Tyler could have left, made some lame excuse about having to get home. As uncomfortable as it made him feel to admit it to himself, he wanted to be here with Jaime, sleeping in the man’s arms. Not having sex didn’t change the fact Tyler wanted Jaime more than anyone he had ever been with.
Chapter 14
The night of Sarah’s grading came quickly, and Tyler was busy making sure all the students were on their best behavior. A black belt grading was one of the few occasions when Sensei Melissa’s teacher, Shihan Harrison, visited the dojo. He scrutinized every student, especially those who were testing. The few colored belts that were also testing milled about nervously, stretching and whispering to each other.
“Don’t worry, it’s just like any other grading,” Tyler said to Jaime, who nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Tyler’s voice.
“Hai, Sempai.” Jaime managed a shaky reply.
Jaime’s eyes darted across the room to the gray-haired man talking to Sensei Melissa at the front of the dojo. Tyler remembered the first time he’d graded in front of Shihan Harrison and how he’d tripped on the mats just getting up to bow.
“You’ll be fine as long as you remember your kata.”
Jaime gave Tyler a petrified look.
“And even if you don’t, it will be all right.” Tyler tried to reassure him. “Just do your best.”
“Hai, Sempai.” Jaime nodded and produced a weak smile.
Once Tyler was sure Jaime wasn’t going to freak out, he went over to give Sarah some words of encouragement. Randy stretched with Sarah; probably offering her similar words of encouragement to those Tyler had shared with Jaime.
“All set?” Tyler asked Sarah.
“Hai, Sempai.” Sarah bowed. “Thank you for all your help.”
“You’ll do fine.”
“How’s Jaime holding up?” Randy asked. “It isn’t too often the colored belts get to grade in front of Shihan.”
“He’s nervous as hell, but he’ll survive.”
“I know the feeling.” Sarah said, just as class was called to attention.
The grading went well. Sarah only messed up her katas a few times but recovered her composure once Sensei Melissa told her to take a moment to clear her mind. Karate was about so much more than physical proficiency. It was as much about conquering the fears and insecurities within as it was about blocking and punching. Tyler was as nervous for Sarah as he was for Jaime. Not that Jaime would face the same scrutiny as her, but it was hard to watch him make mistakes and get flustered without being able to comfort him.
When everything was done, Sarah became the dojo’s newest black belt with the praise of Shihan Harrison. She wasn’t the only one to impress the testing board. Jaime received a rare double promotion to brown belt. Tyler felt so much pride he could barely stop himself from giving Jaime a big bear hug in front of everyone. Instead, Tyler waited patiently for the appropriate time to congratulate Jaime.
“Well done,” Randy said as he shook Jaime’s hand after class was dismissed. “Your katas are really getting sharp.”
“Thank you, Sempai.” Jaime looked like he had just woken from a dream.
Tyler crossed his arms over his chest to keep from crushing Jaime against him.
“This calls for a celebration,” Sarah said and hugged Jaime. Tyler was a little jealous of how freely she could express herself. “Great job, Jaime.”
“Thank you, Sempai.”
Sarah looked about to correct him when she caught herself.
“Get used to it,” Randy teased her. “You’re one of us now.”
“It’s going to take me a little while to get used to that,” Sarah said. “Now, about that celebration—any objections to Chummy’s?”
“Sure. First round is on the new sempai.” Randy said as he sidestepped Sarah’s swat and headed to the men’s changing room.
Tyler was reluctant to follow Randy before he made sure he knew what Jaime’s plans for the night were.
“You coming out with us?” Tyler asked as low-key as he could, even though he knew the celebration wouldn’t be complete without Jaime.
“Hai, Sempai.” Jaime said with a smile then glanced at Sarah. “If it’s all right with Sempai Sarah.”
When Sarah cringed at the use of her newly earned title, Jaime bowed deeply. He seemed to enjoy teasing her as much as Tyler and Randy did. Most everyone in the dojo had warmed up to Jaime in the months since he’d joined, with the exception of Steve and his testosterone buddies. They mostly avoided working with him but had learned to treat him like any other student no matter what they felt about his private life. It would have been more reassuring if Tyler didn’t see the resentment and prejudice lurking just below the surface of their barely acceptable politeness. Tyler wasn’t sure how Jaime was able to ignore it. Even when they didn’t treat him badly, he had to know what they thought about him. It wasn’t right but there was no way to change a person’s way of thinking unless it was their own idea.
“We should get changed,” Tyler suggested to Jaime.
Jaime was about to join Tyler when Sarah grabbed his arm.
“You can’t change until you’ve thanked Shihan Harrison. It isn’t every day a student earns two ranks in one testing.”
“Hai, Sempai.” Jaime replied obediently, even though Tyler detected a note of resistance in his voice.
Jaime seemed to like changing with Tyler as much as Tyler did. Even though the changing room was a completely nonsexual zone just like the dojo floor, Tyler wasn’t going to begrudge Jaime taking a peek. Most of the time, it was Tyler who was doing the peeking and Jaime who was doing his best to
