Then Trevor.
“No.”
Trevor laughed.
“Changed your mind?”
Rachel shook her head.
“I don't want one.”
Mason chuckled.
“Smart.”
Rachel pointed toward Trevor.
Then Mason.
Then Luke.
“I'll take all three.”
The room went silent.
Trevor's smile disappeared.
Luke raised one eyebrow.
Mason laughed.
“All three?”
Rachel nodded.
“One at a time.”
Trevor stared at her.
“You're serious?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Rachel looked at the timer on the wall.
“Twenty seconds each.”
Someone near the wall whispered, “No way.”
Trevor heard it.
His pride was already engaged.
“You think you can submit three black belts in one minute?”
Rachel shrugged.
“I think you are the ones who wanted the demonstration.”
That got a few nervous laughs.
Trevor turned toward Samuel.
By then, the academy owner had finally noticed.
He walked across the mat.
“What is happening?”
Trevor pointed at Rachel.
“She wants three rounds.”
Rachel corrected him.
“Technically, you wanted one.”
Trevor smiled.
“I upgraded the offer.”
Samuel looked at the three black belts.
Then he looked at Rachel.
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Rachel noticed.
Samuel had seen something.
Something the others hadn't.
“You sure?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“You don't have to prove anything.”
Rachel's eyes remained on him.
“I know.”
Trevor interrupted.
“Coach, we're just having some fun.”
Samuel looked directly at him.
“No ego.”
Trevor smiled.
“Of course.”
Rachel murmured, “That part might be harder.”
Several students laughed.
Mason looked offended.
Luke looked amused.
Trevor's jaw tightened.
Samuel knew that expression.
He had seen it before.
He had watched talented young men turn friendly sparring sessions into personal wars.
He had seen people get injured because somebody couldn't accept being caught.
So he pointed toward the center of the mat.
“Three separate rounds. Twenty seconds each. Tap ends the round immediately.”
Rachel nodded.
Trevor stepped forward.
“I'll go first.”
Of course he would.
He rolled his shoulders.
“You ready?”
Rachel raised her hands.
“Whenever.”
Trevor smirked.
“This won't take twenty seconds.”
Samuel started the timer.
Trevor moved.
Fast.
He reached for Rachel's upper body, expecting her to retreat.
She didn't.
She gave him exactly what he expected to feel.
Resistance.
Just enough.
Trevor committed his weight.
Rachel shifted.
Her movement was so small that several students didn't even notice it.
She turned her hips.
Redirected his pressure.
Dropped her weight.
Trevor's balance disappeared.
His right knee touched the mat.
Rachel's left arm slipped around his wrist.
Her other hand controlled his elbow.
Trevor tried to pull free.
Too late.
Rachel rotated.
Suddenly his arm was trapped against his body.
The movement had taken less than a second.
Trevor froze.
His eyes widened.
Rachel tightened the position.
Not violently.
Precisely.
Trevor tapped the mat.
Once.
Twice.
The timer stopped.
Nine seconds.
Silence.
Rachel released him immediately.
Trevor stood.
His face was red.
“What was that?”
Rachel looked at him.
“A tap.”
A teenager sitting near the wall covered his mouth.
Mason stared at Trevor.
Luke's expression had completely changed.
Trevor looked at Samuel.
“She caught me cold.”
Rachel nodded.
“Probably.”
Trevor looked at her.
That answer bothered him more than an insult would have.
Mason stepped forward.
“My turn.”
The room became silent again.
The second round was about to begin.
And nobody was laughing anymore.
The Wrestler
Mason Cole had spent his entire life learning how to put bigger problems on the ground.
He had wrestled in high school.
He had wrestled in college.
After graduation, he transitioned into Brazilian jiu-jitsu because he loved the combination of physical pressure and technical problem-solving.
He hated losing.
But more importantly, he hated losing because he believed he had been careless.
Mason did not intend to be careless with Rachel.
He studied her stance.
Her feet were shoulder-width apart.
Her knees slightly bent.
Her hands relaxed.
No tension.
No nervous bouncing.
No unnecessary movement.
Mason recognized that immediately.
She wasn't afraid.
That didn't necessarily mean she was good.
Some people were simply reckless.
But Rachel didn't look reckless.
She looked patient.
Mason crouched.
“Twenty seconds?”
Rachel nodded.
“Twenty.”
Mason glanced at Trevor.
“Anything I should know?”
Trevor didn't answer.
That silence told Mason enough.
The timer reset.
Samuel looked at both of them.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” Mason said.
Rachel nodded.
The timer started.
Mason shot forward.
He wasn't going to give her time to establish grips.
His hands wrapped around her waist.