RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE)

by Nikki Wild

  “Forget it. We don’t have that much time.”

  She was right. The flight to Miami was short one and the captain would want everyone back in their seats soon.

  “Ever given a lap dance in a phone booth?” I asked.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  I crossed my arms and leaned back against the sink.

  “Serious as a heart attack.”

  We had the hottest five minutes of sex imaginable. We fucked against the wall so hard that the passengers in coach probably thought the plane was going down.

  By the time we got back to our seats we were both so flushed and out of breath, we didn’t have the energy to care if anyone heard us.

  This is your captain speaking. If you’ll look out your windows, you’ll see the beautiful clear skies above Miami International Airport. We are expecting a smooth touch down in the next ten minutes or so, so please return your seatbacks and tray tables to their upright and locked positions…

  “We’re here!”

  “Yep. When we get off the plane there’s going to a lot of people waiting. Don’t freak out, it’s just the handlers from the M.M.A.C.S. They’ll be there to make sure I get to the press event on time.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “And maybe a few fans. I’m sure the word is out, so we might have a few waiting for us at the gate.”

  Bria was staring out the window at the water.

  “Can we go down to the beach when you’re done? I’ve always wanted to see it…”

  “I know the perfect place to take you. It’s the best at night, too.”

  She pulled her eyes away from the window and gave me a hesitant look.

  “I’m not gonna be in the way, am I?”

  “Not in a million years. I’m having a car take you to our hotel when we land. You can chill there for a few hours while I do all this bullshit and then the rest of the night is ours.”

  The plane landed with a bump. Passengers started to stir and I immediately began to regret the fact that I was going to have to leave her.

  We marched up the jetway like a herd of cattle. Flying commercial pissed me off more than most things but I hadn’t even thought about it until now because I’d been so fixated on her. It didn’t matter anymore though, because if I played it right I’d make enough money on endorsements and pay-per-view buys to put us in a private jet for the rest of time.

  I pulled Bria under my arm and walked with her through the terminal. We let the rest of my crew get ahead of us a little bit.

  “You gonna be okay while I’m gone?”

  “This is Miami! I might start having fun without you.”

  “Yeah? I bet that once you get to the room and see the view, you probably won’t ever want to leave.”

  As we stepped on to the escalators and started our descent a little cheer went up from the crowd that had gathered near the baggage claim. There were more of them than I expected. This fight was already starting to generate some serious buzz.

  “Hey Luke, how’s the fight gonna go?”

  “Hey Luke, are you gonna knock him out? What round?”

  “Luke! Simmons said you aren’t ready to fight him. Any comment?”

  I simply nodded and waved. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Bria was trying to gauge my reaction.

  “This is it, sweetie. That guy over there with the sign will take you to the hotel. Everything is already all set up. Your stuff will be there waiting for you when you get there and I’ll catch up with you later.”

  My publicist was begging me with her eyes to hurry things along.

  Bria gave a sweet smile and told me to have fun. I watched as she disappeared behind the crowd of people gathering around me. This was going to be a long night. For a split second I wanted to blow the whole thing off and go with her. But I had to take care of my business. A few short hours and I’d be back with her.

  23

  Bria

  The suite was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t believe we were only scheduled to be here for less than forty-eight hours and they went to this much trouble.

  I had to tell Kaitlyn about it. She picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey you!”

  “Hey. So we made it to Miami.”

  “Oh good! What’s it like?”

  “The hotel is incredible. It’s right on the beach and the view looks like something off of a postcard. I think I want to live here.”

  “Oh my God that sounds unbelievable. What about Luke? Is he with you?”

  “Not right now. He had to go do his thing. I guess it’s somewhere just up the road at the Events Center but he wanted me to stay here. He said those things can get out of control.”

  “Wow. Sounds like you’re living the dream.”

  There was a brief silence. I could tell there was something she wanted to tell me. If Kaitlyn got quiet, it meant she was holding something back.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Huh? Nothing. I just wish I could see it. It sounds great.”

  “No. You’re acting weird. Is something going on?”

  “No, no. It’s fine. Nothing to worry about. You’re having a great time and you don’t need to think about anything that’s going on back here.”

  “Kaitlyn! Now you have to tell me. What is it?”

  There was a longer pause this time.

  “Well… there was kind of… an incident this morning.”

  “What kind of incident? What are you talking about?”

  She sighed.

  “It’s Kevin again. He… was arrested.”

  “Arrested? For what?”

  “Okay, I don’t want you to freak out because there’s probably an explanation for it but they arrested him for burglary.”

  “Burglary? Kevin? Why would he be doing that. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. He was probably drunk and didn’t know what he was doing,” she said.

  “But Bri, there’s more to it.”

  “Okay…”

  “But I don’t want you to worry. Do you promise you won’t worry?”

