11. 11
The cabin was colder than I expected when I woke, and Elias’s body heat was the only thing keeping me from shivering. Sleeping soundly behind me, he held onto me tightly like I was a stuffed animal, though his left hand had crept to my breast through the night, unsurprisingly.
My legs were still half asleep when I managed to wrestle out of his sleeper hold. I couldn’t wait for him to wake up. I desperately needed to pee because he’d been pumping me full of water all day. Closing the bathroom door behind with me a soft click, I relieved myself as quietly as I could.
I brushed my teeth, getting the stale taste out of my mouth.
I caught my reflection in the mirror and I grinned, reliving the memories of the night before.
Of course, in doing so, toothpaste dribbled down my chin and I quickly leaned over the sink before I made a mess of myself, spitting and wiping my face clean.
“Good morning,” Elias said when I reentered the room.
He was sitting up in bed, leaning against the headboard, smiling at me like a maniac.
I knew he was flipping through the catalog of one-liners in his head, searching for the perfect one.
I found my clothes on the floor, putting them back on. “I wasn’t done looking.”
“It’s freezing in here. Are you not cold?” I asked.
“I wasn’t until you left me in here by myself. Cassie, you’re going to have to take those back off. We need to share body heat to survive,” he said, reaching for my sweatshirt, tugging lightly at the hem.
I took his hands. “Do you think you could just add more logs to the wood stove?”
“I’m not ready to start the day yet,” he admitted. “Why don’t we just lay here, instead?”
“I’ll undress if you tend to the fire.”
He stood up then. “I’m going to use the restroom and mess with the wood stove, I think.” He put his sweatpants back on, probably as cold as I was, but unwilling to admit it to me.
It didn’t take him long before he crawled back into bed, pulling the comforter up along with the sheet.
“You’re not taking your clothes off, are you?” He asked.
I laughed. “No.”
“You’re a cruel, cruel woman,” he muttered, his face fitting into the space between my neck and shoulder.
His leg and arm draped over me, holding me down, and he rubbed against me like he was a cat, pausing every so often to kiss whatever exposed skin he could find.
“I miss the smell of your perfume. Tell me what it is and I’ll buy you some as soon as I can. ”
“Are you sure? It’s like a hundred dollars a bottle,” I said. “I don’t even buy it for myself, I ask my parents for it for Christmas and birthdays. It’s like a running joke at this point.”
“That’s not bad. I pay almost double for my cologne, and it doesn’t even work. Took me months to get you in my bed and I’m not even wearing it.”
I shook my head. “No, it definitely works.”
Elias laid there, smothering me, his hands slowly roaming my body through my clothes. His eyes peered up at me. “You’re beautiful, you know?”
“Not as much as you,” I countered.
“I am pretty handsome,” he agreed. I chortled, expecting pushback, but he didn’t play games like that.
“Ready for your first lesson?” He asked. Not leaving me time to respond, he straddled me, holding my arms above my head, planting a kiss on my lips.
“Am I supposed to defend myself from handsome men from trying to seduce me, or what?” I asked, immobile.
“If they’re not me, then yes,” he said, smiling. “I know I’m sitting on you, but put your feet flat on the bed, with your knees against my back.”
The bed was soft, my feet dug into the blankets, and I couldn’t plant them as firmly as I would be able to on the ground. Regardless, I positioned my feet and legs as he instructed.
“Now buck your hips upward, as hard and fast as you can,” he ordered.
“Really?” I asked incredulously.
“Do it,” he said.
I did as he told me to, though I was confused about his intentions here, and I pushed him forward enough that he let go of my hands, and had to catch his balance.
“See?” He asked. “I knew it was coming, so I didn’t try to stop you, but if you’re wrestling with someone or something, then this might give you a little bit of leverage to escape.
“Can we try again? Like, on the floor?”
“Of course,” he answered, nodding.
I laid flat on my back, and he came at me from the side instead of straight on, and I spun around on the hard floor, trying to get him into the position I was familiar with. I hooked him with my legs, wrapping him around the middle. He wasn’t quite where I wanted him, but I kept him at bay.
He took his elbows and dug them into my thighs, and I dropped my grip on him, my legs opening like he unlocked them with a key.
“Ow, fuck,” I said, and he crawled over me, moving much slower than he needed to, giving me time to react.
