She stands up, squares her shoulders and raises her gloves. In front of Ayesha was her trainer Tariq, who was same age as her. This was the second time Tariq had asked Ayesha to attack him. First was when she had come to her dorm room looking for a teacher, six months back. The time when he had dodged each and every single one of her amateur strikes, flawlessly, at the absolute brink. This time, however, she didn’t plan to repeat the same pattern. She brought her fists directly in front of her face, aimed at Tariq and released a quick jab. It was swift but not enough for the learner to surpass the master. And just like that an extremely fast session of punches began. Tariq’s legs were glued to the floor but his upper body was briskly dancing, moving left to right and ducking occasionally. Ayesha jumped back catching her breath. Her posture was still intact, dancing back and forth slightly. Her brow glistened with a sheen of sweat. A slim hipped beauty with jet black hair which were tied in a tight bun. She heaved a sigh and moved a step ahead and released few quick jabs. Tariq’s head moved from left to right dodging, the last punch with a wobble. Ayesha saw the opening and instantly landed two blows on his face, ducked down and swiftly hooked his jaw. She took a step back waited for a reaction but only saw a slow clumsy Tariq swaying in the air, trying to protect his face. Another jab and a clean strike in the face and Tariq was down.Tariq was lying down on the floor; his head was rested on Ayesha’s lap. She was clotting his nose bleed with her right hand and stroking his hair with her left. Six months ago when she had seek Tariq’s help she had not only found a trainer but a very intimate friend. He was handsome, tall, somewhat athletic build. And eyes that could melt stone-cold hearts. She had taken an almost immediate fancy to him from day one.It didn’t take her time to realize that thinking about him made her feel very uneasy. A different sentiment that Ayesha had not yet experienced before. Often she found herself outside Tariq’s door, heart pounding so loud, she was afraid that he might actually hear. Her palms would get sweaty and she would start to feel light headed and in a sense, out of depth. She would get jitters every time she would hear Tariq talk. This was something no one’s presence had made Ayesha feel.Ayesha knew all this time, boxing wasn’t the only thing she had learned but she had also learned how to stay around Tariq suppressing all these feelings. And this had made concentrating on both the tasks extremely difficult. And now it was time for Ayesha to claim the prize she most dearly wanted. She bent down on Tariq’s face, their noses touching. Her hair was all over Tariq’s face. Before Tariq could react she softly landed a kiss on Tariq’s lips and whispered “I love you”. And then they both giggled as Ayesha’s fingers filled the gap between Tariq’s.
