Gaining Gibbs (Marco's MMA Boys #4) by S. M. Donaldson Read Free Book Online

hand on her shoulder. “You did great today, beautiful girl.”
    “Thank you,” she says quietly.
    “Hey, none of that shy stuff with me. I know for a fact that you could beat me up,” I say, acting silly.
    She giggles. “Come on, Mr. Gibbs, I know that’s not true.”
    I squat down on her level and look her in the eyes. “Well, you don’t need to be shy, but I want you to remember what we talked about today. Keep your head up all the time. Know what’s going on around you, pretty girl.”
    “Why do you call me pretty girl?” she asks quietly. “I know I’m not.”
    I act offended. “I know pretty when I see it. Who says you aren’t pretty?”             
    “Just boys at school. It’s because of my freckles and red hair.”
    “Well that’s just stupid on their part. I’m going to share a secret with you. I like redheads and I think freckles are super cute.” I touch her nose with my finger tip.
    “Well that’s good to know,” I hear her voice behind me.
    I stand up and turn to face Jade. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
    She points to Krista. “I’m dropping her off with her daddy. My sister is a little worn out so the princess and I went to the park.”
    “Oh. Did you have fun at the park, Princess?”
    “Yes!” she squeals, clapping.
    “Oh Jade, Krista, this is my friend Carrie,” I say, pointing to Carrie. “You walked up while I was explaining to her that I think she’s a pretty girl. She says that people pick on her because of her hair and freckles. I told her they’re stupid.”
    Jade nods her head at Carrie. “Yes, they are. Trust me, I went through all of the jokes, but I didn’t let it bother me. If you were older, I’d tell you exactly what I told them, but you’re too young.”
    Carrie laughs. “Really?”
    Jade nods with a bright smile. “Really. How old are you now?”
    Carrie grins. “I’m ten.”
    “Well, when you’re fifteen I’ll tell you what I told those boys,” she says as she ruffles Carrie’s red hair.
    The little girl laughs and we hear Krista squeal. I see her running to the door in her gym shirt, a red tutu and red boots. “DADDY! DADDY!”
    Sly picks her up and tosses her up in the air a little as he walks over to us. He gives me a fist bump. “How did the class go, man?”
    “Great, this little girl right here was my star pupil of the day,” I say with my hand on top of Carrie’s head.
    Sly smiles at her. “Hey, your momma must be Amber.”
    She grins and nods. “Yes, sir.”
    “Well she should be out soon.”
    He turns to Jade. “So Kara is resting?”
    She nods “Yeah, I told her to take a nap. She looked exhausted when I dropped off groceries and picked up the princess.”
    He shakes his head. “This kid is wearing her out.”
    Jade nods. “Yeah, I don’t remember her being this tired last time.”
    Sly shakes his head. “All right, Princess, let’s go.”
    He stops and looks back at us about to say something but he stops, then turns to Jade. “Serge called, your car should be ready tomorrow afternoon.”
    She smiles. “Thanks.”
    I motion to her as he walks away. “So that’s good. What are you driving now?”
    “I’m using Kara’s ride,” she says, looking all over the place.
    I nod. “That’s good.”
    “So you like teaching the classes?” she says nervously.
    “Yeah, I do.” Enough of this. “Okay, we need to talk about last night. Give me a few minutes to wrap stuff up here and we’ll talk.”
    After making sure all of the kids are with their parents and cleaning up the snack mess, I motion for Jade to follow me.
    Once we’re in the conference room, I motion for her to sit. “So, what in the hell was last night about?”
    She shrugs her shoulders, looking down at the table. “I don’t know...I was just...I was…”
    “Firecracker, you’ve never been nervous around me in all the time we’ve known each other. What’s up now?” I say, trying to calm her.
    “I got drunk, a little brave, a