He huffed a laugh. “I can’t believe Erik never had you take self-defense classes.”
“He tried to get me to take a few,” I said, dropping my gaze to the ground. “I wasn’t ready for any kind of contact at that time, and I guess it never came up again afterward.”
When I braved a glance, he showed more emotion than I’d seen from him yet. Daniel always treated me normal. He never coddled me or asked if I was okay. He never did anything to remind me I’d been a victim, and I’d appreciated it every time.
Yet, watching his nostrils flare over a clenched jaw at hearing how I couldn’t touch anyone after Erik rescued me, warmed a spot in my chest that had been cold for entirely too long.
Just as quickly as it appeared, it left. He nodded his head toward the back. “Come on. I’ll show you the room.”
Daniel lifted a bag over his shoulder and edged around the class into an open room with mats covering every inch of the floor.
“I want to teach you how to defend yourself. Just some basics. If for no other reason than to make you feel more comfortable. And, of course, to beef up those biceps you’re so proud of.”
“You want to teach me?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I figured a class would be too much. It usually requires you practicing with another student and sometimes the teacher, which wouldn’t be anyone you knew, and possibly male.”
I couldn’t hide the wince that scrunched my face. “Yeah, that’s definitely not my jam.”
“Figured as much. So, if you’re okay with me, I’d like to teach you a few things. If not, we can grab a coffee and head out.”
Erik had tried to push me into a private self-defense class, and he still brought it up from time to time, but I brushed it off for the exact reasons Daniel mentioned. The instructor would be someone I didn’t know—male or female hadn’t mattered at the time, all touch sent me into a panic.
But the thought of adding an extra layer of protection between me and the horrors of the world pushed me to take advantage of what Daniel offered.
“No. I want to do this. Maybe I can regift all those mace cans Erik gets me.”
He smiled like he was proud of my answer. “Good. I was going to close the door, but if it makes you more comfortable, we can leave it open.”
The music and clanging of weights poured into the room, making it hard to hear. And the bottom line was that I trusted Daniel, even alone in a private room where he may pin me to a mat.
The first ripple of panic washed over me. I breathed hard through my nose, blocking out the feeling of being pinned, immobile, helpless, and looked to Daniel.
Just like that, the ripple faded, and my heart calmed.
“I trust you.”
His shoulders pulled back, and he stood a little taller like my trust filled something in him like it did in me. “We don’t have to do this.”
“No. I want to. I trust you, and that helps. Besides, you don’t always get a chance to run and scream when being attacked. So, this is good.”
There was that look again—the clenched jaw and flared nostrils. “That’s true,” he ground out. He took a deep breath and relaxed his features, becoming the laid-back Daniel, we all knew. “Okay, we’ll start with some basic moves, but first, let’s stretch.”
“Will I have time to stretch before being attacked?” I joked.
He cocked a brow and gave me a deadpanned stare. “Probably not, but I’m an old man and need to stretch before I get my ass kicked by someone almost half my age.”
“I am not almost half your age.”
“How old are you, exactly?”
“Twenty-six.”
He huffed a laugh and bent in half to touch his toes.
“Why, how old are you?”
“Almost forty.”
“Oooo,” I hissed, wincing. “I don’t know how I feel about fighting with a grandpa. I don’t want you to throw out your back.”
He snapped up and glared, but the twitch in his lips softened the effect. “Someone’s got jokes.”
“A few.”
“Okay, young grasshopper, let’s get started.”
The room had mirrors lining one wall and four large square mats covering the majority of the floor.
We started small by going over all the pressure points on the body and the ways to reach each one when being attacked from different angles. He utilized the mirrors so I could see him behind me, but I ended up being more distracted by how much I liked looking at him towering over me. Once review time was over, we moved to the mats.
Daniel always kept his space where he could, and slowly worked his way to more contact moves. He started with how to get out of someone grabbing my wrist, and it shocked me how simple the move was. I’d always assumed I was too weak to ever defend myself, but the move wasn’t based on strength. He told me the weak spots and how to exploit them.