Page 30 of Catch My Fall (Catch)

Tonight is the first class of a new session of his self-defense class. It’s a four-week, eight-class session and Tristan asked me to take it. He’s been absolutely amazing and I’m excited that he wants me to take his class. I’m nervous-excited about it and I can’t wait to see what kind of teacher he is. I can’t picture him being a harsh instructor, but considering what he’s teaching, maybe he has to be really tough.

I’m all set up to Skype with my mom while I get ready for the class. She had a check-up earlier today and she’s going to fill me in on everything that happened. She’s four months pregnant now, which means that she’s almost halfway through her pregnancy. I’ve been trying to be upbeat when I talk to her and Neil, but in all honesty it makes me really sad that I’ll be so far away when the baby comes. I’ve always dreamed about having a sibling and I’m so happy for my mom and Neil, but I’m beside myself that I’m missing something so important.

My computer chimed to alert me that she was calling me. The timing was good becauseI was just pulling my shirt over my head, and after getting it into place I dropped down in my desk chair and clicked to accept the Skype invite.

I smiled when I saw my Mom and Neil on the screen waving at me.

“Hi Mom, hi Neil! How was the doctor?”

“The doctor was wonderful,” Mom said with a smile. “Your baby brother or sister is just like you—growing perfectly and without ever giving me even a second of morning sickness. But that’s not the big news of the day! We didn’t want to tell you until we were sure, but Neil and Uncle Jesse have decided to go into business together. They’ve spent the last few weeks setting everything up and we anticipate being out there in about three months. You’ll be able to be at the hospital with us when the baby comes!”

“Uncle Jesse’s really going to move here too?”

“Yes he is. He’s just as upset about you being gone as we are, and he also doesn’t want to be in this wretched town anymore. He and Neil have actually talked a few times over the years about starting their own company; it was just never the right time. Now, it is. Isn’t this great news, honey?”

I was crying so hard that I couldn’t do anything but nod like a bobble-head. I’ve missed my mom, Neil and my Uncle Jesse so much, and it’s been so hard to maintain a façade for her as if the distance doesn’t drive me crazy. BecauseI was crying, my mom started to cry too, which of course left Neil to calm us both down.

“Now, now… both of you stop crying or else you’ll make me blubber like a fool. I want to see my girls smiling over this great news.”

Sniffling quietly, I grabbed a tissue and dabbed at my eyes. “Trust me, I’ll be smiling from here on out. I am so excited I could sing!”

We talked for a few more minutes, until I noticed that it was getting close to the time I would need to leave for Tristan’s class.

“I hate to cut you guys off but Tristan asked me to take this session of self-defense classes and it starts in less than half an hour.”

They exchanged a look that I couldn’t miss. “All right,” I said, “What’s with the look?”

My mom tried to talk but she was choked up and couldn’t get anything out, so she turned to Neil and nodded before gesturing to the screen.

“Your mom and I are so happy that you’re dating, honey. We were worried that it would take you years to be able to even try to trust someone enough to even consider dating. Mom and I can’t wait to meet him when we move to town.”

Kissing two of my fingers, I held them up to the camera on my computer. “I love you both so much. It’s because of you two, Uncle Jesse…and I guess my shrink that I’ve gotten this far. I can’t wait for you to meet him, either!”

After saying goodbye to them both, I turned my computer off and left to go to the gym. As usual Darby was MIA, which meant that she was at Brandon’s frat house. She might be fooling Brandon, she may even be fooling herself, but I know for sure that she’s not as into him as she says she is. The other night I woke up from a nightmare to find that she had fallen asleep sitting up in her bed with a framed picture of her and Trace clutched in her hand. The tracks of her tears were still visible on her cheeks and I felt horrible for her… and for Trace. No matter what he’s done in the past, I really think that he knows now that he was wrong. I wanted to tell her that he was sitting at home staring at walls, but when I tried to bring him up, she shut me right down.

I got to the gym a few minutes early and after signing in with Colin at the front desk I headed for the workout room that Tristan’s class is in. He turned to me with a smile as I walked into the room and held out his hand to me, waiting for me to cross the room to him.

Just seeing him like this, with a smile on his face and his hand reaching for me, is enough to make me a sappy mess. Even before the incident, I never saw this for myself. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’m determined not to screw it up with my fears. Heading straight for him, I took his hand in mine and smiled up at him as he tugged me into him for a quick kiss.

When he pulled back, he rubbed at the bottom of my lower lip with his thumb as he stared at me. “I missed you today, Mimi. You ready to kick my ass tonight?”

Shaking my head, I tilted my chin and gently nipped at his thumb. “I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to do any ass kicking, Stan.”

He threw back his head andlaughed out loud. “I don’t know about that. You kick my ass plenty, even if you don’t know it.”

Before I could ask him what he meant, girls started coming into the room for the class. When I went to pull away from him, he gestured to a spot right in front of the room. “I know you don’t love being right in the front, but I expect you to be right there, Mimi. My best girl, my cheerleader and my star student all rolled into one. If you’re really good, I’ll give you a treat after class.”

I blushed and giggled like a fool, but I took the spot in the front of the class. When everyone was in the room, Tristan introduced himself and began talking about the importance of self-defense, particularly in a college community. He taught us about the power of saying NO and speaking up if something is wrong. Against my will, I started to tense up when he spoke about drunk girls being taken advantage of and he talked a lot about how vital it was to have a sober friend and to never, ever, ever put your cup down or take a drink from anyone that you don’t know or don’t trust. The points that he was making were all spot on and I wished that I’d had someone like him around to tell me all of this years ago.

When it came time to get to the physical portion of the class, he pulled me forward for a demonstration. “This is my girl, Mia. Mia is a first-timer like the rest of you and today I’m going to let her try to hurt me. I’m sure it will be hysterical, but make sure to pay close attention.”

My heart was beating so fast from him calling me his girl that it’s a wonder it didn’t run out of my chest and do a victory lap around the room. Most of the girls smiled at me as I turned to face the class, but there were a few that straight up glared at me.

Grabbing my arm gently he turned to the class and explained that he wanted me to try to get away from him. Instinctively I tried to pull my arm back, but that didn’t work at all. Instead he was able to pull me closer to him.

“When you yanked your arm toward you, you actually made it easier for me to come forward. This time when I grab your arm, yank your arm up fast. Work against my thumb to get out of the hold.”

I did what he said, and this time my arm came right out of his hold. I smiled at him like a complete moron because I was so proud of myself.

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