AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My thoughts ran to her, making me feel a pull to heaven followed by a hard tug to my gut lurching me back down to the cold, hard earth. She told it to me straight with a dead serious face. She was done with what we had. Finished. And as much as it hurt to call quits on what developed between us, I respected her. Her drive, ambition, work ethic. I’d give her the space she wanted to do her job.
But damn, I wish we could both do our jobs and be together. Was it as impossible as she made it seem?
I was too stuck in my head, and I didn’t see the left hook coming at me from my opponent. He clipped me good, and I reeled, dizzy from the hit. The crowd cheered him on to hit me again.
I got it together and parried before he could land another strike. I charged at him with a flying knee. He blocked my attack and jumped back, but not before delivering an aerial kick of his own. I witnessed his spin before the flat of his heel caught me in the chest. Down I went, stomach first, onto the mat.
The crowd roared with pleasure. Here comes the blood, they probably thought. Sorry, but I wasn’t about to take the fall to give them what they wanted. I heard another shout among the crowd of mostly guys. This shout was higher. A woman’s, but she didn’t sound eager like the others for me to get the takedown.
As I turned, I glimpsed a tall, slim figure huddled off to the side. She was wearing a baseball cap, although I recognized the soft profile of her brown face and long neck. What was Ava doing here?
“Get up.” Her frantic shout spurred my body to move and push past the pain.
Other feelings rushed inside me as the dizziness faded. I didn’t share this part of myself with Ava yet, and now I regretted the hell out of it. Did she even know who she was cheering on?
The crowd cheered on my opponent. Time to disappoint.
I gathered myself and scrambled to my feet before he could get a submission hold on me from the ground. He tried to rush at me. I dodged his next jab.
The missed punch flew in the air. I took advantage of his lack of focus and imbalance to end the match with a hard uppercut to his chin. I heard the force of air push from his lungs before he fell at my feet.
I stepped back and waited for the ref to start the count. “Ten...nine....” While the crowd chanted along, I scanned past the shadows of the cage for Ava. She was gone.
“Three...two...one...match over. Your winner, the Phantom Titan.”
I barely heard the crowd cheer as my stage name was declared the winner. I bolted through the now unlocked cage door in search of the woman who meant more than anything to me.
I sprinted past people, no doubt confused as to where the hell I was off too in such a hurry while they were cheering my victory. I burst through the dark hall outside the little arena. Was I too late? Did she leave already?
I whipped off my sweaty mask in the dingy, dim hall. Then I saw her up ahead.
"Ava."
She didn't stop walking. Did she hear me? "Ava."
Her steps slowed. Maybe she heard me after all. I caught up to her, less than five feet behind. She whipped around to look me in the eye. With my mask removed, sweat dripped down my face, along with a developing bruise from that mean left hook I took to the chest. I saw Ava’s fingers reach out towards the injured area, only to stop mid-air. Concern in her face turned to a frown. "Dammit, Ryder, just who do you think you are?"
I drew in hard, heavy breaths. "You shouldn't be here. I didn't want you to see me like this."
"No kidding. You just wanted me to see the nice stuff so I could wrap it up in a pretty article and sell it to the world." Her jaw trembled right before she bit down on her lower lip to get it to stop. "Was all our time together outside the gym part of your act, too?"
“God, Ava, no.” Her question hit harder than the last punch I took. "I need you to hear me."
"Talk fast." I heard the fierceness in her voice despite it shaking. "Because I don't know if I can handle this game."
I never felt so raw and laid bare in my life. "I didn't intend to mislead you. I was going to tell you.”
“Yeah, well, you sure took your sweet time getting from the bedroom to this place.”
I shook my head. “You know me better than that.”
“Do I?” She put her hands on her hips. “You won the Fury Combat championship. What's this for?”
“A title means little without a contract. It’s still in limbo, so I'm collecting all the cash I can get doing what comes best to me.”
“You’re more than an MMA fighter, Ryder.”
Even in her anger, she had the sweetest soul. I didn’t deserve her sweetness or any kind word from her lips. “Maybe I am, but those people in the audience don’t give two you-know-whats. They’re here for the fighting.”
