The Untouchable Stryker

by Kara2211

Lexa has had a very hard life. She doesn't know who her parents are or where she is really from. All she knows is she is different and wants to get out of Afghanistan. She is forced to fight for Ahmed's group when her school was bombed. That's where she met Ash, the person she thought was the love of her life but then she meets Clarke.

58. Chapter 58: Lexa

Chapter 58: Lexa

Monday morning, I woke up early with Clarke draped across me, snoring softly. She looks so peaceful I don't want to move for fear of waking her, and she needs her sleep. So instead, I just lay here and run my fingers through her hair until I fall back asleep. The next time I wake up, it's because there is a knock on the door. I glance at my watch and see that it is 11 am, which means Patronia is dropping off breakfast.

I slowly extricate myself from underneath Clarke and go to the door. Patronia has left the food tray right outside the door. I pick it up and bring it into the bedroom. I hate to wake her, but she was adamant about going on this date today, even though I told her we could postpone it so that she could rest. While I stood there trying to decide if I should wake her, her eyes fluttered and then opened slowly.

"Do I smell bacon?" she says through half-opened eyes.

I chuckle, "Maybe, and French toast with strawberries. Do you want to possibly sit up and eat, or would you rather go back to sleep?"

"What time is it?"

"It's 11."

"Crap, we need to get ready and go!"

"Slow down. We have time. We can take the Fireblade. Sit up, eat, then we can get dressed and head out. What should I wear?" I sit the tray of food in front of her and then climb back into bed beside her. I take one of the French toast sticks, dip it in the syrup, and feed it to her.

"Mm, this is good. Just dress casually, but first, finish feeding me. Damn, that bacon smells delicious."

Once breakfast is finished, we get dressed and then head out on my motorcycle. I love the feel of Clarke on the back of my bike with her arms wrapped tightly around me. As we ride, she gives me turn-by-turn directions. We finally arrived in front of a building that looks from the outside like a metal building with a warehouse attached. We walked in. There is a nice little sitting area with a check-in desk that was sort of like a hotel. Clarke checked us in, and then we follow the guy, who introduces himself as Caden O' Sceallain. He had an Irish accent and pale skin, and red hair to match.

Caden led us up through a rustic-looking bar decked out with lots of wood paneling. As we walked through, I noticed a lovely outdoor area with tables and a fire pit along with some cornhole boards set up. When we make it to the back of the building, high-top bar tables are lining a bar area but to the left are lanes fenced in with chain-link fence and wood with targets at one in. I turn to Clarke and ask, "What is this place?"

Caden said, "Welcome to Timber Axe throwing. Have either one of you ever thrown axes before?"

Clarke answered, "No, but Lexa is really good at knife throwing. That's the reason I decided to bring her. I thought if she could throw a knife, she should be good at this also."

Caden smirked, "That's probably true, but there are a few differences. Don't worry though, I will give you a demonstration and help you out until you get the hang of it. So, Lexa, where did you learn to throw knives?"

"Afghanistan."

"Oh, and just how good are you? Can you throw from this distance and hit the target at the end of the lane here?"

I don't voice and answer. Instead, I pull a knife from the belt sheath in one fluid movement and let it fly. Hitting the bullseye in the dead center and then just look at him.

He looks at the knife and then me and starts to stutter, "H-How did you do that, and where did you have the knife. I-I didn't even see you draw it or aim."

Clarke says, "I told you she was good. Now, how about you explain the ax-throwing so we can get started."

Caden spends about fifteen minutes explaining how to properly throw the ax, and then he tells us if we have any questions to let him know. He went on to say that we had the lane for an hour, but it would be getting busy soon because they had a regular group that would be here shortly, and sometimes, they could get a little obnoxious.

After he walked away, I look at Clarke and say, "This is awesome! How did you find this place? I didn't even know that this sort of place existed. Thank you." I lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek. We throw for about fifteen minutes before I really get the hang of it, but then I was money in the bank. On the other hand, Clarke managed to at least get the ax to go into the wood. I could tell she was getting frustrated, so I said, "Why don't we take a quick break and grab a drink and maybe some fried pickles or cheese sticks."

She huffed, "Fine, I want fried pickles and water. No, make that a glass of wine."

I gave her a smirk, "Babe, you will get the hang of it. I just have years of practice with knives, so it comes easier to me. I'll be right back." So I go to the bar, place an order for the pickles, and then order two tequila shots, a glass of wine, and two bottled waters. The barkeep pours the drinks and then says he will bring the food over when it is ready.

