by Jane Price
“Mind if I join?”
****
It seemed like wherever they went there were always a few people who threw a smile or a thumbs up in the direction of Thomas. He didn’t seem to be too bothered by it, but it was obvious that it affected him a bit.
He led Melissa in silence off of the strip and they ended up at a small bar that seemed like only the locals would know about its location. She had to imagine that this was exactly why he liked the place. He held the door open for her and they entered together.
Melissa was greeted to a round of cheers as Thomas walked in. She turned to see his reaction and he played it off as if this was the usual response he got whenever he walked in. He held up two fingers for the bartender who nodded and reached down to grab two glasses out from beneath the counter.
Thomas’ strong hands led Melissa to a booth in the corner by the small of her back. She didn’t like when men did this, but with Thomas it seemed different. It seemed almost as if it wasn’t an order, but a strong suggestion. They sat down and a waiter set down two whiskeys in front of them. Thomas thanked the waiter and he walked away.
“So, you’ve got a bit of a reputation,” Melissa said taking a sip of her drink. “It’s cute.” Thomas laughed and took a sip as well, his cheeks flushing a bit.
“Yeah, I like it here. They know me from back in the day.” He waved at two older gentlemen as he said this who stood up and began to walk over. Melissa looked up at them as they got to the table.
Both were easily in their seventies and had thick, leathery skin like they had spent about ten years too many in the sun. She looked towards Thomas who was silently shaking his head at them.
“Oh, what’s this, you don’t want us talking to your lady friend?” The first man slid into the booth beside Melissa, the other slid in next to Thomas. “It’s been a long time since he’s brought a lady in here,” the man said nudging Melissa. She chuckled and continued to drink her whiskey without saying anything.
“How much have you two had to drink,” Thomas inquired as they both slumped into their seats.
“Not enough, that’s for sure,” the second man chimed in. He hiccupped after that and leaned into Thomas, whispering. “So, tomorrow’s a sure thing, right?” The first man reaches across the table and smacks the man lightly across the face, getting his attention.
“Hey, watch your mouth, Bill.” The man turned back toward Thomas who was shaking his head again. “Listen, I’m sorry, Tommy. He’s drunk. It won’t happen again.”
The man quickly stood up and grabbed the second man who was drunkenly making his case for why he said what he had said. Melissa turned and watched Thomas’ face as they walked away.
“What was that about? What did he mean by ‘a sure thing,’” Melissa asked as Thomas finished his whiskey. He looked back at Melissa with a smile on his face.
“Bill gets drunk and forgets that fights are set weeks in advance. He keeps thinking that I’ll back out of my fight,” he motioned for the bartender, pointing at his glass. “But there’s nothing to worry about. Tomorrow around this time I will be getting the shit kicked out of me.” He swore under his breath quietly when the next drink came out.
They sat in silence for a few minutes and drank slowly. Melissa had the sinking feeling that Thomas was keeping something from her. She knew that they had only met that night but she never liked when people held things back.
She was the type of woman that lived spontaneously and didn’t believe in not speaking her mind. There wouldn’t be time to do it later, she needed to live in the moment. Melissa worked up the courage to ask him what was really going on and as she went to speak, Thomas interrupted her.
“Hey, do you wanna go back to my place? It’s only right around the corner. It’s nothing fancy, but I’ve got a few beers there.” Melissa nodded and they both stood up to go and pay the tab. The bartender called out to Thomas as he stood up and reached for his wallet.
“Tommy, don’t worry about it, bud. You’ll pay me tomorrow.” The bartender winked and Thomas turned silently towards the door. Melissa would get to the bottom of this.
****
Thomas wasn’t lying when he said his apartment was right around the corner. Melissa and Thomas turned out of the bar and within twenty steps they were already at his front door. Thinking back she realized that she hadn’t had much to eat and was really feeling the drinks she had had.
Thomas unlocked the door and Melissa felt herself reach out to grab him and hold on. Her hands gripped his bicep and she felt his muscles tense slightly. Once the door was open his arm extended and grabbed her by the hip, holding her up.
She felt his fingers slip inside the belt loops on her pants. He flicked on the light and tossed his keys onto the table the stood next to the door. Melissa’s eyes took a minute to adjust but as they did she was surprised to see boxing trophies and awards lining the walls. She broke off from him and made her way towards the wall. She gripped the couch for balance as she inspected the different awards.
Her eyes swept over the various newspaper clippings and framed paper awards. The different headlines all read something different, but along the same line. Thomas Lane was once a prize fighter. She turned to look at him and saw him leaning against the wall, a frown firmly entrenched on his face.
“But if this is you then-” Thomas nodded.
“Yeah, I fought a lot when I was younger. My dad had a bit of a reputation around town and that meant that I got made fun of a lot at school. I realized early on that I was bigger than most kids and that the fastest way to get somebody to stop talking was to break their jaw.” He looked down at his feet and shook his head.
