. "Have you kissed him?"
"No."
"Ok, let's back up. What makes you like him?"
Jess considered that for a moment finishing off her drink with a slurp. "He just. . . He knows nearly everything about my past and my family, but he doesn't accuse me. I call him judgmental, but he doesn't look at me like I'm a freak." She waited for La'Darius to respond but he never did so she continued. "I think maybe it's because he's not afraid to push me. I've never met a guy willing to do that."
La'Darius nodded softly trying to imagine what this guy looked like. Jess had always avoided dating in college like the plague opting to satisfy her needs with the occasional one-night stands where her baggage didn't matter. "Being treated like you deserve is one hell of a drug." He sipped the last of his coffee and threw their cups in the trash.
They walked in a comfortable silence back to the studio a few blocks away. The streets were littered with orange leaves and people chattering. Kids sitting on the steps of apartment buildings playing music or just enjoying the cool weather.
"Are you going to keep trying to be friends?" he asked as the studio came into view.
"I think so. I'd rather take things slow rather than move too fast. I just wish he didn't smell so nice."
La'Darius smiled and chuckled at Jess's whining. "I pity you. Keep me updated."
He bid her goodbye at the steps of the building as she turned to go to the parking lot.
I've got some good and bad new guys. Bad news: school starts today (college, i'm a junior). Pray for me :'( Good news: I have so many chapters ready to go, so there won't be a delay. If anything i just got busy with school work, but if I see that coming I'll try to warn ya'll in the previous chapter. I also posted ch 18 because it's another short one. Thanks for reading!