Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.
CHAPTER 11 - The punch
I swept off the shocked expression from my face. But my cheeks were flushing hardly. I was so aware of that. I wanted the earth to open below me and swallow me whole. Even though nobody there knew the situation, I could feel their stares as an expression of what, amusement? Some pride? Maybe even some contentment appeared on Dimitri's face. That bastard! I was so sure that he was aware of this shit. I could bet all my money on that. He knew half my name, but I had nothing. But what was he thinking he accomplished? I just wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.
On my way back to my spot, I made my mind. After this course was done, I was out. I didn't want for him to think I was head over heels in love with him or something like that and I was following him around like a helpless puppy.
But God, the two hours didn't seem to pass fast enough. I was constantly watching the clock, and sometimes it seemed to have stopped working. From time to time, my mind brought back that grin on his face, and I was trying to focus on the exercises, so that I wouldn't put so much thought into how much I wanted to punch him. But, to be completely sincere, the class wasn't unpleasant at all. I really enjoyed it. And the fact that I was in the back of the class offered me enough cover, so I was safe.
But at some point, Dimitri told us to repeat the same movement, as he would pass to every student and correct us, because he has seen that there were some mistakes being made. I hoped with all my being that I was executing it the right way, and I was hoping that he would just let me be. But no chance. That bastard came to me and started pointing out things that I needed to correct. I shut up and did everything he said, avoiding eye contact as much as I could. But he didn't seem to be satisfied with me, and as everybody was still practicing their pinches, he came behind me and grabbed my forearms. The air suddenly became very thick. I could feel electricity passing between us, through my blouse. And his palms were so warm. All I wanted was for him wrap me and never let me go. Stop it, Rose, I mentally slapped myself. Get your shit together, I obligated myself.
'Look' he said, so close to my ear, 'you aren't holding your arms high enough. You won't be able to get to someone's face this way.' and he proceeded to kick the air, still holding my arms.
After that, he released my hands and came to face me. He told me to do the move again. And I did. But as he said, I was kicking too low. He dodged my fist easily. Now, about everyone around was watching. He covered my fists with his palms and begun to move them, directing the punches to his face. As he was doing so, he was drawing me upwards, on my tippy toes. From the movement, all of his perfume spread around me. I was simply intoxicated. All I wanted was to get closer so that I could take in all of his sweet aroma. What was this man doing to me? I wasn't thinking straight, that was sure.
'Like this, Miss Hathaway.' he said, not interrupting the movement. Then he let go. 'Now, do this again without aid.' And I tried. But again, I couldn't get it right. Hell, I was too short. Or maybe he was too tall.
'Higher.' Punch. 'Higher.' Punch. 'Higher!' And that was all I needed to explode. I wonder how I could keep my shit together for so long, really. I gathered all my force, made a little leap with my feet and planted a good fist into his jaw, catching him by surprise. Some people gasped. At that moment I wasn't giving a damn about the others. From me, they could all go to hell. I was too pissed off. Then I simply turned around and left.
After changing rapidly, I went back to Mia, returned the key and told her that I wanted to cancel my membership. With a confused face, the girl agreed, and I was finally out of there.
On my way home, I was constantly thinking about what I have done earlier. What was I thinking? It was totally wrong from me to punch him. Especially in front of so many people. But you know what? He was asking for it. Yeah, he did. Why was I being sorry for? He totally had it coming for that thing with the attendance.
After two hours or so of hanging around inside, I decided to go outside, to take a little walk. But as I was closing my door, he was making his way upstairs. Just perfect! I put on my bitch face and tried to ignore him. I passed him and I thought that I got away, but I heard him say:
'I have seen that you cancelled your membership.'
'Yeah. I did.'
'Why? You didn't like my class today?' he asked with an innocent tone. 'There are some complaints notebooks back at the gym...'
'Look, comrade' I cut him off 'don't get me wrong, but I had no freakin' idea that you were working at that gym. So don't flatter yourself thinking that I may develop a crush for you or anything like that, okay? I cancelled my membership so that it wouldn't be awkward for the both of us. Hell, I didn't even know your name until today!'
'Fine. But you really are a something, I can say. I wouldn't mind being your personal trainer if that is what is bothering you.'
'Well, I would mind. Now excuse me, my boyfriend is waiting for me.'
I descended the stairs as fast as I could. What the hell was wrong with me? A boyfriend? Why would I say something so stupid? I barely knew someone here. Then, an idea popped into my head. I knew exactly what to do about this. I grabbed my phone and called Adrian's number, the one he gave me after the tour on Thursday.