Undisputed

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  “Metal music. No light and fluffy bullshit.”

  “Not a Belieber, huh?” I wasn’t sure where that remark came from and wished I could take it back the moment it slipped out.

  Macio shut off the recorder forcefully. “Believer of what?” he asked in confusion.

  “Belieber,” I repeated, putting an emphasis on the second b. “It means a Justin Bieber fan.”

  Macio looked at Rupert for help and only received a shrug, then he turned back to face me. “Who the fuck is that?”

  I was shocked he didn’t know who Justin Bieber was. He must live at the damn gym. “He’s a hip hop singer. The exact opposite of a metal band,” I explained. “It was a joke; a very poor one.”

  He turned the recorder back on. “Next question.” His voice had gone from irritated to downright disgusted in a flash.

  “What are your plans after you retire from fighting?” I asked.

  “Ask me that when I announce I’m retiring.” He looked at Rupert once more and asked, “You approved these questions?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with them,” Rupert replied.

  “I’m twenty-fucking-four years old. Retirement isn’t even a blip on my radar yet.” Macio turned back to me. “Next.”

  “What are your hobbies?”

  “I don’t have hobbies. Fighting is my life,” he said tersely.

  “And when you’re not fighting?” I prodded.

  “Training.”

  “Okay.” I could see that line of questioning wasn’t going anywhere at all. “Are you in a relationship with anyone?” That question wasn’t on the approved list and I expected Rupert to call me out, but he didn’t. It was met with a death glare from Macio, however, so I wisely decided to move on and steer clear of that topic. “Batman or Superman?” A smile spread slowly across his face and I nearly jumped up out of the chair to do a victory dance.

  “Superman,” he said incredulously. “Batman doesn’t have any super powers beyond a super large balance in his checkbook.” He looked at me suspiciously and asked, “Are you one of those bat freaks?”

  “I’m a journalist,” I said, as if that explained everything. “Team Superman all the way.”

  Our eyes held, and for once, I caught a glimpse of the real man behind the façade, but it was gone so fast, I thought I had imagined it. I was about to ask another question, but Barry appeared in the doorway with an expression that meant business.

  “Playtime is over, kid.”

  “This has been more like torture than playtime,” Macio told his coach.

  I tried not to take his comment personally as I shut off the recorder and began putting my stuff back in my messenger bag. I knew coming in that he hated interviews, so what the hell had I expected? It felt like I was pulling teeth when I tried to get answers out of him, so it probably had felt like a bad trip to the dentist to him.

  Rupert came over and slapped me on my back as I rose to my feet. “Don’t take Macio personally, Aiden.”

  I felt Macio’s eyes on me and looked down at him. “No offense taken.”

  “I’ve been a fan of your work for a long time,” Rupert said, pulling my attention back to him. “I thought your coming out article was brave and well-written.”

  “Thank you, Rupert.” I didn’t know the man, but for some reason, his kind words meant a lot to me.

  Macio stood up from his chair. “You’re gay?”

  I couldn’t tell if his tone was one of disgust or surprise, nor could I decipher his thoughts when our eyes met again. I found myself standing taller in his presence, even though I had no reason to cower. I loved who I was and the journey I took to get to the point where I could say that about myself. “I am.” I held his gaze, daring him to say something homophobic or cruel. Animacio De Niro could totally kick my ass, but I’d be damned if I backed down to anyone ever again.

  As if he had just realized that all eyes were on him, he extended his right hand across the desk to me. “It was nice meeting you, Aiden.”

  I accepted his offer and hoped like hell he didn’t see the tremor that rippled through my body when his skin touched mine. “It’s Mr. James,” I corrected. “You haven’t earned the right or respect to use my first name.”

  The shocked look on his face put a little extra sway in my hips as I walked my happy ass out of there. I had been told on many occasions that I loved to have the last word, and it was mostly true. I hoped like hell they weren’t the last words I ever spoke to Macio.

