"That's what I'm talking about, boy! Looking like a rear naked machine out there," one of the guys from the gym said as Julien came in from outside. The paramedics had brought him into the ambulance to stitch him up.
"Thanks man." Julien said. "Where's Coach?"
"He's still out there with Brett."
"Still? How's it going?"
"It went the distance, but he lost a split decision. They're just finishing up."
Julien hated to hear that one of his teammates just lost a close fight, but that was how it went. Just then Brett, along with their coaches, came into the room. There were several rooms in the locker room area, and their team had four fighters on the card, so they took over one room for themselves. The door was open, and they could hear noise from people in the hall, but Brett obviously appreciated the privacy after such a tough loss. The exhausted fighter collapsed into one of the padded folding chairs that had been set out for the team. He leaned over and put the towel he was holding over his own head.
"You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of." Coach Tim said, putting a hand on his back. He was the head coach and knew from experience what it felt like to lose. "It was close and you fought hard." Brett just interlocked his fingers and put his hands on the back of his head, over the towel. Tim left it at that. He stood up and turned around to give Brett a chance to do whatever he needed to do under that towel. As he turned, he caught sight of Julien.
"How many stitches?" the coach asked.
"Three."
Tim crossed the few feet that separated them and inspected the paramedic's handiwork. He slapped Julien's ass in that tough-guy athlete way and turned to talk to another fighter who was on the other side of the room hitting pads. He'd be fighting within the next hour, and it was obvious he was trying not to focus on Brett's loss.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Tim said, turning back to face Julien. He fished into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "One of the ring girls handed me this."
He handed the paper to Julien, who took it with a confused expression. He turned it over and read the words. It said, "To the guy with the birthmark."
"What's it say?" Julien asked. He looked up at Tim but never stopped unfolding the paper.
"How am I supposed to know? It's for you."
"You didn't read it?"
"No, I didn't read it. I have twenty-eight fighters on the card tonight. I don't have time to read your little notes." (Tim had four fighters on the card, but always made up random numbers of things to prove his point.)
Julien wasn't paying attention to him anyway. He was staring down at the note. It was scribbled on a piece of stationery from the casino. "All three of us ring girls are going to Fast Eddie's after the fight. I'd love to see you there. My name's Raven. I'm the hot one." Julien smiled and looked up. Tim had already gone off in the direction of the other fighter, and no one was really paying attention to what he was reading.
"What's it say?" Christian asked. Julien hadn't seen Christian watching him read the note, but Christian had seen the girl give it to Tim and was curious about what it said.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Julien said. He was pretending like he wasn't going to tell anyone even though he totally wanted everyone to know what it said. Christian called his bluff and shrugged like he didn't care if Julien let him read it or not.
"What do those ring girls look like, anyway?" Julien asked, unable to stand it.
Christian shrugged and held a hand out for the note. "I don't look at those ring girls anymore. I'm married, remember?"
"Don't act like you don't look," came a voice from the other side of the room. Neither of them was sure who said it, though it sounded like Carlos.
"Do those ring girls look good?" Julien asked the room at large.
There were a few appreciative noises, before Carlos said, "Yeah, dude, you didn't check them out before the fights started? They been walking around here in those little outfits since like five o'clock. Usually, at least one of them looks good, but this time, all three of em do. There's not one I wouldn't bang."
"There's not one in the audience you wouldn't bang either," Christian said.
"Shut-up fool. I'm just answering the man's question. If that note's from one of the ring girls out there, you better do whatever it says, or I'm gonna take it from you and do it myself."
"She said they're all going to Fast Eddie's," Julien said. "I think we should go by there."
****
Two hours later, Julien and three of his friends walked through the door at Fast Eddie's. He figured based on the name that it was some kind of pool hall, which it was—but the place was bumping. He couldn't believe there were so many people. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to find Raven in that crowd. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure what she looked like. Carlos was with him, and he was the expert who'd spoken up earlier about how hot they all were, so Julien was pretty sure if she was in the bar, his friend would be able to find her.
It wasn't even an issue. They'd only been inside the bar for a few seconds when he heard his name. "Julien!" she said, coming up from the side of him and putting her arms around his neck. She reached up and kissed his cheek. "I'm so glad you made it."
She looked up at him, but he just stared blankly at her. Her familiarity rendered him speechless.
"I'm Raven," she said, as if that should explain everything. "The one who wrote you the note."
Julien nodded. "I figured. I hoped that's who you were, otherwise you'd just be a random girl kissing me."
"Aww, I thought you were gonna say you hoped that's who I was because I was so hot," she said, sticking her bottom lip out.
"That too. I meant that too."
"Good," she said. She smiled and took his hand. "We're all sitting over here."
Raven led the way with Julien and three of his friends following her. The other two ring girls, along with a few other girls and a couple guys, were standing and sitting in stools around a pool table not far from the door. Fast Eddie's had quarter tables, but they were nice, and Julien thought he might enjoy getting in a game or two while they were there.
"Hey Bro, we're gonna hit the bar real quick. You want anything?" Carlos asked.
