He hadn’t done anything wrong. She never wanted him to feel like he’d done something wrong.
So she kept going. She kept walking and did not look back.
* * *
The problem with the class he’d recommended was evident before she even got through the door. She stopped at the huge glass window that spanned the front of the building, and just couldn’t go any further. The room was way too bright and happy. The people inside too golden and gleaming. They all had bouncy ponytails and velour tracksuits; one girl had juicy on her ass.
And the stuff they were doing…
It didn’t look anything like the thing he had shown her. There was no rhyme or reason to it, no beautiful restraint. Nobody was patiently explaining anything, or showing them where they should move or what they should watch for. In fact, she was pretty sure that was the instructor in the corner, examining his nails. Every now and then, he would look up and shout a few words.
But it didn’t seem like anything good.
More energy,she thought it sounded like.
As if this was a spinning class, for perfectly fit people.
Instead of self-defense for girls who could no longer sit with an open space behind them.
Hell, she could barelystandwith an open space behind her. She watched the deliriously happy women jumping around for about thirty seconds, before that prickling sensation started up. Small at first, but then sharper and sharper, until she was sure there was someone there.The guy’s brother, come to exact some terrible vengeance, she thought, then clenched her hand around the pepper spray in her pocket. Every muscle in her tensed, as she got ready to turn and confront him.
And then she heard that voice, oh man, thatvoice.
“It’s all right, honey. I’m not trying to sneak up on you. I’m coming in from the right, okay? Then I’m going to stop about five feet from where you are,” he said, and she all but sagged with relief.
She let go of the pepper spray.
Then watched as he did exactly what he’d described.
“Christ. You could tell I was getting ready to mace you?”
“I could tell my approach was making you nervous.”
She tried to shrug casually, and missed. But thankfully, her words sounded somewhat convincing. “It wasn’t that it was you. It just happens all the time now.”
“You don’t have to say that out of concern for my feelings. My feelings aren’t more important than your safety. If you feel unsafe, it should be my job to make sure you stop. Not your job to apologize for it.”
She had to take a second, before answering him.
Partly to check if he was actually and totally sincere.
But mostly because her breath caught in her throat, when she saw he was.”That was a pretty cool thing to say.”
“Actually, I think it’s known as the bare minimum.And especially when you don’t know me, or have any idea what I’m doing here. Right now, even I’m wondering if I’m stalking you.”
“Really? Because that was the last thing that popped into my head,” she said.
But man, it stunned her to realize that was true.
She hadn’t thought anything like that—not for a second. And she still wasn’t thinking about it, when he asked,“You mind if I ask what the first thing was?”
“That you changed your mind about helping me.”
“Pretty good guess. Though to be honest, it was more that Icouldn’t in good conscience let you come to this unending nightmare of a class.”
She glanced at what he’d just waved at. “It doesn’t seem that bad, to be honest.”
“Your expression is telling a different story.”
