Theea
I hear footsteps behind me and look up quick — ready to tell whoever it is that the dummy’s mine — only to find Koa, already kitted out and clearly here for the same reason I am. And he’s greeting me. Holy shit. He remembers me.
I flash him a bright grin. “Koa! Minor hangover, nothing tragic,” I tell him, unable to keep the humor out of my voice. “Though I still can’t get all the glitter out of my hair. Think it’s a permanent feature now.”
He glances at my hands, so I flex them out, following his gaze before meeting his copper eyes with my own bright blue. And then it hits me — that’s two people in a row who’ve not only recognized me, but wanted to hang out. I keep the lid screwed on tight, but the nearly euphoric bubble inside me is hard to ignore.
“A proper spar? With you? Yeah, I’d love that.” I flick a look toward the training dummy, feigning sympathy. “Sorry, Woody, but when you swing back, it hurts. Surely this upstanding gentleman doesn’t hit that hard.” My tone makes it clear I’m teasing, not trying to get under his skin.
I pull my long hair over one shoulder and swiftly braid it with practiced fingers as I pace toward the middle of the training ground. “I fell out of practice for a few months,” I admit with an easy shrug, “so I’m brushing up before I go home. You’re doing me a huge favor.”
I flash him a bright grin. “Koa! Minor hangover, nothing tragic,” I tell him, unable to keep the humor out of my voice. “Though I still can’t get all the glitter out of my hair. Think it’s a permanent feature now.”
He glances at my hands, so I flex them out, following his gaze before meeting his copper eyes with my own bright blue. And then it hits me — that’s two people in a row who’ve not only recognized me, but wanted to hang out. I keep the lid screwed on tight, but the nearly euphoric bubble inside me is hard to ignore.
“A proper spar? With you? Yeah, I’d love that.” I flick a look toward the training dummy, feigning sympathy. “Sorry, Woody, but when you swing back, it hurts. Surely this upstanding gentleman doesn’t hit that hard.” My tone makes it clear I’m teasing, not trying to get under his skin.
I pull my long hair over one shoulder and swiftly braid it with practiced fingers as I pace toward the middle of the training ground. “I fell out of practice for a few months,” I admit with an easy shrug, “so I’m brushing up before I go home. You’re doing me a huge favor.”
there is defiance in being a d r e a m e r
