Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate (Adelaide) novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Briar

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That night, Carter pulled Uncle Jake’s weight bench to the open part of the garage. He made

me do squats with just the bar. He came behind me, correcting my grip and feet position

before he ran his hands along my sides, until he got to my hips, his mouth was near my ear.

“Keep your knees over your toes, don’t put the strain on your back. You want to engage your

core instead.” His hands shifted to my midsection bare in the crop top tee. I suddenly became

flustered, and I blinked, trying to focus on what he was telling me. “When you squat, sit back,”

he said, gripping the back of my thighs. I closed my eyes and let out a breath. How did he

intend for me to focus when he was touching me? I shook my head slightly to clear it, then

nodded. He stepped back. “Inhale before you drop and exhale on the way up.” I tried it.

“Elbows in,” he corrected. I went again. “Good, do twenty, then we will move to the bench. The

rest of the evening was the same, instruction on form with each lift, then he brought out a

pair of hand pads. More instruction on the proper way to punch. How to hold hands correctly,

and what determines the force of the punch. He had me punching high, then low to the

center, then he slowly mixed it up. “Good,” he said, when I was out of breath. He had

increased the speed as I caught on and changed up the sequence several times. Then came

kicking.

“Women are better with their legs, your center of gravity and distribution of weight are your

ally,” he informed, before making me take my shoes off, and it was more of the same. Don’t

kick with your toes, hit with the ball of your foot, or the heel. There was so much to

remember. When he left, I sat on the couch with a notebook and wrote things down, trying to

burn them into my memory in my own words. I hated training already, but I refused to fail.

After a quick shower and a snack, because, of course, Carter was right, I was hungry. I went to

bed early because I knew Carter would be at my front door before dawn.

This became the ritual over the next few weeks, as long as Carter kept showing up for me, I

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Chapter 88

would keep pushing my boundaries to stay on task. Saturday morning of the second week, I

surprised him. Jogging up as he stepped out of his front door.

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“What are you waiting for, Coach?” he shook his head and grinned, and off we went. I

struggled, but I made it back to my place, panting as I leaned against the front door, and

unlocked it. We had sprinted the last few yards from the pond to the house. I was grinning ear

to ear. I hadn’t been so proud of myself in my life, even finishing school didn’t seem to

compare. I pushed open the door, and Carter swiftly had me pressed against it, his head bent

to mine as he spoke, huskily.

“I love how you’re always coming up with ways to surprise me.” Joy bloomed in my chest, his

hands cupping my cheeks, my arms wrapped around his neck of their own accord. His mouth

was so close to mine and the way he looked at me stirred something else familiar, yet alien,

inside me. The urge to kiss him hit me and I went with it, tangling my fingers into his hair

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