The sun was about to set, casting soft shadows across the street.

Riley walked in a hurry, aware he was late, but he didn’t care. He wanted to watch how the teacher taught; he wasn’t there to participate.

In the near distance, he saw them.

Rowan was there, talking and laughing. It looked like the lesson hadn’t even started. And Rowan’s friend, the teacher, was standing backwards. Only the orange-gray sweatshirt caught the eye, as did the long black ponytail that peeked out from under the cap.

Riley quickened his pace. He was almost there, and since he knew he was late, he wanted to announce himself.

“Hey, girls!” Riley called out.

In the next moment, he started sweating. His throat went dry; his body froze. The figure spun, arm striking out fast. Before Riley could process what was happening, the end of a fighting stick was at his throat.

Those eyes. The person’s black eyes raked over him before locking onto his. Riley’s heart thundered in his chest. The teacher. It was him.

“Fuck, you’re not a girl,” Riley blurted, his voice breaking somewhere between a shout and a mumble.

Laughter erupted.

“Ha-ha! Hi Riley, whoa, Taj do not kill him! He is only five minutes late; he doesn’t deserve to die,” Rowan exclaimed, laughing even harder.

A second later, it was her who was sweating.

The teacher, Taj apparently his name, moved lightly and attacked her with the same fighting stick Riley had seen at his throat earlier. Instantly, Rowan hit the ground with a loud bang.

“Oh, why, we didn’t start the practice yet!”

“No one announces their intent in a street fight,” Taj said calmly.

The voice, low and measured, sank deeply into Riley’s heart.

Rowan climbed to her feet, asking questions—what would be next, what about this, what about that?

Riley barely registered her words. He remained rooted in the same place, unable to move. He was watching the teacher, somehow struck by something… but by what, Riley didn’t truly understand.

Taj showed no signs of having overpowered two people moments earlier. His body was smooth yet strong and tough. It was evident that he trained. Was he Crystaler? Riley was unsure; he was not good with these matters.

As the teacher explained techniques to Rowan, Riley’s attention drifted. He caught only some fragments—dirty moves, targets, improvised weapons, eyes, mouth. Something that was riskier, but depending on this or that, the words slid past him, their meaning blurred. Riley listened to the melody of them.

Then they talked more about tools. Teacher Taj spoke of using anything as a weapon—a hard water bottle to strike or splash, a chair, a lamp, even a broom.

“You could use your womanhood to your advantage,” he said. “Not to shield yourself, as you’ve done in the past, but to distract. Tease.”

Taj’s tone was clinical, though there was something else beneath it; Riley could feel it.

Rowan sounded curious, so Taj added that he could demonstrate the technique, but needed someone for it.

“Oh, we have Riley. He can be our mannequin!” Rowan exclaimed. “Right, Riley? You wanted to see methods, didn’t you?” she asked, laughing.

“Yyy, sure, why the fucking not?” Riley answered, not sure what to expect, but teacher Taj had already started.

He caught Riley’s eyes—and from that moment on, Riley couldn’t take his eyes off that face.

Beautiful, slightly feminine, but fuck, no! Masculine, dangerous. Those eyes—like they were making a promise.

Riley felt pinned. He could only watch how Taj began to move slowly, calmly, walking toward him as if impressed by his, Riley’s beauty, or something—that was how he felt.

The intensity of it made Riley’s throat tighten.

“You must hide your killing intent, bury your purpose, but try to seduce,” Taj murmured to Rowan, though his eyes never left Riley.

Riley swallowed hard. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think. Taj was a step away from him, stretched out his hand, and smoothly took the missing half-step. Then another half-step, and his face was very close, his black eyes piercing to the bottom of Riley’s soul.

Then, Taj touched Riley’s face with his hand.

The touch was so soft, but also hot—very hot—it was burning Riley’s skin.

“At this point you can say… what a beautiful body you have,” Taj continued, his voice dropping to a near whisper, and Riley started sweating for the second time in fifteen minutes or so.

“And then,” Taj leaned closer, his lips hovering near Riley’s ear. “Then you make this gesture. A man will know what it means.”

Taj slowly began to slide down to his knees in front of Riley; the motion was agonizingly slow.

Riley’s knees buckled, as he knew exactly what it meant. A wave of heat surged through him; it was overwhelming. He stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Whoa, Taj, did you hit him?” Rowan laughed nervously.

“O, no need,” Taj replied, his voice calm and neutral already. He turned back to Rowan and added. “As you can see, it worked well.”

Riley sat where he had fallen. Confused, but also astonished.

No one had ever dared to treat him like that before. What the fuck was that? He felt that touch. He never thought a man could touch him like this and still live.

What was worse, Riley wanted more. 

He wanted teacher Taj to teach him more.

// LOG: [PAST] 48 ACD-2-14 THE CITY

Up next?

More Riley. More spiraling. More obsession.

💖Not all his chapters (from the book) will be shared—only a few. But buckle up.

Because Riley… is a ride. 🔥 ⛓️