Fighting (11 page)

I
was used to both of us watching each other because that's what you did with
mortal enemies.  You were always aware of their location and on guard in case
they struck out against you.  Now that we were being civil to each other, it
felt similar, yet different when he looked at me.  It was still intense, but it
felt much less hostile and much more confusing, because the urge to hit him had
disappeared altogether. 

I
changed into my workout clothes and made my way upstairs, wondering if he would
show up again to coach me on my fighting technique.  I finished early and was
sitting down with my knees drawn to my chest, staring at the moon through the
open French doors when I heard his approaching footsteps.  I realized, right at
that second, that he must have been closing the doors every night after I was
done.  Guess he didn't mind.

I
twisted my neck to look at him and his eyes scanned my compacted form on the
ground.  He held up a pair of gloves in silent question and I nodded.  He
tossed them to me and I stood up to prepare for the lesson.  I didn't know why
he was doing this but I wasn't about to ask him and scare him off. 

He
taught me more about blocking and how to take a hit.  Without actually hitting
me, he explained what to do if I wasn't able to block a hit to the face. 

"Go
with the punch.  If he's punching your head back and to the left, push your
head back and to the left as fast as you can to lessen the impact of his fist. 
If there's less resistance, it won't hurt as much."

"Makes
sense," I muttered.

He
nodded and we went through more drills until he was satisfied with what he
saw. 

"Excellent. 
Just like that," he encouraged me.

A
few minutes past eleven, we were finished and I was thoroughly exhausted. 
Instead of simply picking up and taking off to my bedroom, I leaned against the
wall of mirrors.  He watched me unwrap my hands for a moment before following
my lead.  He leaned a few yards away and unwrapped his own hands.  I took some
time to drink my water, catch my breath and unbraid my hair to run my fingers
through it.  He merely watched the door.

We
were silent all through this until unexpectedly, he asked, "How old are
you?"

I
looked at him, feeling a strange jolt skitter through my body.  He had never
taken a personal interest in me before.  "Twenty one."  It took a moment
of rallying, and then I said, "And you?"

Without
looking away from the door, he said, "Twenty two."

Ah
ha, so I was right, he was the closest to my age of anyone here. 

He
didn't say anything else so after a few minutes of complete silence, I pushed
off of the wall but stopped at the door.  With my back still to him, I said,
"Thanks."

"For
what?" 

He
sounded a lot closer than I thought, and when I turned around he was only two
feet from me, towering over me.  He had about four inches on me, so I had to
look up slightly with him this close.  Without thinking, I licked my lips and
his eyes flick down to them. 

My
pulse accelerated and I said, "For your patience." 

His
eyes flicked back up to mine and he jerked his chin in acknowledgement.  His
closeness seemed to have stunned something in me because I was frozen to the
spot, staring at him.  And I found myself irritated again, because this never
happened to me!  And it wasn't just that he had this effect on me, it's that he
barely had to do anything to make it happen.  All he did was
look at my
lips. 

Damn
hormones.

My
feet finally started working again, so I turned and left, not checking to see
how far behind he was.  I practically flew down the stairs and hallway to my
room.  I tossed my door shut and threw myself onto my bed.  I covered my face
with my hands and felt like a total fool.  I couldn't believe that I had just
thanked Ethan!  For his patience, no less!

What
the hell was going on with me?

I
let my arms fall to the bed, feeling how tired I really was.  I was training in
the mornings and now, the evenings as well with Ethan.  I was also doing yoga,
helping clean up and make lunch and supper, not to mention the fact that it's
exhausting just being around Spencer and the others.  I was wiped. 

I
fell asleep right where I was, barely staying conscious long enough to pull the
covers over my body. 
Fuck it
, I thought sleepily in regards to Ethan. 
Roll
with the punches, Alex.  See where it takes you
.

The
next morning after my hour of running and weight training, I infused my new
skills that Ethan taught me the previous night into my session with Ross.  By
this point, I could see Ross becoming a little confused as to where my sudden
turnaround was coming from.  I acted like nothing was different, but truthfully
I had trouble not laughing out loud in gleeful satisfaction. 

After
my private lesson with Brooks, everyone was busy with something or other so I
tagged my tablet from my desk and went up to the studio balcony to read.  I was
reading for maybe an hour or two when I heard a noise behind me.  I twisted in
my seat and saw August standing there with a book in her hand.

"Class
over?" I asked her.  She nodded and I jerked my head toward a chair that
was close by.  "Sit with me."

She
smiled gratefully and took a seat.  After a moment, I saw in my peripheral
vision that she hesitantly propped her feet up on the railing like I had mine. 
I smiled into my book but didn't say anything.

My
tablet alarm went off at six, and I stood up and said, "Supper time.  You
wanna stay here and read or come down and help?"

"Help? 
I usually just watch."  There was her normal pitch of shyness in her
voice, but there was also a light vein of hopefulness.

I
zeroed in on that and said casually, "Sure.  Tonight, you help and I'll
watch.  Do you know how to cook?" 

"No."

"Gwen
is a great teacher.  You'll learn a lot," I assured her.  "Come
on."  I held out a hand and helped her to her feet.  

We
gathered in the kitchen and I turned on music that was more mellow than normal
and said lightly, "Gwen, August is going to take my place tonight.  Is
that all right?" 

Gwen
looked at me and I flicked my eyes to August and back. 

"Sure,"
Gwen said.  She looked at August and said, "Wash your hands, sweetheart. 
We're making spaghetti, bread and salad tonight."

August
nodded her head eagerly and Gwen put her to work.  Ollie, Spencer and I sat on
the stools and chatted while we watched them work. 

