Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (27 page)

Once everyone was there, Marcus invited all the ladies to the mat in their socks. Cassie was so proud to see her brother standing so confidently, teaching people how to protect themselves. She turned all the way around to see Marcus’s trainer Bill watching from his office doorway. Cassie waved and he winked back at her with a twinkle-eyed smile.
 

“Ok,” Marcus started. “First, thanks for being my lab rats. I’ve never taught a class before, so bear with me. If I don’t make sense, please say something. I want to make sure everybody understands and is comfortable. Ok?”

Everyone nodded and waited for him to continue.
 

“Introductions first. I’m Marcus Walker, and I think you all know either my sister Cassie or my fiancée Erin. And this is Trip. Actually, that’s not his real name. You know, I don’t even remember his real name.” He looked over at Trip with an ornery grin.
 

Trip shook his head with a smile. “Mason.”

“Oh, right. Mason. But please, call him Trip. He earned that name his first day in the gym when he fell flat on his face trying to step up on this sparring mat. That inch was just too much for him to handle. So, yeah, he will always be ‘Trip’ as far as I’m concerned.”

The participants were grinning and laughing at the camaraderie between the two fighters. Marcus already had everyone feeling at ease and Cassie was absolutely beaming at her brother. He was destined for greatness at this gym in every way: fighter, trainer, owner, teacher.
 

Marcus went through some verbal instructions about soft targets first, showing some slow-motion demonstrations on Trip, then instructing the women in the class to try the defensive moves on each other, also in slow motion. Once everyone was comfortable with the first basic move, he asked for volunteers to try with Trip.

Cassie was first to raise her hand and Marcus smiled at her. “Big shocker,” he said. “My sister is ready to kick some butt. Ok, Cass, Trip is your attacker. He’ll come at you from the front and you get your thumbs right up on his goggles. We’ll still go slow, but this time, push as hard as you can, like this is the real thing. You won’t hurt him.”

Cassie rubbed her hands together wickedly then motioned him forward like a challenge. Trip moved toward her, reaching his hands slowly toward her throat. Cassie immediately got her fingers up on his face and dug her thumbs in against the plastic of his goggles. She was strong enough to force his head backward.
 

“Good!” Marcus said. “Exactly. The biggest thing to remember is to go at it hard. If someone is trying to hurt you, there’s no hesitation or apologies. Get him down so you can get away. Anyone else?”

A few other ladies stepped up for a turn including Jenna, but Erin stayed in the back. Cassie took note of that, but said nothing. As much progress as Erin had made away from fear, any scenario involving an attacker was a lot to take. Marcus already warned Cassie that Erin was nervous. Cassie was proud of both Marcus
and
Erin for this class.
 

After they went through a few more soft-target exercises, Marcus concluded the session. “You were all great. Thanks again for participating. We’ll meet again next week and we’ll do some refreshers on today’s stuff and add a move called the leopard strike. It’s easy but wicked.”

Trip removed his helmet and goggles and undid the velcro of his padded vest and addressed the class. “You can gouge my eyeballs any day,” he smiled. “I don’t like pretending to attack you, but I hope it helps.”

Marcus clapped his shoulder and smiled. “How about a round of applause for our not-so-scary bad guy.”

The ladies all clapped and thanked both Trip and Marcus while they pulled their shoes back on. One or two at a time the participants filtered out. Erin, Jenna, and Cassie all stuck around to congratulate Marcus.
 

Cassie was first to go in for the hug. “I’m so proud of you!! That was a great class. You had everyone smiling and learning, even about a scary topic. I’m telling you, Marcus, you have found your calling. You are going to take this gym to new heights.”

“Hey!” Bill called out as he walked toward them, faking offense at her comment. With his still sparkling smile he came over and pulled Cassie into a side-hug and kissed her temple. “I think I’m insulted.”

Marcus shook Bill’s hand. “Thanks for letting me do this. I think it’s going to be good.”

Bill smiled back. “Definitely. And Trip — get over here.”

Trip walked over to Bill, Marcus, and Cassie and grinned his ridiculous smile again. “What’s up?”