“As you can imagine that didn’t go over too well and I ended up spending some time in juvenile detention. While I was inside my dad got involved in gambling and got more heavily into drinking. By the time I got out I was sixteen and needed to get a job to pay the bills.”
“That’s when you started boxing?” Melissa pointed at a picture of a young boy, posed like Muhammad Ali over another child. Thomas laughed.
“That was my first professional fight. Knockout in the first round. I went to school with that kid and he said something about my dad when we touched gloves. Two hits was all it took.” He chuckled under his breath.
“Walked away with one thousand dollars. I made the mistake of telling my dad, who told me that no kid my age should have that much money.” Thomas looked at his feet again. “He lost it all as fast as I had won it.” Thomas got off the wall and walked towards the wall.
“That right there is when I won and decided not to tell my dad about the money, I would just pay the bills and give him enough money to think I had a job,” he said pointing towards a picture of him with his hand being held up by an official.
“I ended up fighting until I was twenty-one. I had a great record too. In the fifty fights I had, I had forty-two wins. Twenty-two of them by knockout.” Thomas reached out and pulled a picture off of the wall and handed it to Melissa.
“This was the first fight my dad came to. I found out after the fact that he bet on me and ended up winning twenty thousand dollars. Incidentally, it was the last time I boxed.” He took it from her and hung it back up.
“My father already had enough of a reason to hate me. I went to juvenile detention, I never got my high school degree, he constantly told me I was the reason my mom left when I was in high school. I didn’t want to lose a key fight and have him lose money too.” Thomas paced the room and ended up seated on the couch.
“That was when he told me that he owed money to some old school mobsters. Breaking knees and what not. He had a plan to win back the money though. I get into the UFC, win a few fights so the odds are in my favor, then tank.” Melissa stood in silence as he spoke.
“He paid them back in full after that first loss. Put every penny we had into that bet and we came out on top. Apparently the mob wasn’t thrilled that they didn’t have my dad on their leash anymore though. Found out
that he made the money on a dive by me and-” Thomas’ eyes fell to the floor and Melissa crossed the room to sit next to him.
“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to,” Melissa said comfortingly. She rubbed his neck with one hand and allowed the other to rest on his arm. Thomas reached out with one hand and placed it atop hers.
“They killed him. And now I work for them. Because if the league finds out that I take the dive and I’ve made money off of it I’ll get barred from the division and I can face jail time. So, there are a few people in town who know which fights I’ll fold on.
They get their info from somebody and then they come to me to make sure that I won’t bail on it. A lot of people rely on me to fail. It’s a weird feeling; people being happy to see me lose. I just hope my dad would have been proud of what he did.” Thomas hung his head and Melissa reached up, lifting his chin.
“It’s not about him anymore. It’s about you. What do you want to do?” Melissa stared into his eyes and watched as the gears in his head turned, slightly slower due to the alcohol. She watched his lips part as if he was going to say something, but instead he leaned forward and kissed her.
Their lips connected and Melissa felt her eyes close. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but rather one where her body took control. The thought went through her head and immediately she felt her hands moving to his chest.
One hand gripped at his shirt, her fingers latching to the fabric, bunching it up between them. Her other hand slid from his neck up into his hair. Her nails parted it like a comb and she felt him moan into her lips as she did it. His hands weren’t far behind hers though.
One hand flew to Melissa’s lower back, the same place it had been before, except this time it was no longer suggesting. His strong hands pulled her into his chest. Their bodies melding together. His other hand reached for her jaw, his thumb resting near her throat.
In one swift motion, Thomas guided Melissa down onto her back. She didn’t fight it, his muscles now pressed against her body even more. His lips moved from hers and he positioned her head up, allowing him to kiss her neck.
His tongue and lips danced across her tender neck and after a moment she felt his teeth nibbling at her. She giggled and tried to pull away, but Thomas held her in place as he continued. Her hands trailed off and reached to the bottom of his shirt, trying to pull it off.
Thomas, realizing what she was doing, shifted so that he was kneeling over top of her. He pulled his shirt off over his head and stayed there for a moment as Melissa stared at him in disbelief.
She slowly reached out and ran her fingertips over his muscles. Each one appeared to be chiseled out of stone. He laughed at her expression and leaned back down, kissing her again.
Melissa’s fingernails now tore and pulled at his back as he continued to kiss her, moving from her neck down to her chest. When he reached her shirt he pulled at it with his teeth, causing Melissa to laugh. Thomas stood up and watched as Melissa, still laying on the couch, stripped down to just her bra and panties.
Thomas followed suit and pulled off his pants. Melissa glanced over and saw the outline of his cock through his boxers. She bit her lip as he mounted her again, this time though, his dick was now firmly planted against her leg.
