by Carl Alves
A few seconds later, Enter Sandman by Metallica played on the speakers in the arena. Jake had requested the song for his entrance. It always pumped him up when he worked out in the dojo.
Joe squeezed his shoulder. “You ready?”
Jake took a deep breath and nodded.
Joe smiled. “Look at it this way, fighting in the cage certainly beats being in prison.”
Jake froze for a moment, then realized Joe was trying to make a joke to loosen him up. All at once, Jake let out a loud laugh. It certainly did beat being in prison.
Joe followed him to the cage to a small cheer from the crowd. He was an unknown fighter, and this was the biggest venue he had ever fought in. He stepped into the cage and circled around, then came to a sudden stop as he stared into the audience. He broke out into a big grin as he spotted June and Kenna in the crowd. He didn’t think they would be here. Kenna had told him their mom wouldn’t let her attend the fight, and June had told him she had other plans.
Not only was June in attendance, but so was his entire class. Lawrence Crawford, wearing an Armani suit, had his hands in the air. Robin waved at him. The other students stood cheering. They had all come to support him. He raised his fist to salute them.
His opponent, Blake Witman, came out next. Kenna stood on her chair booing him. The guy was clean cut with a good build. He looked like a typical college athlete, contrasting with Jake’s longer locks and tattoos, which made him look more like a surfer than a jock.
After the ring announcer made the introductions for each fighter, the ref brought them to the middle of the cage and gave last minute instructions.
He looked into Witman’s eyes and saw complete confidence, like he had this fight won before the bell sounded. Jake was going to ruin his plans.
Jake walked back to his corner.
Joe Renken shouted, “He’s going to shoot in from the outside. Sprawl and brawl. Sprawl and brawl.”
Jake nodded. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. The bell sounded and, instantly, he felt relaxed.
For the first thirty seconds, they stood at the center of the cage exchanging jabs, then Witman made his move. Just as Joe had predicted, Witman shot in from the outside trying to take him down with a double-legged takedown. He was a freestyle wrestler, so this was his specialty.
Jake met the charge with a sprawl, driving his opponent to the mat. He got back to his feet, connected with two punches followed by a roundhouse kick to the ribs.
Witman winced and staggered back. Undaunted, he shot in again.
“He comes in, you give him a receipt on the way out,” Renken yelled.
Jake sprawled. This time he followed it up with a knee to the abdomen and two right hooks. He got into his boxing stance, landing jabs and body punches that sent Witman against the cage. They got in a clinch, and Jake employed his dirty boxing, landing three short elbows to the head followed by a knee to the abdomen.
Jake’s face tightened when he realized a second too late that Witman had lured him into a trap. Since he couldn’t take Jake down by shooting in, he was trying to trip him to the mat.
Instead of expending energy unnecessarily, he let Witman take him down. Jake was perfectly comfortable fighting off his back. Immediately, he wrapped his legs around his opponent’s body in a full guard position, reducing his ability to land strikes. Witman threw a series of elbows to Jake’s face, but he partially blocked them. Witman tried to punch him, but Jake grabbed his arm, twisting it around his back in a kimura.
Witman grimaced. If Jake could bend his arm back further, he could get his opponent to tap out, but that would be tough off his back. Another option would be to use his leverage and sweep his opponent. This way Jake would be on top. Witman rolled his body to the right and landed two punches to Jake’s head. So hyped on adrenaline, he hardly felt them.
Jake released the kimura and scrambled to his feet. Witman was a step slow, and by the time he had gotten to his feet, Jake landed two punches to his face. Witman staggered, giving Jake the opening he needed. He took two steps and leaped in the air, landing a flying knee to the top of Witman’s forehead.
Witman slammed against the cage and rebounded forward. Jake wasn’t sure if he had knocked out his opponent with the blow, but Witman’s eyes were glazed. Since the referee didn’t stop the fight, Jake charged after him, slipped his right arm underneath Witman’s windpipe, and applied a guillotine choke. The end of the fight came seconds later when Witman tapped out.
