Although I was exhausted from another long day at work and desperately needed to get some sleep, I couldn’t make my mind turn off.

My date was still a few days away but I was incredibly nervous about it. Normally, I would be excited at the prospect of actually having a man take me out, and maybe I was but this felt different.

It was much more than just nerves. I didn’t know what kind of reputation this guy had, and it kind of made me nervous. The last guy that I dated was someone my mother had set me up with and he was an accountant. Very safe, very reliable and very boring.

I thought about giving my cousin Sasha a call. I needed to catch up with her anyway as I hadn’t really talked to her in a while. Sasha is a couple of years younger than I am. We basically grew up together but she didn’t have the same dreams and ambitions that I did.

While I knew I wanted to get into the medical field, she was perfectly happy being a bartender and partying as much as she could. To be honest, there have been times when I’ve envied her lifestyle. She seems like she doesn’t have a care in the world and there are times that I’d like to feel like that as well.

I had known that her carefree lifestyle wouldn’t be for me, but it was nice to dream. I’ve got a house and a car that I’ve worked hard for.

Sasha, on the other hand, lives in a run-down apartment in the rough part of town and I’m almost positive that her landlord moonlights as a pimp. If I lived the lifestyle she lived, I might be able to have a lot of fun but I wouldn’t have anything to call my own.

Sasha has always been as a wild child, and maybe that’s why I thought about seeking her advice. She was easily the most free spirited person I know. I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good or bad thing but it seems to work for her and that’s all that really matters.

Working in the most popular bar in town, she’s seen most everything that this city has to offer. Aside from tending bar, she lives for only three things: partying, fucking and fighting.

She doesn’t like to get into fights but she loves to watch them. She’s dated a number of different types of fighters. Everyone from boxers to MMA competitors.

Of course, saying she’s dated these people may be overstating things as the majority of her “dates” have consisted of drunken one-night stands. That doesn’t matter to her, though. She lives her life the way she wants.

“Oh my God, Shelly, how the hell have you been girlie?” she answered. She’s never been a hello type of girl.

“I’m good. I was just calling to see if you might be free Thursday night?”

“Actually, that’s my night off at the bar. Whatch’ya wanna do? Anything wrong?”

“No, I just haven’t seen you for a while and thought we should catch up. We could grab dinner and talk?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Wanna meet at the Violet Vine around 8:00?”

“Sure. I’ll see you then.”

I hung up the phone, excited that I would be getting the chance to pick her brain. I could have asked her over the phone but I wanted to be able to see her facial reactions, just in case there was something wrong with this guy.

I picked Thursday because that would be the night before my date and I figured if anyone knew anything about Jason, it would be her. My only hope was that he wasn’t one of the many fighters that had been in her pants.

As usual, I was sitting at our table by myself while waiting for her to arrive. Finally, she came walking in around 8:45.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. The traffic is crazy out there,” she said, apparently searching for an excuse. She must have forgotten that I travel the same route to get to the restaurant that she did.

“It’s okay,” I stood to give her a hug.

We both ordered some drinks and made small talk while we waited for our food to arrive. Actually, it was more like her talking while I sat there listening. Every once in a while, I’d try to get a word in edgewise but she cut off every attempt.

I got to listen to her go on and on about her bartending job and all the cute guys that come into her bar every night. She kept telling me that I should come down and visit her some time so she could introduce me to some of the regulars that come in. I saw that as my chance.

“A guy is actually one of the reasons I asked you to come out with me tonight.”

This seemed to perk her ears up. Suddenly, she was more than willing to listen to what I had to say.

“Yeah? You wanting me to set you up with someone?”

“Oh no, it’s nothing like that. I met someone and was hoping you might know who he is.”

“Really? That’s pretty unlikely. We don’t exactly run with the same crowds.”

“That is an understatement,” I said jokingly. “This is more someone who would hang around your crowds I think.”

“Okay? I can’t see you going out with anyone from my circle, no offense.”

“This wasn’t something I planned. I met this guy at work. His brother is in my assisted living center. He’s a cage fighter so I figured you may have at least heard of him.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jason Stark.”

“You’re shitting me,” she said as she put her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Jason ‘The Silencer’ Stark? Nuh-uh! You’re going out with him?”

“Yeah. We have a date for tomorrow night. What do you know about him?”

“Well, I can tell you that he’s one of the best fighters in the area right now.”

“He’s good?”

“Oh yeah. In the cage, he’s excellent. Outside the cage is another story.”

“What does that mean?”

“When it comes to being a bad boy, Jason Stark is known for being one of the baddest. He definitely has a reputation that follows him around.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I told her, getting a little worried about agreeing to go out with him.

“That depends on who you’re talking to. He’s been in my bar a few times and that man loves to party. He can drink with the best of them but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him leave without a different woman on his arm. He’s also one tough son of a bitch. I always hear about people trying to start shit with him out on the streets because he’s a fighter. It never works out very well for the aggressors.”

“Great. So I’ve got a date with a drunken womanizer?”

“I said he can drink. I didn’t say he was a drunk,” she snorted. “But he is one of the most sought after men in the city. I can’t believe you’ve got a date with him! I’m so jelly!”

