Love Against the Ropes

Nick woke up and rolled over. It was a crystal clear morning, a seemingly perfect day. He looked over at Aree who was laying flat on her tummy wearing a white silk top and a white thong to match. He caressed her skin lightly making her body quiver. He pulled the comforter over her waist and patted her on the behind. She continued sleeping as he stood up and stretched his arms out. Nick was tall at 6’1 inches, with short black hair and hazel eyes. His olive skin tone only accentuated his overall appearance. Nick yawned and hopped in the shower. He tried to be quiet so he wouldn’t wake Aree. She was perfect to him. Aree was dark skinned and short; about 5’2 with a large bust and neatly picked Afro. Nick was definitely a sucker for big voluptuous breasts. He washed and dried himself, thinking about the day ahead. He needed to get to the gym in order to start training. Aree wanted Nick to stop kickboxing but it was a love he couldn’t see himself parting with, not yet. Nick ate a small breakfast and grabbed his gym bag by the door. He gently closed the door and locked it. Aree opened her eyes once she knew Nick was gone. She hated when he would leave in the mornings to train. She wanted to cuddle and kiss his neck but she understood what he wanted to do. Right now, training was his main focus and to finally get his ten fight win streak. Aree didn’t like the seedy casino he had his fights in but she knew the owner personally so she had no say in it. Aree took a quick shower and made herself breakfast. She never ate much in the mornings anyway. She had only a plain bagel with plain cream cheese and a banana. She cleaned her dishes and stepped onto the porch. She looked at the birds flying and felt the cool breeze across her face. She thought about Nick. She wondered what he was doing, if he was safe, and if he was thinking about her too in between breaks. He’s a grown man, she thought to herself. Nick of all people can take care of himself. Aree shuffled back inside and closed the sliding door. She huffed and sat on the couch, turning the tv on. Every other commercial was an advertisement for the upcoming fight at the casino, Brother Bear. She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous ad but she did enjoy seeing Nick and a few of his highlight reels. He was one of a kind and had not been knocked out yet. She had heard other fighters describe Nick as an ‘iron chin’ impossible to penetrate. The newcomers were ready to take him on since he had defeated all the previous title holders. The younger fighters were out for blood and that is what made Aree nervous the most. “Harder! Faster! Again!” Coach Pullins yelled at Nicky. He was training him for his next big fight coming up in another month. If Nick wins this he’ll have a win streak and therefore will be able to claim a big bonus check. That was something Nick and even his fellow fighters wanted. “Take a five minute break,” Coach P said. Dropping the training pads on the soft blue mat. Nick went over and sat down near the cage, his back pressing against it. The gym still had old posters of fighters from previous eras such as Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson to name a few. He wanted to win this fight and possibly skip town with Aree but he knew she wouldn’t want to do that. He could not tell her the magnitude of trouble he was in and though this bothered him, he kept the secret until he felt it was a good time to let her know. Coach P came and sat down next to him on the mat. “How’s everything going for you at home, bud?” He asked like a caring father. “It’s fine, ya know.” Nick said with a smile. Coach P had raised Nick since he was 7 years old when his father stopped showing up to the gym one day. Now at the age of 32, Nick no longer wanted to use the blame of his fathers abandonment as an excuse. Nick poured everything he had into becoming a cage fighter, an undefeated one, and he wanted that to mean something. He wanted respect and to get out of his fathers shadow. Nick took off his gloves and walked over to the speed bag. He began casually punching it as the bag flitted around at an unimaginable speed. “You make it look so easy Nick,” Coach P teased. He thought of Nick as a long lost son. Pullins hadn’t seen or heard from his biological son in over 10 years so this was a way he could still have the father-son bond he had always wanted. Nick decided to call it a day, he had been there for over four hours already. Nick took a shower at the gym before leaving. He gave the Coach a fist bump and went home.