We took Derrick's car into town the following night after work. The two of us seemed to be working out well. It didn't take long before the new microwave was in the back seat; we stowed the mower in the trunk.
Derrick pulled in at a coffee shop that had some tables outside. "One of my favorite haunts," he grinned. When I ordered a cup of tea, Derrick shook his head. "Aww, come on, Rick. Tea? Honestly? Real men drink coffee," he teased.
The way he ogled the barista gave me an idea of why he liked the place. We sat down and got a bit of background on each other.
"The one thing I can't find around here is stuffed flounder," Derrick complained. "I could always find a decent seafood dinner in Maryland."
"I'll have to catch you some mountain trout. Otherwise, it's elk for me," I told him.
"Elk? Don't tell me- mighty hunters, right?"
We both laughed as I nodded.
"You got siblings?" Derrick asked. "I have two younger brothers and a sister. My brothers were happy when I moved out; it meant they each got their own room."
"Nope, I'm an only child. It's just my dad and me now, though. My mom passed away about a year ago. Big extended family, though, lots of cousins. My one aunt goes through husbands faster than some people go through cars, and each husband seems to come with two or three kids from the previous marriage. What made you come two-thirds across the country to end up out here?"
"I did a quick tour with the army right out of high school, " Derrick informed me, "working as a computer tech. I wasn't sure what to do when I got out, besides not running back home. One of the sergeants said he knew someone who had an opening in his security company, so here I am. It's only part-time hours, so I can do that and work at the park. I'm usually up early to run a few miles. I like to keep myself in shape now that I'm in it. There's a group I work out with at night."
"I run too. Never bothered counting miles." I didn't tell him I usually ran on four legs, but I couldn't help thinking it. It was hard not to laugh out loud. "I wrestled in high school and got a partial scholarship for it at the local college. I've only seriously worked out with my dad. My dad's a high school language teacher."
"How unfortunate, Rick; I feel sorry for you, man. Can't be much of a workout with your dad."
I almost choked on my tea. If he only knew how Dad and I fought, both on two legs and four.
Derrick saw my derision at his assumption and took it as a challenge. "Why don't we swing by the gym, see what you have?"
Derrick's body language became intense, as he leaned forward and stretched his arms across the table.
"As long as our friendship doesn't suffer if I beat you," I said, laughing and tapping his outstretched arm. "You're so serious-looking right now."
Derrick's body language and scent were easy to read. I found it easy to counter his attitude by lounging back and staying relaxed. It was something I'd always been able to do and one of the things that made me everyone's friend.
I broke off from his intense stare to check out a pair of long legs walking behind him. Her perfume was enticing. My eyes followed her as she went into the coffee shop.
"This just might become my favorite place to hang out, too," I told Derrick as I looked around at the beautiful assortment of ladies that were around us. I gave him a wink, a slight smile playing at the edges of my lips.
He relaxed, shook his head at me, but did his own recon of the area. "You ain't gonna pick up anyone sipping that wussy tea," Derrick asserted.
I laughed again, noticing long legs had come out with her drink. She was on her phone, seated just behind my right shoulder. I wanted to get a look at her face. Derrick was relaxed again, so now I could talk about fighting without him getting more worked up.
"That lucky shot with the rabbit had me thinking. I wonder if there's anyone around who knows anything about knife fighting. What kind of fighting do you do?"
"Mixed martial arts. One of the guys at the gym might know something about knife fighting. Most of them are ex-military of one kind or another. It, umm, isn't a regular gym, more private. I probably shouldn't even have mentioned it." Derrick's voice faded off.
"It's cool. You can ask your friends if it's ok for me to come by if you want, but don't feel obligated. We can always duke it out in the back yard."
I threw a few mock punches at the air in front of me then took another sip of my tea.
Derrick gave me a look like he couldn't figure me out. By the time he finished his coffee, I knew he'd made his decision. I grabbed his empty cup, ignoring the garbage can we would pass on our way out. I walked back to the coffee shop to throw them away.
I bumped against long-legs table on my way back out. I was grabbing her cup even as she was to keep it from falling. Warmth spread through me as our hands touched. I wondered at her ancestry as I took in a face that seemed to have a touch of the orient in it. I was able to look straight into her pretty almond eyes as I apologized.
"Maybe I would be able to buy you a cup sometime to make up for my clumsiness?" I asked as I gave her my most winning smile. It was the one I'd given to the younger girls I had danced with back home; it was the smile that spoke of acceptance, invited friendship without asking for anything more. The more intimate smiles could come later.
She gave me a knowing look, suddenly not believing my fortuitous accident.
"Maybe," she answered with a slight smile.
"Will you be here tomorrow night?"
"Maybe."
She still had a knowing little smile, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
I gave her a slight smiling nod before I walked away. Pushing more would trigger annoyance. I could only hope I'd sparked her interest enough that she would show up tomorrow night.
