by L. B. Dunbar
I couldn’t let my breach of silence distract me. Speaking took thinking, and I had to keep my mind focused on physical control. My head twisted as if that would help force Thor over. We were struggling against each other, opposing forces when the unthinkable happened. He bit me. I screamed out and the ref called the time.
“He bit him,” Shepherd yelled, climbing into the space allotted for the fight. Thor was already celebrating with fists raised to the heavens. The crowd was going wild. I rolled to all fours and stood slowly. A trickle of blood was streaming down my right pec from my neck.
“He bit him,” Shepherd bellowed again. The ref approached me to examine the top of my shoulder. The skin was definitely broken. Thor’s teeth were sharp. The move was illegal. Two other officials were behind me. Words were being shouted, but I wasn’t listening. My body ached in places that had been continually worked, and yet still not prepared for a contender like Thor. Over Shepherd’s shoulder, I saw her. Her eyes were filled with concern as I stood panting. Blood was being wiped off my chest. Thor’s voice registered.
Without thinking, I spun, fist raised and ready to fight again. The crowd erupted. Officials were holding Thor and I back from continuing to destroy one another. The boos outweighed the cheers, but the steady combination almost cancelled each cry out by the equal enthusiasm on both sides. I didn’t care. My body was on a natural high, despite the loss. Shepherd and a guard eventually pulled me away.
In the locker room, I threw my gloves at the wall. My chest stung.
“That fucker probably gave me rabies,” I cursed.
Shepherd didn’t think that humorous as something was poured over the wound that only made me hiss in pain. I needed to have the bite examined. I’d had a tetanus shot, but I’d need something else since he’d broken the skin. While I waited for a medic in the makeshift locker room, I heard her voice again.
“Betta?” she questioned. “Abel,” she said softer. I kept my back to her. Shepherd looked me in the eyes. I shook my head once. She wasn’t going to come to me now. I couldn’t handle Elma tonight.
“Look, sweetheart,” Shepherd began coldly, “You’ll need to step outside. Betta needs some tending to.”
“That’s why I’m here. I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she replied, addressing me around Shepherd. Coach had been staring at her over my shoulder, but glanced back at me again. Concern crossed my trainer’s face.
I shook my head infinitesimally. Get her out, I tried to express with my cold glare.
“He’s going to be okay. Step out now, please,” Coach bit with suppressed edginess. This was new territory for both of us. We hadn’t had to deal with women yet.
“Abel, please. I’m…I’m concerned.”
With that I stood and spun to face her.
“Why, Elma? Why now?”
She blinked rapidly, and I knew I’d be damned if she cried. She wasn’t that soft, though, which is why her tears the other night had surprised me.
“I…you haven’t spoken to me all week. I wanted to talk to you. And tonight…he bit you,” she said, stating the obvious and stepping toward me. The space was small so when I stepped back, not wanting her to touch me, I bumped into my coach.
“I’m going to go check for that medic,” Shepherd said hastily, then walked around me and closed the door to the tight confines. My best guess was this was an old janitor’s closet. The walls were closing in on me. I felt trapped with Elma blocking the door. I didn’t want to be in here with her.
“What do you want, Elma?” I snapped. It clearly wasn’t me.
“I want to know why you’re avoiding me.” Her fingers twisted back and forth between her clasped hands. She had on tight jeans and a revealing shirt. It was some kind of sheer material and she had a black bra underneath it. I had to look away. My body was already jacked. A certain part of me was ready for further release.
“I think we’re through, Elma. Don’t worry about the money. I got it figured out.”
She stared at me.
“I got the job. Thank you for that,” she said sheepishly.
I nodded once. I hadn’t really gotten her the job. Cain had somehow.
She stepped closer to me, and I was backed into the wall. My mind began to race. I didn’t like to be cornered. My body was at odds with itself, as the energy of the fight was slowing down, and the fear of her touching me was picking up. While I had craved her hands on me in my nightly dreams, the actual physical connection would be torture. I couldn’t play games with her any longer.
