She was trying to egg me on and it worked. Raising my chin, I closed the distance between us, my sneakers sinking slightly into the mat. “First things first . . . your fighting stance,” I said.

Even though I was speaking in a low voice, my words rang loudly through the empty room. “It’s best if you place your feet apart and squat down a little like this, one leg in front of the other so you have a strong base and aren’t tackled to the ground that easily.”

Noelle nodded, mirroring my posture, and waited for me to go on. I felt strangely vulnerable under her attentive eyes; after days of being ignored by her, her undivided attention wasn’t something I was used to, especially not when we were all alone.

It seemed harder to find the right words with her listening to my every sentence.

“What now?” she asked when I didn’t continue right away.

“Do you know how to make a fist?”

Rolling her eyes, she balled her hand into a fist and held it up for me to see.

I stepped closer, uncurling her fingers under her confused gaze. “No, not like that. You’re going to break your thumb if it’s tucked into your fist.”

“Then where do I put it?”

“There. Lay it over your second and third small knuckles and keep it there,” I said, demonstrating with my own hand. I couldn’t quite hold back a smile as I did. There was something endearing about the fact that fiery-eyed, sharp-tongued Noelle, who had so readily punched a guy in the face in front of me, didn’t know the most basic rules of combat sports. “Don’t tuck it in or let it hang loosely. That’s important, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. We’re not getting to the punches just yet though.

Maybe in a few weeks.”

Noelle’s half smile immediately morphed into a frown. At first, I feared it was because of my rash assumption that she wanted to go on with these lessons, but then she only said, “But that’s the fun part.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to give me a black eye.”

“Why would I want to do that?” she asked, teeth blazing as she flashed me a sudden grin. “I like your face the way it is.”

My heart stuttered through a few beats. Hoping that she didn’t notice the blood rushing to my cheeks, I continued, “The most vulnerable body parts are eyes, ears, neck, knees, and legs. So, you could scratch or poke your attacker’s eye or strike up under their nose, for example.”

“Could I also just, like, kick them in the bal s?”

“Sure,” I snorted. “That’s always an option.”

“Nice. Anything else?”

“Well, you could thrust your elbow into their throat . . . Or you could kick the side of their knee to make them lose their balance, maybe kick the front of their knees if you want to cause more serious injury.” Halfway through my explanation, Noelle’s eyes had glazed over, making me trail off. “What is it?”