Ch.44
Brick was pissed off and heart broken as he left the security office.
He had only wanted to go to the sporting goods store and check out new cleats since his old ones were worn out. Just as he passed a store he looked inside and spotted his girlfriend being kissed by Ron. He instantly backtracked entering the store to confirm if it was a lookalike. When he heard Monique speak followed by Ron's boast he lost it.
After attacking Ron and dealing with mall security, Brick went to the ER to have his broken nose set. On his way home Brick kept thinking on how he was going to pay Ron back.
~~~~~
Once outside the mall Tara, Monique and Yori were debating who takes the backseat from what Ron heard of their conversation so he promptly solved their problem by calling shotgun. He was feeling pleased with himself having helped out that he completely missed the girls defeated sighs as he ruined their plans to seat with him.
Once home, Ron looked at Yori before speaking. "Up for some training Yori?"
"Of course Ron-san. Let me get changed." Yori easily agreed.
"Okay." Ron said before looking at the rest of his guests. "Would you like to watch a movie while Yori and I train?"
"I think I'd like to watch." Said Monique, her words bringing nods out of Tara and Bonnie.
"Okay, then wait for us in the backyard we'll be down shortly." Ron agreed moving upstairs to change.
When Ron came back down Yori was already outside stretching. Joining her, Ron proceeded to stretch as he noticed the girls sitting on the patio chairs. After stretching Ron looked at the ladies and begged. "Try not to laugh, I'm still learning."
With those words he turned and face Yori.
~~~~~
Monique could see the obvious nervousness on Ron as he asked them not to laugh but the moment he turned to face Yori was a moment that burned itself into her mind. Gone was the nervous teen, replaced with someone whose presence commanded attention. Ron looked confident similar to when he was in the kitchen but with an air of seriousness that left Monique breathless.
'This is him, the one buried under his insecurities and fear.' Thought Monique trying to regain her composure. Looking to the side Monique saw that both Bonnie and Tara were blushing deeply as they held their hands in front of their open mouths. 'He's a sight.' Monique thought to herself feeling her body heat up in anticipation.
Ron and Yori didn't waste time before they started sparring. Yori had only given Ron enough time to compose himself before initiating combat. Closing the distance on Ron in an instant, Yori threw a couple hits to his face and upper body. Ron blocked or evaded Yori's hits before attempting to land a few of his own. Only hitting air as Yori avoided with minimal movement before retaliating. Yori seemed to attack Ron's face before grabbing ahold of his arm and trying to put Ron in an arm lock. Ron reacted quickly moving to trap Yori's arm but she worked loose by elbowing his abdomen a couple times.
Monique was captivated by the sight of Ron. As he moved to initiate an attack, Monique's breathing sped and her legs started rubbing together in her excitement. She watched Ron and Yori switch between offense and defense her body becoming hotter by the moment. It was beyond her fantasies what Ron was actually capable off. He moved with precision and at times unpredictably forcing Yori to defend. Sadly Yori adjusted just as fast, countering and putting him in the defensive. As the bout continued it became apparent that Ron was expending more energy than Yori. His calm breathing had become distorted and he started to sweat noticeably. A couple more exchanges and Yori broke past his guard and forced him to the ground.
A moment after Ron admitted defeat Yori released her hold on him and separated.
After catching his breath Ron commented. "I still don't understand the lesson you're trying to teach me Yori and we been at it for two weeks."
"It will come to you Ron-san, give it time." Yori advised.
Sighing Ron entered a meditation pose and after calming his breathing began to meditate.
Seeing Ron meditating Yori looked to Monique and the others as she walked over. When she stood before them she asked. "What do you think of Ron-san?"
"What do you mean?" Asks Tara.
"For the last few weeks you've seen Ron start coming into his own." Yori began explaining. "You have seen how smart he truly is. Now you've seen his potential in martial arts. So I'm asking what do you think of him because I am serious about me and him starting a relationship and I'm hoping you don't stand in the way of that."
Hearing Yori so clearly state her intentions caught Monique, Tara and Bonnie by surprise. They had tried prying information out of Yori earlier with truth or dare but she hadn't given any. Now a few feet away from Ron she was making he position clear and asking them to back away.
Thinking a moment Monique spoke. "I've liked Ron since shortly after moving here and I want to be the one who he matures into a man for. I want to be next to him when his insecurities are gone and his fears are conquered. I want to be the last person he sees at night and the first he sees in the morning."
After making her point known in no uncertain terms, Monique was blushing as a beautiful smile graced her face. For Monique finally voicing her feeling felt like she started acting on them.
"I understand." Yori said and looked to Tara and Bonnie.
"I want Ronnie to love me so I'm not giving up till he asks me to." Declared Tara.
"I see." Once again Yori calmly accepted the answer before focusing on Bonnie who had yet to speak.
Tara and Monique also looked at Bonnie remembering her revelation from truth or dare that she indeed liked Ron.
"I... I need to speak to Ron before I can be sure." Bonnie said before looking at Ron meditating.
To all the girls there Bonnie looked unsure of herself, so unlike the usual Bonnie that no one knew what to say. At this point Tara stepped up and approached Bonnie.
"Can we talk?" Tara asks while pointing inside.
"Yeah." Bonnie agrees and leads the way.
Monique looked at the two walking inside idly wondering if Tara was going to snap.
~~~~~
Tara looked at Bonnie feeling sad and irritated at seeing Bonnie so out of character.
