Tori
Tying my brown hair into a loose high ponytail, I take a look at myself in the mirror, in an attempt to empower myself. I'm ready, I say. I'm ready to kick some ass. Daniel's ass to be specific. I grab the black zip up hoodie from my bed and quickly throw it on to hide my sports bra; I love modesty.
I arrive at the location Daniel texted me. It looks like... a private gym or something. Cautiously entering, I step through to find the whole place is empty. There's a fighting ring in the centre of the room, many different types of equipment on the walls, punching bags hanging from the ceiling. It looks good.
It's then that I suddenly spot a figure in the corner of the room, an unmistakable figure, forcefully hitting a punching bag in the corner of the room. Slowly approaching him, I watch him intently, studying every little fine, sharp move - that boy knows what he's doing. As I come closer, I see his hair is drenched in sweat, his cheeks are slightly flushed, his black vest is sticking to his body. And it's only then that I realise how large and toned his biceps are.
Suddenly, he stops, his head slowly turning to face me, then his body following after. He takes small strides as he approaches me, before stopping about a metre away from me, his eyes looking directly into mine.
"You're seven minutes late." he bluntly states.
"I've been watching you for the past four so practically, I'm only three minutes late."
"You've been watching me?" he asks as an eyebrows raises.
I reluctantly nod, expecting him to say some arrogant comment along the lines of 'I'm just that good looking'.
"Good." He praises. "Observing is a good way to learn."
"Thank you...?"
"You don't need to thank me whenever I praise you." he says as he grabs a nearby towel, dabbing the sweat off his neck. "Hopefully, I will be giving you praise frequently so at least now you know you don't need to thank me each time for it. But if otherwise, if you don't commonly receive praise, but criticism instead, then I'll push you hard until that's the case. Got it?"
Wow. I've never seen him this serious before.
I nod.
"I need clear answers when I ask you a question. You need to get used to this. Got it?"
"Yes." I answer sternly. "Mr Seavey," I then mutter under my breath with an eye roll as he turns away.
"Tori." He says sharply, startling me because I didn't think he'd have heard me. "Do you take this seriously? Are you here to learn or to fuck about? Because I didn't take you for one of the ones who like to fuck about."
"I'm here to learn." I reply more professionally this time.
"Good." He nods. "We're getting straight into it so prepare yourself. Would you say you're physically fit? Do you have good endurance?"
Yes, definitely. I spend all my physical exercise on the couch, being a complete potato.
"No. I have to admit, I get tired easily--"
"Okay, I've heard enough. That's going to have to change because if you're constantly needing to take a breather, we're going to waste a lot of time."
"Don't we have as much time as we need? I'm in no rush--"
"Tori, it's taken me about ten years to learn everything I know. And I'm trying to fit that into a few months for you. So does it sound reasonable that we don't waste time?"
I nod, but he raises a brow.
"Yes." I correct myself.
"You have to start doing physical exercise in your own time. Build up your stamina. I go for a run every morning, you can join me."
"A run in the morning? But that's going to get in the way of my sleeping in. I already have it scheduled." I say in a joking manner, trying to amuse him, but his face remains stern.
"You're coming for a run with me every other morning. I'm not joking about."
"I'll have to think about that. I don't know how much time I can bear in your presence."
He pauses for a moment.
"Okay, let's get started." He grabs his bottle of water and his cloth, before stepping into the ring.
Wait, what?
"Why are we going in the ring? Aren't we supposed to learn the basic moves on the pads first?" I ask as I follow him.
"You said you had many self defence classes when you were younger. You would've already learnt that stuff."
"Yes, years ago."
"Muscle memory," he shrugs. "So come on, get in the ring. We're diving straight into direct contact. We're not wasting time on learning how to throw a basic punch on a pad."
"What if I need to?"
"In a fight, you're going to be fighting people, not punching bags. So get used to it." He nods. "Jacket off. You're gonna get hot."
"N-No, I'm fine." I say, conscious about wearing just a sports bra and yoga pants in front of Daniel.
"You're going to get really hot, but suit yourself. Feel free to remove it when needed."
"Okay." I reply, tightening my ponytail.
"Arms up." He demands, balling his hands into fists and using them to cover his face.
I obey him.
"Basic rule: always keep your arms in front of your face. That's the thing you need to protect."
"Okay."
"Your hands aren't positioned correctly. Hang on." He walks over to me, comes up behind me, firmly grabs both of my wrists. "Here. Like this. Get used to holding them like this. Right hand covering your chin and your left hand raised slightly higher. Got it?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, what are your natural instincts like? Good, great, okay, shit?"
"I'd say they're pretty good."
