“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.”