When he had crawled over my thighs and perched himself on my lap, I reused the move he had taught me and bucked him forward.
He threw his hands forward to catch himself, but I wasn’t sure what to do next.
“This is beginner stuff, but that was pretty good, Cassie,” he said.
“That elbow thing was uncool,” I said, chiding him.
“We’ll get back to that later. For now, we are going to get you out of this position.
Normally, this would be all one fluid movement, but you need to take your arm and swing it around me.
You’re right handed, right?” I nodded. “Okay, take your right hand and reach around me, far away and around my body. Reach for the floor in a big swing. He leaned back, hooking his arm around the air, demonstrating the motion for me. “It’s going to take some effort. I am a lot bigger than you, but momentum will really help you out. You want us to roll, and switch positions.”
He sat back on my lap, and I shoved him forward, reaching and reaching, over him. My back lifted partially off the ground, but I couldn’t roll us all the way.
“You’re too heavy,” I panted.
“That’s not nice. I’m very insecure about my body,” he answered, sitting back down. I responded immediately, throwing him above me, laying my right arm straight out. I hurled my arm up and over, heaving my body over, and we rolled. Slowly, but completely.
“Yes!” I said, raising my arms in celebration.
This was a mistake, because Elias repeated the sequence I had just learned on me, sending me flying toward his face.
I caught myself before I hit the ground, and he rolled us, grabbing my arm in the process.
He swung his leg around, and it landed near my head at my shoulder.
“Don’t move yet,” he ordered, so I stayed still, not wanting to rip my arm out of its socket by accident. He was laid perpendicular to me, his legs tight against my opposite shoulder and underarm. My arm was stretched out to the side, and he held it tight against his chest. “This is an arm bar.”
“Okay,” I breathed.
“When you get your opponent like this, you just need to raise your hips to do damage.” He moved his hips, bending my arm backwards, only for a second, before letting go. “You see how that could be helpful? Broken arms don’t grab at you or shoot you with guns.”
He moved off of me, and I sat up, a bit dazed. “That was fast.”
“You’ve got to be fast. I know we don’t have months to train these reflexes into you, but if you can feel comfortable doing this one thing, this might save your life.”
“I’m ready, let me try,” I said.
“Now, I want you to really try to hurt me. I’ll tap out when I decide you’re done, okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed. I doubted I could hurt him.
I laid on my back, and we started in a similar position, with him on my lap. He grabbed my arms and held them down, giving himself a little more leverage. Again, I shoved him forward, but he was able to keep his grasp firm on my right hand, stopping his fall with only his left.
“Punch the crease of my elbow with your free hand, as hard as you can,” he directed. I swung at his arm, but it didn’t give. “I said, as hard as you can,” he repeated.
I punched harder, grunting, and his elbow gave out, forcing him to catch himself.
I bucked my hips again for safe measure as he began to settle back onto my lap, and pushed, reaching over him once again, rolling him to his back.
Swinging my leg around him, I spun, and I latched onto his arm with both of my own, holding it as tightly as I could against my chest as I fell backwards, my legs squeezing hard against him.
It was sloppy, and I knew I kicked him in the head as I found my footing.
Raising my hips, I did my best to bend his arm the wrong way.
“Harder,” he said. “I could get out of this.”
I held tighter, pushing against him.
“Break my fucking arm,” he ordered.
I yelled out, thrusting my hips upward, his arm coming with me, and I felt him smack my leg a few times. I let go, dropping his arm first, then my legs, and wiped the sweat off my forehead, completely out of breath.
“Nice. Really nice,” he said. “Do it again. One fluid movement.”
We repeated the steps, he even had me punch his elbow again, and I was able to do it in half the time, feeling a lot more confident.
He forced me to do it, again and again, until I could barely get him to tap out.
“Fantastic, Cassie. Knowing this could be really helpful in a tight spot.” He stood, extending an arm for me to take. With his help, I stood, but I leaned forward, putting my hands on my knees to catch my breath. “How about a jog? Five miles or so?”
My eyes snapped up to his. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t help it. I think teaching you how to defend yourself is more valuable than making you run around. We don’t really have the time to train you to be a distance runner. Besides, you smoke. Your lungs suck.”
“Speaking of which, I could really use a smoke break. I feel like you’re holding them hostage,” I said.