The smell of sweat and old canvas always brought me back. Open mat. “Come on, let’s go!” I called out while clapping my hands together. My fighter, Alex, bounced on the balls of his feet across from Xander, who was a whirlwind of controlled chaos. I watched his eyes, trying to gauge his focus. He looked good, but from what I knew about Xander, he was quick. Alex had his work cut out for him.
“Jab, Alex! Work the jab!” I yelled, my voice cutting through the cheers coming from the crowd. Alex flicked out his left, tagging Xander once, twice.Good.Xander stumbled back, and reset. “Now the leg kick!”
Alex wound up in a blur of motion but Xander checked it just in time.Damnit.He closed the distance, feinting high, then shot for a takedown. My stomach lurched. “Sprawl, Alex, sprawl!” He dropped his hips, but Xander was relentless, driving into him. They clinched, wrestling for position against the cage.
My hands instinctively mimicked the motions I called out, urging Alex on. “Under hook! Alex! Turn him!” Alex fought, strained, and then, with a surge of power, he spun Xander off thecage. Xander tried to reverse, but Alex was on it, transitioning beautifully to a body lock.
My voice was starting to get raw. For a split second, Xander was airborne as he tried to execute a kick before crashing to the mat with a thud. Alex was right there inside control, quick as a flash. “Look for the choke! Don’t let him get you in your head.”
Alex moved, releasing pressure which gave Xander the chance to squirm underneath him. He had his arm trapped before he shifted, sinking in the choke. I could see Xander’s face redden, his hands pawing at Alex’s arm. Xander tapped, once, twice. Done.
“Stop!” The referee called out before sliding between them. Alex immediately let go. He was out of breath and sat back on his heels for a moment. After he stood up, he offered a hand to Xander and once he was on his feet, they were hugging and talking like they were the best of bros.
I walked toward them, a grin splitting my face as I observed their interactions. Alex looked over, still breathing heavily but beaming as Xander rubbed his neck, a wistful smile plastered on his face. “Congrats again, man,” Xander gasped. “Good job, coach.” Xander extended a hand for me to shake.
I patted Xander on his back. “Your last kick would have taken him out had you landed it. Keep up the hard work and I can see it becoming a signature move for sure.”
????“Cool, thanks, man.” Xander smiled and rushed off to the locker room.
While Alex and I wrapped up our conversation, a hand grasped my shoulder. I turned to see Arlo, his own grin as wide as mine. “Nice one, coach,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “You called it perfectly. He looked great out there.”
“He was great.” A surge of pride swelled in my chest. “Just doing my job, man.” I watched Alex, sweat-soaked butvictorious, shake Arlo’s hand before he, too, took off go get cleaned up. “This is why I do it. This feeling right here.”
Arlo’s brow quirked. “You wish it was you though, don’t you?”
I tried to shrug it off, to push back the familiar ache. “This is a different feeling, though. I still feel accomplished.”
“Kaden,” Arlo interrupted softly. “It’s okay to be happy for your guy and still wish you’d been on the mat today.”
I stood there, the words hanging in the air, before I blurted out, “One day, I’ll be back out here.”
Arlo’s mouth split into the biggest grin. “There you go.”
It was true. With Isabella out of my life, training had become my singular focus. Another amateur fight wasn’t just a dream; now it felt like a tangible goal. “We should celebrate. Drinks are on me.”
His pleasant reaction collapsed. “Sorry, I can’t tonight.”
“We always go out after open mat,” I said, genuinely confused. “You better have a hot date?”
Instantly, Arlo’s smile returned, even brighter than before. “Actually, I do.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “And I’m running late.” He was gone before I could ask another question, leaving me alone in the suddenly vast, empty room. The silence settling around me was more deafening than the cheering crowd which had filled the room corner to corner just minutes ago.
Eleven
Val
The ref called our fight, dubbing Mia the winner all because I choked. I was pissed.
I wanted to demand a rematch at the next open mat. I wanted to drive down to the jail and curse at James who created this mess and command him to stay the hell out of my head. I want to interrogate Mark and ask him where the training for the moves he was calling out at me came from and why didn’t I learn thembeforethe match?
????I was hyped up on adrenaline as Summer rushed over to me after I walked off the mat. “Girl, are you good?” I wasn’t and she knew it, but I still lied through my teeth, not wanting to give her any reason to worry. Of course, she didn’t buy it. I’m pretty sure she could smell a lie a mile away, which is why I avoided her in the first place back when James had… My thoughts were interrupted as Mark waltzed over.
Great, the last person I want to talk to right now.I might as well have said the quiet part out loud because I was sure the look on my face told him everything he needed to know. ????Marksmirked, and I immediately wanted to swipe the look from his face.
“I know you probably don’t feel like it, but you did great.” I could feel his hand graze across my ass. At first I thought it might have been an accident, but then he rested his hand on my lower back, and I instantly felt gross. I looked over at Summer and noticed her look down before she shot me a puzzled look.
She knew I had been questioning things when it came to him. The quiet remarks, the semi-flirtatious moments, and now this... I moved over, away from him and he shook his head and looked down. “Oh. Shit. I’m sorry.” Part of me wanted to believe he was being genuine, but my red flag alarms were going off.
Summer broke the awkward interaction. “I’m going to get her out of here.”