“How have you embarrassed me?” I wasn’t following.
“My past deeds impact how people see me, which extends to you by default,” Macio said. “Your mom, sisters, your coworkers, and your friends are reading this and wondering why you’re wasting your time on a loser like me.”
“Macio, you’re the furthest thing from a loser I know,” I said. “I think you’re a winner and not just in the fucking octagon, either. Throw out everything we know about you as a fighter and let’s talk about Macio the man – the one I’m head over heels in love with.” I rose from the couch and walked to him. “You are a man who speaks the truth from your heart. You are a man who had been raised to hate who he was, but rose above it. So many kids give up on themselves and life before they even have a chance to experience it. Not you, because you’re a fighter to the very marrow of your bones.” I linked my fingers through his. “If anyone asks why I’m with you, I’m going to tell them that those are just a few of the reasons why I’m blessed to be the one you love.”
“Damn, baby,” Macio whispered, lowering his forehead to mine. “I crazy love you.”
“I crazy love you right back.” I lifted my chin and presented my lips for a kiss. “Now, let’s fire up your camp and start working on a response or a fuck you, whichever you want, and then make plans to sue the hell out of Rupert so he can’t do this to someone else.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Macio told me.
“Then you can fuck me into the wee hours of the morning, Champ.”
Macio was quick, but for once I was quicker. I darted away from him but didn’t run too fast or too far because I liked it when he caught me. Calling Barry and the gang ended up waiting until the next morning.
I woke up bright and early and ready to take care of business. That bullshit Rupert pulled wasn’t going to go unanswered. Not at all. I didn’t like my personal business being out there for everyone to read. I knew some of it would have to be when I came out, that just went with the territory of being a celebrity. However, I came out on my terms and only released what information I wanted the world to know. It was very controlled. But Rupert blasting his fat ass mouth off about the escorts and what he thinks of me pissed me the fuck off.
I looked at Aiden, he was still sleeping soundly. I knew he would be because I gave him that champ dick last night… he was down for the count. I climbed out of the bed and handled my bathroom business first, then called Barry.
“Yeah, I was wondering when you were going to call me,” Barry said.
“When did you find out about the article?” I asked.
He groaned. “Shit… Last night. You know I don’t read that bullshit, half the stories in that rag are made up. I was worried that stupid motherfucker was going to do something like this when I fired his ass. He acted like he wanted to do something to me that day, but he thought better about it.”
I snorted. “Yeah, it wouldn’t be wise to attack the man who’s the head trainer and manager of ETC’s undisputed champ.”
“Yeah, you could see those gears turning. I was hoping he wouldn’t go off and do something stupid like this, though. So, what do you want to do, kid?” Barry asked.
“I want to sue his dumb ass for breaking the disclosure. He’s been stabbing me in the back ever since I started dating Aiden. He’s done all of this because he’s jealous. The motherfucker better hope I don’t out his ass. If he keeps pushing me, I might just do that. Truth of the matter is, I really like his wife and she deserves a better husband. But outing Rupert for hitting on me puts more of my business out there, and I don’t want that either.”
“Maybe just tell his wife privately,” Barry suggested.
“Ugh! I swear, I don’t even want to be bothered with the drama.”
“Yeah, I get that. Well, at least the escorts didn’t have anything bad to say about you.”
“That’s because I’m a fucking machine that gives great dick,” I joked. Well, half joked, because that shit was true. I was done bragging about my sexual exploits with men who were just there to take the edge off. With Aiden, sex mattered, and the only person whose opinion held meaning regarding my bedroom prowess was his.
“Well, do you need me to do anything?” Barry asked.
“I’m looking for a new publicist right now. Preferably someone who’s in the LGBT community or supports it. I don’t need anyone giving me homophobic advice because they don’t want to rock the boat.” I said. “I do need you to contact a lawyer for me so we can get our lawsuit going against Rupert.”
“All right, I can get that started. Are you going to address the article?”
“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll have a camera and microphone thrust into my face as soon as I step out of the house. Ugh, just when the shit was starting to die down, too. They had their story, they had their pics of Aiden and I out on the town… the hoopla was starting to play itself out and here comes Rupert, out from the rock he’d been hiding under with his hate.”
“This too will die down, and soon we can all get back down to fighting business,” Barry stated encouragingly. “Especially after we sue his ass. Okay, I’m going to make some calls and get back to you.”
“Yeah, me too. Talk to you later.” I ended my call with Barry and checked out the publicist companies Aiden had suggested the night before. I found two that I really liked, they had plenty of good testimonials and a great reputation. I made appointments with each for a meeting. I wanted to see what they could offer me. Rupert may be on a jealousy-fueled hate train right now, but when he was acting as my publicist… I had to admit, he was damn good. With his business degree as well as his journalistic one, he did double duties for me. Got me amazing endorsement deals and he was responsible for bringing Aiden and I together – though I was willing to bet he wished he hadn’t by now. Regardless, I needed that kind of business savvy and prioritizing from my new publicist.
I heard two footsteps right before Aiden slipped his arms around my shoulders. He kissed the side of my neck, then rested his chin on my shoulder. “What’s up, baby?”
