Chapter 11

Damian was listening to some Slayer while lazily working out his arms with a light dumbbell. His physical therapist had told him to take it easy with his arms and legs work out. It had been three weeks since his body fell through that table and he didn't feel the pain anymore. His nerve was responding normally, and he could perform a few push ups and squats. The following day would be the test day when the doctor would finally allow him to get back on serious training and be reunited with his friends on the roads. They texted him every day to get some news and keep him updated about work.

He moved his gaze to the shelf above the fireplace. There stood a picture of Frederica, his lost love. The photo had been taken just after she had been diagnosed with a general cancer. She wanted a good picture to be taken before she loses her hair and start looking sick. She was smiling at the camera, her light brown hair cut short in a bob, a sparkle of happiness lighting her hazelnut eyes, her green dress swirling with the wind. She was always smiling at him, whatever he could do or tell, always having the sweetest attentions towards him. He had fell in love with her for that smile and these sweet behaviours, she was always supporting him and his career, being the best girlfriend he could dream of, kind of reminding him of the traditional wives of the sixties. That's what lost him. He thought she was his and that he didn't have any effort to do to keep her and she started to feel depressed, then she got sick. He could have chosen her instead of his career, but he had worked too hard to be in the main roster to stop now. She kept supporting him despite her cancer, being weaker and weaker each day because of her chemotherapy. Everything he could do was send her flowers and sweet messages. Months passing by, her desire disappeared and he felt more and more needy, leading him to have a one night stand with a random girl after a show. He regretted immediately and decided to tell her. She wasn't mad, she kept smiling, saying that she understood. After that he was less present for her, too ashamed to look at her in the eyes, then he received the phone call from the hospital. Since that day he had learnt his lesson, refusing every relationship, every feeling he could have for another woman; until a long black wild mane entered in his life.

Whatever he did, he couldn't keep the dressmaker out of his mind, she had awakened his desire first, then his need to protect her from everything. he has seen her being the weakest thing in the world. He kept finding her more and more intriguing when he saw how strong willed she was, how she did her best to stand for herself, having Finn coaching her and JD being her punching ball. She had a mental strength he never suspected, stronger than his. From this moment he saw her fighting, he didn't know if he wanted to protect her of just be by her side. Since the party they had at her apartment, he only thought about sweet sex when he was touching himself while thinking about her. Maybe he was finally starting to move on, not needing to suffer anymore. "Do I even have the right to move on?" Sighing in resignation, he put on his leather jacket and headed to the cemetery. Each time he was back in Florida he went to pay a visit to Frederica's tomb to tell her he was sorry. One day, he met her mother in the cemetery, she told him Frederica knew she was going to die, so she was happy he won't be alone when she would be gone; since then, he chose to suffer to equal her pains.

"Nobody in front of her tomb." He gently kneeled and put a new pot of fresh flowers on her grave.

- "I'm so sorry Frederica… would you forgive me one day? Because I can't." He whispered, clenching his fist around the leather clover that never left him.

Mina was sitting behind her sewing machine, creating a new outfit for Damian. According to the text he sent her, he should be back soon, so she decided to make him a new attire. It would be his welcome back surprise. She missed her gargoyle a lot. Even if Rhea, Finn, Dom and JD were here to keep her company and to bring her everywhere with them, it was not the same; especially when Rhea decided to drive. She assembled the two pieces of wet look fabric who would form the Puerto Rican man's top, this fabric was flexible, durable and light but looking like wet cotton, which would be particularly sexy on his muscled torso. She shook her head, what was she thinking about?

Since the Judgment Day rescued her, she had been working hard on herself to heal from her past, doing her best to never appear weak in front of her friends, just as she always did before, when she was hiding her bruises. The first weeks of her freedom were just pretending she was alright when she was completely lost and feeling bad for being so dependent of her friends. As time passed, she didn't need to pretend anymore, she was feeling good, strong and able to fight for herself. There were no bruises on her skin anymore and her scars had healed, letting just white lines on her body. The only thing that could scare her now was love. This wound didn't want to heal, that's the reason why she kept turning down every man who asked her out and she had to admit it felt good. The best point was when Gunther came to her workshop, dragging Ludwig by one ear, asking him to apologize to her. The Ring General had told her he was sorry for his colleague's behaviour and then forced Ludwing to ask for forgiveness. She felt powerful at that moment. For Gunther and Ludwig, she had always been a strong woman. Would she ever find a man she would trust enough to fall in love and allow herself to appear weak when she needed to?

- "Hey Sweety!" Said JD while entering the workshop.

- "Hey JD! What can I do for you?" She answered, brushing away her thoughts.

- "I was wondering if you would accept to spend the afternoon with me tomorrow" He asked bluntly. "Not a date if you don't want to."

- "If it's not a date, I will be glad to hang out with you!" She replied with a soft smile. It was time to try to be social and to move on.

- "Then it's settled! Let's meet after the gym! Bring a swimsuit!" He said with a wink before leaving the workshop without letting her the time to reply.

She went back at her sewing, singing along as Sabaton's Night Witches was playing on her radio.

Mina was walking towards the gym her friends were training in. She had her swimsuit in her backpack with some stuff she might need in a swimming pool. The weather was not that cold, spring would be here soon, so she had traded her long winter coat for a lighter leather coat, keeping a beanie and a scarf in her bag just in case. She quickly spotted JD coming out from the building.

- "Hello there!" He said. "I have a surprise for you."

- "Where are we going?" She asked.

- "Come with me." He winked.