  “Oh my God. Kaitlyn, would you please just spit it out already. You’re making me more anxious than ever right now so just tell me.”

  “Well… he was, I guess, trying to break into your house when they caught him.”

  “What?!?”

  “I don’t know for sure. I guess one of your neighbors heard some noises coming from around the back of your house so they called the cops. They said it sounded like someone up to no good back there.”

  My head was starting to spin. Kevin had always been such a vanilla guy. He was usually so obsessed with himself that this didn’t make any sense at all.

  “When the cops showed up he was trying to pry open your sliding door by your patio. It must have happened right after you and Luke left for the airport.”

  “That’s crazy,” I said. “Was he drunk or something?”

  “I don’t think that was it. I think he was looking for you.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because they found a gun on him...”

  24

  Luke

  The press conference was a spectacle. The room they held the event in was easily big enough for a thousand people. The place was packed. They had us situated up on a stage sitting behind a long table. I was on one end and Simmons was on the other. In between us were a couple of my people, the promoter, and a few members of his management team whose names I couldn’t remember. Behind us was a small army of security guards in case things got heated.

  I stared out at the crowd. The first few rows were filled with members of the press. They held their phones up in the air like little robots, all so they could capture the perfect quote for the articles they’d no doubt be writing later.

  Every other spectator was either a friend or family member of Simmons or a fan of mixed martial arts. Damn near every one of them was waving to get my attention.

  “Okay,
gentlemen,” said the wormy bald-headed promoter. I didn’t even like the feeling of his name rattling around in my brain. “We’re ready to get started. As you all know on my right is our champion, Mr. Eric Simmons!”

  The crowd put up a weak applause. Simmons waved like he’d just been crowned prom queen.

  “And on my right is the challenger in this fight… Mr. Luke Greer!”

  The crowd blew up with cheers. It wasn’t often a challenger outpaced a champ in popularity but I had gained somewhat of a cult following for my no bullshit approach to things.

  I didn’t respond to questions with the same stock answers that most athletes gave. I said what was on my mind.

  People were used to hearing guys say things like ‘I gave one hundred and ten percent’ or ‘First I’d like to thank God for the opportunity…”

  Blah, blah, blah. That was all bullshit that’s been said millions of times.

  I speak the truth.

  When someone asks me about my training, I’ll tell them straight up how it’s going. If they ask me about my opponent, I’ll let them know I’m going in there to kill or be killed and I couldn’t give less of a shit about what anybody thinks.

  I wanted people to know that this carried more weight than your typical sport. This was about two men getting in a cage to fight until only one was left standing. You’re not supposed to like your opponent. You’re supposed to destroy them. Knock out or submission. You leave a winner, or you leave broken.

  “At this point, we’ll go ahead and take some questions. Afterwards, there’ll be plenty of time to get photographs of the guys…”

  The dickhead promoter was running his mouth again.

  There was a small commotion amongst the press guys and then one was able to speak up above his peers.

  “First question is for Simmons. Hey Champ, how do you feel about your opponent’s ability to generate interest in this fight? You’ve been in a lot of title bouts and this one is by far going to bring you your biggest pay day. And most people say that’s due to the drawing power of Luke Greer.”

  Simmons fumbled with his microphone stand like it was his first time doing one of these things. When he finally did speak, he was about as eloquent and charismatic as a bullfrog.

  “Well, uh, yeah. Luke Greer is an exciting young fighter and, ya know, but I’m the champion and my experience is what I think is going to win this fight for me. I’m the much more experienced fighter.”

  He didn’t even answer the fucking question.

  The journalist nodded, expecting more but not getting it. He turned his attention to me.

  “Alright. Luke, I want to ask you the same thing. What do you think about your ability to hype up a fight? Why do think people always come out in droves to see you?”

  I decided to give him what he was looking for. I pulled the mic to my chin and gave the crowd a sneer. They ate it up.

  “I’ll tell you why they come out to see me… It’s because I’m the baddest motherfucker doin’ this.”

  Another round of cheers and screams exploded from the crowd.

  “Fuck Simmons’ belt,” I yelled into the mic. “I’m the people’s champ!”

  I had damn near whipped the place into a frenzy.

  “And in less than a month I’m gonna put this dude right on his ass just like the rest of them.”

  I jumped up from my seat and flexed for the crowd. They knew my personality and that made my over-the-top pro wrestler shtick that much funnier.

  Simmons yelled some gibberish across the table at me so I charged him. Security was on top of their game and they jumped in to separate us. I knew we wouldn’t fight there but the scene would be replayed on all the sports shows and it’d be good for driving up interest. Instead of throwing a punch, I threw up the double middle fingers and that seemed to delight the throngs of people even more.

  Simmons had a look on his face like he’d been locked in room with a crazy person. And who knows? Maybe he had been.

