Amber and Joel spoke quietly for the five minutes between rounds, waiting for the third match to start. They stopped as the announcer took his spot in the middle of the ring. The first fighter he announced was one of the ones Amber recognized from earlier. She recalled Joel saying he was quick, but seemed to lack power. He was a thin fellow with a short goatee and bald head. He had won his first round by what Joel had called an arm bar. Some type of submission.
"And next, originally from California but now a regular here at the Golden Dragon Dojo, weighing in at 245 pounds, Carlos Alvarez!" The crowd went wild as the tall Hispanic from earlier emerged from behind the curtain.
Chapter 25
Joel
Joel wasn't surprised to see Carlos enter the ring, he was obviously a fighter and already a member of the club. He was actually kind of happy that he was fighting. The guy was a prick, and Joel was looking forward to being matched up against him. He wanted a chance to punch him in the face a few times.
He leaned forward in interest as the bell sounded to start the fight. The smaller fighter, Darien, seemed to run around the ring, back and forth in a confusing manner that seemed to have no real purpose. But after watching him fight the first time, Joel knew that was part of his game. Without warning, he leapt at Carlos and landed on him, wrapping his arms and legs around the bigger man after taking a running leap in an effort to throw him off balance.
Carlos stumbled, but the big man wasn't about to go down so easily. Joel saw him widen his stance and bend his knees to maintain his balance as the smaller man clung to him, and then he pulled his right arm back and slammed it into the side of Darien's ribs. The smaller man dropped off of him immediately and stumbled backwards, holding his side in obvious discomfort.
Carlos didn't waste a second. As soon as his opponent was on the ground, he pivoted on the ball of his left foot and swung his right leg around, connecting with Darien's head. The little man flew across the ring and landed on his back. He started to sit up immediately, but not quick enough. Faster than Joel would have expected for someone his size, Carlos leapt on top of him and started to pound into his head with his gloved fists. Darien started to try to defend himself, but too many blows had already slammed into him and his arms finally dropped as did his head. The ref jumped across Carlos to stop him from swinging and the match was called. He'd won in just over one minute. The crowd went crazy. Clearly Carlos had a lot of fans at the club.
Joel glanced over at Amber, and the look she gave him in return was wide eyed and full of worry. He reached over and gave her leg a little squeeze. "He's strong and fast, I'll give him that," he said. The words were out of his mouth before he realized they'd be of no comfort to her, so he hastily added "but so am I."
She just nodded, turning her head back to the ring to watch as the referee and medic sat with Darien, talking to him and making sure he was okay.
He hadn't expected Carlos to be that good. He did think he could still take him, but then again, he also thought he would win over Brutus. I lost my focus that time. It won't happen again.
A few minutes later, the next fight started. It went to a decision, and while the judges were talking, Joel continued to analyze the fight, correctly predicting the winner. "That's the right decision," he nodded.
They had another 15 minute break before the semi final round. Just two matches left before the finale. This time he would be fighting second.
Carlos was up first against a man who called himself Punisher. It was another two round match, but like the first time, Carlos won in the first round. It took him more than a minute, this time three of them, but it was another ground and pound knock out and the crowd roared even louder this time.
"Joel," Amber said, as he stood up to make his way to the back. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her eyes flicked down to the towel that he was holding, a dark red spot stained the center of it, but the bleeding had stopped again. For now.
"Just two more fights," he said. "Then I'll take some time before I fight again. I promise." He smiled at her, and she gave a half smile back, but her eyes were full of worry. His hand reached up and touched her cheek, running his thumb across her smooth skin. He gave it a little pat and then headed to the back to get ready.
When he got behind the curtain, Carlos was there talking to Marcus. When they saw Joel, they stopped talking and Marcus nodded at him, giving him a smile. "Great fighting, Joel," he said. "Good luck with the rest of your night." He patted him on the arm as he walked past and through the curtain to take his place back at the judges table.
"You'll need more than luck if you beat this next guy, ese," Carlos sneered.
"Why? Is your boyfriend Marcus going to fix the finale?" Joel asked in return. "That's the only way I see you winning."
Carlos took a step forward, his fists clenching.
"Bring it," Joel said, stepping toward the other man as well.
The men were toe to toe and glaring at each other as the bell sounded and the announcer started to call Joel's name. He continued to stare Carlos down and then finally stepped back. "We can settle this in the ring," he said. Carlos wasn't worth him losing his chance in this tournament. There was just too much at stake.
"Maybe once I beat you down, I'll take your little girlfriend for a spin. I bet she'd like to ride a real man. One that doesn't make her pay for his fights."
