“The man lives to walk another day!” he said.
I laughed. “Oh yeah, you’re not getting rid of me that quickly.”
“So, how’s it going? I can’t believe you’re holding this press conference so soon. Didn’t you just get out of the hospital?”
I chuckled. “I got out last night.”
“You don’t mess around, do you?”
“I just knew that I needed to get this done. If I don’t, then I might end up saying I want to fight in the heat of the moment again. You know what I’m like.”
“That’s true. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m so glad that you’ve decided to do this. Man, I freaked out when I heard what had happened to you. I’m sorry I didn’t visit in the hospital. I called a few times, but they told me that you had family with you all the time.”
“It’s okay. To be honest, I was asleep most of the time. I was so tired. My brother came around with my niece, so that was nice. And my father came to visit me too.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I was so surprised. I thought I was hallucinating when he walked in. And, obviously, Blaire was there the whole time. I’m glad they didn’t keep me in too long. Apparently they were rather surprised by how quickly I recovered from it all.”
“You’re a fighter in more ways than one,” Nick said.
“I’m never going to fight again, though.”
“Trust me, Ryan, you’ll always be a fighter, even if you aren’t in the ring. Now, are you ready to do this? I saw them setting up inside.”
I nodded. I’d asked the media to come to the training facility. It wasn’t going to be long, and there wasn’t going to be any back and forth. I had written down what I was going to say, so all I had to do was to read it and then they would broadcast it in their own way. When I entered the room, at least twenty different media personnel were seated. And it wasn’t just the media that had come to hear what I had to say. The room was filled with other fighters. I hadn’t expected so many people. I nodded and made my way to the front. Nick stood in the corner and smiled at me. You’ve got this!
I cleared my throat and looked around the room. The faces all seemed to swim together, and I couldn’t make out who was who. It was pretty overwhelming, and as I’d never been one for public speaking, I was glad that I had written everything down.
“Hi everyone,” I began. “Thank you so much for coming today on such short notice. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here, especially since the last time you heard from me I was telling you how much I was looking forward to winning my fight with Ron. Unfortunately, I’m here today to tell you that I will not be fighting him. In fact, I will not be fighting anyone again. I am officially retiring from MMA.”
There was an audible gasp from the room, and as I looked up, I could see how surprised everyone looked. Clearly, word had not yet gotten around, and nobody had expected me to say this. They probably all assumed I was just there to bad mouth Ron in preparing for the upcoming fight.
“I have been suffering from headaches for the last few years, and as of late they have gotten worse and worse. I recently went to visit my brother in Seattle who, as some of you know, is a sought-after neurosurgeon, for a checkup. I’m stubborn, as most of us fighters are,” I said and everyone chuckled in agreement, “and it took me a long time to admit that something might be wrong. Of course, I still hoped that it was nothing too serious. But after a CAT scan with my brother, he made it clear that I should not fight again. I have head trauma, and a blow to my head could lead to severe damage, or even death. It was the worst news that I had ever received in my life.”
I stopped to catch my breath. I could feel myself getting emotional, and I quickly cleared my throat again to stop the tears from coming. I looked up and caught Nick’s eye again. He smiled at me and gave me the confidence to move on.
“Of course, being who I am, the moment I was challenged to a fight, I decided to ignore everything that my brother had said. I said yes to Ron. I wanted to prove to the world that I was a good fighter. At the time, that was more important to me than my health. But, despite these intentions, I will not be fighting. My beautiful girlfriend, Blaire Kaplan, was recently involved in a terrible situation that I will not go into right now. It’s all over the media anyway, so there’s no need for me to go into it. But, to cut a long story short, it involved me getting knocked in the head and getting rushed to the hospital. I slipped into a coma, but somehow, miraculously, I made my way out of it. And just like that, I realized what I was doing to myself. Or more importantly, what I was doing to the people around me. So, to sum things up, I’m here to tell you today that I will not be partaking in any more fights. I’ll still be actively involved, one way or another, because it’s impossible for me to fully leave this world. But my fighting career is over. Thank you to all that have supported me in this journey. And Ron, wherever you are, as much of a pain in the ass as I think you are, I do wish you all the luck in the future.”
I stopped. My hands had been trembling in the beginning, but by the end, they were calm and steady. I looked over and saw that Nick was grinning at me. I smiled back at him, and the whole room broke out into applause. As I made my way out, I was stopped by people telling me how sorry they were to see me go, and how much they were going to miss me. It was nice, but I knew that I would only be replaced by another fighter. That was how it worked, and I was glad to finally realize that. It took me a long time to make my way out of the crowd; everyone seemed to have something to say to me, and I felt too bad to ignore them. I should’ve known this was going to happen and should’ve left through the back room, but it was too late.
About an hour later, I finally made my way out of the crowd. I was just about to leave when I saw Ron waiting for me.
