When I opened the door, I realized this wasn’t a regular gym with treadmills and Stairmasters. The area was open with barbells along one wall, next to stacks and stacks of weights. On the other side stood a large structure creating rows of pull-up bars. A group of men and women lifted weights in the back. Some of the women were even lifting more than the men, and maybe that made me stand a little taller. Woman solidarity and all that.
“Hey, you made it.”
Daniel walked out from an office, and like my eyes had a mind of their own, they scanned his body. Some of the men working out were shirtless and glistening with sweat, and it didn’t affect me as much as Daniel standing before me in a fitted black T-shirt and gray sweatpants—the lingerie of menswear.
My cheeks flamed when I noticed a bulge, and I quickly shifted my eyes to the people in the back, praying and hoping he hadn’t noticed.
“Ye—” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat, trying again. “Yeah. What is this place? I’ve never been to a gym like this.”
His biceps strained the sleeves of his shirt when he rubbed at the back of his neck. “It’s a CrossFit gym. They also do yoga and self-defense classes in the back room. I know the owner and asked if I could borrow it for an afternoon.”
“Okaaaay.” I dragged the word out slowly, unsure of what to expect. Were we taking a class together?
He huffed a laugh. “I can’t believe Erik never had you take self-defense classes.”
“He tried to get me to take a few,” I said, dropping my gaze to the ground. “I wasn’t ready for any kind of contact at that time, and I guess it never came up again afterward.”
When I braved a glance, he showed more emotion than I’d seen from him yet. Daniel always treated me normal. He never coddled me or asked if I was okay. He never did anything to remind me I’d been a victim, and I’d appreciated it every time.
Yet, watching his nostrils flare over a clenched jaw at hearing how I couldn’t touch anyone after Erik rescued me, warmed a spot in my chest that had been cold for entirely too long.
Just as quickly as it appeared, it left. He nodded his head toward the back. “Come on. I’ll show you the room.”
Daniel lifted a bag over his shoulder and edged around the class into an open room with mats covering every inch of the floor.
“I want to teach you how to defend yourself. Just some basics. If for no other reason than to make you feel more comfortable. And, of course, to beef up those biceps you’re so proud of.”
“You want to teach me?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I figured a class would be too much. It usually requires you practicing with another student and sometimes the teacher, which wouldn’t be anyone you knew, and possibly male.”
I couldn’t hide the wince that scrunched my face. “Yeah, that’s definitely not my jam.”
“Figured as much. So, if you’re okay with me, I’d like to teach you a few things. If not, we can grab a coffee and head out.”
Erik had tried to push me into a private self-defense class, and he still brought it up from time to time, but I brushed it off for the exact reasons Daniel mentioned. The instructor would be someone I didn’t know—male or female hadn’t mattered at the time, all touch sent me into a panic.
But the thought of adding an extra layer of protection between me and the horrors of the world pushed me to take advantage of what Daniel offered.
“No. I want to do this. Maybe I can regift all those mace cans Erik gets me.”
He smiled like he was proud of my answer. “Good. I was going to close the door, but if it makes you more comfortable, we can leave it open.”
The music and clanging of weights poured into the room, making it hard to hear. And the bottom line was that I trusted Daniel, even alone in a private room where he may pin me to a mat.
The first ripple of panic washed over me. I breathed hard through my nose, blocking out the feeling of being pinned, immobile, helpless, and looked to Daniel.
Just like that, the ripple faded, and my heart calmed.
“I trust you.”
His shoulders pulled back, and he stood a little taller like my trust filled something in him like it did in me. “We don’t have to do this.”
“No. I want to. I trust you, and that helps. Besides, you don’t always get a chance to run and scream when being attacked. So, this is good.”
There was that look again—the clenched jaw and flared nostrils. “That’s true,” he ground out. He took a deep breath and relaxed his features, becoming the laid-back Daniel, we all knew. “Okay, we’ll start with some basic moves, but first, let’s stretch.”
“Will I have time to stretch before being attacked?” I joked.
He cocked a brow and gave me a deadpanned stare. “Probably not, but I’m an old man and need to stretch before I get my ass kicked by someone almost half my age.”
“I am not almost half your age.”
“How old are you, exactly?”
“Twenty-six.”
He huffed a laugh and bent in half to touch his toes.
“Why, how old are you?”
“Almost forty.”
“Oooo,” I hissed, wincing. “I don’t know how I feel about fighting with a grandpa. I don’t want you to throw out your back.”
He snapped up and glared, but the twitch in his lips softened the effect. “Someone’s got jokes.”
“A few.”
“Okay, young grasshopper, let’s get started.”
The room had mirrors lining one wall and four large square mats covering the majority of the floor.
We started small by going over all the
