The Collector | 18+

【40】Hand-to-Hand

"Aren't you scared of being alone in a big city?" Yuko asked me.

"Well, I've never had an issue, so I don't really have a reason to be worried. But I'm still being careful."

For once, she'd joined us for lunch, and we were all sharing the beef teriyaki she'd prepared, paired with rice and sauteed veggies. It was nice having her along like this, as it helped lessen the tension between me and Ulrik.

Over a day had gone by since our moment in the sauna, but it might as well have been an hour. Everything was still there, the conversation, his touch, his damn tattoos... It was all still in my head, as fresh as when I'd left him alone in there.

"Do you have that thing with the pepper?" Yuko wondered next.

"A pepper spray? I used to when I was in college. But it leaked all over my bag one day, so I kind of never bought another one," I explained with a grimace.

"It leaked? Was it the cheapest pepper spray you could find?" Ulrik interjected, skeptical.

"Someone gave it to me, actually, so I have no idea."

"It's not supposed to leak." He was amused, almost as if he didn't believe me.

"It did!" I defended myself with a grin. "I had to get rid of the bag and everything. And I loved that bag."

"So now you'd rather go around defenseless?"

I might have taken his patronizing tone poorly, but I detected some amount of concern there, too. He wasn't trying to be a dick; he was just looking out for my safety.

"I don't need pepper spray to defend myself. From ages fourteen to twenty-three, I practiced Krav Maga. And before that I was in a fencing club for seven years, state championships and all. I'm also good with ax and knife throwing, as long as they are well-balanced."

"Fending off an aggressor with an ax is quite uncommon," he humored.

"Probably very efficient, though. But I don't carry one around with me, so I guess we'll never know. Imagine the cops' faces when I'd tell them, though."

The mere idea of it had me smiling. Maybe I ought to start carrying an ax around...

"What is Krav Maga?" Yuko asked, perplexed.

"Oh, it's uh...an Israeli martial art focused on self-defense. They teach you holds and techniques to protect yourself from assailants. Women have been a big fan of it for a while now. It's like a safety net of sorts."

"But you could be attacked by someone much bigger than you," she protested, not convinced.

"Well, yes, but it's not always about the size."

She pondered for a moment, trying to imagine it. "Could you beat someone as big as Mr. Ulrik?"

Her question took me by surprise, and I turned to observe the man in question. Not only was he tall and broad, he was also very muscular. The likeliness of me managing to overthrow him was slim, but not impossible.

"Maybe, yes," I concluded.

He raised a cocky eyebrow at my answer, his lips twitching with a contained smile. "I'm twice your weight, at the very least."

"Well, I'm not saying I'd succeed every single time. I could if the situation is in my favor. But really, all I actually need to do is wriggle myself enough room to give a solid knee kick where it hurts the most. After that, I'm a fast runner, so I can get myself to a safe area before my aggressor has time to recover."

He still didn't seem convinced. "I'm loving the confidence, but it's bordering on carelessness."

"And I'm loving the concern, but it really isn't any of your business."