Climbing into Aaron’s truck had been only slightly more difficult than climbing down out of it. Kelly was only five foot three and she wasn’t the most athletic person around, so she proceeded with extreme caution. If she fell and busted her neck it was probably going to ruin their evening.

Aaron had come up with the winning idea that they go to a local MMA fight for a lower league. It was not the level of fighting that he did, but it had been the same league he had started out in. He loved to check out these fights so he could scout out his future competition and take a good hard look at the up and comers while they were still really green and making mistakes. He was under the belief that a person’s fighting style was made in the early part of their career and though they would always try to eliminate weaknesses and try to grow as fighters—and most of them would—the flaws in their game would always be there waiting to be rediscovered, like opening an old injury. At least that was how he had explained it to her; she still had no idea what he was talking about. She was just hoping that she didn’t get any blood on her, or she was going to freak out.

They went inside and grabbed their seats. The auditorium was bigger than it looked from the outside and the place was packed. She had not expected this, but apparently people went nuts over Mixed Martial Arts. This wasn’t exactly how she wanted to spend her one evening a week off, especially when she had a term paper that was not going to write itself to work on.

But she honestly didn’t care that much. Maybe some of John’s moxy had rubbed off on her. She was starting to feel that she was always taking life too seriously. She didn’t have to be superwoman all the time. She was allowed to take a break and be irresponsible on occasion. And this was definitely one of those times.

She had thought about John almost non-stop since they had made love. The man would just not leave her brain. It had been almost three days and she had not heard from him. For some reason this did not surprise her. He didn’t really seem like the relationship type, but he was so damn sexy. He probably had his share of female admirers. She wondered if he was a player or if he was just an unobtainable object for any woman simply because he was a lone wolf who could not be pinned down. This also made his bad boy image that much sexier. She wanted him more because she knew that he could never be had, but she had relished the taste.

And she wanted to taste it again really soon.

Aaron came back from the concession stand with a few beers and a couple of hot dogs. He was such a nice guy, but he wasn’t too nice either. She knew he had a bad streak in him that was a rule breaker, but he was just a little more unassuming about it. She was starting to think she had a problem with being overly attracted to bad boys. Ugh, she did not want to fall into that sort of stereotype, like Amy was. Although, Amy seemed to date guys who weren’t really bad boys; they were spoiled brats who behaved badly and it was not at all the same thing.

There was just something about the character and strength of a man who lived by his own rules that was so damn exciting. She was bitten by the bug and she just didn’t care anymore. She doubted she would ever marry a guy like that, but she was in the prime of her life to have as much fun with them as possible.

She grabbed her chili dog and began to scarf it down. She had forgotten to eat lunch earlier and she was famished. The beer washed it down perfectly. Aaron grinned at her enthusiasm over the junk food.

“Don’t worry about my diet. What about yours? Aren’t you in training?” Kelly asked.

Aaron smiled. “I wasn’t judging. I just love to see you enjoying real food, because most women I’ve dated won’t. It’s cool that you have a relaxed attitude about it. And my diet is fine. I’m allowed one cheat meal each week. It keeps me sane.”

Kelly smiled back. She was aware that her attitude towards her weight and food were becoming much more relaxed lately. It wasn’t that she wasn’t concerned anymore, but recently she was feeling like she just didn’t need her size to define who she was. She knew it was because of her new relationships with Aaron and with John.

She had not told Aaron about John and she didn’t plan too. Right now things were going so well with him that she didn’t want to upset him, especially when he had a big fight in two weeks. He needed his mind to be as laser sharp as it could be. He didn’t need the distraction. Besides, they had never said they were exclusive anyway. They had only been out a few times. She definitely had strong feelings for him and she loved being with him. She could see things getting serious down the road if it continued.

There were four matches in all. Kelly thought the evening was going to be long and unexciting, but about halfway through the first match she found herself cheering along with the crowd. It was so interesting to see the level of skill and the mental fortitude these fighters had to have to do this. She admired their dedication to their craft and she had a whole new respect for what Aaron did. She knew that he was dedicated and passionate, but to know he was going to go in to that ring and battle in a few weeks made her both proud and scared for him. She wasn’t sure she could stand to watch him get hurt. She felt that she needed him now. She grabbed his hand and he gripped it back with a smile. She knew that he had no idea what she was thinking, but he knew that she was enjoying herself.

After the evening was over they went back to her place. She invited Aaron in for a cup of coffee.

They never made it to the coffee.

Within minutes they were stripped of clothing and enjoying a hot shower together.

It had been another good day.