Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mase
“Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Great job, buddy.”
Zach blows out a heavy breath, his cheeks flushed pink from the exertion. “That was flippin’ tough. I didn’t think I’d make it.”
I scoop up his water bottle and hand it to him. “Was the weight a little too much? We can go back down if you think you need to, then increase the weight again after another session.”
“Nah.” Zach gulps another mouthful of water and swipes a forearm across his sweaty forehead, the dark-blond hair stuck there sliding to the side with the movement.
“How else will I grow these guns and attract all the girls in my class?” Lifting his shirt sleeve, he flexes his muscles, showcasing his “guns”.
Pride swells in my chest at the change in his confidence. He’s come a long way since he first started training with me a couple of months ago.
Back then, he was a quiet, skinny string-bean. Now the sixteen-year-old says he’s one of the biggest in his class.
Snickering, I shake my head. “This isn’t about quick gains, but long-term strength and fitness.”
“I know, I know.” He smiles. “The weight is hard, but I don’t think it’s too much.”
“In that case, do another set, ten reps. Then you’re done. Your mom’s already waiting.” I nod to the front entrance of the gym where she sits watching us.
Zach gives her a quick wave before grabbing the handles of the chest press machine, ready to go again. Puffing his cheeks, he drops his head back. “All right. I’ve got this.”
I walk Zach to the front a few minutes later, clapping him on the back. “Okay, I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Are you done for the night?” Zach asks, shifting his gym bag higher.
“No, my class starts soon.”
“Oh, right. The self-defense thing. That is so flippin’ cool.” He nods, eyes bright, and a little warmth buzzes through me. “Maybe I should get my mom to do that since she works late nights at the hospital. Dad would probably like that.”
I pluck a candy from a bowl on the front desk. “Well, the booking information is online.”
“Okay, I’ll tell her to look.”
I wave him off, then quickly make my way to the changing room. I have a short period of time to fit in a leg workout before people start arriving for class.
Half an hour later, and post mini-workout, I’m showered and ready to welcome the few women already here. It’s a beginner’s class, the first of eight sessions, so we won’t be getting into the harder demonstrations today.
I look through the front windows on the off-chance I’ll see long, shiny brown hair walk toward the entrance.
I’ve done the same thing the last couple of nights, hoping that Jennifer—Jayne—will take me up on the offer. Yet I’m never surprised when she doesn’t appear.
A few of the other women from Tease took advantage of the free class and came the last few nights for drop-in classes, which means she passed on the information. I had the urge to ask them about her but managed to resist. Something tells me they wouldn’t have a whole lot to say, anyway.
The faces here tonight look unfamiliar, and likely not from the club.
I lead the attendees into a large room with padded flooring, situated beside the front desk that we’ll be using. It has an entire wall of one-way glass so we can see outside while still having privacy.
The ladies chat and introduce themselves to each other while we spend the next few minutes waiting for late arrivals.
Once everyone who registered has arrived and checked-in at the front, I begin, “Welcome everyone. My name is Mase, and I’ll be your instructor for the next eight weeks.
Hopefully, by the end of this, you’ll feel strong and confident in your ability to protect yourselves.
This evening we’re going to be going over some helpful information and very basic defense moves. Nothing crazy just yet.”
Movement through the window behind the women catches my attention, and I look past them to see a woman holding a small brown paper bag walk toward the entrance of the gym before she stops and turns around.
She’s dressed in black leggings and a puffy light brown jacket with dark brown fur—not unlike how half the women in here arrived. But there’s no mistaking who it is when I catch a glimpse of her face as she turns.
Jayne.
Relief buzzes through me in an unexpected wave at the sight of her. I thought she would have been working on a Friday night, but I guess not.
She came.
Jayne walks another few feet back in the other direction, then turns around to walk toward the door again.
She chews on her thumbnail, looking unsure of what she wants to do, completely unaware that we can see her through the window, though I’m the only one watching. The women have their eyes on me, waiting for me to continue.
“Ah, excuse me just a moment.”
I step out of the room and over to the front door of the gym, opening just as Jayne gets near it again. She startles at my sudden appearance, looking like a deer caught in headlights, but I remain silent as I press my back to the door, keeping it propped open, waiting.