"Don't tell yourself that you're good until I say you are."
"Hey--"
I'm cut off by a sudden fist being thrown in my direction. Rapidly, I move my head back to dodge it.
"What the hell?! What was that--"
Then another fist. And another dodge.
"You keep letting your guard down." He holds his hands in the position he just taught me. "Never let your guard down."
"Well, I'm sorry you keep distracting me with your discouraging words."
"Distractions are needed when teaching self defense. I did that intentionally as a test and you instantly failed. In a fight, your head won't always be thinking straight and your focus won't always be precise, you need to learn how to deal with distractions. Especially if you ever end up being in a conflict with multiple people."
"Okay, I got it. Guard up." I put my hands where he told me to.
"That's correct. Good. Now I'm going to throw a sequence of punches: left, right, left, left. Block all of them. Got it?"
"Yes."
He throws his left fist, I block it. He throws his right fist, I block it. He throws a consecutive two lefts, I block them. And he repeats it.
Left, right, left, left.
"You didn't miss any. Good. Now another sequence: right, left, right, left, uppercut, left."
He performs the sequence, and I successfully block all of them.
"Okay, last sequence: left, uppercut, right, right, left elbow, right elbow, uppercut. Okay?"
"Okay."
Left, uppercut, right, right, left elbow... then what?!
I miss a dodge, messing up the whole rhythm of the sequence. I take a deep breath, pushing back the already damp hair off of my forehead.
"Listen, Tori. You're over thinking it, I know you are. You're probably saying the sequence over and over again in you head but it's distracting you from the physical rhythm and movement of your body. Listen to your body, not your head."
Listen to my body, not my head.
"Okay," I say, breathless.
"Get some water, take a breather, remove the jacket. Thirty seconds. Go."
I gulp down half of my bottle of water, my mouth gasping for air as my lips part from the drink. I take deep breaths in and out, trying to regain some breath.
"Time's up, Tori! Back in!"
"Okay!" I slap my face multiple times, telling myself to get a freakin' grip and hold it together. Although I feel extremely self conscious, I unzip the jacket, Daniel waiting patiently for me, remove it and throw it to the side. I glance down at my body: my stomach is on show, my arms are bare, my pants hug my frame tightly. Gosh.
I turn around only to meet a pair of blue eyes lingering down my body. The look in Daniel's eyes is unreadable and all of a sudden, I feel more self conscious than ever. Wrapping my arms around my body in defense, I wait for him to say something, but he remains silent, his widened eyes focused on nothing but me.
As his gaze travels slowly down my exposed body, I don't miss the way his Adam's apple bobs, his jaw tightens and his body stiffens ever so slightly. No longer able to bear the heavy silence, I call out his name.
"Daniel."
No response.
I try again, "Daniel?"
This time, his eyes widen a fraction as I manage to bring him out of his daze. He shakes his head and clears his throat. He looks down at the floor, and if I'm not mistaken, his cheeks appear a faint shade of pink.
Is he blushing?
Don't be silly, Tori. What on earth would he be blushing at?
Before I know it, his serious expression returns. "Come on, we haven't got all day."
Ugh, his mood swings, seriously. It's like he's constantly on his time of the month.
Rolling my eyes, I do as he says, coming to meet him in the middle of the ring. He holds his palms in the air, indicating me to attack.
As I throw my third punch and duck, I feel the intensity of his gaze train solely on me. "You know," he says as I continue to throw my punches, "you should wear stuff like this more often."
I stop what I'm doing, a frown appearing on my face. "Wear stuff like this more often? What do you mea--" My face falls as I see a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.
Daniel chuckles when I shove him lightly against his chest.
"Shut up." I say in annoyance, sending him a dagger look. He only smiles in amusement, causing me to feel more irritation but as much as I want to deny it, I can't help but feel my cheeks warm in response to his comment.
"No, seriously though, you look good. I mean, I'm not saying that you don't look good any other time I see you, but maybe you should wear less stuff that makes you look like a boy, and more stuff like..." he gestures to my body, "this."
He then takes a moment to himself, his eyes scrutinizing me. "Maybe not this revealing." He shakes his head. "No, definitely not this revealing. I don't want other guys seeing you like this."
I scowl. "What's wrong with other guys seeing me like this? There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing."
"One: there's everything wrong with other guys seeing you like this. And two: there's everything wrong with what you're wearing. If a guy saw you wearing this, they'd try to get you into their bed, no hesitation."
I scoff. "Well, you're not."
Something in his face suddenly changes and he now appears sheepish, a strange look on Daniel, yet somehow adorable.
He shrugs nonchalantly. "Yeah, well, I'm not that type of guy, Tori."
