No Safeword: Matte - Happily Ever After (Safewords)

by Candace Blevins

  When she heard someone giving Ethan a five minute warning through the door, she popped up, threw some foundation, eye shadow, and eyeliner on; changed shirts, put some cropped sweatpants over her bike shorts – long enough to hide the swelling in her knee – and prepared to follow him out.

  Tara stopped her and showed her an articulated knee brace. “Don’t even try to tough it out. We don’t know what kind of damage you’ve done, and you’ll wear the brace if you want to go jump up and down on the outside of the platform to talk to him through the cage.”

  Sam rolled her eyes and let Tara help put it on. Vanity made her want to change into full length sweats to cover it, but she wanted to be there for Ethan even more, so she stepped out in time to give him a thumbs up and follow him to the cage.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Sam knew Ethan was tough, but his opponent was bigger, badder, and thought he was tougher. She hoped he was wrong, but she was seriously worried for her husband, though she hadn’t let him know.

  He needed to walk into the cage with the confidence he could do this.

  The first round went as she expected, with the two trading punches and kicks, going to the ground a few times, but mostly acting like kick-boxers. When the first bell rang both men had cuts on their faces, though Ethan seemed in better shape.

  Jerrod and Jameson went in, and she talked to her caveman from behind, through the cage. “You’re better than him on the ground, and you’re way faster on your feet. Pull my new and improved rabid weed-eater if you can. Concentrate more on multiple punches while you’re in, and don’t forget to fake the first so you can make the second. Don’t overdo it, but use it. I know you want to wear him down a little before trying for a KO, but I think he’s at a point you can go for it the next time you see a chance. Be my caveman.”

  She looked to Jerrod who picked up. “Sam’s right. You’re backing off too fast; try to get another couple of punches in while you’re at it, just be careful he doesn’t use the opportunity to take you down. Sam’s weed-eater sequence will work great with this guy. He’s slow and powerful, and you’re fast and powerful. He’s beat everyone else by being so strong and formidable, so stay out of the way of his fists and feet, and pummel him. Keep doing what you’re doing, just do a little more of it.”

  Ethan nodded, stood, and turned to Sam. He wasn’t allowed to touch anyone outside the fence, so he brought his finger to within about an inch of her nose and smiled.

  “You’re my caveman,” she said. “Now go get him before I have to threaten to beat him up for hurting you.”

  His glare had a smile in it, and when Jerrod joined her he was smiling, too. “Someday I hope to find someone who makes me as happy as the two of you make each other.”

  The bell rang and Ethan pulled his fists up and went into a martial arts stance instead of the typical boxing bounce. His opponent stood and looked at him a second, as if trying to figure out what the hell he was up to, and then raised his fists and bounced towards Ethan.

  The other man took the first swing and Ethan blocked it with one arm, caught the man’s forearm with the other fist, moved under his weight, and twisted and turned until his opponent was on the ground and Ethan on top.

  “Looks like reminding him he’s better on the ground got through to him,” Jerrod said into Sam’s ear.

  Sam nodded and screamed encouragement, and then a warning when she saw the other man prepare to make a move. Ethan didn’t heed her warning, and the next thing she knew they were grappling with neither man fully in control.

  She opened her mouth to tell him what to do, but Miguel’s arm on her shoulder had her closing it, and he shouted advice, different from what Sam would’ve given, but probably better.

  The grappling went on longer than Sam’s nerves could handle, but she couldn’t look away. Finally, Ethan pulled free enough to get under the man and stand, and she smiled, as he’d done the exact same move with her a thousand times, and she never would’ve believed he could pull it off with a two hundred and sixty-five pound man on his back.

  Miguel leaned towards her and said, “He has you to thank for that.”

  Sam nodded, understanding it was the repetition of doing it so many times that allowed him the muscle memory to do it now, when his adrenaline gave him the power to actually pull it off.