Too late, her hands came to my bare chest. My fingers gripped her wrists and spun her. Her back connected with the wall, and I towered over her in a move she had taught me. I boxed her in with hands on either side of her head, pinning her wrists like our specimen in human anatomy. I wanted to examine her, every inch of her, but I fought that intention. Arms extended, I kept my distance.
“As I said, we’re done, Elma.”
“What about your lessons?” she teased. “The tutoring sessions.”
“I’ll find another partner. A more willing one,” I mocked. I bit my tongue, preventing it from further insult. Elma had certainly been willing with Thor, until her mind overruled her body. I didn’t intend to force her to commit to something she clearly didn’t want to do, which was be with me. I needed what Elma knew, not Elma herself. There were other female fish in the sea.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t willing,” she said softly. I stared at her. She lowered her eyes then looked back up at me and blue speared me to the soul.
“What are you saying, Elma?” I asked hesitantly. Elma was good at games. It was written on her face. After thinking long and hard about her comments regarding her need for Thor, I determined that Elma had ulterior motives with him specifically.
“I’m saying I still feel I owe you. You covered the tuition. You found me a job. An amazing job.”
“Amazing, huh? You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.” I pushed off the wall. The excitement on Elma’s face told me she was pleased with the new position. She would be taken care of there. I wasn’t going to hold her to the money she owed me. I was earning it back myself.
“I could tell you about it tonight,” she added, still pressed against the wall. My eyes narrowed at hers in distrust.
“What do you want from me now, Elma?” I sighed. I had nothing left to give her.
“I could still teach you a thing or two,” she flirted, but I wasn’t playing.
Coach entered the room, and I could see the crowd that had gathered outside the door. The door shut with a soft slam. Shepherd rested against it for a moment.
“You’ve got some groupies,” came a stern voice, which faltered when my mentor caught sight of Elma still in the space.
“Err…uhm…well, we’re going to have to learn how to deal with this next,” Shepherd continued walking toward me with a bandage and some topical antiseptic.
“This is the best they offered me. I think we need a trip to the hospital.”
To my surprise, Elma’s hand reached out for the loose bandage and the tube of medicine.
“I can do it,” she said. Stunned, I sat slowly on the folding chair provided. Elma gently massaged the cream over the broken skin. I winced once and she muttered her apology. She blew on the cut and I flinched as her breath hit my wound. It wasn’t a sting of pain, but an injection of pleasure. She was close to my ear and her breath tickled.
She apologized again. My eyes met Coach’s, who continued to stare back at me. A shake of the head showed confusion. I was equally muddled and frustrated. I didn’t want to think of Elma’s tender touch in other places, similar to how she delicately placed the bandage over my skin. She rubbed around the edges a little more than I thought necessary, and then her finger traced under my chin. Without her direction, I turned to her and our eyes locked.
“Okay. I think it’s time to change. We got to figure out how to get out of here,” Shepherd warned.
I didn’t respond.
/> “I’m going to step out. See what I can do about those girls out there waiting,” Coach stated.
I still stayed focused on Elma.
“Abel,” Coach snapped, and I looked in the general direction of the door.
“Can you give us a few minutes? I’ll be right out.”
“I’d say you have no more than five. This is what you wanted, Abel. Remember that. You have to nurture it.” Shepherd’s tone had turned soothing, but demonstrative. The words were a reminder. The attention was what I desired. A following was what I needed.
Leaving us alone, I stood and faced Elma again.
“Let’s start over,” she said. I didn’t trust her. My heart pinched at the thought, but I still wanted her. I wanted her skill. Elma was obviously good at playing men, and I had to learn to get women. I had a small grouping of them outside my door. I needed to know how to handle them.
“I think we need some new rules,” I stated. Elma laughed.
“Damn it.” That did it for me. She was back against that wall and I was leaning over her. Her laughter stopped instantly, and she swallowed hard as I towered over her.
