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.I knew he was trying to egg me on so I would hit him, and yes, it worked.Before he could say another word, my arm shot out with the urge to wipe the smile off his face.He blocked the move easily and countered with another.The impact of his glove on my face made my teeth rattle and shoved me backwards.Before I knew what was happening, he swung his leg, sweeping me off my feet.I was on the mat with the wind knocked out of me, staring up at the white stippled ceiling.There were clumps of dust stuck to the jagged points.“What just happened?” I mumbled.A deep chuckle sounded above me.“I knocked you on your ass.” His hand appeared in my line of sight, and I reached out to take it.He pulled me up, and I could see the glint of laughter in his dark eyes.He was mocking my poor fighting skills.“Now, do you see why you need to fight with someone? People are not punching bags.They fight back.” He smiled as he pounded his gloves together.Lauren, who was off to the side watching, giggled.I shot her a narrowed glare.“Do you want to give it a try?” I asked her.Her eyes went round, her face terrified as she shook her head.“That’s what I thought.” I held my laughter in, trying to hold on to my dignity after the stomping I had just received.For the next half hour, Adrian talked about how to anticipate our opponent’s moves and how to take them by surprise.By the time the hour was up, we were panting and sweating, and I was sore everywhere.Thankfully, I could feel my skin tingling as my aches began to heal.But all the pain was worth it; everything he had shown us was paying off.The last time I took Adrian on, it took much longer for him to knock me off my feet.Once he was positioned in the driver’s seat of his jeep, Adrian asked, “Lunch?” as he did every day.When we agreed, he headed to our usual spot, Tom’s Diner.It was always crowded with lots of laughter and voices, and the smell of gravy and bacon filled the room.Since I had turned into a werewolf, I think it was my favorite scent.Yum.We didn’t even open the menus because we ordered the same thing every day—the special.I had lived here my whole life, and it was Adrian who introduced this meal to me.And from that moment, Lauren and I were hooked.The special was the French dip, and I’m not talking any ordinary French dip.This was sliced savory beef stuffed into fluffy, buttery Yorkshire Pudding.The gravy dipping sauce was to die for.“Let me guess, the usual?” Nicole the waitress asked with a cheerful smile on her face; a hand resting on her hip.She didn’t need to write down our order since she took it every day for the last week.She was younger than us, maybe a senior in high school.Lauren said she went to Everest, but I didn’t remember her.That wasn’t surprising considering I had spent most of my time there trying to be a snob like my friends.“Yes, please,” Lauren answered for all of us.Nicole nodded and winked at Adrian.She might be younger, but she wasn’t at all shy.She had been hitting on him every afternoon since he found the place.He told us later in the car that he was afraid that one of these days she would work up the nerve to ask him out.He didn’t want to hurt her feelings because he liked someone else.He wouldn’t tell us who it was though.I had a feeling it was ‘the one’.As a werewolf, when you found that certain person, there was a look in your eye when you spoke about them.I had seen it in Nate and Joe’s eyes, and now Lauren’s.But he never offered the information, and I never pried.“You guys are really doing well,” Adrian said, as I took a sip of my water.“You won’t need me much longer.”For some reason the idea of stopping our sessions left me feeling empty.What would I focus on to take my mind off of Nate? It was all I could do not to think about his vivid blue eyes and his dimples.“You’re not abandoning us are you?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.He leaned his elbow on the table, head on his hand.“No, of course not, I just mean that you’ll be able to handle yourself soon.But we can continue to train.There’s no harm in being too prepared.”I relaxed, feeling stupid for panicking in the first place.I glanced at Lauren who was fidgeting with the salt shaker.“Are you coming with us for a run today?” I asked her.She lifted her head until her eyes met mine.“I don’t think I can.Joe’s starting to wonder where I’ve been lately.He wanted to come with me this morning
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