Chapter 169: "You and Pres…"

When Mina arrived at the gym her cheerful disposition remained. She greeted everyone with a smile and although the girl was always friendly, she was in a much better mood than usual.

Several people glanced over at Dom. They had noticed the man following the lithe woman's figure with his eyes; a small smile plastered on his face.

Dom felt the jealous glares and he thrust his hands into the air, shaking his head in the negative. His meaning was that he was not the one who had made Mina happy, although a tiny part of him wished that it were.

Mina was all the while unaware of the interactions taking place behind her back. She strode up to one of the pieces of equipment she had become familiar with and set the weight level herself; still unaware of the stares she was getting. Dom was dumbstruck. Usually Mina would have to be pushed into lifting, but she had voluntarily gotten to it herself. He really wanted to ask her the cause for her excitement but if it were something X-rated, he was not sure she would tell him or that he would want to know. All he knew is that her behavior was breaking hearts. Dom's thoughts were interrupted by a fellow guard.

"Is she dating someone now?" The man asked. His question was left unanswered when another man stepped forward.

"I thought you said she was single," the second man said.

"As far as I know she is," Dom answered.

"Is she still staying with the boss?" the first man asked. His question raised the eyebrows of everyone within earshot.

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Mina found herself being thrown onto the thick padded mat by the, twice her size, Dom.

"Again! Stand up," the man shouted. Mina was panting heavily, that had to be the fifth time he dropped her in the last minute. She had been learning basic self-defense outside of her scheduled workout hours and today for some reason, Dom, instead of the woman who she was originally working with, volunteered to be the aggressor, but she wasn't sure the man was acting.

A small crowd had gathered around them and there were a series of chuckles floating around that only served to piss Mina off. The next time she stood up, she conformed herself to the idea that she was not going to fight fairly.

Before Mina had a chance to recover, Dom rushed at her and she used her knee to try and crush the man's jewels. Unfortunately, he had anticipated her attack. He caught her leg and used it to toss her across the mats like a rag doll. Mina slammed both fists onto the floor.

"Are you mad?" Dom teased.

"Livid," Mina replied. She stood up and waited for Dom to attack her again. This time when he rushed her, she stuck out her foot to trip him. She failed once again, and the laughing man swept her feet out from under her.

"Don't worry, you've actually improved," he mocked. By this time Mina was exhausted. She felt that if she hit the ground one more time, she would cough up blood. Still laying on her back Mina spoke.

"Are you mad at me for something?" She asked, unsure if she was taking aim in the dark or hitting a target.

"I just figured that I'll need to beat the truth out of you," Dom said. Mina looked at the man in complete disbelief.

"Whatever it is, could you not just ask me?"

"Would you tell the truth?" The man asked.

"That depends on my need to lie," Mina answered honestly.

Dom felt a little guilty. He had forgotten that Mina's personality was like an open book. He had originally been implementing the same method on her, that he would have used on any of his comrades. He had no real female friends and was unaware that his actions were completely the opposite of what he should have done.

"Tell me," Dom said. "You and Pres…"

"NO!" Mina shouted, cutting the man off. It was not a guilty exclamation, but it was the sort of reaction one would have out of sheer embarrassment.

"Then why were you so happy this morning?" he asked.

Realization dawned on Mina and her eyes grew wide with shock. She was no idiot, and she knew what he meant.

"Ew!" Mina exclaimed with an over exaggerated shudder. Her antics caused a few more chuckles from the people listening, and a very friendly man Mina recognized as James joined the conversation.

"Come on Dom, you know Mina is only interested in women," James said.

"I'm what?" Mina asked. She did not mean for the response to sound confrontational, but what the heck were those men discussing right in front of her?

"You don't?" James asked in confusion, he scratched his head and spoke again. "But it's clear that you favor the women in this place, so we just assumed."

"We? Who is 'we?' Mina asked. At least four people disappeared, and Mina had her answer.

"I just prefer people who keep their eyes up while speaking to me," Mina admitted. It was a crass response, but these were not well-mannered people she was dealing with. There was a series of guilty coughs and a female voice chimed in.

"Not all of us are looking at your eyes only," the woman said with a wink. Mina forced a smile.

"and that is why I keep my distance from you," Mina replied. The comment earned her a round of laughs from the Lee soldiers as well as the target of her rebuke, who Mina knew was easy going.

"Fair enough," the woman replied, unfazed by Mina's remark. She knew Mina was angry.

"Is that what this is about? Why couldn't you just say what you needed to say?" Mina shot. Her hostile reaction made the guilty parties' frown.

Seeing that she was not going to get a response Mina shouted.

"Take me back now!" She was angry. Not about the line of questioning, but because of Dom's actions. He had not hurt her, but she was disappointed in the man she was growing to see as a friend. He should have just asked if he were curious. He would not have been the first person to do so and he probably would not be the last.