𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙇'𝙎 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝙊𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙀 • 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙫𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

ELEVEN*

     
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CHAPTER ELEVEN

A Sweet Treat
           
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Sweat was dripping down my forehead, my cheeks likely bright red as I lay flat on the ground. Above me, Noa was holding out a hand, breathing as hard as I was. I let him pull me up to my feet before hunching over, wincing.

"Let's go again," I said once I caught my breath, standing up straight. I didn't miss the way his eyes slightly widened in fear, making me laugh. "Come on, Merandis. We haven't trained in a long time. I don't want us to lose our touch."

He let out an incoherent groan, waving his hand at me before reluctantly getting back into his fighting stance. "Come on, then."

Just before I could take in a deep breath and prepare to engage him in another fight, the door to the small training room opened. We were both surprised seeing as hardly anybody else used this gym - which was why we did.

"General, Sir," Aim called out with a grin, giving us a wave. I smiled back at him, almost relieved that I had a few more minutes to relax before fighting.

"What are you guys doing here?" Noa asked him just as Runner and Trip followed him in, the three of them wearing their training clothes rather than the terrifying armor. "Don't you have to train with the others?"

"That was this morning," Runner informed us, and I noticed that her light hair had been cut shorter. "We always get a couple of extra hours in a few times a week. Gives us an edge, and something to do with our spare time."

I slowly nodded, resting my hands on my hips. Unable to ignore the way Aim's eyes instinctively glanced down to my low-cut sports bra, I pressed my lips together to hold back a smile. 

"Let us train with you," Trip suggested with a grin. "Give you a real challenge."

"Yeah," Aim agreed with a nod, before raising his eyebrows at me. "Let a real soldier teach you to fight."

Noa and I shared a look. Neither of us were the type to back away from a challenge.

"Alright," Noa accepted with a sly grin. "I'll take Trip and Runner. Aim, do me a favor and give Kyda a hard time." I glared at him but he just winked at me, knowing exactly how the prospect of getting hot and sweaty with Aim made my heart flutter.

"Will do, Sir," Aim replied with a wide smile, before leading me over to the other side of the gym. The sounds of Noa, Trip and Runner training filled the room with their echoed grunts and skin-on-skin contact, while my stomach did flips. Aim's short-sleeve t-shirt was tight around his biceps, making me gulp. "You ready, General?"

Absolutely not. "Absolutely."

"Go on, then," He said with a smirk. "Show me what you're made of."

I was terrified, to say the least. Here I was, about to take on an entire Stormtrooper with years of combat experience who also had a way of giving me intense butterflies. "Can I be honest with you?" I asked him, to which he nodded before I continued. "I'd much rather you help me than fight me- I'm not exactly the best fighter without a weapon-"

"Alright, alright; I get it," He cut me off, holding up his hands. "You're scared."

"What?" I let out an incredulous scoff. "I am not scared-"

"Hit me," Aim said suddenly, walking closer to me. I almost took a step back reflexively, but stood my ground.

"Hit you?" I repeated, my voice smaller than I would have liked it to be.