Page 58 of Seizing Mack
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~ Mack ~
Afew days in the mountainshad done wonders, giving her a chance to process and reflect and focus. She’d stayed an extra day and night once Jay had texted her, assuring her that he would take care of everything until she made it back, telling her to take as much time as she needed. Jay always had her back.
She returned stronger than when she’d left. Any self-pity she’d allowed herself was over and done, left behind at a higher elevation where it could burn off with the morning sun. Now she was just pissed.Reallypissed.
Angry with Delilah. Angry with Kent. Most of all, angry with herself for giving a shit what other people thought of her and trying to live up to a misogynistic society’s idea of what a womanshouldbe.
Fuck that. And if people didn’t like her for who and what she was, then fuckthem.
Mack made it back into town around midday. After making a quick stop at the house for a shower and change of clothing, she’d gone right toSeize. Thankfully, everything was running smoothly. Her Sunday crew had things well under control. If anyone knew about her Friday night humiliation (and undoubtedly, they did, because Covendale was not a big town), they were smart enough not to say anything to her face.
Satisfied that all was well, she started the second phase of readjusting her attitude. With her iPod turned to the max and her Beats earbuds shoved solidly into her ears, Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” was loud enough to make her brain vibrate. Mack ran full tilt up the graded virtual trail on the treadmill until her heart pounded and sweat dripped from her brow.
Feeling somewhat better, Mack headed down to one of the MMA training rooms and plugged her iPod into the sound system, once again selecting the playlist aptly titled “Kick Ass”. Limp Byzkit’s “Break Stuff” screamed thru the speakers placed around the room for maximum effect as she bounced on her toes and delivered a dizzying series of jabs, cross-punches, and hooks to the suspended weight bag, listening to the lyrics that so aptly suited her mood. Words that expressed how messed up things could get sometimes, and how it could make you want to lash out and do some damage.
Amen, brother. Sweat poured into her eyes as she spun around and landed a perfectly executed, bone wrenching kick, imagining Kent’s head on the padded dummy. Then another. That one was Delilah.
Limp Byzkit segued into Disturbed’s “Down with the Sickness.” She abandoned the bag and moved to her self-designed mini bodyweight fitness course, created to push her body to its limits, using the beat to pace her chin-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups until her muscles screamed.
Thousand Foot Krutch had her back on the mat, launching into a series of katas choreographed for inflicting maximum pain with an economy of motion to the pounding bass of “Puppet”.
“You know, most women cope by taking bubble baths and crying into a tub of Ben and Jerry’s.”
Jay sat on a stack of workout mats. In the zone, she cast him a glance that would have made anyone else cower, getting only a raised eyebrow in return. Yeah, Jay got it. He knew she wasn’t angry with him. He’d seen her raw before, and didn’t even flinch now.
“In case you haven’t gotten the memo, I’m not most women. As a matter of fact, I understand there’s actually a raging debate on whether I was actually born female or was surgically altered later in life.”
A combination of disappointment and worry ghosted over his face. “Didn’t think you were the type to wallow in self-pity, Mack.”
“Thanks for taking care ofSeize. As for the rest, piss off.” She punctuated the statement with a couple of solid hits to the nearby weight bag that had it swinging in a large arc.
“That’s more like it,” he nodded in approval. “Come on. Hit the showers, Marine.”
“What the hell for?”
“Because we’re going out. I’m going to get you shitfaced.”
Her chest heaved from the exertion as sweat soaked through her clothes. Not the designer ones – those were now in the Goodwill bag, but the ones designed by Uncle Sam. Mack stared at him for long moments. When she grunted and started stalking toward him, he stood up and went into a defensive stance.
Her lips quirked. She must look even fiercer than she’d thought.
“Fine,” she said. “ButIget to pick the place.” It sure as hell wasn’t going to be one of those pansy-ass clubs with techno pop crap and neon lights and froofy drinks with cute little names. It was going to be dark and dirty and as far from civilized as possible to match her mood. The tranquility of the mountains had given way to the need to cut loose, to free fall into some no holds barred, rip-roaring stress relief. And with Jay there to have her six, she could.
“And we’re taking a detour into Birch Falls along the way.” Mack didn’t stop or vary her path at all, choosing instead to use her shoulder as a battering ram against his right pectoral. Much to his credit, Jay stood his ground and eyed the weight bag - still swinging - and the stuffing spilling out of the MMA dummy, probably wondering what the hell he had been thinking.
