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Chapter Fourteen
Alex
Ihated keeping my distance from Lexi, but it was a necessary evil. At least for the time being. This account meant everything to Jake, and I respected him just as much not to screw it up. At least not on purpose.
As I stepped away from Lexi, it took everything in me not to pin her body back to the wall and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. The dazed look in her eyes only intensified the feeling because I was pretty sure that if I did, she’d have welcomed it with open arms.
I stepped out of the bathroom and almost ran directly into Ralph. Fuck— He glanced pointedly at me and then the sign for the ladies’ room as he lifted a brow in question.
“I was checking on her wrist to make sure it wasn’t something that needed further medical treatment.”
“Ah, okay.”
I doubted he believed me, but I walked away without saying anything further and wished that we didn’t have to sit in the classroom for another two hours. I’d much prefer to be doing hands-on activities than lecturing and having them watch presentations, but sadly that is what we needed to do.
The morning went by swiftly, and I managed to keep myself under control when it came to Lexi. At least now she wasn’t shooting daggers at me or looking upset. She understood why I was treating her like every other Joe in the class.
We had lunch catered, and as much as I wish I could have sat beside Lexi, enjoying the sandwiches and salads, I filled my plate and returned to the classroom to eat in front of my computer. There were a few videos that I needed to watch, and at least they would keep my mind occupied for a little while.
Thirty minutes later, people began to slowly gather in the room again, the atmosphere casual and filled with laughter as they shared stories, and when Lexi stepped through the door, she darted a look my way and then turned to speak to another man who was with her and her boss. I finished my video and cleaned up my trash as Trevor joined me up front.
“We gonna watch those other two videos and let their food settle before we work on the self-defense?”
“Yeah, that’s the idea.”
We called the class back to their seats and put on another safety video for them to watch. After that, we showed them another video of the self-defense moves that we would be teaching them. As the video played, I studied Lexi, wondering if she would be turned off by the hands-on contact. Strangely enough, there was a little smirk on her face as she watched the demonstration. Now that was interesting.
When we were done, we corralled everyone into the gym where mats had been put out along the floor space. We had everyone remove their shoes to avoid an injury from the soles, and then we partnered them up. Since we had nineteen, one person was alone. I purposely made that Ralph. I partnered Lexi up with a man slightly bigger than her, which was only realistic in the world. Ralph would work with either Trevor or myself, and I looked forward to getting a little physical with the man.
“One of the most important things that you need to remember is that if someone takes you, you need to fight. If you don’t fight, you won’t win,” Trevor told the group.
“So fight with everything that you have,” I added. “Trevor is right, if someone gets ahold of you, you have to try and get loose. If you can’t do that right away, then you need to reserve your strength and keep your wits about you. You’ll be scared, and tired, and probably hungry too, but you need to keep your wits about you and look for an out.”
“And remember if they have a knife,” Trevor began, “expect to get cut. If you are fighting someone with a knife, you’re going to get hurt. But try to contain those injuries to your arms and not your torso.”
“Most times, they will come at you from the back.” I walked behind Trevor and put my arm around his neck in a light choke hold. “The surprise of having someone grab you that way will put fear straight down your spine, and you’ll most likely experience the pucker factor.”
There were a few chuckles around the room before I continued. “It’s important to act quickly. They won’t expect you to do more than grab their arm and try to pull it away. Instead, grab their arm and direct it.”
Trevor and I demonstrated in real-time what the move looked like, and then we did it again in slow motion. While doing it slowly, we explained each step from where he would grab my wrist and hand, then how he could tuck his chin into my elbow, and while ducking down, he pulled the arm off his neck and had ahold of my wrist instead. With applied pressure, he bent my wrist back, and to my knees I went.
“It doesn’t take a lot of pressure,” Trevor said. “It’s amazing how little it will take to have your assailant on his knees in front of you. Do a knee strike to their face, shove them away, and run like hell.”
We asked the partners to set themselves up in the position and then explained step-by-step how to get out of the hold. I’d partnered with Ralph for this one, and his thick arm around my neck was probably tighter than it needed to be, but whatever. Once it was explained, it took me all of two seconds to have Ralph on his knees and wincing at my hold on his wrist. His eyes snapped to mine, and was that a challenge? Well, yes, that sure looked like it. He had no clue that I’d already claimed the prize.
Trevor came up behind Ralph and took hold of his throat, and I knew that he wasn’t doing it anywhere as tightly as Ralph had done to me. I dismissed them and began to move around the nine other groups, helping them and giving them pointers. I paused beside Lexi and her partner Matt. She had her arm around his throat, but he was careful not to hurt her.
“Lexi, let me do it to him.” She stepped aside, and I put him in a hold. He didn’t have any qualms about strong-arming me. I stood up and turned to Lex. “Let me see you do it now.” I put my arm around her throat, and before I even had it clamped down, she was moving, and I was not only on my knees but ready to beg for release. I stared up at her in surprise as Matt chuckled.
She helped me to my feet with a grin. “Was that okay?”
I laughed and twisted my wrist for a moment, turning to Matt. “Man, I don’t think you have to go easy on her.”
“Yeah, I think I got that.”
I grinned at Lexi. “Okay, you two do that a few more times.”
I stepped away to help others but kept my eye on them as I did. Either Lexi was a natural at this, or she’d had prior training. Now that I looked at her closely, she did stand with a more guarded position. Her feet were always slightly parted, one in front of the other as if she were prepared to blade herself sideways to make herself a small target. Her shoulders were up and back, and her hands were at her sides, not hanging in front of her or crossed over her chest.