I couldn't wait to get to the car, so I could ask Derrick if she was checking me out as I walked away. Teach him to make fun of my tea!
Derrick was still shaking his head in disbelief at my antics when we pulled up to a regular looking house. There were four cars in the driveway and a few along the street. He gave me a slight grin as he got out of the vehicle.
"You ready for this?"
"Sure. You've got me curious as to just how good you are." I paused as we walked up to the door. "I'm curious about how good I am compared to others as well."
There wasn't a TV or decorations of any kind in the living room, just a few sturdy leather couches and a solid coffee table that had seen better days. The kitchen had a table and one chair. I could hear someone using a punching bag from what should have been a bedroom. Opening my senses up, I could smell hints of blood and disinfectant coming from down the hall. I could guess a first aid station. The whole place smelled of sweat and testosterone. Calling this place a gym was a gross understatement.
Derrick watched me appraise the place.
"Still want to come in?"
I just looked at him, considering I was already standing in the living room. I caught his meaning, though—one last chance to back out before we got to where the action happened.
"Lead the way."
The wolf in me was ready for a good workout. I almost chanted Dad's litany.
Vigilance. Caution.
I could access the wolf part of me, but not enough for anyone to notice. I would have to seriously control myself.
As we reached the bottom of the stairs going to the basement, I began to wonder if this was a mistake. I was genuinely ready to test myself in ways Derrick wouldn't understand.
Our presence got the attention of the six men already in the basement. The biggest guy in the room stepped forward, flexing his bulging muscles. He looked at us with narrowed eyes.
"Derrick?" The question was practically a growl. Authority rolled off the man.
Derrick hesitated, and in that hesitation, I got a sense of things. Derrick might be out of the military, but he was still under the command of whoever this bodybuilder was.
I walked up to the big guy. My approach changed from merely walking up to the more careful preliminary steps a challenging wolf would do. My eyes evaluated the muscular man in front of me, taking in the military tats and the slight tension in his body. I circled him, eyes unblinking, my arms loose but at the ready, my steps light and prepared to move in any direction. I made sure he understood that Derrick hadn't made a mistake in bringing me here.
He turned with me, recognizing the challenge I was giving him. My eyes didn't leave him until I was between him and the sandy area where two guys had been fighting when we walked in.
All of a sudden, I relaxed my pose and grinned. "So this is where all the fun happens?"
I kicked my shoes off as I sauntered over to the edge of the sand. Barefoot now, I walked into the center of the sandy pit, still grinning.
The two guys that had been fighting there just looked at me.
I turned around, slowing, taking in the size of the area I had to work with. I made a subtle shift, mostly around my shoulders. In my second slow spin, I moved around, swinging low. I was now behind the two guys, crouched down, one leg out, one fist in the sand, looking up, waiting.
The guy in charge had one hand on Derrick's shoulder, stopping him from moving forward. He motioned with his other hand.
"Henry, Ed, give him what he's asking for. No weapons."
Both guys threw a few knives off to the side. I grinned again, ready for them.
The taller, lankier guy was built a bit more than me and came straight at me. I had a slight height advantage on him, but not much. As he took a swing at my head, I stepped into his embrace, ducking in under his arm. I latched my arm around his shoulder, lifting my feet to apply pressure around one of his knees. I then used all of my body weight to throw him off balance. As he stumbled, I maneuvered my feet up over his other shoulder, making the tall guy land heavily on his back with me across his chest.
I turned my momentum from the fall into a backward somersault that I didn't quite get to finish. The tall guy rolled after his fall and was practically on top of me. In my current position, I was able to bring my knees up, shifting my hips slightly to make my legs come in faster than usual, into a position that was more normal for wolf legs. I wasted no time shifting my hips back in time to plant my feet along the man's pelvic bone, using my arms to lift him enough to throw him over me, or so he thought.
Once his balance tipped over past the point of no return, I leveraged my one elbow against the ground, digging it into the sand. Changing my body once again, I altered my hips once more, along with my lower back, to change my center of gravity. My legs automatically came around, helping me roll sideways. With effort, I pushed against the man, feeling the sand slide beneath me, barely managing to shove the guy sideways.
The second guy, who was smaller, wirier, but still well-defined and older, had to suddenly work around his companion's body.
I used my first opponent's body to help pull myself into a roll with him. I focused for a moment on reverting my subtle body changes to human.
Pulling on the first man's shoulders, I leveraged myself up enough to have my right knee dig into his solar plexus. Letting all of my weight push in at that one crucial point, I pivoted myself around on that knee until my other knee was on his throat, my fist swinging into his midriff. His one hand came up to jab at my kidneys while his other hand clawed into my triceps.
