“Oh my God! I can’t believe we’re gonna be on TV!” Jimmy exclaims. This is probably the most excited I’ve ever seen him… ever.
“It’s the Eleven O’clock News, man. You’re acting like we’re gonna be on the Nightly News with Brian Williams,” I laugh, and look over my shoulder at him.
“Whatever, dude. It’s still the fucking news,” he reiterates. “Christ, this place is huge,” he’s looking around in awe.
Turning around, I look too. “I know…”
Out of nowhere, I feel the crash of someone’s body into mine, then I watch in slow-mo as she falls to the ground. “Oh Jesus, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I apologize, immediately holding my hand out to help her up. That’s when I realize who she is… Salem.
“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?!” she snaps at me as she stands up.
“Well, well, well,” I mock, “look who it is, Jimmy. It’s doll face.”
“Ugh… you’re such a Neanderthal.”
“A Neanderthal?” Jimmy laughs.
“Yeah, you know, a cave man,” she throws at him.
“I know what a Neanderthal is,” he shoots back.
“What were you doing in the men’s locker room anyways? Hold on… don’t tell me… you were waiting for me?” I joke as I take a step closer to her.
“In your dreams,” she rants as she pushes her way by me.
“Doll, I could make that dream a reality,” I give her a wink, “all you gotta do is name the time and place, and I’ll be there.”
“That will never happen. Take my word on it.”
“Never say never, doll.”
“Ugh!” she screeches as she marches out of sight.
“Man, you really get under her skin, don’t you?”
“I sure do. Someday,” I grin from ear to ear, “I’ll have that hot piece of ass.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Saint. She doesn’t seem to like you very much.”
“I don’t wanna date her. I just wanna fuck her.”
Jimmy shakes his head in disapproval. “You know what you need?”
“No, I don’t. But the way this conversation is going, I have a feeling you’re gonna tell me.”
“You need a girl like Steph.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t need anyone. I do just fine on my own.”
“How do you know if you’ve never tried?”
“Tried what… to love only one person? Where’s the fun in that?”
“It’s not all about having fun, Saint. It’s about giving your heart to someone, letting them in,” the guy has gone completely soft on me. If he was a cartoon, there’d be a bubble over his head with an image of Steph in it.
“Give my heart to someone, so it can get broken into a thousand pieces? Nah man, I’m good.”
“It’ll happen. Out of nowhere, she’ll walk into your life. Just wait and see,” he forewarns.
“Don’t count on it, Jimmy. Love, marriage, and family aren’t in the cards for a guy like me.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. I see how you are with the kids at the gym. You’re great with them, they love and respect you.”
“It’s my job.”
“Nah, it’s more than that.”
I roll my eyes. “Come on Casanova, let’s go give them the show they’ve been waiting for.”
“Alright, alright!” Jimmy knocks his gloves together.
We walk out and through the gym. This time around, people part the way for us and I feel a few pats on my back.
Laura and her cameraman are waiting for us at the ring. She’s giving us a warm and welcoming smile. “You guys ready for your television debut?”
“Hell yeah!” Jimmy affirms.
“Let’s do this,” I say calmly and smile back at her.
I spot Blaine and Salem in the crowd behind Laura, so I smile and wink. Blaine acknowledges my gesture, but Salem just scowls at me. She nuzzles closer into Blaine and runs her hand over his chest. Then she stretches up to kiss him on the cheek, all the while glancing over at me smugly. Is she intentionally trying to make me jealous?
“You good with that?” I hear Laura say.
“I’m sorry, what?” I give her a puzzled look.
Giving me a strange look back, she repeats, “I’m going to ask you and Jimmy a series of questions. Once we’re done, you guys can head into the ring.”
“Okay,” I agree.
Laura squeezes herself in-between Jimmy and me.
Her cameraman begins to count down, “In five… four… three…”
Silently, his fingers motion the numbers two and then one.
