Undefeated - A New Adult Romance Novel (19 page)

KACE.
Something about watching two men fight each other in a confined space is very exciting to me. I never would have guessed that it would be something that I would enjoy; but I doubt after seeing a boxing match for my first time that there’s any one event that would ever satisfy me more.

The two men covered in sweat, the fighting, the arena full of adrenaline, and the fact that one of the two men was my
boyfriend was enough to make me an excited wet mess for the entire fight and many hours afterward.

Watching. Men. Fight. Makes. Me. Wet.

Part of the problem with Shane’s fights is that they never lasted that long.

“There he is Ripp. Here he comes,” I jumped up and down and pointed as Shane came up the aisle toward the ring.

I was so excited I peed a little bit when I saw him. I had, over time, become able to speak intelligibly when I was excited, but controlling my bladder was a different issue. I still had problems with it when I got really excited.

Watching Shane walk, in general, excited me. S
eeing Shane walk into
this
crowd was the most excited I have ever been in my life. The fight was an undercard fight for the championship, and was televised on pay television. If Shane wins tonight, he will be offered a fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World - the equivalent of the Super Bowl for boxers.

“Damn he looks good, shorty. These fuckin’ seats are the shit. Ringside, fuck yeah,” Ripp said as pulled me close to him.

“Mc Claskey’s a fucking punk!” Ripp screamed toward Shane when he walked by. 

Shane turned and looked our direction for a brief second, nodded his head and winked. Kelsey turned and scowled, probably aggravated that we would break Shane’s concentration on his way to the ring. Kelsey was a very superstitious man, and he wanted Shane to win this fight more than Shane did.

“Fuck You Kelsey!”
Ripp screamed through his cupped hands.

Ripp was obviously
as excited as I was. He was a great fighter, but he didn’t fight as often as Shane did. He fought lower rate fighters, and other than the fight with Shane, had never been beaten. He had not, however, ever taken the time to have a good manager, trainer, or fighting schedule. He enjoyed having the title of being undefeated, but really wasn’t willing to take many chances to risk losing it.

“How much longer? Is this like any other match?”
I was so excited I could barely contain myself.

“Just a little more bullshit because it’s a televised fight It’ll be going here in just a minute or two,” Ripp was still standing and waving his fists.

Our seats were ringside seats. They were in the front, right beside the ring, and close to the aisle that Shane walked down to get to the ring. Sitting here was going to let us see all of the action almost like we were standing in the ring.

“Ladies and gentlemen…..” the announcer said into the microphone.

I felt almost sick. I realized I was still standing, and had never sat down. I looked at Ripp, who was also standing. This was becoming very real. Cameras were everywhere filming the event from every angle.

“
In the blue corner. Shane
,” the announcer paused.

“
Shame on
,” he paused again and looked both directions.

“
Dehhhhhkkaaaaarrrr
,” he said the last name very slow and strung out.

“You got this, Dekk. You fucking got this!” Ripp screamed.

“
And, in the red corner
,” the announcer started.

“That son-of-a-bitch is bigger than I am. God damn. He’s fucking huge,” Ripp whispered my direction as the announcer was speaking.

I turned to Ripp, “Shane’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Dekk’s mean as a god damned snake, shorty. Meanest mother fucker I ever met. Don’t forget that. The man he becomes in the ring. You don’t know that man. And you don’t want to,” Ripp responded.

“Shane’s gonna be okay though?” I asked.

“Shorty, he’ll be fine. I’ve seen him in street fights and in the ring. Nobody’s going to beat him. When he walks into a fight, he flips a switch.
He
becomes
a fighter, not some ordinary man that’s boxing. The devils blood pumps through him,” Ripp reassured me.

“Okay,” I turned back toward the ring.

“
Ding!
”

“Here we go,” Ripp screamed.

Shane immediately went right to the center of the ring. The other fighter circled around him. Shane threw a few punches toward Mc Claskey’s face. The impact of the gloves made a thud as they hit the fighters face and body.

Shane and Mc Claskey exchanged punches back and forth like they were in a punching contest, just trading punches back and forth in turns.

“C’mon Dekk, you can’t brawl with this big prick, he’s too strong. Use your speed,” Ripp screamed toward the ring.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

Ripp turned to face me, “He’s brawling. Just toe-to-toe fighting this big bastard. Mc Claskey will kill him. He’s too fucking big. Dekk’s gotta box his ass. Out think him.”

“Ten seconds, Dekk,” Ripp screamed.

Ding!

“My stomach hurts,” I said as soon as Shane walked back toward the corner of the ring.

“Mine too, that’s ten-nine Mc Claskey for sure,” Ripp said, shaking his head.

“God damn it, Dekk. Use your speed,” Ripp screamed toward the ring.

“Shane didn’t do good?” I asked.

“No shorty, he didn’t. He might just be feeling this guy out. Seeing what his style is. He’s fighting southpaw, and this guy’s leftie too. We talked about it, and this guy doesn’t fight lefties very well. He does better against right handed fighters. But he can’t just stand and fight this big fucker. He’ll kill Dekk,” Ripp explained.

I knew southpaw meant left handed in boxer slang. But Ripp said Shane would be fine. I didn’t like the thought of Shane getting hurt. I reached into my pocket and rubbed Shane’s dog tags. I had brought them for good luck, and didn’t tell Ripp or Shane. I know how they’re all superstitious about certain things.

“You said he’d be fine, Ripp,” I turned to Ripp and said softly.

“Not if he keeps this up. But it’s only the first round,” Ripp responded.

My stomach was in knots. I wanted this to be over. Thinking of Shane losing was sad, but the thought of him being hurt was something I could not even fathom.

