Chapter Thirteen
Justin
It was Saturday, the day after my fight. I walked into the gym thirty minutes early. I wanted to show Artie that I was trustworthy despite the bet I made. I hated that look he had given me and the way he got upset with me when I told him about the new bet I made. He was my coach and a great guy, and I didn’t like to see the disappointment on his face, especially when it concerned me.
The place was empty; I figured it was because no one ever got there that early. Usually people were still recovering from their hangovers at this time on a Saturday. I guess it helped that I was a parent. I never really went out drinking much. If I did, it wasn’t bad enough to leave me with a hangover.
Artie walked out from an office area. “You’re here early,” he said.
I put my gym bag on the ground. “I know. I want you to know how serious I’m taking this.”
“You better since your butt is on the line,” he said.
I didn’t know what else to say. I knew how upset he was with me, and I was not sure I could make him feel better about things. I just wanted to get the training over with and get home to my daughter. I didn’t want to feel like a child anymore.
“You were stupid for taking that bet,” Artie said as I stepped up to a punching bag to get some warm-up punches in.
I paused before I could even start. “I know it was stupid, Artie. But I had no other choice. I don’t have the money I owe him for the first fight, and it was the only thing I could think of to clear everything up.”
“You could have found another way.”
I looked at Artie. “Oh yeah? Like what?” I crossed my arms over my chest to let him know that I was getting tired of this. I knew it probably made me look like an asshole, but I was an adult, and Artie needed to realize that. He needed to know that I didn’t need someone parenting me.
I watched as Artie thought about my question. I could see he was trying to come up with something, anything, to prove me wrong. But the longer he spent thinking, the more I knew I was right. After two or three minutes, he said, “I got nothing,” and shook his head.
I went back to what I set out to do, satisfied that he couldn’t prove me wrong. I figured that could help us get on mutual ground regarding Markie. I still shouldn’t have made the bets in the first place, and I knew it.
I started hitting the punching bag. I did one hundred hits with my right hand and one hundred with my left hand. As soon as I was finished, Artie told me to go again, only faster. I did as he asked. It did not matter how upset I was with him or how upset I knew he was with me. He was my coach, and he was a damn good one. He knew what he was doing, and he knew what he was talking about.
I was breathless when I finished the next set of hits. I went after the punching bag with all my might. I took a little break before getting back to work.
I checked my phone to make sure there were no messages from my mom about Margie. I knew I was also checking to see if I had anything from Anna. I didn’t.
I moved on to do some Brazilian jiu-jitsu moves with Artie. He was really working me this time, but I didn’t mind. I knew it was what he needed to do, and I was trying my hardest.
“You need to try to work these moves in. I haven’t seen you use them much over the last few fights. I think they can really come in handy when you are up against someone like you were last night,” Artie said as we began working on some moves.
He was right. I needed to use more of a mixture of moves. My last few fights dropped to almost the same moves over and over again. That was going to make me weak against my next opponent, especially if he studied my last few fights. I needed to be ahead of the game if I was going to win.
We worked for another half hour, and then the door swung open. Artie didn’t look happy, and I turned to see what was bothering him. It was Markie. I wondered what he wanted.
“Justin, my man,” he said, but his tone was more intimidating than it was inviting.
I knew I couldn’t be rude. Not with him. He could be a loose cannon, and if I upset him in any way, he could cause some serious problems for me. And possibly even for Margie. I pushed the thought out of my head because it made my stomach churn.
“Hey, Markie,” I called and looked back at Artie. He didn’t look pleased that Markie was there. I was just glad there was no one else around. I didn’t want too many people knowing about my business with Markie. I felt bad enough about getting into with him; the last thing I needed was for the wrong person to find out about it.
Markie approached us, and I stepped out of the small ring Artie set up for practices. It wasn’t as big as the cages on fight nights, but it was enough to get the training and practice in. I could have stayed in the ring to talk to Markie, but I needed to show him that I wasn’t afraid of him. I did not need to show this guy any sign of weakness.
I spotted one of his lackeys, the big one that was supposed to be his bodyguard, standing by the front door. I didn’t know why anyone wanted to hang out with him. If no one gave into him, he wouldn’t be as powerful as he was.
“Saw your fight last night,” he said, giving me a snakey kind of smile. I wished I could smack it off his face.
“So, you saw I won. Three more to go, and I’m clear.”
Markie laughed. “Yeah, you need to get better if you want to win your next three fights and not owe me your life.”
