" Come on Wren, hit it like it like your date just stood you up," James shouts at me, as he holds the punching bag steady for me to hit.

A laugh escapes my mouth at his attempt to get me amped up. He obviously knows nothing about the dating life that I don't have. He looks at me with annoyance, and I stifle my laughter the best I can. I forgot how serious he takes his job.

I decided a while back, that I needed to step-up and learn how to defend myself. Being a damsel in distress isn't a role I like to play, but somehow, I manage to always need saving. Thankfully, James agreed without question, and started training me immediately.

James is one of Reese's right hand men. He's the one who trains all of Reese's fighter's and security. I met James when there was a issue at one of the warehouses. I had no choice but to tag along, since I was with Reese when he got the call.

At first I thought James would protest, and try to talk me out of it, but it turns out he is all for woman learning the basics of self-defense. But I don't want to know 'just the basics' I want to know it all. It's definitely a lot harder than it looks.

In the short amount of time that I have been training with him, I have already learned so much. The first thing he taught me was how to actually defend myself. Who knew there were so many ways for someone to restrict you, let alone so many ways to counterattack, to get out of it. It definitely wasn't easy, but I pushed myself through it.

James has me start my training off with simple jabs to the punching bag to loosen me up. After about fifteen minutes he orders me to take off my boxing gloves, and put on my grappling gloves, letting me know we are about to get physical. Which I do so with a smile plastered on my face. James laughs at my expression, grabbing his own gear from the bench. Not going to lie, it feels good to hit an actual person than it does a bag.

"I think you're starting to like hitting people a lot more than you should, Wren," he chuckles, slipping his striking pads over his hands, as a target for me to strike.

His statement couldn't be more correct.

I smirk, " What can I say, I'm getting use to this."

I put my mouth guard in to protect my teeth. He tosses me my head gear, and I slip it over my head snuggly, leaving most of my face exposed. James never uses one, since he is a pro and all.

We both step onto the big black training mat that takes up most of the room, and prepare for the lesson. He starts off by having me punch the pads, like I did with the punching bag, only this time, the target is moving in all different directions.

" Stop hitting like a girl Wren, and put that fine ass into it," he jokes.

I lower my hands stunned by his comment, and he strikes me right up side the head with the pads, causing me to stumble backwards. Even with head gear on the shit still hurts.

" That was a cheap shot," I gritted, rubbing the side of my head pouting. I'm definitely going to need a few ibuprofen after that one.

He straightens himself, and begins to circle around me like a predator would it's prey, ready to pounce at any given moment. I follow his moments very closely, trying to anticipate his next move, making sure to keep my distance.

" Do you think your opponent is going to miss the opportunity to take a cheap shot?"

He does have a valid point there. I shake my head in response, keeping my guard up.

"Then why would you lower your guard when I made a comment? Your enemy will say and do anything to distract you, Wren. You must always have your guard up at all times, no matter what. Let that headache, be a lesson to you! Now, take your stance," he orders, smacking the pads together, and I do so without hesitation.

I jab several times at the gloves, dodging his surprise attacks in the process. After awhile, he changes tactics, picking up the pace, making me dodge more blows then ever before, only making contact with my head a few times.

With the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I was able to shake off the pain, and continue. Sweat begins to run down my chest and back. My breathing becomes heavier the harder he makes me work. Without warning, he side steps, and kicks me right in the ribs.

I stumble back, surprised by his switch up, but manage to hold my stance, keeping my hands in a ready position. As much as I wanted to cry out, I don't and take deep breathes to ease the pain I am feeling, keeping my attention focused on James.

Now that I know he will be throwing more than just a few punches, I will be more prepared. He smirks, unstrapping the straps on his striking pads with his teeth, backing away slowly towards the edge of the training mat, never once taking his eyes off of me.

He bends down, grabbing his grappling gloves, and approaches me slowly, as he slips them on, tightening the straps. I guess we will be sparring for the remainder of my training.

" I'm going to attack first and I want you to block all my strikes, just like before."

Just like before? The last time we spared, he kicked the shit out of me, and it took me almost a week to recover.

"Today we are going all in. When you see the opportunity to strike, you do so without hesitation. Now take your position."

I get into my best fighting stance, making sure my chin is up, back is straight, knees are bent slightly, and hands are in the ready position, waiting patiently for him to strike. He give me a nod of approval, before throwing a blow at my left jaw, making direct contact with his target. Stumbling back. He wasn't kidding when he said we are going all in, that shit hurt.

James is fast, and very unpredictable, making it very hard to calculate his next move. His next few jabs, I manage to block, barely missing the exposed part of my face. He drops his left hand slightly, giving me the perfect opportunity to throw my first jab, which connects beautifully with the lower part of his mouth. His facial expression, lets me know he was definitely not expecting me to actually make contact.

I smirk, and retake my position. That was the first time I have actually got a hit in on him since he started training me.

" Not going to lie Wren, I wasn't expecting that." He licks the blood from his lip. "Don't don't expect it to happen again, without working for it. You found an opening, and took it. That's what I expect from you from here on out," he matches my stance.

As excited as I am, I decide that showing it would probably result in him teaching me a lesson about being too cocky, and I don't need that. I want to be able to enjoy my daughters birthday party later today.

He continues throwing combinations at me, first his right, followed by his left, and a quick sweep at my feet, which to my surprise I avoided. I counter with my own 1-2, and attempt to kick him in the ribs with my right foot, only for him to catch it between his left arm and hip. Before I knew what was going on, he slams me hard on the mat, knocking the wind out of me. He straddles my body, pinning my arms above my head, restricting me of all upper body movements. My attempts to get out from under him, prove to be pointless, and I give up.

" Thought you could sneak one in on me huh?" He chuckles, keeping me pinned between him and the mat.

His face is close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.

"Well...," I smile sheepishly at him. "It doesn't hurt to try."

A smile creeps up on his face, reaching his baby blues. "No it doesn't."

His eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips. My heart begins to pound wildly in my chest as he slowly begins to lean in. Before his lips could reach mine, he pauses, starring straight into my eyes. You can tell he is having a mental battle with himself.

" I think that's all for today," he whispers close to my lips, releasing my arms, and pushing himself to his feet. He towers over me, as I lay flat on my back, trying to grasp what just happened. For a moment his eyes roam over my motionless body laid out before him. He extends his hand out for me to take, and I allow him to pull me to my feet. We stand in awkward silence for a few moments. James seem just as confused as I do about what 'almost' occurred.

" I'm sorry Wren, I don't know what came over me," he apologizes, taking a step back.

I don't want him to feel like he did anything wrong. "Hey, it's okay, James. I'm not mad," I reassure him.

He glances down at my hand on his arm and places his hand over mine, giving it a soft squeeze before bringing it to his lips, kissing it tenderly. His eyes find mine and he smiles.

" I'll see you next week okay?" He backs away slowly. "Make sure you practice," he adds, before turning to walk away, leaving me standing in the center of the room completely dumbfounded.

After a few seconds, I pull myself to my senses, and walk to the bench to gather up my belongings. Pulling my phone from my gym bag, I call for a cab and head outside to wait.
Time to get ready for Oakley's birthday party.