Page 45 of Only The Strong

45

REESE

I walk outof Callum’s bathroom to him pulling a navy tank top over his head and letting the loose fabric fall over his abs to rest above his black athletic shorts. His eyes meet mine and roam my body in a white sports bra that pushes my breasts together and up and black high-waisted ? leggings. “Ready, Red?” He asks, pulling a pair of short black socks from the drawer and dropping onto his bed to put them on. I nod and pull my long hair into a high pony. I sit next to him and we both pull on our tennis shoes.

“Thank you for coming with me.” I bump his shoulder with mine.

He chuckles. “Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss a girl fight, especially with you in such a tight bra.”

I push his shoulder more forcefully than the bump earlier. “Shut up!” I laugh and he leans in, his mouth inches from mine.

“I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I want to be wherever you are.” He braces himself against the bed on my other side, his arm burning against my back and casing me in.

I place my hand on the back of his neck where he has my tattoo, my favorite place to hold him when we kiss. “I love you, Cale.”

He closes his eyes and groans. “Fuck, say it again.”

I lean into him, using my grip on his neck to pull him into me. “I. Love. You.” I punctuate each word with a kiss.

“Fuck. Okay, we have to go before I end up laying you down and giving you a different kind of workout.” He pulls me up by hand and leads me downstairs to his new Raptor.

* * *

We parkin the parking lot of the university gym and walk towards the front doors. The gym is new and the university put a lot of money into it. It’s a giant modern two-story building with the entire front wall made up of windows. Through the windows, you can see the check-in desk, a rock climbing wall, a weight room, and a few private yoga studios.

When we get close to the doors Huntley strides through with a giant grin on her face. “Hey, love birds! Ready to learn how to beat a bitch’s ass?”

I giggle, Huntley’s optimism is always infectious, she’s a lot like Mason in that sense. Will make you laugh, but could also knock you out. “Finn’s waiting for us in a yoga studio.”

We follow Huntley through the entrance and pass the reception desk without a look at it.

“Hey, you guys need to check in!” A guy yells from behind the desk, jumping to stand as we walk by.

“They’re with me,” Huntley calls over her shoulder, not even bothering to turn around or stop walking.

“You can’t do that. You already brought that big tattooed guy in without checking in and the rules only allow one guest per student!” He leans over the desk on his skinny arms.

Huntley whirls around, anger making her angelic beauty twisted. “Remember what happened when I caught you lurking outside of the girls’ Pilates class, Craig?”

“Uh.” Craig’s face turns bright red and he sputters.

“That’s what I thought. So sit down and swipe cards.”

Callum bellows a loud laugh while we turn and walk down a long hallway with several workout studios. “What the hell did you do to him?”

“Almost broke his arm and told him if I caught him again I’d gouge his eyeballs out so he’d never be able to look at another girl again.” Huntley shrugs and I’m slightly worried she might accidentally kill me while trying to teach me how to defend myself.

We reach one of the last doors in the hallways and she pushes it open to find Finn laying on his back on a giant black mat scrolling through his phone. The room is beautiful, with light hardwood floors, and two connecting walls of floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to the football stadium with the mountains in the background. One of the walls opposite the windows is covered in mirrors and the other is filled with lockers.

“Alright, Finny, I need the mat so you’ll have to move your big ass now,” Huntley says as she stands at his feet looking over him. He extends his hand and she grabs it, helping him up although it’s clear she didn’t pull more so just guided him to tower over her. He leans down, placing his big hand around her slim neck, and kisses her. His hand placement looks firm but the way their lips meet is gentle and loving. The kiss represents them perfectly as a couple, rough and loving, able to withstand anything.

After Huntley shows me how to hold my body to protect myself but also provide maximum damage during a fight, she shows me how to throw a proper punch so I don’t break my thumb while doing so. Now she has us in front of the guys while she demonstrates moves that I'm supposed to use to get away from Callum. She stands tall in front of Finn, and even with her height he almost dwarfs her. Regardless she still looks fearless as she raises her chin and stares into his eyes.

“Let me know if it gets too real.” Finn’s rough voice makes Huntley falter as her eyes cast down before refocusing on his, a small crack in her strong exterior but it’s enough to remind me of the reason she learned to defend herself. She quickly nods her head and he raises his head and relaxes his arms at his side, ready for her demonstration.

Huntley focuses her attention back on me. “Okay, so fighting aside, your best defense is going to be your intuition. If you feel scared or you think that something is off, it probably is. Your body is great at letting you know when things are wrong, trust it. Furthermore, never get in a car with someone, I don't care what they threaten you with, staying where you are will call their bluff, but going with them will one hundred percent end up making the situation worse for you. You have a much better chance at getting away in your original location than if you go with them.” She lets out a breath and motions Finn to stand next to her. “So with that being said, if they don't give you a chance to make a decision and they decide to just take you, we want to work on how to get out of holds.” Huntley looks at Finn. “Grab me by my ponytail.” Finn licks his bottom lip before complying, sinking a hand deep into her hair and tugging her head back. Huntley looks at me before placing both of her hands over his on the back of her hand and turning and twisting under his outstretched arm. His hold on her hair breaks and as she’s facing him and holding his arm, with him slightly bent she practices shoving her foot into his groin. Instead of nailing him right there and definitely sending him to his knees, she places her foot on his stomach and pushes back, making him land on the mat on his butt. She turns to look at us while Finn smirks at her from the floor. “Your turn!”

I turn my back on Callum so he can grab my tied-up hair from behind and take a deep breath, trying to put myself in the headspace I would be in if this wasn't Cale behind me. I feel his hand grab ahold of my ponytail, I do the move exactly as Huntley did. I twist under Cale’s arm until we’re facing each other and I show myself kicking him in the balls. We both straighten and Callum gives me a giant grin like I've accomplished something astronomical and he's proud of me. I can’t argue, it does feel good to be able to take some control into my own hands and learn to fight back. After practicing the move a few more times we start on a new one.

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