Thomas kissed her chest as she continued to cling to his back. Goosebumps swept across her body as his lips reached her breasts. With one hand he pulled her bra down, revealing her nipples. His tongue began to flick her nipple, causing it to get hard.
Her nails dug into his back and he only flicked harder. His lips formed around her nipple and began to suckle at it. Melissa moaned loudly as he did this. One hand still holding the bra out of the way, the other slid down her body and slid under the band of her panties.
Melissa’s head rolled back as his fingers reached her clit and began to gently rub it gently. She was wet and his fingers glided down inside her easily. She let out a long moan as his fingers spread her and plunged inside her.
Melissa bit her lip as Thomas slowly moved down her body, kissing as he went. His lips lapped at her stomach and sides, residing at her thighs. His teeth bit down on her inner thighs causing her to let out a small yelp. It only seemed to invigorate him though as he tore into her like a rabid dog, his tongue and lips leaving hickeys.
Even while he passionately kissed her thighs his fingers were still working. His middle finger slid in and out of her wet pussy while his thumb rubbed her clit. With one hand she gripped the side of the couch and with the other she grabbed the back of his head, guiding him away from her thighs and towards her pussy. He obliged with a little force and began to eat her out with the same ferocity that he gave to the kissing.
His tongue made a long pass over her lips, landing at her clit. The tip of his tongue flicked it with some force causing her body to spasm slightly. Thomas continued to lick as her legs quivered, his strokes beginning slowly and going the whole distance, but then shortened and became more forceful. She moaned his name as she gritted her teeth trying to not be embarrassingly loud, but she couldn’t help it. Her fingers dug into the couch as he slid a finger inside her.
His tongue focused on her clit, flicking and teasing it while his finger slid back inside her. Melissa wanted to shout out for his cock, but she had no control over what her body was doing.
One second she was in control and the next, as his tongue and finger hit a rhythm, she felt her body begin to shake. Her legs shook uncontrollably and she came. It lasted a few moments and her thighs tightened around his head, and then it was over. Melissa melted into the couch as Thomas slid back up next to her.
“Okay, you’re next, I promise,” Melissa whispered through ragged breaths. Thomas laughed and kissed her on the cheek. Standing up he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.
“I’ll take you up on that offer tomorrow. There’s no way I can have sex the night before a fight. I need the pent up anger. It helps me when I’m out there.” Melissa shifted on the couch and reached for her shirt.
“Are you turning down sex?” Thomas contemplated for a moment and answered.
“Not turning down, postponing.” He grabbed her pants and handed them to her. “You’re going to be in town for a few days, I’ll see you tomorrow night after the fight. I won’t need that much downtime because I’m slotted to go down in the third.” Melissa shook her head and stood up, now dressed.
“You don’t have to do that, you know. This is your life, you don’t need to always be making up for mistakes your father made.” Thomas looked at her with a blank expression and they both stood in silence for a few moments.
“Yeah, I know.” He started to walk towards the door. “Would you like me to walk you back to your hotel or do you think you can make it back?” Melissa collected her things and followed him to the door.
“I think I can figure it out.” She kissed him on the cheek and shook her head as she left. “Good luck, Thomas.”
****
Melissa contemplated not going to the fight at all, but she had felt like last night might have had an impact. At least, she hoped so and she was willing to gamble on that feeling she had. She took the winnings that she had made from her first day and took them to the fight center. Melissa walked up to the window and placed her bet. Ten thousand dollars on Thomas to win in the third round, by knockout. As she placed her bet she heard two men talking in the corner.
“Yeah, I just went and had a chat with Tommy Boy. He looked good. He said he would make it look legit, but we already knew that.” Melissa turned and saw the man that Thomas had spoken to the night before when they had met.
He was standing with another man dressed in the same type of cheap Italian suit. They were huddled together in the corner and watching as other people placed bets. They stood and watched the ticker tape of the various odds flash by. “It’ll be a decent payout if he does what we say.”
Melissa took her ticket from the woman and slid it into her pocket. She needed to find a way to get back so that she coul
d talk to Thomas. She didn’t regret placing the bet, but she also wanted to make sure that those thugs hadn’t gotten in his head. So, she made her way through the crowded room and found a door that led towards the locker rooms.
It didn’t take her too long but she found Thomas’ room. She initially headed towards the noise, but all she found was his competitor. He had about twenty people in there with him all hyping him up for the fight, but Thomas sat alone, listening to music.
She snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around quickly, grabbing her hand, but let go as soon as he realized it was her. He embraced her in a monstrous hug that lifted her off the ground. He set her back down and kissed her, causing her to blush.
“I’m so glad you made it. I was terrified that I had ruined everything last night.” He began to pace the room and Melissa could tell just how tense he was. “I barely slept last night because I was thinking about everything you said.
