Boxer Next Door

by Summer Cooper

  She eased her foot off the pedal gently, realizing that she was speeding by about ten miles over. She quickly dropped it back down to her normal five miles over. That was the sweet spot she had discovered and had prevented her from being pulled over in the years since she had been out here. She didn’t think she would ever leave. It was so beautiful in the desert city.

  She was about a mile from her exit when she felt the tire blow out. The car suddenly lurched to the left and then to the right, practically jerking the wheel from her grasp as she struggled to steer the car and straighten it out. Luckily there was not much traffic at that time of night, or she surely would have hit someone as the car swerved from the right lane to the left.

  Stepping on the brake she felt the car jerk once more, but slowly start to wind down as she steered it off the road, where it eventually came to a skidding stop.

  She sat there for a few moments wondering what had just happened. She had never had a tire actually blow out before, just a few routine flats. It was definitely one of the scariest feelings in the world. Suddenly the car had a mind of its own. It reminded her slightly of sliding on Ice when she had vacationed with some friends up in Flagstaff in December.

  She got out of the car to inspect the damage and immediately saw the huge hole in her driver side front tire. It was a wreck and she was stranded on the side of the road. She had a spare tire, but she had not the faintest clue how to change a tire. She was debating pulling up a YouTube video, but the thought of trying to change a tire by herself for the first time on the side of the road, was not something she was at all eager to try out.

  She wished she had AAA, but being a poor college student who had to pinch every penny she had for ramen noodles, she could not afford this slight little luxury. She was stuck. Aaron! She would call Aaron. She doubted if any of her girlfriends would know how to take care of this situation. She didn’t really have any guy friends.

  As she pulled her phone out of her pocket to look up his number that he had just given her she noticed some lights pulling up behind her. It was a motorcycle. The driver was a tall, slender man with tightly toned muscles that her eyes immediately locked on. The biker looked familiar, and at first she could not place him in the dark, but as he stepped closer and his face came into view of the orange glow of a distant streetlamp she recognized where she had seen him before; it was the biker who had picked a fight with Aaron.

  As the man came closer, he wore a somber expression with a slight grin. He was actually a very handsome guy, with a strong jaw, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He moved slowly towards her. Kelly supposed she should have been frightened, but there was something about his way that held her curiosity. The man stood in front of her and looked her up and down briefly before squatting down to glance at the hole in the tire.

  “Damn, that’s a big hole,” the man said. His voice was gruff and strong.

  “Yeah. I don’t know what happened. It just blew out and almost made me crash,” Kelly said.

  “You got a spare?”

  “Yea, it’s under the trunk, I think.”

  “You got a jack?”

  “Yes. It’s in the trunk. If you could fix this for me I’d be so grateful,” Kelly said rushing to the trunk. Unlocking it and locating the jack, which was located in a little section that snapped into the side of the trunk. It also held instructions for how to change a tire. Imagine that.

  “Sure,” the man said taking the jack from her. She noticed his hands were strong and calloused. His hand brushed hers slightly as the jack passed from her hand to his.

  The man placed the jack on the car and began jacking the car up. When the jack was fully extended he climbed under the back of the car, and began working on removing the spare.

  “So, you dating that fighter?” The man asked.

  “Excuse me?” Kelly replied.

  “That fighter—I saw you with him tonight at the bar, right?”

  “Yea. It was our first date,” Kelly said. She wasn’t sure why she was telling him this, but she found him surprisingly easy to talk to.

  “Did he tell you why we almost got into it?”

  “Yea, he told me a bit of what happened, but I don’t know much.” Kelly wanted to drop this conversation.

  “Well, he thinks he beat my brother fair and square in the ring, but anyone could see that my brother never tapped. He was almost out of the hold. You can even watch the fight online and see it for yourself.”

  “I may do that sometime. I’m Kelly by the way,” she said not sure why she suddenly felt compelled to give him her name.

  “I’m John,” the man said rolling out from under the car. He pulled her spare down and set it aside. Then he grabbed the lug wrench and began to remove her damaged tire.

  “It’s nice to meet you John. Thanks again for helping me out here.”

  “No problem. I love rescuing beautiful women, like yourself,” John smiled slightly at her and shot her a glance. His eyes were somehow magnetic and they looked right through her. She felt her knees weaken slightly. She was aware of just how sexy John was and he had just flirted with her. Had he? Maybe he was just a flirty person.

  “So what do you do Kelly?” John asked. He pulled the tire off the car and rolled it back to the trunk, lifted it up and placed it inside. Then he grabbed the spare and wheeled it back to the front of the car.

  “I’m a student at Arizona State, and I work part time in a diner. How about you, John?”

  “I’m self-employed. I run my own motorcycle repair business,” John said.

  “Wow, that’s pretty interesting. I’ve never actually ridden a motorcycle.”

  John looked at her and gave her a sexy wink as he snapped the spare tire on.

  “We will definitely have to change that.”

  Kelly found herself blushing. Was he actually coming on to her? How in the world did it happen that two sexy guys were hitting on her in the same day? This was a whole new feeling for her, and she was liking it.

