The King And His Nerd. #1

chapter 8

After plenty of hours playing volleyball, Axel thanks us, and he drives us home. I find Emily and Naomi sitting on the couch, chatting quietly. Naomi paints my guitar with the design i asked for, while Emily tells her a story.

I walk into the kitchen and find my mother looking through the kitchen cupboards. I look at the ingredients she has out, and i open a cupboard, an hand her two pans. She takes them from me and smiles. I grab a soda out of the fridge and sit on the floor. I close my eyes and listen to her cooking.

"So Ian, what do you think about dating?" she asks me.

"Well, I'm open to dating, but do you really think I'll find someone who would be able to deal with the problems i have, and still be willing to stay with me?" i tell her, cracking my soda open.

"What about you? Do you think after you and dad finalize the divorce, you might be able to try dating again?" i ask, sighing.

"No, I don't think so. But for now, I think I'll stick to getting to know my children and who they've become," she tells me with a soft smile. I just smile and close my eyes.

Timeskip

My mother hands out plates of food, and we all sit at the dining room table for the first time in a long time. We all laugh as we share jokes. I collect everyone's dishes, and quickly do them by hand. After pulling on a pair of shorts, and I go down to the basement for my daily exercise routine. I pull off my tank top and pull on some thin boxing gloves.

"Hey Leo, come be my spotter for a few minutes!" i yell upstairs. I take an experimental swing at the punching bag and it swings away from me. I hold it steady as Leo clomps down the stairs. He holds the punching bag, and i throw a heavy punch at it, while he holds the punching bag steady. The others come downstairs to watch. Isaac seems to have wandered into my house, so he's here too. Emily's face is a bit red but she continues to watch. I give an internal chuckle as i remember that i took my shirt off. I continue to beat the shit out of the punching bag until I'm drenched in sweat. Naomi stands up and stands next to me.

"How do i throw a proper punch?" she asks while she copies my stance. I hold my arms up in a defensive position, and she copies that too. I give a fast punch as she watches me, and then i throw a slow punch, showing her the motions. She repeats exactly what i did, down to how i twisted my body.

"When you throw a punch, put your body weight into it," i tell her. She nods and throws a few more punches, adding in her weight to the punch

"There are other punches, right? What about those? I want to learn, so i can defend myself if i need to." she tells me.

"Uppercut, jab, cross,  and hook," I say each type of punch as i do the motions. She mimicks them in the exact order i did them. I toss her a pair of gloves, and she slips them on. I stand in front of her.

"I'm going to teach you how to block now. Make sure you pay attention to which way I'm swinging, and then you can figure out the punch I'm going to use. Don't worry because the punches I'm throwing wont be that heavy, so they should only sting a bit." she nods, her bright green eyes full of trust.

I take my first swing, making sure not to put any weight into the punch. I hit her in the stomach and i can feel her react. She darts forward in response with an uppercut, hitting me in the throat. I cough, and respond by giving her a quick hook, which she dodges. After a while, i stop, exhausted, and she sees an opening, and her gloved fist darts up to my face, startling me. I belt out a loud laugh.

"That last one caught me by surprise,"  tell her as i rub the sore spot on my jaw. I sit down on a bench. She grins as she inspects the newly formed bruise on my face. I flick her on the forehead, and she yelps, then giggles. I laugh with her. Leo comes over to sit by me, and glances at me. He takes one of his hands and five stars me on my bare stomach. I groan laughing.