by Chase, PJ
But the club offered little comfort. If Julie and Melissa were after some grinding with strangers on the dance floor or a night of frivolous sex, then they'd be in paradise. That wasn't what they were after though. If the players were out in full force, the good guys seemed to have stayed home.
The question became, where were all the good guys? They hadn't all gotten married. They couldn't have, could they? Julie and Melissa were still young. There had to be decent guys for them somewhere. But where?
***
That night Julie had a dream. Sure reality had let her down, but Julie's dreams were always so vivid. In the dream, Julie was with a man. Her desires her satisfied. Her passion was rewarded. She was with a guy that treated her with respect. That honored her feelings. That made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
"Whenever I'm with you, I feel like my life can't get any better," the Man said, peppering Julie's body with kisses.
"Keep talking like that and I'll turn into putty in your hands," Julie replied, running her hands through the Man's hair.
"God are you sexy," the Man continued, making Julie's heart nearly beat out of her chest.
"A woman can never hear that enough," Julie insisted.
"Well I have more where that came from," the Man said.
"I'll bet you do. The question is, what else do you have for me?" Julie asked.
The Man then brought his kisses back up to Julie's lips, taking her breath away with both his tongue and his touch.
Julie's dream man was a skillful lover. A man that knew how to please a woman. That didn't skimp on foreplay. That valued romance. And that didn't stop until Julie's sexual appetite was satiated.
It was the kind of love that Julie always dreamed about. The kind of sex that only existed in her dreams. But it was a dream that Julie never wanted to end. Dreams didn't last forever though.
So when Julie woke up in her bed alone, it was an all too jarring experience.
Chapter Three
Colin
Colin Robinson was taking the beating of a lifetime. He was getting his ass handed to him by Trent "The Wrecking Crew" Cutler in front of live nationally televised audience. It was quickly devolving into a bloodbath. An absolute slaughter. Colin felt like he'd been pinned against the cage the whole fight. For the first time in his MMA career, Colin seemed to be completely outmatched. With so much time spent on the defensive, all of Colin's pre fight planning was completely shot. That was the thing was mixed martial arts though. Every fight was completely unpredictable. Some bouts went the distance while others were over with one quick takedown.
Still, Colin had trained for months to take on Trent. His trainer Jimmy Mackenzie was convinced he'd found a plan of attack to take down Trent. Jimmy thought he'd found a weakness in Trent's fighting style that Colin could exploit. But Trent had come out of the gate thirsty for blood.
More than any other sport, MMA fights had a tendency to get out of hand in a hurry. One well timed blow, one unexpected takedown was all it took. If Colin ended up on the mat, he knew it would be all but over for him. The pummeling Colin was taking was bad enough with him standing upright. But if Trent knocked Colin to the mat, he'd the leverage and the free reign to wail on Colin.
Nothing good ever happened on the mat. That's where fighters ended up unconscious. Where knockouts turned into emergency room visits. Where promising careers evaporated in an instant.
Some fighters lived and died by the takedown. Their whole strategy was to tackle their opponent, get them to the mat, then lock them in a suffocating grip like a boa constrictor until their opponent was forced into submission. Colin and Trent were stand up fighters, mixing kickboxing with straight up boxing. Colin's strategy was to land punch combinations, get Trent up against the cage, then keeping landing blows until Trent was knocked out. Unfortunately, Trent was using that same strategy on Colin, and was far more successful at it.
There was no worse time to be having a bad day than on fight night. But Colin was completely off his game. From the opening round, Colin found himself in a funk. In most jobs, a funk could be shaked off. In MMA, coming out of the gate sluggish was a recipe for disaster.
That's how Colin ended up finding himself tasting his own blood. It was only the second round, but he was already soaked in sweat, with his luck down for the count. Colin used to be one of the best in the league at dodging punches, but all of Trent's blows seemed to be landing one after another that night.
