I cried at his funeral.
It was the last time I had ever shed a tear.
Fighters don’t cry.
“Any idea what the purse is tonight? Mom’s really been wanting a new car, but the payments are just too much for her. I want to put money down so that she doesn’t have worry about it.”
Leo smiled at me. “It’s five grand. Same as always, 50-50 split between the gym and you. I think a nice $2500 down payment should do the trick.” He put his arm around me, “It’s a good thing that you’re doing for your mom. But remember to spend a little on yourself sometimes, okay?”
I looked at him blankly, “What do I have to spend it on?”
“If you don’t dodge his right hook, new teeth for one.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got this.”
He nodded at me. “I’m sure you do, kid. I’m sure you do.”
He walked away and I started bouncing on my feet, loosening up my muscles. He would come back for me in about an hour, but he always left me to my own thoughts right before a fight. He knew I needed the time to myself to get out of my own head and into my opponent’s. I would take this guy down, just like all the others.
FOUR
BERKLEY
“So what time are these guys picking us up?” I asked as I changed my shirt and looked for a set of boots to wear.
“Actually, we’re meeting them there. I figured we could catch a cab to head downtown. No reason for us to drive, and I doubt that we’d find parking anyway. We’re meeting them outside to grab our tickets, and then we’ll go in together.”
I gave Naomi a look. “Some date. First I don’t even know this guy’s last name, and now you’re telling me he’s not even coming to pick me up. You sure know how to pick ‘em.”
She sighed. “Hey, I pick them for their good looks, not their brains.”
“Touché.”
We called a cab and arrived at the fight only an hour later. Naomi immediately recognized her date and waved the guys over to us. She was right, Elliott was easy on the eyes. He was taller than both of us with darker skin, pale blue eyes, and black hair. His thick arms made me feel safe in an unknown place. Josh was on the leaner side, with light blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He had on a tight T-shirt and dark jeans, a little less preppy than I typically went for, but maybe that was exactly what I needed. He offered me my ticket but didn’t say much else besides introducing himself. I figured once he got a couple beers in him I would learn a lot more about what he was like.
As we made our way through the crowd, I felt like the walls were caving in. The place was packed, and it was hard to get to our seats. The guys grabbed us beers as we walked past something that resembled a concession stand, and we carried them as we made our way to our chairs. No one was sitting; everyone was out cheering and yelling for whatever fighters were currently in the ring. It was like a cage match. Chain-link fence coming up around the sides, I’d never seen anything like it except on television. The atmosphere was intoxicating, though. You could just feel the tension in the crowd waiting for the knockout. I watched as a guy with a bloodied eyebrow circled the man in front of him, lifting his knee up to kick him in the ribs. The guy dodged him, but just barely before landing a right hook on the first guy’s face. It didn’t take long after that for the guy who dodged the kick to have the other guy on the ground beating the shit out of him. I guessed it was over when the referee held up that guy’s hands. Some people yelled loudly, while others looked disappointed.
“I guess people bet on these things?” I said to Josh.
“Yep. I have money on the next guy coming up. Dillon Jackson, one of the best fighters in the state. Nobody can beat this guy. And hopefully I’ll make some money off of him tonight.”
“How do you know that he’s good to bet on? I mean it looks like these guys get hurt pretty easily.”
He took a swig out of his plastic cup. “Not Dillon. Guy had a shoulder injury a couple years ago. Wasn’t even supposed to be able to write, but somehow he managed to work through the pain and now is some big shot around here. People say he’s in the prime of his fighting career. He’s not going to get any better than he is now.”
I looked out into the cage and I saw two new fighters. They had announced them when Josh and I were talking. I wasn’t sure who they were, but by the look of intent on Josh’s face this was the fight that he was betting on.
“Which one is the fighter you were talking about? The one with the shoulder injury?”
He pointed to the guy on the right. An almost like the fighter had heard him he turned and looked in our direction. He was almost bald with a shaved head and piercing gray eyes. Half of his upper body was covered in tattoos, including some type of quote on his arm. His six pack was clearly defined and his arms were bigger than my head. He wasn’t an abnormally large guy, just built of pure muscle. When his eyes caught mine my heart stopped for a moment. There was something about him that was just so damn attractive that I couldn’t look away. I had gone from someone who had never been to a fight before, to a hard-core MMA luster.
Josh spoke again and pulled me out of my daydreaming. “The other guy’s Armando Garcia. He’s pretty good, probably will give Dillon run for his money. He breaks a lot of bones.”
I shook my head. “In his opponents?” Suddenly I was concerned for Dillon’s well-being.
“In anybody. He does underground fights too. It’s where gangs bet on each other’s best guys. Elliott and I stay the hell away from those places. If your bet is off, or if you don’t have the money, you could get yourself killed. We only go to legit fights. Those guys are way too intense. Not to mention, fighters get killed, regularly. I’m not into that kind of blood bath.”
I couldn’t imagine why some underground streetfighter was in a pro match. It didn’t make any sense to me, but I still didn’t know much. I watched with anxious tension as the fight began. I was hoping that Dillon would come out the victor. But it wasn’t because I wanted Josh to win his bet, but because I wanted to see Dillon succeed. Something about those eyes just drew me in, and I was hooked.