After releasing the choke hold, Jake pumped his fists in the air, filled with elation. He felt an explosion of energy ripple through his body. He released it with a primal and savage roar. Not only had he beaten his opponent, but he had done so in spectacular fashion. He felt more alive at that moment than he had ever felt in his life. The crowd roared its approval. The sound was almost deafening. Throughout the fight, he had completely tuned out the thousands of people in attendance, so focused on his opponent. Now that the fight was over, the noise came at him like a rush.
He climbed to the top of the cage and searched for Kenna. Their eyes met, and he gave her a thumbs-up. He raised his fist and saluted June and his other students, feeling touched in a way he could hardly describe that they had come out here to support him.
He dropped from the top of the cage and walked toward his opponent. Witman looked dazed but otherwise seemed fine.
Jake shook his hand. “Good fight, man. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Witman congratulated him, and they embraced. Jake acknowledged the crowd once more.
He felt on top of the world when the announcer declared him the victor.
Jake paused for photos before Joe Renken led him out of the cage. Joe patted him on the back. “Now, did you have fun out there?”
Jake smiled. “I sure did.”
“Just like I told you. You did the hard work in training. The fight’s the fun part.”
Back in the dressing room, Jake removed his fighting gloves and stared at himself in the mirror. Other than a slight abrasion over his left eye, he looked untouched. He had worst bruises after tough sparring sessions in the dojo.
Joe stood behind him with a wide smile. “You did great out there, Jake. You made me proud. That whole time you were in prison, I never stopped believing in you. You validated my belief in you tonight.”
“Thanks, Joe. Thanks for helping me pick up the pieces. If you didn’t offer me a spot at your dojo after I got out, man, I don’t even know what I’d be doing now. I know I wouldn’t be here, and for that, I owe you more than I can ever pay you back.” Tears welled in his eyes. He hugged his trainer in an unusual display of affection for him.
“All you have to do is keep yourself clean and fulfill your potential. I ain’t blowing smoke up your ass when I tell you that you can be a great fighter.” Joe turned around. “Looks like you have company.”
Kenna’s gleaming smile lit up the locker room as she stepped inside. Jake opened his arms, and she ran to him. He lifted her into a big bear hug.
“You rocked out there. You were awesome. I told you that you would handle that wrestler.”
“It wasn’t easy.” Jake ran his fingers through her hair. “Thanks so much for coming. I didn’t think you would make it.”
Kenna frowned. “You think I’d miss this for anything? I had to beg Mom to let me go. She still wasn’t going to let me, so I called June and asked her to help.”
June stood at the edge of the room and stepped inside. She waved to Jake, and he waved back.
“I got June to sweet talk Mom. She volunteered to take me here and promised she wouldn’t let me out of her sight all night.”
June took a seat on the bench near Jake. “We wanted to keep it a surprise. All of us at the school were planning on coming, so we bought tickets a few days ago and we had an extra one for Kenna.”
Jake had a wide grin on his face. “You sure had me fooled.” On Tuesday, he had asked June if she wanted to come to see his fight, but she had tol
d him it was her friend’s birthday, and she had already made plans to get together with her. Jake hadn’t been sure if the story was legit or if she had been blown him off. Being a pessimist by nature, he had come to the conclusion that he had overestimated June’s interest him. Why would a woman with as much going on for her as June ever want to go out with an ex-con?
Jake held June’s hand. “I appreciate it. This means so much to me.”
Kenna nodded eagerly. “If you want to kiss her now, I’ll leave the room.”
Jake glared at his little sister. The last thing he needed was her giving him relationship advice. “That’s all right. I gotta, um, shower and get changed.”
June put her hands on Kenna’s shoulders. “Sure thing. We’ll be heading out. Lawrence has invited everyone from class back to his place for drinks and food. He was so confident you’d win, he arranged for catering for a victory celebration. Are you going to be able to make it?”
