‘He’s being bullied at school.’ Caroline’s voice came from behind me. ‘His mum came in earlier in the week and talked to Hunter about whether he should start karate.’
We stood together watching as Hunter talked quietly to the boy and then gave him a lesson, one-to-one.
I could see the confidence flowing from Hunter into the boy, just as it once had with me.
‘He’s good with kids.’ I didn’t realize I’d spoken aloud until Caroline agreed with me.
‘I guess it has something to do with his own upbringing. It’s really important to him to help kids who are in trouble at home. It’s kind of like a project for him. Probably because of his own background.’
I tried to remember what I knew about his background and realized it was very little. When we’d been together, we’d been so wrapped up in each other, so focused on ourselves, we’d rarely talked about other things. But as I stared at the tear-stained face of the boy—who was looking a lot happier now—I realized I’d been the same. Older. Probably less endearing. But just as vulnerable.
A project.
I remembered that day Hunter had come over to me and wondered if he’d seen me that way.
Was that why he’d found it so easy to walk away?
Caroline glanced at her watch. ‘We’re all going out again tonight. There’s a new club in Soho. Are you coming?’
I shook my head. I had to try and cure myself and the way to cure myself wasn’t to carry on immersing myself in the problem. And anyway, I’d had enough torture for one week.
Instead I put my client through his paces and then decided to find a quiet place to train. I needed to let off steam. We stayed open until ten on a Friday, so I changed quickly and found an empty studio. I didn’t bother turning the lights on. Instead I practised kicks.
I’m a black belt in karate—men don’t usually want to hear that—but I’d taken up Muay Thai only a few years ago. In Muay Thai we generally don’t kick with the foot. It’s full of small bones, easily breakable. We prefer the shin.
There was a bag in the corner of the studio and after warming up, I started practising. The kick is the long-range weapon of Muay Thai and the most important things are speed and placement, so I focused on that.
I thought I was on my own, so when I turned, breathless, and saw Hunter standing there, it was a shock.
‘Why aren’t you at the club with the others?’
‘Why aren’t you?’
‘I had a client. And I wanted to train.’
‘So let’s train.’ He strolled across to me with that loose-limbed easy gait that made my mouth water and my stomach curl with agonizing tension. As he walked across the room, I noticed he didn’t bother turning on the lights. The studio was in semidarkness, the only lights coming from the glow of the city.
And now I was trapped.
I could hardly tell him the reason I hadn’t joined them on their night out was that I’d thought he’d be there. I couldn’t change my mind without drawing attention to the way I felt. It was my problem.
Dealing with it in the only way I knew, I turned back to the bag but he caught my shoulder.
‘No. Full contact.’
In other words, he was giving me permission to kick him.
I wasn’t about to object to that.
Thai pad training is a classic way of teaching attack and defence techniques. It helps improve speed, mobility and reaction time.
In theory the pads absorb the blows and minimize the force but I wasn’t sure there was enough padding in the world to protect him from the energy I was prepared to put into my strikes. I was handling a lot of pent-up energy.
I waited while he strapped on belly pads intended to absorb punches, knee strikes and kicks and then I started.
I didn’t hold back but that didn’t seem to bother Hunter.
He stood rock solid as I came at him, coaching me, making suggestions, occasionally demonstrating a better technique.