Page 53 of Shamed
A few of the other women fromTeasetook advantage of the free class and came the last few nights for drop-in classes, which means she passed on the information. I had the urge toask them about her but managed to resist. Something tells me they wouldn’t have a whole lot to say, anyway.
The faces here tonight look unfamiliar, and likely not from the club.
I lead the attendees into a large room with padded flooring, situated beside the front desk that we’ll be using. It has an entire wall of one-way glass so we can see outside while still having privacy.
The ladies chat and introduce themselves to each other while we spend the next few minutes waiting for late arrivals.
Once everyone who registered has arrived and checked-in at the front, I begin, “Welcome everyone. My name is Mase, and I’ll be your instructor for the next eight weeks. Hopefully, by the end of this, you’ll feel strong and confident in your ability to protect yourselves. This evening we’re going to be going over some helpful information and very basic defense moves. Nothing crazy just yet.”
Movement through the window behind the women catches my attention, and I look past them to see a woman holding a small brown paper bag walk toward the entrance of the gym before she stops and turns around.
She’s dressed in black leggings and a puffy light brown jacket with dark brown fur—not unlike how half the women in here arrived. But there’s no mistaking who it is when I catch a glimpse of her face as she turns.
Jayne.
Relief buzzes through me in an unexpected wave at the sight of her. I thought she would have been working on a Friday night, but I guess not.
She came.
Jayne walks another few feet back in the other direction, then turns around to walk toward the door again.
She chews on her thumbnail, looking unsure of what she wants to do, completely unaware that we can see her through the window, though I’m the only one watching. The women have their eyes on me, waiting for me to continue.
“Ah, excuse me just a moment.”
I step out of the room and over to the front door of the gym, opening just as Jayne gets near it again. She startles at my sudden appearance, looking like a deer caught in headlights, but I remain silent as I press my back to the door, keeping it propped open, waiting.
Finally, she walks through the entrance, and a small smile touches my lips.
Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, face free of makeup, though it does nothing to lessen her natural beauty. She was gorgeous at the club when I saw her with the smoky makeup, but I prefer this version of her.
“I’m glad you could make it,” I tell her quietly as I lead her into the room where the others are waiting.
“Well, I didn’t want your offer to go to waste.”
Regardless of the why, I’m just fucking happy to be helping her in some way.
The moment she sees the window wall and the view it provides, her body tenses, realizing that I saw her indecision.
I make no comment on it. “You can hang your jacket and sweater up over there if you want.”
I wait until she’s joined the group, standing at the edge of the other ladies, before I continue where I left off, “Now, can anyone tell me the best places on a person to target?”
A petite redhead puts her hand up and I gesture for her to answer. “Eyes, nose, throat, and dick.”
I nod. “Good. Those are four of them. Anyone know more?”
I glance at each of the women, lingering a little longer on Jayne.
It’s fucking surreal that I saw her by chance in that club after all these years, and now she’s here.
Even back when I first found out what happened to her, I had felt this need to reach out to her and help her somehow.
I admit that it’s not all based on me doing a good deed, but rather, a compulsion to repent forhissins in a way.
It’s been a constant in my life. And now I have a small chance to arm Jayne with something that may boost her confidence.
When no one answers, I add, “The other two are the solar plexus and the knees.” A few of the women nod. “The groin area is often the most anticipated and the most protected, but we’ll still learn some techniques to target that area because if you ever get the chance to use them, it will be highly effective.”
