Page 24 of Diverge

Hmmm, so he thinks this will continue?

Interesting.

“Okay, you want to make sure your thumb is on theoutsideof your fist when you punch.” He proceeds to stand in his fighter’s stance and throw a jab out into the air. I copy his stance and hold my arms up, throwing a punch of my own.

“Not bad. Make sure you use the strength in your shoulder to punch and not from your elbow.” He demonstrates again, and I copy. “Okay, that was better.” After practising punches and kicks for a while, we break to have a drink.

“So, are you still up for dinner after this?” I ask.

Looking up from his bottle, he smiles. “As long as we get burgers.”

“You read my mind.” Putting our bottles down, we head back onto the mats.

“Okay, so let’s talk about what you can do if someone grabs you.” He proceeds to grab me from behind resulting in me letting out a loud squeal. I feel his breath tickle my ear as he chuckles. “What is your first instinct?” He whispers into my ear, and there’s something so erotic about how he is holding me from behind, his warm breath tickling my neck. I proceed to try to pull away from him, but it’s no use. His arms are too strong and have an iron grip around me, making my insides squirm with need for him.

He lets go and comes around to face me.

“Let me show you, wrap your arms around me.” He turns his back to me, and I happily oblige, snaking my arms around him as tightly as I can. “First, you want to move to the side, so you have an advantage with body weight. Then you want to place your left foot behind their right at the same time you push your elbow into their sternum, and with all the force you have, throw them back so they fall. Then you run.”

Letting go of him, he turns to face me. “In any situation, you run. Doesn’t matter if you are a black belt or a white belt. You always run. But if you were to ever be in a situation like this, do what I showed you.” Nodding, I let him grab me from behind again and do exactly as he showed me. To my surprise, Nate lands on the mat with a thud.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe that actually worked.” I smile, proud of what I have just learnt.

Nate chuckles. “See, your size doesn’t matter. You just need toknowhow to fight.”

We continued practising a few other self-defence moves and decided to call it a night when Nate noticed I was getting tired. After showering in the locker rooms, we drove separately to my house in our own cars because I need to be at Finn’s law firm super early tomorrow.

Nate went to pick up the burgers, so I have a few spare minutes to make my house semi-presentable and change into one of my oversized band shirts for comfort. When he knocks on the door, I am STARVING. Letting him in, I immediately grab the bag off him and start to reach for the plates in my cupboard.

“No, really? For burgers, too?” He chuckles at my eye roll.

After scoffing down my food, I rub my belly and groan. “I think I ate too much.”

Nate laughs as he finishes the last bite of his burger. “Exercise truly does work up an appetite.”

I can read the suggestive tone in his voice, and I’m relieved he doesn’t hate me from the other night. Clearing our plates and throwing the rubbish away, we both settle on the couch in the lounge room.

The air is suddenly a little tense.

Sighing, Nate speaks first. “Is there something I should know about you and Finn?” he asks me, and my heart clenches at the mention of Finn’s name. I grab my cup of tea and hold it in both my hands, feeling the heat radiate from the cup.

“Will you judge me if I tell you?” I ask, unsure of how to begin.

He smirks. “Depends. Did you murder someone, and did he cover it up?” I roll my eyes as I sarcastically make a laughing face.

“Finn, Grace, and I have been friends since childhood.” I begin to talk, and I don’t feel uneasy like I thought I would. It comes naturally. “We were inseparable as kids, and we did almost everything together. At an early age, I had a huge crush on Finn. We spent every waking moment together from primary school to high school, and after my father passed away, Mr. Mackenzie took Riley and I in as his own.” Nate listens intently, his eyes locked onto me.

“At the age of sixteen, I knew I wanted to be with Finn. At least that’s what I thought at the time. I thought I loved him, and I thought he loved me back. Like I said, we spent so much time together that it was almost impossible not to know each other so well.” Sighing, I pause as I take a sip from my cup of tea.

“We used to go to the movies, go to mini golf, and do all that corny teenage stuff together, and I thought maybe we could actually make it work and take it further. He knew me so well, knew everything I liked and disliked, it just made sense to me.” Nodding, Nate looks down at the table then back to me, sensing where this is going.

“So, when I turned eighteen, I decided I wanted my first time to be with Finn, because I loved him.” With a shaky breath, I continue to reveal my soul to this man who I have only known for a few months. “After sleeping with me, he didn’t contact me again. Then after a week, I heard from Grace that he was leaving the country with his father with no return date.” A tear rolls down my face, and I wipe it away with the back of my hand like lightning. I don’t want to cry a second time in Nate’s presence. Once was quite enough. “Within the last ten years, he never contacted me once.” With that, Nate raises his eyebrows and nods.

“That must have been tough on you at a young age.” He says, and I can tell he wants to ask me something, but he holds back.

“It was. I couldn’t come to terms with how he could just leave and ice me out like that. Not when we grew up together.”

“Do you think you’d ever hear him out?”

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