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My mouth went a little dry as I watched him bench press more than I thought was possible. The sweat making his bulging muscles glint wasn’t helping, either.
Jalik glanced my way and smirked. I tried to appear as if I was merely admiring his feat of strength and not openly ogling him. I knew I failed miserably when his smirk only grew. Mentally, I kicked myself for being so obvious.
He got up and moved to the punching bag. His focus lasered in on his target just like he did last night. My breath caught in my throat as I watched him punch the bag over and over again. Every hit was precise and brutal.
It was his face, though, that I couldn’t look away from. There was that same confidence from last night clear on his features. That knowledge that he could take on anybody and put down any threat he came across. That his skills and experience could see him through anything.
No wonder he was so smug about everything he did. Why he never hesitated. Why when he walked, he had that swagger in his step and that smirk on his face. People saw him and knew that he was a force to be reckoned with.
A small stab of envy coursed through me. If only it were that easy for me to warn people off like that. Sure, I could never hope to have even half of his stature or muscle. But if I at least knew how to fight, maybe I’d have just a fraction of his confidence. And I hoped that I would be able to get out of any close calls myself.
Then an idea occurred to me, and a smile made its way onto my lips. Maybe there was a way.
JALIK
Jab. Hook. Another jab. I put all my focus into the punching bag, envisioning it as my opponent.
My thoughts turned to Serena and that message on her door. On what could’ve happened if she had been there for them to find.
Suddenly it was not my opponent at the match tonight that I envisioned, but the faceless creep. The punches became sharper, faster, and harder than any of the ones before.
“Jalik?”
I turned to see Serena walking up to me, her face brighter than it had been since we went to her place.
“What is it?” I asked, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat away.
She shifted from foot to foot and didn’t quite meet my gaze. “I was just wondering, if you have the time, could you show me how to fight?”
I blinked in surprise. She wanted to know how to fight? It wasn’t a request I’d expect from someone like her, considering she looked about as intimidating as a pastry puff. Although, it would be good for her to have some self-defense skills should she ever need them.
“I think that’s a good idea, actually,” I decided. “Let’s go over to the mat. I’ll show you a few self-defense techniques.”
She beamed and quickly hurried over to the mat. I followed a bit slower behind, a smile making my lips curl briefly at her eagerness.
“So, what am I learning first?” she asked, bouncing on her toes a bit, like she was imitating a fighter getting ready for a match. “How to knock someone out in one hit? How to flip someone over?”
“Why don’t we start with the basics first? Beginning with what to do if someone grabs you by the wrist.”
I demonstrated and took her wrist firmly in my hand, making sure it was secure but not too tight. “Now, you have a few options. One, you can twist your wrist, pull away, and then make a run for it. Sometimes the grip is loose enough to allow for that.”
She nodded and twisted her wrist to the side and yanked it out of my hold.
“Good. However, that doesn’t always work, and your opponent might catch up to you again. There’s another technique, though, that will allow you to deliver enough pain to them for you to get away.”
I grabbed her wrist again. “What you’re going to do is take your other hand and place it on top of my knuckles.”
Once she did that, I continued. “Then you’re going to twist the arm that’s being pulled around while grabbing their wrist. Then push down on your aggressor’s arm.”
She twisted her arm just as I’d instructed, and now it was my arm caught in a compromising position. I bit back a wince at the pressure she put into the move. It wouldn’t move me, but I didn’t want her to hurt herself, either. “All right, you don’t actually have to break my arm.”
Serena quickly let go. “Sorry, I didn’t think something so simple would be so effective.”
I chuckled. “You’d be surprised how many small moves make for a big impact. Even a guy as big as me would struggle to stop you if you took me at the right angle. Here. Let’s try it some more, this time more quickly.”
We ran through it four times until I knew she was comfortable enough to do it automatically. “Not bad.”
“Not bad, huh? I think I saw you wince that time,” she teased.
