“Absolutely.”
We stepped onto the mat.
The crowd formed a loose semicircle around us.
Advertisement
I could hear Denise behind me telling somebody to stop pushing forward.
Then Carlos raised his hand.
“Controlled. First submission, verbal stop, or my call. No striking. No ego.”
His eyes lingered on Ethan when he said the last part.
Then on me.
“Ready?”
We both nodded.
“Go.”
Ethan moved first.
That told me something.
Not that he was reckless.
He wasn’t.
The moment the demonstration became real, his posture changed completely.
His hands came up.
Advertisement
His weight settled.
The teasing young man disappeared, replaced by someone who had spent thousands of hours learning how bodies shifted under pressure.
Good.
I preferred that version of him.
He reached for my wrist.
I cleared the grip.
He changed angles.
I stepped with him.
For several seconds we simply moved.
I could hear people around us whispering.
Someone said, “Nothing’s happening.”
Carlos heard it too.
He smiled faintly.
Plenty was happening.
Advertisement
Ethan was testing distance.
I was reading balance.
He tried another grip.
I denied it.
Then I tried one of my own.
He cleared it cleanly.
That almost made me smile.
He was good.
