Page 38 of Tease
G
You really are an asshole… It’s probably your current STI spreading… Just wondering how long my sparring partner will be gone.
Me
This contract is six months. It’s a big one…
G
You know you don’t have to always be traveling right? You live a comfortable life.
Staring at his response, it makes me sad. He will never understand that comfort and happiness aren’t the same for me. But today is not a day I want to dig into my trunk of issues.
Me
Yeah, take care of them. Once I get squared away, maybe I’ll leave some tickets for you guys to come watch me kick some asshole all over the cage.
G
I’ll only go if he’s a good opponent and gets some good punches to that face of yours.
Me
These fights will all be good matches, promise. I’ll have to work my ass off there.
G
Alright bro, I’m always a phone call or text away. Be safe
Me
You too.
CHAPTER 30
Jared
PRESENT DAY
Once my walk-out song starts to play, I know it’ll be my cue to start heading toward the cage. I’m lightly bouncing on my feet, back and forth, and shaking my body out. My fists punch into thin air; I try to loosen my muscles. I’m tense, and there’s a small possibility that I’m a little nervous. This will be my first official fight here in Chicago, and I don’t want to let this team down. This first fight needs to make a statement, a name for myself out here. Tod, my trainer, rubs my shoulders from behind me. He pats them down twice. “It’s almost time.”
Skyler, one of my new teammates, just ended his fight with a knockout. For a moment, I thought he might lose. But then he came back, his punches were harder, like he wasn’t even in pain from getting his ass kicked. Beau, my other teammate, will go on right after my fight ends. After all of the fights, we’re supposed to go to an after-party. One that the arena is personally hosting for us. It’ll be a standard party that involves schmoozing with rich people. If you want to succeed in this business, it’s not enough to just be a good fighter; you have to please the people who fill your pockets and sell your tickets.
“Paid My Dues” by NF starts rolling through the arena’s speakers. “It’s showtime, boys.” I make sure that my steps are calm and not rushed. I want to take this all in—my first fight here. I look around, scanning the arena; there isn’t an empty seat to be seen, and the cheers are louder than my music. People’s hands reach out and try to touch me while I continue my pursuit to the cage.
Once I get inside, my breathing starts to calm down. My opponent, who wasn’t far behind me, walks up to me and is already mouthing nonsense. The only words I actually catch spewing from his mouth are, “You're in my house, boy. I’m gonna knock your teeth out.”
My wrapped hand goes up and into a mock salute. “Okay, big boy, if you say so.” I can’t help but smile behind my mouth-guard. The referee is about to go over the rules of the fight. I slide my white robe off, throwing it to my trainer. I tap the inside of my left wrist, twice—it lets him know I’m ready, and my head is in this cage.
Once the referee tells us it’s time to start, we touch gloves and each take a step back. We both pace along the sides of the cage. I hear a name being called out, one that I haven’t heard in a very long time… in a voice I… One I vaguely remember. I’m unable to keep my attention on the fighter that’s circling me in the cage. My conflicted stare falls on a dark-haired beauty who’s bent over her knees, and a blonde woman who’s patting her on the back. Kailey sits up, and the look she gives me abruptly takes me back to the last time I saw it. When she was scared, mad, and looked like she was going to be sick.
“What are we doing here, Jared?”
“Well… Steffan gave me the keys to this rural fire station. He said it’d be out of commission for a while.” I shrug my rightshoulder, coolly, and look into her beautiful whiskey brown eyes, the back of my hand stroking her cheek. Her front teeth sink into her bottom lip. Fuck, I love how her body is always so responsive to my physical touch. “I know how you’ve always joked about wanting to see me in that uniform he wears…”
I step inside the older building, then turn to the right and flip on the light switch. The front room is small, simple, with a long black couch, and a TV in the corner. The fire truck is parked in the garage to the left, and the kitchen is in the back. The layout leaves me to assume the bunks for sleeping are somewhere in the back.
Kailey forcefully pushes me down onto the couch, and my legs hit the cushions before she pushes my back against it deeper. She crawls onto my lap, her bare legs straddling me, her face inches away from mine. She kisses the right side of my mouth. “The only thing I want to see you wearing right now is my naked body. I’ve missed you too much, babe.” Her small hand grabs my hard dick through my jeans.
