“Probably.” Carl didn’t sugar coat his response.
“Shit,” Jasper groaned. “I just…I don’t even get why I’m losing. I’m killing myself at the gym every day.”
“I know.”
“Carl, what do I do?” Jasper felt like the naïve teenager he’d once been, feeling lost in the world of professional sports. This was supposed to be his arena, where he was champion, but all too quickly he was losing his grip on everything. His success was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.
“We prove them wrong,” Carl told Jasper confidently.
“How do we do that?”
“By winning.”
Jasper’s shoulders sank. He’d been desperately trying to win, but for some reason he just wasn’t up to it anymore.
“If you win, you show Event Sports how wrong they were to replace you,” Carl insisted, his voice rising as he started to get fired up by his own words. “We have to reclaim your champion status!” “And you can do this, Jasper! You’re the guy who came up from nothing; you’re definitely capable of being able to win back what was once yours.”
“Yeah!” Jasper clapped his hands together, Carl’s enthusiasm was contagious. And he was right – Jasper had built himself up from nothing, and he could do the same again. He was a born fighter; it was in his blood. He was just going through a tough patch, everyone did. He’d come out the other side of it, of course he would, he was Jasper Duboix championship fighter.
“And in the meantime,” Carl’s tone became more serious, “I suggest easing off on your spending for a while. At least until things are more balanced and we can be certain that we won’t lose any more sponsors.”
Jasper nodded. He was still reeling from the news about Event Sports, but he knew better than to dwell on it. Negative thoughts would only bring him down which was the last thing he needed when training. Before a fight mental preparation was equally important as all the physical input.
“A week from Friday I’ve booked you in for another fight. That gives you almost two weeks to train. You’ve got this, Jasper. You can do it.”
Jasper was almost humbled by his agent’s confidence in him.
“Thanks, Carl.”
“You’re Jasper Duboix,” Carl came over and slapped him on the back. “You’re a born champion – don’t you forget that.”
Chapter 75
Jasper bounced on his feet as he moved around the ring, pausing only to deliver strong punches in quick succession.
“Good, good!” His trainer complimented encouragingly.
Jasper smacked the pads the American was holding up with such force that the trainer stumbled back.
“Woah,” he smiled, revealing his perfect teeth. “Take it easy there, champ. I’d hate to be whoever you’re imaging when you’re throwing these shots out.”
Jasper gritted his teeth and punched again. He was imagining Event Sports, taking out his anger towards them on the punching pads. With each blow, he came closer to feeling over their decision to drop him.
A hard jab right, followed by a swift upper cut from the left. Jasper was on fire. His entire body tingled with adrenaline. If he fought like this a week from Friday there was no question as to whether or not he’d win. He’d floor his opponent in just a few rounds.
“Whatever you’re doing, keep at it!” His trainer enthused. “You’re on fire today, Duboix!”
Jasper grinned and then delivered more punches.
“Okay, okay,” his trainer stepped back and dropped the pads he’d been holding. “Let’s take ten, okay?”
Jasper nodded, too breathless to talk.
The two men sat on a bench beside the ring as Jasper drank greedily from his bottle of energy drink.
“You’re certainly back on form,” his trainer told him with a smile.
“Thanks,” Jasper gasped. “I’ve been pushing myself to get back to my best.”
His trainer looked down at Jasper’s knee which was covered in a supportive bandage.
“How’s the leg?”
“Getting stronger,” Jasper lied. The moment his pain relief wore off, his knee burned with a fiery agony. Jasper was becoming increasingly convinced that it wouldn’t be long until he had to have surgery on it. It was liable to give way at any moment, but he had to ignore that. He had to ignore everything and just focus on winning. It was all that mattered. He needed to save his career before all that remained were tatters and faded memories.
“Good,” his trainer nodded. “Listen, Jasper, I’ve loved training with you, and it’s great to see you back on form, but sadly this is our last day together.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, man,” his trainer reached over and patted him on the back. “I wish I could stay longer but your agent, Carl, said that you can’t extend my contract anymore. So this is where we part ways.”
Jasper’s heart started to beat in a mad panic in his chest. He knew finances were bad, but he didn’t think that Carl would start cutting such vital corners as getting rid of his trainer. The same trainer who had been specially flown in to England to train him just over a month ago.
“Carl didn’t mention anything to me,” Jasper said through gritted teeth.
“He probably didn’t want to worry you,” his trainer suggested breezily. “You’ve got enough on your plate with your next big fight coming up.”
“Yeah,” Jasper sighed in agreement. The fight had become so big it looked set to decide his fate in the world of professional fighting.
“Hey, look, come next Friday, win or lose, you’re a champion, Duboix. I’ve seen first-hand what a powerhouse you are.”
“Thanks, man.”