  His opponent had the presence of mind to push away and land on his feet before Ethan could body slam him to the mat, but Ethan didn’t give the other fighter any time to regain his bearings before stepping in and delivering Sam’s new rabid weed-eater combo. And, when he finished the combination he must have realized the other man still hadn’t found his balance, because Ethan went into it a second time, using the original version this time, and then followed it up with one of his own combinations.

  Sam held her breath as the man’s face went slack and he fell sideways. He hit the ground, obviously out cold, and she jumped with her arms in the air and let out a huge scream.

  Unfortunately, the scream was partly joy for her husband, and partly because her knee fucking hurt.

  Jerrod put his arm around her and helped her to the cage, and as she neared her husband expecting a hug, he put his hands around her hips, lifted her over his head, and slowly brought her down. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he let her down, and hugged him fiercely.

  After a few seconds she put her mouth to his ear and said, “They’re going to have a hard time putting the belt around your waist with my legs in the way.”

  He chuckled and put her down, and she stepped away as the referee walked up with instructions.

  It took several long minutes to rouse the other fighter and help him stand, and when the announcer proclaimed “The winner and undisputed champion of the worrrllllddddd, Ethan “The Cavemaaaaaan” Leeeeeeviiiiii,” Sam’s eyes watered with happiness as they put the belt onto her husband. She stayed in the background during the in-cage interview, but was surprised when another reporter urged her towards her husband.

  “Go on out,” Miguel told her.

  “No, this is his spotlight. Not mine.”

  “Doesn’t matter. The fans want to see you both.”

  The reporter waved her over and said to Ethan, “We’re trying to get your wife to join you but she’s resisting. Maybe you can convince her?”

  Ethan turned and looked at her, and Sam gave up and went to him. He put his arm around her as she neared, and she leaned into him.

  “How’s your knee?” the reporter asked. “We see the brace, and you seem to be favoring it.”

  “It’s tender. We’ll have to figure out what I’ve done to it later.”

  The reporter smiled and moved the mic to Ethan. “You both look pretty beat up. Will you take care of each other, or bring people in to take care of both of you separately?”

  “We have two medical professionals who’ll get us all doctored up, but we’ll be side-by-side as it happens.” He patted Sam’s shoulder with the arm he had wrapped around her and added, “We’re pretty good at taking care of each other, but we have some celebrating to do, first.”

  Someone stepped to Sam with her belt, and she moved away from Ethan long enough to let them put it back on. Ethan pulled her to him and put his arm around her from the side once again, and so many camera flashes were going off Sam wasn’t sure her vision would ever recover.

  They answered questions forever, and when they went to walk away, Sam limped a few steps and Ethan put his hands on her hips from behind, leaned his mouth to her ear to warn her he was going to put her on his shoulders, and the next thing she knew, she was sitting on his shoulders, high above the crowd.

  He put his hands on her thighs and pulled down to stabilize her, and she pretty much had no choice to but wave to the crowd as he walked them out of the arena.

  The couple faced reporters and camera crews a few dozen more times after they left their backstage areas and tried to make it to their hotel suite. Ethan let her walk this time, though they went slow so she could make
her way without a visible limp.

  Sometimes a reporter wanted to talk to only one of them, but most were happy to interview them side-by-side.

  On one of the occasions a reporter wanted Ethan without Sam, and they were close enough to the elevator, Sam motioned to Tyler to let him know she wanted to go on up.

  No sooner than they began moving, another film crew moved in front of the elevator, and Tyler moved away as they approached the cameras.

  A spectator took the opportunity to jump out at her from the crowd, and she was looking right at him when his fist came at her face.

  Her reflexes were still engaged, and she caught his fist and — without thinking about it — flipped the very large man into the air so he landed on his back. Her reflexes took her to her knees and she punched him in the face several times before someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her. She had her arm ready to elbow whoever it was in the ribs when Tyler said, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me.”

