Fight of Life (Perception Book 3)

by Shandi Boyes

  “Wow, we could be twins” I declare while laughing. “We just need to get you out of the sun and curl your hair a little” I joke.

  Emily has beautiful tan skin and her hair is straight compared to my beige skin tone and wavy hair, but as she stands in front of me right now, I can see a lot of similarities between us. When I look up at Emily’s face, I see that she is glaring at me, obviously not impressed by my playfulness.

  “I’m just joking Emily, you look wonderful” I advise, while trying my hardest not to roll my eyes at her little tantrum. I give her arm a little rub, before grabbing my toothbrush and leaving the bathroom.

  Since Emily is hogging the only bathroom we have, I end up brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink. Just as I finish spitting the last of my toothpaste, my phone dings indicating that I have received a text message from Jacob.

  When you asked me out tonight was that for a date?

  Hmmm, I don’t know…. Maybe.

  Seriously?

  ….. I am horny.

  Jesus Christ Lola, you can’t say shit like that to me.

  Why not?

  Because I am not alone and you are giving me a raging hard on!

  This causes me to laugh loudly, before I get a nice tingling sensation between my legs.

  Sorry…… Do you want me to make it all better?

  Fuck yes!

  Where are you?

  I wait for Jacob to reply, noticing it takes a lot longer for him to reply this time around.

  Can I meet you later?

  Obviously Jacob is somewhere he doesn’t want me to be, but I am too horny to care right now.

  Okay……

  I can meet you at Mavericks at 11pm

  Alright, but don’t keep me waiting Jacob.

  I’ll be there.

  Ok, I look forward to it!

  Me too xx

  I end up arriving at Mavericks by ten pm, a little eager for my hook up with Jacob. It wasn’t that I was desperate, but when you have been with someone as well-endowed as Jacob, you can’t help but get a little excited.

  “Hi Maggie” I greet as I walk over towards the bar. Mavericks still pulls in a pretty decent crowd on a Saturday night, but it isn’t as packed as the standard Friday nights are. The band that performs at Mavs on Saturday night is called ‘Wanting Wombats’. They are talented but lack the sex appeal that ‘Rise Up’ has. It probably doesn’t help that they have one of the stupidest band names I have ever heard.

  “I thought I gave you the night off?” Maggie replies as she continues pulling beers and serving customers.

  “You did; I am meeting Jacob here” I respond, making Maggie’s eyes dart towards mine.

  “Are you two dating?” she questions sternly as she stops serving the customers and walks over to stand near me.

  “No, we are just friends” I reply casually. Friends who want to fuck each other, but I don’t think Maggie wants to know all those details.

  “Friends…oh… friends?” she questions as her eyes slightly narrow towards me.

  “Can I please have a beer?” I respond quickly, wanting to avoid any further interrogation.

  “You know where they are” she advises sternly, before she returns to serving other patrons standing near the bar.

  I quickly run around to the other side of the bar and help myself to a bottle of beer while sticking my tongue out at Maggie, causing her to smirk back at me. She acts like she doesn’t like me, but I can tell she is starting to warm to me, slowly.

  I spend the next hour listening to ‘Wanting Wombats’ waiting for Jacob to arrive. I had been approached by a few guys offering to buy me a drink or asking if I wanted to play a game of pool, but I had told Jacob that I would meet him here at 11pm, so I will keep my word. By the time it is midnight and Jacob still hasn’t arrived, I am beyond furious and maybe a little bit tipsy.

  “Can I buy you a drink Lola?” asks a deep voice from behind me.

  I spin on my barstool and look into the light green eyes of Flynn, the lead singer of ‘Wanting Wombats’. I let my eyes roam over his body before making my decision. He is cute, even if he isn’t the type of guy I would normally find attractive. He has long brown hair that hangs halfway down his back, his face makes him appear younger than his twenty-five years and his left eyebrow is pierced with a large silver barbell. He definitely isn’t the size of Jacob, but he has a nice athletic build, that is on full display considering he is currently shirtless and only wearing a pair of tight black leather pants. But, the one thing that really turns me on about Flynn is, his deep and sexy Australian accent.

  “Do you want to get a drink or do you just want to get out of here?” I reply, as his face morphs into a seductive grin.

  “Let’s go” he eagerly replies.

  I jump off the barstool and walk out of Mavericks with my arms wrapped around the heavily tattooed torso of Flynn. It’s finally time to take care of my rampant horniness.

  Chapter 16

  Jacob

  “Why did you fucking do that Hank, I told you not to do that” I yell furiously, as I sit on the padded bench in the locker room after tonight’s fight.

  “I also told you not to let him get you on the edge of the cage Jacob and where did you end up” Hank replies angrily. “I wasn’t going to watch him kill you on that floor, just because you hate the thought of being defeated”

  “Defeated, he fucking cheated Hank!” I respond aggressively

  “I know that Jacob” he replies sincerely as he walks over towards me and starts removing the tape from my left hand, while I hold an ice brick to my right eye that is nearly sealed shut.

