by Claire Adams
“Hey, sweetheart. Your dad is here too; I have you on speaker,” she said.
“Hey, dad,” I added.
“Hey Annabear,” he said. The nickname made me smile. It was the name he gave me when I was little. In high school, it bothered me. I found it a little embarrassing, but as I got older, I found it more endearing.
“How are you?” my mom’s voice rang through the phone.
“I’m good. How are you? Ally says you guys will be coming by soon?”
“I’m good,” my dad said.
“I’m fine, darling. Ally is right. We are driving in and will be there in a few days! We cannot wait to see you and catch up!”
“I’m so excited,” I said, though I wasn’t as excited as I should have been. I was growing more and more worried about Justin. I couldn’t seem to calm my nerves regarding him. “You guys will have to meet my new boyfriend,” I said. I figured it was either now or never.
“Your new boyfriend?” Both of my parents asked, clearly shocked.
“Yes, his name is Justin. I haven’t mentioned him before?” I hoped they would believe me. I was trying hard not to sound like I was lying. Ally always told me I was a bad liar growing up. I wasn’t sure if she was just messing with me or if she was being serious.
“Will we get to meet him while we are in town?” my mom asked. I couldn’t tell if she was happy for me or if she was testing me.
“Of course. How about you guys come over for dinner on Monday night? I’ll have him come with his daughter.”
“His daughter?” my dad asked. He sounded thrown off. I felt bad that I was springing this information on him.
“Yes. He has a four-year-old daughter. She is the most delightful little girl. His wife passed away during childbirth.”
“Oh my. That poor girl,” I heard my mom’s voice say. “We are very excited to meet this Justin and his daughter.”
“They are excited to meet you guys too,” I said. Even though I wasn’t sure if “excited” was the word I should use to describe Justin meeting them. I wasn’t sure how he even felt about this whole thing, and it was making me a little more nervous.
We talked for a few more minutes. The conversation had quickly gotten uncomfortable for me, so I was glad when they had to go. I got off the phone and just as I hit “end call,” the front door opened, and Justin walked in.
“Hey,” I said, brightly.
“Hey you,” Justin said.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him. I wanted to let him know that I cared about him and I didn’t want him to feel weird about what he had told me. I didn’t want him to think I judged him or thought of him any less. We hadn’t really spoken since.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” he said with a smile, and I led him back into the massage room. I told him to get ready for his massage, and I slipped out of the room. I grabbed a condom from my purse and locked the front door to the studio. Then I went back into the room where he was undressed and lying in the massage chair for me.
“Are you ready?”
“Oh, you know I am,” he said almost seductively.
I bit my lip and poured some of the hot oil on his back. I hadn’t even begun the massage yet, and I was already feeling so turned on.
He let out a soft moan as I began to work on his shoulder blades. I worked my way down his back along his spine. I could feel him relax a little more with each inch I moved down. I still couldn’t get enough of how hot his muscles were.
It had only been a few minutes. Maybe three, but I couldn’t take how much this was turning me on. “Turn over,” I said.
“Already?” he asked. The tone of his voice told me that he was just as turned on as I was. And when he turned over, I could see just how turned on he was through his boxers.
I gently massaged his biceps. His arm muscles were so hot. It was the biggest turn on for me. I massaged his arms and then moved to his pecs. This was more of a warm up for me to have sex with him than it was for him, but he didn’t have to know that.
After a few minutes of massaging his front, I couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Remove them,” I said pointing to his boxers.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and eagerly removed his boxers.
I quickly got undressed and undid the condom. I put it on him and climbed on top of him like I had done the first time we had sex.
“Mmm, someone was wanting this,” he said as I lowered myself onto him. He gripped my hips, and I loved the way he touched me. It drove me wild.
“What can I say? You just feel amazing,” I said. And I proceeded to move my body up and down the length of him. I went slowly at first, making sure to pause at the tip. I was trying to drive him wild. Make him beg for me to go faster, harder. I wanted to drive him wild. I wasn’t sure where this was coming from as I never usually took the lead, but it felt like a sexy, bold move. And the power of taking charge was turning me on even more.
Justin grabbed my hips. “Harder, baby,” he said as he helped move my body up and down in a faster motion.
I stopped moving and asked him, “Bend me over?”
“Absolutely,” he said.
I climbed off the table, much like the first time we had sex. But before I bent over to have him fuck me doggy-style, I got down on my knees and took him in my mouth.
“Oh, fuck,” he moaned as I began to move my mouth up and down on him.
I took him all the way into my mouth and was so glad I didn’t have a gag-reflex. I pulled back and brought my hands to him. I twisted my hand while I moved him in and out of my mouth. I had never loved giving head as much as I did then.
He grabbed my head, taking my hair in his hand and moving himself in and out of my mouth. My face felt hot. Then he stopped. “If we don’t stop, I might cum.”
I stood up and bent over the chair.
“I love your ass,” he said as he squeezed it.
He put the tip of himself inside of me and pulled it out. He did this a few times, and I wiggled my ass. I wanted to feel all of him so badly. He was driving me wild.