I could hear the approach of the smaller man, who simply plowed into me with no finesse, ramming his shoulder into mine, loosening my hold on his friend. I went with the motion, having been rushed at often enough by my dad.
The smaller guy and I managed to get to our feet while the first guy took a second to catch his breath. As the taller man lumbered to his feet, I used my hip to thrust the smaller guy into him, throwing them both off balance again.
The smaller man was quick to recover, stepping toward me. I reached down, blocking his arms with my back and shoulder, while I wrapped my arms around his one leg, bringing it up and sending it over his head, literally flipping him.
My toss gave the bigger guy time to come at me. I managed to spin enough to face him head-on. He caught me slightly off-balance, making it hard for me to execute a move against him.
While the taller guy and I still grappled, the smaller one came in to take a swing at my abdomen. I grasped the guy I was still struggling with, holding tight to his shoulders while moving my body out and bringing my feet up high. My change in position startled the tall man. Before he could lock me into a cradle hold, I let go of him, pushing off against his chest with my feet, breaking his hold, and shoving him back a few steps in the process.
My movement propelled me into the smaller man, who was in the process of taking a swing at me. Falling on top of him, I grabbed him, my hands sliding from the sweat that had broken out along his body, finally locking around his middle, bringing him down with me.
I rolled clear, feeling the adrenaline rushing through me. Crouching and circling, I put space between my antagonists and me.
Wolf stare took in their movements, the hint of curved claws dug into the sand for leverage.
I stood up, relaxing my posture, needing to bring myself back from the wolf. I couldn't help finding some humor in the cautious looks the two guys gave me. I hoped their looks were because of my skills and not because they had noticed anything wolffish.
I figured that was enough of an introduction. I glanced over at the guy in charge. He had let go of Derrick, who was just staring at me.
"Actually, I came to work out with Derrick, if you don't mind."
My feet brushed through the small troughs made by my nails on my way over to stand in front of them. Odds are no one would notice the slight grooves, but I wasn't going to take the risk.
I was proud of myself. I had only made a few minor shifts, adjusting various joints and hips- small adjustments to give me an edge. My body ached slightly in a good way. I'd have to keep working on it, practicing on shifting even smaller areas than I'd ever tried. I'd also have to stay more aware of and focused on the wolf within me while I fought.
I met the big guy's stare easily. I was relaxed, waiting, no challenge from me because this was his territory, but no backing down either.
His look was evaluating, measuring. He finally gave Derrick a little shove. "Get in there then."
I couldn't resist teasing Derrick as he headed over to the sandy circle.
"Now I get to pay you back for that wisecrack about my tea. But if you win, I'll let you take her on an unsupervised date."
Derrick just gave me a look, suddenly grinning himself. "That's all the motivation I need to win. But if you win, I'll buy your tea for a month as an apology."
I laughed out loud, a sound I was sure these walls probably never heard. I was having fun.
This fight was more fight than wrestling. Derrick was good. He did everything he could to avoid prolonged contact I could use against him, using quick jabs, in and out.
I had to change my gameplan.
I drew on my heritage, both Native American and wolf. I began dancing. My feet pounded into the sand, my body spinning. I almost ignored Derrick. I moved, ducking, coming up, bringing my fist up with me. After landing the blow, I spun away, circling out instead of in, swinging in, using the speed of my momentum to increase the force of my next strike. Turning low again, staying low this time, I put my weight on my hands, using my legs to kick his feet out.
Wolf listened for his breathing. My nose flared to catch every change in testosterone and adrenaline that would let me know when he was about to attack.
He started using every move he knew, his fists darting out, his feet kicking fiercely, but now I was full of wolf hearing, my brain better processing my sensory input, my body instinctually using wolf reflexes. Nothing he sent at me connected; the wolf danced aside to avoid his attacks. A wolf would typically go for legs to cripple its prey. Human arms snapped out instead of wolf jaws. I swung off of his kicking legs, bringing him down. I spun into his punches, jamming my elbow into his side. My actions blended with his movements.
While I managed to land a few more hits, my blows at this point weren't very powerful. It was tough to convince myself to pound into him. The wolf didn't know anything about punching.
It became easier and easier to knock his feet out from under him. Every time he tried to kick, I'd work my moves up under his landing or managed to tangle his legs with my arms where I could get him down and wrestle. Every time I got him down, I held him for a three-count before rolling away from him. Derrick stopped trying to kick.
The big guy finally called a halt to our fight.
Derrick put his hands on his knees, breathing hard. He was looking up at me in disbelief.
"What kind of fighting do you call that?"
Wolf in a man's body looked back at him. Words. I needed words. Two times two is four, four times four... I didn't need wolf reflexes right now. I needed a human brain. I needed to speak. I just grinned to give myself time before I could finally get the words out.
"The kind that gives me a month to hang out at that coffee shop until I meet long-legs again," I finally managed to get out, laughing.