PUCKED BY FATE

Chapter 7 - Boundaries

Amalia Anderson

The alarm rang at four in the morning, and what was supposed to be the most exciting moment of my day had just turned into torture. Today was the first day I had training with Andrew Lieberman. God, give me strength. Uncle Teddy always prays, and he has done amazing things. I hope God hears me out, because I am close to getting ready to knock Andrew´s teeth out.

I know I am showing up with the wrong attitude, but I was being forced to train with the man who deeply hurt my fourteen-year-old self... And if you consider that I am nineteen, that was five years ago, not long, and the wound is still pestering. And even with all that, against the odds... I jumped up from bed, got ready, prepared my bag, and headed to the Igloo... the arena home of the Glaciers.

I entered the arena and headed towards the locker room. I dropped my bag with a sigh. I wish I could lace up and jump on the ice for a few laps. I was deep in thought when someone knocked on the locker room door... "Hey, are you there?" It was Andrew, damn it... did he had to break this small moment of peace?

"Coming," I said, reluctantly standing up and walking out of the locker room.

His piercing eyes greeted me, and dark hair tousled around him, as if he had just woken up and didn´t care to style it. Which, considering the hour, might be the case. His toned legs, arms crossed, and all those muscles flexed over his broad chest.

It was as if Michelangelo sculpted him to perfection; he deserves to be in a museum, not here.

"Shall we?" He moved away from the wall he was leaning on, and I nodded.

"We are going to the tables near the food stand," he said, and I raised my eyebrows. I was here to train and had no idea what he wanted.

We went to the tables, and he opened a chair for me. I looked at him with an eye roll while sitting on it, and he took the chair before me. "So, Amalia... first things first," he said calmly. Since we are working together, it is fair that we get to know each other. Trust is key while doing a physical training program," he said, and I scoffed.

"You told Natasha you already knew me, so what´s left to know?" I said, and he took a deep breath.

"I don´t understand why you are being so hostile?" he said, and I scoffed again.

After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, he sighed. "Alright then, since you don´t want to do this part of the day, let´s move to the gym." He stood up, ensuring his chair scraped the floor, filling the area with noise.

I nodded and followed him.

"Yesterday, while you were skating, Natasha told me several pointers. Every time you do a double or triple axel, your breathing gets laboured. That means you need to build stamina. The effort you put into your muscles is straining them, making you lose your breath," he said, and I bit my lower lip.

Natasha has observed something I need to improve. She sees the potential; that is the goal—to prove myself.

"So, if you have strong legs and a strong core, you will be able to jump higher with less effort. If you are in top physical condition, then your breathing patterns won´t get affected, and you will be able to have a smoother skating routine, " he said, and I nodded.

For the first time, I saw him differently than the asshole who hurt me, but as a man who was trying to help me reach my goal. "So, I have designed a routine for you," he said, and I nodded. Silenly observing how he was dedicated, and Oh! So f*****g handsome.

"Focus" he said, and the little admiration and appreciation I had for the asshole, vanished. And just because I am a brat, I rolled my eyes. "Now, you will work upper body and core three days a week, and leg work two." He said, and I nodded.

He patiently showed me each day and each routine. "I am going to be here to make sure you don´t hurt yourself doing this," he said, and I rolled my eyes. I would rather chew glass than have him hovering around every training day.

"Now let´s work on arm curls," he said, and prepared a bar with weights. He took it in his hands as if it weighed nothing, then he handed it to me, and I almost fell over. "Easy..." he wrapped his arm around my waist, and suddenly I looked at the mirror only to find his piercing green eyes.

I dropped the weight in front of me, ensuring I didn´t injure my feet, and took a step away. "Please don´t touch me," I said, and he squinted his eyebrows.

"I was trying to help you steady," he said, and I took a deep breath.

"You gave me a weight too heavy," I said, feeling my lips trembling. I was in shock, having him close was getting on my nerves, and at the same time, he was getting under my skin. This was not good...

"I didn´t know..." he said, "Also, I didn´t know you were scared of a man´s touch. I mean, you were pretty cozy with the man at the library..." he said, and I took a deep breath.

"I am not scared of a man´s touch, I don´t like strangers taking liberties," I said, and moved away, going for my bottle of water, to do something with myself.

"But you said I was no stranger..." he shrugged his shoulders, and I rolled my eyes.

"Such beautiful eyes, and such a nasty attitude," he chuckled, and I took a deep breath.

"Look, Andrew... I am here to train, not to flirt, not for you to touch me, not to sit on a table. Training.... that´s it... I have a goal and I am going to reach it..." I huffed, "Now, if we are done, I will leave. If we are not done, let´s keep working. Either way, we need to set boundaries." I said, and he nodded.

He walked towards the bar I had tossed and removed the weights. He set everything up and then passed the bar to me. "I understand you don´t want me near, but I need to point out when you are making a wrong move; otherwise, we risk an injury," he said in a dry and professional tone.

"Ok..." I mumbled, feeling stupid and childish. He was doing his work and trying to be friendly, but I overreacted like a fool.

The rest of the routine went in awkward silence and with few pointers on his end. "So, we are done..." he said, and I nodded.

"I´ll see you tomorrow, " I said, turning around. He trained at this hour and spent the entire time setting my routine. I guess he needs to do his routine now.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," he said, and I walked to the locker room, feeling my arms as if they were made of lead. Indeed, I am a bit out of shape, and now I can see why Natasha asked me to endure this training.

I walked out of the locker room and ran into a firm chest. "Hey..." he studied me, and after he was sure I was good, he dropped his hands as if touching me burned him.

"What is it, Andrew?" I said, and he took a deep breath.

"I think you should have my phone, and I should have yours, just in case there is a change of schedule," he said, and I took another deep breath. I didn´t want him to have my contact information, and I didn´t want any contact with him except strictly necessary during training. But his request was natural and reasonable; he was not asking me for my number to ask me out, but for training purposes.

I huffed again—this was a complete disaster. I extended my hand, and he handed me his phone. I typed my phone number and sent myself a message. "There..." I sighed, and he smirked.

"Alright, Amalia... see you around," he said, turning around. I chuckled, he was an asshole, but he was a hell fo a damn good trainer... I hope he keeps this s**t professional...

Og course, my luck, that hope was short-lived...