“Rule one. Quit laughing at me. Help me or don’t.”
“I wasn’t laughing at you,” she said defensively but without conviction. “I wanted rules before and you didn’t. It’s funny.”
“What rules do you want now?”
“No sex,” she blurted instantly.
“I told you before I didn’t want sex.” I waited. “What else?”
“That’s it.”
“I think we should keep things private,” I stated. This seemed to surprise her. Her eyes opened wide.
“Okay, done.”
“Fine. How should we seal the deal?” I teased, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Sealed with a ki… ”
My mouth was suddenly over hers. Her lips were warm, tender like I imagined. I simply held mine on hers for a moment like an awkward schoolboy experiencing his first kiss. It wasn’t my first, though. I had learned from a master. My hands slipped off the wall to cover Elma’s cheeks. My mouth increased the pressure and my lips moved. I tasted her, first the upper, then the lower. My tongue wanted entrance but I refused. Self-control was something I’d mastered. We continued for several seconds, my lips massaging over hers, memorizing the bow of the top, the curve of the bottom. I pulled back before I got carried away and noticed Elma’s eyes remained closed a moment longer.
“I should change,” I stated. I was still only dressed in my shorts.
“Okay,” she replied not making any attempt to move. We stared at one another for another second, when a rapping on the door made Elma flinch and signaled a new reality awaited me outside the small confines of this room.
I couldn’t breathe, literally. His kiss stole my oxygen. Ever see those shows where two people share the same oxygen tank underwater? That was this kiss. I had breathed in sweet air, only to have it removed when he released my lips. I remained against the wall, unable to move. When he said he needed to change his clothes, I could have stayed put and hardly seen him. I was so drawn into the feel of his lips on mine. He didn’t force me. He didn’t plunge into my mouth. He kissed me, and it was the best kiss I’d ever had.
The harsh knock on the door was my wake to reality. Abel needed me for a purpose. Step one was the women outside who wanted him. I was suddenly unsure how I felt about helping Abel with his mission. I’d noticed his clothing had changed slightly after our first night. The button down shirts were untucked, if worn at all. He still seemed to prefer the longer sleeves, to cover his arms. The colorful tats over his shoulders and biceps explained why, although they were beautiful. I didn’t understand how he could hide them.
“What do I do?” he said, stepping back from me. I blinked.
“Change,” I said, monotone.
“After that?” His voice was panicky as he opened his bag and pulled out a rumpled Oxford.
“Not that. Just the t-shirt,” I said. I hadn’t moved off the wall. I was plastered against the cool cement block as if affixed to it permanently. It anchored me.
He tugged a white t-shirt over his head then tried to pull down the sleeves, which would clearly never reach his wrists. I reached out hesitantly and forced the short cuff upward.
“Don’t hide them.”
“I don’t want…I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone knows, right? I’m Betta.”
“You’re Betta,” I replied sadly, monotone. The fight world was going to eat him alive. He was suddenly stunning when I hadn’t seen it before. His physique was bulky lean, but he was too innocent.
His hands went to the waist of his shorts. His eyes then locked on mine.
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” I smirked.
“Fine,” he bit. He pulled down his shorts and I was wrong. It was nothing I had seen before. Abel was large. His taller stature matched what we hadn’t learned yet in Human Anatomy 101. A taller man would be proportional. At six-four, Abel was the tallest man I’d ever known, and what hung from him was bigger than I’d ever seen. Granted, I hadn’t seen many up close and personal. I turned away instantly. My face heated. He’d caught me staring at him.
“Just go out there and be yourself, Abel.” I decided I needed to talk to fill the awkward desire I suddenly had for him. It would be a way of talking myself out of it.
“You can be very charming. Just smile. Sign what they ask for. I wouldn’t recommend you kiss anyone, though.”
His head shot up to look at me again, while he tucked his tight white t-shirt into his track pants.