“Good evening everyone, I’m here at TKO boxing gym for their grand opening celebration. Tonight, I have two very special guests with me, Mr. Gabriel ‘The Saint’ Vega and Mr. Jimmy ‘The Jackhammer’ Santoro. How are you guys doing today?”
“We’re doing very well,” Jimmy chimes in.
I stand by quietly and let him say a few words.
“So, can you tell our audience how you got into boxing?” Laura directs this question at me.
“Well…” I hesitate.
“We’re both involved with a program for ‘at risk’ youth,” Jimmy answers for me. “The program keeps kids off the streets and teaches them to box.”
“Really?” Laura sounds surprised.
“Yes. Our trainer, Frankie, is the owner and operator of both the gym and the program. He’s right over there,” he points to Frankie, who’s standing next to Blaine in the crowd.
“Wow! He must be a pretty remarkable man to train two rough and tough fighters such as yourselves.”
“I’d say so,” Jimmy smiles.
Laura turns her attention back towards me, “So Saint, how long have you been boxing?”
“About ten years now.”
“Wow! Ten years? That’s a long time.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been with Frankie since I was a kid.”
“I’ve been told that you’re going to be in a pretty big match next weekend. Can you tell us about it?”
“I’m fighting Gavin ‘The Gladiator’ Sullivan next Saturday. It’s a pretty big fight for both of us.”
“I’m also told that you’re favored to win,” Laura beams at me.
“I wouldn’t say that. Honestly, it could be anyone’s fight. Gladiator is an amazing fighter and I’m honored to be getting into the ring with him.”
“So, is this your first pro fight?” Laura asks.
“No, I’m not pro. I still fight amateur. I’m hoping to turn pro in the very near future though.”
“Well, I wish you good luck.”
“Thank you, Laura,” I reply kindly.
“So, what can we expect to see here today?” Laura re-directs to Jimmy.
“A good ole’ ass whoopin’!” he spouts.
Laura’s eyes open wide at the comment.
“Oh, shoot! I’m sorry,” he covers his mouth in embarrassment.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Frankie shaking his head in disapproval.
“It’s okay, Jimmy, we’ll edit it out,” Laura nudges his shoulder.
“Oh phew, I thought I blew the entire interview for us,” he’s laughing nervously.
Looking over at Jimmy, I advise, “I got this one.”
“Laura, what you’re gonna see today is a typical sparring session. Jimmy and I have been sparring together for years, so we pretty much know what the other one is going to do before he does it.”
“Thank you, Saint. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing you two in action.”
Laura motions to her cameraman. He acknowledges her, then begins setting his camera up on the tripod for the fight.
“Okay, it’s showtime!” Laura sings out with a huge smile.
Looking into the crowd, I catch Salem staring at me.
“You wanna be the ring girl, Salem?” I yell loud enough for her to hear.
She rolls her eyes at me and mouths, “Neanderthal.”
I throw my head back laughing as Frankie and I follow Jimmy into the ring.
“It feels strange actually using steps to get into the ring, doesn’t it Frankie?” Jimmy jokes.
He and I take separate corners, like we’ve done a million times before, and Frankie walks over to Jimmy. He speaks to him softly so I can’t hear what’s being said. I keep my eyes on Jimmy’s facial expressions, trying to figure out what Frankie’s telling him. Jimmy glares back at me, nodding his head at Frankie’s words.
I turn my head and see Blaine making his way up the steps and into the ring. He gracefully maneuvers through the ropes, then walks to the middle of the ring, where he stands smiling proudly. He scans the crowd of people filling the gym and his eyes stop tracking when they land on a hot blonde that’s standing at the very back of the gym, near the windows. I see her wave and blow him a kiss. He smiles back at her then quickly looks for Salem, who’s standing in the front row. That fucking bastard; he has a hot piece of ass like Salem, and he’s dipping his stick into that bimbo!
I catch myself scowling at Blaine as Frankie walks over. “Kid, what the hell you lookin’ at?”
“Him,” I jerk my chin in Blaine’s direction.
“What ‘bout him?”
“He’s got that sweet honey…” I stop mid-sentence, knowing what Frankie will say to my next statement.