I grab the drinks and head back to Clarke. I hand her a shot, and just before she drinks it, she gags, saying that the smell is making her sick. I look at her with concern and ask, "Are you okay? Do we need to go?"

She takes the bottle of water and drinks it before she says, "No, I'm fine. For some reason, the smell of the tequila doesn't agree with me today, but otherwise, I feel fine."

"Are you sure?"

She chuckles, "Yes, Cielo, now help me figure out what I'm doing wrong."

Soon, Clarke is getting the hang of it, actually hitting the target and scoring points. It's so cute how excited she gets when she has a good throw. She even does a little happy dance when she gets close to the bullseye. Finally, the pickles come out, and we sit down to enjoy them. She asks, "Are you having a good time?"

"Yes, this is amazing. I love trying new things, especially ones involving weapons. Honestly, I would enjoy anything as long as you were with me. Caden wasn't joking about this place getting busy, though."

As we finished up with our food, the door opened, and about twenty people walked in. They headed straight back to the lanes proceeding to spread out and warm up. When I turned around from throwing the trash out, I noticed that a couple of guys had moved into our lane and began throwing. I looked at my watch, and we still had about twenty minutes left on our reservation.

I walked over to the lane and said, "Excuse me, we still have this lane reserved for about twenty minutes. Do you mind moving to a different lane, maybe with some of your friends?"

The bigger guy turned and looked at me like I was crazy. He was about my height with large muscles, like a bodybuilder. He had auburn hair and grey eyes. He said, "I'm sorry, are you talking to us? We usually have the place to ourselves on Mondays."

Clarke speaks up. I guess she can tell that I am getting irritated. "I'm sorry, but we have this lane right now, but we will be finished shortly. Then you and your friends can have the whole place. However, we have twenty minutes left."

The guy says, "Oh, how cute. Are you girls trying to learn how to throw to impress your boyfriends? You realize men would prefer their women to just come to watch and cheer them on, not actually participate. You know the whole be seen, not heard thing."

This statement really pissed me off, and I instinctively balled up my fists. Once again, Clarke speaks first, "Actually, we are on our first date, and it would be nice if you would let us continue to have a good time, please."

He looks between Clarke and me, laughing. Then, he yelled at his group of friends and said, "Hey guys, these two are on a date and would like to be left alone."

A different guy says, "Well, invite them to leave. We don't want lesbians in our sanctuary. We come here to blow off steam and have a good time, everyone knows girls can't throw axes."

Caden walks up, "What's going on?"

The second guy says, "It's nothing, Caden. We were just explaining to the girls here that women should be seen and not heard. We were also clarifying that women should just come to cheer for their men, not actually participate. So now, why don't you two run along while we men do manly things."

At this point, I've heard enough and take a step towards the first guy. Clarke grabs my hand, squeezing it. I guess she is trying to tell me to calm down, but I am past that. "How about you guys let us finish our time, and then we will be on our way. We don't want any trouble. We're just trying to have a good time, that's all."

"That doesn't really work for us, does it, guys?" They all just laugh.

I take another step closer to the first guy, and Caden speaks up, "Come on guys, leave them alone. You have the rest of the lanes. Let them finish up."

"Nah, I think they are done for the day."

I'm pissed now, "Did your mother never tell you it isn't nice to pick on girls? I think that someone needs to teach you all a lesson in manners."

"Really, and are you going to be the one to try? I mean, there are fifteen of us and one of you unless you are counting your girlfriend."

"I'm not opposed to those odds if you feel like taking a beating."

They all laugh, and Clarke says, "Come on, Lexa, let's just go. They aren't worth you getting hurt and not being able to take the fight in Dubai."

The dude says, "Yeah, you should listen to her and just leave."

"I don't think so. Although Clarke does have a point about fighting. I don't want to ruin my chance at the fight in Dubai, so how about we make a little bet instead? I'll take on your best thrower. If I win, you'll apologize to my girlfriend for ruining our first date and let us finish. If your guy wins, I will buy you a bottle of whatever you want from the bar, and we will be on our way. How does that sound?"

The first guy says, "Sure, but how about we make it more interesting. Let's put some money on it also."

"Whatever, how much?"

He goes and talks it over with his group and then says, "We will bet you ten grand that you can't beat Jeff."

"You're on!"

Caden pulls me aside and says, "Jeff is a word champion ax thrower who competes all over the world."