They shook hands. Jasper didn’t want to see his trainer go. He needed him now more than ever.
“How about we throw out some more punches before I leave?” His trainer glanced up towards the vacant boxing ring in front of them.
“Sure.” Jasper eagerly climbed back in to the ring; he was keen to throw more angry punches whilst thinking of Event Sports who had now just cost him his trainer.
Chapter 76
“I am beat,” Kait rested her head against the back of Jasper’s plush sofa. Her entire body ached as it sank against the soft leather. She could easily remain on the sofa for the rest of her life it was so comfortable. She wasn’t sure how Jasper ever managed to leave it. If it was in her apartment, she’d just spend all her time sprawled across it, savoring its softness.
“Busy day?” Jasper asked from the other side of the sofa.
“The busiest,” Kait sighed. “I was literally in back to back meetings.”
“Here,” Jasper patted the space on the sofa beside him, and Kait scooted over. He maneuvered her so that her back was to him and then began massaging her sore shoulders.
“Ooh,” Kait uttered in glee, “that feels amazing.”
“Whenever I ache, a massage can work wonders.”
“Ooh, yeah,” Kait agreed, currently feeling the benefits first hand. As she relaxed, her stomach growled, reminding her that it had been hours since she’d last eaten.
“Urgh, I’m starving,” she moaned. “Shall we order in a pizza?”
Most evenings when they were both too exhausted to cook, they’d order something in.
“It’s okay, I’ll cook something,” Jasper was still massaging her shoulders.
“But you’ve been at the gym all day. Aren’t you tired?”
“Yeah, but, I like to cook.”
“No, you don’t,” Kait laughed. “You always say you’d rather just order something in.”
“Well, let’s be different.”
“Is everything okay?” Jasper squeezed her shoulders a little too tightly. “Oww!”
“Sorry,” Jasper released her from his grip. “I’ll go and see what I’ve got.”
Kait followed him through to the kitchen. When she’d looked through his cupboards, she’d struggled to find much food she could cook. There were eggs and bread, and that wa
s pretty much it. She kept meaning to go shopping and stock up his cupboards for him, but each time she was with Jasper, she ended up getting distracted from such tasks.
“I could whip us up an omelet,” Jasper suggested as he stuck his head inside the cool of the fridge.
“Eggs.” Kait said flatly as she sat down on a stool.
“Huh?” Jasper leaned back to peer at her.
“I said, good,” Kait smiled at him. He never normally wanted to cook, and it was hard to get excited about an omelet when her taste buds were craving pizza.
“You sure you don’t want to just order a pizza?” She asked hopefully. “It can be my treat.”
“No,” Jasper snapped as he slammed the refrigerator door shut. “I just want to do something different; it’s not about money or anything.”
“I never said it was,” Kait told him coolly, surprised by his outburst.
“Okay, well then, good.” He was turning on the stove and reaching for a frying pan. He had to search through four different cupboards before he eventually found one. Kait thoughtfully chewed her lip as she watched him. His shoulders were tense, and his brow was permanently furrowed. Something was clearly bothering him. Perhaps he’d had a bad day at the gym, but she didn’t want to press him for answers. She was well aware that his current string of losses made any talk about training a sore subject, and she wanted them to have a pleasant evening together.
“So what will you put in the omelet?” She asked with a friendly smile.
“You want something in it?” Jasper looked at her in confusion.
“Yeah,” Kait laughed, “most people want more than just eggs upon eggs. Like maybe some ham or cheese.”
“I’ve only got eggs,” Jasper told her bluntly.
“Just eggs it is then,” Kait rolled her eyes. “We seriously need to go food shopping, Duboix. Your cupboards are startlingly bare.”
“There’s nothing wrong with bare cupboards!” Jasper told her defensively.
“Okay, Mother Hubbard,” Kait teased with a smile. Jasper laughed at her and commenced making them both a pure egg omelet.
Chapter 77
Kait pushed the metal shopping cart down another aisle. She was already struggling to maneuver its excessive weight. It was packed full of boxes of cereal, tins of soup, and endless packets of frozen vegetables. It was already a much larger haul than her usual weekly grocery shop, but she wasn’t buying goods for herself. These were for Jasper – or more specifically for his bare cupboards. Kait had decided to help him out and fill up all his cupboards for him. She almost giggled with excitement to herself when she imagined his response when he found out.
She was heading down the sweets aisle. Brightly colored packaging called out to her, and her stomach gave a low rumble of approval. Kait loved sweet things. Especially ice cream. But Jasper followed a much more rigid diet than she did. Whilst he could carbo-load, he rarely indulged in sweet treats.
Kait gazed longingly at the packaged candy, wishing there was some way she could condone placing it in her shopping cart. But there wasn’t. She was buying food for Jasper, not herself. Picking up speed she hurried out of the aisle and away from temptation.
