Page 9 of The Third Girl

“Sure, no problem.” Skylar walks over and lies down. I follow and stand next to her, waiting for Jackson’s signal. I don’t want to be down there straddling her forever.

“Okay, ladies. Time for real talk. Scary talk, even. These next two scenarios are probably your worst nightmare. You don’t want to end up on the ground with someone who’s trying to hurt you. Whatever they have planned can’t be good. Matt, go ahead and get into position.”

As I step over Skylar’s torso and sink to my knees, my sister can’t seem to help herself and blurts, “Matt, you hurt our girl, I’m going to kick your ass.”

Laney laughs from beside her. “Um, Matt, maybe you shouldn’t have let Lucy take this class.”

“No joke.” Kennedy shakes her head.

There are some more good-natured laughs from the entire group of women, and I don’t know who said it or if I was meant to hear them, but toward the back, someone says, “I’d be okay with him straddling me like that.” I think it may have been Skylar and Laney’s coworker, Jackie.

Wow.Okay then.

Jackson crosses his arms over his chest. “Okay, so if he’s mounted over your hips like Matt is, it’s problematic. He’s got his hand or hands on your throat. The lower half of your body is pretty much useless—unless you know exactly what to do, so that’s what we’re going to teach you.” He gestures that I should put my hands around her neck, so I do. Her pulse hammers against my palm as she blinks up at me. My brows draw together. She’s got the prettiest eyes. Mossy green with darker flecks here and there. My eyes travel downward to her pink lips. Her breath feathers out over them at a slightly accelerated rate, which makes sense, seeing as how my hands are wrapped around her throat. I wonder what she’s thinking. Is this weird for her? Jackson’s voice interrupts my ridiculous ruminations. “Skylar do me a favor. Extend your arms. Would you be able to punch at him? Slap him?”

She shakes her head the barest amount. “His face? Nope.”

Her hands are quite a ways from my chin, even with her arms fully extended.

“Right. And even if you were to somehow surge upward, he can still back away and dodge you. You don’t have that same luxury. You’re trapped against the floor. He could hit you, and your head’s going to knock into the mat—or worse, in real life it could be pavement or a hardwood floor.”

“Why can’t she just junk punch him?”

Oh, God.I glance over into the crowd of women with a pained look that has them covering their giggles with their hands. I have no idea who said that, but—

My thoughts are interrupted when I feel Skylar’s throat working under my hands. Her chest jerks up and down in silent laughter. I raise one brow at her as if to say,Oh, really? Thought that was funny, huh?

She raises hers back, and I read it as,Yeah, maybe I did.Her eyes twinkle.

I have to look away. Here I am with my hands around her throat like I’m going to choke her out, and she’s messing with me.

Oblivious to our exchange, Jackson continues, “That’d work if she could manage it. But if she tried and missed, or let’s say it wasn’t effective because her attacker is high as a kite and not feeling a damn thing, he’s probably going to be pissed at her attempt and wail on her.” An uncomfortable murmur moves through the group.Good.While it’s okay to have moments of comic relief, they should definitely take this class seriously. Jackson clears his throat. “Okay, Skylar, let’s have you follow some instructions. First, bring your elbows to your sides, don’t let him up under your armpits. Second, use a cross grip to grab his opposite wrist.” She grabs at my arm with her hand. “Good, now, isolate his tricep with the other hand. His arm can’t come out the back or the side, you’ve locked him in.” He pauses for a breath and to inspect her hold on me. “Doing okay, Skylar?”

“Yep.” Through clenched teeth, she demands, “Tell me how to get this dude off me, Jackson.”

He huffs out a laugh. “We’re getting there. On the same side as the arm you’re holding, bend your knee and move your foot outside his.”

“Like this?” Her foot grazes the outside of my ankle as she gets it into position.

I nod. “Yep.”

“Okay, now bring your other leg up and plant it on the ground in between his legs. You’re creating an unbalance. The last step is to thrust your hips up and toward that outer foot in a quick motion. He won’t be able to stay on top. And he definitely won’t be expecting you to know what to do to save yourself.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” I murmur. She’s got my arm locked in properly and with one quick thrust of her hips, she knocks me off her and rolls, able to get back up onto her feet and back away from me. The other ladies in the room clap rather wildly and express their thoughts in a variety of ways.

“Go, girl!”

“Ha!”

“You did it!”

“Hell, yeah! Did you see that?”

I sit up, nodding. My eyes connect with Skylar’s. “Nicely done. The placement of the legs and the hold on my arm put me off balance. Are you ladies ready to practice that for a bit?” I glance at Jackson. I need a fucking break because I’m trying not to think too hard about what we’re doing, but the truth is it’s making me feel awkward and weird, which is dumb because I wouldn’t have had a problem helping teach this class when Terri was alive. She’d have cheered me on, knowing it was an important thing I was doing. But right now, all I can think is that it’s the anniversary of my wife’s death, yet I’m rolling around on the floor with another woman. Doesn’t seem to matter that it’s for a good reason. Guilt racks me. Grief works in strange ways sometimes.

Jackson must see something in my eyes because he claps his hands briskly. “Spread out and find yourself a partner. Let’s see you work through that last one. Try it at least five times each. Raise your hand if you need some guidance. Ask a friend, ask a neighboring pair. Matt and I will be making the rounds to help.”

I take a deep breath, watching them team up and scurry to different spots on the mat to work. Jackson sidles up to me as the women begin. In a low voice, he murmurs, “You okay? You seem a little off.”

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