A Promise Kept Ch. 01

"I started taking lessons the year that you joined the Navy," she smiled, "I earned my black belt in four years, and have been wearing it for six. I just earned my fourth dan (degree) about a month before you came home."

"Good for you, sweetie," I gently replied, "You don't know how proud I am of you."

"Thank you, Michael," she sweetly purred, "It means everything to me to hear you say that, baby."

"Awww," the girls on the team began teasing, "Isn't that so sweet?"

"Thank you, ladies," I smiled, feeling on top of the world at that moment, "It's time to sit down in a circle and let's get to know each other."

~~~~~~

My girls all gathered into a circle and sat down with Kara and I seated next to one another, and it didn't take long before they playfully started in on me.

"We already know almost everything about you, Coach Walker," smiled Emma McNealy, "Coach Matlock told us that the two of you grew up together."

"Oh, really," I teased, gently elbowing Kara, who sat next to me in the circle, "What all did she tell you?"

"She said that you were real cute when you were little," Talia Genaro laughed.

"We can believe that," Janie Lynch light-heartedly grinned, who sat next to her identical twin sister, Jeri, who said, "Yeah, cause we think you grew up to be a real hottie," and needless to say, all of the girls, Kara included, emitted peels of female laughter.

Like I said, there were twelve girls total on the team, and their names were Talia Genaro, Jenny Harris, Emma McNealy, Pamela Delgato, Laura Bonham, and the Lynch twins, Janie and Jeri, whom I've already named. Then there was Taylor Johnson, Alexandra "Alex" Hill, Jillian Hendricks, Madison, "Maddie" King, and Petra Anderson.

With the exception of only two of the girls on the team, Jillian Hendricks and Petra Anderson, both seniors, the rest of the girls had just recently earned their black belts. Petra was a second dan, and Jillian a third dan, while I myself had achieved a fifth dan ranking in the Navy. All in all though, I was very proud to haven been chosen to coach these girls. It's been said that greatness is made, but I disagree. I think it's something that someone should aspire to, and should only be used for the benefit of others. At least that's what I think anyway...

~~~~~~

After I got to know my girls, and they got to know me, and because it was quite apparent that they already knew Kara; I put them on a workout regimen that involved being able both run and swim long distances. The prose for that was designed to help with their stamina, because God only knows that it was going to be needed in tournament fighting.

Once they'd agreed to that, I told them that because it was the first day of classes, I was going to give them the rest of the afternoon off. However, I reminded them that the next day we would, to use a figure of speech, be jumping into it with both feet up to our necks; and that they needed to be prepared for it.

~~~~~~

"You're just full of surprises," I smiled, to Kara that afternoon after our girls had all gone, "Why didn't you tell me that you and I were going to be not only coaching the girls, but that you'd been studying the martial arts?"

"I wanted to surprise you," she grinned, "I hope you know that those girls absolutely adore you."

"I don't know about that," I humbly smiled, "They seem like a very sweet group of kids."

"Kids?" she giggled, "They're not that much younger that us ya know."

"I know," I chuckled, "But you still didn't answer my question about the martial arts."

"Oh that," she knowingly grinned, "Well, I saw what it did for you and Brittany when we were teenagers, and I figured that the best way to lose all the weight I'd put on was to study Karate myself. Brittany helped me out by taking me to I went to your old instructor, Sensei Lee, and he took me right in."

"Is that right?" I grinned, "He was like a second father to me, just like your Dad was."

"Me, too," Kara gently replied taking my hand, "Why don't we stop by and see him on the way home this afternoon?"

"I'd like that, but I've got a question for you," I smiled, "Is that what you were talking about when you thanked my sister for making her stick with it?"

"I told Brittany you were smart," she sweetly laughed, "Yes, that's right; because there were times when I wanted to quit...You know how tough Mister Lee can be, Michael, don't you?"

"You're right," I laughed, remembering my youth when I first began to study the martial arts, "If anybody knows that, I sure as hell do."

"Good, then you know where I'm coming from," she replied. Then she leaned over and quickly kissed my lips, and said, "I'm going to change clothes, I'll be right back, ok, baby?"

"Alright, my beauty," I grinned, turning towards the men's locker room. I'll see in a few minutes."

~~~~~~

I'd just finished changing clothes and was waiting in my office for Kara's return, when you should appear at the door but Tommy Peters with three of his friends.