  That little sexy motherfucker walked his ass out of Barry’s office like he owned the place. The fact that he’d tossed my own words back in my face wasn’t lost on me. Hell, in fact, I respected him for it. I was used to a lot of guys talking shit at me, none have been able to back it up since the sixth grade. But there was something about Aiden—I mean, Mr. James, which sparked my interest in more than just his comebacks. I mean, I thought he was just some stuffy ass, dorky fucking reporter who wanted to pry into my life. But his questions didn’t come off as too prying, except the one question he asked that I never answered.

  “Are you dating anyone?” Why did that always seem to matter to people? Shit, I was twenty-four fucking years old. I wasn’t looking to be tied down to one person anyway. I was in the prime of my career and I had lots of oats to sow. Still, I was having a hard time focusing on the interview because I couldn’t take my eyes off his mouth and his perfect teeth. I wanted to see those sexy, plump lips of his sucking down the length of my shaft, and then I wanted those white teeth of his to give me a little nibble on my head. My cock was hard during the entire interview and I was actually thanking god for the cup I was wearing. It kept my little contender in his place.

  But what damn near floored me was the fact that he was gay. I would have pegged him as some preppy straight dude, one of those metrosexuals who probably prided himself on being smarter than jocks. Well, it looked like he was some preppy gay dude that, while smart, I could tell—didn’t seem to lord it over me. I took that into consideration. Out of all of the reporters I’ve had the misfortunate of meeting… he wasn’t so bad.

  “Stop day dreaming and get your ass in gear. You’re sparring with Mike,” Barry said.

  “Sure,” I replied as I adjusted the strap on my gloves, tightening it.

  “See, I told you it was going to be painless,” Rupert said, coming up behind me as we exited the office.

  “You approved the question about who I’m dating? You know I hate that one,” I questioned.

  He shook his head, holding up his arms. “That one, he snuck in there.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, and what happened to you stopping the interview if that happened? I was kind of pissed about that, Rupert. You were supposed to have my back.”

  “Jesus Christ, kid, it’s a harmless question. Don’t be so uptight. I’m your publicist, my job is to make you more marketable. I mean, look at you,” he stood back and gestured towards my body, “You’re a vision of male masculinity. Men want to be you and women want to be fucked by you. Knowing if you’re available or not plays into their fantasy. That makes you more popular. You’re young, yes, but tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.” He grabbed the back of my head. “Learn how to seize the day. Jump on the opportunities that come your way or risk regretting it. I’m only looking out for you, buddy.”

  Ah, shit… maybe he was right about that, too. My level of expertise was in the ring. All I wanted to focus on was winning my next fight. I knew very little about the promotional part of the business. “Okay, Rupert. What should I say if I’m asked that question again?”

  “Be honest. Tell them you’re single and enjoying life,” he suggested. “That satisfies everyone’s curiosity and leaves you open for the women to fantasize about being your girl one day.”

  I scoffed. “Yeah, like that’s going to ever happen.”

  He smirked. “They don’t need to know that. You’re your own brand, my boy. And now is the perfect time to expand on that.”

  “If y
ou two are done talking business over there, I need to get my buddy in the ring,” Barry called from across the gym. He was leaning against the ring and Mike was inside, flexing and warming up for our sparring match.

  “Here I come,” I said as I jogged over there, sliding under the rope. “I hope you’re ready for this ass whooping I’m about to give you,” I taunted Mike.

  He laughed as he slipped in his mouth guard. “Bring it,” he shot back with muffled words.

  We danced around each other for a few seconds, sizing each other up, and then I went in and delivered the blows. For me, it wasn’t just a sparring match, it was a real one and I had to win. Mike was one of the few trainers that seemed to really get me and he didn’t cry like a bitch the way Eddie and Luke did when I got too aggressive.

  Barry gave me pointers as I overtook Mike, landing knees and elbows to his pad-protected extremities. I was on fire and seemed to be burning with a lot of pent up energy I thought I would have extinguished last night with the escort. However, meeting Aiden had seemed to stoke the flames inside of me. I wanted to see him again… maybe we could do another interview. Or maybe—no way could I get involved with someone from the media. That just invited trouble.

  “Watch out!” Barry screamed right before Mike landed a blow to my jaw.

