Page 87 of Allure

“I will be.”

I really hope I didn’t just lie to her.

CHAPTER30

Iam sorely tempted to not go to karate the night after the self-defense class, but I refuse to break my streak. I've hardly missed a class, and even those times, I had been training with Declan, so does that really count as a miss? Not in my book.

So I show up and am a little disappointed to realize Sensei isn’t there. I wanted to talk to him about the event and see if any others have signed up. In the locker room, I do see a new girl, maybe my age. Pretty, petite, blond hair and blue eyes. She looks like a Barbie doll. Her tight workout clothes only serve to highlight that all the more.

“Hi, I’m Brooke,” I tell her.

“I’m Julie.”

“First class?” I ask.

She nods as she places her flip-flops into a chubby.

I eye her. I’m almost positive she hadn’t been at the self-defense class last night, but maybe she tried to sign up too late and was making yes of the three free days.

“I’ll see you on the mat,” she tells me, and she walks out of there with a lot more confidence than I would’ve thought a newbie would feel. She already sounds like someone well versed in martial arts.

I'm not moving the fastest, so by the time I leave the locker room after I change my clothes, I have to hurry to join the others on the mat. I'm so glad I'm never going to be the last person in a lineup anymore.

There aren’t any white belts, so Julie is next to me. Declan starts warmups immediately. Normally, he’ll walk around and try to push us to deepen our stretches, but he mostly stays up front, demonstrating the moves slower than normal, clearly for Julie’s benefit.

Once warmups are over, I’m excited to dive in, but Declan starts with basic punches. He comes over to demonstrate near Julie so she can see, and when he has to correct her stance, the placement of his feet, he’s kind and helpful, and he even touches her far more than he would any other student. What the hell? Why is he being so different with Julie? Does he already know her? Is he trying to make me jealous? Is he just using Julie and this is for show? Or what if he took my advice to heart and has wasted no time finding himself someone else?

I can’t help scowling at his backside every chance I get, but if he’s looking in my direction, I avert my gaze, not wanting to see him. It’s been a long while since I felt this vitriol and hatred for Declan, but it’s back now, in full force.

Once the class is over, I rush off the mat. I'm still changing when Julie enters the locker room. I grunt an acknowledgment, not really wanting to talk.

“That was so much fun!” she chirps. “Declan is a really great teacher.”

“Sempai Declan,” I correct her. “He’s a black belt. He deserves to have his title used.”

“Oh, yes, of course. Sempai. Such a strange word.”

“Not really,” I mumble.

“Do you train often?”

“When I can.”

“I think I’ll try to come back again tomorrow. This was a blast. I didn’t know what to expect, but Sempai Declan is so amazing, don’t you think?”

“I think it’s important that you keep that to yourself. We wouldn’t want him to get a fat head.”

She blinks a few times, clearly confused. “Why wouldn’t we want him to know that we think he’s doing a great job? Unless you don’t think he is…”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” I grumble.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out which you think because I said that we think he is doing amazing or that you don't, and I don't know which is true."

“Does it matter if you know?”

Julie’s expression falters, and she shuts her mouth.

Shame fills me. “I’m sorry. I’m just going through a lot right now. No excuse, though. Sempai Declan does a great job, yes, but I don’t want him to know I said that.”

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