It was only when Kait was at the checkout that she realized that she’d most definitely bought too much. Her cart was almost completely full, and she’d foolishly walked over to the supermarket when she should have bought her car.
“Damn it,” Kait chewed her lip nervously as she handed over her bank card to the assistant. There was no way she’d be able to carry all the bags home. She’d need to go and get her car which meant leaving her shopping unattended.
“Damn it,” Kait repeated to herself as she pushed the trolley out in to the cool afternoon air. There was nothing for it; she was going to have to call Jasper. Reaching into her handbag for her cell phone, she called up his details and took a sharp intake of breath.
He answered after several long rings.
“Hey, babe,” he panted. Clearly he was in the middle of working out. Kait inwardly groaned at having to disturb him at such an important time.
“Jasper, hey. Look, I kind of need a favor.”
“Uh huh.”
“I’m over at the supermarket, and I bought way too much stuff,” as she spoke she cast an eye over the dozen shopping bags crammed in to her trolley.
“I really need to go and get my car, but I can’t leave the stuff unattended while I do.”
“Why did you buy so much?”
“Umm,” Kait looked down at her food shopping. She didn’t want to spoil the surprise, not yet. “I just got carried away I guess.”
“Right, okay,” Jasper sighed. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, okay?”
“Okay, great. Thanks.”
Twenty minutes later, Jasper jogged over to where Kait was waiting wearing his jogging bottoms and a hooded jumper. The sky overheard was darkening with the promise of rain.
“Hey,” Kait jumped up from the bench she’d been sat on as he came over.
“Hey,” Jasper panted. He’d clearly jogged all the way over from the gym. He glanced down at the contents of her shopping cart.
“Jeez, Kait, you planning on feeding five thousand people?”
“Actually,” Kait tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled brightly at her boyfriend, “ta-dah!”
She waved a hand across the plastic bags like a glamorous assistant revealing a prize in a television game show. Jasper frowned.
“It’s all for you,” Kait explained with an enthusiastic grin.
“For me?”
“Yes,” Kait nodded. “Your cupboards were so bare that I thought I’d like, you know, stock them up for you.”
She saw Jasper bristle at her words, and she instantly feared that she’d done the wrong thing.
“I don’t need your pity purchases,” he told her coldly through gritted teeth.
“Pity purchases?” Kait didn’t understand what he was getting at. “Jasper. I was just trying to help; I thought you’d be pleased.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Jasper - ”
“I’m fine, everything is just fine! I sure as hell don’t need you buying food for me!” The look of disgust upon his face chilled Kait to her core.
“Jasper - ”
“Sort yourself out,” he pulled his hood up over his head, turned around, and jogged away. Kait stared after him, her mouth gaping. What had just happened? She feebly called after him a few times, but he didn’t look back. Why was he suddenly so mad at her? What had she done wrong?
With no other options left, Kait was forced to call a taxi. She managed to hide her burgeoning tears from the driver as he kindly helped her load her bags in to the boot of the car. But once at her apartment building, he only helped her with them to the door. Kait didn’t mention that the elevators were broken. It took her four journeys in total to carry everything up to her place. With each load, her heart sunk lower in her chest. This food wasn’t meant for her, but Jasper had made it painfully clear that he didn’t want it. But why? Was she becoming too much? Was she smothering him? Kait’s vision became blurred with tears as she wandered up and down the staircase, laden down with shopping bags like a pack horse.
Chapter 78
Jasper didn’t stop running until he was back at the gym. By then, his chest was burning, and he was struggling to catch his breath. Sweat was gathering beneath his jumper so he shoved down the hood to try and cool off.
He kept thinking about how Kait had gone food shopping for him. Did he seem that pitiful that he needed her to buy food for him? He knew things were tight financially, but he’d done his best to conceal such problems from her. It was important to him that Kait saw him as strong and financially stable not weak and in need of assistance. The last thing Jasper ever wanted to be seen as was weak.
Jasper angrily paced outside the gym, not yet ready to go back inside. And all that awaited him in there was the equipment and the punch bag. His trainer was
already on a plane headed back to America. There was no one yelling at Jasper, no one demanding he push himself. How was he supposed to win his next fight without a trainer? Jasper felt as though he was standing in quick sand. No matter what he did, he just sunk further in to his problems.
It was imperative that he win his next match in order to keep his sponsors and avoid financial ruin. He hadn’t even asked Carl why he’d sent his trainer away; he didn’t want to hear the reason and have the brutal truth acknowledged. Could Jasper even afford his gym membership these days? The thought made him twitchy. He wished he hadn’t been so harsh with Kait. He’d have to make it up with her, but he couldn’t go sending flowers or taking her out to posh dinners.
Mason: Inked Reapers MC Page 42
