Last Chance To Fight

by Ava Ashley

  Although I had hardly gotten any sleep the night before, that day at the office flew by like a breeze. I felt like I was walking on air, so much so that I worried my coworkers would take one look at me and know exactly what I was so happy about. Luckily, no one asked about it and I managed to escape at the end of the day without anyone accusing me of “glowing,” and making me blush. And then, when I walked out of the building, Hunter was right there in the parking lot waiting for me. I felt great.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said as I got in the car.

  “Hey,” I said, no doubt grinning like a total idiot.

  Hunter brought me home for a few minutes so that I could change my clothes, and then we were off to dinner and then our mystery date. I couldn’t wait to find out where we were going, and patience wasn’t exactly one of my virtues. All through dinner I kept trying to get him to tell me what he had planned, but he would only grin and change the subject.

  “Where are we going?” he’d repeat, then pause to think. “Have I told you you’re the most beautiful woman in the world?”

  “You’re the worst,” I told him, laughing.

  “All right, lesson learned,” he’d say with a twinkle in his eye. “I will no longer tell you you’re beautiful.”

  “That’s not what I mean and you know it!” I’d shout.

  “Women,” he said, shaking his head. “So confusing.”

  Finally, I gave up and decided to just go along for the ride with him. After all, I thought, when has he ever let me down before?

  The answer was never, and this night was no different. After a wonderful dinner and a few glasses of wine, I was feeling something close to bliss as I strolled down the street arm in arm with the only man I’d ever loved. I didn’t think I could possibly be any happier, until Hunter stopped suddenly and said, “We’re here.”

  I looked up and saw that we were in front of something called The Grand Marquis.

  “What is it?” I asked. “A movie theater?”

  “Exactly,” Hunter said. “See what’s playing?”

  I gasped when I saw the sign, and grabbed Hunter’s hand impetuously.

  “Oh my gosh, Casablanca!” I cried. “Is it an old-timey movie theater?”

  “That’s right,” he told me, squeezing my hand. “They play a different feature every week.”

  “This is amazing!” I cried in delight. “Can we come every week?”

  “For the rest of our lives,” Hunter said, “if you want.”

  I smiled happily and didn’t answer, wanting it so badly that I was afraid if I spoke I would jinx it, and something terrible would happen to break us apart. We bought two tickets, some popcorn, and a drink to share, and headed into the theater.

  “Oh, it’s perfect,” I said, seeing the plush red seats and the old-fashioned curtains. “Just exactly what I wanted.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” said Hunter. “So, front and center as usual?”

  “Yes please!”

  When we sat down together and I snuggled up next to Hunter for one of my all-time favorite movies, I could not possibly have been happier. He wrapped his arm around me and squeezed me tight, and I spent the whole movie in a state of pure joy. Nothing could have brought me down from feeling so good, not even when Rick and Ilsa had to say goodbye to each other at the end of the film. My life, it seemed, was going exactly the way I wanted.

  Exactly, that is, until we got back to my place and found that there was a little surprise waiting for us on my doorstep. It wasn’t the nice kind of surprise, either.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hunter

  After a great time at dinner and then the movies, we got back to Anna’s apartment to find a large manila envelope on her doorstep.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “I have no idea,” she responded, picking it up to examine it.

  To our surprise, we saw that the envelope had my name written on it, in big black magic marker.

  “What the hell?” I asked. “Who could have left this here?”

  “I don’t know,” Anna said, her voice quiet with fear. “Let’s go inside.”

  When we got inside and opened up the package, I could hardly see straight because I was so blind with fury.

  “What the fuck is this?” I yelled. There, in front of me, were big glossy photographs of Anna, beautiful Anna, and that piece of shit Nathaniel kissing her with his hand up his shirt.

  “Oh my God,” Anna whispered, almost to herself. “He had someone taking photographs the whole time.”

  “When did this happen?” I asked.

