Chapter 5
It turned out that she was right. There wasn’t a lot of working out involved at first. The training course was divided into two parts, one explaining the mindset of an assailant and the usual non-physically confrontational techniques, the other broaching some very basic moves in case of a mugging, for instance.
Their main instructor, Nate, was in his mid-thirties and used to be a part of some kind of police force, from what she had understood. He was assisted by Robert, who seemed at least ten years older and had a mustache that would have made Magnum jealous. Ben was patiently sitting on a bench behind them, next to a mountain of padding that she suspected would be his uniform shortly.
Her nerves started to calm down once she realized that there wouldn’t be much contact at all for this first time. She and Annie partnered up for the only physical exercise of the day, which mimicked a mugging. According to Nate, the best thing to do in case someone threatened you with a weapon for your belongings was to throw your bag or wallet at them and not just hand it to them. That way, it forced the assailant’s attention away from you while giving you a potential opportunity to run in a different direction.
That one made sense and didn’t exactly need practice in her opinion, but she quickly changed her mind when she realized that her first instinct, when Robert confronted her, was to freeze and hold tight to the fake purse she was asked to carry. Despite her surroundings and the obviously staged aggression, Robert was a tall, big guy who didn’t seem the friendliest, and she reacted to that first.
Apparently, she was far from the only one as Robert explained later. The purpose of the exercises was to train their muscles to react a certain way in case of danger, no matter how simple it seemed. Instincts usually took over in those situations and you had to reprogram them, in a way.
Ben didn’t approach her at all, only playing the thief with a few other groups.
She decided it was much better that way, because she wasn’t sure she could ever see Ben as threatening, no matter the circumstances. He was way too much of a goofball.
She had to admit that he was taking things seriously. He hadn’t cracked a joke once and had apparently found a way to keep all that oozing charm firmly locked in place.
It was a pity they didn’t allow recordings because she was pretty sure no one would believe her.
After the session, he was waiting for her near the front desk, talking with Nate.
“Madison, right?” Nate asked with a smile as she approached them.
“Yes.”
“How was it? Not too scary, I hope?”
She grinned. “No. It was great. Not exactly what I was expecting, but very instructive nonetheless.”
“It’s a process. It’s important to get the basics first and to be in a comfortable setting. We used to have full weekend training sessions, but we realized that if we stretched out the classes, mixing theory, letting people get to know each other, making sure everyone was comfortable with each new technique they learned, we had far better results. It will be harder next week, physically. You’ll get to see your boyfriend all padded up for sure.”
She eyed Ben, smiling like the Cheshire cat. “I can’t wait for the ass kicking.”
“Why are women always so impatient to get to that stage?” Nate asked with a laugh, shaking his head. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys next week.”
She fiddled with her small gym bag while Ben went to talk to Martha. There was a jar of cookies on the desk, and he shoved one into his mouth as soon as she started typing on the computer.
“It’s all set,” he said once he joined her again, shoving his wallet inside his own duffle bag.
“Wait. I need to pay, right? Please tell me you didn’t pay for me.” She hadn’t even thought about it, if she was honest.
Ben waved her off dismissively. “It’s done, don’t worry.”
“What do you mean, it’s done? I have to pay the fee!”
“I asked you to come as a favor, sexy pants, therefore I pay for you.”
She opened her mouth, about to tell him that self-defense classes had been something she had considered, and therefore it seemed right for her to pay her fee, but she didn’t want to get into that particular topic with Ben.
An arm over her shoulders, he guided her to the parking lot behind the gym. “Let’s go grab breakfast.”
“I already had breakfast. And stop with the stupid pet names.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Fine. I had a glass of orange juice because I was out of coffee, which wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t had to wake up at the crack of dawn.”
“Oooh… cranky. Better feed my girlfriend.”
“I am not your-”
“I heard your partner saying how lucky you were to have a boyfriend with such a killer ass.” The smirk he gave her made her want to throw her gym bag at him like Nate had taught her, but then kick his butt with it instead of running away. “She’s right, too. Pity she didn’t see me in my underwear, it’s quite a sight, you know.”
“Oh my God,” she breathed with a roll of her eyes as he opened the passenger door for her.
“Yes, it is quite divine, I agree, but let’s not be too formal, you can still call me Ben.”