“That bad, huh?” His bright blue eyes expressed his concern.
What I wanted to say and what I said were two very opposing statements, a paradox actually.
“I just wouldn’t do it,” I warned. My motive was ulterior. I didn’t want another woman to learn what I had. Abel Callahan could kiss. I should have told him he was stellar, incredible, unforgettable, but I wanted to keep that to myself. I wanted to keep the kiss for me, so I couldn’t share with him his talent. I was afraid he’d give it to others.
His face fell and he raised his chin once to me. He reached for his bag with haste, hiked it over his shoulder, and pointed at the door for me to lead.
“Oh no, if they think you were in here with me, rumors would build. You want to appear unattached, right?” My heart sang in hopes that he would disagree with me. That he wanted to make a statement that I was with him, but I could see he believed what I said.
“Right. We wouldn’t want any rumors about you and me together.” His words were bitter sounding, but I didn’t have time to dwell on them before the door opened and slammed shut. I lingered inside the confines of the room, still plastered to the cold wall. Still feeling his hands on my face. Still tasting his mouth on my lips.
The attention was insane. It was like nothing I’d experienced before. Being put down my whole life, the transition to being built up was indescribable. Guys acknowledged me that had never paid one second of attention to me before. Girls walked up to me to flirt, tease, and touch my biceps. The days were growing longer and the temperature was getting warmer. I stuck to the t-shirts like Elma suggested and let the hint of my ink show. I was proud of it and I hated to hide it. I had done a good job before, as no one paid attention. Now, it seemed eyes were interested.
I returned to class to find Elma ignoring me again. I didn’t worry. We had our secret arrangement, and I wanted to believe she would hold true to it this time. She wasn’t sitting near Thor. As a matter of fact, she sat by some other girl I hadn’t seen in class. They talked animatedly for a while before class then the dark haired beauty left the auditorium. I wasn’t necessarily interested in one girl over another, as I still had my crush on Elma, but the attention of others was slightly tempting. Keli Hogan was one of those temptations. She was constantly touching me. Blonde hair, blue eyes, Keli had a reputation similar to Elma: petite, perky, and eager. I wondered if I should ask her out, if
that would make a statement.
I had become a small nucleus of attention at the end of class again. Victor Ortega came up to me and several others gathered to discuss the fight. It wasn’t safe, as we couldn’t risk the underground being discovered, so I suggested we step outside. The crowd moved like a school of fish. I waited until the coast was clear. I’d missed Elma, and I was hoping to talk to her.
When I entered the long hall, I could see that my initial interest group had caught up to Thor. He was the center of attention instead. I was okay with that, but I wasn’t going to enter that trap. I turned in the opposite direction and headed for the emergency exit stairwell. I pushed the heavy metal door with a little too much might and the door made a loud thud against the opposite wall. The surprise also made someone jump and squeak in fear.
“Elma?”
She’d narrowly escaped the force of the door.
“Elma, did I hit you?” I had dropped my backpack on the ground. My hands covered her shoulders. She was hugging her large bag to her chest. Shaking her head was her only response.
“Are you okay?” She was staring at me, like she was forcing her eyes open. She wasn’t allowing herself to blink. My hands smoothed up her shoulders, over her neck to her jaw. The tender movement of a hard swallow in her throat rolled under my fingers.
“You okay?” I questioned again.
“I’m fine,” she said softly. “You’ve developed some fans.” She smiled weakly.
“I owe it to you,” I stated, looking down at the ink exposed on my arms.
“It was the fight,” she replied softly. “You did good with Thor. People are impressed. He’s called for a rematch, but it won’t happen yet. The circuit needs to run its course longer.”
“I’m not worried.” I smiled.
“Cocky already.” She smirked.
“Confident,” I said, setting my voice deeper. Thor was not my concern. I had others to fight. More rings to pass through to reach where I wanted to be.
“I was thinking I might owe you again,” I started.
