“Hey Rick, long time no see!”

Similar sentiments echo from other knots of people warming up on the large mats that fill the training space. One of the advantages of living in Minnesota, just about everyone has wrestling mats, and there are tons of other clubs that use them. For me, after the past week, getting a little stress relief by doing some jiu-jitsu is just what I need.

“Had business to take care of,” I reply, tossing a wave to some of the people I know. “You know how it is. Work, work, work.”

“Oh yeah, work is so hard when you’ve got more money than I’ve got toilet paper,” one of the guys jokes. “What’d you make this week? Two million?”

I chuckle, going over to the corner and pulling off my warmup pants and changing into grappling shorts and a rash guard. As I do, the instructor, a nice guy named Julian, comes over. “Hey Rick, have a proposal for you.”

I smirk, thinking that proposals have been most of my week. Whether it’s Harvey’s proposal to the Pentagon or my proposal to Su Lin, that word’s getting thrown around a lot. Su Lin… I know that I proposed to her for straightforward reasons, she’s educated, she’s intelligent, she’s hungry for stability, and I knew she couldn’t be manipulated by her family or her government. Also, she’s got a strong moral compass, as strange as that sounds considering our arrangement. But also, I have to admit, she’s beautiful and from the first moment I laid eyes on her I wanted her.

Last night, as I undressed her in the bedroom on the plane, I couldn’t believe just how beautiful and perfect she was. Skin as fine as any silk, nerves that responded in an instant to my touch… and being inside her….

“Hey, Rick?”

I blink, realizing two things. One, Julian’s just asked me a question. Second, I’m glad I’m wearing compression shorts underneath what I normally wear for practice, because my cock is about ready to burst I’m so hard. “Sorry Julian, must be the jet lag. What did you say?”

“I said, the team needs a representative at one ninety for the Great Lakes Grappling Championships, Vince tore the hell out of his ankle and Simon’s nowhere near ready for tournaments,” Julian repeats. “I’d have asked you straight out, but I know how you are about competing. Still-”

“I can’t,” I answer, tying my shorts. “You know I don’t do tournaments.”

“No, you just school the shit out of every club you visit,” Julian jokes back. “If you put in the time in a gi, you’d have your blackbelt, I’d say you could be at the North American Championships in a year.”

“Yeah well…” I reply, thinking I won’t have a year. “Either way, I’ve got new stuff going on. I got married.”

“Married?” Julian says, loud enough that everyone turns to look at me. “No shit?”

“No shit,” I admit, slightly pissed at myself for letting it slip. I keep my private life private for a reason. These guys and girls don’t know about my health problem, and I sure as hell didn’t want them knowing about my damn marital status. Still, now that the cat’s out of the bag, I guess I need to play damage control, and quickly. “Girl I met online, her name’s Su Lin.”

“So the player’s done playing,” Julian says, smirking. “Well then, I guess we’ve got only one thing to do. Everyone, circle up!”

“Julian….” I warn as everyone makes a big circle in the middle of the mat. “You know I don’t believe in your superstition.”

“Yeah well, I do,” Julian jokes back. “Here’s the rules, for those who haven’t done this before. Rick here’s going to be in the middle, and in turn he has to go against everyone here. If he can do that without losing… tradition states he’ll have his biggest wish within the next year.”

“And if he loses?” some joker asks, and Julian smirks.

“Well… better luck next marriage,” Julian answers. “Now normally, it’s just a matter of survival, timed rounds. But Rick here’s a bit of a stud so… you go to the tap. No time limit.”

Even I have to gulp a little as I look around the circle, today’s practice has fifteen people, sixteen if you include Julian. Sixteen people, all going to submission? Still, I’m not one to back down from a challenge, so I roll my neck and shoulders, hoping Julian keeps with the other tradition and starts with the newbies first, I need to warm up.

“Who’s first?”

* * *

Julian wipes his face with his towel as the class wraps up, looking at me with a touch of amazement in his eyes. “I really can’t believe you got through it all. And to catch me with a damn elbow cutter of all things!”

I shrug, so exhausted I’m barely able to lift my head from the mat to sip at the sports drink one of the guys brought me. “I can’t believe you took it that easy on me. You should have rag dolled me all over the mat.”

“Not my style, you know that,” Julian says, sitting down next to me. “I’m here to push you, and yeah I wanted to win, but there’s winning, and there’s tournament winning. Know what I mean?”

I nod, using my arms to push me to a sitting position. “I know what you mean. Still, next time you get a chance to rag doll my exhausted ass, do it. Okay?”

Julian chuckles, nodding. “Sure man, anything. So, know what your wish is gonna be?”

I nod, sipping from the bottle this time. “Like to have a next generation to the Kelley name.”

Julian, who only knows the public part of my social life, looks unconcerned. “Man, knowing you, you’d end up with four little rugrats running around and in twenty years I’d be watching the Kelleys versus the Gracies for control of jiu-jitsu. Full on mat wars.”