  Mike tried to follow that up, but I got back on my game, grabbing his arm when he went to jab and taking him down in a triangle armbar hold. He tapped out a second later and I let him go. Both of us rose and punched our hands together before giving each other a hug.

  “What in the fuck was that all about?” Barry asked. “You completely let your guard down. That’s not a mistake I’m expecting to see a champion make.”

  “It won’t happen again,” I apologized. No way was I going to admit that my mind had been on the luscious ass of Aiden James as he walked out of Barry’s office or how glorious he’d feel beneath me with my cock inside of him, bringing us both to the height of ecstasy.

  “It better not happen again,” Barry said. “Okay, round two.”

  Yeah, this was going to be a long day of training.

  My body was sore from the kick ass workout Barry had put me through, but sitting in the private sauna in my hotel room gym was relaxing my muscles. I unwrapped my towel, exposing my nakedness to the steam. I thought back to the interview, or more importantly, the interviewer. Shit, why couldn’t I get this guy off my mind? It wasn’t like he was the first hot guy I’d ever seen. He wasn’t even the only guy who I had let get the last word in on me. Of course, with those other guys, I’d let them talk themselves into a hole I would bury them in come fight night.

  I couldn’t put my finger on why I couldn’t get Aiden out of my head. Shit, he wasn’t even the first guy I wanted to fuck that was out of my range… Was he out of my range, though? God his mouth was something I was going to see in my dreams. I wanted to kiss him so badly during that interview just to see if his lips were as sweet as they looked. My hand slid down my stomach, sliding over my sweat-slicked abs until my fingers wrapped around my nine inches of solid steel. I started stroking my cock as I imagined my hand being Aiden’s mouth.

  “Ahhhhh,” I moaned as my fingers grazed my Prince Albert piercing. I played with my pierced nipple as I worked myself into a nice little sexual frenzy. Ooooh shit, it felt fantastic. The only thing that would make me feel better was actually being inside Aiden. That little bastard somehow put his claws in me and I didn’t know how, or if I even wanted, to take them out.

  “Ahhh fuck!” I panted. I was so close. My hips pumped up in time with my hand as my fist beat my shaft hard and fast. My cock grew stiffer and fatter in my hand and my toes curled as the tingling in my balls intensified. “Ahhhhh! Shit!” I belted out as my cum squirted from my slit, landing on the floor. I quaked as I continued to milk my dick until the last drop, then I fell back exhausted, my hands dropping to my sides.

  “Jesus,” I huffed as I regained some of my strength. I hoped doing that would help me get him out of my mind. If that didn’t work, I didn’t know what would. I stood up and used the towel to clean my hand off, then I tossed it on the floor, wiping up my cum. Of course, I left the towel on the floor and walked out of the sauna and into my hotel room. The coolness of my room was heaven on my heated flesh and I threw myself on the bed, relishing it. I wasn’t sleepy, so I turned on the television. Commercials. I fucking hated commercials. I flipped through the channels and stopped when I saw Aiden’s face.

  Ah shit, I didn’t need this, but I couldn’t turn the damn channel. I turned the volume up to hear what he was talking about. He was being interviewed by David Horner on a recorded episode of the Sport’s Today talk show about coming out in such a big and controversial way.

  “My intention was not to create controversy, but to set myself free. Maybe my story could inspire others in this business to be who they are,” Aiden said.

  “So, you think athletes are afraid to come out if they’re gay?” David Horner asked.

  Aiden seemed to think about it and then he nodded. “I do. The field of sports in general is such a testosterone-laden business where it’s believed that only the strongest and manliest of them all is considered a real athlete. It’s a very homophobic business, unfortunately.”

  “What do you say about critics who claim that it’s easier for a sports reporter to come out than an athlete, therefore your revelation wasn’t much of a risk?”

  “Every coming out story has its own level of risk, David. It’s never easy to expose yourself to the world and say, ‘hey, this is me.’ Many have been rejected, left homeless, lost jobs. Those critics have no idea the strength it takes to be true to oneself,” Aiden said.