"Well, well," Tommy laughed, walking into my office and getting in my face, "If it isn't Professor Bad Ass, all by himself? I told that things weren't over between you and me, asshole. Now it's time to pay for being such a smart ass," then he took a swing at me.

"There are only four of you?" I laughed, blocking his punch and pushing him backwards as hard as I could, making him stumble into his friends as they all collided onto the floor in the hall outside my office, "You should've brought an Army, you little cocksucker. Now I'm going to kick your ass."

I kicked him in the mouth as he rose from the floor, momentarily stunning him; and as two of his friends tried to charge me, I picked up on of the chairs in my office, thrashing one of them with it, after which I head-butted the other, making him go down for good.

Suddenly I heard something crashing through the large office window behind me, and as I turned around, I saw the last gut lying in the floor, out cold with Kara standing over him, asking, me "What in the hell is going on here, Michael?" and by this time, I saw that Tommy Peters had regained consciousness was about to charge Kara from behind, until I quickly moved her aside, out of the way and then delivered a fast, hard spinning back kick to the bridge of his nose, taking him down for the count.

"This little asshole is from my morning World History class," I panted, "He got pissed off at me because I called him out in front of the rest of the class for being a little smart-assed prick. In the mean time, do me a favor and call campus security, as well as the police. These little assholes are going down...for good."

~~~~~~

Kara and I stood over the four boys who'd tried to attack me, and while we were waiting for campus security to arrive, the one who Kara had knocked out, started move and was beginning to come to.

"Don't move," I warned, "I'll knock your ass out again."

"Wait Coach," he said, backing away with his hands up, "I don't want any trouble."

"Is that right?" I angrily asked, "Then why did you come here?"

"Because Tommy Peters made me," he said, tears beginning to fill his eyes, "He said that he'd kick my ass if I didn't, and he said that he was going to tell everyone on the football team that I was a fag, which, isn't true. I can't get expelled, sir. I'm here on a football scholarship, because I come from a poor but proud and hard working people; and I'm the first one in my family to ever be able to go to college. Please Coach; I'll do whatever it takes to stay out of trouble."

"He never really raised his hands to you Michael," Kara said, "I t was acting on instinct and took him down in case he was going to try."

"What's your name, kid?" I asked him, reaching down and extending my hand to help lifting him stand up.

"Owen, sir," he replied, straightening himself up, "Owen Brower."

"I'll make a deal with you, Owen Brower," I smiled, "If you'll testify against these three assholes lying on the ground....and you tell the truth, I won't press charges against you and you'll be free and clear."

"That would be great, Coach," he apprehensively replied, "But my football coach, Coach Travis, is gonna wonder what I was doing here to start with. He might rescind my scholarship, because he told us that if we got into any kind of trouble, then we were off of the team, and out of college."

"Don't worry about that," I smiled, extending my hand in friendship, "Just leave everything to me, okay?"

"Thanks, Coach," he excitedly smiled, as we shook hands, "You're a good man, and just so you know; I warned Tommy not to mess with, I really did."

"I believe you, Owen," I chuckled, patting him on the shoulder, "But I think you better not be here when the police get here."

"I'll make this up to you, Coach," he grinned, "I swear that somehow I will."

"You already have," I chuckled, "Now, get outta here..."

~~~~~~

Not very long after Owen left, Frank Hobbs came walking down the hall with his new deputy in tow, smiling and asking "Okay Mike, now what have you done?"

After Kara and I told him what happened as well as why, I also informed him that I had another witness who'd seen the whole ordeal, and was willing to testify on our behalf.

"Hell, Mike," he chuckled, "You don't need any witnesses, I believe you."

"Thank you, Frank," I grinned, as we shook hands, "You're a good man, buddy."

As opposed to using handcuffs, Frank sent his deputy out to their vehicle, where shortly afterward, he returned with the zip-ties that are used to restrain people; and after putting them on the three punks that has just begun to regain their consciousness.

"This motherfucker assaulted me," Tommy Peters spouted, "I want to press charges."

"Shut up, Peters," Frank laughed, "I don't believe you as far as I can throw your lying ass."

"My father is a very well known attorney here in Houston," Peters bragged, "And I'm gonna have both of you fired, God dammit."