“I told you to forget about her,” he barks.
“Nothing is gonna happen between us. She thinks I’m a Neanderthal.”
“That’s not far from the truth,” Frankie kids. “Alright! Enough of this shit. You and Jimmy gotta put on a good fight. I don’t want you to hold back on him. He’s gonna be gunning for you, so keep on him.”
“You got it,” I mumble as Frankie puts my mouth guard in.
Frankie joins Blaine in the middle of the ring. He shakes his hand, says a few words to him, and then leaves.
I hear Blaine clear his throat. “Can I have your attention please?” he says loudly, getting the attention of the crowd. I hear some people shushing those that are still talking. “First and foremost, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for joining us today. I’m blown away by the great response. My staff and I are looking forward to working with all of you in the very near future,” he pauses for a moment. “I would also like to thank Channel Five’s, Laura Simpson, and her crew, for coming and spotlighting our event.”
Laura bows her head, “Thank you for inviting us.”
“I’d also like to thank the two great fighters that are standing in the ring with me right now. Gentlemen, would you please join me?” he motions for us to stand next to him. “I’m proud to introduce Jimmy ‘The Jackhammer’ Santoro,” he proclaims, as he takes Jimmy’s arm and raises it in the air. The crowd cheers for Jimmy.
“Jackhammer!” someone in the crowd yells.
Jimmy starts dancing around the ring, shadow boxing. “You’re going down, Saint,” he roars right in my face.
He’s playing his part well, but I know he’s only egging me on for the crowd.
“Keep dreamin’,” I growl and give him a shove. He stumbles backwards a few paces, recovers, then charges at me.
“Whoa… whoa! Gentlemen, save it for your fight,” Blaine laughs, getting in-between the two of us and pushing us apart with a hand on each of our chests. “Jimmy, why don’t you go back to your corner?”
Jimmy’s chest is heaving with anger as he walks backwards to his corner. I know Frankie’s plan is working; I needed to get him riled up. Manhandling him always works, it dates back to our fight when we were kids. He wouldn’t have taken the fight seriously if I didn’t. He would’ve just goofed off in the ring like usual. Jimmy only takes real bouts seriously, but when it’s a sanctioned fight, look out! He’s balls to the wall, and the other guy is lucky to walk out of the ring.
Pausing for a moment, Blaine waits for Jimmy to get in his corner, then continues on with the introductions. “I’m pretty sure the fighter standing next to me needs no introduction; but I’d like to present the best fighter on the East Coast and ‘the face’ of my gym, Gabriel ‘The Saint’ Vega!” he takes my wrist and raises it in the air while the crowd begins to cheer. The cheers for me are much louder than for Jimmy, which only pisses him off that much more. I watch him as he paces back and forth in his corner. Blaine is standing next to me clapping with the biggest smile on his face. This truly is a proud moment for him. I search in the crowd for Salem; she’s smiling at Blaine and batting her eyelashes. Ugh, give me a damn break.
I begin to bounce up and down in place, pounding my gloves together and Jimmy is still giving me the evil eye. I begin to channel my inner Apollo Creed, “You! I want you!” I yell, pointing to him in his corner. He just glowers at me.
“You ready to start this fight?” I turn to Blaine.
“Absolutely,” he responds, looking down to the time keeper and giving him a nod. He quickly exits the ring. Jimmy and I are left staring each other down, waiting for the sound of the bell.
Ding.
Jimmy comes charging at me, full steam ahead, but I hold him off with an uppercut and a few jabs. At the rate Jimmy’s going, he isn’t gonna last three rounds. He’s taking swings left and right, but not landing any. I guess I really pissed him off.
“Jimmy, take it easy. You’re gonna tire yourself out,” I hear Frankie yell from the crowd.
He turns his head in Frankie’s direction, and I land a punch right to his jaw. He’s stunned; Jimmy’s all over the place, tripping over his own feet as he tries to regain his footing. He falls and kisses the canvas; the crowd moans collectively.
