“You were twelve, and didn’t block my punch. Your fault, not mine.” She shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She looked beautiful standing there all full of fire, but I couldn’t tell her that. We were supposed to hate each other. She was the little girl who was always getting in my way. Growing up, she always thought she was better than me, stronger than me, smarter than me.
“Grow some balls,” Wes laughed, “and get over here.” He handed me a new mouth guard, and then began strapping the padded gear on my body. “Don’t break him,” Wes warned Riley, and she just grinned.
“I’ll try not to. Can’t promise anything though. He breaks easily from what I remember.” She giggled as she turned her back to us.
“Alright, class.” Wes stepped back and faced the women on the floor. “The first thing you need to remember is that getting away is the most important thing. You’re not trying to beat the guy up; you’re trying to safely get away from him.” He motioned to Riley to turn so she couldn’t see me. “The first thing you want to try is stomping on his foot.” He pointed to me. “Go grab her.”
I moved up behind Riley, and wrapped my arms around her middle. Her foot lifted, and without any warning, it came down hard on mine. “Son of a.” I grunted and I watched her shoulders shake.
“I’m a girl. Be a man,” she muttered under her breath. My parents had always taught me to never lay a hand on a woman, but Riley made this very hard. Part of me liked the idea of touching her, that is until she opened her mouth.
“Nice.” Wes nodded. “Now the next thing is the elbow. You want to swing your elbow back and try to connect with your attacker’s face.” My chin dropped. I knew what was coming. “Caleb. Grab her again.”
I moved closer and wrapped my arms around her middle. I squeezed a little tighter this time, hoping that she’d have a harder time escaping. I could almost swear that she sighed a little and rubbed her ass right on my dick, but it could be the fact that I haven’t gotten laid in six months, too. “Make sure you duck,” she warned right before she stomped on my foot again, and then swung her elbow right at my nose.
I ducked to save my face, but my foot was throbbing once again. “How the hell do you have so much power in your legs?” I leaned forward and attempted to gain my composure.
“Wanna try that again?” Wes looked between us.
“I’m good.” Riley shrugged. “I think I may have broken Caleb’s foot.” She didn’t seem too worried, but Wes stopped the torture. He started pulling students from the class, and letting them try the techniques with him. It irritated me that he wasn’t wearing gear, but he managed to duck every time. Riley must have sensed my frustration because she leaned closer, “He practices with my mom all the time. He’s gotten really good about getting out of the way. She busted his nose and lip a few times too many.” She laughed lightly, and then pointed to the ring. “Wanna spar?”
“You?” I scoffed.
“You afraid I’ll beat the crap outta you?” She held her hands up with ‘come at me’ motion.
“I’m afraid your dad will beat the crap outta me if I hurt you.” I shook her off.
“You won’t hurt me,” she challenged.
“I must be the dumbest guy on the planet because I actually believe you.” I tossed the padding to the side, and then motioned to where I’d left my bag. “Let me go change first.”
“Make it quick. We gotta start before he’s finished.” She giggled and it was like we were eleven and twelve again trying to get away with something we shouldn’t be doing.
“Chill, Princess.” I winked and I could see the rage come back. She hated when I called her that, and I was counting on her anger throwing her off. Wes always told us that keeping your cool was your best weapon. Hot heads lead to stupid mistakes. I needed Riley to make a mistake so I wouldn’t lose to a girl in front of a gym full of people.
“Don’t call me that!” she growled as she shoved her mouth guard in and clapped her gloved hands together. I’d been so busy thinking about her tight little shorts that I hadn’t even seen her grab her gear.
“Sure, Princess.” I grinned as I rushed toward the office. I wanted to get rid of this shirt and grab my own gloves. I needed to get this woman out of my head. She and I would never happen. Her dad would make sure of it, and from what I could tell, she couldn’t stand being near me.
Chapter 5Riley
“What the hell is going on?” Dad’s voice boomed right as Caleb’s leg swung under me, sending me to the mats on my ass.
“Damn you,” I growled as I spit my guard out. I pounded my fists against the mat before pushing myself to a standing position. I glared at Caleb before turning my attention to my father. “What’s up, Daddy?” I smiled before wiping the hair off my face that was slick with sweat.
“Don’t ‘Daddy’ me. What are you two doing?” His eyes stayed pinned to Caleb as he directed his words at me.
“We were just sparring, sir. My idea.” Caleb shrugged. I froze. Why was he taking the blame for this? “I thought Riley could help me with some of my combos. Won’t happen again.” He shot a look at me, and then climbed down from the ring.
“You’re damn straight it won’t
