force of my blow.
Selena placed her left hand on my right shoulder and in one fluid motion, flipped me off her. Now I was the one being slammed to the floor, as she flipped me to her right and pressed her knee against my chest.
I went to hit her with my right hand, but she grabbed my wrist. I tried to hit with my left hand, and she did the same.
My legs, however, were still free.
I pulled them up and kneed her hard in the back. She fell forward, inches from my face. I head-butted her as hard as I could, and she went flying backwards through the counter of the convenience store.
I shot up from the floor and flew out into the open. I hovered above the parking lot, waiting for Selena to come flying out.
Right on cue, a few seconds later, Selena flew at me fast and hard, just like I’d predicted. I dodged her fist by a few inches, and she went soaring behind me. I reached out and grabbed her foot as she flew by. I redirected her momentum and slammed her to the ground.
I flew down to where she lay. She jumped up from the ground and charged at me. Now she was really angry.
She launched a punch at me, but I blocked it. She punched again, and I swooped my head out of the way. Her next punch came a little faster, as did the next. Both I dodged with ease. Our speed increased, and so did the power behind her punches. For one punch, however, her speed faltered. I parried that blow, and punched her in the gut during the opening she gave me.
This left my body open for attack, however. She grabbed my shoulders and brought my body in for a knee to the gut.
The air shot from my lungs like a bullet, and for a split second my head grew light. I shook the stars away as I breathed in a quick lungful air. From the corner of my eye I saw Selena’s fist coming in fast. I stood up straight, and her fist swooped through the air where I had been leaning over seconds earlier.
Her missed punch caused her to falter, and I launched a volley of attacks at her exposed side. Selena stumbled backwards, the perfect distance away for a solid kick.
And give her a solid kick I did. I slammed the bottom of my foot against her chest, and Selena went flying backwards, skidding across the ground before coming to a halt at the edge of the parking lot.
I ran to her side in a split second. She was lying on the ground, catching her breath. “You good?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“I think I won this one,” I said, reaching down to help her up. I made sure to brace myself for what I knew was coming.
Selena grabbed my hand and jerked down on it. I didn’t budge. “It was worth a shot,” she said with an eye roll. She let go of my hand and stood up on her own.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get something to eat.”
TABLE TALK
With my plate of macaroni and cheese and garlic bread and a bottle of water in hand, I walked over and sat down between Samantha and Doug. Selena sat across from us, next to Drew.
“How’d your fighting go?” Drew asked casually, as if we hadn’t fought earlier. This was typical, and one of the things I liked about Drew. When something was over, it was over. He wasn’t going to stay mad at me or hold anything over my head, even if maybe he should’ve.
“It was good,” I said with a smirk as I glanced at Selena. She wasn’t as happy as I was; she just rolled her eyes and scoffed.
“Kane thinks he beat me, when really I was just hungry and didn’t feel like fighting anyways,” she explained.
Everybody at the table saw through her bullshit, and we all let out a sarcastic, “Ohhh!”
“We did get outside our parking lot, though,” I said.
“I punched Kane through the front of a convenience store,” Selena said.
“Wow, the way you said that so nonchalantly…” Doug began. He couldn’t even finish his sentence.
“Okay, Doug, bring the creep meter down a bit,” I said with a laugh. I took a bite of my food, the cheesiness comforting me to my core.
“No—I’m not—I’m just