  “That sounds like fun,” Kelly said. She was surprising herself that she was actually flirting back a bit, but her confidence was surging higher than ever thanks to this amazing day. She was starting to become very glad that her tire had blown out and she had almost wrecked her car and got killed.

  John finished securing the tire, slowly released the jack, and put it back in the trunk with the lug wrench. He dusted his hands off and smiled in satisfaction taking a moment of pride in a job well done.

  “Wow, that’s awesome. I can’t thank you enough,” Kelly said.

  “It’s nothing. Now, about that bike ride—how about tomorrow?”

  “Well, I have classes in the morning and work after that.”

  “Blow off your classes then,” John said.

  “What? I dunno… I have midterms coming up. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea,” Kelly said, but truthfully she had already made up her mind to do it. She never took any risks in her life and she was going to do this.

  “Come on, you are smart enough. Too much class is a waste of your time. You don’t want to make the rest of us look stupid, do you?” John said smiling. He had a dry sense of humor that she was really enjoying. He was a tough as nails, no nonsense guy, but she could see a sweetness in him that was very appealing underneath all those layers. He was a mystery and she found herself wanting to crack it a bit.

  “Ok, you talked me into it.”

  Kelly gave John her address and her number, typing it into his flip phone. She almost laughed that the man still had a flip phone, but it really didn’t surprise her. He was a bare minimalist type of guy and she liked that. She also liked watching his tight ass in his jeans as he walked away.

  Kelly hopped behind the wheel and drove home feeling even higher than she had before.

  Tomorrow was a new day of this exciting new chapter.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kelly could not believe she was on the back of a motorcycle. The wind whipping in her hair, the smell of the desert a
ir, and the warm sunshine on her face was a brutal combination of joy and freedom. She had to resist the urge to lean back and let go, becoming one with the earth and her surroundings, but since she didn’t want to crack her head open and die, she figured she would have to be content with just enjoying the ride.

  John cranked the bike faster, twisting the accelerator slowly and with purpose. The bike lurched slightly coming to life on another gear and increasing speed as Kelly held on, her arms wrapped tightly around John’s waist, feeling his rock hard abs beneath his tattered tank top. His tattoos glistened in the sun, illuminating his ripped muscles, turning his body into a living piece of art. It was so sexy.

  The town whirred by them in the distance and Kelly found herself wondering what boring topics her professors were going over in her classes today. She enjoyed college, and she enjoyed her area of study, but it was a bit much at times. Especially, when she combined it with several hours a day of work and then studying when she got home. She had not realized how burnt out she was. This felt so freeing and so amazing that she could not believe she had even had a doubt about it.

  She found herself hugging John tighter and tighter, enjoying his warm, rugged body against hers. She loved his sweet, masculine smell, laying her face on his back and just allowing the wind to dance with her hair. She had often dreamed of a life where she could just cut loose and let herself embrace freedom on a total level, but she had never been able to take the risk and let go. This was one of those times and she definitely wanted more in her future.

  They had been traveling on the highway for about twenty miles when John pulled the bike over and pulled up in front of a building. Kelly had never really been in this part of town and she was excited to see where they were headed. One thing people realized when they came to the Phoenix area was how unbelievably huge the city really was. It would take you well over an hour to travel from one side of the metropolitan area to the other if you used the highway.

  The building was a bit older and rustic, and it kind of reminded her of a warehouse set aside from the rest of the community, but she saw a line of cars parked in front. As they got closer she read the sign “West Phoenix Gun Shop and Range”.

  “What are we doing?” Kelly asked.

  John looked back and smiled at her as he pulled the bike to a stop and shut off the motor.

  “You ever fire a gun before?”

  Kelly looked at him and smiled.

  “Ok, now both hands with a firm, but relaxed grip. Keep your body loose and bend your knees slightly,” John’s voice was a bit muffled outside her headphone enclosed ears. Everything sounded like it was underwater, which was actually kind of neat.

  Kelly bent her knees and took a few deep breaths trying to relax. She had never fired a gun before and guns in and of themselves had always terrified her, but gripping the pistol in her hand and feeling the cold metal melding into her grip—she felt lethal and strong. It was so empowering and she couldn’t wait to fire away.

  “Ok, now you are going to squeeze the trigger. Don’t pull it. Just take a deep breath first, aim at your target and squeeze.”

  Kelly followed John’s instructions to the letter and squeezed the trigger slowly. The gun came to life and blasted a round at her target, hitting it dead on the chest. The recoil from the gun was much stronger than she had estimated, but her arms were able to absorb it, transferring the shock through her chest and down into her legs, vibrating warmly. It left her whole body tingling with a mixture of excitement and power.

  “Great shot,” John said.

  “Yes!” Kelly said. She started to jump up and down but thought better of it when she remembered the loaded gun in her hand.

  “Try again,” John said.

  Kelly got back in her stance, aimed, and fired another shot. Then another. And another. Eventually emptying the chamber. John pressed the button and the target came back to her. He held it up for her to see. She had hit bullseye on half the shots and hit the target in several key places with the others. She couldn’t believe it.

