No Safeword: Matte - Happily Ever After (Safewords) (42 page)

“It was two on one when we arrived,” the one holding Cassie said.

“Yes, after Mr. Clemente punched Kirsten in the face, Cassie jumped in to help our friend.”

Sam looked at Clemente and asked, “Do you want to press charges against the two girls who beat you up? The ones not involved in professional fighting in any way, shape, or form?”

He slowly shook his head as he realized how bad it was going to look.

Kirsten spoke up. “I, on the other hand, would like to press charges.”

When the police were finished with them, Tyler escorted them back to their floor, keeping to the employee sections as much as possible so Sam could avoid talking to reporters. She still had to tell a few reporters she was out with her friends and had nothing to say at the moment.

* * * *

Dave was waiting for them in the conference room, but Tyler started his lecture as soon as the door closed.

“Sam, he hated you before, now it’s a visceral, revenge oriented revulsion.”

“Yeah, I know, but he was going to keep pushing until he got more of a reaction from me. I’m glad Kirsten didn’t let him push her around. He needs to learn not all women are weaker than him.”

Dave got everyone’s story and prepared a press release. He emailed them the official talking points, but said he’d just as soon they not say anything to the media, if they could manage.

The fight organizers moved Clemente to the other side of the training area, and the next morning Sam discovered his opponent, the current bantam titleholder, was now beside Ethan.

Sam introduced herself to him, and welcomed him to their side of the room.

“I know who you are,” he said with a smile. “It’s nice to finally get a chance to say hello.”

“You know, if Clemente wins I’ll look better, because I’ll have beat the current title holder. But I’ll be rooting for you all the way.”

He laughed. “Thank you for that, and good luck in your fight as well.”

Sam wasn’t sure who was responsible, but she didn’t come face to face with Jose Clemente again until three days later during weigh-ins, and even then, there were enough people separating them that Clemente would’ve had to work hard to get to her and create another ruckus.

Sam didn’t go strictly by Dave’s talking points, but he grudgingly admitted that her telling the media she’d decided if she couldn’t say anything nice then it would be best to keep her mouth shut on the subject, and the only nice thing she could think of to say was she was glad her friends — who were not associated with professional fighting in any way — were unharmed.

* * * *

Ethan and Sam went to a crazy acrobatics show the day before their fight, and had a nice chance to reconnect and relax with each other.

Their coaches arranged for them to have side-by-side massages when they returned to their hotel suite, and then the group sat around and talked until Sam and Ethan were ready to go to sleep.

Sam was a tense ball of energy on fight day, while Ethan seemed to treat it as any other day.

She wanted to point out how, when they went to bed that night they’d either hold the title, or they wouldn’t. They might be hurt, or might be in good shape. But, she didn’t. No need to stress him out just because she wasn’t dealing with it well.

Miguel kept her busy throughout the day, and in the hours leading up to the fight managed to get her warmed up and stretched without sapping her energy.

By the time she made the big walk through the crowd to the cage, she was ready to fight. Or ready to get it over with, anyway.

Karen came at her in the first seconds of the fight with a move Sam had never seen before, and found herself flat on her back with her own arm wound around her throat.

The sounds around her faded, her vision turned wavy and twisty, and narrowed until she thought she might be looking through a straw.

Her survival instincts kicked in more than her fighting reflexes, and she used her last burst of energy to turn into the arm choking her, as Karen’s grip only kept her from turning away from it.

She somehow managed to fight her way on top, but couldn’t hold onto it.

If she’d had more oxygen in her brain she probably could’ve gained control, but she didn’t, and she lost control again and found herself locked in Karen’s legs and in danger of needing to tap out or risk a major knee injury.

Two quick breaths in and she remembered how to counter the position. A few seconds later she was holding Karen’s head and pummeling her. Blood flew, Sam lost her grip, and Karen jumped to her feet and danced away.

Sam made it to her feet as well and saw a nice cut above Karen’s eye.

By the end of the first round both women were bleeding. Sam had only had the advantage on the ground twice, while Karen had pretty much dominated her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Miguel asked. “Am I going to have to stop calling you Bruiser? I’ve seen you stay on your feet when Ethan pulled those moves on you, but you let her take you down!”

Ethan spoke from behind her. “Close your eyes. Imagine taking her down. Do it now. Imagine her trying a move and you sprawling, finding your center, and turning it around on her. You take her down and beat the holy hell out of her until the ref calls the fight. Close your eyes and
see
it.”

Ethan was using his Dom voice, and Sam closed her eyes and saw it as he said it. When he finished, she imagined it all over again, with a different move, and then another. When she opened her eyes the stadium was in focus, she heard the crowd noises as more than background noise, and she was ready to get off the stool and show Karen who she was.

