“Ignore them.” He shoves his middle finger up at a guy who is blatantly checking out my ass. “They’re all nosy bastards.”
“What do they think this is?” I whisper.
“Exactly what it is. I’m teaching my buddy’s mom self-defense because she’s recently separated, hot as fuck, and she needs to learn how to defend herself from assholes and perverts.”
I roll my eyes and crick my neck from side to side to loosen some of the tension. Vander drops my bag on the ground, beside the mats, as Jimmy approaches.
“Kendall.” He gives me a quick hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too, Jimmy. Thanks for letting us do this here.”
“Not a problem. In fact, I was wondering if we shouldn’t maybe make this a regular thing. Invite other women to sign up.”
“That’s a freaking awesome idea,” Crusher says, lifting me up as he wraps me in a hug. “How’s it hanging, Ken?”
Vander yanks me out of his arms and glares at his buddy. “Stop manhandling her.”
Crusher chuckles before lowering his voice. “Unless you want everyone to know you’ve got a hard-on for your buddy’s mom, it’s probably best not to get so territorial.”
All the blood drains from my face, and I whip my head around to Vander’s. He promised we would keep this a secret, and I will lose my shit if he hasn’t kept his word.
Vander flips him the bird. “It’s called respect, douche.”
“Okay. Enough.” Jimmy steps in between them. “Crusher, go warm up in the ring, and let Kendall and Vander get started.” Vander frowns when he spots my glare. Jimmy smiles softly while shaking his head. “I’m the only one who knows, Kendall, and I will never tell. Crusher is just being Crusher.” Jimmy turns his attention to Vander. “Keep it strictly professional, son.”
“I fully intend to.” A muscle clenches in Vander’s jaw as he watches Jimmy walk away. “I swear I didn’t say anything to Crusher,” he says, stretching his arms up over his head. “He’s just making assumptions.”
“We can’t ever let our guard drop.” I chew on the inside of my mouth as I feel eyeballs on my back. “Maybe we should do this upstairs from now on.”
Vander smothers a grin. “Then we wouldn’t get anything done.”
I cough to disguise my laugh. “True.”
“Come on. Let’s warm up, and then I’ll run through some basic techniques with you.”
By the time I leave an hour later, I’m sweating profusely, I ache all over, and I realize I’d be utterly useless if anyone came at me. I wasn’t able to block any of Vander’s moves, and he overpowered me every single time. It was also difficult concentrating with him touching me so much. But there is no denying I need it, and I intend to talk to Viola and June to suggest they get some training too.
* * *
“Got a minute?” I ask June the following Monday as I lounge against the door to her office. Her head is buried in her laptop, and she has a look of fierce concentration on her face.
“Of course. Come in.”
I step inside and shut the door behind me. “I need a favor.”
She leans back in her chair and sets her pen down. “What’s up?”
“Does Carly’s friend still work in the administration office at Yale?”
She nods. “She does. She recently got promoted too.”
Good. That might come in handy. “Do you think you could arrange a phone call? I want to talk to her about financial aid for Vander.”
June arches a brow. “He got in?”
I smile. “He got early acceptance.” I’m not surprised. I knew he would be offered a place. “West got into OU too on a football scholarship.”
“That’s amazing news. You must be so proud.”
