Page 59 of Mending Scars

She playfully rolled her eyes. “Okay, sensei, let’s get started.”

I patted the left side of my chest, over my heart. “Grab my shirt here.” I waited for her to grip my tee before continuing. “Since you’re holding me with your right hand, I’m going to bring up my left hand and grab your wrist with it. I can use my right hand to block if my attacker tries to punch me, or even to get some hits in to slow them down before I continue the technique.”

I wrapped my hand around her wrist and brought my right arm up in blocking position. “I can do some jabs to the face, maybe even some sudos to the throat from this angle if I want. Then, I’m going to bring my hand over to the one you’re holding me with, and grab your thumb.” I gripped her thumb, using my fingers to push into the pad of her palm at the base of her thumb. “Now I slide my thumb onto the web between your index finger and thumb. Then, I secure it there before pressing down and away, prying your hand off of me while making a circular motion and bending the wrist at a forty-five degree angle.”

Kaiya’s face contorted and she hissed in pain as I executed the maneuver, but she didn’t tap out; she rarely did. I still let go, not wanting to hurt her because of her stubbornness. “Once you get them to release you and into that position, you can throw in whatever you like since they will basically be at your mercy. A roundhouse to the ribs, maybe a side kick to the knee. You could even let go and finish with a back fist, followed by a ridge hand right to the face.”

Kaiya rotated her wrist and rubbed it. “That hurt—even for me.” That pretty mouth of hers curved up in a smirk. She tried to fight a laugh, but she couldn’t hold it back. “You’re going to tap out so fast.”

I cocked an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest. “You think so, huh?”

She continued to giggle as she nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

I narrowed my eyes in challenge. “We’ll see about that.”

She was probably right, but since she was talking shit, I had to prove her wrong. I grabbed the strap of her tank top with my left hand, knowing full well that I would definitely tap out if I used my right due to my injury from the shooting.

Kaiya initiated the move without my guidance. She had some trouble slipping her hand in the right place and securing mine, but with practice, I had no doubt she would be able to execute it efficiently.

“Need some help?” I teased as she continued to try and get her hand placed correctly.

She frowned and glared up at me, giving me her answer without words. I knew I was going to pay for that comment in a minute or so.

Kaiya’s narrowed eyes spread wide in excitement when she finally gripped my hand right. She twisted it away from her in a circular motion, and I immediately wanted to tap out from the pain. I didn’t understand how women were so damn flexible. I ground my teeth together to keep from tapping, my stubborn pride outweighing the worry of injury.

Our eyes met and the corner of Kaiya’s mouth lifted before she let go. “I don’t want to hurt you because of your stubborn pride.”

I shook my wrist out and smirked. “It’s called determination. You know I never back down from a challenge.”

Her lips spread wider into a full, seductive grin. “I know.”

We practiced a few more times before I ended class. Some students complained about the difficulty of the maneuver, but most enjoyed the technique and its simple effectiveness. Others preferred the larger body attacks and felt like they had more control and power with punches and kicks. I had to agree, but I still wanted Kaiya to participate in class, so compromises needed to be made.

After closing up the gym, I mentioned some thoughts I’d been having to Kaiya as we walked out. “So I’m thinking about doing small circle hapkido for one class per week, and then normal self-defense for the other two.”

She nodded. “That sounds good. From what I’ve heard, most of the girls like the small circle hapkido, but prefer the regular self-defense techniques better.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, grabbing her hand as I led her to her car. “Some of the hapkido techniques can be very intricate and some people don’t have the patience for that.”

“I’m surprised you do,” she joked as we reached her car. Turning around, she leaned back against the driver’s side door and smiled knowingly. “You’re one of the most impatient people that I know.”

I placed my hands on the outside of her shoulders against the window, caging her in between my arms. “Depends on the situation.” I leaned forward and barely grazed my lips over hers. “With you, I was definitely impatient. When I want something, I have to have it. But with self-defense,” I said as I pulled back, putting some space between our faces, “you have to be calculated and precise. Any wrong move could mean injury or death during an attack, so patience is a must.”

“Wise words, Master Campbell,” she replied with a playful grin. Her stomach growled loudly, causing us both to look down at her baby bump and laugh. “I think Hayden is hungry,” Kaiya giggled.

I took one of my hands off the car and placed it on her belly. “Well, he’s a growing boy. Let’s go get him something to eat.”

Kaiya stood up on her tiptoes to kiss me. “I think we have some leftover Italian chicken and risotto from earlier this week.” She looked down again at her stomach and smiled. “We both really liked that.”

I gave her a kiss before grabbing the door handle and opening the door for her. “I’ll meet you at home.”

“Okay. Be careful,” she replied as she got in.

“You, too, baby,” I said, shutting the door.

Kaiya smiled at me through her window and started her car. She waved as I backed away toward my truck.

I followed Kaiya back to her apartment. We parked next to each other in front of her building before heading up the stairs to her place.

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