Author's Note:
I couldn't resist posting this chapter! It just couldn't wait till Saturday.
No actual smut in this chapter, but heck of a lot of innuendos and dirty thoughts. ;) The chapter is a lot longer too.
All of the exercising jargon comes curtsy of my boyfriend who was a boxer and powerlifter. He also happens to be a giant Dragon Ball fan.
Hope you enjoy
Chapter Three: Teacher and Student
Bulma woke to the blaring of her alarm. Groaning, she rolled over and smashed her fist against the alarm clock and noticed it was only 6:30 in the morning. "Ugh, why did I even sign up for this?" she asked herself. But she knew the answer. Now that she was gaining more responsibility in her father's company, Capsule Corp., she was beginning to receive more threats as well. Perks of being famous, she guessed. Yeah, she had a security team and was assigned a personal bodyguard, but she wanted to maintain her freedom as much as possible. So she decided she needed to be able to protect herself and not have to rely on anyone else to save her. Just look at Chi Chi, a fifth degree black belt in American Kenpo, and 18, who practices Mixed Martial Arts with emphasis in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She wanted to become just as strong and capable - on a physical level anyways. So when she saw the flier in the quad for a kickboxing instructor seeking a prospective student, she grabbed the flier and immediately emailed her new trainer to set up a start date and time. Apparently the instructor was a Kinesiology student and this was suppose to be the guy's practicum.
But right now, as she reluctantly crawled out from underneath her covers, Bulma was starting to regret her decision in accepting the early morning regimen. Maybe the trainer will be hot and available…, she thought. That seemed to get her out of her bed. She couldn't turn down the chance of potential eye candy, so she walked to the bathroom with a slight pep in her step.
When she returned to her bedroom, her hair had been blowdried and pulled up into a high ponytail, with a towel wrapped around her slight frame. She walked into her closet to look through her the workout sets - that she hardly wore for actually working out. She decided on a pink and black Adidas sports bra with matching capris leggings and paired it all with all black sneakers. She packed some everyday clothes and some toiletries into a gym bag, grabbed a water bottle, then headed out the door to the underground garage.
Keys in her hand, she pressed the button to unlock her metallic light blue 20XX Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. Throwing her bag in the passenger seat, she turned the keys in the ignition and rolled down the convertible top. She pulled out of the parking garage and headed out toward the university's Kinesiology building slash gymnasium.
Vegeta was already annoyed. His new kickboxing student was late. Albeit, by seven minutes, but still, his time was precious. Who is late on their first day?! he thought. Just as Vegeta managed to calm his annoyance over his missing student, the one person who he didn't want to see at the moment walked into the gym. Please, God, no, Vegeta pleaded to himself.
Bulma entered the gym looking around for the free-weights section where her trainer said he'd be waiting near. She walked around the room as she searched, taking in the big sparring ring in the near left corner and the many punching bags lining the other side of the room. She'd never been in this particular gym on campus, so she was intrigued by all the equipment, or lack thereof since there weren't many machines. Her eyes stopped scanning as they landed on the one person she never expected to see standing over by the free-weights. Vegeta? No way in hell! His being here is just a coincidence, she tried to reason with herself.
She froze in place a few feet away from where he stood, completely at a loss as to what to do next. She hadn't expected to see him so soon after their encounter last night. She took in his appearance. He was in spandex shorts and a grey cutoff Stanford t-shirt - if you could even call it a shirt, she could clearly see his chiseled stomach and pecs with how cut up it was. She watched his muscular thighs ripple through their spandex coverings before she realized her was walking toward her.
Vegeta, as annoyed as he was, closed the distance between them and stood in front of her with his arms across his chest. He took in her outfit and was glad his anger clouded any sexual desires that may have been caused by her lack of clothing.
"I'm guessing you're my new kickboxing student?" Vegeta grumpily asked. He didn't wait for her response, he already knew. Of course she fucking was. "You're late."
Bulma recovered quickly at the sound of his voice. "What, by like five minutes! Sor-ry for never really having been inside this building before and for getting lost! And here I thought I would get a trainer that would be understanding of that fact. But no. I get you," she seethed.
"Woman, you think I was wanting an irritating wench like you for a student? As quickly as you responded to that flier, I would have thought you'd actually arrive early. But no," he mocked, "I get the self-absorbed rich bitch that's been a pain in my ass for the last two years."
Bulma's face was red with fury. "You pompous ass! How dare you speak that way to me! I haven't even done anything to you. God forbid I make one little mistake! I take one wrong turn in this building and end up a few minutes late. No one's perfect. We all make mistakes. Even a giant ape like you!" She was furious. He had no right to be such an ass all the time.
"You were seven minutes late."
