304 Chapter 304: His Strong Stamina (1/2)

Nate and Ricky jumped nervously at the sudden sound of Ethan's voice. After being awake for as long as he had been, they had expected that he would be asleep for days. He had only slept for a couple of hours, though.

Lucas looked at them incredulously and said, ”How can this be? Go check on him. Maybe he is talking in his sleep…”

Nate and Ricky went in the direction of where Ethan had been sleeping, and when they opened the door, they found him sitting up on the couch. He was in the middle of a yawn when they walked in and saw them, he laughed. He looked at Nate and said, ”It looks like you were right. I feel so much better after having had that nap!”

”I am glad that you are feeling better,” Nate replied, ”but I think you need more sleep than that. If you don't take care of yourself, you are just going to collapse again, and the next time it could be a lot worse. You were very lucky that you had such a clean fall. What if you'd bashed your head on the corner of the desk? What if I hadn't been there to ensure that you were okay? I am afraid for your safety!”

Ethan looked Nate up and down. After this quick appraisal, he said, ”I appreciate your concern, but you are not my mother, and I am not your child. Any risk that I take is within my right to take. Furthermore, don't you know that I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I tried to sleep? Even awake, my imagination runs wild. I have envisioned every possible road that could have led to Kylie's present status, and none of them are pretty. Don't you see that, even now, I do not know if she is alive or dead – and you want me to relax and take a nap as if everything was hunky-dory? Fuck off!”

Nate looked Ethan in the eyes and said, ”Let's settle this the old fashioned way. We should fight. If you win, even in your weakened state, then you will have proven your strength and ability to carry on; and I will let the matter alone. However, if I should win, you must agree to go to sleep and stay asleep for at least twenty-four hours. You are bigger and stronger than me. If I can beat you, then you will have to admit how badly you actually need to rest.”

Nate offered Ethan his hand. ”Is it a deal?”

Ricky looked at Nate as if he'd gone insane, but he said nothing.

Ethan grinned as he shook Nate's hand. ”I like the way you think,” he said as he stood up. After rolling up his sleeves, he chugged a bottle of water and invited Nate to come at him.

Nate went into a rough boxer's stance with his right side leading the left. Once he was within striking distance, he shot his fist out in the direction of Ethan's face. He had hoped to break his nose right away. If he could accomplish that, he knew that his chances of winning would go way up. Stephen saw it coming through, and he blocked it easily, which threw Nate off balance and opened him up to a punch in the gut from Ethan.

After a few minutes, Nate recovered enough to find his boxer's stance once again. This time he decided that he would wait for Ethan to come to him. Seeing what he was up to, Ethan stepped into an Aikido stance. Once that was established, his front foot slid forward, his body did a complete 180, and he caught Nate off guard with his hind leg.

Nate fell backward, and he rose up against his hands in protest. ”No fair,” he cried. ”I didn't know that you knew Aikido.”