“Anyways, last night was fun. I wanted to surprise you with that because our workout routines are going to have to die down a bit with the weather getting colder.”

It was true. I’d hate to have to wear a snowsuit while doing planks. Although it made sense, I wish she had given me some notice at the very least.

“I understand. You were awesome last night. I never would have thought of you throwing axe kicks and all that jazz.”

“I told you I was a black belt in karate. I’m full of surprises.” She shrugged. “Anyways, I only came down here to grab some food. I have to get back to studying. I’ll text you later, hon.” She waved and left.

“She called you ‘hon’. Y’all are like a married couple already,” Donny giggled.

“Stop.”

“Okay, okay. I’m only playing.”

I appreciated the support of Mel joining my class, but the reasoning didn’t always get rid of jealousy. So it went without saying that something was still a bit off the next night when I saw Mel already at King’s, stretching.

“That’s your girl?” Mitch grinned at me. “She’s super hot.”

“Shut up,” I said to him. I felt really light-headed and annoyed.

“Jeez, calm down, bro. I’m just saying —”

“Shut. Up.” I stared at him.

“Sorry, bro. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Mitch backed away from me.

That was weird. I didn’t know where the courage came from to tell Mitch to shut up. I was still pissed off at him for making me fall in front of the entire class. I wasn’t going to let him objectify Mel.

“Seriously, Mitch. Do not talk about my girlfriend like that, or any woman in general,” I said sternly.

I could see he was getting annoyed, so I stepped back and let my own frustration out in a breath of air, and I told him to be better.

“Whatever,” he replied, rolling his eyes.

I didn’t want to be Mitch’s partner after that, so I partnered up with Mel. Scarlett was asked to work with Mitch and help him practice some more basic moves. He wasn’t doing too well in the class. Ryan wanted to start with no-contact sparring, so I stood across from Mel, whose hands were already wrapped. She asked, “Is this going to be awkward?”

“Probably,” I replied. I thought that maybe last class she just looked badass on a fluke. There was no way she could consistently be that good after not training for years, even if she was a black belt in karate.

“Three. Two. One. Go!” Ryan called out. We began. I moved forward, fighting through the headache I’d had all day, and kept my hands up. Mel’s hands were still lower than mine, but she came forward very fast. I threw a few punches close to her, but she dodged them swiftly and swung her hips into a kick, making her airborne. I moved back quicker than my feet would let me and fell back on my ass.