When the second round started, instead of letting Karen put her hands on her, she jumped in with a modified version of her rabid weed-eater combination, as Miguel hadn’t wanted anyone to be able to prepare for the sequence she’d used against Clemente.

As she finished the last punch, she thought she had time to spin in a circle and land an elbow in her opponent’s face. Karen moved at the last minute, and Sam only hit with a glancing blow, but it’d worked well enough and Sam had the opportunity to take Karen to the ground.

Karen’s ground game was exceptional, and while Sam most often controlled her during this round, she couldn’t maneuver her enough to end the fight. Karen kept trying to work them towards the fence, and it was all Sam could do to keep them far enough away Karen couldn’t use it for leverage.

On one occasion, Karen got a hand free and pounded Sam’s ribs. She didn’t think they were hurt too bad, but she felt them with every deep breath.

And she just had to ignore her knee and push through the pain. She’d done something to it in the first round, but she couldn’t think about.

When the bell sounded again, Miguel was much happier with her, but Jameson insisted on spending most of the break working on Sam’s eye, which was almost swollen shut. He managed to put something on it to stop the bleeding, but couldn’t do much with the swelling. However, just getting the blood out of her eye was a big help.

Ethan’s only words were, “You can take me down, you can take her down. Think strategy. Use that great big attorney brain and bring her down before she even knows what’s happening.”

As Sam walked back to center ring, she watched Karen walk, favoring her right leg or foot a little, and Sam tried to narrow it down. Two steps later, Sam was almost certain it was Karen’s ankle or foot, and she catalogued it and looked for something else. Karen’s arms had been higher, so she was tired. And, her left eye was nearly swollen shut, so her peripheral vision would suck on that side.

Sam made the mental note her own wouldn’t be great, either.

And then she put it all together to try to come up with a plan.

Just as strategy came to her in the courtroom, a vision formed of exactly how to take her opponent down.

Sam dropped her arms and lifted them again, this time with her left arm higher than her right.

Her body relaxed, and her focus intensified.

Time slowed as she watched Karen squat and then push towards her, and Sam faked a punch with her left as she swept the hurt foot, and then brought her right elbow down on the left side of Karen’s face.

She landed a direct hit and followed her down into an almost elegant triangle choke hold as she used her other fist to pound Karen’s ribs.

A few seconds into it, the ref waved her up and off, and Sam stumbled forward and leaned against the cage.

Ethan was to her in seconds, though he was gentle with his victory hug.

Jameson pushed him away and checked her over as Miguel placed ice on the back of her neck and handed her another gel pack to press to her eye.

When the men pulled the ice away she let them walk her a few steps, and the next thing Sam knew, she was in the center of the cage and the ref was holding her arm up, and someone was encircling her waist with the huge, shiny, belt.

She offered her hand to Karen, but Karen stepped in and hugged her, saying, “Awesome fight. You deserve the belt, but you better give me a chance to win it back.”

Sam talked to the reporter in the ring, and then let Miguel and Tyler get her backstage without having to talk to anyone else.

Jameson worked on her eye again, and then had her stretch out on a mat on her back with ice over her face and her right knee, which was swollen more than she’d realized.

She should’ve tapped out in the first round, and would probably pay for sticking it out. She hadn’t realized it was hurt this bad until she made it backstage and saw the swelling, though.

When she heard someone giving Ethan a five minute warning through the door, she popped up, threw some foundation, eye shadow, and eyeliner on; changed shirts, put some cropped sweatpants over her bike shorts – long enough to hide the swelling in her knee – and prepared to follow him out.

Tara stopped her and showed her an articulated knee brace. “Don’t even try to tough it out. We don’t know what kind of damage you’ve done, and you’ll wear the brace if you want to go jump up and down on the outside of the platform to talk to him through the cage.”

Sam rolled her eyes and let Tara help put it on. Vanity made her want to change into full length sweats to cover it, but she wanted to be there for Ethan even more, so she stepped out in time to give him a thumbs up and follow him to the cage.

Sam knew Ethan was tough, but his opponent was bigger, badder, and thought he was tougher. She hoped he was wrong, but she was seriously worried for her husband, though she hadn’t let him know.

He needed to walk into the cage with the confidence he could do this.

The first round went as she expected, with the two trading punches and kicks, going to the ground a few times, but mostly acting like kick-boxers. When the first bell rang both men had cuts on their faces, though Ethan seemed in better shape.

Jerrod and Jameson went in, and she talked to her caveman from behind, through the cage. “You’re better than him on the ground, and you’re way faster on your feet. Pull my new and improved rabid weed-eater if you can. Concentrate more on multiple punches while you’re in, and don’t forget to fake the first so you can make the second. Don’t overdo it, but use it. I know you want to wear him down a little before trying for a KO, but I think he’s at a point you can go for it the next time you see a chance. Be my caveman.”

