Page 8 of Punchline
And once again, we were standing here in silence, except this time, Jake was watching my stupid fight. While I fidgeted and cringed at every familiar sound, Jake stared at the screen, brow furrowed.
I knew the instant I fell on my ass because the person filming started cackling. I cringed even harder, expecting Jake to start doing the same.
Instead, he was nodding slowly, and he met my gaze ashe handed back my phone. “I don’t know how you guys do that, honestly.”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“You’re onice. Wearingknife shoes.” He laughed as he gestured at my phone. “I wouldn’t even be able to stand, never mind throw punches.”
“Oh.” I… had no idea how to take that. Ice skating was as natural as walking for everyone in my circles. It hadn’t even occurred to me that a fighter would be impressed by fighting on ice. Pocketing my phone, I said, “Most… Most hockey players can fight better than that. On ice.” Renewed heat rose in my face. “I’m just really, really bad at it, and I want to get better.”
Jake’s brow pinched. “But do you really fight that much?”
“No. I’m a forward.”
He watched me as if to ask, “And? What does that mean?”
Oh. Right. Not a hockey player.
I cleared my throat and fidgeted again. “The guys who fight are usually defense. They’re the enforcers. But any of us will if the situation calls for it.”
Interest sparked in his eyes. “So, what makes you guys fight? Like what calls for throwing punches?”
“Dirty hits. Cheap shots.Touchingthe goalie.” I shrugged. “If someone gets out of pocket, especially if the ref doesn’t call it, they’re going to get a beatdown.”
“Huh. What if the refdoescall it?”
I snickered. “Probably still going to get a beatdown. But if the ref lets it go, the fight will be a lot feistier.”
“Damn.” Jake chuckled, and I was not ready for how much I liked his wicked smile. “I might need to go to some hockey games. Sounds a lot more fun than football.”
I snorted. “Aren’t most things? Football is boring as hell.”
That brought a grin to life, and he put up his fist. As I bumped it, he said, “Football issoboring. Fighting is way more interesting.” He looked around. “And speaking of, we should get started.” He gestured for me to follow him. “Come on. Let’s see what we can do.”
CHAPTER 4
JAKE
Well. We were off to an interesting start.
I didn’t let on to Ethan that I’d already seen his fight. You could tell a lot about someone based on whether or not they would dissect their own performance with you. Some guys liked to bluster their way through it, especially if they’d suffered a defeat, but the defeats were where you learned the most. Ethan might not have been happy about the way his fight had turned out, but he wasn’t unhappy enough not to stand right there with me and listen to himself get his ass beat. And hedidget his ass beat, there was no denying it.
I’d have to start with the basics. “Okay, so. I know you probably want to get started with punching and all that shit, but let’s go over the safety speech first.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. He could actually raise just one—I felt a little jealous. “Safety speech? Like… how to throw a punch without breaking your hand?”
That was a part of it, but—“No, first and foremost I want to talk about safety in the gym. I know you’re here to work just with me,” I added, “and that’s fine.”He was paying well for my time, and I was going to make it worth his while. Still, I had to bring this part up. “But just practicing to fight can often be enough to get you really adrenalized, and when that happens it can be hard to think straight. You’re a pro athlete, so you’re probably a lot better at handling adrenaline than most people are, but what you need to remember, and what I’ll remind you, is that you’re here primarily to learn. Not fight.
“Getting amped up is just going to increase the chances of you getting fucked up.” Might as well go right out there and say it. “It’s going to be a while before you punch more than a bag, so I want you to try and consciously relax as you train with me, okay? You have nothing to prove.” I saw Ethan’s shoulders relax a bit at that, and I knew I was on the right track. Young, fit guy like him, damn good at his game from what Carson told me—of course he felt like he had something to prove.
“When we’re working together in here, we’re a team. I’m on your side. So you don’t have to go hard or push yourself past your comfort zone until I tell you to, because that’s how you’ll get hurt, and I don’t want that.” Jesus, did I not want that. “That said, I’m a big guy.”
“Yeah, you are,” he muttered under his breath, then blushed a little. I grinned—that wasn’t the response I was going for, but I’d take it.
“I’m also more experienced when it comes to fighting, so don’t worry about me. I can almost guarantee you’re not going to hurt me no matter what, and I won’t get amped up unless you start swearing at me or bring a weapon into the school. You stay chill, I stay chill.”
“Has someone ever actually done that?” Ethan asked dubiously.
