My Cobra Guy

Episode Seventeen

Johnny practiced sparring with Miguel for a while but it finally got to the point where he had to sit down. The beautiful garden was spinning. "Just do some exercises while I take a breather," he said, settling on the porch.

Daniel would be at the car dealership until at least 4:30. Johnny needed to save his energy to give the lessons until his partner returned. Partner. I guess we are business partners now, though he doesn't even charge his students. Johnny would have to talk him out of that free lessons crap. He popped a pain pill and thought about how to bring it up. At this point, best to just be honest. Daniel wanted him to be open and talk and shit, fine, he would tell him he wasn't spending all his time out here teaching for free. Simple as that.

Before long, the students were showing up for the after-school class.

June arrived with Regina in tow. Regina immediately broke away from her mother to seek out Sam. So far, Regina was scaring away most of the other students.

But June was not alone. A couple of women in yoga pants followed her, whispering and giggling, and casting sultry glances in Johnny's direction. Both were beauties and clad in sports bras. Their kids trailed behind them, one boy and one girl. The boy had a purple undercut and a pair of pink track pants. Johnny blinked. What was that kid doing here? Did he borrow those clothes from the girl?

"This is Johnny," June said, taking his arm and turning him to face the two other women.

"We'd recognize that face anywhere," said a tall black woman, her long hair bound into a braid over a lean shoulder. She pressed a latte to glossed lips.

"Mmhm..." said a redhead nudging her. "We've seen the pictures."

"The ones on the Internet?" Johnny asked. Normally, he'd love this kind of attention. Today, he wasn't feeling it. Maybe it was because he hadn't been able to fix the job situation. Rent would be due soon, too, and as of right now, he didn't have the cash.

"No, well, yes," June said sweetly, sliding her arm through his. "This picture." She held out her phone, displaying an image that had Johnny gaping in disbelief. It looked like something on the cover of a romance novel his mom used to read.

A stony-faced Daniel, in the sweater vest that had haunted Johnny's memories, the one he'd soaked with tears, carried a closed-eyed Johnny, who'd wrapped his arms around Daniel's neck. His cheek rested over Daniel's heart. If he'd doubted Daniel's story earlier, he believed it now. Every word. Johnny's whole being in the photo conveyed absolute trust.

"Danny was really like a knight in shining armor," the redhead said with a wide grin.

Words completely escaped him. He tried to speak, but a weird throaty groan came out. Fuck.

"Right? And Johnny's just like the cutest kitten," chimed in the woman with the long braid.

"Head... injury," Johnny finally got out but it was all he could manage. This was a new level of humiliation.

"Johnny is single, like I said," June purred, long fingernails on his bicep. Was she using this as a selling point to get him a date? Were chicks into injured guys being carried around by other dudes? But wasn't she interested in him?

"But Daniel LaRusso isn't," the redhead sighed, full of regret. The other women joined in with their own sad sighs.

Where were they going with this? Just what were they trying to say?

"You didn't know about the pictures?" June asked.

Johnny shook his head numbly and she opened her camera roll, before proudly displaying yet another horrifying image.