This was everything I wanted. To be able to wake up and go to sleep with the man I loved in my arms. To be free to be in love with the person who captured my heart. Everyone deserved to know what this felt like regardless of orientation or anything else. If you were lucky enough to find the “right one,” you should be able to embrace them and share your life with them without repercussions from others.
I closed my laptop and turned my head a little so I could kiss his temple. “Just setting up meetings with two possible replacements for Rupert.”
Aiden slipped away, only to walk around the sofa and sit on my lap. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding him close. “Are you going to address that article?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. What pisses me off is that I feel like I have to. Number one, I never claimed to be a saint. I beat people’s asses for a living. Not the most noble of aspirations, but I love the rush and I love to win. I was single, so fucking escorts shouldn’t even be a big deal, but I know people want to make it into one. That’s the only reason why I’m bothering to say anything about it. I don’t want my work with teens to be tarnished, and I also have to protect my endorsements—those that backed me up.”
“Okay. I’m with you no matter what you decide,” Aiden said, then he kissed me longingly as if the time we’d been separated expanded to years instead of only one hour. I loved it. He pulled away and gave me a few pecks on my nose, lips, and forehead. “I’m going to make us something to eat.”
He started to rise off my lap, but I tightened my grip, keeping him in place. “What if I want to eat you?”
Aiden grinned. “Well, my big, bad, wolf… I do have some very sweet buns.”
I smiled. “You sure do. I was checking them out. Some nice pop ‘n fresh ones.”
Aiden burst into a fit of laughter. His laugher was so sweet and genuine, it became contagious and I started laughing with him. We both had to wipe tears from our eyes by the time we
calmed down from whatever it was that made Aiden lose it.
“That… was the… corniest shit… you’ve ever said,” Aiden managed to say through his fading giggles.
I thought about what I’d said and laughed again, because it was true. “Yeah, it was.” I slapped him on one of his sweet buns. “You can make breakfast. I’ll eat your buns and the sweet center after.”
“Such charming things you say, Champ,” Aiden said, then kissed me again. When he pulled away this time, I let him up. My stomach was growling for some grub right about then. I watched him and his sexy ass walk away from me, then I turned and settled on the sofa.
I was so happy with my life now. I thought I was going to really suffer financially when I came out by having some of my endorsement deals fall apart, but only one pulled away. Homophobic sons of bitches. Fuck them and their really delicious chicken. I had to admit, I loved their chicken, but now I saw who they really were and I was glad to bid them farewell. Everyone else supported me and were happy that they now had a LGBT member as well as a MMA Champ as their spokesman. Gay people buy cars, watches, and sports equipment, too, and their money was just as green as everyone else’s.
All in all, things were going well for us. I ignored as much of the hate mail that was still coming as I could. Some of those bastards were sneaky with their subject titles. Shit like “I hope you two are happy,” then when I clicked on it, they finish it off by saying, “burning in hell with the rest of the fags”. Funny how people loved to say things like that as if it made them better than the person they were harassing. Self-righteous people who spewed hate like that weren’t going to see any pearly gates either. I also had to get through a few encounters in the locker room with some of my fellow fighters.
I didn’t tell Aiden about them, I didn’t want to stress him out because it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle and wasn’t prepared for. Besides, I shut their mouths pretty quickly when I reminded them how I whooped their asses. It felt good to put them in their places. Now that I thought about it, maybe I would tell Aiden about those encounters after all. He could get a good laugh like I had. I got up and went into the kitchen and told him about them, and just as I suspected, he laughed. He almost burned the bacon, he was laughing so hard.
“Oh god, you showed them, baby. Fuck them,” he said as he took the bacon out of the pan.
Mmmmm bacon. Loved the slabs of pork sizzling on a plate covered with a towel. I waited until Aiden turned his back, then quickly snatched one of the slabs from the plate. It was so hot, it burned my fingers. “Ahh shit!”
Aiden turned around just in time to see me drop the bacon on the countertop. “That’s what you get, thief.”
“I couldn’t help it. The food smelled so good. You know how I am about bacon,” I whined in my defense. I picked up the piece I’d dropped and blew on it.
“Ah, ah, ah, wait for breakfast,” Aiden scolded right before he snatched the bacon from my fingers, putting it back with the other pieces.
“Awwww man, but what can I snack on now?” I asked imploringly as I made my way over to him.
“There’s yogurt in the fridge,” Aiden suggested.
“Yeah, but there’s also cream in your balls,” I countered as I dropped to my knees in front of him. I pulled his boxers down a little, just to let his cock free.
“Oh my god, I’m cooking!” Aiden screeched.
“Yeah, and I’m sucking,” I said, then shoved his cock into my mouth.
“Ooooh,” Aiden purred.
I could hear him struggle to continue to fix our breakfast as I sucked his dick. I loved how hard and smooth he felt in my mouth as I ran my tongue all around his sensitive areas. The sounds he was making drove me wild and I couldn’t wait to fuck him afterwards.
“Ahhhh shit… You’re gonna make me burn the eggs,” Aiden warned.
I laughed, then pulled back off his cock, only to suck his balls into my mouth.