  I knew my opponent wasn’t going to fight fair the instant he dismissed my friendly gesture of a tap of our gloves at the start of the fight. But when he ‘accidently’ kneed me in the crutch, causing me to drop to my knees on the floor and then he did an illegal punch on the back of my head, I knew it was going to be the dirtiest fight I had ever participated in. Both tactics he had used are illegal in the UFC fighting cage, but even with Hank protesting loudly to the referee, he didn’t say a word and no points were deducted from the ‘Constrictor’s’ tally.

  By the time the second round started, I was furious from the referee’s blatant bias that I charged towards my opponent and hammered him with a set of gruelling left and right combinations, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground just as the second round came to an end.

  For the third round, we both met in the middle of the cage and went toe to toe. It reminded me of old fashioned fighting in a back alley. We stood directly in front of each other, going punch for punch, neither of us willing to back down from our aggressive attack until the end of the round.

  My opponent and I were both exhausted at the end of the fourth round, that a majority of the second half of that round was spent leaning against each other, while attempting to inflict close contact punches. It was only right towards the end of the round, when he gouged my eye with his thumb, that I stumbled backwards and hit the edge of the cage. Hank yelled for me to move off the edge and just as I was about to step away, the ‘Constrictor’ moved in and unleashed a barrel of punches and kicks against my already exhausted and bruised body. That is when Hank decided to throw in the towel, announcing my defeat, against my fucking wishes.

  “Let me look at your eye” Hank instructs, as he removes the ice brick from my right eye.

  “Your cornea doesn’t look scratched, but you might want to get it checked by an ophthalmologist” Hank advises before he places the ice brick back into my hand.

  “It will be fine” I reply harshly. Hank starts unwrapping the tape from my right hand as his gaze seeks mine.

  “You will get your opportunity again Jacob. But I will make sure it is a fair fight the next time around” Hank affirms.

  I remove the icepack from the eye and start to gingerly get dressed. I am already stiff as my muscles have started to seize from sitting the last hour while the UFC doctors did a full medical check-up. Othe
r than three broken ribs and a few bruises, I am relatively uninjured.

  “Did you want me to organise someone to drive you home?” questions Hank.

  “No, I have a date” I reply while smiling. I still can’t believe Lola has finally agreed to go on a date with me.

  “What’s the time?” I quickly question.

  “11.35pm” Hank replies after he looks down at the silver watch on his wrist.

  “Fuck” I breathe out harshly. Because of the fight going several rounds longer than I was use to and the UFC requiring me to complete a full medical check-up, I am now late for my date with Lola.

  “I have to go” I reply as I rapidly gather my gym bag off the floor and start making my way to the carpark. My body screaming in protest with every step I take, but there was no way I am going to stand Lola up after she has finally agreed to go on a date with me.

  As I was on route to Mavericks my phone dings with a text from Lola.

  Maybe next time?

  “Dam it” I breathe harshly in annoyance. The one time Lola decides to go on a date with me, was the one fucking night the fight ran over.

  While waiting for the red light to change, I try to decide whether I should continue on route to Mavericks, which is just one block over, or should I just head home and call it an early night. Fuck it, I am already this close to Mav’s and maybe Lola is still there waiting for me.

  By the time I arrive at Mavericks, the carpark is nearly deserted with only a handful of cars left. The instant I walk in the double wooden doors, I peer around the bar in a hope to see Lola, but she is nowhere in sight.

  “Hey Maggie, did you see Lola tonight?” I question as I hastily stride towards the bar.

  Maggie’s gaze lifts from the glasses she is stacking away to look at me. Her face goes from smiling to mortified in an instant.

  “What happen to you Jacob?” she responds concerned as she moves closer to me.

  “It’s nothing” I inform in an attempt to brush off her concern. My gaze flicks back to look at the office behind the bar wondering if Lola is waiting back there.

  “Jacob” Maggie states sternly, forcing my eyes to slowly turn to her.

  “It’s fine Maggie” I assure, while looking into her concerned eyes. “Have you seen Lola?” I eagerly question.

  Maggie’s blue eyes dart around at the bruises that are covering my face, before they eventually return my gaze.

  “She left here around ten minutes ago” Maggie replies quietly, while offering me a small smile.

  “Thanks Maggie” I respond as I give her a quick peck on the cheek and grab my cell-phone out of my pocket to dial Lola’s number.

  “Hi, you have reached Lola, you know what to do” advises her voicemail.

  “Hey Lola, its Jacob. I am sorry I am late. Maggie said you only just left Mavericks and I thought maybe I would be able to catch you before you head home. Call me” I advise into the phone.