Bill’s gruff demeanor returned instantly. “Mason?…you have a real name? Interesting. But here’s the thing. I’ve been telling Marcus for a while that he needs to start training some fighters. He’s already got Luke to deal with. I figure if he can handle Luke’s anger and your goofy self, he can train anyone. From now on, you report to him.”

Trip’s jaw dropped and Marcus threw his hands up in victory. “Oh, this is going to be fun,” Marcus said. “Remember all those times you messed with my locker? …revenge is sweet.”

Trip gaped at Bill with an overly-horrified face and called out like a man possessed, “Nooooooo! WHYYYYYY?”

Everyone laughed and talked a little while longer before Cassie pulled Trip aside to thank him.
 

“You did a great job. Thanks for helping my brother with this. He told me how perfect you would be at this, at being the bad guy without seeming like a bad guy.”

“I hope so,” he said sincerely with his warm grin. “I don’t want to scare anyone for real.”

Cassie gave him a hug and went back over to the rest of the group. Everyone was saying their goodbyes when Cassie saw Scott walk in.

“Scott?! Hi! What are you doing here?” she said as she went over to get a hug.

“Hey, Cass. Since I
wasn’t
anywhere near the neighborhood…I thought I’d stop by,” he said with a smile. “Hey, Erin, Marcus.”

Marcus shook his hand and Erin got a quick kiss on the cheek from him. Jenna got in a quick hug as introductions were made all around.

“How was class?”

“So great. My brother is a natural born teacher,” Cassie said with obvious pride.
 

“Good. But now I was hoping I could whisk you away. I have a surprise for you. Are you free for the rest of the afternoon?”

“I am now,” Cassie grinned and tossed her keys to Jenna. “Take my car, Jen. Don’t care what you do with it because I’m getting a surprise! And don’t worry, I’ll call with details tomorrow.”

Scott rolled his eyes and took Cassie’s hand. “It was nice to meet you all. See you Monday, Erin. Congrats on the class, Marcus.”

Cassie waved to her brother and the rest of them while she allowed Scott to guide her to his SUV.

In the quiet of Scott’s car, Cassie looked over to him and smiled. “You’re surprising me?”

“Yep.”

“Where are we going?”

“Not telling yet. That’s why it’s called a
surprise
. All I’ll say is that I’ve been thinking a lot about having fun and playing. So that’s my plan.”

Cassie scrunched up her shoulders and smiled so widely that nearly all her teeth showed. “I can’t wait to see what your version of playing looks like. Can you at least tell me how long we’re going to be in the car?”

“About two hours,” he said.
 

She held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder while he drove. Cassie cranked the radio when she found a favorite indie rock song. Scott laughed at her choice, but didn’t change the station. Thanks to Cassie, he was open to new ideas.
 

The two hours passed quickly thanks to good music and good conversation. Cassie had a chance to tell Scott more about the class as well as Marcus and Erin’s engagement.
 

“You should see the ring,” Cassie said in an awed voice. “Not only is it beautiful, but Marcus actually sat with a jeweler and designed it. I told you what a teddy bear he is. The diamond is so small and delicate, and it rests between these two intricate butterflies. Erin’s finger is the perfect home for that ring.”

Scott looked over to Cassie and saw that soft look in her eye. Like always, she had an entirely different set of criteria for what was impressive. The size of the diamond had no bearing on her opinion of the ring. She appreciated her brother’s effort and attention to what was important to Erin. He filed that away in his brain in case he ever needed to think about a ring. He was fairly certain he would. There was no way he could let her go.

“We’re here,” he announced with a grin as they passed a sign announcing Cohutta National Forest. “My turn to plan a picnic…and a little more.”

Cassie laughed openly with absolute glee that Scott decided to play and was taking her along for the ride. Every time they were together she saw more of his true self, and she saw him letting that true self relax into having fun. Playing seemed almost natural to him now, and she got a contact-high from his newfound freedom.

“This is so great,” she smiled. “So what’s the
little more
that you mentioned?”

“Only my favorite way to play. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Scott drove another twenty or so minutes deep into the reserve and found a good spot to pull over in the middle of nowhere.
 

“No trail?” she beamed.