I stare at him for a few moments, taken aback by his words. Before I have the chance to say anything else, he interrupts.
"Are you ready then?" he asks, quickly taking a sip of his water. I look at how the base of his throat throbs as he gulps. "I'm ready to see you fail."
"Excuse me? Fail? Why would I fail?"
"This next bit is hard. If you couldn't get the last sequence correct, I don't know how you're going to have the ability to tackle me down."
"Grappling? That's what we're doing?"
"Yes. Your goal is to pin me down for five seconds. My goal is to pin you down for five seconds. Understand?" He steps closer to me, so close that I have to look up to meet his eyes, so close that I can smell his sweat, but it doesn't repulse me.
"Okay, wait, so--"
I'm interrupted by a sharp sweep at the back of my ankle, my legs instantly losing balance as my body tumbles down to the floor. A loud shriek escapes my mouth. Quickly, I tuck in my neck and use my arm to prevent my head from harshly hitting the floor. My breathing falters as I look up to see his amused face.
"What the freakin' hell was that?!" I shout angrily, trying to get my heart rate back to normal from the shock while I prop myself up on my elbows.
"Unexpected things will happen in a fight. You can't always predict what will occur. Get used to it."
"It's my first freakin' lesson. Give me a chance, will you."
"I'm not going easy on you, Tori. Why should I baby you when we can go straight into the hard stuff? If you want to learn quickly, we're doing things my way."
"Well, ease up a little, okay? I'm out of practice so just let me get back into my mindset first. I'm not this harsh on you when it comes to Math."
"Yeah, you're not." He shrugs. "But you should be. I'd rather you teach me like this."
"Fine." I roll my eyes.
"Stop moping around and get your ass up off of the floor. You're wasting time." He holds out a helping hand, his eyes looking directly into mine. "Come on."
I scoff, dismiss his hand, and stand up by myself. "I'm an independent woman."
He chuckles softly, the sound echoing around the empty room. "I bet you don't accept a jacket when a guy offers it to you for being cold. Am I right?"
I think of the time Jonah persisted on giving me his jacket at the park, but I declined.
"You're wasting time." I say bluntly. "Let's go."
"That's the spirit." He smiles. "Get me on the floor then."
I narrow my eyes at him, studying his body, thinking of how I can cause a distraction and then do something to get him down.
"I can see you're plotting, Tori. Try not to show it."
I take a breath before approaching him. I quickly throw a fist to his chest, but he blocks it. I quickly throw my other fist to his torso, but he blocks it. I attempt to sweep the back of his ankle like he had done to me earlier, but I'm unsuccessful, his stance is too strong.
I immediately grow impatient with myself.
"You're too weak. You need to build up your strength." He grabs my arm, holding it close to him as his rough hand feels around my bicep area. His touch feels so foreign on my skin."See? No muscle."
"Gee, thanks." I quickly retrieve my arm, pulling it back beside me.
"I know you're not used to criticism but you better get used to mine. What do you usually eat?"
"Uhm... I don't know." I shrug. "Whatever my mom makes for dinner."
"You don't eat a lot, do you? I can tell by your frame. You need to start eating more protein."
"Okay." I nod.
"Right, forget trying to tackle me down, just try to successfully punch my body."
"Alright, I got it."
I move closer to him, my fist rapidly being thrown into his body. He dodges it. I try again, and again, and again, but he manages to avoid each and every one of them. By now, sweat is covering my body, his too.
"I can't do it!" I shout, tugging onto my hair as I grow more angered with myself by the second.
"Yes, you can. You're just thinking about it too much. Look at my body and see where you can hit. See where you can hit, Tori."
I close my eyes, inhale a deep breath, make my mind blank, open them again, and look at his body intently. Okay. I can do this.
Without thinking, I begin to punch his body, throwing fists and elbows, keeping my guard up, until I finally feel my hand make contact with his chest.
A feeling of satisfaction washes over me.
"That's good." He nods, his voice sounding breathless. "Try again."
We continue the rally of attacking and blocking for a few minutes, myself being successful several times. I'm doing it.
"You've got a mean punch, Tori. You just need to know how to use it. This time, when you attack me, I'm not only going to block it but I'm going to try and restrain you."
"Okay, I understand."
He nods as I see his hands suddenly move to the hem of his black vest, before he quickly pulls it over his body and chucks it carelessly to the side, leaving his upper body completely bare. My eyes slowly scan his body, studying every little detail from the deep, defined lines of his abdominal muscles to the hardness of his toned chest.
Who knew that was hiding underneath his black shirts?
God, look away, Tori. Look away.