"Whatever, "Frank laughed, reaching into his duty belt and with drawing a blue bandanna, and then as he proceeded to gag Tommy Peters, he laughed and told him, "I already warned you once to shut your mouth and you wouldn't listen so; now I'm going to shut your mouth for you..."

Ten minutes later, two police cruisers, accompanied by a paddy wagon, appeared right outside our location, and after signing the proper paperwork, Tommy Peters, and the other two assholes whose names I could care less about, were taken into police custody. Of course I was questioned by the senior officer as to what had occurred, with Kara backing my story up one hundred percent. And after handing me his business card, the police officer told me that if I needed anything, or if I had any questions, that I should feel free to call him anytime I needed to.

"What's going to happen to those three?" I asked the police officer.

"We're probably going to hold them overnight," he replied, and then in the morning, they'll be arraigned and then post bail...if they can afford to, that is."

"Oh really," I said, "And what if they can't?"

"Then they'll be held in jail until their trial date," he said, "They will probably get convicted, because in the state of Texas, the really frowns on charges of assaulting a teacher...although it looks like the picked the wrong teacher to mess with," and he was smiling from ear-to-ear by this time.

"I don't know about all that," I humbly grinned, shaking his hand, "Thank you, officer. I'll be sure to let you know how this all turns out."

"Take care," he smiled...

~~~~~~

Chapter Six

"What the hell was that all about," Kara breathlessly asked, once everyone was gone, "And why did those guys come in here gunning for you?"

"It's simple," I told her, "He was being a horse's ass in my morning class, and I told him to sit down and shut up, or get the hell out."

"His farther is a powerful attorney here in Houston," she tried to warn me, "And you can bet that he'll be coming after you."

"Excuse me for talking like this in front of you, sweetheart, but fuck him," I vehemently spat, "I'm not afraid of any attorney. Hell, no wonder the kid is such an asshole then. Every attorney I've ever known was a dickhead so; it seems that the apple hasn't fallen too far from the damn tree."

Suddenly Kara began laughing so hard that she was not only holding her stomach, but tears were beginning to build up in her beautiful dark brown eyes from it as well.

"What," I grinned, "What're you laughing at?"

"You," she giggled, "You're not afraid of anything, are you?"

"Only one thing," I solemnly replied, bringing her laughter to an abrupt end, "I'm afraid of losing you, Kara."

"Aw, Michael honey," she softly replied, "That's never going to happen; not in a million lifetimes, baby."

"I'm happy to hear that," I quietly replied, gently pulling her into my arms, "Because I know that I'd bee lost without you."

I could feel her shoulders shaking, and with tears in her eyes, she looked up at me and said, "You love me, Michael...don't you?"

"How could I not?" I softly replied, "I should've seen it years ago; and I'm really sorry, baby...do you forgive me?"

"Oh, you sweet, sweet man," she smiled, "There's nothing that you should be apologizing for so; there's nothing to forgive, my love."

"I really do love you, Kara," I told her, becoming lost in the deep richness of her deep, dark brown eyes, "I love you with all my heart."

"Oh, my God," she said, hugging me tightly, "I've waited my whole life to hear you say those words to me, and now that you have...if I died tomorrow, I would leave this earth feeling like a complete woman, Michael. I just wanted you yo know that."

"Oh, my God," I painfully replied, "Don't even think about dying, ok?"

"Aw, I'm not, baby," she sweetly smiled, gently kissing me on the cheek, "It's just a figure of speech."

"Maybe so," I told her, pulling her more firmly against me, tears inexplicably filling my eyes, "Just the thought of something happening to you pains me more than you could ever comprehend, Kara," and then the next thing I knew, the tears in my eyes began to pour by the gallon down my face, and the really messed up part about that was, that I couldn't give an explanation as to why it was happening...it just was.

"Oh, Michael," Kara said, as I began to weep, reacting to effects of what was later diagnosed as PTSD, "It's alright, my love. It's okay, baby, I'm right here; and I'm not going to let anything happen to you..."