Finally, she walks through the entrance, and a small smile touches my lips.
Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, face free of makeup, though it does nothing to lessen her natural beauty. She was gorgeous at the club when I saw her with the smoky makeup, but I prefer this version of her.
“I’m glad you could make it,” I tell her quietly as I lead her into the room where the others are waiting.
“Well, I didn’t want your offer to go to waste.”
Regardless of the why, I’m just fucking happy to be helping her in some way.
The moment she sees the window wall and the view it provides, her body tenses, realizing that I saw her indecision.
I make no comment on it. “You can hang your jacket and sweater up over there if you want.”
I wait until she’s joined the group, standing at the edge of the other ladies, before I continue where I left off, “Now, can anyone tell me the best places on a person to target?”
A petite redhead puts her hand up and I gesture for her to answer. “Eyes, nose, throat, and dick.”
I nod. “Good. Those are four of them. Anyone know more?”
I glance at each of the women, lingering a little longer on Jayne.
It’s fucking surreal that I saw her by chance in that club after all these years, and now she’s here.
Even back when I first found out what happened to her, I had felt this need to reach out to her and help her somehow.
I admit that it’s not all based on me doing a good deed, but rather, a compulsion to repent for his sins in a way.
It’s been a constant in my life. And now I have a small chance to arm Jayne with something that may boost her confidence.
When no one answers, I add, “The other two are the solar plexus and the knees.” A few of the women nod.
“The groin area is often the most anticipated and the most protected, but we’ll still learn some techniques to target that area because if you ever get the chance to use them, it will be highly effective. ”
We spend the next while going over some easier, simpler moves, and I have the women practice on each other while I guide them. There are an odd number of women, which means I’ve been paired with one of them as well.
While my instinct was to work with Jayne, I’ve left her alone. It obviously took a lot for her to be here, and I know she’s still wary of me, for obvious reasons.
It still doesn’t stop my eyes from being pulled to her, as if I need to make sure she’s okay. She’s the only one here who I know for a fact was sexually assaulted, and it happened to be by my own ex-friend.
It has me feeling responsible for her in a way I don’t feel with the others. It makes me notice things about her, like her facial expressions and movements.
I blame my fucking sensitive mind.
Jayne pays attention to every instruction, as well as every little detail given, even helping a fellow classmate who couldn’t get something right.
At the end of the lesson, I give them all something to work on over the next week, then tell them I’ll see them the following Friday.
I’m not surprised when Jayne slips out immediately without saying another word. I am, however, surprised that she walked out into the cold night, leaving her light brown jacket hanging on the rack, as well as the paper bag on the floor.
Grabbing them, I rush outside to chase her.
This feels familiar.
“Jen—uh, Jayne, you forgot your jacket.”
She turns around, her hand rubbing at her opposite arm as if she just noticed the cold when she sees her jacket in my hand. “Oh, thank you.”
“You did good in there,” I tell her as she takes it and slides it over her pink sweater.
“Well, you’re a good teacher.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to hold back a smile, then remember the bag in my hand and lift it. “You left this as well.”
There’s light shining on us from the overhead sign, and I swear I see a pink hue touch her cheeks. “I brought that for you. To say thank you.”
I peek into the bag and see a delicious-looking chocolate chip cookie, and the corner of my lip tips up. “Thanks. Will you come back next week?”
She shakes her head, a gust of cool wind blowing her hair around. “The offer was for one session, right?”
I shrug. “You’re more than welcome to join more.”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’d be free, if that’s your concern.”
I remember her family being wealthy when we were in school, but that doesn’t mean she is now. Why else would she be working at Tease?
I try to keep my brows from dipping at that thought. Considering her history, it troubles me that that is her choice of work, and even more so at that particular place.
“That’s not the problem.”
Not the problem? Does that mean there is a problem?
Stuffing my free hand into my pocket, I adopt a relaxed pose. “Well, you know where to come if you change your mind.” I glance around the area. “Did you have to park far away? It’s usually hard to find anything close at this time of day.”