"I really don't care who he is. He needs to be taught a lesson, and I am just the person to do it. I would rather kick his ass, but I have a UFC fight coming up in a couple of weeks and don't want to jeopardize that. Can you keep score since I have no idea how to?"

Caden says, "Um, sure." He moves to switch out the target with a regulation one and explains that hitting the green circles in the corners counts 7 points, the black center ring is 5 points, the red ring is 3, and the blue ring is 1 point.

I nod in understanding, "Okay, Jeff, would you like to go first?"

He replies, "Of course!"

He steps up and throws, hitting the center of the black ring. I shrug, throw hitting a green circle. The crowd gasps while Clarke chuckles. The match consists of three rounds. After seeing me hit the green, Jeff goes for it and hits it with his second throw. The game proceeds with me hitting the green with every throw and therefore winning the first round. The second round goes by in a tie, and so does the third, meaning that I won.

Clarke jumps into my arms, kissing me deeply, "Did you have any doubt that I would win?"

She giggles, "Well, this is your first time doing this but not really."

All of the guys are stunned, and Jeff is turning red. Finally, he walks over and extends his hand for me to shake. "Nice throwing. How long have you been throwing?"

"Actually, today is my first time."

"Seriously? You have got to be kidding me!"

"Nope, but if it makes you feel better, I have been throwing knives pretty much my whole life."

"No, not really. Hey, look, I'm sorry my friends are such assholes."

"It's really no problem. I'm kinda used to dealing with assholes. Usually, I would just kick your ass, but I have a UFC fight coming up, and I don't want to miss it because I have a hothead."

"Oh, have you fought in the UFC before? We usually watch the fights together."

"Actually, I had my first fight a couple weeks ago in LA against Jewel 'the KO Queen' Budd."

"No way! You're Stryker?"

"The one and only. By the way, this is Clarke, my girlfriend."

Jeff yells over to the guy that started this crap and says, "Dan get over here and apologize to Clarke and pay up. You are an idiot! Do you know who you were trying to pick a fight with?"

Dan says, "No, and I don't care. They shouldn't be here during our time."

Jeff says, "Do you remember watching the UFC fights the other week?"

"Yeah, so."

"So, this is Stryker. The one who beat Jewel." He says.

Dan says, "Holy crap, you're right." He looks at me and says, "Dude, I'm so sorry about before. I should…"

I interrupt him, "You should learn some manners, is what you should do. I'll let it go this time, but it better not happen again. Now, if you would just apologize to my girl and pay up, we will be on our way."

Dan looks from me to Clarke, "I'm really sorry that I messed up your first date. Please forgive me, and I will try to do better. In fact, let me pay for your lane time as an apology."

Clarke smiles, "I'll forgive you this time."

Jeff comes over with the money, "I know this is asking a lot after everything, but can we get a few pictures with you, Stryker?"

Clarke and I laugh before I say, "Sure."

As I'm taking the pictures with the guys, Clarke's phone rings, and after a brief conversation, she hangs up, making a face. I walk over and ask, "Is everything okay?"

She replies, "Not really. That was mom. She wants us to meet her and my brother's family for dinner tonight before they fly out tomorrow."

"I'm okay with it if you are."

"I'm really not. I had the whole day planned for our date, including a romantic dinner tonight. Well, this part was interrupted by assholes. Now dinner is being highjacked by my asshole of a brother." Suddenly, she just starts crying.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm having a great time, even with the assholes. If you don't want to go to dinner, then we won't. I will do whatever you want to do. Please don't cry."

I open my arms, and she steps into them. She snuggles into my chest and sniffles. "I'm sorry! I don't know what is wrong with me. I just wanted everything to be perfect for our first date, but it seems like everything is going wrong. So as much as I don't want to go to dinner with them tonight, I feel like I should."

"Ya Amar, I love you, and it doesn't matter what we do as long as we are together. So if you want to go to dinner that is fine, if you don't that is fine too. I just want to spend time with you. I don't care what we are doing."

She pulls away from the hug and looks at me, "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, sweetie. I don't mind a bit. I'd like to know what the deal with your brother is, though."

"I will tell you the story later. We still have time for the next part of the date if you want to continue the disaster that is our first date."

"I would love to continue. I'm having a great time, and I made ten thousand dollars. What's next?"

"I know it is cheesy, but I thought we could go see a movie."

"It's not cheesy to me. I've always wanted to go to the movies, especially with a hot date."

"Wait, are you saying you have never been to the movies before?"

"Um…there aren't many theaters in the desert. So, no, I have never been to a movie theater. I mean, Allie took me to the dinner theater but…no."