Page 69 of Falcon

“You knew that, Rose.” Faith rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

“I know,” Rose says, “I just like hearing him talk.”

“I like her,” I tell Faith. “She understands the magic that is me.”

“Wow, your ego is shining bright today, huh?” says Faith.

“Isn’t it always?” I nod toward the room they just came from. “Good workout in there?”

“Were you being a creep again?”

“Again? What am I missing here?” Rose interjects.

“I just came to look around and boom, there you were. It’s like it was meant to be, and I must add, I’m fucking impressed. The upper body strength to do that shit is insane. Nicely done.”

“It’s the best workout I’ve ever had. Minus one thing, of course,” Rose says with a wink.

“Rose. Jesus Christ.” Faith laughs.

“Speaking of…” Rose looks at her imaginary watch again. “Look at the time. I will leave you two kids alone for your workout. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, which means be as nasty as possible.”

“See. I knew I liked her,” I say.

“She’s about to be in time-out.”

Rose blows Faith a kiss. “Be safe. Seriously. And text me later. Falcon, take care of her.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We both watch as Rose makes her way down the glass hall and back toward the women’s locker rooms, leaving Faith and me completely alone now.

“So…pole dancing?” I ask.

“It’s so hard. Really. And it takes coordination, endurance, balance, strength, plus it makes me feel sexy. I’ve been doing it for years. It’s been like,” she pauses then shrugs, “therapy.”

She doesn’t have to elaborate for me to understand why feeling sexy and strong is important to her.

It’s why she wants to learn to fight with me.

She wants to be confidant that she can take care of herself.

That she’s still whole.

“Always do what makes you happy.” I kiss her forehead. “All right. Let’s head down for our workout.”

***

“We are going to work on basics today, all right?” I tell her with my hands on her shoulders, steadying her right in front of me.

“Basics. Got it. I can do that.” She shakes out her arms and bounces a bit. “Let’s do this.”

I just smile at her. Fuck she’s cute.

“All right. This is a heel palm strike. It’s the most basic of self-defense moves that you can know, but it is incredibly effective.” I bring my hands up, palms facing her and my finger just slighting bent. “You’ll take the heel of your palm and thrust it forward into the attacker’s nose. It won’t incapacitate them completely, but it will make them black out or at least double over in pain long enough for you to get away.” I slowly go through the motions, letting the heel of my hand tap her barely on the nose.

She smiles at the light contact. “Easy enough.” She takes her stance and repeats the motion, just as I did it, giving me a tap on the nose.

“Good girl, but remember to put all your force behind it and be sure to recoil your strike. Pull your arm back quickly. That will cause whomever you’ve hit’s head to swing back, which will give you give more time to get away.”

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