After
supper, we cleaned up and retired to the living room, where Ollie procured a
movie for us to watch.  I couldn't watch it and do my Yoga Alone Time, too, so
I opted to skip yoga for the evening.  It was Friday, after all.  I sprawled
across half of a couch and got comfortable, settling in for an (what else?)
action movie. 

Spencer
and August sat on the other half of the couch with their feet propped up on the
coffee table in front of them.  Ethan fell onto another couch, sprawled much
like I was, taking up a good bit of space with his big body.  Ross sunk onto
the other half of his couch and I caught Ethan narrow his eyes just barely, but
enough for me to notice.  Brooks sat in the recliner, and Gwen ducked her head
in the room to say goodnight. 

It
wasn't long before I was laughing at parts there weren't supposed to be funny
because Spencer and Ollie kept pointing out the things that wouldn't happen in
real life. 

"There's
no way he could make that shot without steadying his gun on something
first."

"There's
no way that guy walks away from that explosion without even flinching.  His
ears should be bleeding!"

"Come
on, girls that hot aren't ever that good with guns."

August
and I slowly turned our heads toward Spencer in feigned offense and Ethan said on
a grin, "Spence." 

Spencer
immediately realized what he said and backtracked sheepishly.  "Other than
Alex and August, obviously."

August
slapped his shoulder and I couldn't help but laugh.  Damn, I don't think I'd
ever laughed so much in my life before coming here.  My abs were getting a
workout from just laughing, alone. 

As
the credits started rolling, I checked my watch.  It was a little after ten,
when Ethan and I would have just started training if he had shown up again.  I
looked at him and caught him staring at me.  He raised his eyebrows and tilted
his head to the door in question.  I ignored the small surge of happy
adrenaline that shot through my system and nodded my head. 

We
got up at the same time and bid goodnight to everyone.  I went to my room to
change and met him in the studio a few minutes later.  He was already there,
waiting on me. 

He
took me through some more drills and coached me on my technique.  We stopped
around eleven, and I wasn't as tired as normal because I hadn't done yoga
beforehand and had just been lounging on the couch for two hours. 

"We'll
work on your kicks next time.  You have long legs, you should be able to hit
higher."

Next time?
  So was this becoming a normal
thing between us, then? 
Long legs
?  By now I knew he was very astute,
but it was still jolting that he noticed something physical about me.  Good
God, he made me feel like such a
girl
.

I
sighed and leaned against the wall to chug water from my water bottle.  He did
the same, still a few yards away from me.  We lingered in silence, and I
unwrapped my hands. 

"Why
do you like yoga?" he asked.

I
glanced at him, not entirely surprised to hear his voice, but that he was
talking, and not about my fighting technique.  I only just stopped myself from
shrugging my shoulders flippantly.

He
was taking a chance on me, whether it was a risky one or not, offering to tutor
me on my fighting skills.  He didn't have to.   No one was making him be civil
to me.  He could have just sat back and enjoyed watching me flounder without
ever extending a helping hand.  Instead, he offered me help a lot like I
offered Spencer help, without making a big deal about it or making me feel
dumb.  I decided it was time for me to take a risk on him, too. 

I
decided to drop my armor and talk to him. 

I
slid down the wall and sat down, crossing my legs in front of me.  "I
started it when I was in college.  My roommate, who I liked
just enough
to
spend time with outside of our dorm room, begged me to go with her." 
Ethan slid down and into a sitting position, too.  "I thought it was a
bunch of crap, but I eventually gave in.  I gave it a shot and found that it
was challenging, both mentally and physically.  I like the control.  I like to
stretch and push my muscles to their limits.  I don't know, I just took to
it."

I
looked over to see him watching me.  I didn't offer up anything terribly
personal, but saying anything at all to Ethan seemed iffy.  I was banking on
him being the New Ethan that he had been showing me lately.  The one who didn't
pounce on any weakness and attack, like one would expect an enemy to do.

"You
thought it was a bunch of crap?" he asked with the teeniest, tiniest trace
of humor laced in his voice.

I
took a big breath and went all in, just like I did with Ollie shortly after I
first met him.  "Yeah, you know, the new aged mumbo jumbo about aligning
your mind and body and spirit.  I know it works for some people but I'm not
into it so much.  I don't meditate or anything like that.  I just like the workout
part.  I mean, it clears my mind and shit, but I don't pray to the gods for
clarity or more toned abs or anything like that," I said in a dry voice. 

He
smirked at me, his blue eyes crinkling in the corners, and I felt such a rich
sense of accomplishment that I made Ethan, who's usually so moody around me,
grin that I couldn't help but grin back before looking down at my hands.  I'd
seen him smile, but never at me, and never because of something I had said.  It
changed his face, taking it from serious detachment to warm intensity.  I felt
a thrill of excitement in my stomach but told myself it was adrenaline left
over the workout.

It
wasn't.

He
didn't say anything but looked like he wanted to.  And it hit me then that it
wasn't that he had nothing to say, he just didn't know how to say it.  I waited
patiently, knowing he would sort it out eventually.

"So
you don't drink green tea in the morning and sleepy tea at night?" he
asked after a few moments, teasing me lightly.

Teasing
me!

"No,"
I said on a light chuckle.  I threaded my hand wraps through my fingers to give
my hands something to do.  "I wake up early for the rush of endorphins and
I usually go to sleep easily at night because being at this place is physically
exhausting."

"It's
good."  I lifted my head again and he elaborated, "That you're here. 
It's good."

Well,
color me shocked as hell.  He's not only being nice to me, but he approves of
me?  Say what now?