He’s on all fours with his head hanging low.
“Jimmy, what the hell you doin’? Get up!” Frankie is now at the side of the ring.
I’m standing over Jimmy. “Come on, Jimmy, get up,” I beg quietly.
“Get the fuck away from me,” he groans.
“This was supposed to be all in good fun,” I tap him on the back.
No sooner do those words leave my mouth, he’s on his feet and in my face. He punches me in the gut, and as I double over from the wind being knocked out of me, I feel his infamous right hook land square on my jaw. Instinctively, I swing a powerful uppercut, which I land. The two of us are now throwing punches left and right, neither of us backing down.
That’s when we hear the bell ring, signaling the end of the round.
The crowd is completely silent as Frankie comes running up the steps. “Jimmy, get your ass over here!” Frankie points in the direction of my corner.
I see Jimmy roll his eyes at Frankie as he saunters across the ring, taking his sweet ass time. This isn’t going to sit well with Frankie at all. As Jimmy approaches us, Frankie grabs him by the scruff of his neck and leads him the rest of the way to my corner. “What the fuck is wrong with you two?”
“You told us to give them a good fight,” I explain.
“You call that a good fight? You looked like two teenagers trying to kick the shit out of each other in a schoolyard brawl.”
I laugh.
“This isn’t funny, Gabriel. You guys looked like amateurs out there, like this is the first fight you’ve ever fought. Who’s gonna wanna come here when you’re fighting like that?”
“Well, technically, we don’t train here,” Jimmy chimes in.
I can’t help but smirk at his comment. He’s absolutely right, neither one of us does train here.
“Shut up. You know what I mean. And if you haven’t forgotten, Gabriel will begin his training here soon enough, so technically…” Frankie draws the word “technically” out, “he does train here. Now get your heads out of your asses and go fight like you have some skill.”
Both of us nod at Frankie’s words. This is just the tip of the iceberg as to what we’re going to hear from him. Our entire drive back to the gym, he’ll be chewing our asses out for the stunt we just pulled.
The time keeper waits for Jimmy to return to his corner.
Ding.<
br />
Both of us come out much more conscious of our actions this round. Frankie’s watching us like hawks, so we’re not going get away with anything. Jimmy and I stick to our typical training moves this time around. We pace ourselves, and before we know it, our fight is over.
Blaine once again enters the ring. “Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our demonstration. I hope you enjoyed our fight this morning. If you haven’t signed up for a tour, please see Shanna at the front counter, and she’ll be happy to get you signed up for one.”
Blaine quickly turns his attention to Jimmy and me. “Wow! I thought you two were gonna rip each other’s heads off,” he says in shock.
“Yeah, sorry about that. We got a little carried away,” I apologize.
“No, don’t apologize, the crowd loved it. I wish I could do this every weekend. It would be great having new fighters in here every week.”
“Maybe you could hold tournaments here,” Jimmy suggests.
“Tournaments? I never thought of that.”
“Yeah, you could host them every five or six months,” I add.
“That’s a really great idea. Thanks, guys!” he claps us both on the back. “I’ll see you guys later? I’ve got to meet up with a few colleagues.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say, as I watch him ease himself through the ropes and climb down the stairs.
“Come on, Jimmy, let’s hit the showers,” I tap his back with my glove.
He quickly jerks his body away.
“Jimmy, you’re not really pissed at me, are you?”
“What do you think?”
“Well, I’m beginning to think you kinda are.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” he snaps at me.
I begin to laugh.
“What the fuck is so funny?”
“I’m sorry, man, I don’t mean to laugh. But, did you really just say, ‘No shit, Sherlock’?” I’m trying to keep the smile from growing across my face.
Jimmy looks up at me, and I can tell he’s also trying to keep from smiling. “You’re an asshole, you know that Saint?”
“I’ve been called worse things,” I shrug my shoulders.
“Fuck! Why can’t I stay mad at you?” he moans.
“Because I’m so irresistible,” I supply, as I sling my arm around his shoulder.
On the Ropes Page 10