by T. L. Hayes
“In order to do the movements Wushu requires, it is important to have flexibility. There are a number of different techniques I will show you that will help your body move in the ways it is supposed to move, but first we must start with dynamic stretching. You have to wake the body up and make sure it’s ready to move. If not, you can suffer injuries. Follow my lead. Try to copy these as best you can.”
Dr. Silver then proceeded to show Rachel a series of kicks that definitely stretched out the legs but were more elegant than any stretching Rachel had ever done. They looked more like ballet moves.
Rachel wasn’t sure if she could even get her leg up that high. “Are you kidding me?”
“Am I smiling?”
Rachel gulped. “No, Sifu.” She bowed the proper way this time, but then became curious. “I have a question, Sifu.”
“Yes?”
“Why these types of stretches and not the regular ones?”
“Because, over the last several years, it has been found more beneficial to do the standard types of stretches—which are called static stretches, by the way—at the end of the routine. This type of stretching is more helpful to do at the beginning because it activates the muscles we’re going to be using and is more of a full-body warm up. Any more questions?”
“No, Sifu.” Rachel backed away to find a better starting point, then did as told. She had already gotten a little sweaty on the jog over, as the fall weather had yet to fully take hold and was still warm and humid. After a few not so graceful kicks, her shirt started to cling to her in some places, and the back of her neck was starting to get wet. Rachel wasn’t sure how many kicks or types of stretches she did, could have been five, maybe more, when Dr. Silver stopped her.
“Okay, enough. Back over here. Consider that your warm-up.”
“Yes, Sifu.”
After the stretching came a series of jumps and kicks and weird hand movements that made Rachel feel she felt awkward and sluggish when she did them. But when she watched Dr. Silver’s quick movements, she couldn’t help but stare in awe. Dr. Silver moved her body swiftly and elegantly and with great purpose. Watching her in person was way better than the video, and Rachel felt lucky that Dr. Silver had agreed to teach her. And somewhere in the middle of it all, she realized that she just might enjoy learning kung fu just for the sake of knowing this beautiful discipline. By the time the session was over she was proud of herself.
They ended the session with static stretches, which Rachel recognized from grade school gym class. She trusted Dr. Silver knew what she was doing.
When the stretching was over, Dr. Silver announced, “All right, that’s enough for the first day.” She bowed to Rachel, who bowed in turn, and then she turned her back on Rachel and went to get a drink from the water bottle she had off to the side. The professor was only mildly sweaty, compared to Rachel, who was drenched in sweat and felt like Rocky after he had run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Now that the session was over, Rachel felt the formal air in the room had been let out and she said with a smile, “Lou, you’re kind of a badass.”
Lou gave her a small smile and inclined her head. “Thank you. I have a black belt in badassery.”
Rachel gave a surprised laugh. “Do you ever wear it with your sahm?” she teased.
“No, it’s too big.” Lou grinned, then threw Rachel a bottle of water. “Here. You need to hydrate. Next time, don’t forget to bring some.”
Rachel caught it with her right hand, surprising herself by not fumbling. “Thank you.” She took a grateful gulp.
“Slow down, or you’ll puke.”
Rachel stopped drinking abruptly and swallowed what was in her mouth. “Thank you, good point.” After she had taken another cautious sip she said, “You know, we never discussed payment. I have money. I can and should be paying you for this.”
“No, what we are doing is informal. If you were to come to the school where I am an assistant instructor, then it would be right and proper for you to pay. For this, I will not take payment. It is my pleasure to teach you.”
Rachel knew she was blushing. “Wow, thanks. But is there nothing I can do to show my appreciation?”
“Yes, actually, there is.”
“Name it.”
“Show up. Do all the things. Without protest. Learn.”
“I will. I want to do this, not just for him.”
“Glad to hear it. See you Monday.” Dr. Silver made to leave and Rachel started to fall into step beside her. Dr. Silver stopped her. “I said it was informal but I still respect tradition. I leave first. Got it?” This time there was no mistaking the smile.
Rachel fought to keep her own smile at bay, as she instinctively knew that, while it was fine for her teacher to make any facial expression she wanted, even though they weren’t in a formal session now, it was still improper for her to return the same. “Yes, Sifu.” She bowed, as she knew she should and was already becoming habit. She just hoped she didn’t bow to her in class. That would be awkward.
Dr. Silver left and once the door closed behind her, Rachel let out a breath, hugged her arms to herself in a stretch, and said, “Ow. Yeah, I’m gonna feel that in the morning.” Then she made the long walk back to her dorm, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to jog as she had on the way in, hoping she had the strength to get in the shower.
* * *
Rachel wasn’t used to that much physical activity all at once. Dancing for hours in her favorite club was about as physical as she got most of the time. Her muscles were definitely awake now, she thought, as she gingerly climbed into the shower. The hot water felt so good on her muscles, like a balm. She understood why there was a hot tub in the locker room for the athletes, the lucky bastards.