Jake raised his brows. “Really? He didn’t have to do that. That’s so cool. Yeah, of course I’ll go.”
June smiled. “Well, I’m going to take Kenna home. I told your mom I’d get her back at a reasonable time. I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds great.”
Jake walked June and Kenna out of the locker room. Just as she reached the doorway, June pulled him close and gave him a full kiss on the lips.
Jake went wide-eyed but said nothing.
“Nice work out there.” June winked. “I’ll see you later.”
Chapter X
Jake was hoping his nervousness would subside, but he couldn’t shake it. Damn, this was almost as bad as his last fight. He had been like this since June had told him about the celebration Lawrence was holding for him. Ever since June had kissed him back at the locker room, his heart had been racing into overdrive. He was sure to find some alone time with her and didn’t know how he should respond. He could have something truly special with June, and the last thing he wanted was to blow it.
He knew Lawrence was well off by the way he dressed and carried himself, but he didn’t realize he was this loaded. He lived in a mansion. Besides the Mercedes Lawrence usually drove, he also owned an Escalade and a Maserati. At the gym, he seemed like an obnoxious bastard, but after spending time with him at his house, Jake came to realize he was a really cool guy. He gave Jake a tour of his place and even showed him a picture of him at the top of Mount Everest, as well as one of him white-water rafting near the Grand Canyon. As it turned out, he was not only the CEO of the company he started almost a decade ago, but he was also a thrill seeker.
The party was a pretty sweet affair. Lawrence had arranged catering, and there was plenty of food and beverage to go around. All of Jake’s students attended the party. They made him the center of attention, wanting a blow-by-blow description of what he had been thinking and doing inside the cage. The attention made him feel uneasy.
Ordinarily, he would have crawled into his shell, but these were his students, and it would be a good learning experience for them to know what happens in a real combat situation. He promised to break down the video of the fight for their next class. He would have been at a loss explaining it right now since everything he had done was instinctual and he hardly remembered it a couple hours later.
June arrived later since she had to drop Kenna off. He wanted to spend time with her, but it was difficult with everyone trying to talk to him.
At one in the morning, people started leaving, giving him a chance to speak to June alone.
He was stammering, trying to make interesting conversation, when June said, “How would you like to go out with me? It doesn’t have to be a big deal. Something casual. Maybe we can catch a movie. Get some coffee or a bite to eat afterward. What do you think?”
Jake tried to play it cool, but his heart was doing flip flops. He was starting to sweat. Despite her assertions, this was a big deal for him. A huge, massive deal. He was crazy about her. He had never been a lady’s man and invariably said and did the wrong thing around members of the opposite sex. June was special. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their budding relationship.
“Um, yeah. I’d love to.”
***
He let her pick the movie since he had no idea what was playing and didn’t want to pick something she might find stupid. He tended to favor juvenile comedies and superhero movies. She continued to surprise him by picking a horror movie.
Everything had gone well for the first half of the date. He picked her up and met her parents, who seemed wary of him. His mother didn’t seem to know what to say and busied herself with other activities, while her father stared at him the whole time. Undoubtedly, they did not find him up to par with Chad Garret, June’s wealthy ex-boyfriend. He wondered if she had mentioned that Jake had served time in jail.
Driving to the theater, he actually managed to make witty comments. Fortunately, he didn’t have to talk during the movie. Even better, they held hands and she snuggled next to him during the scary parts.
As they walked to his car after the movie, she pulled him aside and gave him a deep kiss. He felt like he was walking on clouds. He had been thinking that nothing could spoil this evening. That was until they arrived at Starbucks.
He wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, especially the designer coffee they served there, so he ordered a plain black coffee. She ordered a Mocha Latte something or other, and they settled into a good, comfortable conversation.
“So, what are you thinking about long term now that you’re no longer in Boston?”
