Page 81 of Dating After the End of the World
“What’s training?” Nate asks, slightly squinting.
I blink away the rest of the tears, hoping he doesn’t notice.
“Combat training, buddy.” Blake smirks. “And everyone has to do it.”
Chapter 32
“All right, everyone, get lined up now! We have a lot to cover, and we’re burnin’ daylight, so double-time, let’s go!” Blake yells out as he paces in front of us, his hands clasped behind his back.
His demeanor and tone are disconnected, like he’s in front of a group of new recruits he’s never met before. “We’re going to pair up and do this activity with a partner. Yes, you will be fighting. Yes, you might get hurt. But the goal is, by the end of this, you won’t be so susceptible to being hurt when you don’t know your attacker.”
The group mills about, small murmurs spreading as people start looking around for who they’ll partner with. Nate bumps his shoulder into me with a smile on his face, an unspoken assumption that, of course, we’ll pair up.
“Nate!” Blake yells. “Since this is your first time, you’ll be with me.”
Oh God. He’s gonna kill him.I shoot daggers at Blake, warning him with my eyes that he better not do anything stupid. Hurting Nate won’t make him go away, and it also won’t magically bring us back together. If anything, it’ll royally piss me off. But Blake doesn’t see my warning, because he’s locked in on Nate.
“Uhh, sure, Blake.” Nate weaves his way to the front. “And it’s Dr. Warner, by the way.”
A large smile spreads across Blake’s face as he drops a heavy hand onto Nate’s shoulder. “That’s good, because you might need a doctor after this.” The group giggles to themselves, though Nate appears confused, unsurewhether Blake’s just joking around or serious. He raises his shoulders and puffs out his chest, but even all inflated, he’s still smaller than Blake.
“Everyone else, finish finding your partners.”
Tessa and I pair up. Molly stands beside Greg, holding his hand. Elaine wraps her arm around Aunt Julie. Tessa’s mom takes her spot next to Helen. And Helen’s boys partner up with one another. We all wait for further instructions.
The crisp, cold air cuts its way through the fabric of my clothes, sending a shiver down my spine. The sun is dull, trying to fight its way through a covering of clouds. The light shines a pallid yellow gray, making the world look like it’s part of a low-budget student film. With the state of it, that’s exactly how it feels. Blake stands at the front, hands on his hips as he surveys the crowd.
“To start, I want you to take your opponent to the ground. Keep it clean ... mostly. But remember if you take it too easy on your partner, you aren’t helping them learn or grow.”
I turn to Tessa and shake my head, letting her know I’m taking it easy, regardless of Blake’s instructions, which feel like are more for him and Nate than any of us. A way for him to hurt Nate, while also being absolved of it. But he better not.
“I’m going to sit this one out,” Elaine says, walking over to a lawn chair and taking a seat. Meredith, Helen, and Aunt Julie echo her sentiment and join her.
“Suit yourself,” Blake says. “Everyone else. Fight!”
Tessa turns and comes at me slowly. We grapple, like two Greco-Roman wrestlers locked in combat, our arms wrapped around each other’s head and arms, circling in what will look to the group like a stalemate. But we’re more so just holding each other so I can focus on Blake.
“I think Mr. Enemy with Benefits is going to kill your fiancé,” Tessa whispers.
“I know, and then I’m going to kill him.”
Blake bounces on his feet, not moving toward Nate, who has no idea how outmatched he is. After a few moments, Nate runs at Blake with reckless abandon, trying to drive his shoulder into him with a tackle, but Blake easily sidesteps him, tripping him with one leg while he shoves his shoulder hard, sending him barrel-rolling into the grass.
“It’s like David and Goliath, but David doesn’t have his trusty slingshot.” Tessa looks on with a mixture of horror and amusement.
Nate peels himself out of the dirt, brushing loose grass off his clothes as he bobs his head, realizing this won’t be as easy as he thought. He charges again, this time being mindful of Blake dodging out of the way. Nate jukes at the last second and tries to shove him backward, but Blake grabs his outstretched arms and dips underneath him, carrying Nate and then standing and flipping him in the air. Nate lands flat on his back, the wind getting knocked out of him.
“Oh God.” I flinch.
Tessa slaps me lightly on the cheek, startling me.
“What?”
“How are you in a love triangle during an apocalypse? I can’t even find a boyfriend, and you have two men.”
“I don’t have two men. And you had a boyfriend. But you killed him, remember?”
“Oh yeah,” she says. “But it looks like we’re both gonna have dead partners if those two keep fighting.”
