Immediately, Maia could see it wasn’t going in. “Ha,” she said. “What happened?”
“Shite,” Tony said. “He blocked me.”
He smiled at Maia and put his arm around her. “That’s exactly what I was going for. I didn’t have a shot, so I wasn’t going to give him one.”
She shook her head. What he didn’t know though was that Tony lived for this kind of shot. He was more likely to make this than a simple cut shot.
“So, you were going to clarify something for me?” he asked.
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know why but I just got upset when I heard you were with her and especially when I saw you kissing her.” She looked over at Kat. “And I have no reason to be upset. It’s not even my business. Don’t worry. I’ll get over it. It was just my gut reaction. I have a way of talking myself out of those. We’re cool. I promise.”
Tye was hoping he was about to hear her say that maybe she was into him, for pride’s sake if nothing else.
“I still don’t understand why that was your gut reaction…” he said, probing deeper.
“I like what we have. Having you two around is like being surrounded by my brothers and their friends back home.” She grasped his gaze. “I don’t want to lose you to this place. I don’t want to lose what we’ve started to become.”
She said nothing specific about being into him. In fact, her entire response was sweet and sensible, but he saw something in her eyes when she told him she didn’t want to lose him. It made him want to see even more.
“Do you care that we won?” Tony said handing her a lemon drop martini.
“Of course, I do. And to think, Tye thought he blocked you from making a shot.” She grabbed the drink and took several sips.
“You ready for your big fight?” he asked Tye.
“Big fight? What big fight?” Maia interrupted.
“Well, you know, we had to pay for all this beer, so Caleb offered me up as entertainment.”
She busted out laughing, “No, he didn’t.”
“Oh, yes he did,” Tony said. “He’s fighting Stewart in about an hour.”
She was about to react to the news when she noticed Jason from across the room. He had been talking to the deejay, and now he was walking in her direction. She couldn’t stand that she cared about him. She hated that she despised him too. The love/hate thing between them was getting old.
He held his hand out to her, “Allen says you're mine tonight, just me. He’s giving you a pass on the second one. So, you gonna come dance with me?” Jason took her drink out of her hand and gave it to Tye. “You’ll hold that for her, won’t you?” Tye took the drink from him and banked all the reasons he would be beating this guy to a pulp later on.
This group of people had a thing for old school music so when REO Speedwagon’s, “Can’t Fight This Feeling” started playing no one thought anything of it, especially her. That is until the deejay announced, “This song is dedicated to Maia Cameron from Jason Stewart. He wants you to know he’s sorry and he’s always regretted how things ended.”
She looked at him in confusion as he pulled her to the floor, singing those words to her. Every syllable of the song was tickling her ears. All she’d ever wanted from him was to hear that he was sorry; that she mattered to him more than his reasons for their parting. And here it was.
Before the end of the second chorus, they were locked in each other's arms, rhythmically moving in sync and his lips were making room for hers before he even got close enough to kiss her. Caleb saw what was happening as he made his way to the bar. He looked back at his friend and saw his face. Tye was obviously bothered by it.
“I’m gonna need two more beers,” he told Sunny.
“Clap your hands if you’ve always thought these two would end up together!” the deejay instigated. The room broke out in applause.
Somehow that statement was enough to snap her back to reality. She put her head down to break his kiss then pulled away from his embrace.
“You okay?” he asked her, smiling that sly smile she remembered so clearly.
“No,” she replied.
“Look, I have to go get ready for this fight. You are going to be there to cheer me on, huh?” He put his forehead on hers and grabbed a handful of her backside. “I would feel much better if my girl was there.”
She pushed him off. “Your girl? What’s that supposed to mean?”
He put his arms back around her. “You know what it means. I want us back. I want you with me. I hate that you come and go from here and I have to go around hiding behind trees to protect you. And now you’re running around with these clowns. If we hadn’t shown up today, who knows what would’ve happened to you. I want you safe with me."
She put her head down and refused to respond to him. "Think about it,” he said, then he held onto her hand as he walked away. Once he was at arm's length, he gently let her go, blew her a kiss, and headed out the door.
Caleb and Tye walked over to her. “What was that about?” Tye asked her.
A look of disgust took over her face. “Oh, he thinks I should fall into his arms after all these years.” Memories of their demise flooded her mind. She turned to Tye. “Kick his ass, please.” She grabbed her lemon drop martini and gulped it down.
He smiled at her and winked. “My pleasure.”
Then she looked up and saw a tear in Tobi's eye. Before she could make her way to her friend and find out what was wrong, Tobi walked away.
Maia and Sadie walked to the trailer where Tye was getting ready. It sounded like a dozen men in that little bitty place. They could hear them cutting up four trailers down.
When they walked in, they saw that it was only a few grown men making all that noise.
“Look who I found,” Tye said.
It was Garcia. A guy that they knew from the gym. He was wrapping Tye’s hands for him. Caleb was chatting with Dale, the man that had been with them earlier during the gunfight.
“I was just telling these two how impressed me and Tony were when we showed up today,” Dale told her.
“Impressed? With what?” she asked.
