A/N: Hi, another update!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope this one will be far better than the previous one :D

Reviews:

amralolic58 - lol, they will be together, I mean, it's Jax and Tara :D This is just 'getting to know each other' phase

shannie83 – Neal is a good guy. He has no ulterior motives. But, I do understand your love for Jax :D

NaeNae78 – I can't wait to get to the steamy parts hehe but it will take time :D

Ammilligan – Jax and his abs lol I think you'll like this chapter in regards to that

GoodGirlGoneBad1984 – This chapter is from Tara's POV, so we'll see how she sees Jax :D

Guest – Yeah, sth is happening lol You'll have to be patient, but it will be worth it :D

Cejsmom – Thank you :D

Guest - Neal is a good guy, but the point is to get her and Jax together so I don't think Neal will stick around

Samantha Renk – Thank you, Sam :D

Thank you all for reading , reviewing and following :D

I know nothing about these exercises and whatnot, i used the Internet, so I apologise if I miswrote sth.

Sorry for typos and mistakes. Also, the actual title of the chapter is in the story, but ff net wouldn't let me have that full title since it's too long for them (pun intended :P)

Happy reading :3

Practicing Punches and Watching a Hot Sweaty Dude

Tara took off the hair band that was on her wrist and tied her hair in a ponytail. She put her sunglasses in her bag and dropped it onto the floor then paced towards the walked behind her, his hands tucked into his pockets. He was acting odd.

-"How's your nose?"

-"Fine."

The guys that were in the gym greeted her by either whistling or some comment, like 'finally some nice face to look at'. She answered by waving at them.

To be honest, she didn't mind their playful ways. They were all nice to her and in the short time she spent here, none of them ever disrespected her.

They all minded their business, but still managed to crack jokes with her during their breaks. They were all like a big family and Tara was happy that she seemed to have found her place in the new environment.

-"Hey, what was that about a party I heard you talking?"

She turned on her heel, walking backwards as she spoke.

-"Oh, my birthday is coming up in about a month. Neal is planning a party in that honour and he suggested we do it here."

She turned around thinking she was close to the ring. She hit something sold. Somebody's hands held her steady before she was able to fall.

-"Watch where you're goin', mamacita."

Juice was wearing fingerless punching gloves, a black undershirt with sweat stains, and dark green shorts that reached his knees. Beads of sweat were visible on his face as his lips stretched in an amused grin.

Tara rolled her eyes at him.

-"Juice, do not ever call me mamacita again."

She stepped back, only to hit Jax's front. She turned her head only to meet his confused gaze. He took a step back.

-"Hahaha sorry. I'll stick to Tara then?"

Frowning at Jax, she returned her attention to Juice, a smile spread on her face.

-"You know, I wouldn't mind a nickname, as long as it's not trampy or offensive."

He rubbed his hands together, then rested his index fingers against his lips.

-"Hmmm, let me think and I'll get back to you."

The both chortled.

-"Sure thing."

Juice hugged her and then walked away to his sparring partner. Apparently, today it was Kozik.

-"Where are you going?"

Tara was about to step on the mat when Jax's question made her stop. She stepped back frowning in confusion.

-"Aren't we supposed to continue where we left off?"

A smirk appeared on his face as he gestured towards one the punching bags.

-"Today, we work on your punches. Come."

He led her to the far corner of the gym where there weren't many people. Only Ratboy and some new kid were there, doing their workout routine.

Jax stood with his back to the standing punching bag, his legs spread and his hands clasp together, as he started explaining the reason behind today's lesson.

Tara was across from him, her arms crossed on her chest. She listened attentively.

-"There are many advantages of hitting a bag. First of all, it helps you build stamina and punching power. Secondly, it helps you with your metabolism. Lastly, it trains your whole body by activating as much muscle as possible."

She nodded on appreciation, with raised eyebrows.

-"I had no idea."

-"What I'm trying to say is that, we should first build your muscles. It will give you greater self-confidence. Today, we're gonna practice punches and kicks. But first, you need to warm up."

Jax moved further away from the punching bag, his legs parted.

-"We're gonna do some joint exercises."

He started rotating first his right foot for about a minute, then the left one, Tara mirroring his actions.

They worked in silence, punching sounds echoing the gym.

Next, they worked on rotating their knees, left to right, right to left.

-"Ok, now, we do the hips."

Ok, this is going to be weird.

It wasn't that Tara was a shy girl, far from it. But she had some limits. And that included rotating or whatever she was supposed to do with her hips.

She was in a gym full of men. And aside from occasional groupie that would come in every once in a while, she was the sole girl in this place.

Clearing her throat, she started to rotate her hips right to left, arms akimbo. She was mildly uncomfortable, hoping no one was looking at her or her shaking ass.

Jax was doing the same as she. Every time he arched backwards, his abs gleamed under the gym lights.

Don't stare!

So instead of looking at some guy's abs, Tara focused on his eyes.

Today, they were blue, like sea blue. They reminded her of someone else's eyes, she just couldn't remember whose.

Jax gave her a questioning look, probably creeped out by her staring. She just shook her head and gazed at the floor instead.

Next came the neck, shoulders, elbows and finally wrists. Finally, after ten minutes of complete silence, Jax spoke.

-"Good, now we're gonna skip rope for as long as you can. It increases your blood circulation and makes it easier to do the punches with muscles that had already been warmed up."

He handed her one of the jumping ropes and took one for himself.

-"Try not to bend your knees."