Suddenly Colin's focus wasn't on winning the fight. He just wanted to get through the rest of the round without his face being plastered against the mat. He could hear the crowd screaming for a knock out. It was a demoralizing feeling for Colin to hear thousands of fans clamoring for him to get knocked out. But the mob mentality was in full swing. The crowd was the least of Colin's worries though.
Trent was at the forefront of Colin's mind. The man was an absolute beast. Just wall to wall muscle from head to toe. He had the cockiness of youth. But even worse was the fact that Trent had the fighting skills to back up his bravado. At twenty-four years old, Trent was young and inexperienced enough to not know the weight of expectations. He was able to just go out and kick some ass. Of course having the speed, agility, and strength advantage over Colin didn't hurt either.
Colin meanwhile was quickly learning that age didn't mean wisdom in MMA. At thirty-one years old, Colin had a lot of fights under his belt. But there was also a lot of tread on his tires. He'd lost his step a little. He was nowhere near as fast as he used to be. And after thirty-four bouts, it seemed like his best fighting was suddenly behind him. That was not an easy thing to come to grips with. Especially since it was dawning on him all at once. It was hard to think of anything else though given the way Trent was beating Colin down.
The sad thing was that Colin used to be just like Trent. Young, taut, and cocky as hell. Everything went Colin's way. There wasn't anyone in the world that Colin felt he couldn't knock out. And save for two fighters, that was true. Colin had only lost twice in his career. Both of those losses had cost Colin a shot at a title bout. That was the one thing Colin was missing in his fighting career--a chance to fight the best. An opportunity to lay it all on the line to take home the title. He'd come close to reaching that title fight before, but it seemed to always be just out of his reach. That's why Colin was sticking around. That's why he was still fighting even though his best fighting days were behind him. Because he just wanted one shot.
At the same time, Colin still thought he could hang with any fighter. That he still had the skills to take on a young gun. Trent was proving otherwise.
The beat down continued in round two as Trent unleashed a flurry of punches on Colin. There weren't the proper words to describe how much it hurt to take a shot in the face. Even after ten years of professional fighting, every punch to the head was skull rattling. And that was exactly what Colin was trying to avoid. The gut and even rib shots Colin could take. Sure they made him wince, but he could still keep fighting after a few jabs to the gut or chest. All it took was one clear shot to the face and it would be lights out for Colin.
Despite the beating Colin had taken so far, he'd managed to avoid a head shot. But all that was about to change. With the round nearing an end, Trent made all out push to end the fight there and then. Trent didn't want Colin to have a chance to catch his breath. So Trent unleashed a flurry of punches to Colin's gut. Colin was able to slightly block the first couple, but Trent didn't let up. Finally Trent landed a couple of blows to Colin's gut before going head hunting.
By that point Colin was completely worn down. He was running on fumes. He knew the second round bell was about to ring any second. The question was, could Colin hold off until then? Just as things seemed like they couldn't get worse for Colin, Trent delivered a crushing blow to Colin's face.
Colin had never been in so much pain in his life. Suddenly Colin's legs fell out from under him and he hit the mat with a gigantic thud. Trent now had all the leverage to
pound on Colin. It would be open season.
Colin was completely dazed. His head was spinning. There was an unstoppable throbbing pain reverberating through his body. He could sense that the end was upon him. That he wouldn't be able to fight Trent off any longer. That if he thought he'd taken a beating earlier, the worst was still yet to come.
Just as Trent went to finish Colin off though, just as he was about to unleash holy hell, the second round bell rung. Colin couldn't believe his luck. He was spared. It wasn't quite over yet. Despite all odds, Colin would live to fight another round.
***
"What the fuck are you doing out there? He's killing you," Colin's trainer Jimmy said, not holding anything back.
"I know Jimmy. It's my face getting beat in," Colin replied.
Jimmy was not one for pep talks. He was a no nonsense kind of guy. And as Colin sat in the corner of the cage getting the blood and sweat wiped off his face between rounds, the long odds that Colin faced struck him more than ever. The cold hard facts were that Colin had little chance of winning the fight. He was getting completely demolished. Trent seemed to be too quick, too strong--unbeatable.
