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He’d gotten aboner.
Eric clenched his jaw as he pulled his leg up to deliver a sidekick into the heavy punching bag. The snap of the dobok he wore, combined with the wide swing of the bag, confirmed it was a fairly lethal kick.
Shit. There were a lot of emotions warring inside him at the moment, and working out at the dojang had been his favorite outlet to release them since he’d started Taekwondo.
Who the fuck was the dude who was harassing Hannah?
And how the hell had he allowed himself to get a boner while hanging out with her?
Actually, that one was almost a given. When she’d fallen asleep and snuggled up to him, his mind and body had gone from zero to sixty in seconds. He’s managed to keep it semi-controlled until she’d hugged him.
But it wasn’t Eric she’d thought she was cuddling with. It was James.
Frustration and anger coursed through him and he took a deep breath before launching into a jumping sidekick into the bag.
Since it was his last kick, Eric moved to the back of the line of students. On his way, he made eye contact with Master Myeoung, who raised an eyebrow.
The older man had been his instructor since Eric was ten. He’d grown up in this studio basically. It didn’t surprise him that Master Myeoung could read him as well as Eric’s own parents.
Damn.
He had to control his emotions a little better.
After class, when everyone was heading out, the older man waved him up to the front.
“Everything all right, Eric?”
Clearly, his teacher had picked up on his loosely checked emotions.
“Yes. Sorry if I came across as otherwise, Master Myeoung.”
“No need for apologies.” His slight smile showed understanding. “I have a family event with my sister in two weeks. How would you feel if I asked you to teach my Saturday class on the sixteenth?”
Being a second dan, Eric had assisted Master Myeoung with some aspects of class before, but had never taught an actual class.
A surge of excitement hit him and he gave a swift nod. “Honored. Absolutely honored. I’d love to fill in if you’re sure I’m ready.”
Getting a chance to teach in the dojang he’d grown up in would be amazing. Especially when opening his own Taekwondo studio someday had always been a pipe dream. Maybe with enough time and money, it could be more than a dream.
“You are ready.” His teacher walked to a desk in the corner and lifted a paper off it. “I also think you are ready to test for third dan.”
Exhilaration locked the breath in Eric’s throat.
God, he’d been working so hard for so many months—it’d been almost two years since his last promotion. But it was something you didn’t talk about. Didn’t ask. The master told you when you were ready to take your next promotion test, and until then, you just worked your ass off to get better.
And here it was. The paper in his hands confirmed he was ready to take his test to become a third-degree black belt.
Hell yeah.
“Thank you, Master.”
“You’re welcome.”
Eric bowed before making his way to the door of the dojang.
“And, Eric?”
“Yes, Master?”
