Read Fighting for Free Online Page A

someone approached me.  Man, I was getting sick of that
but I was new to a nest of spies.  Maybe I should get used to it.
    I
turned and saw Ross looking concerned.  I wiped my face clean of irritation and
said, "I'm fine."
    Ross
didn't look convinced, but he let it slide.  "You need to be up here and
ready to begin tomorrow by nine a.m.  You and I will make a new workout routine
for you to include more muscle building routines, and then after that we'll
start you in on basic hand to hand combat skills."
    "Is
there an ice machine here?"
    He
chuckled and said, "Industrial sized."
    "Well,
isn't that convenient?" I said with a small laugh.
    I
glanced back at Probably Ethan to find him watching our exchange with a blank
face.
    I
looked back at Ross in time to see him nod his head and repeat, "Nine
a.m."  He turned for the stairs and I kept the small smile on my face as I
resolutely ignored Ethan and made for the stairs, myself.
    Landing
back on the second floor and relieved that I was out of reach from that Ethan
guy, I relaxed into a stroll and began to explore the house more fully,
creating a kind of map I could mentally recall later. 
    I
eventually wandered back to my bedroom and bored, decided to read for a bit.  I
didn't want to bring the bulk of books with me, so I just brought my digital
tablet that was filled with electronic books on my Kindle application.  I read
for at least a few hours before I became restless and decided to unpack the
electronic gadgets I brought with me.  I set up my laptop and small speaker
system that played music from my mp3 player on the desk.  The dresser was
directly in front of the bed, so I moved the flat screen TV from the desk to
the dresser and placed my gaming system beside it.  I was stacking the games
when a knock sounded at the door.
    "Hey,
Brooks sent me to tell you it's time for supper," Oliver said.
    "Already?"
I asked. 
    Oliver
walked into my room, eyes riveted on my leaning tower of games.
    "You
have seriously good taste in games," he said, awe coloring his voice.
    "You
play?"
    "Only
when I have someone to play against.  The others don't play against me that
much because, not to brag, they get tired of never really winning."
    I
laughed at that and said, "Looks like you just got a new opponent, and not
to brag, but I'm good."
    "Who
do you play against?"
    "Online
friends."
    He
scoffed and said, "Big fish, little pond."  Then he smiled a little
menacingly.  "Welcome to the ocean."  And then he turned on his heel
and left the room, sweeping out dramatically. 
    I
had to laugh at his theatrics.  Okay, so the kid thought he was good.  I was
still relatively young and I lived alone.  With no overwhelming social life, I,
unfortunately, had a lot of time on my hands.  We would see who would be
crowned winner later, and I was feeling pretty confident.
    Gwen
cooked chicken strips and vegetables for supper, and my mouth was watering
before I even made it to the table.  I sat down without looking away from my
plate and tensed when I saw a hand reach for a napkin in my peripheral vision.
    It
was a big, manly looking hand.
    My
head whipped up and I saw Probably Ethan sitting next to me.  We weren't close
to touching, and I didn't want to make a scene, so I very slowly slid down and
put some space between us.  Enough space for someone to sit comfortably in. 
Ethan turned his head slowly to look at me, and I tried to control my reaction
to him, but I felt my eyes narrow on his anyway.  A muscle tensed in his cheek
and he stared back at me defiantly.
    Everything
about this guy set me on edge and I didn't like it at all.  The way he carried
himself was so confident, it was borderline cocky.  He was the strongest guy in
the room and he knew it.  He seemed so relaxed and comfortable in his
environment which conversely made me tense up.  Usually when someone was relaxed,
it set the tone for the atmosphere in the room, but there was just something
about him I couldn't put my