“Oh, hey, Ron,” I said. “I didn’t see you in the crowd. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this in person. I was going to. But—”
“So I’m never going to fight the great Ryan Maxwell,” he said.
I groaned. The last thing I felt like at that moment was a fight with Ron. I wasn’t in the mood for him. “Nope. I guess you won,” I said and started to walk away.
“Ryan, you do know that I’m not such a horrible guy, don’t you?”
I turned around to look at him. “What do you mean?”
He laughed. “I only play the part to get people to watch me. And it works. The public loves a bit of drama. But . . . to be honest, I was petrified to fight you. I was actually upset when you said yes to me. I didn’t really think I could beat you.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m serious. I am sad that I won’t get to fight you, though. Anyway, I heard about what happened with your girlfriend. You fought that guy despite knowing that you had head trauma? That takes some serious guts. Although, so does agreeing to a fight with me that could end up killing you,” he said and laughed. “Look, I just wanted to tell you that I really respect what you did to save her, and I respect your decision to back out. Some guys wouldn’t, you know. But it’s a pretty selfish way to live. What’s the point? I mean, surely the only thing that matters at the end of the day is family. You’re a great fighter, and I wanted you to know that. Man to man.”
“Wow, Ron, I’m shocked. I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that. Thank you. That actually means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
“Well, you’re the only one that’s going to hear me speak that way. Don’t you dare let anyone else know that I’m actually a good guy.”
I laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”
I walked out smiling. I almost felt bad that I had been so horrible about Ron all this time. I hadn’t for one minute thought that he was just playing a role. He’d always come across as if he meant it. The media loved him, so the guy clearly knew what he was doing.
I was still smiling when I made my way back home.
“You were amazing!” Blaire said the moment she saw me.
“You watched it?”
“
Of course I watched it. You were incredible. So, I’m your girlfriend?” she asked.
I looked at her and grinned. “Uh, sorry about that. We’ve never really discussed what we are to each other. But that’s how I see you. Would you like to be my girlfriend?”
“Are you kidding me? I’d like nothing more. I love you, Ryan,” she said. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks went red. “I mean . . .”
I chuckled. “Don’t take it back! I love you too, Sunny.”
Then I pulled her in toward me and kissed her like I had never kissed her before.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Blaire
I’d known that I was in love with Ryan for some while now, and I had a feeling that he maybe thought the same way as me. Even his father had told me so. But we still hadn’t said it until that moment. And now that it was out, I was desperate to say it again.
“I love you,” I whispered as he kissed my neck.
“I love you,” he said back and then kissed my mouth again.
There was something different about kissing someone that you loved, rather than someone that you simply found attractive. My soul caught fire as the warmth of his full lips pressed against mine spread through my body. The feeling of tension inside me reached a crescendo before ebbing away, radiating away from my core and into my fingertips as they caressed his taut muscles. I pulled him down onto the bed with me, and for a long time, we just kissed each other without doing anything else. Feeling his lips parting over mine was itself enough to set my skin ablaze with desire, and it was clear he didn’t want to rush into anything too quickly this time. We both wanted the moment to last.
Ryan began unbuttoning my shirt, one button at a time, until my shirt hung open. He pulled it off my shoulders, and I reached behind my back and unclasped my bra. Ryan sat in front of me and reached out for my breasts, circling my nipples and watching as they hardened at his touch. I leaned back and moaned.
He pushed me back down against the bed and towered over me. He leaned down and licked each of my breasts, sucking the tips gently. Then he pulled my jeans down and took off my panties. He smiled at me.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.
“And you’re still fully clothed,” I replied.
He grinned. But instead of taking off his clothes, he opened my legs and put his tongue inside me. I opened up even more. I wanted more of him inside me. I wanted to surrender myself to his touch. I groaned and then pushed my legs together when I felt myself getting too close to letting go.
“No, I want you to come,” he said and opened up my legs again.
The moment his tongue was back between my folds, I felt my body shiver. I moaned. I opened wider and let him take over. His hands were moving up my stomach, reaching around my waist and pulling me up so that his tongue could reach in deeper. I closed my eyes and completely gave in to the moment.
“Oh god,” I said as I felt my body respond. “Harder,” I said, and he stuck his tongue in even more until my body trembled against him.
For several seconds, I just lay there, my eyes closed and a smile playing on my face. My body had never felt that good before. When I opened my eyes, Ryan was lying next to me.
I smiled at him. “I love you. I keep saying it.”
“I love you too. Don’t ever stop saying it.”
“You know, Ryan, I’m alive because of you. You literally saved my life. I will never forget what you did for me. I cannot explain to you how it felt when you opened that door. I thought my life was over until I saw you standing there. I still can’t get over that day. Thank you for everything.”
“Oh, Sunny, it’s not just me that saved your life. You saved mine too.”
I smiled at him. “You do realize that you still have too many clothes on.”
“Is that an order?” he said.
“It certainly is.”
I watched as he got out of bed and took off his clothes. I was always amazed at how beautiful his body was. It was like someone had carved him out. An artist with an eye for perfection.
