Love Against the Ropes

Round 12

Nick dodged a left, then a right, followed by an uppercut. He moved swiftly out of the way of every attack that was thrown at him. He glanced out into the crowd and noticed the Boss was there, front row smoking a cigar. The giant stream of smoke immediately caught Nicks attention. Suddenly he felt a hard punch graze the bottom of his chin. Nick wobbled back never falling as Lugas continued his onslaught of hammer fists as he punched Nick repeatedly. Nick covered up his head as the crowd erupts in cheers. Luckily the bell rings indicating that the first round is over. Nick jogs back to his corner not yet breaking a sweat. “You’re doing good so far. Stay focused and weather the storm,” Coach Hunter says to Nick as he gives him a spray of water. Nick takes a swig, rinsing his mouth and spitting it back into the bucket. The medic checked over him one last time before clearing Nick to continue fighting. Nick stood smashing his gloves together and gnawing on his mouth guard. The bell sounded and round two commenced.

Aree jerked awake but she noticed she was no longer in the casino. She was in the back seat of a car. A figure was in the drivers side watching a live broadcast of Nicks fight from his phone. Arees heart jumped into her chest. Am I being taken? She thought to herself. Just as the thought left her mind the stranger spoke to her, “Don’t worry sweetheart, I won’t hurt you. But let’s hope your ‘hubby’ does the right thing,” he said with a sly smile. Aree tried to speak but couldn’t. She had no idea where she was but she wanted to get out of there and back to Nick. She tried to watch the fight on his phone as a single tear slid down her cheek.

Ian hated doing the Boss dirty work. He wanted to have a peaceful evening and watch the fights but he insisted on taking Aree in order to make sure Nick played his part. Ian was hurt Aree did not remember him, they shared a lot of fun times together before her accident and Nick stealing her heart away. Ian grimaced as he watched Lugas and Nick battle it out. The second round was over with Lugas winning so far. Ian smiled with pleasure but the worried look on Arees face cause Ian’s smile to slowly fade. He still loved her and was determined to get her to remember who he was while making her forget about Nick in the process.

Nick dodged another flurry of punches as he darted to the other side of the ring. Lugas turned around annoyed at Nick dodging his fist. Nick motioned to Lugas, “come at me,” he mouthed to him. This infuriated Lugas as he rushed to him again this time with Nick landing and overhand right directly above his eye. Lugas fell to the mat causing the crowd to once again thunder with screams and cheers of excitement. Lugas slowly brings himself back standing as the referee continues his countdown. Lugas is up the ref checks him and the fight continues.

“What in the hell is this about?” Aree asked trying to sound tough despite being terrified. Ian laughed at her causing her skin to crawl. “Oh love, you don’t remember me,” He said looking into her eyes. Aree had no recollection of an Ian. She only knew of Nick. He had been the only man she was with since graduating high school, right? Ian looked back to his phone as the fight entered into its third round. Aree remembered Nick saying that he was going to end the fight in the fourth no matter what. Aree watched in anticipation as Nick held his own against Lugas. Despite her circumstances she couldn’t help but to get turned on from watching Nicks chiseled body as he got bloodied during the fight. Hell, even that turned her on to some extent. She squirmed in her seat trying to conceal the wetness that was forming in her panties. Ian looked at her with a deceptive smirk on his face. “You’re getting turned on watching your man huh?” He asked. Arees brown cheeks flushed a bright red. “No need to be embarrassed,” Ian looked over to her and placed his hand gently on her exposed knee. “Dammit,” He said to himself. “I wasn’t supposed to bring emotions into this but you make it hard,” He said to her. Aree was confused. She wanted answers but was too afraid to say anything. Ian leaned over to her and stared into her dark brown almond shaped eyes. “You sure you don’t remember me?” Ian asked caressing her face smoothly. Aree closed her eyes and leaned her face into his palm taking in his scent. It was familiar to her in a way that made her feel at home. It was different from Nicks but she loved it. Why was this happening? Aree had no answers and her mind swirled in confusion then began racing with thoughts. Why did she remember this person? Aree inhaled his scent deeply one time and as if a light switched on in her head her eyes popped open and she gazed up at the man staring back.

Oh my goodness

“Ian?”