by Rachel Hanna
We all murmured and nodded our head in understanding.
“So if this happens, there are two things to do. First,” she moved her body, twisting on her planted foot and swinging her other leg around so that it landed in front of her for stability. Her hand was out in front of her now, Logan still gripping it, but she was no longer about to be forced onto her back. “First you need to get yourself into a position where he can’t use his grip to throw you. From there,” Amber reached down and used her right hand to grab the back of her hand, “you need to break his hold. It seems like you can’t, right? He’s bigger, and stronger, and now he’s got you.” Then, while we were all watching, wondering how she was going to do this, she yanked her linked hands back together at the same time. His single handed grip broke immediately and seemingly with ease.
It was like watching a magic trick.
When we all started whispering, wondering how in the hell she had done that, she raised her hands to quiet us. “With a single handed grip, the point where his fingers meet is the weakest point. By using the strength of your free hand and that natural weakness, you can break through that grip—no matter how strong he is. Why? Because his fingers aren’t fused together. He isn’t a pair of handcuffs.”
The next twenty minutes went like that. Logan would rush her and she would either dodge or show some impossibly simple, yet effective way to fend him off.
She even managed to get him on his back a few times. My eyes kept looking to his face, trying to spot the spark of annoyance or anger most of the short-tempered, fight-loving bad boys had when a girl put them in their place. But I never saw it. Instead, he remained in good spirits, smiling through it all and even laughing a few times.
I was more than a little surprised… and found myself smiling a little.
After Amber had rolled through several demonstrations with us, she clapped her hands together again to get our attention, though we had already all been watching raptly.
“Alright! Find a partner,” she told us, and girls already started to break off. “We’re going to practice some of these things with each other. I’ll be walking around giving tips and suggestions, and I’ll have Logan walk around, too. Don’t worry if you see him, he’s just here to offer a better feel for what it’s like to go against someone clearly bigger than you. If you’re not comfortable yet, that’s okay, just let him know. He doesn’t bite.” She smiled and winked at us again, giving Logan a soft push.
The class laughed. Most everyone found a partner. I usually paired with a chubby redheaded girl with freckles scattered across her face, but she wasn’t here today. Which left me without a partner. It happened sometimes, so I wasn’t too worried about it. I just moved to join a group to make one of three, as was standard, but as I moved to join Stacey and Margaret, Logan came up beside me.
“No partner?” he asked in that deep voice of his.
My chest tightened unexpectedly at his nearness. I found that he looked better the closer he was to me. “Uh, no. Jess isn’t here today. We’re usually partners, so I guess I’ll join another—”
Before I finished, Logan’s face split into a bright smile. “I’ll be your partner.”
I pursed my lips together, frowning. I glanced over at Stacey and Margaret. They had already begun practicing and while I was sure they wouldn’t mind another partner, it was always harder to get in enough practice time with three people…
Besides, I came here hoping for a distraction.
Peering up at Logan, I thought maybe he was it. “Alright,” I said calmly.
His smile widened.
We began with simple blocks. We’d gone over them last week and I was as dedicated in studying defense as I was studying any of my classes, so I remembered them easily and within minutes I was blocking him even when he started picking up the pace.
“You’re pretty good,” he commented, his lips quirking upwards at the corner. “For a girl.”
I narrowed my eyes at the comment. For a girl. Well, I’d show him. Giving him a sweet smile, I reached out my arm, offering it to him. He seemed confused—until I spun around so that my back was to him and yanked his arm down over my shoulder. Bending my knees, I rolled him over my back.
He landed with an oomph, his back slapping against the mat and me following him quickly. I landed on top of him, straddling his waist, one hand pressing down on his shoulder as the other was aimed at his neck. I was breathing heavily, adrenaline rushing through my body at knowing I had just thrown someone that big, that strong down to the mat.
Logan grinned widely at me and after a moment, folded his hands back behind his head. “Good job,” he said, and though I suspected mockery, he seemed completely sincere. “Anyone would be stupid to mess with you.”
I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “That’s right,” I told him, confident, but also a little teasing. “I’m a bad bitch.”
He laughed, a deep rumble in his chest that vibrated beneath me. The movement sent tendrils of heat rushing through my body, making my heart pound quickly in my chest all of a sudden.
“Maybe, but not a bitch,” he said, voice a little quieter. He was staring up at me, his eyes locked on mine (though they might have tripped up my body and paused at my breasts first for a moment or two).
I was all of a sudden very aware of the fact that I was still sitting atop him. Although a moment ago it had been fine, because that was part of self-defense, it now felt very… different. I realized that I had been sitting there too long, my legs spread on either side of his hips.
A blush was starting to tint my cheeks and I moved to get up off of him. I thought he’d be relieved or cocky or something along those lines, but instead his hands moved from behind his head to plant themselves firmly on either side of my hips.
They stopped all attempts I made at lifting myself up off of him. My mind flashed to that first day I saw him, when he crashed into me, his hand finding my hip and grazing the skin beneath my shirt… Staring down at him now, his hands on my hips, I realized that he had fallen with me deliberately. As quick and steady as he was here in class—and that was holding back, too, I was willing to bet—there was no way he couldn’t have stopped himself from taking a fall.
