time so I could talk to Li first. I couldn’t concentrate through the whole session and made a halfhearted effort in learning the hand forms. I couldn’t keep the names straight. The only ones I could remember were eagle’s claw and monkey.
After class, it was time to face the music. What am I going to say? He’s going to hate me.
“Li, I was hoping we could talk.”
“Sure.” He grinned.
He was happy and carefree, and I was the complete opposite. I felt so nervous that I had to sit on my hands to stop them from shaking.
Li stretched out his long legs on the mat and propped himself up against the wall next to me.
Taking a long drink of water, he wiped his mouth and asked, “So what’s up, Kelsey?”
“Umm . . . I’m not really sure how to say this, so I guess I’ll just spit it out. Ren is back.”
“Oh. I wondered when he’d show up. I figured he wouldn’t stay away from you forever. So, you’re breaking up with me then,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Well, no, not exactly. See, Ren would like me to keep dating you, but he wants to date me too.”
“What? What kind of a guy would . . . wait . . . so you’re not breaking up with me?”
I hurried to explain, “No. But I’d understand if you didn’t want to see me anymore. He feels that I should date both of you and then choose.”
“Well, how . . . sporting of him. And what do you think about that?”
I put my hand on his arm. “I agreed to give it a try, but I told him that dating two guys at the same time isn’t the way things usually go and that you’d never agree to it.”
“What did he say then?”
I sighed. “He said that if you couldn’t handle a little honest competition then it’s better for me to know now.”
Li’s hands closed into fists. “If he thinks I’ll just give up and walk away then he’s wrong! Honest competition it is.”
“Are you joking? You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”
“My grandfather taught me to set goals and then fight for what I want and there’s no way I’m letting you go without a fight. A young man who doesn’t have the foresight to seek out the girl he wants to be with and actively pursue her, doesn’t deserve her.”
I blinked. Li and Ren were cut from the same cloth, even though they were centuries apart.
He continued, “So is he here in town?”
“Not exactly,” I sighed, “he’s my new neighbor.”
“Right. He already has a proximity advantage then.”
I mumbled wryly, “Sounds like you guys are planning to storm the castle.”
He either ignored my comment or didn’t hear it. He pulled me up distractedly and walked me to my car.
As Li leaned in my open door, I added, “Oh, and he also wants to come to a wushu class.”
Li rubbed his hands together and laughed. “Excellent! We’ll see exactly what the man’s made of then. Bring him tomorrow! Tell him as a special courtesy, I’ll even waive the class fee.”
“But, Li, he’s not at my level.”
“Even better! The beginner needs to learn a thing or two!”
“No. You misunderstood. He’s—”
Li kissed me hard on the lips, which effectively shut me up. He grinned and closed the door before I could finish my reply. Waving, he disappeared into the darkness of the studio.
The next day, I found a carefully written note taped to the orange juice inside the refrigerator.
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is
perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.
—Bertrand Russell
I sighed, peeled it off the bottle of orange juice, and pressed it into my journal. I called Ren, since he didn’t seem to want to see me other than planned dates, and told him that he was invited to the wushu class. Then I told him flat out what I thought about that idea. He shrugged off my reaction and declared that Li would be an excellent rival and that he was looking forward to meeting him.
Exasperated, I gave up trying to talk him out of it and hung up on him abruptly. He called back several times that day, but I ignored the phone and took a long bubble bath.
That evening, Ren pulled the Hummer out of the garage and came over to pick me up. I really, really, really didn’t want to be in the same room with Li and Ren and couldn’t help feeling grateful that we hadn’t advanced enough yet