“Just the way they handled themselves out there. Most people have no clue how to engage in a firefight, but they didn’t need us at all. I’m glad we showed up, but they could’ve handled it.”
“Really?” she replied.
That was of great interest to her since Jason said they saved them. She couldn’t wait to ask about it.
After a few minutes, Tye was gloved up and ready to go. He stood up and pounded his fists into his palms and did some wrist rolls.
“Well, look at you with the grappling shorts and all. You have compression shorts on too, right?” She grinned.
“Oh, now you’re worried about his cojones?” Caleb laughed.
“I just figured I caused enough damage, you know. Besides, I’m asking because Jason isn’t exactly known for playing fair.”
He touched his glove to her nose and flashed that flirtatious smile of his. “Don’t worry sweetheart. The Agosta family jewels are well protected.”
“Dad!” Sadie squealed.
They headed out the door and down the dirt road back to the community area. The guys cut up the whole way; jumping, yelling, pounding their chests and other testosterone induced behavior. They were having a great time, and Maia and Sadie wouldn’t have it any other way.
When they walked into the community center, it was all oohs and ahhs. The room dividers that previously closed off the area had been removed to expand the room for the event. The cypress planked walls were transformed entirely with soft white lights and homemade banners. Moments after Caleb made the deal for the fight some of the guys began building a makeshift fight cage. They laid out wrestling mats and used some fencing from the batting cages they had on the property. The game and dinner tables were shifted to the outer edges, and the chairs now sat around the cage. Allen was going all out.
“Hey, y’all ready?” Allen asked them. “How you like it
? It’s beautiful, ain’t it?”
Caleb looked over at Tye. He seemed to be a tad nervous. Aside from training with other fighters, he hadn’t stepped inside the ring to fight in years. The last man he fought took him out by repeatedly hammering him with a leg kick on the inner thigh. After a dozen or so kicks his leg snapped at the knee.
After two surgeries and nearly eighteen months of therapy and rehabilitation, he was finally able to get back to normal. It still bothered him to some extent, but eventually, he began training again though he would never step back into the ring. It was a promise made to his wife that he once believed he’d always regret. Now that she was gone, he was glad he’d given that time to her instead. Besides, the path he took because he wasn’t a professional fighter turned out to be better than he could've imagined.
Caleb got in his face. It was time to get him pumped up. He started talking smack to him and slapping him around. Tye finally started jumping up and down a little but not enough to convince Maia that he was in the right mindset. She stood in front of him and asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this. He said he was, but she could sense his hesitation.
“Tye Agosta, I’ve been around military men my entire life and yet I’ve never met another man as intense as you. You fight with more raw fury than any of the fighters I’ve seen you train. You’re fast,” she grabbed his arms and continued, “you have…ridiculous upper body strength, you’re more calculating than him, and you’re certainly more disciplined than him. He’s a grappler, and he might have a mean right hook, but that's it. And don’t get me wrong, he’s great at wrestling, but you, you're better.”
“But that’s just it, he’s a wrestler, and from what I hear, he’s damn good at the takedowns. Garcia said he always goes for the armbar or kneebar hold.” He looked her in the eyes. “If he goes for my knee I’m done.”
“Then don’t let him get to your knee; sprawl and brawl. If he can’t get you on the ground, then you don’t have to worry and if he does happen to get you on the ground put him in that ‘go-go’ whatever neck hold. It always makes him freak out, and he’s no good after that. But you know your best shot is to fight him in the clinch then knock him out or take him down and overpower him until he submits.”
“How the heck do you know about all this?” He asked, slightly amused.
She toyed with a lock of her hair and leaned forward. “When you’re always surrounded by guys, you learn to love what they love, or you spend an awful lot of time alone. I don’t like being alone.”
He gave her a half smile and a gentle nudge. Then he noticed Jason.
They must have been allowing their sentiments to linger a little too long because when Jason walked over to him, and they wished each other luck, the stares, and the tension was heavy. It boiled over when Jason looked over at Maia and told her he wanted her on his side, then proceeded to take her by the hand and lead her. That didn’t sit too well with her, so she jerked her hand from his.
“I’m here with them,” she said.
He clenched his jaw and stretched out his lips baring his teeth. He pulled his cheeks in then spit mint tobacco mere inches away from them. “You know what, that’s fine. But I want us together the rest of the night, especially if we’re gonna sell this to Allen. I had to say and do a lot to convince him so I could have you tonight. After everything I told him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has someone walk in on us to prove we’re together. Right, Tony?”
“What? He wouldn’t do that.” Maia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Don’t worry. You know you like it. Remember the Clarks? It’ll be just like old times,” he said while attempting to smack her on the behind again. She blocked him then got in his face and said, “Don’t touch me.”
He just smiled, winked at her and walked away. Tye could feel the negative energy about to overtake him. Caleb noticed his countenance change. “He’s trying to tick you off. Don’t let him get to you," he told Tye.
Tye was fired up now. This wasn’t even about Maia. This was about this fool trying to make it personal. “It’s only fuel, man. He’s going down,” he said.
Maia was furious. “You got this, Tye. Don’t give him anything.”
That got him jumping up and down, carrying on, stomping his feet and pounding his fists. Now he was ready.
