The scent of sweat, plastic, and new wax hit me when Meredith opened the door to the gym. The center of the shiny hardwood floor was covered in bright blue mats. A fight was going on in the middle of them. They were moving so fast that I almost couldn’t make out their faces, but Chris and Adrian were kicking each other’s ass. They were stripped down to a pair of gym shorts. A few guys had their shirts on, but that seemed to be the norm for most of the guys there.
They were managing to block all the hits, until Chris flipped Adrian on his back. The slam echoed off the walls. A few people clapped and cheered as Adrian kipped-up effortlessly and punched Chris in the stomach. The sound of flesh hitting flesh made me break out in a sweat.
Shit. They weren’t kidding about fighting. They were amazing.
And there was no way I could do this. I started to walk back out the doors. “Tomorrow would really work better for my schedule,” I said when Meredith called me on it.
She grabbed the back of my yoga pants, stopping my retreat. “You’re going to be fine. I’m sure Dastien will start you out with something small. Right, Daz?”
Dastien strode toward us. He wore sweatpants, no shoes, no shirt. I’d never seen anyone with a six-pack in real life before. My heart started pounding.
Holy hotness, Batman. Someone call the fire department. This guy was out of control.
“I thought we talked about you not calling me Daz.” Dastien crossed his arms, which made his biceps look huge. No wonder that tree had splintered earlier.
A pitiful whiney noise escaped me before I could stifle it. I covered my mouth with my hand.
The sounds of Adrian and Chris’ fight stopped. I peeked around Dastien to see my classmates watching the drama unfold. I guessed Meredith had been right about that. Funny how I never thought I’d star in my own personal soap opera.
Chris ran over to us. “Everything okay?”
I said no at the same time that Dastien said yes.
“She smells scared—”
“I know what she smells like,” Dastien said too quietly.
“Gross!” I said. “That’s really fucking disgusting. Can we not discuss what your super-schnozes are smelling right now? Kay. Thanks.”
Dastien sighed and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, they had gone from amber to bright yellow. “I was going to teach her, but maybe it’s easier if I don’t. Meredith?”
“I suck at explaining. Chris should do it.” She nudged me.
“I’m in,” Chris said.
“No,” Dastien said.
This was going nowhere fast.
Shannon joined us. “You ready, love?” she asked Meredith.
“Don’t leave me,” I mouthed to Meredith.
“You’re going to do fine. Kick Chris’ ass for me.” They walked to the other side of the gym, and started stretching.
Jerks. Leaving me alone to deal with the boys.
I glanced from Chris to Dastien and back again. “So, what now?”
“Fine.” Dastien crossed his arms. His biceps bulged and I wanted to squeeze them to see if they were as firm as they looked.
Dastien cleared his throat, drawing my attention to his face. I blushed at his smirk. I hoped I hadn’t been too obvious with my staring, but I had a feeling I’d been utterly transparent. Traitorous hormones.
“I’ll be watching you,” Dastien said.
That wasn’t going to help me concentrate at all.
“Chris is the best student fighter in the school, but he’ll go slow with you.” I made sure to keep contact with his eyes as he talked. It was much harder than it should’ve been. “I’m assuming you’ve never taken any kind of class like this?”
“Does a Tae Bo video count?” I said.
“No,” they said together.
That’s what I thought. “Then, no.”
“Okay, Chris. Start with basic stretches, then stances. Make sure she doesn’t break anything when she tries to throw a punch,” Dastien said. “If she gets hurt, I’ll make you hurt.”
Yikes. Poor Chris. Chances were I’d probably hurt myself, but it wouldn’t be his fault.
“I’ll take good care of her.” Chris winked at me as soon as Dastien walked away.
I looked Chris up and down. He’d put back on his shirt, which I was glad for. Dastien could possibly classify as the jealous type. But something struck me as off. “I thought you said you were artsy.”
“I am.”
“Artsy people don’t fight like that.”
“Maybe, but I’m a werewolf.” He grinned with all his teeth.
I stared at the ceiling. “Mad. That’s what everyone is here.”
Chris put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward the mats. A growl echoed through the suddenly quiet gym. Dastien was watching us, as promised.