  She realized security was all over the man, and she relaxed and allowed Tyler to pull her backwards a few steps before putting her down. She turned to him and her arms went around his neck, and he hugged her back.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just… damn. He scared me.”

  Tyler chuckled, his head still buried in her hair as he spoke into her ear. “They caught it on camera, and I believe we’re still on camera.”

  Ethan made it to them and he lifted Sam out of Tyler’s arms and clapped his friend on the back. “Thanks. What happened?”

  Ethan leaned down so Tyler could talk into his ear, and Sam heard the story again, which made her sound like more of a bad-ass than she felt.

  “I panicked and overreacted. Don’t make me sound like I kicked butt. I went all girly-girl and freaked.”

  “Don’t say that to the cameras,” Ethan said. “Just say he caught you off guard and you reacted. Honestly, it’s what a man your size would have done, too. The guy they have in cuffs probably weighs more than me, Sam.”

  When security had carted the guy away and a mic was stuck in their faces, what was the first question the camera crews asked? Not what was going through Sam’s head, or how she managed to throw someone in the air who weighs three or four times her weight, but, “Ethan, how do you feel about walking up to see your wife in another man’s arms?”

  Sam burst into laughter, and looked up to see Ethan smiling as well.

  “How many times do I need to tell you? Sam’s mine. I don’t have to be jealous because she’s mine.”

  Sam added, “Other than Ethan, or one of our coaches, I doubt anyone else could’ve pulled me away and calmed me with their voice, so I didn’t turn on them, too. I was operating purely on instinct at the time, and it took a familiar voice pulling me away to let me see others had stepped in and I could back off.”

  She shrugged. “And, embarrassing as it is to admit, I went a little girly at the idea someone had attacked me from the crowd. He scared me, and my friend comforted me until Ethan could get to me.”

  The reporter looked around and asked, “Where did he go? Can we get him on camera?”

  Sam shook her head. “He’s not a fan of the cameras. He handed me off to Ethan and left. You won’t get him on camera for an interview.”

  Nathan nodded at her as she spoke, but she didn’t look at him too long, understanding he wouldn’t want the cameras paying too much attention to him, either.

  It was at least another thirty minutes before they finally made it back to their floor. Sam had requested Miguel have steaks and chocolate cake sent up, and she almost fell on the food when she saw room service in the conference room with the table full of what smelled like mouth-watering goodness.

  Sam hugged Kirsten, Cassie, and Viv, and then Tyler again. Frisco and Tom came from the other side of the table, and Frisco made it to her first and pulled her into a giant bear hug while somehow managing to keep from hurting her ribs.

  “You kicked ass, Chica.”

  “I kinda got mine kicked in the process, too,” she admitted as she sat and let Tara gently lift her foot onto another chair.

  “Girlfriend’s knee, ribs, and face are in rough shape. No one’s had a chance to check Ethan yet, but I’m guessing Jameson is just as wary of getting between him and food as I am.”

  “You got that right,” Jameson agreed.

  The group laughed and Sam reached her arms to Tom from her seated position. He leaned in and hugged her, and she said, “So, you once beat the current titleholder in a fight. And, the two of you are the amateur and professional titleholders.” She turned in her chair and looked at Ethan with one arm still around Tom’s waist. “I want to set up a fund and a website, and I want to talk about how domestic abuse is such a bad thing. As part of it, I’d like to see the two of you standing beside each other in a commercial saying it’s not okay for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend.”

  Ethan looked at Sam, then Tom. “I don’t think it’s safe to say no to her. Did you see what she did to the guy in the lobby?”

  Sam picked up a breadstick and tossed it at Ethan. He caught it, and took a bite, smiling. “Of course we’ll do it.”

  She looked up at Tom, who smiled and nodded, and she stood to give him another big hug, looked across the table and told Ethan, “You’ll get your hug later.”

  Dave spoke from the other side of the room, looking at Tom and then Ethan. “Would the two of you be interested in a rematch? Friends in a fight? I could really get some attention out of that — especially since Tom won last time, and we have footage of Ethan and Sam coaching him to the top of the amateurs.”