“Not a chance. We do our own thing, right? But I know where I’m going.”

“You do?”

Scott’s only answer was an overly-charming smile and a hand-held gps tracker. Cassie looked at him questioningly as he got out of the car to get his backpack. He took her hand with a smile and pulled her straight into the woods. About twenty-five yards in, he checked the gps then held it up to show her.

“Kind of like high-tech yarn,” he grinned.

Cassie smiled at him and followed his lead, looking around bright-eyed during the entire trek. Squirrels danced through the branches and birds chirped all around them as they wove their way through the trees. The humid air mixed with the spongy forest floor to create a blossoming, woodsy scent for their trip.

“You’re not going to tell me at all?”

“Nope.”

Nearly an hour into the hike the two were sweaty from traversing the uneven terrain in the summer heat. But thanks to the cover of the trees, the air near the forest floor remained moderately comfortable. A few short minutes later, Scott pocketed the gps and pointed to a huge lake. The water was crystal clear and dotted with blossoming water lilies near the edge.
 

“This is it,” he smiled as he looked around at the beautiful mountain scene around them. The trees dotted the landscape with a deep leafy green. One spot on the edge of the lake was grassy enough for a picnic. Cassie breathed deeply in the fresh air.

“Thank you for the surprise,” she smiled sincerely. “I love it. So what is this place?”

“Don’t know. Saw it on a map and wanted to try something new. Plus, it fits perfectly with my plans.”

“And those would be…” Cassie grinned her hanging statement.

“And those would be…still a secret,” he said with an ornery smile. He pulled her in for a gentle hug and a sweet, deep kiss before dropping the pack on the grass. Cassie helped set out the blanket and afternoon snacks. She tilted her face up to the sun as they munched on trail mix and fresh fruit. They chatted more, mostly about Cassie’s job at the clinic and her studies for nursing.
 

“Yep, I’m a little more than halfway done with the fourth course. And oh! I forgot to tell you! Just this week the doctors at the clinic offered me the first nursing job that comes open after I pass my final boards.”

“That’s great,” Scott smiled. “What about Jenna? Is she studying too?”

“Not yet. She wanted a break from classes, plus she wanted to save up a little money before she had to pay for them. At least we’ll still be able to work together. Did I tell you that she may have met someone at the clinic? Like a
maybe-I-want-to-have-your-babies
someone.”

Scott laughed at the description. “No, you didn’t mention that. Who is he? Do you know him?”

“She won’t tell me. She’s strangely secretive about it. Already she’s talked to him at least twice now, but that’s all I know. I keep hoping he’ll bring his daughter in when we’re both working so I can sneak a peek at this guy she keeps mentioning. From what she says, he’s an interesting character.”

“Interesting how? Like Cassie-interesting or some other kind?”

Cassie laughed at his question. “I don’t think anyone else is Cassie-interesting.”

“Fair point,” he said, brushing crumbs off his shorts. He stood up over her. “Now for my play-time.”

“Is it outdoor picnic sex? Because that’s not new,” she teased.

 
“True, which is why that’s not my plan. Well, not my
whole
plan.” He held out his palm in a gesture instructing her to stay where she was. Then he turned and walked toward the lake, stripping his clothes as he went. He walked buck-naked into the water about knee-deep, then turned and smiled at her. He splashed straight-backed into the cool lake as he said, “But skinny-dipping is.”

Cassie squealed with delight and wasted no time stripping down. She walked right into the water with him and swam past him a bit deeper. He swam over to meet her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply and smiled so genuinely.
 

“This was one of my favorite things to do all the way back in high school. I don’t think I’ve done this since I graduated from Georgetown. Seriously, Cass. This is great. It’s been years since I’ve had this much fun,” he said before dunking his head under water. He shook water droplets from his hair all over her when he surfaced and she squealed again. She splashed him as much as she could at short distance and he laughed.
 

“I’m glad I inspire you,” she said with a sincere smile. She swam over to a bunch of water lilies and pulled a blossom from the surface of the water and tucked it into her hair over her ear. “Because seeing you having fun is about the best thing in the world. So tell me why this was your favorite. Is this how you seduced your many women?”