The sounds of the room faded away, until all she could hear was her own breathing, and her heartbeat pulsing in her throat. Tamille’s eyes were probing and strong, and Casey’s could read the determination there. Tamille came suddenly pushing forward, right jab, left jab, right uppercut, left roundhouse. Casey dodged and weaved, throwing up blocks as necessary, taking backward steps. At Tamille’s final swing of the set, Casey ducked again and circled left, coming up with a left snap with her foot. She connected with Tamille’s stomach, and Tamille grunted. “Your point.”
Casey backed up again, gaining her balance, not taking her eyes from Tamille’s. It was a friendly match, at least as friendly as sparring could be, but she could see in the other woman’s stance that she wasn’t going to give anything away.
Casey waited, wanting Tamille to make the next move. Tamille seemed to be waiting, too, but Casey wasn’t bothered. She could wait all day. Until Sissy came and told her to get her butt in gear, anyway.
Tamille didn’t want to wait, and came at Casey, punching right-left, and following up with a front kick. Casey backed up so quickly she bumped into one of the other women. She stumbled, and Tamille took advantage, jabbing Casey in the side.
Tamille backed off, that smile tickling her mouth. Casey went over her options. Tamille was too tall for Casey to hit effectively. She would block anything Casey threw at her. Casey had already gotten her with kicks twice, so Tamille would be expecting that again. And Tamille, with her arms and legs way longer than Casey’s, had the upper hand when it came to distance.
But one thing Casey had that Tamille didn’t? Grappling skills. Probably. Most karate fighters used their arms first, legs second, and never learned the art of grappling.
Hapkido fighters did.
Casey returned Tamille’s smile, and Tamille’s eyebrows rose a fraction.
Casey took a large step forward, put her weight on her left leg, and kicked toward Tamille’s right thigh. Tamille blocked it easily, but Casey followed with a right-footed kick toward Tamille’s left thigh, making Tamille block again. Casey circled around quickly and came at Tamille from behind. She grabbed Tamille’s left wrist, pulled it back straight, hooked Tamille’s ankle with her right foot, and drove her to the ground, knee on Tamille’s back, heel of her hand on Tamille’s outstretched elbow. Tamille struggled only minimally before tapping the floor.
Casey knelt over Tamille, chest heaving, sweat dripping from her face. She let go of Tamille’s arm and stood, still ready. Tamille rolled over, sat up, and held out a hand. “Okay. Your point.” Casey took her hand, aware it could be a trap, but Tamille just got up, squeezed Casey’s hand, and let go. She put her hands together and bowed, keeping her eyes on Casey. Casey returned the bow.
Tamille gave Casey that same half-smile, and rolled her shoulders. “Now I’m ready for class.”
One person in the class began clapping slowly. Soon all of the women were clapping and cheering, and smacking Tamille on the back.
None of them came close to Casey, except for one, who picked up the portable mic and held it out. Casey thanked her, and hooked the mouthpiece over her ear.
“What style?” Tamille said, following Casey to the front of the class.
“Hapkido. You’re karate?”
She nodded. “Shotokan.”
“You have a good teacher.”
“My dad started me out. He believed his little girl should be able to protect herself, so he decided to make sure. Now I have a teacher here in Raceda.”
“Your father did a thorough job.”
Tamille shrugged. “Nobody’s ever challenged me outside the ring, so I don’t know if it works in the real world.”
Casey looked her up and down. “One look at you and they run.”
Tamille smiled, a full-on one this time. “That’s my problem. It’s why I’m still single.”
Casey laughed and clapped her hands, focusing on the rest of the class. “Okay, ladies, time for you to stop observing and get to work.” She turned the music up loud and worked them hard, barking at them like a drill sergeant. These ladies could take it. They wanted it. They were here for serious, hard work.
Death sat this one out, alternately watching the women and scanning the titles on the spines of the CDs. By the time class was over, Death had gone off somewhere. Casey wasn’t complaining.