“No, Alex, it’s not like that. I would never try to set you up.”

“Good.”

Margo paused as Alex began her stationary jogging. “But she is hot.”

Alex rolled her eyes.

“And I think she’s family.”

“Why? Does she wear a t-shirt that says ‘No one knows I’m gay?’”

“No. But she’s thirty-five, not married, absolutely gorgeous, and doesn’t even give the time of day to any of the guys outside of her classes. She’s gotta be gay.”

“Margo. Think about this. You’re thirty-two. You’re not married. You’re beautiful. And you won’t give the time of day to most of these guys. And you’re not gay.”

“No.”

“See my point?”

“But I thought I might have been bi.”

Alex just rolled her eyes.

Margo chuckled. “Alright. If you change your mind, she’s teaching a class in room seven, just down the hall, on the way to the locker room. You could take a look if you wanted.”

“Margo.”

“Hey, just in case you decide you need a little help for your test in May.”

“Right.”

Margo patted Alex on the shoulder and left.

Alex ran the rest of her miles, then grabbed her towel and ID. She was definitely feeling the strain of having been away from the gym for too long. She reached up and rubbed her shoulder as she walked down the hall.

She passed the door to room seven, noticing that it was half-open. Alex could hear a loud voice lecturing on how to avoid being taken down in hand-to-hand combat. She sighed.

Margo probably knew she couldn’t resist.

Alex edged her body into the doorway, glancing at the students in the back row. They seemed intent on the demonstration taking place on the platform in front of them, so she pushed the door the rest of the way open, and slipped inside to watch for a few minutes.

There were two people on the platform, a man and a woman. The man, who Alex recognized from her days at the academy, was dressed in a karate uniform, with a brown belt. The woman, though wearing the pants of a karate student, wore only a black sports bra for a top.

Margo had been right. The woman, even from the back, was stunning. Though tall, her body was perfectly proportioned, with long legs. She had dark hair that was held back by a leather tie around her forehead. Alex couldn’t help but admire the comfortable way she moved, with confidence and grace.

As the figure turned, Alex’s breath caught in her chest. The woman was Teren Mylos.

“Alright, Tony. You’re going to help me demonstrate, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

Tony obviously didn’t see the strength in the woman facing him. Even from the back Alex could see the corded muscles on the dark woman. Tony, however, just smirked.

“No problem, Teach.” He assumed a defensive stance across from her. He was bouncing lightly on his feet, the smile still on his lips.

Which was the wrong thing to do. Before anyone even realized that she’d moved,Teren had spun to the side, and landed a flying kick high on Tony’s chest. He stumbled backwards several steps, and Teren easily pulled his feet out from under him.

He sat there blinking, the smirk gone. In it’s place was a look half surprise, half anger. He got to his feet, rubbing his chest.

“The object of this lesson, Tony, is to stay on your feet. I don’t think you succeeded.”

There were a couple of nervous chuckles around the room.

“Shall we try this again?” Teren asked. Her opponent nodded.

They took their positions again, and this time there was no bounce to Tony’s step. He was serious this time as he waited for Teren’s move. When it came, as a punch towards his face, he blocked it without problem. But the second one connected, with an audible crack. It was enough to knock him back again. He managed to keep his feet, however, and was back into position before Teren could once again sweep his legs.

“Good.” Teren nodded. “Now, this time you attack me.”

Tony balked a little at that. “But —”

“That’s an order, Mr. Lewis. Attack.”

Tony began to move a little to his left, looking for an opening. He remembered what Teren’s kick had done to his chest, and didn’t want to give her the opportunity to do it again.

Spotting what he thought was an opening, Tony feinted right, then spun left with a backhand blow. It was stopped, and he ducked to avoid the counterattack from Teren while aiming a straight punch to her midsection. That too was knocked aside, but for the moment Tony was inside Teren’s guard, and he used his position to throw an uppercut to her jaw. Instead of blocking it, Teren simply leaned back, letting the force of the blow take Tony’s arm up in front of her. Then she hooked his right arm with her left, pulling it under hers. He immediately swung his left hand at her in a clumsy blow, and Teren brushed it aside. She punched him twice, once to his stomach, and once to his nose, then used her right foot to yank his feet out from under him. He collapsed to the floor, his nose leaving a red trail on his white jacket.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Lewis? Did your mother tell you not to hit little girls?”

Tony’s face was red, from blood, and from anger. He wiped his nose on his sleeve as he climbed to his feet. Teren completely dropped her guard.

“I’ve got news for you, Tony. I’m not a little girl. I’m the woman who’s kicking your butt.”

Alex hadn’t moved from her position in the back of the room, but even she could see the fury in Tony’s eyes. His lip curled in a snarl, and his fists were clenched. He brought his hands up, but didn’t even hold his position for a full second before launching an all out attack on a seemingly defenseless Teren.

Tony was swinging wildly, lashing out in his anger, and for several minutes Teren just allowed him his rage. She blocked most of his shots, and let the rest slide past her body as she moved. Tony, frustrated with not being able to land a blow with his fists, suddenly leaped and kicked out. It was an awkward move, and came more from anger than anything else. Teren had been expecting it, and let it fly past her head. It was what she’d been waiting for.

Tony landed off-balance, and before he could recover, Teren blew past his defenses with a left hand to his jaw. She followed it with a right, then a left to his stomach. He doubled over, and before he could straighten, she nailed him in the middle of his back with an elbow. Tony went down, and he stayed there.

Teren stood up, and looked down at her beaten adversary. She shook her head, then addressed her class.

“There were two lessons demonstrated up here just now. The first, keep your feet at all times. If you’re on the ground, you’re done. Second,” she looked back at Tony who had managed to rise to his knees, “keep your temper at all times. The object of hand-to-hand is survival, You do not survive by getting angry, or embarrassed, and you certainly don’t survive just by looking good. There are no points for those who look cool while they die — they’re just dead.”

There was silence in the room, broken only by Tony Lewis’s heavy breathing. Teren’s gaze swept the room, and she made eye-contact with most of her students. Her gaze paused on the blond head at the back of the room. Alex realized she’d been spotted, and she gave a nod to the instructor. Teren’s eyes held hers for several seconds, then focused back on the figure beside her.

“Mr. Lewis, go get yourself cleaned up. Have Margo check you out, then come back. We’ll talk about your ability to stay calm under pressure.” Tony got to his feet, and slowly moved towards the door.

Alex stood aside, nodding at her former classmate, and then looked back at Teren, who was already forming the group into pairs for practice. Alex watched for a moment longer, then walked the rest of the way down the hall to the locker room.

*******************************************************

It was past eleven when she finally made it into the office. Alex stopped by David’s desk first, just to check on things. He was just putting his jacket on.