He guided her to his car and gallantly opened the passenger's door for her. He then told her to close her eyes for the drive. She felt anxious at the idea of not knowing where they were going. Of course she trusted JD, but she was scared of the unknown. Five minutes later she felt the car stopping and heard JD shutting down the engine. Her eyes still closed she let JD guide her for a minute.

- "You can open your eyes." He said with excitement in his voice.

- "Thermal station?" She asked in surprise, looking at the building they were facing.

- "Yup, you like water, don't you?" He said.

They entered the building and headed to the changing rooms. She got undressed and put on her black bikini. She was not ashamed of her body anymore so she decided to buy a bikini that would allow her to show her new tattoo: a spool of thread drawn on her ribs, with a long thread starting to roll up around her belly and ribcage. She didn't know where to end it yet. She managed to tie her long hair into a messy bun and to tie her towel around her body. She headed to the pools to meet JD, his towel in hands, proudly wearing green and black swim shorts. He stared at her, whistling quietly.

- "My, my… our Sweetie is going to awake some jealousy."

She chuckled softly and entered the warm water, letting out a moan of happiness. She headed to the massage water jets, pressing her back against the pressured water, followed by an amused JD. They spend three hours in the warm water, jacuzzi, and sauna. The Irish man discretely observed Mina. Her new tattoo suited her perfectly, both soft and sensual, underlining her voluptuous chest. He also noticed she had taken a little weight and muscles, abs starting to show on her once slender belly, her arms and shoulders had developed from her fighting lessons as well as her legs now strong enough to give powerful kicks, harmonizing with the curves of her hips. He had always found her pretty, but now that he was seeing her wearing a bikini and sweating in a sauna, he couldn't help but find her extremely attractive. He had said the first time he had met her that he wanted her, he was forced to admit it was still the case. When he headed out of the sauna, suffocating with the heat, she admired how well built he was; his six-pack making the women's head turn and his developed biceps making his shoulders looking even more shorter. He truly was a handsome man with a strong body and a sweet face. They enjoyed their relaxation time together before leaving the thermal station.

JD then brought her to a nice cosy diner place, nothing to fancy as it was not a date. They both placed their order and waited for the waiter to come back with the food.

- "So, Sweetie, are you enjoying your new life?" He asked.

- "I'm loving it! I never thought I would be able to live such an exciting life with everything that happened to me in my life. You know, I left the family farm when I was eighteen to start a professional sewing cursus, starting then I worked my best to be able to make a living with my passion. My parents passed away in a car accident when I was twenty-six, that's when the problems started for me. You know the end of the story." She explained sadly. "But now, I feel like nothing can stop me from being whatever I want and that's thanks to you guys!"

JD smiled and poured her a glass of water when the food arrived. She sure had a complicated life. He, on the other hand, had it pretty easy since his friend Finn helped him a lot to be a part of the business. He felt more and more intrigued by this short but strong lady. At the beginning it was just physical, but now he was really curious about her, about her way of thinking and about the hidden strength that stood inside her. She was definitely in his target zone, and he was decided to try to have her. He would decide later if she was girlfriend material or not.

They spoke about their lives and passions while eating. Mina's phone buzzed a couple times but she didn't look at it, saying she will when she will be back to her hotel room. They finished their diner smoothly, before heading back to JD's car.

- "Should I take you back to your room?" He asked gallantly.

- "No, thank you JD, I think I'm going for a walk before going to bed, I need to think."

- "Would you be up for a real date someday?" He tried.

- "That's what I need to think about. See you later JD!" She bluntly answered before kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you for today, it was great!"

She then headed out of the parking lot to wander aimlessly, her headphones playing some Iron Maiden tracks. She walked passed shops, parks, turning here and there while thinking about her feelings. A date? Maybe she should try, was she ready? She was not sure. Would she spend the rest of her life alone out of fear to be hurt by a man again? Certainly not. She never had been good with men, never had a high school boyfriend, being the weird girl nobody wanted to hang with because of her tastes in clothes or music or even because she was not the social type. When the other students were partying, she was in her parent's farm, reading or sewing. When she left the farm to start actively studying sewing, some guys would have asked her out, most of these relationships only lasted a few months, as she discovered that for most of them, she was more a weird kink they had. Was it the same with JD? No way to be sure of it. Was he even her type? Maybe. Her phone buzzed one more time, reminding her of the missed calls and messages she had. They were all from Damian, announcing her he could get back to training. Despite preferring text messages, she called him to congratulate him. One tone, two tones, his deep voice finally answered.

- "Hey Princess, not busy anymore?" He asked.

- "Sorry for not responding, I was with JD. How are you doing? Coming back soon?"

- "Oh… Um…The doc told me that I can come back, I'll join you in a couple days." He answered with a neutral tone, contrasting with the cheerful one he had when he answered her call.

- "Congratulations! So happy for you! I missed you so much!" She said with excitement.

- "You were hanging out with JD?"

- "Yeah, just having some fun together" She answered, feeling suddenly awkward.

- "Alright… so … I'll leet you go to sleep, see you soon." He said before ending the conversation.

Damian put his phone back on his nightstand and laid down abruptly on his bed. "So JD finally asked her out" He was disappointed, not because of the date, but because it was JD, from every man she could have chosen, why did it have to be the only one who surely would make her suffer? He knew JD was not the romantic type and Finn's words echoed in his head: "You should clear your mind about her before somebody else finds a way through her heart." Damn he was right. Actually, he always had thought that Finn would be the one to ask her out first. It was obvious that he liked her.