  “You are a natural, baby,” John said.

  Baby. She loved it when he called her baby. It was essentially their first date, but she had never had anyone really call her baby. The way he said it with that sexy smirk and that cocky swagger of his was irresistible.

  He leaned over, put his hand on her ass, and kissed her deeply, catching her by surprise. Then he put a new target up and she got ready for another round.

  It was exhilarating. Just knowing that she had the power in her hands at that moment to stop anyone or anything that life had to throw at her.

  John was no slouch himself. He was actually pretty amazing. After she’d had two rounds he took over and took several rounds himself, hitting the bullseye with amazing accuracy, firing shot after shot with a laser-like focus and an intensity that turned Kelly on beyond belief.

  After the gun range John took Kelly back home. She had to get ready for work soon anyway. He pulled up in front of her apartment building and she had expected him to just let her off, but he asked her if he could use the bathroom. So she let him up.

  When he came out of the bathroom she was drinking a bottle of water and was just about to offer him one when she saw the look in his eyes. It was the look of desire. It was the look of a man who had one thing on his mind.

  He approached her slowly, grabbing the bottle from her hand and set it down on the counter. John wrapped her up in his arms and pulled her close, pressing his mouth down on hers. She surrendered herself to the kiss, letting his energy consume her, flowing into her being. It was like being placed on another planet where the real world she knew no longer existed.

  Suddenly he grabbed her and flipped her around, bending her over the counter. In an instant he had her pants and underwear down around her ankles. Kelly knew that she shouldn’t be doing this, but he was so sexy and it had been so long. She wanted it so badly and she knew it was going to feel so good.

  He was suddenly deep inside of her, forcing her body to open up to encompass him. Kelly thought of all the times she had dreamed of a sexy man taking her like this. It was her deepest fantasy to just be taken and ravaged. She loved it rough and needed to feel a bit helpless. She was his and he would do with her what he wished.

  Feeling him moving in and out of her body, using her, owning her, making love to her, was intense in its passion and she surrendered to every urge she had ever had. She was relinquishing all feelings of control at that moment. She was tired of having to stress and worry about everything. She was tired of being totally in control of her life. It was time that she let go.

  She felt herself about to hit her climax and he beat her to it, but only by a few seconds. She closed her eyes and breathed nice and deeply and let it finish deep inside of her.

  Afterwards, John got dressed, and kissed her sweetly.

  “See you later, baby,” he said leaving through the door.

  Kelly stood there with her pants still around her ankles for several minutes trying to compose herself and allow her heart to calm down. She had to laugh at the absurdity and the pleasure.

  It was a good day, so far.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Climbing into Aaron’s truck had been only slightly more difficult than climbing down out of it. Kelly was only five foot three and she wasn’t the most athletic person around, so she proceeded with extreme caution. If she fell and busted her neck it was probably going to ruin their evening.

  Aaron had come up with the winning idea that they go to a local MMA fight for a lower league. It was not the level of fighting that he did, but it had been the same league he had started out in. He loved to check out these fights so he could scout out his future competition and take a good hard look at the up and comers while they were still really green and making mistakes. He was under the belief that a person’s fighting style was made in the early part of their career and though they would always try to eliminate weaknesses and try to grow as fighters—and most of them would—t
he flaws in their game would always be there waiting to be rediscovered, like opening an old injury. At least that was how he had explained it to her; she still had no idea what he was talking about. She was just hoping that she didn’t get any blood on her, or she was going to freak out.

  They went inside and grabbed their seats. The auditorium was bigger than it looked from the outside and the place was packed. She had not expected this, but apparently people went nuts over Mixed Martial Arts. This wasn’t exactly how she wanted to spend her one evening a week off, especially when she had a term paper that was not going to write itself to work on.

  But she honestly didn’t care that much. Maybe some of John’s moxy had rubbed off on her. She was starting to feel that she was always taking life too seriously. She didn’t have to be superwoman all the time. She was allowed to take a break and be irresponsible on occasion. And this was definitely one of those times.

  She had thought about John almost non-stop since they had made love. The man would just not leave her brain. It had been almost three days and she had not heard from him. For some reason this did not surprise her. He didn’t really seem like the relationship type, but he was so damn sexy. He probably had his share of female admirers. She wondered if he was a player or if he was just an unobtainable object for any woman simply because he was a lone wolf who could not be pinned down. This also made his bad boy image that much sexier. She wanted him more because she knew that he could never be had, but she had relished the taste.

  And she wanted to taste it again really soon.

  Aaron came back from the concession stand with a few beers and a couple of hot dogs. He was such a nice guy, but he wasn’t too nice either. She knew he had a bad streak in him that was a rule breaker, but he was just a little more unassuming about it. She was starting to think she had a problem with being overly attracted to bad boys. Ugh, she did not want to fall into that sort of stereotype, like Amy was. Although, Amy seemed to date guys who weren’t really bad boys; they were spoiled brats who behaved badly and it was not at all the same thing.