  “A few days ago,” she said. “I told you...”

  “How do you know him?” I shouted, still in such a rage I couldn’t put two and two together. “What the fuck is he doing touching you?”

  “Wait,” Anna said, realizing what was happening way before I did. “You mean, you know him too?”

  “Yeah I know him. That’s Nathaniel, my number one enemy,” I told her. “I got him banned from the CFC last year for using drugs.”

  “Oh my God,” said Anna, slowly sinking down on the couch. “I can’t believe it, he...”

  “He what?” I demanded.

  “Hunter, don’t you get it?” she said, looking up at me. “That’s Nate. My ex. The one who came over here and scared me.”

  “What?” I picked the pictures up from the table to look again. “What the hell?”

  And then, as much as I didn’t want to see the photos again, when I looked I knew she was telling the truth. The expression on her face definitely wasn’t the happy look of ecstasy. She looked terrified.

  “I can’t believe this,” I said. “I knew he was a sick fucker, but not this sick.”

  “What do you mean?” Anna asked, her voice small.

  “I mean, I knew he was pissed off,” I told her. “But I didn’t think he’d move all the way to Australia just to fuck with me.”

  “Oh God,” Anna said. “You really think that’s what he did? The whole time, he was just—”

  Anna stopped talking as she started to get choked up, realizing what a sicko she had been dealing with and didn’t even know it. I saw her eyes well up with tears, and instantly all my anger disappeared and turned into one feeling and one feeling only: the desire to make her feel better.

  “Oh, Anna,” I said, sitting down next to her and wrapping my arms around her. “I am so sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry I yelled. I didn’t mean to get mad at you, I know it isn’t your fault.”

  “I know, Hunter. I just can’t believe that the whole time he, he—”

  She stopped again, and I pulled her in close to me.

  “I’m so sorry, Anna,” I said. “I’m not going to let him bother you again.”

  “I trust you, Hunter,” she said. “But how did he even know about me? And that I lived in Australia? You didn’t tell him about me, did you?”

  “No, of course not,” I said. “I never talked to him about anything, except what a cheating piece of shit he was.”

  “Then how did he find me?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ll have to figure it out. I can’t think who would have told him. I didn’t talk about you much. Only to my close friends. Wayne knows. And Jake knows obviously, but I trust them. They’re my best friends.”

  “No,” Anna said, thinking. “You’re right. I don’t know him well, but I trust Jake too. And I’m sure Wayne is the same.”

  “I just have no idea,” I admitted. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, though.”

  “All right. Can we go to your place?” she asked. “I don’t want to stay here.”

  “Of course,” I told her. “We can stay at my place, no problem.”

  “All right. Let’s go now, please,” she said, getting up. “I’ll just get a few things.”

  Back at my place, Anna was still pretty shaken up. I wanted to kill Nathaniel for a number of reasons, for being an asshole, for touching my girl, but more than anything for maki
ng her feel like this. I couldn’t believe he was such a scumbag.

  “Is there anything I can do you for you, beautiful?” I asked. “Do you maybe want to take a bubble bath? I’ve got a pretty sweet tub in here.”

  “That sounds perfect, actually,” she said with a weak smile.

  “All right,” I told her. “I’ll get it started for you. There’s a bathrobe hanging in the closet you can use.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  I went into the bathroom and drew back the shower curtain. The tub really was quite luxurious, if I did say so myself. I had gotten it installed a few years ago, an oversized model with air jets to help soothe my aching muscles after a tough workout or a fight. And now, I was really glad that Anna would get to enjoy it. Hopefully it would make her feel better.

  I poured in some bubble bath and adjusted the water until it was piping hot, just the way she liked it. I sat on the edge of the tub, waiting for Anna and making sure the water didn’t get too hot or too cold. After a few minutes, she came in wearing my dark green bathrobe.