I smile, looking down between my knees. “Yeah… yeah, I’d like to see that too.”

Julian senses something’s off, and looks over. “You okay, Rick? I mean, I’m surprised you’re even here, you just got married, and you don’t look like the happiest guy on the planet. What, is she a bitch or something?”

I turn my head and glare at Julian, who holds up his hands placatingly. “No, she’s a sweet girl,” I inform him as I let his comment slide. “Listen, I’m sure some of the people here might ask questions. Yes, I met her overseas. But my marriage is my business.”

“All your business is your business,” Julian counters. “No offense Rick, but you keep shit so close to the chest that nobody here really knows you. Hell, I don’t even know you, and I’ve only been teaching you for four years. I know more about you from the newspaper than from your own lips.”

I nod, heaving myself up to my feet. “Sorry Julian. Just the way I have to live my life. Listen, I’m going to be around more for a little while, some corporate stuff that really picked the worst damn time, honeymoon wise. So I’ll see you Thursday.”

Julian gives me a little wave as I shoulder my bag and head out the door. I stop outside my car and change out of my rashguard before setting the bag in the passenger seat, and lean against the door frame for a moment to try and still my exhausted nerves before going around to the driver’s side. Sitting down, I’m still unable to deal with the buzz going on in my head, and I know I need to feel the rush of adrenaline one more time before I can even start to calm down enough to sleep.

I get on the Interstate, heading north on 35 to Elko Speedway. Mid-week isn’t a busy time for the track, and all it takes is me showing my car and the track manager clears me for running laps. It’s not often that many people get a chance to see a car like mine in action, there’s only twenty five Koenigsegg Agera RS’s in the world after all. Mine’s as high performance as it can get too, so that as I run laps on the half mile high banked oval, I repeatedly reach speeds that even NASCAR cars can’t do. The car’s smooth as silk, and in a lot of ways handles as easily as Su Lin did in the bedroom.

Thinking of Su Lin, I lose my line and have to take my foot off the accelerator before I put my car into the wall. Cursing, I run another ten laps before giving up the ghost. Pulling off the track and into the garage area, I turn it over to the mechanic on duty. “Four fresh tires, you’ll find the specs in the car,” I tell him. “Street legal, check the fluids. Then fill it up with hundred octane.”

The mechanic whistles, looking over my car, a mixture of matte black, textured carbon fiber panels, and shiny black accents. “You ever see how fast this baby could go? Figure you’d have to get it on one of the big tracks to really tell unless you wanted to Cannonball Run this baby from California to New York.”

I nod my head, undoing the neck brace that the track insists I wear along with a helmet for driving out here. “Took it down to Daytona last spring, when some of the NASCAR boys were running tests. Couldn’t run head to head against them, but we compared clock times. I beat their times, but it wasn’t fair.”

“Why’s that?” the mechanic asks, then nods in understanding. “They were running restrictor plates.”

“Yep. I had twice the horsepower of those boys when they have those things on. Take the plates off… well, I’d like to see myself sometime.”

While the mechanic gets to work I pull out my phone and dial Freida. She picks up after two rings, just like she always does. “Yes, Rick?”

“I’m at the Elko track. Can you send the limo?”

There’s an amused note in Freida’s voice as she replies. “You don’t want me to come pick you up myself? Is that because you’re in four different pieces spread out on that death circle?”

“Very funny,” I growl. Freida’s the only person I let in enough to tease me like that, mainly because I know she’s worried about my health. “Actually, it’s because I was hoping you were helping my bride get settled in.”

“She’s doing just fine, taking a bath right now,” Freida says. “Jet lag’s tough, but she’s a trooper, only took a half hour nap to try and adjust. I’ve already shown her her bedroom, things are coming along fine. I do have to ask though… separate bedrooms?”

“Su Lin may be my wife, but I don’t think she knows me well enough to feel comfortable sharing a bedroom with me,” I reply. “Just send the limo, and arrange for my car to be picked up from the track.”

“I’ll take care of that myself tomorrow.”

“No, I’ll need you to be working with Su Lin most of the day. With Harvey’s pressure, I’ll need to get involved with the Washington game some.”

“Understood. Are you sure she’s ready for it?”

I sigh, rubbing at my forehead. “She’ll have to learn on the fly, if she’s to safeguard my child after I’m gone. Also, make sure there’s some food in the back of the limo? I really should have eaten more after grappling practice.”

“Of course. We’ll see you when you get home.”

Freida hangs up, and I look up at the sky, where a three quarters full orange moon shines in between the scattered clouds that mar its surface. As I wait, I think about how much I’m going to be putting Su Lin through over the next few months. She’ll have to learn if she’s not only going to protect my child, but also to protect herself from being eaten up by the jackals that call themselves the leaders of America.

I just hope she’s strong enough.