Chapter Twenty-One
Allen stood proudly in the center of the fight cage. The happy, happy on his face prompted everyone to smile. He bragged about his negotiations for tonight’s event then announced the opponents. They both bounced into the ring, stretching and warming up. Except for the brief moment when Jason looked over to Maia to blow her a kiss and wink, neither he nor Tye took their eyes off of the other.
The appointed referee stepped into the ring and read the rules.
“These are the rules: no groin attacks, no knees to the head on a grounded opponent, no eye gouging, no strikes to the back of the head or the spine, no biting, no head butts, no hair pulling, no fish hooking, no fingers in an opponent’s orifices—can you believe people really do that?— no strikes or grabbing of the throat, and no manipulation of the fingers or toes.”
He walked around the cage. “We are going three rounds of five minutes each unless we don’t. The only way we won’t is if a player is disqualified; if they forfeit; if they’re knocked out; if a player submits and taps out; if there is a TKO; or a no contest situation. If any of that applies, I’ll let y’all know. Otherwise, we get to enjoy all three rounds.”
Returning to stand in between the two opponents he said, “If you want to touch gloves you can do so now. If not, go to your corners.”
Tye held his hands out. He had every intention of pounding this guy into the mat, but he was still a man with honor. Jason smirked at him and backed away.
The referee yelled, “Fight,” and Maia and Caleb started screaming Tye’s name, cheering him on. Tye moved straight to the center of the ring. For the first couple seconds, the two bounced around studying each other.
Tye dropped his weight to anchor himself. He stood with his strong side to the rear, a deliberate southpaw. He could see the confusion set in Jason’s eyes. Tye pulled his hands up, dropped his chin, then he shifted his mind to beast mode.
Tye took the lead, throwing a few jabs to test the worthiness of his opponent. He smirked, loving the way it felt to be back in the ring. The two danced. They landed a couple of strikes on each other then Jason went for the double jab, but Tye was ready for it. He quickly slipped to the outside and crossed with a powerful hit to the chin.
Rattled, Jason dropped his hands leaving his chin open which allowed Tye to pummel him with combinations. He backed him up against the cage. Jason tried to use his weight to push back. Tye assumed he was attempting a double leg takedown, but he made a mistake. In his confusion, he bent over just a tad too far. Tye sprawled on him, taking him the ground. Using his legs, he hooked him from behind and put him in a chokehold.
He heard Jason let out a slight laugh to mock him. He assumed he knew what was coming next and sure enough, Jason tried to pin his legs down. They wrestled back and forth for a while then Jason nearly succeeded in pinning him to the ground, but Tye was fast and jumped up before he had a chance to.
Tye had to reconfigure since Jason was a bit more skilled than he’d planned for. That meant he had to push harder. He replayed all the reasons he couldn’t stand this guy. Over and over the image of him kissing and groping Maia invaded his thoughts. He got mad all over again. He listened as his friends cheered him on then he pushed all of that energy into the fight.
They exchanged strikes and kicks. Blood flew as Tye threw a jab, opening up Jason instantly. He moved into the pummel clinch, put his weight on him and tucked himself in tight. He didn't want to give Jason an opportunity to hit him. The exhaustion began to come in waves. He needed to end this fast. At first, they were too tight, so Tye shoulder punched his way into a gap then put an elbow to his face, but Jason quickly closed the space again. Not to b
e deterred, Tye stomped Jason’s foot, and as soon as he pulled his foot out of the way to avoid another stomp, Tye kneed him in the torso.
Jason stepped closer to him to avoid more kicks. Tye cracked him across the face with an elbow then stepped into him, pivoting to the right leading into a Judo hip throw. He attempted to put him in a hold, but the air horn went off signaling the end of the round.
Tye moved to his corner hoping they wouldn't see how spent he was already. Caleb and Garcia were there to tend to him. They instructed him while wiping his face and applying Vaseline to a cut.
“Keep using your combinations. He wasn’t ready for the power behind those punches. You’re knocking him off balance. Keep it up,” Garcia told him.
Caleb added, “Dude, you played with him long enough. Kick his ass already.”
Round two was a lot of stalking and footwork. There were a few strikes here and there by both opponents, and on a couple of occasions they each went for a takedown but were unsuccessful. By the time the horn sounded signaling the end of round two they were just catching their second wind.
Tye tried to set his eyes on Maia, but she was no longer in the spot she had been. Junior and the kids stood there by themselves. He looked around and saw her talking to Allen. She didn’t look happy. She walked toward them. The referee helped her into the cage and Tye noticed she was holding the handmade cardboard sign signifying the round number. Allen made her the ring girl for the final round.
She pranced around the ring holding the number three. When she got close to Tye, she held the sign in a position that prevented others from seeing her face. Tye couldn’t say anything with his mouthguard in but Caleb could.
Caleb stood up, “You okay?”
She moved in closer to them. “No,” she said looking at both of them, ”I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. Allen found out I don’t really have sex with them and he’s upset about it. He told me to tell you he bet against you and they want you to throw it, or else they’re gonna have to do something about me.”
Amitola: The Making of a Tribe Page 20