But he did fall. With me. With his hands on me.
He’d done it to catch me so I didn’t take the brunt of the fall.
Biting my lip, I moved my hands to settle on top of his. His skin was warm and surprisingly soft. His breathing caught for a moment, I could feel it as his abs tensed beneath me. And I noticed something else, too.
Something long and hard…
“Alright ladies,” called Amber, getting everyone’s attention again. “Good class! If anyone needs to talk to me about anything, feel free to stay for a few minutes. I’ll hang out after class, but otherwise, all of my lovelies are free to go! Enjoy the rest of your night, and remember—be alert, be smart, and be safe.”
Amber’s announcement was enough of a distraction for me to scramble up to my feet and off of Logan. The blush that had been creeping along my cheeks was now firmly planted there.
Chapter 8
I grabbed my stuff quickly, pulling out my jacket and shoving my arms through it. I slung my bag over my shoulder and was out the door, not hazarding a glance behind me. I didn’t want to catch his eyes and it seemed like every time I looked at him, that was exactly what I did.
So I ducked out as quickly as I could as the other girls slowly got their things together and packed up, chatting about what a good class it had been.
I barely even waved a good bye in my hurry and was almost five minutes away I realized that my keys weren’t in my purse. Stopping on the sidewalk, I let my head fall back and groaned.
“Damnit,” I said aloud into the night.
It wasn’t that I needed my keys desperately. Usually, there was someone at the house that would let me in, so I wasn’t going to be locked out or anything. And I knew Amber well enough that she would check around before she left for anything th
e girls might have forgotten and keep it safe until next class. Plus, I could go in tomorrow and pick it up, no big deal.
But my student ID card was attached there and so was the keychain Beck had gotten me years ago…
Forever.
Letting out a sigh, I accepted that I had to go back for my keys. Cursing myself—for anything from my frantic hurry to letting myself partner with Logan at all—I turned around and headed back to where I came from.
I passed most of the girls from my class. Some were headed to the bus stop, others were walking like me, and a lot of them had already unlocked their bikes and were pedaling away into the night. None of them had cars, except for Amber, but she only drove when she couldn’t walk.
Kept complaining about gas prices.
It looked like everyone had left for the night and I was a little worried that maybe I had come back too late and now the building would be closed. I was relieved to find that the door was still open and the lights were on. Pulling open the door, I stepped back inside expecting to find only Amber left inside. Instead, I found both her and Logan inside, I paused.
Damnit, I thought. I’d really been hoping that he would have already left.
My opening of the door hadn’t gotten their attention though, so maybe if I could find my keys I could slip back out before anyone even noticed… Glancing around, I spotted them sitting on a table.
Glancing between Logan and the keys, I decided that if I was quiet enough, I could make it. Quietly, I tip-toed back inside, focusing on my keys, but keeping an eye on them, too. When I’d snatched up the keychain in my hand, I turned, ready to sneak right back out, but I paused.
My gaze drifted to Amber and Logan.
My first reaction was that Logan had stayed—agreed to help in the first place even—because he had a thing for Amber and was trying to get into her pants. That seemed like his usual behavior, based on Lexie and the rumors that had been running around the school. But as I watched them now, I didn’t see anything in his body language or hers that suggested there would be any sex between them.
In fact, I was willing to bet there had been more sexual tension between Logan and me tonight than him and her.
Amber laughed about something and Logan grinned at her, his arms folding across his broad chest. She shook her head at him, still smiling. The confusion that had been flooding me over my reaction to Logan earlier that night siphoned out of me slowly, draining until my tense shoulders softened and I stared at him like maybe he was a real person…
Then his eyes darted across the room to me and I got caught in them. I felt frozen, unable to move now that he had seen me.
After a few seconds, his gaze went back to Amber. I was released from his hold and was about to make a wild dash for the door, when their conversation ended.
Amber waved a good night to Logan and then turned for the door. She was surprised to see me there. “Addy,” she said. “I didn’t see you there. Was there something you needed to talk about?”
I laughed nervously and shook my head. “Uh, no. I just forgot my keys.” I held them up as evidence to show her.
She nodded in understanding, then said goodnight, leaving me alone with Logan.
Silence filled the space and I didn’t dare look over at him. Instead, I said, “You know, I’ve got to go. I have a ton of homework to tackle and I don’t want to put it off for too long.”
I started moving to the door, hoping that I had beat him and would be able to slip out and half-jog home. But I hadn’t. His strong hand gripped the door and held it open for me. He gestured for me to go first and I hazarded a glance at his face.
A smile was there, well, maybe more of a smirk.
I had a feeling that maybe he knew I wanted him…
I shook my head. No I didn’t, I reminded myself. Good girls don’t go for the bad boys. That was one of the rules.
Thanking him, I darted out the door quickly and walked with my shoulders straight and my face forward. If I just didn’t look at him, I wouldn’t get caught in his eyes… I wouldn’t get lost in them and then I wouldn’t get wrapped up in how much my body seemed to want him.
Facing forward, I didn’t see him come up beside me, but I heard his footsteps as he approached.
