As far as his dad would remember me, I would be the guy who leveled two of his bodyguards and ran out of a fight. I’d be the prick whose boyfriend tried to make off with the cash and the drifter who skipped town the second things got bad. I had no idea what he would decide to do about a problem like that, but I knew I didn’t want to stick around and find out.
Lilith had become a friend, or the closest thing I had to it in this town. Normally, you’d tell a friend if you were about to disappear, but I knew better than to open my mouth. For her own sake, she’d be safer left in the dark. Agreeing to teach her some self-defense was my way for apologizing and pushing aside some of the guilt I was feeling.
Once we finished our coffee, I shoved a toothbrush in my mouth and changed into a pair of shorts. I took a second to push aside the cheap couch and rundown armchairs in my living room. With the space cleared, I flipped on the stereo to give us a little workout music, some rock jams from the ‘90s pumping through the apartment.
“How many fights have you been in?” I asked.
“A few. Nothing major, though, just some scuffles at the bar.”
I admired how strong her body was, her biceps already flexing as she shifted her weight back and forth across from me. “You ever take a punch?”
She nodded, pointing to her arm. “Only here, though. Not in the face or gut or anything.”
I started to bounce back and forth on my feet. Just like whenever I got in a fight at the bar, my heartrate accelerated, and I felt a burning energy build inside of me. I started to think back to all the fights I had been in, cursing my luck but still trying to pull the relevant lessons to the surface to share with Lilith.
“Your feet are in a good position. Just make sure they’re spread like that and your knees are bent. Then you can move easily and dodge some blows. Before we get to all that, though, the real lesson in fighting is avoiding doing it.”
Lilith bounced her knees a little, studying my feet. “Except when you can’t avoid it.”
“Right, there are always situations where you can’t get out of a fight. But before you fly into a rage, the first thing to do is assess the situation and see if there are ways to deescalate or avoid violence. That’s always best.”
Some advice was a lot easier to give than it was to follow.
“Got it. What’s next on the list?”
I bounced to my toes, then sent a fist flying by her face, passing a few inches from her jawline. Lilith startled backward, then shot me a grin.
“Sucker punch,” she said.
I shrugged. “The people who might mess with you at the bar aren’t going to follow the rules of decent behavior. Expect streetfighters to play dirty.”
“You said you never got proper training in fighting techniques. How’d you learn?”
I gritted my teeth, reluctant to dive too far back into those memories. “Asshole brother, asshole neighbors, asshole city.”
Lilith frowned. “Sorry that happened to you. Most people don’t have to learn how to fight at a young age.”
I bounced around a little more, then lunged to send another fist a few inches from Lilith’s face. She jumped back this time, laughing as she dodged it.
“See? You’re learning already.”
“I’m dodging punches almost as good as you’re dodging questions about your past.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
I sent a one-two punch her way, the blows passing a few inches from either side of her face. She dodged again, but when she recovered her stance, I stepped forward, tapping my jaw lightly. “Keep your mouth closed and jaw gripped shut at all times. If someone lands a blow on your face and your mouth is open, you’ll pay the price when your teeth rattle together and your tongue gets split.”
Lilith winced. “Got it. Grind my teeth like you do.”
“It’s good you didn’t have to grow up fighting,” I offered. “People who grow up throwing fists around rarely grow out of it.”
Lilith scoffed. “It’s not like I had an easy time.”
I gave her a second to offer more, but her mouth went tight. Figuring I would be a hypocrite if I pressed her when I wasn’t offering any more on myself, I sent another jab her way instead, this time stopping a few inches short of her gut.
I pointed at her stomach, which she had sucked in, then at my own. “Do you see how you pulled your stomach back like that? What you want to do is make your abs tight. If anything, you lean into the punch to take some of the force away from it. I know it sounds like the opposite of what your instincts want to do, but once you get used to it, it’s a lot easier.”
Lilith tightened up her abs. “Like this?”