Kelsey put Shane’s mouthpiece back into his mouth and looked like he was scolding him. Kelsey had stood and screamed at Shane for most of the first round. I wondered if he was mad at Shane, or if this was something trainers did in the big fights to encourage a fighter to fight harder. According to Ripp, Shane became the devil in the ring. Nobody should be able to beat the devil. Not in a boxing match.

Ding!

Shane immediately went to the center of the ring, and Mc Claskey pushed him and punched him toward the corner of the ring.

“Stay out of that corner. He’ll kill ya’, Dekk,” Ripp screamed.

Within a few seconds Mc Claskey had Shane in the corner, smashing him against the ropes. Shane’s hands were covering his face, and the other fighter was swinging his fists wildly into Shane’s arms and stomach. Seeing him beaten like this was very difficult for me.

“Push him off, god damn it, Dekk. Get outta the corner,” Ripp screamed.

Mc Claskey’s feet shuffled, and Shane pushed against him. At the same time, Shane swiveled his body and moved around Mc Claskey. As he did, he went to the center of the ring and began to bounce up and down on his feet.

Thank God.

My heart started racing as soon as Shane got out of the corner. Mc Claskey was now in the center of the ring, pushing against Shane, his fists held up against his face. As he pushed against Shane, Shane unleashed into his mid-section and threw a few wild uppercuts that missed.

“Get him baby!” I screamed.

I slapped Ripp’s shoulder and squealed, “He’s getting him, Ripp. He’s getting him.”

Mc Claskey swung a punch up into Shane’s jaw, and it forced his head back
sharply. Shane stumbled, and as soon as he did, I heard Ripp.

“Oh, god damn,” Ripp mumbled.

“What?’ I turned toward Ripp.

“Oh fuck,” Ripp responded, staring at the ring, his hands quickly covered his mouth

I turned back to the fight. MC Claskey jabbed toward Shane, and hit him directly in the face as he was stepping backward away from him. As soon as the punch hit Shane, he went down to the mat.

“Oh my God. Oh my God, Ripp. He’s hurt!” I screamed.

Seeing Shane down on the mat was unsettling to me. I don’t think Shane has ever been knocked down, ever. He says,
never been down and never been out
, which means he’s never been knocked down and never been knocked out. He’s undefeated for a reason. Shane is better than this, something’s wrong. I reached in my pocket, closed my eyes, and rubbed the dog tags again.

Please, God. Make Shane see what he always sees. Make him understand what to do to keep from getting hurt. I am not asking you to have him win this fight. All I want, Lord, is for you to make him understand what he always understands. Make him see what he always sees.
I love him Lord, don’t let him get hurt or die.

Amen.

“Good, thank God,” Ripp said as he pulled his hands from his mouth.

“What?”
I asked as Shane quickly stood up.

“See how the referee waved his hands?” he asked, pointing to the ring.

I hadn’t seen it, but I agreed, “Yes.”

“
The Referee ruled it a
slip
, not a knockdown. Thank God. If this goes to the cards, that’d kill him,” Ripp whispered.

“Oh. Good,” I whispered back.

“Get him babe,” I screamed.

Shane was covered in sweat and his arm muscles were flexing each time he threw a swing or got close to the other fighter and defended himself. Seeing him hit the other fighter was exciting and made me wish he would start doing better. This Mc Claskey guy was huge and I didn’t like him beating on Shane.

Ding!

As soon as Shane came to the corner, Kelsey started yelling at him. Kelsey screamed at Shane the entire break. He even hit Shane’s arm a few times as he screamed. He turned and pointed toward Ripp and I a few times as he screamed at Shane. I didn’t like seeing Kelsey or Shane like this.

The third round and the start of the fourth round were just like the first two rounds. Shane and Mc Claskey traded punches, and no real progress made by Shane toward winning. A few times, Mc Claskey got Shane into the corner. According to Ripp, it’s impossible to get Shane in the corner. Ripp said something was wrong with Shane. I wondered about what had changed since Shane’s last fight.

The dog tags. This is the first fight he hasn’t had the dog tags during a fight.
Well, he doesn’t know they’re here.
Maybe he needs to know I brought them.

Or.

Maybe my being selfish and bringing them to the fight was making him lose. Maybe he doesn’t want them here for a reason. I began to wonder if my bringing the dog tags was causing Shane to fight like this. As the fourth round was coming close to the end, I considered walking to the trash barrel by the ring and throwing them away.

I looked back up at the fight.
As Shane stepped from the corner, Mc Claskey swung a wild punch toward Shane. The punch caught Shane’s shoulder as he was stepping away, and Shane went down to the mat again. Ripp screamed.

“It was a slip, Ref, it was a fucking slip.”

I screeched as Shane hit the mat. The referee waved his arms, ruling it a slip.

“Oh shit, Kelsey’s hollering for me, I’ll be right back,” Ripp said as he stepped out of his seat and walked to the corner of the ring.

Ripp and Kelsey talked as Shane and Mc Claskey traded punches. Kelsey screamed at Ripp, pointed at Shane, and pointed at me. I could not tell what he was screaming about, but he seemed very angry. Ripp came back to his seat looking frantic.

“Kelsey wants us to find
someone with dog tags, shorty. We need to find someone with dog tags quick. Kelsey wants to try and get Shane back in this fight, and he thinks Shane not having his dog tags is the difference,” Ripp pleaded as he looked around the arena.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

“I have Shane’s dog tags,” I said as I reached into my pocket.

“
The
dog tags?” he asked.

I nodded, somewhat embarrassed, “Yes, I dug them out of the trash.”