“Why is that so hard to believe? Am I hideous or something?”

“No,” Sasha said with a laugh. “It’s just that I know you and the guys you typically date. This guy is the complete opposite.”

“Hmmm.”

Hearing everything that my cousin had to say about Jason Stark intrigued me. I was growing more and more excited about our date. The butterflies began to stir in my stomach as I thought about what the bad boy might want to do with me.

I was putting my career on the line to go out with the gorgeous, tattooed, musclebound hunk, and I was eager to do it. This man had a hold on me, and we hadn’t even gone out yet.

* * *

When I woke up that morning, I had a feeling that it was going to be a good day. I had a date with a beautiful woman and I was feeling nervous about it. There I was, a big, bad-ass cage fighter and I was sitting on the side of my bed feeling nervous about a fucking date.

To be honest, I couldn’t remember the last time I had been on an actual date. I was so used to picking up a woman at one of my fights or coming across one in a bar who knew all about me and my reputation. All I had to do with those women was just give them a look—the look—before taking them home and fucking their brains out.

Shelly wasn’t that type of woman. She seemed like a girl who has integrity and there was no way she’d be giving it up on the first date. Not only that, but she was the person who was directly in charge of my brother’s care so I was going to treat her with the utmost of respect.

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to get her into my bed if the opportunity presented itself. She had curves in all the right places, full hips and a rack to die for.

Besides, those quiet girls are always the best in bed. I don’t know what it is about them but the ones who seem shy and timid are always the ones that will rock your world when it comes down to it.

I had just gotten up to make myself some breakfast when my cell phone started ringing. I was starving so I ignored, but I’d only just grabbed a couple of frozen waffles out of the freezer when my phone started ringing again.

I grabbed my phone and looked at the screen. It was Damon Rivers calling. He’s the president of Monster Cage Fighting, the MMA group that I fight for. He’d also become an unofficial trainer and coach for me, taking an interest in me when he realized I was self-training so I couldn’t afford a gym.

“What’s up Damon?” I said as I answered the phone while popping my waffles into the toaster.

“Jason, my man, I’m calling to offer you a fight.”

That was odd. He’s the promoter and the matchmaker. He usually just made the fight and I went with it.

“You’re offering me a fight? Don’t you usually just tell me who my opponent is?”

“Yeah, but this one is different. This has the opportunity to take your career to the next level.”

“Would you spit it out Damon?” I said as my waffles popped up. “I’ll fight anyone. You know that. Just tell me who in the hell my opponent is going to be.”

“Well, I still have to get the contracts together and set an official date but you’d be going up against Dodson.”

“Dodson? Are you talking about Eric Dodson?”

“Yep, Eric ‘Dot Your Eye’ Dodson. You want the fight?”

“Fuck yeah I want that fight. Make it happen.”

I was stunned at what he had just said. Eric Dodson was a big time opponent and I found it a little hard to believe that he’d be coming to fight within our organization.

It was only fifteen months ago that he was the world heavyweight champion of Championship Cage Fighting. A few losses in a row had found him cut from his home organization.

There were plenty of people who were surprised when he was cut. Sure, he was on a bit of a losing streak but I watched those fights. Every single one of them had been a close split-decision and, if I’m being honest, I think the judges got it wrong in two of those fights.

That’s why fighters are trained to try to get the knockout or submission. You never want to leave your fight in the hands of the judges.

Even though he’d recently been released from his contract, he was still considered by many to be one of the best MMA fighters in the world. To me, it would be an honor to step into the cage with him. I also knew that if I was able to earn a victory over him, it might be what I needed to finally open doors to larger promotions for me.

There was just one problem. I’d need to step up my training if I wanted to have any chance to win against a world-class opponent such as Dodson. The gear that I had was falling apart and there was no way I’d be able to prepare myself for the fight with what I had. I called Damon back to let him know about my concerns.

“Damon, I feel like I can beat the guy but I need to be able to get some training in. I can’t afford a full training camp anywhere. What in the hell and I’m gonna do?”

“The fight with Dodson is going to be at least a few months away. What I can do is get you onto as many of the weekly cards as I can. Instead of training camps, you’ll have actual fights to keep you on top of your game.”

“That sounds good, but how is that going to help me actually prepare for Dodson?”

“I figure if I put you up against guys with a similar style, it will help you quite a bit. Plus, it will let you earn money as you prepare. Maybe you can put some of it into some real training, even if it’s not a full camp.”

“Yeah, I can do that. I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem. You know you’re my golden boy but I can’t keep you around forever. Eventually, you need to get out there and make a name for yourself. I wish I could do more to help you but I’m just an old man. You need to make sure you keep your head in the game, though. This fight is a big deal. If you lose one of your tune-up fights, I’ll have no choice but to give the fight to whoever it is that beats you.”

“So no pressure then?” I laughed.

“Please. You are Jason Fucking Stark. The Silencer. It would take a miracle for any of these guys to beat you.”

I hung up the phone, excited about the possibility of my career turning a huge corner. I couldn’t think about that, however, or I’d end up driving myself crazy. I had a date and I needed to focus on that.