-"Why?"

-"Because it's the wrong way to do it."

-"I wasn't aware there was a right way." - she retored sarcastically, -" Why shouldn't I do it?"

-"'cause you cause all sorts of impact and damage to your knees. Just try jumping up and down."

He stood a few feet away from her and started skipping. Tara did the same.

She tried to focus on her own jumping, however she couldn't help but admire his physique and the fluency with which he performed the task.

She on the other hand tripped a few times, and almost fell on Jax. Could I get more embarrassing than that?

Apparently it could, since in spite of her wearing a sports bra, her boobs kept jumping along with her.

She noticed that Jax averted his gaze, looking at the ceiling rather than at her. Tara wondered if that was because he felt uncomfortable or because-

Why in the world would she wonder anything?

After what felt like eternity, Jax announced that they were to start punching exercises.

Dropping her rope, Tara fell on her knees, letting out a tired sigh. Why was this so hard?

She was already sweaty, strands of her hair were glued to her forehead and she wished nothing more but to have a good and long shower. But alas, she had to continue with this torture. Which you wanted, she reminded herself.

After she and her friend Donna were attacked in front of a bar by two drunken idiots, Tara never quite recovered from that fright, and neither did Donna. Although the incident ended well for them, thanks to pepper spray, Tara vowed never to go out at night again. At least, not by herself or in just women's company.

One of the idiots pinned her to the wall and almost had his way with her, but she managed to take the pepper spray out of her jacket pocket and use it. Donna hit her assailant over the head with a trash can lid.

They hailed a cab and drove to Tara's. Both of them spent restless night, and after Tara told Neal what had happened, he wouldn't allow her to go anywhere without an escort.

A week after that, someone attacked her friend Daniel outside the bar they worked. His injuries were too severe and he didn't make.

This tragic event just boosted Tara's paranoia to the point she was scared to go out.

Moving to Charming and so conveniently having her fiancé sponsor a fighter was the best thing that could have happened. She hoped that with time and a few lessons in self defence, she could finally be her old outgoing self.

So, in spite of her aching muscles, Tara got up, retying her hair, and followed Jax to the punching bag.

Jax motioned for her to come closer, and she did, coming to stand on his right side. He took off his sneakers and she followed, taking off her own.

-"Now, you put your hands up to your chin, to protect your face. You stand, legs parted. Aim for the lower part, like it was somebody's leg. You do it like this."

He did just as he had instructed her, his right leg kicking the lower part of the bag. He repeated the motion a few more times, then asked Tara to do it herself.

She really admired his skill and concentration. His face became solemn, fully aware of his 'opponent'. His body immediately went into fighting mode and she could see, in those short few moves, why he was so proud of himself.

Also, he wasn't ugly to look at, with those flexing abs and-

What in the world?

As she stood in front of the bag, with her hands up and her leg about to kick, the fear she felt that night came back, washing over her. It was a wave of anxiety and trepidation, the same one that had been following her all these months.

-"Tara?"

Shaking her head, she tried to calm her nerves.

-"I'm fine."

She could see Jax nodding from the corner of her eye, so she just proceeded with the kick.

-"You have to turn your hip."

-"What?" - she turned to him.

He came behind her.

-"You have to rotate your hip as you kick, to maximize the power. Like this."

He put his hands on her hips and slightly rotated her. Weirdly, Tara felt his hands tremble. However, she didn't feel uncomfortable at the touch.

When she turned her head she was face to face with him, since he had lowered his head.

She could practically feel his warm breath on her face. She was looking him in his baby blues, sensing the shift of the atmosphere around them. Jax licked his lower lip and her eyes immediately followed that move. Tara gulped.

-"I-I got it" – she muttered, turning her head towards the bag.

He let go of her hips and Tara lamented that.

She ignored her own thoughts and feelings, concentrating on doing things right.

After she had done it right, they practiced for another 40 minutes, shifting between leg kicks and punches.

And 40 minutes later, Tara was spent. Every muscle in her body ached, including her knuckles, even though she had been wearing gloves, and she wasn't too pleased to be looking like she'd just been dumped into a pool of sweat.

Jax on the other hand, who switched between watching her and doing some of the kicks and punches himself, looked anything but tired. Yes, he was sweaty, but it looked good on him.

Tara dropped on the floor, back pressed against the wall, panting like crazy.

-"Knowles, you don't look too good." – Jax joked, arms crossed on his chest as he stood in front of her.

Tara looked at him with an annoyed expression, taking off her gloves and putting on her sneakers.

-"Fuck you. I had no idea this was so hard."

He chucked, leaning towards her with his arm extended.

-"Come, princess. Let's get you some water and some food."

Tara grabbed his arm and stood up. Her legs were like jello and she would have fallen, if Jax hadn't been quick and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to himself.

She was now leaned against his naked chest. Her hands were pressed against his naked chest. No, this wasn't weird at all.

He pulled her up, and when she was steady on her feet, he let go of her, his gaze travelling up and down her body. He cleared his throat. She noticed it, but brushed it off.

-"You ok?"

She smiled awkwardly.

-"Yeah. I'm just tired. Let's eat." – she said overenthusiastically, feeling something in her belly stir at their proximity.

They walked next to each other to the bar, all the while making sure not to be too close.

(Thoughts? I was struggling with that exercise part, idk if it's too dull, but I really wanted them to do sth, instead of making small talk. There will be time for that as well hihihi So, let me know what you think :D)