Colin wasn't the kind of man to give in though. In ten years of professional fighting, he'd never thrown in the towel. He'd never even thought of it. Colin was too competitive to give up. He still had the will to win. So he was going to go out there and give it all he had.
Jimmy meanwhile had other things on his mind. "What the hell is going on with you? Have you forgotten the game plan?"
"I haven't had time for the game plan. I've been too busy trying to dodge punches," Colin said.
"Well look. This is a whole new round. A whole new beginning. Go out there and give it to him. Show him the Colin that has struck fear into your opponents for years," Jimmy replied.
Colin then dug deep, knowing it was do or die time. If he was going to make a run at winning the fight, it was his last chance.
"Alright," Colin said.
"You got enough left in the tank?" Jimmy asked.
Colin nodded. "Let's do this."
***
As Colin and Trent stood in their corners getting ready for round three, Colin knew that his only chance was to try to strike fast. To take a few shots at Trent's head to try and knock him off his game. There was no way that Colin could go the distance. He couldn't go toe to toe for three more rounds. He'd have to try to end it fast or risk being completely overpowered.
The problem with such an aggressive strategy was that if Trent was able to withstand Colin's initial surge, Colin's defenses would be down and he'd be a sitting duck. But that was the risk Colin had to take. He only had so much fuel left in his tank. He was both emotionally and physically worn down. It was now or never.
So as round three started, Colin went right at Trent. He managed to land a few quick jabs on Trent, hoping to get him on the defensive so Colin could pull out the big guns. But Colin's punches didn't even seem to faze Trent. It was as if Trent was a steamroller, and he wasn't going to stop until he ran Colin straight over.
Trent fought off Colin's initial attack, then launched a counter strike of his own. Trent's jabs packed a serious punch though. He was tired of messing around. Trent wanted to end the fight right there. So Trent bowled Colin over with his brute strength, swinging with all his might. Colin just couldn't keep up with Trent's speed. He could only dodge so many punches. Then, Colin's luck finally ran completely out. Trent went right at Colin's face and hit Colin with a right cross that felt like getting hit with a sledgehammer.
It was a direct hit--right to the kisser. Colin flopped to the mat, completely unconscious. And like that, Colin was done for.
***
Colin had never been knocked out before. He'd never been unconscious either. That night Colin had the unpleasant experience of doing both. The doctor at the arena told Colin that he had a concussion. That he'd have to take it easy for a while. That he should feel lucky that it wasn't worse.
Colin didn't feel lucky though. All Colin felt at that moment was pain. There was an ache in his body that seemed like it wouldn't go away anytime soon. He hadn't felt that exhausted in his whole life. Colin wanted to put an ice pack over every inch of his body.
During the fight, Colin's adrenaline carried him through. But now that the rush was gone, all Colin was left with was pain, frustration, and doubt.
Colin felt like his head was going to explode. His head was throbbing so much that it was almost as if Trent had taken a screwdriver to his skull. But between wincing in pain, Colin wondered how things had gone so terribly wrong in the cage. Did Trent just have a night where everything went right, or did Colin just have a night when everything went wrong? Was Colin really that outmatched? Colin's last fight was against Tommy Tanner. Tommy was in his early twenties just like Trent, but that fight had gone much better for Colin. Despite the good fight that Tommy had put up, Colin ended up victorious. And that fight was only six months ago.
Had age really caught up to Colin that quickly? Had he really lost his step in that short amount of time? Or had the competition just stepped up their game significantly? Colin and his trainer had watched all of Trent's fights. They'd seen all the footage they could on him. And they hadn't ever seen Trent fight like that. Not even close. Then again, Trent had never gone up against a name fighter before. He'd only gone toe to toe with other guys that were relatively fresh on the scene like him. Trent was still trying to claw his way up into the spotlight. And now with an upset victory over Colin, he had all the spotlight he could ever want.
