Fists and Knives (A Harry Styles Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

“Noooo, not like that.  Up.  Swing literally like you’re making a backwards “J” or a hook with the glove.”  Harry did the motion himself.  All I could see were his muscles and bare torso.  He held the pad on his hand up just above my head and nodded at me.  Today, Harry thought it would be funny to take one of my bandanas (not the red one, he knew it was my favorite) and tie it around his head like I always did.  The horrible thing about it was that he looked incredibly sexy and I was having a hard time not staring.

I swung upward and hit the mitt, stopped, and grinned, definitely pleased with myself.  Harry didn’t allow me to be proud for too long before lowering his mitt in front of his chest. “Jab!”

I threw my fist forward, a loud slap emitting from the collision of my (well, Harry’s) glove and his mitt.

“Up again!” He yelled, raising the mitt above my head.  “Now side!”  He held out the mitt to his side.   I could feel myself beginning to sweat and breathe more heavily as I threw punches.  Who knew boxing could be such a workout?  Harry spent all afternoon in the gym with me, teaching me the basics and insisting that I try out a few moves on him.  He let me use his gloves, which were entirely too large for my hands.  I was struggling more to keep them on than to actually punch wherever he was holding the mitts.  “Jab!” He yelled again, holding the mitt in front of his chest.  I tiredly threw my fist at him, accidentally missing the mitt and hitting upward at his face.  He stumbled backward and leaned against one of the mirrors, laughed, and slid down the mirror to his butt. 

“Are you okay??” I asked worriedly as he covered his face.

“I’ve just been bopped in the nose,” He laughed through his hands. “Where were you punching? I thought you said your aim was good.”

I frowned and rushed over to him. “With knives, Harry.  My aim is good with knives.  Are you okay?  Did I hurt you?” I asked, placing my hand on his and trying to move it from his face so I could see the injury.  He groaned and rolled his head away from me, but I could see a small grin on his face that let me know he wasn’t hurt at all.

He chuckled when he saw my un-amused expression and leapt to his feet, extending his hand down to me to help me up too.  “Let’s just switch to the bag for a minute.”  He pulled me to my feet directly in front of him and gazed down at me for a moment.  I would be lying if I told you that the air between us wasn’t tense, especially taking into account what happened the last time Harry and I were in the gym together.  I could see memories of it flashing through Harry’s mind as he watched my body in the mirrors while I punched at the bag hanging from the ceiling.

“Remember to keep this tight,” he said, interrupting my punches to place his hand on my abdomen and the sides of my hips.  “Don’t twist so much,” he said a little more closely to my ear.  Goosebumps went down my spine and covered my arms.

“Are you cold?” Harry asked.

I spun to face him and shook my head quickly. “I just- I need water.”

Harry smiled and reached for my arms.  He helped me undo the gloves and gently slid them off of my hands, dropping them on the floor once my hands were free. “Let’s go,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and leading me back to the kitchen.  Once there, we both got a drink and stood across the kitchen from each other, guzzling down the water but also peering at each other through the bottom of our clear glasses. 

“Dinner?” Harry suggested.

“Whatcha want?”

Harry shrugged. “The um… well…”

I raised my eyebrow and smirked.  I knew exactly what was coming.  While I waited for Harry to spit it out, I crossed my arms, popped my hip, and tapped my foot.