"Ugh!" She grunted loudly. "Whatever! I don't need this training that badly, especially from the likes of you. Have fun failing your class on your own." She turned on her heal to walk away but he grabbed her by the forearm. She was surprised by how gentle he was. And they both ignored the little electric feeling they got from being touched by the other.
"Wait," Vegeta gruffly whispered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's just get to work."
Bulma balked. She was surprised to see him calm so suddenly. And even more surprised that he actually wanted to continue. She looked up at his face. He was staring at her. They locked eyes and stood there staring at each other for who-knows-how-long before he finally let go of her arm and turned around, walking toward the far wall.
"Hey," Bulma called. He stopped walking but didn't turn around. "You're actually willing to teach me?"
He let out a huff before he turned around and made his way back to her. He had started to notice all the other guys in the gym looking their way and wanted to end their stupid little yelling match before those asshats got anymore ideas about him and the blue-nette. "Like it or not, I need someone to train and you're that someone. I need to pass this practicum. So either you can shut up and follow me so we can get started or I need to start looking for someone else to train right this second, which will just cause me unneeded stress and I'll be even more of an ass to you."
Bulma has never been this dumbstruck in her entire life. Vegeta was actually being somewhat vulnerable right now.
"Well I never thought I'd see the day," Bulma said with a smirk. "Mean ol' 'Geta needs me!"
"Are you coming or not," he growled, clenching his fists at his sides.
"Fine," she said, cheerfully making her way in the direction he was headed earlier. "But you got to promise you won't damage the goods," she said with a sway of her hips, looking over her shoulder at him. He rolled his eyes and stomped ahead of her over to the scales lining the left wall. This is gonna be a long semester, he angrily thought.
Bulma smiled at his reaction. But that smile fell when she realized what he was walking toward. "Wait, are you going to weigh me?!" Her voice broke in embarrassment. That's all I need, is this jackass knowing my weight and teasing me for it, thinking of when he called her a fat ass last night. Bulma was by no means ashamed of her body. She loved her curves and the way men stopped and stared. She was a ten. But compared to people like 18 - who had a freakin' six pack - she was pudgy. And to be weighed by the one guy she truly despised was cringe inducing.
"Stop being so dramatic, woman. I need to know your starting point so I can better assess the areas to focus on before you can get anywhere near actual boxing techniques. It's also a way for me to track your progress."
Bulma was surprised by how clinically and nicely - well, as nice as Vegeta could possibly get - he explained it all to her. It was weird to hear him speak to her in such a way. She doesn't think they've ever had an actual conversation that didn't involve them yelling at each other at some point. She stared at Vegeta's back as he set up the scale. He really is a handsome guy. If you can look past that permanent scowl on his face and sour attitude, she mused. Setting her bag down, she walked toward the scale. Vegeta motioned for her to step forward. He was trying very hard to ignore how close they were. He had to move even closer to adjust the scale, thus putting her breasts at his eye level. He swallowed and tried not to stare. Focus, man! He promised himself he wouldn't get distracted by this woman's tempting figure. He continued adjusting the scale as he caught a glimpse of her face in his peripheral vision. He noticed her cheeks were flushed. At least I'm not the only uncomfortable one, he thought.
"Okay, 135 pounds," Vegeta said, writing it on the whiteboard that was set up above the scale.
Bulma was appalled. "Why are you writing it on the board for everyone to see?!"
"God, stop screeching, woman!" Vegeta barked out. "It's not that big a deal. A woman at your age weighs, on average, roughly 170 pounds, so I don't know what you're freaking out for." He walked away from her and she huffed, but stepped down off the scale, trying to ignore the number staring her in the face. When he returned he had some sort of device in his hands. "Here, hold on to this, keeping your arms out in front of you."
"What is this?" Bulma inquired.
"It measures how much body fat you have."
"Why do you need to know that?! I thought I was suppose to be learning how to kick a guy in the face or something. Not have you tell me I'm fat." Bulma was tired of all this weighing and measuring. It was starting to make her feel inferior.
He stared her in the face with his dark, menacing eyes. He took a step toward her. "If you screech like that one more time I am going to duct tape your mouth shut next session," Vegeta threatened. Bulma's eyes went wide, because she knew he meant every single word he just said. Good, that shut her up, he smirked. "Now hold the device like this," he instructed, handing it over to her. "Like I said before, this will help me track your progress. And it gives me an idea of where to start your training. There's no way you'd be able to 'kick a man in the face or something' if you can't even move your body smoothly and accurately." He noticed her blush at his words. Bulma's mind was reeling, thinking of Vegeta teaching her how to move smoothly - in a way that he was definitely not referring to.