He pushed himself all the way inside of me and began to move in and out harder and harder. He leaned forward and put a hand on my clit and started rubbing it just as hard as he was fucking me. That was my undoing. I came hard and fast.
My body started convulsing on his dick. “I love when you cum,” he said just before he gripped my hips and started pounding me harder.
It felt so amazing, and I started to come again just as he found his release.
When we were done, we got dressed, and Justin kissed me gently on my lips.
“Thanks for that massage,” he said and then squeezed my ass.
I laughed. “You’re welcome.”
“Did I make you come a second time?”
“You always do,” I said. I still couldn’t believe how he was able to do that. I had never had multiple orgasms before, and now I was able to have them every single time. I was sure it had something to do with the chemistry between us.
He gave me a smile like I had just made his day, his week, his month.
“So I talked to my parents,” I said when we were finished fixing ourselves.
“Do you know when they will be here?” he asked.
“They said in a few days. But I was thinking next Monday night at 6:00 we could do the dinner with you and Margie?”
He smiled. “Sounds good to me. Do they know about her?”
“Yeah, I made sure to mention her. That might have been weird if I hadn’t and then you showed up with a little girl.”
Justin laughed. “Yeah, that would have been. We’ll be there. But will you do something for me?”
“What’s that?” I asked. wondering what he would ask.
“Will you come to my next fight? It’s on Friday night.”
I thought about it for a moment, and then I remembered how unusually packed my Friday was.
“I can’t. I’m so sorry. I have back to back clients that night. It usually doesn’t ha
ppen, but I’ve gotten quite popular lately.”
Justin held up his hand. “I understand completely. You don’t need to explain.”
But I couldn’t help but notice the semi-hurt tone in his voice. The disappointment. I felt awful, but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t keep cancelling on my clients. Three times was too much, and yet, what the hell was I supposed to do? The last time had been a client for a while and was a great tipper. I canceled on him on Monday to make room for sex with Justin. There was no way I could cancel on him again.
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling a little bad.
“It’s okay, Anna,” he said and gave me a kiss. “I’ll see you on Monday, then?”
I nodded my head. “Monday it is.”
I watched him leave and couldn’t keep the guilt from sinking in. I could hear the disappointment in his voice, but I knew I couldn’t mess up my career for a guy who may or may not be my future. I finished cleaning up, and Ally walked in.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hey,” I said.
“No more clients today? I thought I would have to wait,” she said.
“Nope. Justin was my last one.”
She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Oh really?”
I hoped I was hiding the fact that I was blushing. “I talked to mom and dad today. We will be doing dinner next Monday.”
“Oh man, are you and Justin ready for your first dinner with mom and dad as a couple?”
“It’s just pretend, Ally,” I said.
“I think it’s more than that, but you can call it whatever you want to.”
She was starting to get on my nerves now, but I decided to let it go. It wasn’t like she was wrong anyway. Things between Justin and I were growing more intense.
I finished cleaning and offered to take Ally to dinner. I figured that was why she stopped by anyway. She didn’t really have many responsibilities, but she also seemed to spend more time eating dinner with me than doing anything else. I figured it was because she was using me, but I didn’t let it bother me. I enjoyed spending time with her. Sometimes.
Chapter Fifteen
Justin
I spent all day Friday nervously walking around the house. I tried to push any negative thoughts out of my head, but it was I wasn’t successful.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Margie asked me more than once.
“Just nervous about my fight,” I said.
“You’re going to win. I just know you are,” she said with her childlike confidence.
I smiled at my little girl. She had so much faith in me. Knowing that my daughter believed in me so much was an amazing feeling. I wanted to make her proud, to show her I could win and provide for her.
As I was getting ready to leave, she ran over to me and threw her tiny arms around my waist. She hugged me tightly. To her, I was everything. She thought of me as her hero, someone who could do no wrong, and I was determined to prove her right.
“You’re going to do great, Daddy. Don’t worry,” she promised.
Friday night’s fight was in a bigger arena than usual. My nerves were already on edge since I knew Anna wouldn’t be there, but being in a bigger, more unfamiliar arena only made me more anxious.
With the arena being so much larger, there were at least twice as many people in the crowd. I noticed a lot of them were cheering for my opponent rather than for me. This was the opposite of what I was used to, and I didn’t know how to feel.
What Margie said to me before I left should have been enough to calm me down, but for some reason, I just couldn’t seem to relax. Each fight was a little more intense than the last, and I knew I wouldn’t have been so nervous if wasn’t for Markie and the new bet I made with him.
My opponent was about my size. Even though I could usually nail these fights, he had this crazy look in his eyes. It was a look that said he’d been through some serious shit in his life, shit that made him view the world as a dark, violent place. He probably only joined MMA so he could legally hurt people. Fighters like him were unpredictable, and that is what made them so formidable.
I felt intimidated. It was hard for me to feel any other way. No matter how hard I tried to push those negative feelings away, they just kept returning stronger than ever.
“You have got to stay focused, Justin,” Artie said.
