Free Emma Chase by Jen Khan

involuntary reactions that really gets on my nerves.
    Braden throws an arm around my shoulders and curls me into him.  My front collides with his side.  He is wearing running pants and a black Under Armour tank.  Delicious.
    Apparently my libido has made a comeback.
    He and I have been spending a lot of time together , talking and hanging out, and I have really enjoyed doing so.
    I make an audible sigh and Braden’s body starts to shake.  I squint my eyes at him.  The bastard is laughing.  I roll my eyes and he laughs harder.
     
    Yep. Bastard.
    Tristan claps his hands to get our attention.  “All right, ladies. Tonight we’re going to learn the basics of self-defense.  Juice, you’re with Olivia, and Holly, you’re with me.  Shall we begin?”
    “Hell yeah !” Holly exclaims, jabbing her fists of fury out and dancing around from foot to foot. 
    Oh brother.  Now she’s a boxer.
    “Okay, first off, the best self-defense is to never put yourself in a vulnerable situation.  Always be vigilant of your surroundings.  You feel me?”
    “I’d like to feel you,” Holly shamelessly responds, and it’s as if she doesn’t realize she said it out loud until her face gets beet red.
    We all erupt into laughter.  Braden squeeze s my shoulder and smiles down at me.
    “Running is the best self-defense move, and putting distance between you and your attacker should always be your first priority.  If , by chance, running is not an option, I am going show you a few moves that could possibly get you out of a dire situation.  Holly, I’m going to give you a chance to feel me now, darlin’.  Bring your fine ass over here.” Tristan winks.
    “Wooooooo,” we collectively holler and start howling again.
    Holly jumps up and down, clapping in place before she skips her way over to Tristan.
    “If you're being attacked, there's a good chance that the assailant is going to grab you by the wrist at some point, whether it's to force you to go somewhere with him or to keep you from hitting him back. To get out of this hold, remember that the weakest point of his grip is where his thumb and fingers meet.” He takes hold of Holly’s wrist to demonstrate. “Rotate your wrist so that the thumb side of your forearm is at the weak point in his grip and pull your arm out of his hand in that direction. If he's much stronger than you, use your free hand to grab your fist and put more power behind your pull.” 
    After showing us a few times , he has us demonstrate on our partners.
    “Ummm …Tristan?” I say, holding up my hand.
    “Baby, put down your hand.  You’re not in elementary school,” Braden mumbles.
    Whatever.
    “Yeah, Emma ?”
    “After we get out of the potentially deadly wrist hold, do we gouge his eyes out, kick him in the balls, or punch him in the throat?”
    Tristan’s eyes get big and everyone laughs.  I look down at my feet and kick at imaginary rocks.
    “I didn’t think that was so funny,” I mumble at my feet.
    “For your safety and for better chances of not getting into further trouble with your attacker, I would suggest you run.”
    Run?  I would have preferred for him to say I should gouge his eyes out, kick him in the balls, or punch him in the throat.
    I shrug.  “K ay.”
    Tristan shakes his head. “Remember this. You have more leg strength than your arm strength.  A simple kick can be a fast way to get away from an attacker. To get the full force of your leg behind the kick, use the heel of your foot to make contact with the attacker.” Again, he uses Holly, only this time, he walks her through the motions. “In a stomp kick, you bring your knee up and drive your heel down as hard as possible. If you do this on an attacker's foot, you might be able to break some toes to keep him from running after you.  So you want to stomp kick on his instep or the shoelace part of his foot rather than his toes. If you're wearing heels, and I know you ladies well enough to know that you live in