“It’s kinda late,” he said. “Let me walk you home.”
My heart leapt, but I pushed down my enthusiasm. “It’s not that late. I make this walk all the time.”
“No girl should walk alone at night,” he countered.
“I just left a self defense class, remember?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shrug his shoulders. “Exactly, which means you’re still learning how to defend yourself and you shouldn’t be out here by yourself.”
Blowing out a frustrated breath of air, I stopped and turned to face him. “Look, I think it’s really cool that you volunteered to help us out today,” I began, my hands going to my hips. “But I also think it was really shitty of you to have used Lexie and tossed her aside like that.”
I saw a moment of shock and uncertainty cross his features just as I turned away from him and continued my way towards home. If I was hoping my direct honesty was enough to convince him to leave me be, then I was wrong. It only took a moment before I heard his footsteps catch up to me again.
“So you’re torn,” he filled in slowly.
Frowning, I glanced up at him, shocked that he had so quickly figured me out. But then I saw the mischievous smile on his face and realized that he didn’t know how right he was at all. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Half of me you really like,” he continued, meaning the defense class. “And half of me you really—”
“Hates you with a fiery vengeance?” I supplied coolly.
His grin didn’t go away as I’d hoped. Instead, he laughed. “Well, then maybe I should try to turn the tide in my favor,” he said, jogging to get ahead of me and then turning around so that he was facing me and walking backwards. “I never slept with Lexie.”
I rolled my eyes at him and folded my arms across my chest. “Right, sure. You guys were just being friendly, right? I mean, friends try to suck each other’s faces off all the time, right? And you were just checking her for breast cancer while you were groping her, right?”
He had the decency to at least wince when I pointed out what I had witnessed Friday night.
“I know it looks bad,” he admitted. “But we only fooled around a bit. When I said I wasn’t really interested, she freaked out on me. Spent the whole weekend calling me—I don’t even know how she got my number.”
A warm feeling wiggled its way into my chest. It was hope, I was pretty sure. Hope that maybe he wasn’t as big of a bad boy as he seemed. Maybe he was a good guy, a sheep in wolf’s clothing. And if that was the case, then wouldn’t he be perfect for me? The irrational physical attraction for him wouldn’t have to be denied and I could—
I shook my head, bringing myself back to reality. What the hell was I thinking? This was the same lie every guy told a girl he thought was innocent so that he could get into her pants.
And I was being a sucker by even starting to fall for it.
“Right. And Lexie didn’t say that you guys didn’t do anything because?” I prompted.
He pushed back a few pieces of stray blonde hair which had escaped his ponytail during defense class. Shoving them behind his ears, he considered my question for a moment. “I don’t know, really.”
Rolling my eyes again, I said, “Well, it seems a lot more likely that you slept with her and that’s why she didn’t deny it. After all, it ruins her reputation a lot more than yours if she spent the night with you.”
Satisfied that I’d won, I hugged myself tightly and continued walking, brushing past him. But he still wasn’t going to leave me alone. Catching up once more, he walked beside me again. Which was better. It was easier if I wasn’t staring directly at him.
“That depends on how you look at it,” Logan countered. “Right now, it’s not reall
y doing me any favors, is it?”
I frowned. He had a point. Was I being a jerk for judging him just because he slept with a girl casually? “Yeah, but you slept with her without any intention of having more than sex. That’s the difference.”
He considered my words. “But isn’t that what she did, too? It’s not like we knew each other or anything, so then, theoretically, if she slept with me—which I maintain that there was no sex, just for the record—then the chances of her expecting a relationship afterwards are pretty slim, aren’t they?”
Frustration filled me, mostly because I still believed he had slept with Lexie, but also because he had an interesting point. Lexie was a flirt, but there was a difference between flirting and going to bed with a practical stranger.
No one starts a relationship that way.
Instead of answering, I fell silent and continued to walk.
Letting out a sigh, Logan shook his head. “Okay, I made a pretty bad impression,” he admitted to me.
“You think?” I shot back dryly.
“So let’s start again,” he suggested, ignoring my quip. “Let’s pretend that tonight was our first meeting and that we both had a good time and now I’m walking you home because I want to get to know you.”
I thought it over, hating that piece of myself that kind of thought that was a good idea. Smoothing out my irritation, I dared risk a glance at him and gave him a smile. “Alright. And just how much of that is pretending?”
He smiled back at me. He really was gorgeous. “Just that we’d never met before,” he answered smoothly.
“So you’re just trying to get to know me,” I clarified.
He nodded in confirmation.
“And why is that?”
“Like I said, because we both had a good time.”
My eyes darted down to his pants, remembering how I had straddled his hips and his… reaction. The blush returned to my cheeks and I looked away quickly, hoping he hadn’t caught me. “I see. Well, then let me give you a quick low down and save us both some time,” I said, deciding that if I just gave him my requirements in a guy, he would back away quickly and without much of a fight. Bad boys always ran from high maintenance and commitment. “I’m serious about school. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. I don’t fool around or do stupid, asinine things. I believe that a man and woman should spend time getting to know each other before jumping in the sack together and I think that there’s nothing that violence solves that words couldn’t do just as well.”