  “Hey there,” I said, unable to keep from grinning despite the somber mood our evening had taken. Even though that piece of shit Nathaniel was trying to ruin my life, I couldn’t help but notice there was only a half-tied piece of terry cloth between me and an incredibly beautiful naked woman.

  “Hey,” she responded, and I thought I saw her smile brighten, just a little.

  “You ready for the best bath of your life?” I asked her.

  “I sure am,” she said, untying her robe and letting it fall to the floor. “Would you like to join me?”

  I swallowed, surprised at her brazenness. Anna wasn’t exactly timid, but she also wasn’t really the dropping your robe kind of girl either. Not that I was complaining.

  “Sure,” I said, stripping off my shirt. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  “Let me help you with that,” she said, stepping closer and unbuttoning my jeans. She pulled them down along with my boxers, to expose my already stiff cock. Anna murmured in approval, taking it in her hand and stroking it up and down.

  “Oh, Anna,” I said.

  “Get in the tub,” she told me, and I happily complied, turning the water off so that it wouldn’t get too deep for us to have fun. Anna climbed down on top of me, straddling me with her long, golden brown legs. I pulled her in for a kiss, picking up some hot, bubbly water to rub along her smooth back.

  “Mmm,” she said. “That feels good.”

  “Good,” I told her.

  “I want to make you feel good, too,” she whispered.

  “Oh you do, baby,” I said, kissing her. “You do.”

  She pulled away from me and scooted back along my legs, and my cock got even harder in anticipation. She wasted no time leaning down to take me in her mouth, expertly running her tongue up and down my shaft and making me think I might lose control.

  “Oh, Anna,” I whispered, closing my eyes and running my hands through her hair. She kept pulling and pulling until I thought I would come. As much as I didn’t want her to stop, I didn’t want it to end there. I pulled her head up and lifted her towards me, kissing her on the mouth. I cupped her breast in my hand and leaned down to run my tongue along her nipples. I squeezed both of her big, supple tits in my hands and pressed my face to her, reveling in her touch.

  “You didn’t like it?” she asked.

  “Oh God, of course I liked it,” I assured her. “I just want to be able to fuck you, that’s all.”

  “Oh,” she said, breaking into a smile.

  “Do you want that?” I asked her.

  “I do,” she breathed.

  “Say it,” I told her.

  “I want you to fuck me, baby,” she said.

  “Good,” I told her, and found her opening with the tip of my cock and pushed inside her, making her cry out. I held onto her ass and pumped her up and down on top of me, losing myself in the feeling of being inside her. “You feel so good, baby.”

  Anna didn’t respond, only worked her way up and down, faster and faster, until she collapsed on top of me in a fit of ecstatic convulsions. She let out a long sigh, and kept still for a moment. Then she sat up and kissed me on the chest.

  “What about you?” she asked. “Do you want to finish in my mouth?”

  “God yes,” I told her. “If you want to.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, I like having you in my mouth.” With that, she slid back down my legs and starting sucking hard, massaging my balls with her hands.

  “Oh fuck, Anna,” I said, groaning. At the rate she was going, I wouldn’t last long. Soon I lost myself and came hard in her mouth. She kept me there for a minute, letting me finish, before slowly releasing my cock and kissing me on the stomach.

  “Let’s go to sleep,” she said.

  “OK,” I answered obediently. I got out of the tub and found a towel for her. I wrapped her up in it and carried her back to my bed, kissing her lovely face before we both fell asleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Anna

  The next day, I felt a lot better. I was still pretty upset about finding out that Nate, or Nathaniel, had been deceiving me the entire time I’d known him. It was an unsettling feeling, knowing you’d been fooled into thinking someone was just a regular, normal person when really he was a monster. It frightened me more than anything that I couldn’t immediately tell the difference. And I was disgusted that he had someone outside my window taking photographs of me, too. I was grateful, however, that my relationship with him had not gotten intimate yet. If it had... well, that was just too disturbing to even think about.

  As I got ready for work, Hunter lounged around in bed and watched me get dressed.