“I plan on becoming a financial analyst. My idea was to settle in New York or Chicago or some other big city, but things change. I didn’t plan on going to Ursinus. It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen.” June smiled. “Sometimes you meet someone, and it changes everything.”
It took him a few moments to realize that the somebody she was referring to might be him. His eyes went wide. “Well, you know, I’m pretty flexible about location. There are lots of places where I can get a good training camp for my fights. Of course, I’m loyal to Joe Renken. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be back on my feet right now.”
June looked down. “But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.”
“Of course, I’m just saying…” Jake wasn’t sure what he was saying. He wished he could speak more eloquently around June.
They didn’t talk for a while. Then June looked up and frowned. “Oh shit.”
Jake looked around. “What is it?”
June groaned and covered her eyes with her fingertips.
Jake turned in time to see Chad Garrett and his posse of suburban tough guys approach their table. He tensed. Things had been going so well.
Chad stood next to their table with his hands on his hips. He wore a turtle neck and jeans. On his wrist, he had a Rolex. No college kid should have a Rolex. The bastard hadn’t done anything to earn one. Chad shook his head and glared at Jake. “What the hell are you doing here with…him?” Chad said it like he was pond scum. People like Jake didn’t exist to him. “I know you’re trying to make me jealous, but come on, this is pathetic. You can do better than Jerry.”
June’s face tightened. “It’s Jake.”
Chad tilted his head and grimaced. “Whatever. Like it really matters what his name is.”
In the background, Chad’s friends snickered.
Despite his anger rising, Jake tried to remain calm.
“The point is, I know I didn’t always appreciate you and pay you the proper attention, but we were good together. Forget about this loser. He’s a nobody. He’s not worth your time. Let’s get back together. All that bad stuff will be water under the bridge.”
Jake clenched his fists. He felt like thrashing Chad. Despite the restraint he was trying to show, he couldn’t let this creep continue. He could deal with personal insults, but June didn’t deserve this. He spoke in the calmest voice he could manage. “Listen, Chad, I think it would be best if you leave.”
Chad had about five inches and thirty pounds on Jake. He had been a star baseball player in high school. He had a tall, athletic build, and no doubt thought he could intimidate Jake. He turned to his friends. “Excuse me. Did any of you hear something? Maybe it was just background noise.”
Chad’s friends roared with laughter. This guy was a regular comedian.
June shook her head. “Chad, you’re an asshole. I don’t know why I ever went out with you. Jake’s ten times more of a man than you could ever dream of being.”
Chad’s friends erupted with catcalls and exaggerated facial expressions. Jake couldn’t figure out who annoyed him more, Chad or these clowns.
This had gone on long enough. Jake stood. “Why don’t you get lost?”
Chad wore a pompous smile. “That was so witty. Did you come up with that on your own, or do you have a team of writers working for you?”
“Let’s get out of here,” June said.
Jake shook his head. “We’re not going anywhere. He’s leaving.”
Chad glanced at his friends. “You talk tough, but the last time I checked, there are five of us and one of you. I know math probably isn’t your strong suit, so let me spell it out for you. You’re way outnumbered.”
“You’re right,” Jake said. “You should probably get a few more of your friends over here if you want to even up the sides.”
Chad narrowed his eyes and pushed him.
Jake took a step backward. He could probably take on all five of them if it came to that, but that would cause a ruckus. He preferred not to fight, but if he was going to, he would make it quick and decisive.
Jake went face to face with Chad. “I’m giving you one chance to leave. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your buddies.”
Chad mimicked his words and made monkey sounds. “What do you say? Should we teach him a lesson? Normally, I wouldn’t waste my time with trash like you, but we need to make an example out of you.”
June sighed. “You’re making a big mistake.”
Chad waved his hands, pretending to cower in fright. He buried his finger deep into Jake’s chest. “I don’t want to see you with June ever again.”