Joel paused at the curtain, his teeth clenched as he fought internally to keep from spinning and knocking some teeth loose in the fool behind him. Instead, he finally just pushed forward and made his way to the ring.
Chapter 26
Amber
Joel looked like he was angry when he got into the ring, which surprised Amber as he had seemed relatively calm when he had left a few minutes ago. By the time his opponent was in front of him, though, he seemed to have more of a handle on himself.
His opponent was a big man, surely out of Joel's weight class. The announcer had said he was 295 pounds and looked like he was at least 6'11. It hardly seemed like a fair fight, but she knew that the tournament was open to anyone. Even his nickname was imposing. He called himself the Steamroller.
"Nervous?" the man beside her asked.
It wasn't until he said this that she realized she was chewing on her thumbnail. She dropped her hands to her lap and gripped them tightly. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall, right?" she said.
"Something like that," he replied.
The bell rang and the men started to circle.
They started off trading blows, each man landing a few punches and kicks against the other. Within a few minutes, Joel was limping from a series of blows to the thigh that the bigger man had delivered, and Steamroller had a cut under his eye that was dripping blood down past his mouth.
Just then, Joel leapt forward with a flying punch but he was deflected as Steamroller turned away and pushed him with one big hand. As Joel landed behind him, his opponent turned and slammed his fist into the back of his head.
Joel spun around and his knees buckled. Amber jumped to her feet with a cry of anguish. That punch had looked like it was directed purposefully at his injury. "Oh my god, can he do that?" she cried out.
Her neighbor answered her. "Do what? Hit Joel in his weak spot? Of course. That's smart fighting."
That might be true, but it still seemed pretty dirty to her. Joel rolled onto his back as the big man came closer, lifting his legs to fend him off from getting on top of him.
"Your boyfriend ought to stand up if he can," the man observed. "I've seen steamroller fight before. They don't call him that just because of his standing game. He can roll over his opponents on the ground pretty good as well."
Joel was spinning on his back, keeping his legs between himself and his opponent, but each time he moved along the mat he would leave a fresh smear of blood in his wake. Finally, the ref stood him up again due to not enough action. Amber could see by the way he was swaying that he was having trouble standing, just like he'd been the other night when he'
d first been hit.
She quickly glanced at the clock. He only had to last another minute before the round ended. She held her breath as she waited out the clock. Steamroller threw a series of punches, most of which were blocked by Joel but she saw at least a couple of them connect. The big man moved forward with another onslaught, catching Joel on the side of his head and dropping him to his knees again. Joel's hands fell, and Amber's heart started to pound. Raise your hands, she screamed in her head. Protect yourself!
It didn't look like Joel had anything left, but just as Steamroller was advancing, the bell ended the round and the ref jumped between them. Amber ran over to the side of the ring as Joel slowly stood up and made his way over. His feet were still unsteady and he was blinking rapidly.
"I think you need to stop," she said when he got to her. "You're hurt!"
"I'm not giving up," he replied simply.
She picked up a towel and grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around and then pressed it against him again. He winced without trying to hide it at all this time, so she knew it was bad.
"Look, I know this whole thing is important, but it's not worth your health. You need to get this checked out, you might have a concussion."
"I will," he said. "I will. After I'm done tonight. I'll go in the morning. You can come, if you want." He paused for a moment and before she could say anything, he added "I mean, please come. I'd like it if you were there with me."
Amber blinked a couple of times, her eyes stinging. "Of course," she said softly.
The referee gave Joel the signal that they were about to restart and she removed the towel. The red stain was much larger than it had been last round. She was about to try one last time to stop him from continuing but the bell sounded again and he started to move away.
Fearing for what was to come, she ran back to her seat to watch the rest of the action.
"Your boyfriend should probably forfeit," the stranger said. "That wound looks pretty bad."
Amber just nodded, not wanting to take her eyes off Joel in case he needed her.
He looked steadier on his feet as he approached the center of the ring. His larger opponent wore a sneer that seemed to indicate he knew he was in the lead and expected to finish things off quickly. He started with a feint and Joel staggered to react, his earlier steadiness beginning to waver. As he moved, Steamroller followed up with a real punch that caught him in the temple, sending him reeling backward. Amber gasped as she watched him hit the ropes and use them to steady himself.
Steamroller moved forward, this time throwing a low kick that caught Joel in the shin and causing his knee to buckle slightly but he recovered and moved aside to avoid being hit by a follow up.
"Joel needs a miracle, unfortunately," the man next to her said. "Even if he makes it to the end, the decision won't even be close. If I were his trainer, I'd throw in the towel to avoid further injury. I don't think this fight is winnable."
Amber continued to ignore him. She wasn't his trainer, or manager, or anything, really. Joel would never forgive her if she made a move to try to stop the fight. But would his pride ever allow him to do it himself?
