The filter I’d applied started cataloging things that I’d change, if I could.
I didn’t like the way that the weight and cardio machines had been set up, but Amy felt it was important to keep a separation from the bags. There was too much dead space around the center ring, and the front desk should be oriented differently. We’d repeatedly had requests for full showers, but the investment was never worth the payoff at the time.
More than once that day, I found myself staring at that side of the gym, mentally rearranging things.
We needed more employees, woefully apparently on days like the ones I was in the middle of, as I wrapped my hands for my third one-hour class of the day. My throat was paying the price as much as my body was because even though we had mics, it was still a solid hour of yelling over the music. And my body, well … suffice it to say, I was trying to go easy so that I could move the next day.
As I was chatting with clients, I stretched my arm over my chest and caught movement in Aiden’s office.
He’d made himself scarce all day, and for that, I was thankful.
If I’d started off with water coming out of my nose, falling on my face, tripping over ropes or something, I might have thought on Carl’s offer for too long.
His tall frame filled the doorway, and when his gaze locked onto mine, I felt my cheeks grow warm.
My reaction begged the question, one I didn’t want to think about. Could I leave simply because of my reaction to him?
I’d never run from a challenge in my entire life. Not any that mattered.
And if I took this other job, that was what I’d be doing. Even when I didn’t see him, I imagined his eyes on me.
I dropped my arms and my gaze because he was still far enough away from me that I should’ve been immune to his presence.
Should didn’t mean shit, though, not when he had me hooked up to some invisible power grid. Even with the few interactions we’d had so far, that man had all sorts of hidden parts of me lighting up.
Hooking the battery pack onto my leggings, I flipped on the microphone.
“Two minutes until we get rolling, everyone. Make sure you’re all stretched out, grab a drink, whatever you need to do. I don’t give water breaks in my class, so it’s up to you to stay hydrated, okay?”
I walked to the wall where the stereo system was mounted on large brackets and tapped the iPad in the holder on the wall, pulling up the playlist I wanted to use.
Along the edge of the gym, Aiden walked slowly, chatting with one of our longtime members. But I felt his eyes on me as I walked the class through the warmup. My blood hummed warm and fast underneath my skin, and I found myself more energized than I had been in my previous classes of the day.
As I walked around the bags, shouting combinations and directions to the thirty people present, it was the first time I felt a different type of energy coursing through my body while Aiden was around. It was something powerful, something that prowled and purred.
What I allowed myself next was stupid. So stupid. But as I taught, I let my mind race. A different scenario played out in my head to the heavy, pulsing beat of the music. While everyone kept working, while people filled the building, he motioned for me to come into his office. Without a word, he shut the door behind us, approaching me silently, sliding his hand against my hip to turn off the mic, and then I was against the door, his hands hard, his mouth demanding, and to the thumping bass, he took me that way. Hand over my mouth so no one heard.
But it wasn’t real.
By the time I finished class, walking everyone through a cool down and stretch, I was sweaty and disheveled, hair sticking to the back of my neck as my braid had started unraveling with my effort and my imagination. Clients thanked me for the class, and after wiping down their bags and picking up their stuff, the gym slowly emptied, save for a few people on the machines.
By then, my heart rate had slowed, and my mind had calmed.
One class member, a fresh-faced young woman, approached me with a tentative smile.
“Casey, right?” I asked.
She nodded. “I really like your classes. You always push me harder than the other instructors. I think it’s because you’re scarier.”
I laughed. “Thanks, I think.”
“Do you ever do self-defense training?”
I nodded. “Yeah, the setup of these classes is for cardio, but if you wanted something specific, I can get you hooked up with me or one of the other trainers.”
“I-I think I’d prefer a female trainer,” she said quietly.
“Absolutely.” I gentled my tone. “Feels good to know a few moves, doesn’t it?”
Casey’s eyes were wide in her face, and when she nodded slowly, I wanted to rip apart anyone or anything that made her feel like she needed to know how to defend herself.
“How much are the training sessions?” She winced. “College student budget, you know? I grabbed your punch card promo last month, but I don’t know if I can afford anything else.”
I looked over my shoulder and didn’t see Aiden. “Tell you what, do you have a few minutes now? I’d be happy to go over some basics.”
“Really?” she breathed.
“Yeah. Let me get rid of this mic and grab some water.”
As I hooked the battery pack up to the charger, I let out a slow breath. It wasn’t the first time we’d had a young woman ask for self-defense classes, but nevertheless, something about her big brown eyes and tentative nature had my wheels spinning.
Maybe a once-a-month class taught by me or Kelly with a few other trainers helping out with demonstrations. I’d have to ask Aiden if he’d be okay with something like that. Ideas of how we could connect with the University of Washington and other local colleges had ideas tumbling faster and faster in my head.
I walked back to where she was waiting, her arms folded over her stomach. “Ready?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Okay, drop your arms by your side and take a deep breath for me.” I nodded when she complied. “I’ll show you a couple right now, and they’re nothing that requires you to be stronger than an attacker, okay? The most basic self-defense moves won’t require you to stay and fight. The goal is to get away safely.”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but she was listening.
I pointed at the bags. “So everything we just did in class, that’s great for exercise. It’s great to know the basics of how to throw an effective punch and use your lower body to your advantage, but you’re not going to hit them with a jab, cross, and a roundhouse, right?”
Casey breathed out a laugh. “I hope not. I’ve always had really weak upper body strength anyway.”
“That’s okay,” I assured her. “If you feel comfortable with it, I’d like you to act as the aggressor right now, and I’ll show you a couple of things.”
“What should I do?”
From the corner of my eye, but out of Casey’s sightline, I saw Aiden lean his large frame up against one of the steel beams that held up all the bags. His face was curious, but he made no move to interrupt.
I swallowed, shifting her so that we were facing each other. “Let’s start as if someone walks up to you and tries to pull your arm toward them, so why don’t you grab my wrist.”
Her hands were still wrapped from class, and tentatively, she curled her fingers around my wrist.