  The two men looked at each other, unsure, and Sam said, “No decisions about the next fight right now. Tonight, we celebrate!”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Sam and Ethan lay in bed the next morning, her head nestled between his arm and body, and her legs thrown over his. Neither in a hurry to get up, though Sam had to pee something awful. Moving would hurt, and she’d rather not try it just yet.

  “You know I’m going to need to reclaim you when we get home,” his voice rumbled.

  Sam’s heart skipped a beat and she had to let it catch up before she could respond. “Yeah. I was actually a little surprised you didn’t do anything last night or this morning, though I have to admit I’m grateful you haven’t yet.”

  “Remember when we watched Rocky and you said you wanted to feel like a walking wound the morning after a fight? I assume this did it for you?”

  “God, I hurt all over, and I know you have to be hurting, too. Jameson said your hands are worse than mine, and your face…” Sam grimaced as she looked at it closer. “Your darker skin hid most of the damage last night, but not so much this morning.”

  “Jameson and Tara asked us to let them know when we were up.”

  “I’m still in bed. Not up. Don’t have to call them.” Sam rolled away from him and pulled the sheet over her head. The movement hurt her ribs, but she ignored the pain and left her arm where it was.

  “Your face doesn’t look so good, either.” He rolled until he was spooned behind her, and put his hand on her hip, careful of her ribs. “We should probably let them in, and then maybe get in the hot tub if they say it’s okay?”

  “I have to pee, but I’m afraid to know how bad it’ll hurt to get up.”

  Ethan laughed. “Right there with you. Aren’t we a pair?” He rubbed her hip. “I always worry before you step into the cage, and I’m glad you’re okay. I mean, we aren’t sure what you’ve done to your knee, but assuming you just wrenched it, you’ll heal in a couple of days, probably.”

  “Same here, I was so afraid for you.” Sam thought about it and laughed, again ignoring her ribs. “Looks like we were both worried for the other and putting on a brave face.” She patted his hand. “Thanks for supporting me and not doubting me. I know it was hard for you to watch.”

  He sighed. “As I said before your last fight — I have a new appreciation for what I put you through w
hen I step into the cage. So, thank you, too.”

  “I’m going to see if I can make it to the bathroom now.”

  Her knee hurt like a bitch, but she could walk on it and didn’t think it was too bad. It didn’t feel as if anything were torn, so she hoped it was just wrenched or sprained.

  As for her ribs, she thought it was the attachments between the bones, and they’d just need some time to heal.

  She’d baby both until they were home and she could see her regular doctor. Jameson didn’t have the equipment to look inside, and she had no desire to go to a clinic or emergency room in Vegas.

  * * * *

  The couple took it easy most of the morning, took a nap together, and then dressed to catch a show with their friends.

  “Where are Tyler and Viv?” Ethan asked as they all met in the hallway.

  “Oh, that’s right, you were napping when they left.” He looked at her in question and she explained. “Tyler managed to keep his face mostly shielded from the cameras with my hair when he pulled me back, and then his hand when he talked into your ear. He faded into the crowd as soon as he handed me off to you, so there are no good shots of him. He wants to keep it that way, so he and Viv went home. Nathan will be my shadow until we leave tomorrow.”

  Sam looked to Frisco and said, “However, we don’t know where Cassie is. Has anyone seen her?”

  “Why are you looking at me?” Frisco asked.

  “Because something has been going on between the two of you for months, though you’ve tried to keep it hidden,” Tom answered.

  Frisco looked flustered, but only said, “I don’t know where she is. Whatever may or may not have happened between us is long past. She doesn’t tell me where she’s going.”

  Sam frowned. “It isn’t like her to just not meet us when she says she will, though.” She tried calling her friend, but the call went to voice mail. She left a message asking Cassie to check in as soon as she could.