Joel was standing tall again, but limping as he circled. There was less than two minutes left on the clock and then it would be over. Amber couldn't wait for the bell to ring. She just wanted to run up there and pull him away.
Suddenly, Steamroller threw a quick jab and follow up but as Joel ducked his injured leg gave way, causing him to drop his knee to the mat. This put him underneath the guard of Steamroller, and he used that to his advantage by throwing two solid punches into his opponent's midsection.
The blows caught Steamroller by surprise and the big man doubled over in pain. Joel reached up and grabbed a hold of his head, using his neck as leverage to pull himself up and around, landing on the big man's back as he attempted to go for a choke.
Steamroller was not interested in being knocked out, though, and he stood up to his full height, lifting Joel right off the ground. He struggled to unlock the grip of the man on his back, but when he was unsuccessful Amber watched as he staggered to the middle of the ring. He bent at the knees and then threw himself backward.
She watched in horror as the two men crashed to the ground, Joel's head bouncing against the mat and then having Steamroller's head smash into his face on the rebound. Blood sprayed from Joel's nose, but somehow his arms remained fixed under the chin of the man on top of him. If anything, the movements only served to dig him in deeper.
Steamroller continued to pry at his arms, but his strength was waning and finally the man started to slap repeatedly against his own shoulders.
The ref was on top of the men immediately, pulling on Joel until he let go. Steamroller rolled off onto his stomach, breathing heavily, but Joel just lay on the mat without moving. Amber leapt to her feet and ran to the ring, moving through the blur of tear filled eyes.
Chapter 27
Joel
He wasn't sure what had happened exactly, but it seemed to Joel as if he had woken up suddenly amidst a group of people all looking down on him with concern. He was confused at first, especially with all of the shouting and cheering going on in the background, but when his eyes finally focused he saw Amber staring down at him. As soon as she saw him open his eyes, her face split into a huge smile even as tears were rolling down her face. Joel tried to smile back, but his head felt like it had been split in two and it hurt to even move.
He closed his eyes against the pain, and was surprised again when he opened them to see different surroundings. He was lying on a gurney now, and black curtains surrounded him. Amber still stood by him, but it was quieter. There were still cheers and yelling, but they seemed more muffled and less frantic.
"What happened," he asked. His head was still aching, but it wasn't as intense as it had been.
"Thank god you're awake," she said. Tears were still filling her green eyes, but she was smiling again. He felt her hand gripping his and he squeezed it.
"The club doctor had a look at you," she continued. "He thinks you definitely have a minor concussion now, if you didn't have one before."
"I mean with the fight," he asked.
Amber rolled her eyes. "Of course. You won, you idiot."
"Really?" Joel laughed but then stopped as his head began to feel like it was going to split open from the back.
"So... the final match... I don't suppose they want to postpone it?" The look on Amber's face told him that wasn't in the cards.
She shook her head sadly. "The doctor declared you unfit to fight on, so they already declared Carlos the winner by default. I'm so sorry Joel. I know how disappointing this is."
He closed his eyes. It was the right decision of course. There was no chance he could fight on, and in the real world they didn't put fights on hold for injuries. It was just part of the job. But it burned him just the same. He felt stupid for getting his hopes up at all. A guy like him didn't get any breaks in life.
"Sure," he just said. "It's fine." The decision made sense, but he may have felt less bad about it if the winner had been anyone but Carlos. I really wanted to get in the ring with that fuck.
He was quiet for a little while, just holding Amber's hand and dealing with his anger and disappointment silently, like he always did. Suddenly he decided he didn't want to do that anymore. "Actually, it's not fine," he finally said, letting out a long shaky breath. "It fucking sucks." Amber was still looking down at him, and her hand tightened against his in response.
"I know," she said. Her other hand touched his forehead as she lay her palm against it. The calmness he had felt from her touch earlier returned.
"Do you think maybe... I mean, it's okay if it's not cool, but do you think I could spend the night at your place tonight? I don't really want to be alone."
The smile got even wider on her face and she ran her hand through his hair softly. "Of course," she said. "I'm so happy you want to."
"Are we free to go, then?"
He raised his eyebrow at her, but she just smiled mysteriously and gave his hand another squeeze. Who the hell even knew he was here?
Amber pulled her hand away and exited the curtain. Within moments, a man walked through and up to Joel. He looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn't sure from where.
"Hi Joel," the man said. "You're one hell of a fighter," he said.
Joel shrugged. "I didn't win."
"You didn't really lose, either," the man replied. "And given the injury you started with, that's worth even more in my books."
"Who the hell are you?"
Royal Stripper Page 96
