“Ah, ah.”He tsked.“What’s the first lesson?”
“Expect the unexpected.”Which she hadn’t.She thought it would be another drill or practice, but he was attacking her as a real attacker would.They wouldn’t give her a warning or declare their intentions.They would see her as vulnerable and attack.
June released his arm holding her neck and balled her hand into a fist before bringing it down on his forearm.With her other hand, she punched him in the jaw.Rob shuffled back, giving her enough room to use the wall for support as she kicked out with her right leg in his chest.
Rob grunted in pain and fell back on the ground.Under normal circumstances, June would feel bad for hurting Rob like this, but right now she was in survival mode and not training mode.
Everything around her faded.She wasn’t in Rob’s studio but in a real-world situation where she only had herself to protect her.
Her breathing slowed and steadied.She felt in control.The moves that had been drilled into her the past two weeks became natural.
Rob stood up; his hand clenched as if he held a knife.He pushed up onto his feet and thrust his fist forward as if he were trying to drive a knife into her chest.
June shifted to the side, so his arm kept going.He came back at her with a backward thrust.June ducked and came at him from behind, kicking out at the back of his good knee.
Rob pivoted to the side as his fist came at her with another backward thrust.She gripped his wrist and twisted.His hand opened, mimicking him dropping the knife.
June pulled out her knife from her back pocket, keeping the blade closed, and pressed the end to the side of his neck.
“How was that?”June felt triumphant.She had won.
“Good, except one thing.”
“What?”She’d done awesome.She had been a total badass for a moment.What could he possibly find to criticize?
Rob reached behind him, gripped the strap of her sports bra, and pulled her over his shoulder.June sailed over him and landed flat on her back.Rob appeared a moment later over her, her hands pinned to her sides.
“A fight is never truly over until the opponent is crying in pain or unconscious.Never lose focus.”Rob pushed up to his feet, holding a hand out to help June to hers.“Other than that, you did great.I feel bad for whoever attacks you in a dark alley.”
She could handle that feedback.June hadn’t wanted to harm Rob, only protect herself as if the situation were real.“I didn’t hurt you too badly, did I?”June felt like she had gotten a little carried away with her kicks and hadn’t held back with her punches.
“I’ll have a bruise or two come tomorrow, but I’ll survive.Don’t feel bad if you did.If it had been a real-life situation, your opponent wouldn’t feel bad for hurting you.”
He was right, of course.She hadn’t wanted to cause Rob real harm, just enough to mimic that it was a real enough attack.If it ever really happened, she couldn’t hold back.“So does that mean our lessons are over?”
Rob seemed to hesitate.She had been eager to learn everything he could teach her, but if she’d been smarter, she would have stalled longer.Not that they couldn’t just hang out, but the question was, would he want to hang out with her?
“You are pretty much done, but we’ll finish up this week and see where things go from there, sound good?”
Not really, but what choice did she have?“Sure.”
“Alright, let’s call it a night.I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
June wasn’t.She felt like a lead ball had settled at the bottom of her stomach.Her nights with Rob were coming to an end.She had seen his hesitation when she’d asked about lessons.He hadn’t even thought about seeing her outside of training.
By next week, they would be back to friendly acquaintances.
Chapter 21
June all but sprinted down the hallway Thursday night.Her appointment had run late, which meant she was late leaving work to get home to make dinner.Tonight could be their last night unless she was brave enough to make the first move.
Enticing clothing and delicious meals hadn’t been enough.Now it was time for action.She had planned to wow him with a dress she had dusted off from her closet along with her lasagna.After dinner, she planned to ask him out.With her new but temporary schedule, June had asked Rob to do their last lesson at her house to practice instead of his.
She didn’t have a studio, but if she moved some furniture out of the way, she could make it work for them to practice.
But her plans weren’t off to a great start.
June rounded a corner and almost smacked into a wall of muscle if they hadn’t caught her first.“Rob, what are you doing here?I thought we were meeting at my house?”
