Affinity

Teach Me

It doesn't take long for me to realize that Adam was very protective of me in more ways than the ones I've already observed in the Tucker incident. It was mostly over the media, but he wasn't vocal about it. You could just tell it bothered him when a newspaper shop headline we pass calls me some disgusting word, his eyes go dark and annoyed, like he wants to protect me but he can't. I was worried about that happening, it has to be aggravating having a girlfriend that you can't protect completely. I know it has to be.

The other things I had worried about weren't as bad. He was cute with the paparazzi, which was ironic since his anger with tabloids wasn't completely typical. Probably because he was with me and made faces at the cameras or smiled wide enough to account for both of us. We were truly happy overall. And my birthday is in a couple days, which is crazy. I'll be 25, a year younger than Adam who had just turned 26 in April.

In other news, laying on the couch watching Girls seemed like a proper day until I nonchalantly sent Adam a text asking what's up and found out that he was at the gym. Then continued to beg me until I agreed to come over there with him.

It takes me twenty minutes of going through the large sweat-smelling gym before I stumble into a large room with padded flooring and a ring raised a bit in the middle. Finally, I find him in the boxing ring punching a guy holding up mats for him to hit. A series of grunts comes at each swing and I feel myself circling to the side of the ring, avoiding large, sweaty men that seem to come from everywhere.

He pauses for a moment, lands another punch to the man's padded gut that knocks him back a step, and extends his hand to the guy. While he's doing that, I grab onto the rubber rope and whistle to get his attention. He looks around immediately until he recognizes me and smiles.

"Hey," He grins, approaching and sliding under the ropes nearest to me. He was wearing a cut white muscle shirt that was tight against his bold chest, and the sweat beading over his body made it even more visible. My throat suddenly goes dry and I swallow.

"Hey. Killin' it up there," I say, mimicking two punches I thought I saw him do and he laughs. I follow him towards his water bottle by an empty mat and watch him closely as he tilts it back.

"Teach me how to fight." I say suddenly. I don't know where it came from but I feel like it wasn't random. He had to see it coming. I forced myself to restrain a smile.

After a moment, his head tilts in curiosity and his eyebrows lift. "What are you talking about?"

I raised my fists playfully, throwing another fake punch into thin air. "To fight. You know, fight. Boxing, you know."

He laughs and I feel something in my stomach flutter. "You don't need to know how to fight."

"But I want to," I say. Karlie had taken up kick boxing and several models do some form of self-defense. You never know when I could have to defend myself. Or in another Tucker incident.

"Well." He steps closer and my heart starts to stutter. His hands shoot out and grab my wrist, loose enough but still tight. "What's your plan?"

I struggle for a couple minutes- trying to pull out, to bring my fists together, or to turn my body away- but he was too strong. I conceded with a sigh.

"Most people after you would be stronger and bigger than you, like Tucker," I wince at his name but Adam just clinches his jaw. He moves even closer so I have to look up to see his face. His chest bumps against mine and I swallow, feeling every place we touch. "But you can get away if you know how."

"How?"

"Where do you break a chain?" He counters. "Look at me." He adds when I find myself staring at our hands. He was serious, his face set on the lesson.