  I watched him take on a different kind of challenge and he was knocking out his opponent the way I taken out mine in the ring. Only he was fighting a battle I… I couldn’t. I had to stay in the shadows with only a few hours of comfort from men who were paid to spend some time with me. My life, though successful, was empty. I envied Aiden for his courage and his freedom to be brave. The more I watched him on television, the more I wanted to see him again. When we touched hands for that brief moment, it was as if I had felt some kind of connection to him, but I ignored it at the time. I’d had other things on my mind during that exchange.

  The more we talked, the more relaxed I became around him. I liked that Superman was his favorite hero too. Maybe that was why I had used his first name when we shook hands goodbye. Truth be told, I was a little upset when Barry ended the interview. I kind of wanted to talk to him some more, but I guess that was Barry’s way of saving me from the damn thing. I turned the channel, because looking at Aiden made me desire him more and I hated wanting things I couldn’t have.

  I found an action flick on one of the premium channels free of commercials and watched that. This was my last night in the hotel. The week before one of my fights, I liked to take myself out of the comfort of my home and spend it someplace unfamiliar. It meant I couldn’t get too relaxed even when I stayed in the lap of luxury. It helped me keep my game tight and my mind focused. I liked the Baldwin Hotel for its privacy and the fact that it was only two miles from Barry’s gym and four blocks from the arena. But if I wanted to stay wealthy, I wasn’t going to spend another night there. My bags were already packed, with the exception of my jogging outfit I was going to wear tomorrow.

  As I laid there enjoying the movie, my cell started ringing. With a quick check of the caller ID, I saw that it was my brother. I answered. “Hey, Bro.”

  “What’s up? I caught your match on Pay-Per-View… couldn’t you have dragged it out at least two more rounds so I could at least feel like I was getting my money’s worth?” he asked with a chuckle.

  I smiled. “Maybe if he hadn’t talked so much shit leading up to our fight, I might have taken it a little easier on him.”

  My brother, Rico, snorted. “No, you wouldn’t have.”

  “You’re right, I wouldn’t have.”

  We both laughed at th
at.

  “So, I bet you’re feeling awfully good today, defending champ,” Rico said.

  I sighed. “Yeah, the Light Heavyweight belt is still around my waist, so I’m feeling great. If you know Barry, then you know there’s no rest for the wicked. Barry worked me to the bone in the gym today… but I enjoyed the training. Felt like I accomplished a lot. How’s the wife and kids?”

  “Getting on my damn nerves. You want them?”

  “Hell no.”

  He laughed. “Speaking of, when are you going to get a pair of your own?”

  “Never. I see how unhappy you are. Why would I ever want to bring that kind of misery and despair onto myself?” I joked.

  I loved my sister-in-law, Macy, and niece and nephew, Melanie and Alex. Of course, like the rest of the world, he had no idea I was gay. I didn’t have the kind of family that accepted that “kind of shit,” as my father, Ignacio, called it. Even when I had crushes on other kids growing up, I never felt comfortable telling them about my feelings. I remembered being confused and too afraid to seek help. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I met another kid who was just like me. He was my first, and my heart broke when his family moved away. But being with him let me know I wasn’t going crazy. And that my desires weren’t my own, but shared by other males. That was the first time I didn’t feel alone. I cherished those times.

  My brother finished laughing at my joke. “Fuck you, Macio,” he retorted.

  “You never answered my question.”

  “They’re good, but they miss their Uncle Macio. When do you plan on coming out here to L.A. to visit us?” he asked.

  “I’ll try to make some time soon. I’ll let you know.”

  “Cool. Listen, I’m going to let you go. I’m proud of you, little bro.”

  I smiled. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”

  We didn’t do any mushy shit like saying “I love you” because it was implied. I wasn’t sure if my brother would still be proud to call me his brother if he knew that I was gay, in spite of the love we had. Sometimes love didn’t conquer all… or maybe that kind of love came with too many conditions. Regardless, I never felt comfortable telling him the truth. Again, as I turned off the television to get some sleep, my thoughts drifted back to Aiden. God, why couldn’t I get his very sexy and bitable ass out of my mind?