“I know, I know,” I said. I hoped my fake confidence was believable. I couldn’t let him sense my fear. He would know I wasn’t focused and his lectures would only serve to further my fear. I was already distracted enough.
I knew Anna said she wouldn’t be able to make it, but I glanced around the crowd anyway, just hoping she would surprise me with her presence. I couldn’t help the disappointment I felt when I couldn’t find her face in the crowd.
“You got this, Justin,” Artie assured me. I knew he was trying to make me feel better. He was trying to give me the confidence boost I desperately needed, but his words didn’t help. I didn’t feel confident or ready. In fact, I didn’t feel like I had any chance of winning.
I stepped into the middle of the ring. Sweat was already forming on my forehead. It could have been from the lights, but I was sure it was from fear. The sight of my perspiration only made my opponent get an even crazier look in his eyes. He eyed me like a piece of meat ready for slaughter.
We touched gloves, and the first bell rang. I eyed him closely but knew he was doing the same thing. I threw a right hook. It was weak, and I completely missed the guy. To make up for it, I threw a left hook and then aimed for his ribs. I missed both shots.
Just as I was beginning to realize what was going on, the guy hit me in the ribs. The hit was so hard that I failed to regain my footing before he could hit me again. The guy jumped on me and took me to the ground.
The bell rang, letting us know the round was over. My opponent released me. We got off the floor and got ready for the next round. I was thankful that the round ended when it did. Things could have taken a turn for the worst had it gone on any longer.
I went over to my corner and grabbed my water bottle to get a quick drink. Before the bottle was to my lips, Artie started in on me.
“If you don’t pull your head out of your ass, you’re going to lose this thing,” he yelled at me.
“I know,” I said, trying to stay calm. I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. I knew it was his job as my coach, but it wasn’t encouraging. In the first round, I almost lost the fight. My body was shaking, and my mind was on edge. Artie’s words only made me feel tenser.
“I don’t think you do. You know what will happen if you lose, right?”
I wanted to say something sarcastic to him, but I figured it was not the time or the place for that.
The bell dinged, and I stood up. My eyes snapped to my opponent’s face. We both moved to the center of the cage automatically.
The guy went for a straight jab that, luckily, I was fast enough to dodge. Barely. I was almost too slow.
I nodded my head at him and took a deep breath. Artie was right. I needed to calm the fuck down before I lost. I wouldn’t be able to handle another loss. I felt my muscles relax as I took a few deeper breaths. Filling my lungs with oxygen made me feel stronger. I crouched into my fighting stance and cleared my mind.
I went for an uppercut, moving as fast as I could and to my surprise, I connected. The guy looked a little dazed, but only for a second. Then the crazy look in his eyes returned with an intensity that I hadn’t seen before.
He went to hit me in the ribs, but I blocked it and quickly got another hard punch on his left cheek. The guy stumbled, and I felt good. He went for a quick hit to my jaw, but I ducked and hit him in the ribs three times. He looked even more stunned this time. The crazed look in his eyes was starting to fade some as his confidence began to wean.
I knew I could use that to my advantage. I went for a left hook. He stumbled once more, and I knew I almost had him. I just needed one more hit. One more clean, hard hit. That’s what I did. I shot a quick,
straight jab that was so fast and so hard that he didn’t see it coming.
POW. I hit him, and he fell right to the ground, knocked out cold in the second round.
I almost couldn’t believe it. I’d knocked the guy out. The ref called the fight a knockout, and I threw a fist in the air, a sense of triumph working its way through my veins.
I had almost lost it, but I got a lucky break at the last minute. I knew I could have easily lost the fight in the first round. I could have been done, my life over, but I succeeded. With the next fight, I was going to have to remain focused from the very beginning. I couldn’t step into the ring distracted ever again.
The crowd went wild, but I wasn’t sure how to feel about everything. My moment of triumphant glee quickly faded. I didn’t feel like being overly excited was the right thing. I’d almost lost. I hadn’t been able to keep my focus, and I almost lost the fight. I almost lost everything. It was hard to stay pumped up with excitement when I knew how close I’d come to losing.
That thought made me nervous for the next fight. I had to stay calm and in control. I headed into the room with Artie and was mentally preparing myself for a lecture from him.
“Do you realize how lucky you just got out there?” Artie asked, practically screaming. His face was red with anger.
“I know,” I said, looking down at the ground.
“You need to keep your focus. Don’t let your nerves get the best of you,” he said.
I wished I could spend a few minutes alone, just for a moment of recuperation, before being scolded. I knew that Artie was just doing his job. I needed to be thankful for his help and support. Artie’s wisdom had gotten me this far, and without him, I knew I would never make it through my bet with Markie.
“Whatever it is that is making you nervous, you need to let it go before it destroys you,” Artie said. “If you keep focused on all the negative B.S., all you are going to do is cause more issues for yourself.”
“I know,” I said without emotion. I didn’t know what else to say to him.
He was making me feel even worse than I already did. It was a very tough fight, one I almost lost, and now I was being lectured for it. I knew he was only doing it because he cared, but it was still hard to listen to.