“Ooh shit… that’s it, baby. Yeah… just like that,” Aiden moaned in ecstasy.
Eventually, he gave up trying to cook and just leaned back against the counter until he cried out in climax. I sucked every drop he gave me, savoring my man’s flavor. I loved how his body quaked in pleasure until I licked the last drop from his slit. I smiled as I rose to my feet. “I like my protein in the morning, baby,” I said, then grabbed him by the back of his head, kissing him passionately. He melted in my arms because he knew that he was mine and I was his. I ground my hard, aching cock against his, letting him feel how much I wanted him, then I pulled back, growling. “Okay, now you can finish breakfast.” Again, I slapped him on his fuckable ass and walked away, leaving him satisfied and hungry for more at the same time.
I settled into my new routine in Macio’s – our – home. It amazed me how comfortable and right it felt to be in the same space as him, sharing meals, a bed, and a life. I could touch him and kiss him whenever I wanted to instead of just wishing that I could. It was everything I had ever dreamed of and more. I kept expecting to wake up at any minute to find out that it had all been an elaborate dream, but instead, I found the love of my life on the pillow beside mine.
Macio’s mornings began long before mine, which I didn’t mind too much because it meant that he returned to me earlier. He never left for training without kissing me and telling me that he loved me. When he got home each afternoon, he was ready for two things – food and fucking. It was a toss-up daily which one came first; I never complained about either one.
One afternoon, Macio left to visit a LGBT shelter for runaway teens and young adults after his food and fuck time. I stayed behind so I could get some more research done for my next interview with NFL rookie phenom, who was either referred to as a thug or a great guy. I wanted to meet him in person, rather than do a phone interview, so I could see for myself what kind of person he really was.
I had read many articles about his supposed connections to gangs during high school and the community work he engaged in during college. What was true and what was fiction? I thought it was possible that both were true. A lot of athletes overcame adversity from their early years, then gave back to their communities and encouraged teens to avoid some of the things they got caught up in. They were people I greatly admired.
I rose from the sofa where I’d taken up residence to let Caesar out to stretch his legs and do his business. I debated about taking a swim, but decided to get my research done so I could spend as much time with Macio as possible before I had to leave for my trip. I left Caesar to do his thing and went in search of something to drink. I heard the front door open and close and figured it was Macio returning home to grab something he forgot. I mean, it probably took a long time for the blood to return to his brain after the fucking he gave me before he left. I heard his footsteps approaching behind me and decided to have a bit of fun.
“Can’t stay away from this,” I yanked down my shorts to reveal my bare ass, “can you?”
My wisecrack and ass crack were met with silence and not the sexy comeback I’d expected. A feeling of unease came over me, followed by my hair standing up all over my body. I quickly yanked up my shorts and turned around. The last person I expected to see again in Macio’s house was standing in his - our - kitchen with a gun pointed at me.
“You think you’re fucking cute, don’t you?” Rupert snarled. “You have ruined Macio’s life.” He was so angry, his hands shook.
That whole saying about your life flashing before your eyes was totally true and my movie reel was way too damn short for my liking. My brain went into survival mode because I had just recently found the guy I wanted to spend my life with and I wasn’t about to give that future up easily.
“Rupert, let’s talk about this.” I raised my hands up in front of me in a surrender gesture. “You don’t want to do anything drastic here.”
“Don’t tell me what I want to do, you little fucker.”
Rupert took two steps toward me so that there was probably ten feet or less between us. I
saw in his eyes that he wasn’t playing around and had come with one purpose in mind - to kill me. With my back against the kitchen counter, my only escape was around Rupert or through him. If he hadn’t held a gun on me, I would’ve tried either option. The gun changed things, though. I tried to discreetly look for something within my grasp to throw at the arm holding the gun like I’d seen in the movies, but there was nothing.
I could only pray that something would distract him long enough for me to charge him and hope for the best. In the meantime, the best course of action was to buy time by keeping my mouth shut and letting him talk. If Rupert was like most TV and movie villains, then he would have plenty of things to say.
“Macio was destined for great things, but you destroyed it, Aiden. It’s only a matter of time before he’s a sad little asterisk in MMA history,” Rupert said.
“How do you figure?” I asked. So much for keeping my mouth shut.
Rupert shook his head slowly, as if I was lacking a brain. “Before, when people looked at Macio, they saw a champion they could believe in. Now, all they do is wonder what he likes to do with his dick.”
“You sure as fuck didn’t help him out there, did you, Rupert?” I figured if I was going to die that day in Macio’s kitchen, then I’d at least go out the way I wanted to. “The only one obsessed about what Macio’s doing with his dick is you, and it’s only because he’s not giving it to you. That’s what you can’t stand. You figured someday you’d be the one crying out Champ while he pounded away.” I took a step forward, uncertain when I’d grown such big balls, and said, “It’s never going to happen, Rupert. Do you hear me? You can kill me now, but the only thing you’ll get out of it is a prison sentence.”
“See, that mouth of yours is the reason you’re going to bleed out in Macio’s kitchen. Imagine how broken he’ll be when he discovers your brains all over his floor.”
Undisputed Page 24