Vegeta couldn't let this opportunity go, especially with what she pulled last night. He walked up behind her, covering her hands with his and held the device out in front of her. "Hold it out like this," Vegeta whispered in her ear, his gruff voice sounding lower and even gruffer than usual. She could feel his breath on her ear and couldn't suppress the shiver that ran down her spine then settle into her belly. He smirked to himself as he felt her shiver. "Cold?" he asked, stepping away from her. He had to step away from her before his plan at teasing backfired and he took her right there on the mat. Wait, what?! He wasn't a teenager. It's not like he's never been with a woman. So where'd that thought come from? He shouldn't be ready to bed this woman just by touching her. Get it together, Vegeta! he berated himself. He didn't let his inner turmoil show on his face though, still determined to get under the woman's skin.
Bulma stood there staring at Vegeta, her mind floating through images of her and Vegeta rolling around between sheets, having him push her up against the shower wall, even "sparring" in the ring behind her. But then she saw the smirk on Vegeta's face. She puffed up her cheeks, her face growing even more red. "You ass!" she grumble-shouted, throwing the device at his head. Vegeta easily caught, much to Bulma's disappointment.
Vegeta stepped toward Bulma until they were so close their chests were almost touching. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, "what did I say would happen the next time you screeched at me?" Bulma gasped. He loved seeing her all frazzled. Stepping back, he said, "what, did I discover a hidden kink of yours, woman?"
Bulma immediately clenched her mouth shut at his words. Something clicked inside her seeing the smirk on his face grow. Oh, I see what he's playing at, Bulma thought, finally figuring out Vegeta's motives. It is sooo on.
Vegeta's smirk fell once he saw the too-sweet smile spread across the woman's face. She stepped toward him, placing her hand on his exposed pec and fluttering her eyes up at him. His frown deepened. What is she up to? he thought.
"Wouldn't you like to know…" she said huskily, dragging her hand down his stomach and toward his shorts. Vegeta tried to keep a certain appendage from twitching as her hand got closer to the waistband of his shorts. He could feel her fingers brush against the elastic before he felt them leave his skin altogether. She reached down and grabbed the device that he was still holding in his hand, stepping back. "Now how do you read this thing?" she asked, as if nothing had just transpired between them. Ha! That'll teach him.
Vegeta stood there completely confused. He let out the breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. He looked at Bulma, who was just standing there with a quizzical look on her face, but he could see the mischievous sparkle in those bright blue eyes of hers. Looking over her shoulder, he could clearly see that the other guys in the gym had gathered and were snickering over the two of them. Not wanting to give them anymore ammo, he took two steps away from the woman and went on to explain how to read the device in her hands.
"You're skinny fat," Vegeta said as he wrote down Bulma's numbers on the whiteboard with her weight.
"Excuse me!"
Vegeta held back a groan at her irritating voice. "Calm down, woman. It's just what we call people who appear skinny or "healthy" but actually have quite a bit of body fat. The clinical term is normal weight obesity."
"Oh…" Bulma mumbled, surprised by Vegeta's clinical knowledge.
"Believe it or not, woman, I am actually a good trainer and know what I'm talking about," he said with a sneer.
"Sorry if I thought that the reclusive asshole that lives next door was good at anything else other than being an asshole."
"By that logic I'd have to think that you're only good at spending your daddy's money and not having to work for anything in your life, but we both know that that's not true."
Bulma looked up at him with a small smile, "was that a compliment?"
"Tsch, like I'd ever give you a compliment, unintended or otherwise," Vegeta said, walking away from her toward the mirrored wall that overlooked the entire back wall of the gym.
Bulma's eyebrows furrowed as she followed him over to the practice mats and free-weights. "Why is it so hard for you to be even a little bit less asshole-y?"
"I don't think geniuses, are suppose to use words like asshole-y." He reached down to pick up the 2 pound weights. "Besides," he continued, dropping the weights in Bulma's hands, "some people love my asshole tendencies." He gave a knowing look.
"Oh yeah, I bet all the ladies just flock to you and are dying to get into bed with you. I must have just missed all the women coming and going from your apartment over the last two years. I'm sure it's been a revolving door." Bulma mocked.
Vegeta's faced hardened. "Shut up and let's get started on your first exercise." He stepped away to grabbed the ten pound weights for himself. "Now you're going to start with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms down at your sides, palms inward." Bulma did as he instructed. "Now, bring the weights up to chest level, then bring your arms over your head while twisting your wrists so your palms are facing outwards and back again. Yeah, like that. Bring them back down to chest level while twisting again, then back to you sides." Bulma continued to follow his movements. "Good. I'm surprised that you can actually follow direction, woman."
"I'm surprised you can actually give direction without being rude," she retorted.
"I'm good at what I do," he replied, letting the hidden meaning linger in the air. "Now I'm going to show you another exercise and then you'll do some reps."
"Okay." Bulma was too focused on getting the steps correct to pay attention to Vegeta's innuendo.