I watched Dillon duck a few punches before landing a blow to his opponent’s face. He bounced around on his heels, so quick on his feet he couldn’t be touched. The other guy wiped the blood from his lip and put his hands back up in fighting stance. He waited for Dillon to make another move. Dillon waited too, like a lion for his prey. When the other guy had enough he slowly advanced, only to be shut down when Dillon delivered a round house kick. The guy fell back, but was quickly back up on his feet. This back and forth went on for five minutes or more, but it felt like hours. Finally Dillon’s arm was in the air and the crowd was chanting his name. He had won. A final blow to the other guy’s face had landed him on the ground, and he wasn’t getting back up.
Dillon bounced around the cage a few more times. Forgetting I was on a date, I squeezed through the crowd to congratulate him. I just wanted to meet him, and maybe touch him. When I got to the front there was a throng of girls waiting for him. He signed a few autographs and wiped sweat from his head. He smiled at a few, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Finally he got to me.
“Great fight,” I said cheerfully.
He stopped and looked at me. “Thanks. What’s your name?”
“Berkley Cassidy,” I responded.
“Want me to sign something, Berkley?”
I shook my head. “No, I just wanted to meet you.”
A devilish smile played across his chiseled features. “I’m glad you did.” He took my hand and squeezed it. I watched his muscled back as he walked away. I had met some famous fighter, and all that I could think about was getting him into bed.
I turned around but I couldn’t get back to my seat. There were too many people around the cage. I strained my neck to see above the crowd. Suddenly I realized I couldn’t see Naomi or the guys. I was alone in a sea of people.
FIVE
DILLON
I sl
ung my bag over my shoulder and made my way out the back door. I didn’t like all the photo ops with the paparazzi waiting out front, so I tried my best to avoid them. When I emerged into the dim light of the streetlamp, I immediately dropped my bag. The girl I had seen earlier, Berkley I think it was, had her back against a wall with two thugs talking to her. She looked terrified.
My hands immediately curled into fists as I walked over to them. “Do we have a problem here?”
Both the guys turned around and looked at me. The one was taller than me, but the other was about my height. The one who is my height sauntered over to me like nothing was going on. “No of course not, man. She was just looking for a good time is all. We’re just about to show it to her.”
She tried to walk away but the taller guy grabbed her by her wrist. “I don’t want any trouble. I just was looking for my friends…”
I called to her, “Looking for your friends? I’m guessing you don’t know these guys then.”
“No!”
With that, the guy in front of me attempted a left hook. But I caught his punch in my hand. I squeezed and heard the crackle of his bones breaking in his hand as he screamed out in agony. I took his hand and pulled around it back and walked him over to the wall. His friend hadn’t decided what to do yet. I would make the choice easy for him. My right hand was still attached to his left behind his back when I took my left hand and pushed his skull into the brick. “If you touch her,” I said looking pointedly at his friend, “your friend’s hand? Well his head will feel a lot like that. Now I suggest you two assholes clear out of here. Before I end you.”
The big guy started to run, and as soon as I released the other jackass he followed him. I was glad; I didn’t really want to have to kill someone in an alley.
I walked back to the door and grabbed my bag before slowly walking over to Berkley. “You okay?”
She looked like she was checking her arms for scrapes and bruises. “I think so. What the hell did those guys want with me?”
I shrugged. “A piece of ass?”
She looked at me and took a deep breath. “Thanks for your help. I should really go find my friend. Somehow I left my phone with her and now I can’t find them.”
I didn’t want to let her walk away from me. I wanted her to stay, so I could keep her safe.
“You look pretty shaken up.” It was true, she had mascara running down her cheeks, and as much as she had tried to look brave both in front of them and me, almost getting assaulted would shake any girl up. No matter how strong she was. “There’s a really good pizza place across the street. How about we go in there and grab a slice? We can watch for your friends from the window. If they don’t show up soon, I’ll take you home.”
She looked at me, confused. “You would do that? I mean, you don’t even know me.”
“I don’t have to.” I paused, thinking about it for a minute. “But I’d like to.” I think it was those little-too-full lips that pulled me into her. Something that made me desperately want to get involved. I wasn’t the type of guy that liked to attach myself to things, but she was different. And I needed to know why.
A smile played on her lips before she nodded. “I’m paying. They might’ve grabbed my cell phone, but I still have my wristlet. And you just won a huge fight. So pizza and beer, to celebrate.”
I was never a guy who turned down a free meal. “After you.”
I followed her across the street, my eyes focused on her walk as her hips swiveled back-and-forth on her small frame. The girl had an ass on her, and I wasn’t denying that it turned me on even more.
She ordered a pepperoni pizza and brought two beers over the table where I sat. We were directly in front of the windows so she could see her friends if they passed by.
By the time the pizza had been delivered, I was worried her friends were never coming. “This is so not like her.”
“Who?”
“My best friend and roommate. We always take care of each other when we go out. It just doesn’t make sense that she would abandon me. I guess I’m going have to take a cab home. She must be really wasted.”
