Eliza Jane - In Too Deep

“Stick to standing as much as possible, that way you can strike your opponent and run away.”

She nods again, looking up at me with trust.

“But despite your best attempts at that, you may get taken to the ground.” I sweep her feet out from under her, forcing her to the ground and lay her gently on her back against the floor. I lie down on top of her, pinning her underneath me.

She lets out a little gasp at the quickness of it and my pulse spikes.

“You okay?” I lean back, studying her.

“Fine.” Her voice is soft.

“Okay then.” I shift, conscious of keeping most of my weight off of her. “When someone’s on top of you, your natural instinct is going to be to push them off of you.”

She pushes against my chest.

I smile down at her. “That’s the wrong thing to do.”

She drops her hands, realizing she’s been outmaneuvered, her lips pulled into a tight line. Damn it, I need to stop looking at her mouth.

I clear my throat. “Pushing against someone at this distance, when they have the upper hand isn’t going to do anything.” Balancing my weight on my elbows, I take her hands, and bring them up to my shoulders. “Instead pull your attacker closer. Wrap your arms around my neck, and pull me toward you.”

She pulls my head flat to her chest.

I breathe her in. Vanilla, clean body wash and feminine sweetness. I find my voice, remembering the lesson. “Good. You’ve incapacitated me from punching or hitting you. Now wrap your legs around my back, interlocking your ankles.”

She brings her legs up and I feel them wrap firmly around my back holding us in place. Damn. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.

“Good. Now with your attacker close, you want to drive your thumbs right into his eye sockets.”

She places her thumbs over my eyes, without applying pressure.

“And remember, in the real thing, you’re not just poking him in the eyes, you’re trying to blind him.”

“Got it.”

“And after the eye gouge, unhook one of your legs from my back, and slip your knee underneath me, sweeping us both over to the side so you can take the top mount position.”

She unhooks one leg, then pushes up and over, causing us both to roll and her to land on top of me, pinning me to the floor with her thighs.

I clear my throat, looking up at her. “Um, good.” I take a second to catch my breath, watching her. Her cheeks are flushed too. “Now you start punching, choking, and doing whatever you have to do.” I pick up her hands and imitate moves like she’s hitting me. She’s like my puppet. Her mouth lifts up in a smile. “Within a few seconds, he’ll stop fighting and bring his arms up to block his face. And then you hop up and run. And keep running until you’re safe.”

She smiles down at me, letting her hands drop. “Can we do that again?”

I sit up and lift her off of me.

We practice the moves again and again, and each time we repeat it I can see her confidence grow, knowing she can free herself.

She begins to get faster at freeing herself and after a few times, we were both sweaty and out of breath. She straddles me again, grinning that little smirk that I both love and hate. I smile back at her unsure what she’s thinking.

“What?” I breathe.

She shakes her head. “Nothing.” But the way she’s looking at me says otherwise.

Sitting in my lap, she shifts ever so slightly, and that’s when I notice it. Fuck. When did that happen? She’s gotten me hard.

I can tell that exact second she notices it too. Her body tenses, her sweet mouth forming into an “O” in utter surprise, and then something else…curiosity? I watch her, barely breathing. Then her lips curl into a grin. She laughs and punches me in the chest. “Mr. Palmer,” she chides, still laughing.

This is not an area of my body I like people laughing at. In one quick motion, I pick her up, lifting her from my lap and stand, leaving her sitting on the floor. Even though I’ve tried time and again to convince myself there’s nothing between us, I can’t deny the chemistry we have.

I turn away, but in a room filled with mirrors, there’s no hiding from her watchful gaze. I reach for a towel, wiping the sweat from my neck. “We’re done. Go shower.” My voice is rough, commanding.

I can tell she’s thinking Yes didn’t satisfy me completely, not when she’s having this effect on me in her sweat pants and T-shirt. And my body can’t deny it – it’s completely true.

I turn and leave without a word, desperately in need of a cold shower. 

During my classes, I day dream about Colt, remembering his kiss, and the strange encounter we’d had during the lesson this morning. Luckily MJ and Logan do a sufficient job of keeping me distracted.

When we sit down at lunch MJ shifts uncomfortably in her seat, making a face. She leans in closer toward us like she’s about to let us in on a secret.

“What’s up?” I ask, around a bite of bagel.

“I’m not sure,” she winces, shifting her weight in her chair. “Something’s wrong.” She drops her eyes to her lap. “Down there.”

Logan and I snap to attention, meeting each other’s eyes. Then Logan eagerly digs into his cereal, clearly not wanting to be having this conversation. Which leaves MJ looking at me, wiggling in her seat. Oh good God.

“So….what seems to be the problem, ur, technically speaking,” I manage.

She presses her lips together and grimaces. “I’m not sure if I picked something up, or if my piercing is infected.”

I make a face. I don’t want to judge her, but ew. Major ew. “O-kay.”

She clenches her fist on the table. “Yeah, we’re gonna need to go to the doctor.” She drums her fingers. “ASAP.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Logan asks. “We have classes all day, it’s not like we can just skip and have it go unnoticed.”

MJ perks up. “We’ll ditch Defense Techniques tomorrow. Taylor will ask Colt and since Colt likes her, he’ll let us go.”

“Yeah, right,” Logan scoffs, digging back into his cereal.

“Please, Taylor?” MJ begs.

“Colt doesn’t like me.” I don’t know where she’s gotten that idea. But it’s ridiculous. More ridiculous than not knowing if you have an STD or an infected piercing.

“Pfff,” MJ exhales. “That’s why he’s always staring at you, frustrated and confused about why you don’t like him. He’s not used to that you know. He doesn’t know what to make of you.”

I hold up my hand. “First, he does not like me. Second, I strongly doubt he’ll let us out of class, but I’ll try.”

I’d forgotten about the plan to take MJ to the doctor by the time I was in Independent Study.  I’m steadily researching the latest assignment McAllister’s given me when MJ and Logan come strolling into the computer lab.

“We need your help,” MJ announces, plopping down into a chair beside me.

“With what?” I ask, not looking up from the screen. Logan leans closer, watching me as I work.

“A little space.” I angle my chair away from him. I don’t know if our assignments are confidential from other students, but I have the sense to shield what I’m doing from view. Logan takes the hint and sits down next to MJ.

“We need to look up a clinic for tomorrow morning. Somewhere that’s free or takes cash, so I don’t have to use my medical insurance and have my parents get the bill.”