Page 21 of Quake
She rose to her feet and clapped her hands together, ready and raring to go. The change in her demeanor was stunning. I knew I’d been right when I picked her for one-on-one training. She’d flourished with a little extra attention, but I hadn’t counted on liking her so much. Not the way she looked, because she was stunning in an understated way I found fucking hot, but in the way she spoke to me.
She was just…Juliette. She didn’t come from my world, and I didn’t come from hers. There were no pitying looks or expectations with her. It was just easy. Harmony. In the space of a week, our sessions had become a time out from the world. I wondered if it was the same for her, but I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask. Technically, it was still a business transaction at the end of the day.
“What about you?” she asked, blindsiding me. “Is this a step to something else?”
“Beat?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “Ah, it’s more like a full stop right now.”
Juliette’s brows knitted together, and I could see she wanted to ask why, but she didn’t press. That was another thing about our relationship I liked. It wasn’t overcomplicated with too many ‘whys.’
“Shall we get into it then?” I asked, gesturing to the mat.
She smiled and took her position on the mat facing me.
Our usual routine had smoothed out to include some simple warm-ups, followed by a refresher on the basics I’d already taught her, and then the last half an hour we would focus on something new. I’d also gotten her into doing some strengthening exercises with dumbbells and a medicine ball to build some upper body strength. We had no trouble filling our hour together, and honestly, I could’ve easily found shit for her to do to fill two, but she seemed keen to get out of here right on seven each night.
Warm-up was fine, and it allowed me to work my back without stressing the inflamed nerve endings. Easy shit like stretching out quads and loosening the arms. Good for flexibility…and wandering eyes.
Next, we role-played some basic attack and defense, which was the whole reason she was at Beat in the first place. I would come at her from different angles, and she would try to react as quickly and effectively as she could. She was still a little slow, but her confidence was way up. Anyway, this kind of shit took time.
We were still working on distance defense, so it should’ve been low impact, but I’d underestimated the force she had hidden away in that little body of hers. I came at her from the side, and she struck, twisting at the waist and jamming the palm of her hand up into the base of my lungs in a really fucking good attempt at winding me. Unfortunately for me, the blow sent a pulse of pain through my back, and I winced.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I replied, rubbing my back.
“Have you hurt yourself?” She looked so concerned, my mood began to simmer down.
“Just an old injury,” I replied absently. “Nothing special.”
“If you’re not well…” she began, looking distraught.
“It’s fine,” I snapped, my temper getting the better of me.
She flinched as my words hit her square in the chest, and her arms wrapped around her waist like armor.
“Shit…” I ran my hand over my face. “I didn’t mean…”
Her concern was kinda hot, but she didn’t need to worry about me. I’d adapted pretty well since getting out of the hospital.
She didn’t seem to hear me, though. “We can call it a night, and maybe you can let me know about Wednesday…”
I grasped her shoulders, the pain in my back subsiding to a dull throb. “Juliette, it’s fine.”
Her eyes sparkled as she stared up at me, a little of the woman who’d first walked into Beat showing. Concern, fear, panic. It was all there. She was becoming attached to me—she felt safe here now—but I felt the same way about her. Could this actually be a thing between us? Amorekind of thing?
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I murmured, knowing our relationship had already crossed a line I hadn’t realized we’d stepped over. “Injury is part of the sport. Every boxer has something they need to manage. Don’t worry about it.”
She stared at me for a moment, her gaze searching mine, likely to see if I was telling her the truth, then she looked away.
“We’ve still got half an hour,” I said, not ready to let her go before her hour was up. “Do you want to work on the upper body? Get some strength going?”
Her lips parted with a sigh, and she nodded. “Sure.”
Placing my hand on the small of her back, I guided her to the weight room, completely aware when she shivered.
She didn’t want to go either, and there was no way in hell I was letting my back get between us. It may have ended my career, but it wouldn’t end anything else.
I’d make sure of it.