She stood under the water, letting it beat on her shoulders, wishing the shower had an adjustable head so she could make the water come out in a heavier rhythm. She stayed in as long as she could stand it, then turned the water off and stepped out into the entry area, where there were hooks on the wall for the hanging of towels and robes, and grabbed her towel, dried her hair as best she could, and then wrapped the towel around her body and left the bathroom.
Despite how much her muscles were talking to her, or maybe because of it in some strange way, she still felt wonderful, she had to admit. It felt good to know that she had it in her to do the things Dr. Silver was asking her to do, and she didn’t totally suck at it. That was the amazing thing. She wanted to talk to someone about this and realized that other than Bobby, the only other person she ever wanted to share anything new with was Rory.
After she hung her towel on the towel rack in her room and then put on a pair of boy’s boxers that she always thought she looked cute in, and a clean T-shirt, she lay back on her bed and called her best friend.
“Hey, Rachel. Good to hear your voice.”
“You’re sounding way too chipper for the occasion. Did you just get laid or something?”
“Why are you always so concerned if I’m getting some?”
“I am not! I was just pointing out that you are in an exceptionally good mood and usually when you get this way, you’ve just been with Maggie.”
“What can I say, the woman makes me happy.” Rory sounded very happy.
“Giddy is more like.”
“Call it what you like. But for your information, Maggie isn’t even here. She left this morning for some theater education conference in Boston. I had to stay here. I’m grounded.”
“Aww. Did you pee on the rug again?” Rachel teased.
“No.” Rory sounded forlorn. “I have a paper due on Tuesday and I know that if I don’t spend this whole weekend working on it, it’s not going to get done. So, sadly, I am home alone.”
“So you were giddy when I called because you’re sick of staring at a computer screen and were happy for any distraction?”
Rory replied, “Yes!” She sounded happy again.
“I see. Okay, I’ll be your distraction. You k
now, you’ve never told me what that school is like.”
“Small, it’s small is what it’s like. But, that being said, the teachers are pretty cool and there’s that social justice group I mentioned. They’re really more aware of social justice stuff up here, so there wasn’t any awkwardness about us being gay. And Maggie’s coworkers, who know me both as a student and her fiancée, don’t treat me weird or seem to talk behind our backs. They just accept us as a couple. The students too, really. Basically, no one gives a rat’s ass what we do, and it’s awesome.”
“That does sound nice.” Rachel sighed.
“It is.”
“Can we talk about me now?”
Rory chuckled. “By all means.”
“Okay. Well, I started doing something new that I can’t tell Bobby about. I mean, I could, but I just don’t know how to.”
Rory asked, “Rachel, what have you done?” There was a note of warning in her voice Rachel had heard a million times before.
“Nothing! I mean, nothing bad like you’re implying.” Rachel lowered her voice. “I just started taking kung fu lessons.” She waited to see if Rory would laugh but she did not.
“Interesting. What got you into that?”
“Dr. Silver. She’s the new Maggie. She’s a real badass and she offered to teach me. I mainly did it because I wanted to be able to fight bad guys, but I really enjoy it.”
“Rachel, I had no idea you wanted to be a ninja. You learn this skill, you can be a real femme fatale.”
“I only want to lure one male and I’ve already done that. Plus, I have no desire to bring him to his ruin. But I’ll settle for ninja.”
“As the kids say, you go, girl.”
“Is that really what the kids are saying?” Rachel asked incredulously. “I don’t think they’re saying that anymore.”
“Like I would know?”
“There’s this thing called the internet—it’ll teach you what people our age are into. You might want to read up on it.”
“Who has the time? I have fifteen pages to write and I’m only on page four.”
“Since when are you so behind on schoolwork? Aren’t you the one that gets your papers done like a month before they’re due or something?”
“That was before, when I had no life. I have a life now. And as you are often alluding to, I get laid. A lot. So priorities, innit?”
Rachel laughed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
They talked for another hour or so. When they finally hung up Rachel looked at the clock and sighed. How was it possible that she felt this exhausted and it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet? She’d promised Bobby she would be awake when he showed up and she meant to keep that promise. She looked at her desk and saw her stack of books and remembered the homework she had due for Monday, grateful that, unlike Rory, she didn’t have a paper to write, just reading. A lot of reading.
Resigning herself to her fate, she got up and took the top book off the pile, which happened to be the book for Dr. Silver’s class, then checked the reading assignment. Fifty pages. Not bad. She took the book with her to the bed and, after adjusting the pillows for a better sitting position, sat down to read. She figured she would finish that in a couple of hours at most and she could move on to reading for another class and possibly even get most of her homework done before Bobby even showed up, which would mean more free time.
She scooted down on the bed some so that she was practically lying down, but she forced herself to stay awake. She’d told him she’d wait up for him and she meant it.
* * *
When Rachel didn’t answer after a minute or so of knocking, Bobby tried the handle and found it unlocked. He had gone into her room once before in the same manner under the same circumstances—he had worked late and she had left her door open in case she fell asleep before he showed up. He figured that was the case this time and that she wouldn’t mind if he came in.
