Page 81 of Allure

“Ah, does this mean you think I’ll still be around in a year, hmm?”

“I do believe I said both maybe and if…”

“Love to cover the bases, huh?” I ask with a laugh.

“I love to run the bases and slide into home,” he murmurs in that damn husky, sexy tone of his, his eyes as alluring and smoldering as ever.

Thank fuck we aren’t in a room with a bed or a mat or, hell, even just the floor because my clothes are practically melting off me.

I’m pretty sure I manage to sputter out a goodbye before I rush over to my car and drive away. He doesn’t laugh at my retreat as I watch him in the rearview mirror. He does watch me leave, though, and I can’t deny that my walls are starting to come crumbling down despite my best efforts.

He’s my weakness. There’s no doubting that, but is he still a mistake?

Or am I willing to repeat a mistake”

I’m tempted. Sorely tempted. He’s just so damn alluring. Too alluring for his own damn good.

And for my good too.

CHAPTER28

Finally, at long last, it's the big day. I can hardly wait for the women to start to arrive, and they do. We asked them to arrive at seven, so they could finish their registration, basically filling out a liability waiver form. In the final two weeks leading up to the event, three new adult women and four teenage girls have started to train. Whether or not they stick with it remains to be seen, but it's amazing. Sensei is going out of his mind with excitement, but I hope he doesn't bite off more than he can chew. The store next door, a pizza place, has been talking about shutting down apparently, and Sensei is chomping at the bit to rent it so he can double the space.

The actual class starts at seven-thirty, and I've been doing a headcount as I welcome the women and teenage girls flooding in one after another. Among the first to arrive are my friends. Dawn and Kaylie are completely professional about it, but Eliza gives me a hug, and all I can do is hug her back.

Even though I expected a few no-shows, everyone who signed up is actually here. Amazing.

After ensuring everyone knows to remove their socks and shoes and to place them in the women's locker room, I have them all head onto the main mat. I have them all stand on the small "X" marks on the mat and then make them sit so everyone can see me.

“Welcome to Rumble Dojo,” I begin. “My name is Brooke Adams, and this is Sempai Declan King. He will be helping me the most, but I’m sure you’ve seen some of the other karate students milling around. They’ll be helping as well.”

I grin at Declan. He enlisted all of the strongest, highest belts to walk the women in, and he swore he prepped them so they should know what to expect. I just hope they all listened to him and wore a cup.

"I only started karate recently myself," I say, my hands on my hips near my brand-new yellow belt. "I started my journey because I wanted to learn self-defense, and now, I'm going to teach you self-defense. It doesn't matter what your size is, how strong you are. There are certain parts of the body where men are naturally weak. Sorry, Sempai."

He flexes and strikes a few poses. “I am not weak!” he says in a mock deep voice that has all of us, myself included, laughing.

“That so?” I turn to face him. “What if I use a palm strike to your nose?”

“That… might hurt,” he admits.

“And a quick jab to your throat? Would that feel good?”

"Stupid Adam's apple," He grumbles, and the women all laugh again.

“A punch or a kick to the stomach, and… any guesses for another spot?”

Hands shoot up, but one woman just calls out, “A knee to the groin!”

They laugh again, but I nod. "Yes, of course, but you can also stomp on toes or throw elbows to the face. Trust me. Elbows and knees can do some serious damage. There are times when you'll want to use your palm versus a fist, but you can use elbows pretty much anywhere. Knees too. But an easy way to remember your targets is to think of the midline. Face, neck, stomach, groin."

I glance at the audience. They’re listening attentively, even the teenagers. Dawn gives me a thumbs up, and I grin at her before I turn my gaze back to Declan. He nods encouragingly.

I face the audience again and show them how to make a proper fist, that you never tuck your thumb inside because then it can potentially break if you hit something hard enough. I have them stand and throw some punches, and the other students troop onto the mat to help me walk around and make sure that they're punching properly.

After, I break the women up into ten groups so they can feign punching the guys in the stomach and then a palm strike to the nose area.

“Try not to hit these guys, please!” I beg as I walk around some more, circling them all. “I have to train with them, and I don’t want them to take it out on me the next time we’re sparring in class.”

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