  The rest of the event played out in similar fashion. I’d say something funny or insulting and he’d stutter for a second then come back with some generic response. An hour and a half later and it was done.

  Simmons was hustled away to lick his wounds while I stayed and chatted with the fans. I wanted nothing more than to get back to that hotel room to see my girl but I knew I would have my time.

  I signed every last t-shirt and magazine cover in that place. Every fan who wanted a piece of me got it in one way or another. Whether it was a picture or an autograph, or even a phone call to someone’s brother or kid, I did it. These were the people who ultimately paid my fees so it was good business to hang out and make them happy.

  It didn’t even bother me that Simmons didn’t stick around to do his part. I’d sell the fight and make it the biggest sports event of the year. It wasn’t an issue. I’d be bigger than him soon. I’d be bigger than all of them.

  25

  Bria

  I awoke to the sound of Luke’s voice. He seemed happy and was singing the lyrics to some old soul tune that sounded vaguely familiar.

  After talking to Kaitlyn I more or less crashed. Until tonight I had only thought of Kevin as a minor annoyance. But now, he was turning into a full-blown problem.

  Why had he been at my house?

  Why had he been at my house with a gun?

  I didn’t want to stress about it and have it ruin my vacation so I told Kaitlyn not to worry about me, and to update me if anything came of it.

  The nap helped to bring down my anxiety but I knew it would be on my mind until I got home. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t going to say a word about it to Luke. The last thing he needed was to deal with my problems. I could tell by some of the looks his entourage was giving me that I wasn’t exactly wanted on this trip. There was no way I was going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me create an issue.

  “Brought you somethin’,” Luke said.

  He lowered a huge bag of food onto the bedside nightstand. It smelled like heaven.

  “It’s Cuban. Supposedly from the best place in the city. I made the driver take me over there to get it on the way back.”

  I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

  “You. Are. The. Best.” I said. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I smelled that food.

  “Sorry, I’m later than I thought I was going to be. You should have seen all the fans that came out. It was a hell of a scene. I guess mixed martial arts is getting pretty big down here.”

  He was unwrapping some kind of chicken and rice dish that looked like it was straight off the cooking channel.

  “How’d it go?”

  “About as well as it could have. I think we’re gonna set attendance records this time.”

  He pushed the plate of food into my hand. I wasted little time digging into it. In that moment it was the best food I’d ever tasted in my life.

  “So you think you’re gonna be a superstar?” I asked through a mouthful of rice.

  He laughed and threw himself back on the bed.

  “I’m already a superstar. Now I’m about to be a God.”

  “Wow. Aren’t you special. You’re not going to make me worship you, are you?”

  “You already worship me.”

  He had a way about him that I found so intoxicating. He said the craziest things, but he said them with just enough irony in his voice to let you know he was playing a game. In a strange way it made him seem very down to earth.

  I set the food on the night stand as Luke let himself fall into bed.

  “Can we go to the beach tomorrow? I need a good night’s sleep,” I said, jetlagged and tired.

  “I guess travel can really take the wind out of your sales. The beach will always be there. We’ll hit it tomorrow…”

  I let his arms swallow me up. Luke started humming that same song again as my eyes closed and my mind drifted. For the first time in a long time I didn’t think about my job. I didn’t worry about Kevin. And I didn’
t doubt that I’d found the man that I’d always wanted.

  26

  Luke

  On the plane ride home as I watched her read a book in the seat next to me, I realized something.

  I was falling for her. Big time.

  The past two weeks went by in a blur.

  We saw every sight in San Francisco. We hit every club in L.A. We gambled like drunken sailors in Vegas.

  The second our plane touched down back in Atlas I knew that I was going to make this work. She showed she could keep up. I didn’t have any doubts about her now.

  The biggest fight of my life was on the horizon but I couldn’t push her to the back burner. She wasn’t the type of girl who would put up with it. I would have to work to keep her. To make her mine. That part of her is what drove me so crazy. She was so driven. It was like a piece of her personality that had been buried for years was starting to resurface. Maybe she had lost it when she was with her asshole ex. Maybe she had to suppress it because of that mind-numbing job.

  Either way, she was finding it and the two of us together would be unstoppable.

  27

  Bria

  I was looking forward to going back to work. It was weird, but as I walked toward the office building I couldn’t help but feel excited. There was something about that vacation that put me into gear. I was nervous about taking the bar but now more than ever I felt confident I would pass.

  I took the stairs two at a time as I headed toward Jones’ office. I wanted to thank him again for letting me off work. He deserved to know how much good the time had done for me. I wanted to tell him that I was ready to work harder than ever and be a huge asset to the firm.

  Luke stayed the night at my place after we got back from the airport. When he dropped me off I could tell he wanted to stay just as much as I wanted him to... We put a movie on and before I knew it we drifted off to sleep.