Page 11 of Signed for You

“Why?! We’re not in the twentieth century anymore, Crow, women can do just a-“

“It’s nothing to do with what women can and can’t do, Char. If women were Cobras then the men would automatically try and protect them, more so than they would the men around them. It's just automatic and if it’s one of the men’s wives or daughters then it’s even more distracting because he will be spending every minute trying to protect her rather than doing his job. That leads to lives lost, problems caused and just – no. No, Char.” He releases a breath, lets me go, and continues walking towards the cafe.

“What if you just train me up then so that I can look after myself? I won’t mention the Cobras again, but at least if you help me train then I’ll have a chance at protecting myself if I ever need to,” I tell him with certainty.

“I thought your dad trained you and Gray,” he says as we walk towards the bar and the seats we were previously sat at. Crow’s food was still there. Untouched.

“Well, he did, but I’ve never put it to practise. I don’t have a clue if I’d actually ever be able to use what he taught us. Learning in a room with people you know won’t hurt you is very different to actually fighting off people that want to kill you. I mean, I imagine it is. I used to tell my dad to stop if I got tired, I don’t think The Dealers or Enforcers will listen to me if I tell them to stop somehow,” I tell him with raised eyebrows, knowing that he can’t argue with that logic.

I think of all of the times Gray and I would spar as Dad watched on and encouraged us, telling us which way to dodge the other. He always used to tell me to use my size as an advantage over Gray, to be fast, nimble, and small was a good thing just like for Gray to be large, intimidating, and strong was a good thing.

“Fine. Tomorrow morning we’ll start.” I try and fail to hide the smile that’s brewing as Crow rolls his eyes at my antics.

Five

“You need to dodge me, Char. If you can’t block then you at least need to dodge.” We’ve been at it for an hour, and nothing I do seems to make me any better. I know having the skill to fight or defend yourself isn’t something that can appear within an hour of training, but I think a small part of me hoped that my dad’s training from when Gray and I were younger would kick in and I would at least be able to show Crow that I was capable of something. But no.

“I’m trying!” I yell at him as he comes for me again.

He keeps repeating the same actions over and over again. Backing away, coming at me again in different directions while I try to either block or dodge him. He seems to get me in a position I can’t get out of every time though, no matter which way I go.

“Stop. Just stop. God, you’re worse than I thought,” he says with a laugh.

“Excuse me!” I exclaim, pissed off at his blunt nature. I mean, I know I’m bad, but no need to beat me while I’m down. Jeez.

“You’ve got to show me something here. What can you do?”

“I can punch. Dad always used to say I could throw a good punch.”

Crow eyes me curiously.

“Fine. Maybe I’ve been going at this all wrong just trying to get you to defend. Maybe you’d be better off attacking,” he says, walking towards me.

“Hit me.”

“What, n-“ He interrupts me with a hard look.

“I can’t just hit you, Crow,” I tell him.

“Afraid you’ll hurt me?” He laughs.

“Well yeah!” I tell him, watching as he walks around me. He’s circling me.

I can’t keep my eyes away from him. He’s just in his shorts and even though I’ve seen him in his shorts and boxers a million times, all I can think about is how his muscles ripple and move every time he moves. He has the body of a god and although there are plenty of things I would love to do to him, hitting him is not one of them.

“Hit me or I won’t train you anymore,” he tells me seriously, straight faced, as he pulls to a stop in front of me.

I need him to train me. Dad won’t teach me anything anymore insisting that I don’t need it and although I hope like hell that he’s right, if he’s not and I ever do end up in a situation where I need to fight my way out, I would currently be completely and utterly screwed.

I have power behind my punches, I know that much.

“Fine, but I can’t just hit you stood there like that. You need to hit me or come at me or something. I just can’t otherwise.”

Crow smirks deliciously at me as he walks away and then spins and is running towards me too quickly for me to think about what I do before I do it.

I launch my body towards him, my right arm extending straight towards his face, landing below his chin as I push my weight up with my fist. Crows eyes looked as shocked as I feel as he staggers backwards and his head lolls to the side.

“Fuck, Char!” he yells as he rubs his chin and shakes his head at me.

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