I took another bite of pizza. “Who is she with?”
She clutched the beer in the plastic cup between her small hands. I could tell she was nervous. “These two guys. She was trying to set me up on a date.” She took a swig, liquid confidence. “I haven’t been out in a while. My last boyfriend was kind of a douche.”
“Did he treat you badly?” I couldn’t imagine anyone treating Berkley any way besides perfect. A girl like her deserved to be treated well.
“He was great at the beginning. But this last year had been rough, and in the end he broke up with me in a voicemail. Four years down the drain, all for nothing.” She sighed heavily looking back out through the window into the night, I could tell she was lost in her own thoughts and I gave her a moment of space. I ate the rest of my pizza until she spoke again, “What about you? I saw a lot of girls throw themselves at you tonight, but it didn’t seem like you paid any attention to them. What’s that all about?”
“I’m focused on the fight, not the shit that goes with it. Girls always throw themselves at fighters, I guess there’s something in the dangerousness of it all. But they want the fighter. They’re not really interested in me.”
She studied me carefully, her blue eyes sparkling under the fluorescent light. “I know all about that. But tell me what is interesting about you? What should a girl know?”
I smiled mostly to myself. A girl should know how beautiful she is and how she shouldn’t waste her time with anyone who treated her less than a princess. A girl should also know how sexy she looked in those tight jeans and how much I wanted to get her out of them. But I couldn’t say that to her, no matter how much I wanted to. “There’s not much to know about me. I spend most of my days at the gym, my nights in the cage, and I don’t even have a dog.”
She laughed, “Why would you have a dog?”
“I don’t know. Big guy like me, it seems like I would have a soft spot for like a rescued pit bull or something. But I don’t have time for a dog. I don’t have time for anyone.” She flinched a little like the last part stung her, but it was the truth. It was the reason that I couldn’t tell her that I thought that she was beautiful. I didn’t have time to waste on a girl like her, not when every goal in my career was finally within my grasp. I was too focused on my job for love. Not that I loved this girl—I hardly knew her—but she seemed like the type that I could fall in love with, if I was able.
But love was out of the question, regardless of any feelings I would ever have.
“Now tell me something interesting about you.”
She shrugged, “I go to BU, and my dad was a governor. That’s about it.”
“You are a college girl?”
“Yeah, why?”
I laughed, “Let me guess, sorority?”
“How did you know?”
“Just a lucky guess. So do you have pillow fights in skimpy underwear?” I built the mental image in my mind. Berkley in sexy pink undies, her bouncing breasts as she messed around with her sisters.
“No!” She protested. “That’s not how it is. I have a roommate, Naomi, and that’s it. No underwear parties, sorry.”
“I can’t say I’m not disappointed.”
“Why’s that?” She countered seductively.
“I would have liked to see you like that.” I paused. “You’d probably be good with a pillow.”
“Rude.” She gave me a playful scowl.
Suddenly I heard a banging on the window next to me. A girl with brightly colored hair had her face smashed up against the glass and was pointing at Berkley. I looked across the table to see her smile and wave back.
“Those are my friends. I have to go, but it was nice meeting you, Dillon. Thanks for the company.”
I waved at her as she grabbed her wristlet and bolted out the door, hugging the girl that had just been pounding on the window. At least she was reunit
ed with her friend. I watched as they put their arms around each other and walked away out the night. She turned around and looked at me once, those blue eyes catching my gaze immediately. But then she turned away and I knew I would never see her again. I sat and ate the rest of the pizza alone. I was the last one in the shop when they announced it was closing time. I grabbed my belongings and walked out into the night. I had twenty five hundred dollars sitting in my pocket, a wad of cash that could get me mugged on the streets.
But I wasn’t worried.
Only one thing plagued my mind: I hoped that Berkley got home okay.
For some reason she was my only worry now.
SIX
BERKLEY
“I can’t believe you just walked off like that. How drunk were you?”
Naomi was grilling me for the third time since we got home from the fight. She asked me twenty questions at least before we went to bed last night and that had started up again as soon as we were eating breakfast the next morning. “I told you, I wasn’t drunk. I don’t know how I left my phone with you. I was congratulating that fighter and then all of a sudden I turned around and Josh was gone. And those two guys said that they knew where he went, he’d been talking to them earlier about a bet. I assumed they were telling the truth.” My naivety had surely gotten the best of me last night. There was something about all the chaos and the tension of the fight pumping through my system that put my guard down. Those guys could have beat me to a pulp or worse. I’d been so lucky that Dillon had found me when he did. I was completely indebted to him. Pizza and beer didn’t seem like it had been enough. But I didn’t have any way to get in touch with him to say thank you again. I had just left, like a complete idiot. I had an amazing conversation with the most attractive guy I had ever met in my life and yet I had nothing to show for it. Not even his goddamned phone number. I was a female failure.
“Girl, you are so damn lucky I can’t even tell you. I asked Josh and Elliott about those guys and apparently they were trying to shake them down for some bets that they never made. They were thugs.”
March Heat: A Firefighter Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 58