"I'll take a beer." Julien said, taking a twenty-dollar bill from his money clip.
"I got it Bro. It's the least I can do."
"Do for what?" Julien asked, looking confused.
"For that being your only beer so you can drive and I can drink what I want."
Julien knew he'd be stuck being the responsible one whether he liked it or not, so he didn't try to fight it. He rolled his eyes and held out the twenty.
Carlos snatched it without question. "You got mine too?" he asked.
"Hell no!"
Carlos laughed.
"You better bring my change boss."
"Chill dude, I'm just messin' with you." Carlos glanced at Raven.
"You want anything?"
"I'm good," she said. "Thanks anyway."
"Thank Julien," he said. "This round's on him." He held up the twenty with a smirk and turned to head to the bar.
Julien just shook his head.
The other two guys went to the bar with Carlos, which left Julien standing there next to Raven. She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something. Julien wasn't really the type who made a lot of small talk, so he just sort of stood there with his hands in his pockets for a few seconds until he realized he should probably think of something to say. Julien smiled at her, but didn't have time to speak before one of her girlfriends came up and whispered something in her ear. They giggled and talked for a minute before she looked back at Julien.
"Did you read that book?" he asked.
She cocked her head to the side and stared at him, confused.
"Your note said 'to the guy with the birthmark', and you knew my name, so I just figured—"
Her expression told him she had no idea what he was talking about. "I just put the guy w
ith the birthmark because I didn't know your name when I wrote the note. I had learned it by the time you came in just now because I explained which fighter you were to these guys, and they said your name was Julien."
"So, you have no idea what book I'm talking about?"
"No. Should I?"
Julien shrugged. "Not really. I just thought that's why you wanted to hook up or whatever."
"I wanted to hook up for obvious reasons," she said. She pointed from his head to his toes for added emphasis. "But now you've got me curious about this book. Must be pretty good if you thought it'd have me wanting to hook up with you."
"It's a romance novel. A lady from our gym wrote it. The main character's name is Julien, and he has a birthmark like mine."
She gasped. "You're the main character in a romance novel? That's the coolest thing I've ever heard. You're famous?"
"I wouldn't say famous, she just wanted to use my birthma—"
"He choked the shit out of that guy tonight too. Did you see that?" Carlos interrupted. He held Julien's beer and change in the same hand, and handed it all to Julien.
"I saw that," Raven said.
"Was he telling you about his alias as professional fighter and lover extraordinaire Julien St. James?"
"Did you just say extraordinaire?" Julien asked, raising an eyebrow.
Carlos ignored the question.
"Was that the character's name in the book?" Raven asked. "Julien St. James? That's so hot." She was like a kid in a candy store, all sparkly-eyed and eager.
Julien tried to shrug it off. Believe it or not, he would have preferred if she didn't know about the book. It didn't really matter anyway. There was no way he could make it work with someone like Raven. He'd only been there five minutes, and she was cute and everything, but he knew she wasn't the one. That wasn't going to stop him from having a little fun, though.
Chapter 4
"Where are y'all staying?" Raven asked. They'd been at Fast Eddie's for almost two hours, and had been having a good time hanging out with her and her friends. The guys who came in with Julien had been talking to a few girls too, but mostly they were all just playing pool.
Raven was all over him like white on rice. Julien didn't really mind, he just dreaded telling her goodnight. He wasn't the type who had one-night stands no matter how cute the girl was. As far as he was concerned, if Raven was willing to sleep with him the first night they met, just imagine how many other guys she'd been with.
"Hello? Are you there?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his face.
"What?" he asked.
She put her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. "I was asking where y'all were staying. I was thinking I could go back to your hotel with you."
"Yeah," he said apologetically, "we're gonna have to get on the road first thing in the morning, and uh, I'm sharing a room with another guy anyway."
She ran her hand through her long, dark hair and shot him a sweet expression. She was really cute, and for a second, Julien hated himself for not being the type of guy who slept with every girl who was willing. She must have seen that moment of self-doubt because she pounced on it. She kissed him on the lips right there in the bar in front of everybody. She was sitting on a barstool and he was standing next to her. It started slowly at first. She looked up and barely touched her lips to his. But once she picked up on the fact that he didn't seem to mind, she pulled him closer and began trying to deepen the kiss. She put her hand on the back of his head, using her nails to gently scratch the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck. He opened his mouth to her slightly, and she didn't hesitate to respond by doing the same thing. Their tongues touched for a few electric seconds, and he caught himself reconsidering the idea of a one-night stand. Maybe she'd picked the exact right moment to do that, or maybe she was just a good kisser—either way, Julien was officially enjoying himself with the ring girl, Raven.
She stopped the kiss, grabbed his chin and shifted his head to look at the side of his face. "Has anyone ever told you your birthmark looks good on you?" she said.
He looked at her, laughing. "Not until about a year ago, but since then, I've heard it about six hundred times."
"Oh, you mean because of that book?"
"Yeah."
"I'm gonna have to read that."
