DILLON
“Are you ready?”
“I’m always ready. The question is if the other guy is or not.”
Leo smiled at me in a fatherly sort of way. I hadn’t known my own dad, and my mom had enrolled me in boxing when I was just a kid. Leo had taken over that role for me. He taught me what was to be a fighter, he took care of me. When the other guys joined gangs, I just spent more time at the gym. It was where I was safe, protected from the outside world. From the streets.
My best friend was shot and killed when I was seventeen. He went to a party, it was a Friday night, and I was at the gym getting a workout in. I’d wanted to go to that party so badly, but Leo wouldn’t let me. He booked a fight the next morning specifically so I wouldn’t be able go out with my friends. I was so pissed at him. And then I got a call on my walk home that there’d been a drive-by and my friend was dead. I remember my mother crying hysterically, asking me again and again if I’d been there, if I’d seen anything. I didn’t answer her. I just ran through the dark streets until I got home and I let her fall into my arms, and I held her while she sobbed.
I cried at his funeral.
It was the last time I had ever shed a tear.
Fighters don’t cry.
“Any idea what the purse is tonight? Mom’s really been wanting a new car, but the payments are just too much for her. I want to put money down so that she doesn’t have worry about it.”
Leo smiled at me. “It’s five grand. Same as always, 50-50 split between the gym and you. I think a nice $2500 down payment should do the trick.” He put his arm around me, “It’s a good thing that you’re doing for your mom. But remember to spend a little on yourself sometimes, okay?”
I looked at him blankly, “What do I have to spend it on?”
“If you don’t dodge his right hook, new teeth for one.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got this.”
He nodded at me. “I’m sure you do, kid. I’m sure you do.”
He walked away and I started bouncing on my feet, loosening up my muscles. He would come back for me in about an hour, but he always left me to my own thoughts right before a fight. He knew I needed the time to myself to get out of my own head and into my opponent’s. I would take this guy down, just like all the others.
FOUR
BERKLEY
“So what time are these guys picking us up?” I asked as I changed my shirt and looked for a set of boots to wear.
“Actually, we’re meeting them there. I figured we could catch a cab to head downtown. No reason for us to drive, and I doubt that we’d find parking anyway. We’re meeting them outside to grab our tickets, and then we’ll go in together.”
I gave Naomi a look. “Some date. First I don’t even know this guy’s last name, and now you’re telling me he’s not even coming to pick me up. You sure know how to pick ‘em.”
She sighed. “Hey, I pick them for their good looks, not their brains.”
“Touché.”
We called a cab and arrived at the fight only an hour later. Naomi immediately recognized her date and waved the guys over to us. She was right, Elliott was easy on the eyes. He was taller than both of us with darker skin, pale blue eyes, and black hair. His thick arms made me feel safe in an unknown place. Josh was on the leaner side, with light blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He had on a tight T-shirt and dark jeans, a little less preppy than I typically went for, but maybe that was exactly what I needed. He offered me my ticket but didn’t say much else besides introducing himself. I figured once he got a couple beers in him I would learn a lot more about what he was like.
As we made our way through the crowd, I felt like the walls were caving in. The place was packed, and it was hard to get to our seats. The guys grabbed us beers as we walked past something that resembled a concession stand, and we carried them as we made our way to our chairs. No one was sitting; everyone was out cheering and yelling for whatever fighters were currently in the ring. It was like a cage match. Chain-link fence coming up around the sides, I’d never seen anything like it except on television. The atmosphere was intoxicating, though. You could just feel the tension in the crowd waiting for the knockout. I watched as a guy with a bloodied eyebrow circled the man in front of him, lifting his knee up to kick him in the ribs. The guy dodged him, but just barely before landing a right hook on the first guy’s face. It didn’t take long after that for the guy who dodged the kick to have the other guy on the ground beating the shit out of him. I guessed it was over when the referee held up that guy’s hands. Some people yelled loudly, while others looked disappointed.
“I guess people bet on these things?” I said to Josh.
“Yep. I have money on the next guy coming up. Dillon Jackson, one of the best fighters in the state. Nobody can beat this guy. And hopefully I’ll make some money off of him tonight.”
“How do you know that he’s good to bet on? I mean it looks like these guys get hurt pretty easily.”
He took a swig out of his plastic cup. “Not Dillon. Guy had a shoulder injury a couple years ago. Wasn’t even supposed to be able to write, but somehow he managed to work through the pain and now is some big shot around here. People say he’s in the prime of his fighting career. He’s not going to get any better than he is now.”
I looked out into the cage and I saw two new fighters. They had announced them when Josh and I were talking. I wasn’t sure who they were, but by the look of intent on Josh’s face this was the fight that he was betting on.
“Which one is the fighter you were talking about? The one with the shoulder injury?”