"Were you ever planning on telling me?" Tara finally asks.
"I don't know." Bonnie admits, adding. "To be honest after I told you to go for it I was ready to give up."
"How long has this been going on?" Tara asked in a softer tone remembering that Bonnie had, in fact, encouraged and helped her.
Taking a deep breath, Bonnie explained meeting Ron in her ballet lessons all those years ago. Their interactions and how eventually he promised to go to her birthday party but failed to show. How sad she felt that summer and how surprised she was to find that they went to the same school. Then there was Kim who Ron was always with and how she started to insult him to get his attention.
"It wasn't till later that I realized I liked him." Bonnie finished her story.
Tara realized that this was how Bonnie's rivalry with Kim started and that Bonnie, in her own way, has spent years trying to gain Ron's interest.
"Didn't you think of telling him directly after all this time?" Tara asks.
"I did but by the time high school started with the food chain and constant pressure from my sisters all I could do was maintain the status quo. Plus I didnt know how to approach him with all the insults I've thrown at him and knowing he broke his promise." Bonnie explained.
"Speaking of the promise, why didn't you confront him about it?" Tara asks not understanding.
"Because he might not even remember it." Bonnie said.
"Oh." Said Tara understanding what Bonnie meant. Bonnie was afraid to find out that the promise she held with such importance didn't mean the same to Ron. Thinking a moment Tara decided to give Bonnie the push she needed. "You're going to talk to Ron tonight. When he decides to go to sleep you will follow him upstairs and speak with him."
Bonnie looked up looking like Tara just told her to jump off a bridge. Seeing this Tara brought her into a hug and comforted her, then pushed a little further.
"If you don't talk to him you're going to regret letting the chance slip away." Tara simply stated.
Bonnie still looking nothing like her usual self took a deep breath before agreeing, then asked. "Tara can you forgive me for having stood in your way of Ron for such a long time?"
"After hearing your reason there's no need to, we're good." Tara replied bringing Bonnie into another hug.
~~~~~
Bonnie felt better knowing that Tara didn't hold it against her that she had stood in her way of Ron. She still felt guilty but it was better knowing that Tara understood.
A few minutes later Yori came inside and headed upstairs, likely for a shower seeing as she just worked out. Not twenty minutes later Ron and Monique came in, Ron having finished meditating.
"Ladies I'm gonna grab a quick shower and then we can see a couple movies. Can you ladies get some pillows and blankets out of the closet?" Ron explained and asked.
"Sure." Said Tara moving towards the closet.
"Cool." Ron said going upstairs. "You guys can pick the movies."
After finding the blankets and pillows the girls went about making the livingroom ready for the movies. They moved the couch further back and proceeded to make the floor a comfortable place to lay down.
By the time Ron came back downstairs the girls had made snacks and had picked a few movies.
"What are we watching?" Ron asked.
Ron ended up between Tara and Monique. With every movie they saw Bonnie and everyone got more comfortable and soon they were calling it a night. Seeing her chance, Bonnie made eye contact with Tara who nodded and stood following Ron and Yori.
Yori went to her room and Bonnie followed Ron to his when he noticed. "Bonnie the bathroom is that one."
Bonnie grabbed her left arm with her right hand and took a deep breath. "Ron can we talk?"
Bonnie saw Ron think a moment before nodding and inviting her into his room. After closing the door Ron offered her the desk chair and sat on his bed.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Ron asks not understanding why she wanted to talk.
After nearly thirty seconds of silence Bonnie took a deep breath and answered. "It's about our promise from when we were in ballet together."
"Oh." Said Ron hanging his head before adding. "I thought we may never have this conversation since the next time you saw me you started calling me names. Not that I blame you after breaking my promise."
'He didn't forget!' Thought Bonnie before asking. "So, why didn't you keep you promise?"
"Two words, Camp Wannaweep." Ron said explaining. "That summer my parents wouldn't listen to reason. They shipped me to that accursed place and no matter how hard I begged they wouldn't budge. From the camp and its horrors I called everyday especially as your birthday approached. The week prior I called every three minutes, the result, they stopped taking my calls. Even as that place scarred me both physically and mentally."
"That was the summer you spent at camp." Bonnie stated with realization. "How did you call it before?"
"The worst summer of my/your life." They both said in unison.
"Still, I never did get to apologize for breaking my promise." Said Ron taking a deep breath and speaking. "I'm sorry Bonnie, I really did intend to go to your party."
"I forgive you but did it really scar you both physically and mentally?" Bonnie asked with a smile.
Ron stood up and started removing his shirts. After the jersey hit the floor Bonnie stood up asking. "What are you doing?"
"Showing you." Ron simply said and took off the long sleeved shirt.
As Bonnie took in the sight of Ron's sculpted chest Ron turned giving her a view of his back. The first thing she noticed were the muscles. Then the scars came into view. They crisscrossed his back. Remembering the story from when they were stranded at Camp Wannaweep she could guess the source, the camp mascot.
Bonnie had not realized her actions till her hand traced Ron's scars. She froze for a second before resuming her tracing of the scars.
"I didn't know it was this bad." Bonnie said softly.
"Not many do." Ron explained.
When Ron stepped forward and grabbed his shirt Bonnie was a bit out of sorts before following Ron's lead and sitting back on the desk chair. They talked for a good half hour before Bonnie went back downstairs.