Can't Fight It (Fair Lakes 3)

“Colton.” Mary sticks her head in the door. “Everyone has canceled. It’s really starting to get bad out there.”

“Thanks, Mary. Why don’t you go ahead and go home? I’ll be here to close up.”

“Everyone’s gone, and I don’t think anyone is going to be coming in tonight anyway. I’ll just put a note on the door that due to inclement weather, we’re closed. I’ll update all of our social media sites, and then head home.”

“Thanks, Mary.”

“Should we go?” Hollis asks.

“Nah, we can stay a little longer. Besides, I promised you a self-defense class, and we’re already here. Hell, we have the place to ourselves.” That part worries me just a little. No, it will be just like it is at home. I’m going to keep it completely professional.

She nods. “Let’s do it.”

“Perfect. Okay. Take a mat. You can have your pick,” I say with a chuckle.

“Where are you going to be?”

Wherever you are. “I’ll take the one in front so you can see me.” She chooses a mat in the center of the room, and I take the one directly in front of her. “Okay, the first move we’re going to practice is the hammer strike. Anytime you’re walking alone, you should have your keys in your fist like this.” I rush to the storage closet, grab my keys, then back to the mat. “Since I drove, you’re going to need these.” I show her how to hold the keys in her hand.

“Like this?” she asks, taking my keys and doing as I demonstrated.

“Just like that. Now, should someone approach you aggressively, you swing your arm like this as if it were a hammer.” I demonstrate with my hand to show her. She copies me and nails it. Not that this one is complicated, which is why I started with it.

“Do you feel comfortable with me moving in on you so that you can practice?” I ask her.

She swallows hard but nods her agreement. “Okay, so I’m going to go walk around the room. You keep your head pointed forward. I’m not going to hurt you, or grab you, but I want you to be on alert for when I present in front of you.”

“Got it.” She looks at her hand, makes sure the key is still positioned correctly and lowers her hand to her side.

I walk away from her, keeping my steps light as they carry me around the room. Then I’m coming at her. I’m in her face, and she doesn’t hesitate to lift her arm and strike. I barely miss getting stabbed with my own key as I jump out of the way.

“Oh my God.” The keys fall from her hands as they move to cover her mouth. Her eyes are wide and filled with worry.

“It’s fine, Hollis. You did exactly as you were supposed to do.”

“No.” She drops her hands and shakes her head. “I wasn’t supposed to attack you. You could have been hurt.”

“Trust me, I’m perfectly fine. This is all a part of your training. It has to be as real as possible so you can imitate being in that exact situation. You did great,” I praise.

“This was a bad idea.”

“No, it wasn’t.” I step in close to her. Bending my knees so we’re eye to eye, I try to capture her attention, but her gaze is glued to our feet. With a gentle hand, I place my index finger under her chin and gently lift until I have her eyes. “This is what’s supposed to happen. I promise. You did perfectly.” I stand back to my full height and clap my hands together. “Now, you ready for another move?”

“You sure?” She’s hesitant, and her beautiful green eyes are shining with uncertainty.

“Positive. This next move is escaping from a bear hug attack.” I usually go over the easier moves, but this one is the most common for attacks. Women getting assaulted from behind before they even realize what’s going on. My gut tells me I need her to be prepared to be safe. She might have just come into my life, but I know I need that much. I need to know I’ve given her the skills to protect herself. Sure, it’s not going to all happen tonight, but this move, knowing it’s the most common attack, it will help to ease my mind that I’ve taught her this one.

“Okay.” Her agreement is weak, but she stands tall, well as tall as she can at five foot three and gives me all of her focus and attention.

“This one is better if I demonstrate so you know what I’m talking about. In order to do that, I need you to step behind me and wrap your arms around my waist, clasping your hands together. I’ll talk you through the process, we’ll go through the motions, and then switch places.”