Page 50 of Be Less Panda

He was right. It would be useful. ‘Do you know where I can get lessons?’

‘Yes. I will teach you. I learnt in the army.’

Nancy didn’t know why that surprised her. A spell in the forces would explain the way Hans carried himself, his short haircut and probably that scar, too. ‘You haven’t mentioned that before.’

‘I didn’t know you were going to need it until now.’

‘That’s very kind. When shall we start?’

‘When are you seeing your next client?’

‘Tomorrow afternoon.’

‘Then we better start now.’

Hans moved one of the armchairs back against the wall to give them some space.

‘Let’s start with someone looking like they’re going to grab your arms,’ he said. ‘To stop them doing that, you put your hands up in front of you like this.’ He held his hands up in front of his face. ‘They might respond by gripping your wrists. You do that to me now.’

Nancy held Hans’ wrists firmly.

‘You have a strong grip,’ he said.

She raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve been told that before.’

He avoided her gaze. ‘I get out this way,’ he said, lifting one arm up and one arm down, then twisting around. ‘Finish with an elbow to the groin. Obviously, we won’t do that today. Your turn.’

Nancy repeated the moves that Hans had demonstrated.

‘Very good,’ he said as she escaped from his clutches.

‘That was far too easy,’ she said. ‘I don’t think you held me very tightly. Do it again but harder this time.’

‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he said.

‘I know, but it won’t help me if you go easy on me.’

‘If you’re sure,’ he said, grabbing her wrists again.

‘Still too loose,’ she said.

He tightened his grip. It hurt this time, but she wasn’t going to show it. She carried out the move again. It was harder to escape, but it still worked.

‘Ta da!’ she said as broke free.

‘You’re a quick learner,’ he smiled. ’Now we will look at what to do if someone grabs you from behind. For this one, you need to finish with a punch to the side of my ribs. Use the side of your fist.’ He made a fist with his hand and rubbed the side nearest to his little finger to show what he meant.

‘Why the side?’ she asked.

‘Because it’s easier to get right than a proper punch.’

Nancy nodded.

‘Turn around. I’ll talk you through what to do.’

Nancy did as she was told. She felt Hans’ arms tighten around her shoulders and upper chest, pulling her against his body. She could feel his breath on her neck. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea because it felt good, very good. And if she wasn’t very much mistaken, Hans was enjoying it too. Hans eased away slightly. She resisted the temptation to lean back into him.Stop imagining him kissing your neck, Nancy!

‘You need to bend down a little, twist away from me, then punch. Got that?’

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