Rejection and Second Chances

Go!

The sound of Sarah’s skin hitting mine rang through both of our ears, and my arm started to radiate with pain. She looked at me in shock as my body took on the brunt of the force and rocked slightly, but I still stood strong as she backed away.

“That’s a good sign.” The corner of her mouth tilted slightly as she stepped forward and swung towards my ribs. I stepped into it, pushing her hands away with a strong forearm. She stumbled forward slightly and my own fist swung forward to meet her nose.

“I’m going to talk to Ashton about training you on the punching bag.” She said as she backed up. “That was weaker than it should have been, even for a beginner.” My cheeks started turning red as she struck forward again and I blocked it once more.

This process was repeated as she walked me through some of my failures. We trained until the sun was high in the sky, Ashton’s voice calling for a jog around the perimeter. The sound of feet stomping against the ground echoed in my ears. Any small animal that was out in the forest knew we were coming from probably miles away, scurrying along into their burrows.

“Alright pack, time to eat!” Ashton said, and a series of cheers echoed around us. I slowed to a stop as everyone else walked into the packhouse, prepared to eat. Ashton had turned towards me and waited, a smile on his face.

“You did well today.” He said, putting his arms around me and kissing my forehead.

“I don’t feel like I did anything at all.” I said softly, looking at the ground. He put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head, pulling me inside the packhouse with him. I looked at around at all the people in the almost full dining room as Ashton pulled me towards a specific table. We sat down and plates were immediately handed to us with fancy sandwiches, chips, pickles, cheese, and fruits placed next to each other.

“What’s that look for?” Ashton said as he picked up a piece of cheese and a fruit and ate them together. I looked back at my cheese and fruits in surprise.

“Is that how you’re supposed to eat cheese and fruit?” I asked, taking a bite. The flavor exploded on my tongue, bringing a mixture of sweet and salty that complimented each other perfectly and made me crave more. Ashton chuckled softly next to me as he watched me savor the flavors of the foods in front of me.

“Not exactly.” His response surprised me as I slowly chewed my food. “Sometimes our chef makes miniature charcuterie boards, like a sampler platter.”

“What’s a charcuterie board?” I said the word slowly, trying to get both the pronunciation and enunciation correct, making Ashton chuckle again.

“It’s an organized board full of mini foods that are usually paired well with a wine. They’re usually for fancy events or…girls nights?” He made a confused face and I giggled. “You’ve never had one before?”

“You think Wild West had anything fancy about it?” I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich. He thought for a moment and then laughed, shaking his head.

“No, you’ve got me there.” He said, his eyes twinkling as he looked at me and ate his own food. “After this, I’m gonna take you to hit the punching bag a few times and then we’ll call it a day. Deal?” I stifled a groan, wondering when Sarah even had the chance to talk to him without me noticing.

“Deal.” We finished our meal in peace, not really saying much. I caught him looking at me every so often and began to blush. When we were done, we stood up and he lead me to a room that had a lot of work out equipment.

“Do I have to use all of this?” I said, looking around at equipment I didn’t even know the name of. This time, he laughed out loud, and the sound made my stomach clench again. It was such a beautiful laugh.

“No, Adelina, you absolutely do not have to use every single one of these pieces of equipment.” He said, standing behind a large bag hanging from the ceiling. “But you are going to learn how to use this one.” I stood in front of it, looking at him to signal me to start. He chuckled again and pushed the bag towards me gently. I reached out and punched it softly, causing it to wiggle but still come towards me. He grabbed the bag and stilled it.

“Okay, come here and hit this bag as hard as you can.” He said. I did as I was told and hit it, making it swing softly. He smiled and nodded. “Good, now harder. Stand like this and use both hands repeatedly.” He stood with one leg in the back and one leg in the front, and his hands were in front of his face. I stood like he did, repeatedly swinging at the bag.

The sound of my knuckles repeatedly hitting the bag as he held it still rang out through the gymnasium. I was waiting for him to tell me to stop, but he just let me keep going while repeatedly glancing at the clock. By the time he told me to take a break, I was sweating lightly. I took a drink from a water bottle that was sitting in the mini fridge.

“Alright come on, do it again.” Ashton said, standing behind the bag. We repeated this process multiple times over the span of an hour. By the time we were finished for the day, I was sweating through my clothes. My muscles were screaming at me to stop moving at all.

“Good job, Adelina.” He said, patting the top of my head. “Let’s go shower.” He strode towards the doors and I stopped in my tracks, making him turn around with a questioning look on his face.

“Like…together?” I asked quietly. He shook his head.

“No, you can go first.” I nodded in appreciation and made my way to our bedroom. After my shower, I laid down until dinner time, taking dinner in our room so I didn’t have to move around too much. My body hurt and I was exhausted. Dinner filled me up, a pasta dish with garlic bread.

“You did great today.” Ashton said as we lay down. I grunted my thank you, my eyes shutting and falling asleep before I could have a conversation about today.