Colin was still confused though. It just didn't add up. Sure Colin wasn't one of the elite fighters in the league anymore, but he also wasn't a roll over. That fight was embarrassing. Colin could handle losing, but getting drubbed was another story. There was no way to feel anything but ashamed after that. Still, Colin wondered if it was just a one time fluke or if this was just the norm all of a sudden. Either way, Colin didn't like it.
While Colin was drowning in a pool of his own self doubt, his trainer Jimmy paced back and forth through the locker room with a look of utter surprise on his face. But what Jimmy did next shocked Colin more than anything.
"You did your best out there Colin," Jimmy said.
Jimmy was not the kind of man to whitewash things. Colin didn't think it was in his DNA. If anything, Jimmy had a tendency to come across too gruff. But Colin accepted that--he needed it. Being a trainer wasn't about being a friend. It was about telling the truth, no matter how grim that truth was.
Colin wouldn't have had half the career he'd had if Jimmy hadn't lit a fire under his ass. There were times that Colin hated Jimmy. That he felt Jimmy was pushing him way too much. But Jimmy got results. He always got the best out of his fighters.
So for Jimmy to all of a sudden be trying to put a positive spin on the massacre that had happened out there was completely uncharacteristic of him.
"What the fuck?" Colin replied, completely confused.
"You did all you could," Jimmy said.
Colin couldn't handle the sugarcoating. He didn't know what was going on in Jimmy's head, but clearly something was up with him. Colin wanted to find out what it was.
"Bullshit Jimmy. I got my ass kicked, plain and simple," Colin replied.
Jimmy tensed up and looked at the floor.
"Jimmy, what's going on with you man? I mean it's not like you to be nice to me. So why are you sugarcoating everything all of a sudden?" Colin continued.
Jimmy groaned. "It's my fault kid. I let you down."
"What?" Colin said, in disbelief. "You weren't the one out there fighting. You weren't the one not being able to execute the game plan--"
"Forget the game plan Colin. Can't you see? I obviously missed something with Trent. I obviously had the wrong game plan," Jimmy insisted.
Colin didn't believe that for a minute though. Jimmy had a brilliant mind for fighting. He'd spent his whole life around mixed martial arts. The sport was his life. It had cost him h
is marriage. Jimmy was a genius strategist. And he'd seen every punch that Trent had thrown since turning pro.
Colin knew something else was up with Jimmy. That he was still hiding something. And Colin needed to know what that was.
"No way do I believe that. Now tell me what's really going on," Colin insisted.
Jimmy stared at Colin, then took a deep breath. Jimmy clearly had something very difficult to say and was having trouble finding the words to say it. But after what Colin had just been through, he was convinced that he could take it.
"Jimmy, just tell me straight up. I can handle it," Colin said.
Finally Jimmy was ready to drop the bombshell. "I think it might be over."
Colin thought he was ready for anything. But he sure as hell wasn't ready for that. "What?"
Jimmy hated to be the one to have to tell Colin the bad news, but sometimes the truth just had to be laid down.
"It happens to every fighter. It happened to me. And it was bound to happen to you. I just didn't think it would happen so soon," Jimmy explained.
"Look, I had a bad fight. I admit it. Things like that happen every once in a while," Colin reasoned. "But that doesn't mean--"
"Colin, this isn't easy for me either. I know you wanted to get a title shot. I know that's what you've been sticking around for. But I also know what I just saw out there, and it was more than just a bad fight," Jimmy said.
"Are you sure about that?" Colin asked.
"I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong," Jimmy said.
"But do you think you're wrong?" Colin asked.
Jimmy grimaced, then shook his head. "No."
"Oh," Colin said, deflated.
"You've had a hell of a career though. It's really been something being your trainer," Jimmy replied.
Colin didn't want to believe it was time to throw in the towel. He wanted to believe that the loss had been a fluke. But either way, things weren't looking good.
***
"I want you so bad," Samantha moaned.