Mako's Message: The length of these chapters really frustrate me. I mean, what does it take, two minutes to read these things? I guess the thing that bug's me so much is I get these ideas for a chapter, and then I get to the end point, look back and go, "Is that really all I wrote?" but you all seem to be enjoying them all the same, and I guess the short length makes them easier to fit into busy schedules, if you have them.
That said I'm annoyed at how close I came to not getting this up within a week. (It's still the same week, right…?) But then I did write that bonus chapter, and have been working on various play-by-post role-plays, and don't even get me started on work and the kids.
But yeah. I'm hoping for two a week at least. At these lengths it shouldn't be too hard and with all the ground we have to cover I'm gonna need to work fast anyway.
That said, I'm announcing the second bonus chapter. It will be released after I hit Ch.40 to everyone who reviews ten or more of the next 20 chapters. Reviews of chapters before this one will not count.
Marcus does his best to look out for me, he really does, and I love him for it. Sometimes he takes it too far though. When he saw me getting ready, crutches and all, he asked me, "Where do you think you're going?"
You know the way, where the emphasis is on the word "think."
I told him that we both knew where I was going; out with Dave.
And that's when we started arguing about what I was and wasn't doing. For some reason he seemed to think I wasn't capable of taking care of myself. Yeah, my leg might give out on me, but I'm still capable of defending myself even if that happens, especially with the crutches. And just for a second, let's pretend that I wasn't. I was still going out with DAVE for fucks sakes. I think he's proven that he's not going to let me get hurt.
Looking back on it though, from a third parties perspective, it was pretty funny. You see, Dave was standing at the door and neither of us noticed, despite the fact that we kept opening and shutting it. Dave told me the door was slammed in his face five times before we noticed him.
Marcus apologized when we finally saw him standing there. Dave didn't seem bothered by it, he probably though it was funny. I was just mad that Marcus had kept slamming the fucking door on him.
What blew me away was that Dave said we wouldn't go out if he wasn't okay. I couldn't believe he'd turn traitor on me like. But I was wrong. You see, as soon as Dave said that, Marcus stopped being so resistant to the idea. He started asking where we were going to go(Dave lied), what we were going to do(he lied again), and when we'd be back(told the truth on that one. After that he let us go.
Dave said you just had to know how to handle parents.
It occurred to me then that I really hadn't had those kinds of problems before. It was just me and Daddy and we sure as hell didn't have any fights about going out, because if I went out he went with me.
When we stopped for food, I told him to get a few extra chicken nuggets. It wasn't the best, but if we were going to start putting more muscle on him he'd need to increase his protein intake and it was a start.
So, after we ate and cleaned some of the guns( Dave is almost as fast as I am now. He's really a quick learner) we started training.
I was surprised when he took off his shirt (he said he didn't want to get it all sweaty), but I didn't really mind.
Have I mentioned he has nice abs? He does. More of a four-pack than a six-pack but the man does look good with his shirt off. If he ditched the glasses he could probably model at this point. Hell, with the way he lies he could be a teen heartthrob actor or some shit.
Anyway, after prodding him in the stomach and arms a few times for examination purposes, I declared that he was in shape, but if he wanted to be a real fighter he'd need to be in better shape.
He asked how much better shape and I answered by showing him my abs.
His eyes practically popped out of his head.
He stepped over and put his hand on my stomach and said, "Jesus Christ Mindy, you're made of iron!"
Having his hand on me like that was kinda weird. I don't know how to describe it. I keep coming back to "it tickled" but that's not what it was at all.
He suddenly yanked his hand back and apologized.
I told him it was okay and that "If you think I'm made of iron now, you should have felt me back when we first met."
He gave me such a weird look when I said that.
Anyway, after that I started telling him about how if we made him stronger and faster, his current fighting ability would be good enough for any punk he went up against, and that "faster and stronger" would help him more against a better fighter than better moves would at his current strength and speed, so we'd be working on conditioning.
I showed him a few exercises that would limber him up, strengthen him, and improve his balance all at once. I spent most of the night watching him, yelling at him to go deeper and faster, and poking him with my crutches when he fell out of form. All and all it was pretty fun. The only thing we were missing was some 80's montage music.
I would have liked to work beside him, but a lot of the exercises put a lot of strain on the legs and I didn't feel like falling over every five minutes. I told him that as soon as my leg stopped being a traitorous bitch I'd be working and sparing with him again.
It feels really good to be training with someone again. I can't wait until I can ditch these fucking crutches.