I move my gaze back up to his eyes, only to find that their blue is already penetrating through me, as his lips curl up into a small smirk.
"What?" I snap, crossing my arms.
"Nothing," he smiles. "I should be the one asking you 'what' since that you're the one staring at me."
I scoff. "I wasn't staring. I was just... just..."
"Just thinking of inappropriate thoughts and fantasies about my body?" He raises an eyebrow, obviously amused.
"No!" I say too loudly. "You wish. I don't think there's anything special about your body." I look away temporarily.
"Tor, you should feel blessed that you're even seeing this right now. Like come on," he steps closer to me, unexpectedly grabbing my hand and placing it on his defined torso, "just feel these abs."
"Oh my god," I quickly snap my hand away from his skin, frightened by the unexpected wave of electricity flowing through my body.
What was that?
I shake my head. "You're so conceited, it's unreal."
"Who wouldn't be conceited if they were me?" he says, his lip twitching as if he's trying to stifle a smile.
"I'd hate myself if I were you," I roll my eyes.
Before he has the chance to annoy me further, my fists fly through the air in his direction, Daniel stepping back in surprise.
"What the fuck, Tor--"
I cut him off by continuing to punch his chest, my body suddenly being filled with a rush of adrenaline as he attempts to get me in his grasp several times. I'm able to escape his hands repeatedly, my arms rapidly moving out of instinct, but that's until he suddenly grabs my wrist, his fingers curling around my skin in a tight grip. My eyes lock with his for a fraction of a second before he harshly pulls my arm towards him, my body jerking around so that my back is pressed against his front. His arms wrap tightly around my body, his hands on my wrists, leaving me in an inability to escape. As I feel his chest heave up and down closely against my back, his hot breath blows on the delicate skin of my neck, sending an indescribable feeling through my body. Then there's a long silence.
"I've got you." he whispers, his voice low and husky, the sound flowing directly into my ear. "You need to be careful. If you're too slow, your opponent could easily--"
Suddenly, I jab my elbow forcefully into his rib, followed by shoving the back of my heel into his shin. His grip instantly releases. I whip my body around, finding his face scrunched up in pain, and then I plunge my fist into his body. He winces as my fist dives into his chest again, my knee quickly rising so that I can jab it into his stomach. Just as my knee is about to make contact with his torso, he grabs my leg tightly, stopping me, as he jerks it towards him, my face now inches away from his. I look into his bright blue eyes as my heart accelerates, stealing a moment from him, until I place my palms on his glistening chest and forcefully pushing him back, retrieving my leg in the process.
He stagger backwards before I rush back over to him, my tight fist once again flying into his body. I do the same with my other fist but then he catches my wrist. As I'm angered by the restrain, I pick up my foot from the floor and attempt to sweep it around his ankle. But while I try to do so, my foot sweeps the slippery floor too quickly, causing me to completely lose my balance. Just as I'm about to fall back onto the floor, a strong arm is wrapped around my back, supporting my head. His eyes look into mine as my lips part, my breath catches in my throat, my heart jumps.
He's so close I can smell his scent.
"T-Thank you," I falter, taking a moment to process and to regain my breath. As I try to stand up properly, my own foot is suddenly swept away and my body then collides with the floor, a shriek coming out my mouth. I watch as he then kneels down to me, each of his legs coming to rest at either side of my body, his face inches away from mine while he pins down my wrists.
"One, two, three, four, five." A smile then appears on his face. "Pinned you down for five seconds. I won."
"What?!" I attempt to wriggle out of his hands' grip while he sits on me. "I thought we weren't doing that anymore."
"Oh, no, we were. I just distracted you," he smirks.
"That's so unfair!" I continue to try and escape his grasp. "Freakin' let go of me!"
He chuckles so softly, his eyes staring intently into mine. The blue of them looks even more fascinating this close up. I can't stay this close to him.
"Okay, I get it. You won. Now let go of me."
He smiles.
"Daniel." I say sternly. "Get off of me."
He smiles bigger.
"Daniel!" I shout, a laugh coming out with it. "Please just get off!"
He doesn't reply, just stares. At that moment, his smile falters and I see a look in his eyes that I've never seen before. The warmth of his breath mingles with mine and without thinking, my gaze flickers down to his lips. I don't know if it's just me, but the temperature in here has risen by a thousand degrees. I can feel my heart pumping inside of my chest, my breathing staggering.
"Tori?" he suddenly says, his face now serious.
"Yes, Daniel?" I answer breathlessly, my mind trying to distract itself from the solid, firm body pressed hard against mine. I wait in anticipation as I lose myself in the blue of his eyes - their usual iciness now melting into a warmth I've never experienced before.
"Go on a date with me."