The Killing League

35.

Nicole

Nicole stood at the back of the classroom, sweat coming off her in sheets. Her body was exhausted, her legs were rubbery and her forearms hurt from repeated blows.

In short, she had never been happier.

She took a long drink from her water bottle and started packing her gear into her duffel bag.

“Hey Nicole,” a voice called out to her.

She turned and saw the new guy, Kurt, walking up to her. He had joined the class a little less than a month ago and had quickly become one of the better students.

“Hey,” she said.

“That was brutal today,” he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was a little bit taller than her, with short brown hair, blue eyes and a pleasant face. Kind of handsome in a boy-next-door kind of way.

“Yeah, I’ll be feeling this one for a few days,” she said.

Kurt looked around then dipped his head a little bit. Nicole felt herself tense. It had been a long time, but she had a feeling she knew what was coming.

“Do you feel like going and grabbing a beer?” he said. “I think we’ve earned one.” He gave her a sheepish grin.

She wasn’t sure what kind of expression she had on her face but it must not have been very welcoming because he immediately held up his hands in mock surrender.

“Totally innocent, I swear,” he said. “You know, friends. Classmates. Maybe ask you for some pointers.”

Nicole had gotten pretty good with hiding her emotions, so she was surprised that he read her that easily.

Mentally, she gathered herself.

“Sure, that sounds good.” The words sounded foreign to her. Had she just accepted a date, sort of? Her therapist would be proud. But she wasn’t sure if she was. She’d been asked out many times before, since her recovery from the attack. She had always flatly refused. It just hadn’t been on her radar. The focus had been on herself. Making room and giving herself time to heal.

Plus, in the back of her mind there had always been someone else hanging around the fringes of her days. Wallace Mack was the bright spot, the one shining ray of hope that had helped her get through that hellish period of her life.

She realized Kurt was waiting for an answer. She thought about it. She had to be at the restaurant in about three hours. Plenty of time to grab a beer, then go home, shower and change.

It would still leave her enough time to let Sal out, maybe even take him for a quick walk for some fresh air and exercise.

Besides, it was just a beer.

What could it hurt?