He quietly opened the door and stuck his head in and saw her on the bed, fast asleep, with a textbook open beside her. He gently closed the door behind him, went over to the bed, and carefully leaned over her to take the book away. He set it on the desk. She didn’t stir. Silently, he took the backpack off his shoulder, kicked his shoes off, then unbuckled his belt, slid his pants to the floor, and pulled his shirt and binder and bra over his head and added them to the pile. Then, clad only in his boxers, he lay down behind her and pulled the covers up over both of them, put his arm around her waist, and kissed her on the neck. Only then did Rachel react.
She turned around in his arms and draped an arm over him, snuggling into his chest. “Mmm, pepperoni. My fave.”
Bobby chuckled. “Good,” he whispered. “I thought you were going to stay up for me.”
She mumbled, “Long day.”
“I see that. It’s okay. Is it okay if I stay?”
Suddenly more alert, Rachel pulled her head away and looked into his eyes. She touched his face. “It’s always okay.”
“Okay.” All the times he had come over before, he had never spent the night, always leaving after a few hours, feeling like a thief in the night. That had never bothered him before with anyone else he had ever been with, but being with Rachel was different. He wanted to spend all the time he could with her. For once, he wanted to wake up next to someone and see them in the morning.
He kissed her then, but not in passion, not in invitation, only in promise. He touched her face and brushed the hair away, and they said nothing. Their legs entwined together and Bobby whispered, “Good night, Wild One.”
Rachel whispered back, “Good night.” Her hand came to rest on Bobby’s chest and she closed her eyes.
Bobby smiled in the darkness but lay awake for some time afterward, just holding Rachel while she slept, trying not to disturb her.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Rachel woke up alone. Her cover was down to her waist where it always ended up by morning and she was still in the shirt and boxers she had put on after her shower. She started to worry that she had dreamed that Bobby snuck in in the middle of the night, when she noticed he was sitting at her desk, with his back to her, fiddling with something she couldn’t see. Something about the almost furtive nature of his movement stopped her from calling to him. Instead, she watched him.
After a moment, he put his head back and held something aloft, to better see it in the sunlight, she supposed. It proved to be a syringe and bottle of medicine. The needle was in the bottle and the bottle was upside down and a clear liquid was filling the syringe. She watched as he withdrew the needle, capped it, set it on the desk, then opened a small foil packet and began to clean a spot on his upper thigh with the wipe. When he was done, he set the used wipe on top of the foil packet, retrieved the needle, uncapped it, set the cap aside, then pinched a section of his thigh between his fingers, and with great purpose, injected the needle into the spot he had cleaned. Very slowly he released the liquid inside. Then when he was finished, he recapped the needle, put a Band-Aid on the spot, then zipped the needle and vial up in a small case.
Only then did Rachel dare breathe. Her exhale drew his attention and he turned around and gave her a small, shy smile.
“Good morning. I’m sorry for this.” He waved a hand vaguely over his needle case. “Saturday’s just my shot day. I can’t miss it.”
Rachel removed the blanket and sat up and ran a hand through her hair. “I hate shots.” She shuddered. “Does it hurt?”
“Only if I do it wrong. Which happens sometimes.” He shrugged.
“What do you mean?”
“If I’m not careful and push the needle in too fast or forget and put the shot in the same spot as last time. Which is part of the reason I have to switch locations from one week to the next. But for the most part, it doesn’t really hurt. I’m tough.” He gave a crooked smile and a half-hearted flex.
Rachel returned his smile.
Bobby grabbed his backpack off the floor and began to put his kit away, then pulle
d clean clothes out and began to change. Rachel stood up with a stretch.
“Seems a shame to cover up that gorgeous body.” She went up to him as he was buckling his belt, took his hands off the buckle, and held both ends in her hands. She used the belt as a handle to pull him to her for a kiss. When she pulled away, she whispered, “Now why would you want to go and do a silly thing like get dressed, when you can stay naked and let me touch you, hmm?” She kissed him again and this time his arms went around her.
When he pulled away, he said, “Because it’s easier for you to undress me if I have clothes on.”
“Rather enjoy that, do you?”
“Mmm, much.”
“So you weren’t trying to run out the door?”
“Why would I want to do that? Except to pee. I’ve been putting it off. The men’s floor is so far away.”
“One floor is far?”
“It is when you have to piss this bad.”
“You have such a way with words.”
Bobby looked down. “Sorry. That was kinda gross.”
Rachel lifted his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. She leaned in close to him and whispered, “If you have to piss, go piss.” She pulled back. “Well, you might want to put a shirt on first though, but don’t do it for my sake.”
Bobby laughed. “Okay. Then maybe we can go out and do something.”
“Fine.” She stood back from him. “Now go. I have to make myself gorgeous for you.”
“You already are. I’ve never seen you in boxers before. You look really cute.”
“That’s what I was going for.” She smiled at him, and then walked over to her dresser while he reached down to the pile of clothes he had discarded the night before and pulled his binder out of the mix.