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Chapter One
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Birdie
“Hello ladies. I am Detective Gareth Morgan and I will be your instructor for the next twelve weeks. We’re all going to get well acquainted with one another over the next couple of classes and by the end of this I’m sure you will be sick of me.”
“I wouldn’t ever get sick of that face. He’s dreamy.”
I try to focus on the man standing in front of us and not on the breathy proclamation made a little behind me and to my right. I hate to admit it but she’s right. He’s pretty hot and very easy on the eyes. Not that I would ever have the nerve to talk to someone as attractive as him.
Beside me, my mom jostles my arm and raises her eyebrows. I work hard to school my features so she can’t tell how I feel about our instructor. If she finds out, she will make it her mission to try to get me closer to him and then I will only embarrass myself. Best she doesn’t realize my heart does something funny when I look at him.
This whole self-defense class thing wasn’t my idea to start with. I recently moved out into an apartment of my own and my mom thought this course would be a good thing to take and to have some mom/daughter bonding time. She’s afraid she’ll never see me again because I have a tendency to get lost in my work. This is her way of checking in with me while still giving me my space. Once a week we can meet here for a self-defense class and she can interrogate me about whether I’m eating enough and getting enough sleep.
“Okay, we are going to go around the room and introduce ourselves before we get started and afterward, I am going to teach you one of the basic moves that we will be working on throughout these next few weeks.”
His cool blue eyes land on me and I fight the urge to squirm under the scrutiny. I can see why he would be good at his job…if he were questioning me I would tell him anything he wanted to know.
“Damn, those eyes are hot.” This from the breathy girl again and I break the staring contest we seem to be locked in to look over at her.
And wished I hadn’t.
She’s beautiful. Tall, blonde, bubbly, and looks great in stretchy stuff - this girl is the poster child for fitness. And her makeup is…on fire. I didn’t wear any makeup. I rarely ever do. The most I usually wear is some lip balm. I was well aware I would probably be sweating my ass off so why bother putting any makeup on. I bet this woman doesn’t even sweat when she works out…perfect, she’s perfect.
“As I said before, I’m Gareth. You can all simply call me Gareth if you want, no need to be formal. I usually don’t teach self-defense but my buddy who does was recently in an accident and won’t be able to do it for the next little while. So you all got stuck with me.”
“You can stick to me, any day.” The perfect one speaks and the rest of the room laughs. All I can do is try to work up a pinched smile. He laughs it off good-naturedly and goes on.
“I was promoted to detective about three years ago but before that, I went to school to be a doctor. What made me change my mind about being a doctor? I wanted to help people before they came to the emergency room. I felt I could do more good, and be more proactive if I was actually out there proactively doing as opposed to waiting for them to be brought to me. I wanted to make a difference and that’s why each of you is here tonight. You want to make a difference by being able to protect yourself. If you can protect yourself, it might make all the difference in the world.”
His eyes come back around the room and land on me again. “Now let’s hear about you all.”
“He does have kind eyes.” My mom leans over and whispers in my ear. I try to concentrate on what is being said while at the same time ignoring what she’s telling me. It shouldn’t matter if he has kind eyes or not, as long as he can teach us what we need to know. Right?
“How about we start with you? Tell us a little more about yourself?” Oh shit! He points straight to me and everyone in the class turns to stare at me. “Let’s get to know one another better.”
Damn, I really wish he wasn’t so hot. Then I could pretend everything he says doesn’t make me think of sex. Those bright blue eyes bore right into my soul like he is calling me out on my inner kinky slut - the one that reads all the dirty books and might be ashamed of her search history if anyone ever found out.
I must take too long because my mom gives me an elbow nudge, “I’m Birdie. And this is my mom.”
“Birdie. That’s a very pretty name.” As he gives me a very cat-like grin, the point is driven home just how hard these next few weeks are going to be for this shy girl. And her inner kinkster.
Chapter Two
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Gareth
This is only the third week I’ve been teaching the women in the Friday class. Just the third time I’ve seen the cute little thing in the back of the room with the adorable as fuck name. Birdie. I fight back the urge to stare at just her. Even though half of the class is spent with my eyes on her and her little body.
Last week the women wanted to take me out for dinner and I agreed just so I could spend more time looking at her. Instead of being able to sit next to her, some of the other ladies monopolize my time. One, the blonde one whose name I can’t remember, even asked me out, and not just to show her appreciation for the class. I, of course, turned her down. No way would I be alright crushing on one girl while going out on a date with another. That wouldn’t be fair to all three of us.
Thankfully, she was a good sport about it even if she started quizzing me on whether I was married or not. Tonight I’m running a little late so I come in and find that the women have broken up into little groups while they chat with one another. My eyes are automatically drawn to Birdie. She’s sitting with her mom and the blonde I turned down and one other older woman who I think is named Betty… or Betsy. Or maybe that is the blonde’s name.
The smile on her face, when she doesn’t realize she’s being watched, is stunning. She lights up like the sun. I move closer so I can find out what she’s showing the other women.
“Oh my goodness, he’s a doll baby.”