“I love your tattoos,” I said.
“Oh yeah. I was thinking of getting another one actually,” he said as he took the last of his clothes off.
“You were? Of what?”
“Maybe a sun.”
I smiled. “I like the sound of that. Now come here,” I said and opened up my legs.
He put a condom on and then climbed on top of the bed. He was hard, and I was still incredibly wet, so within seconds he was inside me. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him in tighter. He rocked over me, bending down to kiss me softly. Then his kissing got more intense, and I could see that he was close to coming. He moved against me with more passion, groaning loudly as he fervently pushed harder. I moved my shaking legs a little higher up, and I felt him come inside me. The feeling was so good that I felt myself tense up and then release in a wave of ecstasy, coming all over again.
“How is it possible that I just came too?” I said as he lay beside me.
“Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t know it was possible. I mean, people always said that it was, but I thought they were just saying that to sound cool. Turns out I had no idea what I was missing out on. You turn me on all the time.”
“Oh, Sunny, I feel the same way about you.”
“By the way, I have something to tell you,” I said to him.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“I love you.”
He laughed. “I love you too.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ryan
A week had passed since I’d told the world that I wouldn’t be fighting anymore. I’d thought about something like this happening years ago, and I always thought that I would fall into a deep depression. But so far, I’d been fine. I was sure it was because of Blaire. I didn’t mind not fighting when I got to wake up to her pretty face every day. I still didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I was still considering the proposition from Nick to come and train with him. That was definitely a big possibility. But at the moment, I just wanted some time off away from it all. I wanted some time to breathe and to not think about fighting for a while.
“Good morning, Sunny,” I whispered into her ear.
“Hey you,” she said. “Wow, is that really the time?”
I laughed. “Yeah. We’ve become pretty lazy.”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you . . .” she said.
“That I’m amazing? No, you didn’t. Go ahead.”
“Well, yes. You are amazing. But that’s not what I was going to say.”
“Oh, my apologies. You were going to tell me that I was sexy.”
She chuckled. “Yes, you are. Very sexy. Although not very modest it seems. But again, that’s not what I was going to say.”
“Okay, let me try one final time,” I said. “You were going to tell me that you were getting up to make me coffee.”
“Nope. Wrong again.”
I sighed. “That’s a pity.”
“Okay, I’ll make you coffee. But only to shut you up. Wait here.”
I lay back on the bed smiling as I listened to Blaire in the kitchen making the coffee. She came up moments later carrying two cups and handed one to me.
“This is impeccable service,” I said to her. “Pity you weren’t naked too. Although, your outfit is pretty cute.”
She was wearing tiny cotton shorts and a shirt with a big panda on the front. It said, “I’m fluffy, not fat,” in big bold letters. She chuckled.
“I love this shirt. Sometimes I wish I could wear it out in the public.”
“Oh, you have to! Can you imagine what the media would have to say about that.”
“Something along the lines of BLAIRE KAPLAN IS SO DEPRESSED SHE NOW DOESN’T HAVE THE ENERGY TO CHANGE OUT OF HER PAJAMAS.”
“Probably! So, what were you going to tell me?”
She took a sip of her coffee. “Hmm, I’m not sure I want to tell you anymore.”
“What? Why not?”
“I don’t know. I feel like maybe you’re the one that owes me breakfast now.”
I laughed. “Oh wow, are we going to play this game all day?”
“Maybe.”
“This better be good news then. Okay, breakfast it is. Want to come downstairs and finish your coffee there? I need company while I cook.”
“Let’s go! Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked.”
“You’re lucky you’re so cute.”
We took our coffees downstairs, and I started making her breakfast. I couldn’t believe how relaxed I felt around her, and how nice it was to finally have a chance to take a break.
“You know, I didn’t realize how much I needed this break until now. Nick has been going on at me for ages about how important a break is for your body, and I’ve just ignored him.”
“We all know how stubborn you can be,” Blaire said.
“This is true. I can’t help it. I’m a Maxwell. But I can’t believe just how good I feel now that I’m taking a break. Even my headaches seem to be subsiding. I feel like a brand new person. Soon I’ll be cutting out the caffeine, getting rid of gluten, and eating kale.”
Blaire laughed. “Oh no. Don’t you dare!”
I looked down at the food that I was making and chuckled. “Although judging by the way I cook, I don’t see that happening.”
“I really need to go for a run after this,” Blaire said as I scooped a handful of scrambled eggs onto a buttered olive ciabatta.
“Nah, you don’t need to do that. You can take the week off from normal life with me too.”
“What happens after a week?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Actually I have no idea. And I don’t really care about not knowing either.”
“Wow, you are a changed man,” she said. “And this breakfast is delicious.”
“Okay, now will you tell me the good news?”
“Who said it was good?” she said with a teasing smile.
“Are you telling me that you strung me along all morning just to tell me bad news?”
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