~~~~~~

Kara refused to let me drive home by myself that afternoon making me let her ride with me, neither of us saying very much on the way. The past came alive in my mind and I began to remember the needless deaths of my friends on that one day not too long ago. Their faces and names were burned bright in my memory, and I felt that if I didn't remember them, then their deaths would've been in vain. While I now know that, that train of thought seems insane, but at the time it was very real to me, and every time I would thing of my friends, my heart would break all over again at their loss...

~~~~~~

I lay wide awake in my bed for many hours that night, and when I finally did go to sleep, the dreams that I had were so terribly real that I awoke an hour later; only to find myself covered head to toe in both sweat and tears, squatting in the corner of my room, with my old Marine Corps K-Bar™ Knife in one hand, and my Beretta 9mm pistol in the other. I immediately stood up and came to the realization that there was something terribly wrong with me. The really screwed up part about it was that I didn't know what was happening to me, only that these terrible picture were manifesting themselves within my brain when I would close my eyes...more or less making me afraid of going to sleep.

~~~~~~

THE NEXT MORNING 4:00 A.M.

"Hello," Kara sleepily answered her phone.

"Hi, baby," I said, "It's me."

"Michael," she worriedly asked, "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not," I told her, my voice beginning to break, "I'm sorry for waking you up, I just..."

"It's okay, my love, I'm on my way over there, right now," she tenderly interrupted, "I'll see you in a few minutes," and then she quickly hung the phone up before I had a chance to respond.

~~~~~~

"What's wrong, baby," she asked me, the second she walked through the door, which by this time, my whole family had awakened, and were all worried sick about me, "You can talk to me, Michael honey, and whatever it is, we'll work through it together.

~~~~~~

Kara, Mom and Dad, and eve my sister, Brittany, were all sitting with me at the kitchen table, while Kara held me in her arms as I wept like a baby, recalling the dreams I'd begun having as of late. I know that I sound weak by admitting this, but I didn't understand what I was going through, and for the first time ever, I was afraid.

"Maybe you should seek some counseling, son," Dad suggested, "You're only human, for God's sake."

"We love you very much, Michael," Brittany sniffled, as she came around the table to hug me and kiss me on the cheek, "And when I see you hurt, I hurt, too."

"We all love you very much, baby," Mom cried, "We'll help you any way we can; I hope you know that, son."

"I do know that, Mom," I smiled, taking her by the hand and holding it to my cheek, "And I love you all just as much...I really do."

"I think I might be able to help," Kara softly spoke, "I have a friend that has a PhD in Psychology, and not only is he a Vietnam veteran, but he also teaches at the U of H...I think that you and I should go talk to him some time today, Michael. I'm off all day until four o'clock this afternoon; and you don't have to be at work until two," And then she stood, taking me by the hand, and then while leading me back to my bedroom, she knowingly smiled and said, "Come with me, baby, let's see if you can't go back to sleep, only this time, I'm going to be there with you to chase those bad dreams away, okay?"

"Okay," I wearily replied, "I'll try anything at this point," and that's exactly what we did."

~~~~~~

"I just threw on a pair of jeans before I came over here, baby," Kara told me, her face blushing brightly, "All I'm wearing underneath this tee shirt is a pair of panties. I hope that's okay."

"Of course it's okay," I yawned, taking off my robe and throwing it in the floor to reveal that I was wearing just my boxers as I got back into bed, scooting over to make room for her to lay down beside me, "I just want to get some sleep, baby."

"And sleep you will," she tenderly replied, as she slowly removed her pants, leaving her wearing just her tee shirt and panties, her braless breasts bouncing unfettered beneath, and climbing into the bed next to me, "Come here, baby, go back to sleep, my love. I'll protect you...I promise."

~~~~~~

The next morning when I awoke, there was no denying the sensations that were coursing through my brain because of the stimulus I was receiving. Some time during the night Kara had removed her clothing and was lying naked against my own body, and I can only imagine how it happened, but I was also naked, too; and it not only looked like, but felt like Kara was sucking my very essence out of my body though my cock.

The feelings that were radiating outward from my groin had my brain heading toward overload. However, right before I fell over the orgasmic cliff and into the abyss, I gently placed my hands on her head and softly removed her mouth from my now iron hard cock.

"Easy, baby," I panted smiling, and then gently but quickly kissed Kara's lips, "We've got plenty of time for that." "I know," she playfully whined, "But when I saw it sticking up and tenting the sheet like it was, I just couldn't help it, Michael. Speaking of which, why did you stop me?"

"That's simple enough," I replied, beginning to state the obvious, "Has the thought occurred to you that Mom and Brittany are still here?"