"The guy in that book's not really me, though. I mean, he looks like me, and has my job, and my name, but he's just a character she made up. He's way cooler than I am."
"I can't imagine that," she said. She reached up and scratched the back of his head again. "I usually don't like mohawks," she said.
"But you like mine?"
"I love it."
"Hey Julien," Carlos said. "We're about ready to get outta here, dude, and you're driving."
Julien looked at his watch and then at Raven, debating for a second about trying to work out a little extra time with her. All this in spite of the fact that he knew she wasn't right for him and he'd probably regret it in the morning. Raven could see Julien's internal battle, and she snuggled up next to him, hoping to make his decision a little harder.
"I can give you a ride back to your hotel whenever if you want to hang out a little longer," she said.
"I'm driving," he said. "And we need to head home pretty early in the morning. I have to be at work at noon."
"Tomorrow's Saturday."
"I know."
"You work on Saturday?"
"Not usually, but I have to fill in for someone."
"Where do you work?"
"At the gym."
Raven just looked at him as if that wasn't enough of an answer.
"The gym where we train. I teach MMA and kickboxing."
"You work at that place too?"
"Yeah, I pretty much live there."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up again as if living in a MMA gym was the hottest thing she could ever imagine.
A random guy had been listening from the next table, and Raven's enthusiasm must have been a little too much for him to ignore. "You think living at a gym makes you a fighter?" The guy laughed and then turned to his friends mumbling, "I'd like to see what he's got in a street situation."
Carlos was always up for a bar fight, and he lit up at the sound of those words. "Hey ese, you got something to say to my friend? I thought I heard you say something about a street situation. Did you need to ask him something to his face?"
"I ain't your ese, you fucking wetback."
Julien turned to the stranger with a measure of calmness that seemed unnatural in the tense situation. A few feet of space separated them, and Julien crossed it. Without so much as a word, he reached out and wrapped his right hand around the guy's neck."
"I'm not a fighter because I live at the gym, ese. I live at the gym because I'm a fighter."
The stranger's face was a mask of terror, and despite him holding a pool cue in his hand (which he could have used as a weapon) he was completely motionless, petrified with fear.
Julien's grasp around his neck was unrelenting, and he was prepared to finish the job if the guy refused to back down. "Now, apologize to my friend for what you just called him, and we can all go back to what we were doing."
"I'm sorry," he choked out.
"Sorry for what?" Julien asked, tightening his grip.
"Shit dude, I'm sorry for callin' you a wetback," he sputtered. Julien let go of the guy's neck, and he bent over, gasping for air with a little too much drama.
"Is that what you were talking about with the street situation, Ese?" Carlos said. "Is that how y'all do it on the streets?"
Just about everyone who was standing around laughed at Carlos' comment, but Julien wasn't entertained. He loved to fight, but it would have been just plain sadistic for him to engage with this idiot and his "street situation".
Fortunately, the incident gave Julien an out with Raven as well. He told her he had a good time hanging out, but really needed to be getting back to the hotel. Raven wasn't accustomed to being denied, and she got a l
ittle pouty about it, but she shook it off and settled for writing her number on a napkin.
"You only live two hours away. Maybe you could come back and see me sometime," she said, handing it to him.
"Maybe so," he agreed. He folded the napkin and put it in the back pocket of his jeans. Considering how far most girls got with Julien, this minimal amount of interest was a compliment.
Julien and his friends left Fast Eddie's and headed back to their hotel. The fighters and coaches were on the road the next morning by 9AM. They stopped for coffee before leaving New Orleans. Julien caught a ride with Christian and a few of the other guys from the gym. None of them had been with them at Fast Eddie's the night before, so Julien gave them a recap on everything that went down. They all got a kick out of the guy thinking he could handle himself against a trained fighter in a street situation.
"All I want is for someone to come up to me in a bar and tell me I couldn't take him in a street situation," Brett said. "That'd be like a fuckin' Christmas present."
"It wasn't as gratifying as you might think," Julien said. "All I did was grab his throat, and he was done."
"Damn, he didn't even take a swing?"
"No," Julien laughed. "And he was holding a pool cue."
"I'll bet he peed himself," Brett said.
They each shared stories about people who thought they could fight better than they actually could. Most guys thought they'd know what to do if they got in a bar fight, but they never realize the amount of cardio you need to make it past throwing a few punches. It's one thing to watch UFC and be familiar with the sport, but another to engage. All three of the guys in the car had been in the cage and knew for themselves how hard it was. They got a kick of recounting examples of how other people assumed they could do it with no training.
Everyone riding in Christian's car made it back to the gym at just after 11AM. They'd all left their cars at the gym the day before since there was no need for them to drive separately. Julien had an old Jeep, but he was always working on it, and knew it would have been fine to make the trip. It was his baby and he loved having it as a project, but it didn't have air or heat, and he was much more comfortable in Christian's car. None of them even went inside the gym. They just said their goodbyes in the parking lot and went separate ways. Julien's house was only a ten-minute drive, and he decided to go home to put his stuff away and take a shower before he had to be back to fill in for class.
Julien's Book Page 3