Against All Odds (Finnick Odair love story) (1)

Chapter 8

I feel my body jolt forward in time with a loud beeping sound. I find myself tangled in the silk sheets and start panicking. I try to breathe calmly but tears still fall. I finally untangle myself from the sheets and turn the blaring alarm off. I breathe in loudly not being able to get enough air into my lungs. I cover my face with my hands.
I realize I need to try to get up because Finnick would be coming to collect me and I would rather him not find me in this state.
I slide on black stretch material pants I think they call them tights. A sports bra with a dark green muscle shirt. I put on athletic shoes and put my hair in a high bun out of my face.
I hear a low knock on my door.
"Come in." I say softly.
Finnick peeks into the room dressed in all black. Loose shorts and a fitted T-shirt and athletic shoes like mine.
"Good morning." His face brightens.
"Morning." I yawn and blush brightly. I curse silently must my body work against me this early in the morning.
"You ready?"His handsome face smirking playfully.
"Yes Mr. Odair." I say sarcastically.
"You bratt." He says shoving me through the door playfully.
We walk through the apartment stopping in front of the elevator pressing the call button.
"Okay here we are. I'm going to be taking this elevator and you will be going down that hall and taking the stairs down five levels to the basement we will see whose faster." A funny look crossing his face.
"You are joking right?" I ask incredulously.
"Nope." He smirks shooing me away as he inters the elevator. I descend the stairs at an alarmingly quick pace. Almost stumbling several times. When I reach the basement he is standing at the door to the stairs leaning against the door frame.
"I'm impressed you are very fast." He tells me smiling as I gasp for air.
"Not fast enough." I tell him.
"Don't be too hard on yourself." He says making me roll my eyes at him.
We enter the training center I stare at awe at the massiveness of everything.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to be in here?" I ask softly.
"As long as there is someone to supervise you."
"That makes sense." I nod my breathing finally getting back to normal.
"What should we do first?" I ask him looking around.
"Hmmmm why not basic hand to hand combat." He offer bringing me to the mat.
"Okay get into a offensive position." He tells me I look at him confused he looks at me eyebrows raised.
"If you were going to attack me what stance would you take?" He asks.
"I wouldn't..." I say before thinking.
"I wouldn't be attacking you..."
I hold up one finger.
"One because I don't plan on attacking someone unless they attack me first."
"Two I would be stupid to attack someone so much larger than me instead of running."
"And three you are scary." I tell him.
He looks amused for a moment before turning serious.
"Let me try a different method." He says thinking for a moment.
"Hit me like you are angry." Finnick orders me. I look at him startled before putting my hand into a fist like my uncle taught me and slamming it against his stomach. Which hurt my hand because he has a very tight core but I can see by the way he smiles.
"You pack a good punch but I know you have more in you than that." He taunts making me frustrated.
He grabs two foam pads with straps to put his hands in.
"I'm going to try to hit you with these and I want you to dodge them and punch them when I say." He tells me.
So I follow his direction punching with each arm as he tells me to only a few times does he hit me with the pads most of the time I dodge them.
We do this for a while before we take a small break.
"You're very good for someone who has had no training." He tells me.
"I wasn't completely honest about that. My uncle felt bad for children who couldn't afford the academy and offered them basic skills like healing and hand to hand combat. When the peacekeepers found him training me they executed him publicly." I remember my uncle fondly he was always so sweet to me. He was like the dad I never got from my father.
"Well that's good he tried to help you and your sister." Finnick tells me kindly taken aback by the information I just gave him.
"He was a great man I think that's another reason my father hates me was because he needed someone to blame for his brother dying." I shug drinking some water.
"Your father is an idiot." He scoff helping me up.
"I think you're right." I agree trying to lighten the mood.
"Of course I'm always right I'm..." He starts.
"The Finnick Odair." I mock standing up.
"I'm getting predictable aren't I?" He asks chuckling standing up behind me.
"Just a little bit." I giggle quietly back at him.
"Let's go do obstacles and climbing on that net." He says
I soon find myself bouncing from platform to platform taking one last leap and barely catching the net. I start to climb the net but start to lose my balance and my footing slips now I'm hanging on by just my hands.
"You don't have to climb to the top you can fall there is a foam pit below you." He tells me sounding a bit concerned considering it's almost a 8 foot drop and I'm barely hanging on by my hands feeling the burning from my fingers i hiss softly before tightening by grip and swinging my body hard catching my footing and completing the course.
"You are literally the most stubborn girl I've ever met Are your hands okay?" He asks me lost for words shaking his head.
"They are fine." I tug my hands away just for him to grab them to see the mild rope burn.
"Tomorrow we will start on weapons but right now I'm going to be attacking you and trying to get the upper hand you need to either put me on my back or successfully get away from me." He tells me.
"Okay." I breathe out nervously.
He makes a grab for me catching my arm which isn't difficult considering his whole hand wraps around the biggest part of my arm. I try to fight him but I can't over power him. This is repeated over and over again I fail repeatedly but Finnick doesn't seem to be getting impatient or annoyed at my lack of progress. By the time we finish I'm drenched in sweat.
"Let's get upstairs and we will eat breakfast in your room before group training." He tells me helping me up.
"Do I have to take the stairs this time?" I ask my voice almost sounding dead.
He smirks mischievously.
"Okay let's make a little bet I will race you up the stairs if you beat me then I will take the stairs tomorrow and you can take the elevator. But if you lose down the stairs you go tomorrow." He says a playful look in his eyes.
"You know I can never turn down a challenge." I sigh my body exhausted.
We both take off up the stairs just for me to trip and him to win by a few seconds.
Is there something Finnick isn't good at?