  “So, what are you doing later?” I asked him. “I don’t have any plans. I could make you dinner.”

  “Oh man,” he said, sitting up. “That sounds wonderful. But I have to go back to San Diego today.”

  “Oh, you do? What for? I thought you didn’t have another match for a few more weeks.”

  “I don’t,” he answered. “It’s just, um, just some business I have to take care of.”

  “All right,” I said, not wanting to press him. “I guess just let me know when you’re back in L.A. and I’ll cook you up something tasty.”

  “Definitely,” he said, reaching out to pull me into bed. “I’ll be back in a few days. Let’s say Friday night?”

  “Oh, so you’re missing physical therapy this week as well,” I commented.

  “Yes,” Hunter said with a guilty smile. “I’m sorry, doc. I’ll do my exercises at home though, I promise.”

  “See that you do,” I said with mock severity. “And I’ll see you on Friday.”

  I kissed Hunter goodbye and headed outside to catch a cab to work. Friday was further away than I wanted to wait to see him again, especially after all that weirdness with Nate. But I guessed I didn’t have much of a choice.

  After work, I walked back to my apartment to change before heading to Betsy’s. When I got home, though, I really just wanted to settle down. I didn’t feel much like going over to Betsy’s and socializing. I wanted to stay at my place and have a little personal time. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, either. Clearly Nate just wanted to get back at Hunter, he didn’t want to hurt me. I decided it would be fine if I stayed there. What harm could he do? I texted Betsy to let her know, and I felt happy about my decision.

  It was then that I realized I had been so busy since I’d gotten to L.A. that I hadn’t even gone for a run yet. I was dumbfounded when it occurred to me, because running was one of my favorite things to do. After I’d recovered from cancer treatments and learned that I would never have children, I got pretty depressed. I’d always wanted to have kids, and it was hard to reimagine my future without that part of it. I knew I should have been grateful to be alive, but that’s not quite how I felt. I was pretty angry, and resentful that yet one more bad thing had happened to me.

  All through high school, unti
l I’d gotten sick, I’d always been a runner. Back then, I didn’t even realize why I did it. I just did it, and that was that. But when I got sick, I was forced to stop, and after that I didn’t even really think about it anymore. I had plenty of other things to think about, after all. It was Ben who suggested I start running again. Of course, I had heard before that running wasn’t just good for your physical health, but your mental health too. As soon as Ben brought it up, I realized how much I’d missed running. Ever since then, I’d been running at least four or five times a week. It kept me in good spirits, even when things got really bad. But, since I’d been reunited with Hunter, I had completely forgotten about it.

  I was excited to work off some of the negative energy that Nate had caused, and I quickly changed into my running clothes and headed out the door. The sun was lowering in the sky, and the weather was absolutely perfect for a run. After a brisk five-minute warm up, I decided that today I would really push myself. I ran hard, and I ran for a long time. I must have lost track of time a bit, because by the time I got back to my apartment, it had already gotten pretty dark.

  I was feeling exhausted, but good, when I walked up the steps to my front door. I was feeling good, that is, until I saw that there was another manila envelope waiting on the step. This one was thicker, and had my name on it.

  “Damn,” I said, looking around. I didn’t see anybody, but it was dark and I was nervous. I picked up the package quickly and went inside, locking the door behind me. I stared at the envelope for a minute, wondering what I should do with it. I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone rang. It was an unknown number.

  “Hello?” I said, wondering who it could be.

  “Hey, pretty,” came a familiar and unpleasant voice through the line. “Are you going to open your present?”

  I whipped around and looked at all the windows, but I couldn’t see anybody.

  “Are you watching me, you creep?” I demanded. Now I wasn’t just scared, I was pissed off. What the hell was his problem?

  “Don’t worry, beautiful. I just wanted to make sure you got the package,” he said. “I thought you’d be pretty interested to see what’s on that tape.”