"For this one," he went on, "you're still going to have your feet shoulder with apart. You're going to bring your arms up to chest level, then raise them above your head, bending your forearms to bring the weights behind your back. Bring them back up above your head, then lower back to your chest and then to your sides again. Good, you've got the hang of it."
"I'm a quick study," Bulma replied with a wink.
"Do ten reps of the first exercise then immediately followed by ten reps of the second exercise, doing 3 sets of each. Got it?" he asked, setting down his weights.
"Yup! Got it." Bulma began the first exercise before she realized Vegeta was just standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. Watching her. "Are you just going to stand there and watch me?"
"I have to make sure your form is good."
"Oh," Bulma mumbled, forcing her eyes to look anywhere other than Vegeta's intense gaze.
Vegeta stood there watching as the woman moved. Every time she lifted her arms her breasts became accentuated. He tried not to stare, but it was incredibly difficult. He noticed that she was doing her very best not to look at him, so he decided that it wouldn't be so terrible if he checked her out. Just for a second… Her breasts were pushed together tightly in that pink sports bra she was wearing and would make any man stop and stare. The tight yoga pants she wore defined her thick thighs and round ass perfectly and he thought about how it felt pressed against his front earlier. Her tiny hands gripped the dumbbells and made him think about what else they could firmly grip.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bulma noticed that Vegeta was staring at her - in a way that suggested it wasn't at her form. His eyes were somewhat glazed over as he stared at her. She slowing turned her head to look at him. His stance was stoic and stiff. He still had his arms across his chest, although she could see a sliver of his pecs. His ripped shirt left his shoulders and arms bare, letting Bulma get a good view of his veiny forearms. Still continuing her reps, her eyes traveled down to his stomach and landed on his rock hard abs. She remembered how they felt under her fingers earlier. Her eyes still making their way downward, she took in his insanely muscular thighs encased in those damn spandex shorts he wore and thoughts of what they could be hiding came to Bulma's mind.
The sound of someone dropping a dumbbell back into its cradle snapped them back to reality. Bulma dropped her arms to her sides gripping the dumbbells tight.
"Okay, that's enough," Vegeta said, taking the weights from Bulma's grasp. They both were avoiding eye contact. Shaking his head clear of all the dirty images he conjured of the woman, he said, "let's move on to some leg workouts. These are called walking lunges. Have you heard of them before?"
"I think so," Bulma said softly. Her mind was still reeling a little from what just happened.
"Hold a dumbbell in each hand, step forward a few feet with one leg, then lower your body into a lunge position until your knee is almost touching the floor. Without pausing, push off from your foot taking a step forward into another lunge position and just keep alternating like that, keeping the weights down at your sides," he demonstrated. Bulma had to try her hardest not to get distracted by his ass. He turned and handed her back the weights. Their fingers touched briefly and they both felt that little electricity they felt before when he had grabbed her earlier. Bulma looked up into his eyes, but he ignored her and just stepped back so she could get into position, what happened between them pushed out of their minds.
After crossing the distance of the gym several times, Vegeta said that was enough lunges for the day. "Man, I didn't think all of that was gonna make me so sore," Bulma groaned, handing over the weights to Vegeta.
"That's what you get for being weak and pathetic," he said, placing the dumbbells back onto their rack.
"Hey! You were doing so well at not being an ass before," she bellowed, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Don't mistake me being a good trainer as kindness geared toward you," he snapped back. "We are done for the day."
"Wow. We actually made it through the day with minimal arguing. I call that a success!" Bulma said with a smile as she went to go pick up her gym bag. "Hey, thanks for still agreeing to train me even after I tried to throw something at your head, by the way," she said seriously, looking Vegeta in the face.
"Whatever. I only agreed because you're needed for me to pass this practicum."
"Gosh, you really don't know how to not be rude do you?"
Vegeta didn't respond and just picked up his own belongings, making his way for the door. "I have somewhere to be. See you next Saturday. And try not to be late next time," he called over his shoulder.
Bulma stood there for a second watching the gym door swing shut behind him. She just rolled her eyes at his antics before making her way out of the gym herself.
Author's Note:
I'm hoping to keep chapters at around this length. Let me know if it was too long or if you felt that it just droned on.
Edited 04/11/19: minor grammatical changes
Edited 12/27/20: spelling corrections and minor sentence structure changes
Also just realized something and wanted to make a clarification. I've noticed the email situation doesn't make much sense. The reason Bulma didn't know who would be training her (and also Vegeta not knowing who he'd be training) is because all information went through the Kinesiology department and was passed on between the two. Vegeta received a short email explaining, in very few detail, about his new student and Bulma just received a message containing start date, time, and location. Hope that solves any continuity issues!
