Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 17: What Up Party People? Not Punches

At 5:40 a.m. on Saturday, Mia woke up and quickly got ready and dressed. The night before, Nathan had texted her an address and told her to be there around 6:20 a.m. Throwing a water bottle, energy bar, her wallet, and more into a flowery tote bag, she ordered an Uber. Feeling tired still, she figured it wasn't the best idea to drive a car. Thankfully, the gym was just about twenty minutes away. Arriving outside of Park Gym, she thanked the driver and made her way to the entrance.

When Mia walked in, she took in the brightly lit, clean gym. On the left, there was an elevated boxing ring and on the right side of the gym were all different types of workout machines. Finding Nathan near a punching bag, she greeted him with, "Good morning! What is up with you and making me wake up at super early hours of the morning?"

He laughed and instructed her to drop off her stuff on a nearby bench. "Morning. Are you ready to learn to throw a punch?" After she nodded enthusiastically, he took in her outfit. A maroon hoodie, leggings, and white workout shoes. It was different from his black shorts and navy workout top. "Are you sure you want to learn while wearing that? I don't want you to be overheated."

"Oh, this hoodie is just because I was cold." Taking off her hoodie, she dropped it on the bench and walked back to him. He looked her up and down, noticing how she was left in a black sports bra.

"Um, right. Let's get started. Make a fist with your hand and make sure your thumb is over your middle finger. Some people think you're supposed to put your thumb on the inside of the fist, but if you do that you can break your bone," he explained while grasping her right hand to properly put it in position. "Squeeze the fist firmly."

"Like this?"

He nodded and released the grip on her hands. He held both his hands out in front of his chest, the way someone would if they were asking for a high five. "I want you to punch me as hard as you can."

"What if I hurt you?" she joked. Giving her a look, Nathan firmly planted his feet on the ground. Shrugging, Mia punched his palm as hard as she could. His hand barely moved.

"Good, good. I want you to put your all into it, don't worry about hurting me. Remember to keep your thumb on the outside."

For the next three minutes, Mia punched his open palms as hard as she could, alternating between her left and right hand. "Is this lesson over now?" Mia pouted when he dropped his hands down to the side and moved over to the black punching bag.

"Actually, I want you to try your hand at boxing this punching bag. Put your left foot in front of you and make sure you've turned to the target. Put your right foot behind you and point it away from the target, in this case, it's the punching bag, at around a forty-five to sixty-degree angle." Mia followed the instructions but still wasn't positioned exactly the right way, so he stood directly behind her and firmly grasped her waist with both hands. "Is this ok?" After she nodded he turned her body slightly so she was in the best position. From the bench, he grabbed two red boxing gloves. Securing them on both her hands, he tightened the straps. "All good?"

"Yeah. I feel so badass right now," she said.

Nathan laughed, the deep sound filling the still empty gym. "I want you to punch the bag for a good ten minutes. Don't overdo it, I don't want the bag swinging back and hitting you. Trust me, it hurts."

For ten minutes, she worked on her punching skills and Nathan worked on the weight machine. Mia stopped punching the bag and as she rested her forehead on the bag, worked on controlling her breathing. Nathan got up from the machine and made his way towards her. Holding her gloved hands, he worked on removing the red gloves. "So does this mean I'm qualified enough to take you on in that ring over there?" Nathan scoffed, immediately dismissing the ridiculous motion. "Oh come on! Pretty please with a cherry on top? Are you scared I'll beat you?"