I hated the way he talked to me. I didn’t like the guy at all, and I couldn’t wait until I could be done with him once and for all. I vowed to never get involved with him, or anyone like him, ever again.
“I won last night,” I repeated.
He laughed, again. It was becoming harder for me to keep my cool around him. I clenched my jaw so I wouldn’t say anything stupid.
“But you almost lost,” he said with childish delight. “I should count that as a fail and take my money.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “That’s crap. I won, and that’s all that matters. A win is a win.”
“Not where I—” Markie starts to say, but Artie cut him off.
“Get out of here. You aren’t welcome in here, Markie. I don’t care whether you have business with the members of my gym or not. You keep your business out of here, no matter what.”
Markie nodded his head and turned to the door. When he had it halfway open, he turned and looked at me. “Your next fight is soon, and I’ll win either way.” He disappeared through the door.
I looked at Artie. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he would ever come in here.” I was nervous. I didn’t know how upset Artie was going to be after that encounter.
“We need to train you harder,” Artie said. I nodded in agreement. He was right. I couldn’t even come close to losing. It didn’t seem to make Markie happy, but I had a feeling it was hard to make him happy no matter what I did.
I got back into the ring and worked on some of my best holds with Artie. He was a great teacher, and I had been lucky enough to have him take me under his wing. I needed to stay in good with him, or I would never get far with my fighting.
For the next hour, we worked on my rear naked choke, straight armbar, triangle choke, and my personal favorite: the sleeve choke.
“Your holds are getting stronger. That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Anytime you feel like you are getting close to losing, you need to find a way to get your opponent into a submission. If you can’t get a knockout, you need to aim for a tap out.”
I took a long pull from my water bottle. Sweat was pouring down my face. I was tired and definitely going to need to make an appointment with Anna on Monday. I hoped she had something open for me. I had to push the thoughts of her out of my head to get through the rest of my training.
“Good work today, Justin,” Artie said as we finished up. A few people came in and were lifting in the corner.
“Thanks, Artie. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you. I know I upset you with the bets I’ve made, but I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Artie patted me on the shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
We said goodbye, and I stepped out into the warm afternoon sun. It was so hot in that gym, I couldn’t wait to get home and take a cold shower.
I remembered that I wanted to make an appointment with Anna. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. She answered on the first ring, and I couldn’t help the smile that played on my lips.
“Hey. I’m sorry to bother you,” I said.
“You are never a bother, Justin.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that.
“I just left practice and was wondering if I could make an appointment with you for a massage.”
“Of course,” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Do you have any times open on Monday?”
“Even if I didn’t, I would make time for you.”
“Because of our deal?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Because of you,” she said without missing a beat. “Is three good?”
“Yeah, three will work.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at three on Monday for some afternoon delight.”
I laughed. She was such a naughty girl, but it was hot. “Okay, sounds good to me.”
“Margie is going with the babysitter then, right?” She asked.
“Yeah, she’ll pick her up and watch her until after my appointment.” I said with a wink.
We got off the phone, and it left me wondering whether she was serious. I hoped it would turn into sex again. It had been so fucking hot the first time we had sex. A massage turned sex had always been my fantasy, and she fulfilled it for me so well.
I couldn’t believe how much I was starting to like this girl. I never thought it would happen again. I thought about the night before when she told me about the drunk guy. I had been ready to go find him and let him know what was up. But then she mentioned that she said my name, and he took off. That was pretty cool. I put fear in people, which could be used to my advantage.
I got home and took a shower. Afterward, I watched a movie with Margie. She was telling me all about the fun things she did that day with her grandma.
“And then we went to the library. I picked out three books, Daddy.” She was holding up three fingers, and I couldn’t help but smile at how smart she really was.
“Are you going to read them to me?”
“You know I can’t read yet. I want you to read them,” she said.
I laughed at how serious she had taken my question. She was full of so much life, and I was thankful for that. I wanted nothing more than to take care of her and make her mom proud.
She ran to her room and brought me back the books. She snuggled into my lap, and I read them to her. She pointed at pictures and asked questions like she normally did, and I happily answered them. These were the moments I loved the most.
All negative thoughts of Markie, all the stress from the fights, everything melted away when I spent time with Margie.
I took another shower that night. It was late, and I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t get Anna out of my head. I thought about her hot body and how perfectly it went together with mine. I had gotten so turned on that I couldn’t hold back.
Masturbating to her wasn’t as good as sex with her, but it would do. She continuously blew my mind, and I wasn’t sure what that meant or where things were going. I just knew I really liked to be around her and inside of her.
I slept peacefully after I finished.