  I then hang up and send her a quick text in case she didn’t want to answer her phone while driving.

  Sorry I’m late, I am waiting for you at Mavericks.

  When I look up, I notice that Maggie has placed two bottles of beer on the counter top. One bottle is open while the other remains closed.

  “One for you and one for your eye” she advises when she notices my curious gaze. I smile at Maggie as I take a sip of the opened bottle of beer and place the other ice cold bottle against my swollen eye.

  Maggie remains quiet while I continued to drink my beer in the nearly empty bar, waiting for Lola to return my call. When Maggie notes my empty beer bottle, she immediately replaces it with another one.

  “Jake the Giant” she whispers as she sits the beer bottle down onto the counter top. My hand freezes just as I was about to reach the bottle and my gaze slowly turns up to face Maggie.

  “You’re Jake the Giant, aren’t you?” Maggie questions as her concerned blue eyes look into mine.

  “How did you find out?” I question quietly, causing Maggie’s eyebrows to pull together with concern that it creates a deep V in the middle of her forehead.

  “I have worked at this bar for over twenty-five years, I know everything” she replies as she rolls her eyes. This causes me to chuckle; I truly do believe Maggie knows everything, as most drunks can’t keep their mouths shut.

  “When some of the patrons started mentioning about a new fighter I was stunned as his description sounded so much like you. But I brushed it off without a second thought as you have always been more a lover than a fighter Jacob” she responds as her blue eyes start to gloss over from some small unshed tears forming in them.

  “Why would you choose to be a fighter?” she questions concerned.

  “I don’t know” I reply as I shrug my shoulders and continue to look into her intense blue eyes. Maggie has always treated me and the boys of the band as if we are her own children. She is the closest thing to a mother I have ever had.

  “I finally get to do something that is just for me” I truthfully reply. I know it might sound selfish, but when I am working out in the gym or fighting it means the focus is fully on me, even if it is only for an hour or two each day.

  “It’s about time you did something for yourself Jacob” Maggie replies sincerely as she gently squeezes my hand “I just wish you had picked something that wasn’t so brutal” she continues.

  “It’s not always this bad” I slightly chuckle as I pull the beer bottle away from the bruised eye.

  “Does Lola know?” she questions. I instantly shake my head, while I take a swig of my beer.

  “You can’t tell her” Maggie whispers, before she quickly commences wiping down the bench, placing a small amount of distance between us.

  “Why?” I question, moving down the bar to sit opposite Maggie again.

  “I have already said to much. It’s not my story to tell” Maggie replies hesitantly.

  “But the one thing I will say Jacob is, I don’t think Lola is the girl for you” she continues as she goes back to stacking the glasses that she was originally stacking when I first walked in.

  I watch Maggie as she works, trying to work out what she meant by her statement. When she would catch my gaze, she would offer a small sad smile, but she doesn’t utter a sound for the next hour.

  It was only as I jumped into my car to head home that I finally got a text message back from Lola.

  I only just got your message. I’m sorry Jacob.

  I don’t know why she needs to be sorry, I was the one that didn’t turn up on time.

  Next time?

  Maybe…. Night Jacob

  Night xx

  When I get home, I head to the kitchen to wash down the pain medication the UFC doctor had given me with a beer. I was hoping to have an early night, but what Maggie had said to me wouldn’t stop running through my head. Why would Maggie be so concerned about Lola finding out I was fighting? I didn’t even think Maggie liked Lola, but she seemed concerned for her tonight, before she warned me to stay away from her.

  A few hours and a few beers later, Noah ends up strolling into the lounge room smiling brightly. He appears the most carefree I have ever seen him.

  “Where have you been all night?” I question, startling Noah as he didn’t notice me sitting in the darkness.

  He walks over and flicks on the lamp before his gaze turns towards me. The instant his eyes roam over my face, his face morphs into anger and shock.

  “What the fuck Jacob” he states angrily as he walks over to stand in front of me. “Who did this to you Jacob?” he questions as he lifts my chin to get a better look at my face.

  “No one, it’s not as bad as it looks” I reply calmly. The pain medication I had taken has started to kick in nicely that I can no longer feel my own face.

  “Not as bad as it looks, fuck Jacob, you look like you had the living shit beaten out of you” Noah responds angrily.

  “You should see the other guy” I chuckle. I noticed my opponent was sporting a few dark
bruises as well when he left the arena. I attempt to stand up from the chair I am sitting in, but slightly fumble. Maybe I shouldn’t have mixed my pain medication with alcohol? Those couple of beers I had seem to have gone straight to my head.

  “I’m going to jump in a shower” I advise into the concerned eyes of Noah.

  It was only once I reach my bedroom door do I remember Maggie’s stern warning about not letting Lola find out that I am fighting, triggering me to turn back around.

  “Please don’t tell Lola you saw me like this” I plead.