She looked to Jerrod who picked up. “Sam’s right. You’re backing off too fast; try to get another couple of punches in while you’re at it, just be careful he doesn’t use the opportunity to take you down. Sam’s weed-eater sequence will work great with this guy. He’s slow and powerful, and you’re fast and powerful. He’s beat everyone else by being so strong and formidable, so stay out of the way of his fists and feet, and
pummel
him. Keep doing what you’re doing, just do a little more of it.”

Ethan nodded, stood, and turned to Sam. He wasn’t allowed to touch anyone outside the fence, so he brought his finger to within about an inch of her nose and smiled.

“You’re
my
caveman,” she said. “Now go get him before I have to threaten to beat him up for hurting you.”

His glare had a smile in it, and when Jerrod joined her he was smiling, too. “Someday I hope to find someone who makes me as happy as the two of you make each other.”

The bell rang and Ethan pulled his fists up and went into a martial arts stance instead of the typical boxing bounce. His opponent stood and looked at him a second, as if trying to figure out what the hell he was up to, and then raised his fists and bounced towards Ethan.

The other man took the first swing and Ethan blocked it with one arm, caught the man’s forearm with the other fist, moved under his weight, and twisted and turned until his opponent was on the ground and Ethan on top.

“Looks like reminding him he’s better on the ground got through to him,” Jerrod said into Sam’s ear.

Sam nodded and screamed encouragement, and then a warning when she saw the other man prepare to make a move. Ethan didn’t heed her warning, and the next thing she knew they were grappling with neither man fully in control.

She opened her mouth to tell him what to do, but Miguel’s arm on her shoulder had her closing it, and he shouted advice, different from what Sam would’ve given, but probably better.

The grappling went on longer than Sam’s nerves could handle, but she couldn’t look away. Finally, Ethan pulled free enough to get under the man and stand, and she smiled, as he’d done the exact same move with her a thousand times, and she never would’ve believed he could pull it off with a two hundred and sixty-five pound man on his back.

Miguel leaned towards her and said, “He has you to thank for that.”

Sam nodded, understanding it was the repetition of doing it so many times that allowed him the muscle memory to do it now, when his adrenaline gave him the power to actually pull it off.

His opponent had the presence of mind to push away and land on his feet before Ethan could body slam him to the mat, but Ethan didn’t give the other fighter any time to regain his bearings before stepping in and delivering Sam’s new rabid weed-eater combo. And, when he finished the combination he must have realized the other man still hadn’t found his balance, because Ethan went into it a second time, using the original version this time, and then followed it up with one of his own combinations.

Sam held her breath as the man’s face went slack and he fell sideways. He hit the ground, obviously out cold, and she jumped with her arms in the air and let out a huge scream.

Unfortunately, the scream was partly joy for her husband, and partly because her knee fucking
hurt
.

Jerrod put his arm around her and helped her to the cage, and as she neared her husband expecting a hug, he put his hands around her hips, lifted her over his head, and slowly brought her down. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he let her down, and hugged him fiercely.

After a few seconds she put her mouth to his ear and said, “They’re going to have a hard time putting the belt around your waist with my legs in the way.”

He chuckled and put her down, and she stepped away as the referee walked up with instructions.

It took several long minutes to rouse the other fighter and help him stand, and when the announcer proclaimed “The winner and undisputed champion of the worrrllllddddd, Ethan “
The Cavemaaaaaan
” Leeeeeeviiiiii,” Sam’s eyes watered with happiness as they put the belt onto her husband. She stayed in the background during the in-cage interview, but was surprised when another reporter urged her towards her husband.

“Go on out,” Miguel told her.

“No, this is his spotlight. Not mine.”

“Doesn’t matter. The fans want to see you both.”

The reporter waved her over and said to Ethan, “We’re trying to get your wife to join you but she’s resisting. Maybe you can convince her?”

Ethan turned and looked at her, and Sam gave up and went to him. He put his arm around her as she neared, and she leaned into him.

“How’s your knee?” the reporter asked. “We see the brace, and you seem to be favoring it.”

“It’s tender. We’ll have to figure out what I’ve done to it later.” 

The reporter smiled and moved the mic to Ethan. “You both look pretty beat up. Will you take care of each other, or bring people in to take care of both of you separately?”

“We have two medical professionals who’ll get us all doctored up, but we’ll be side-by-side as it happens.” He patted Sam’s shoulder with the arm he had wrapped around her and added, “We’re pretty good at taking care of each other, but we have some celebrating to do, first.”

Someone stepped to Sam with her belt, and she moved away from Ethan long enough to let them put it back on. Ethan pulled her to him and put his arm around her from the side once again, and so many camera flashes were going off Sam wasn’t sure her vision would ever recover.

They answered questions forever, and when they went to walk away, Sam limped a few steps and Ethan put his hands on her hips from behind, leaned his mouth to her ear to warn her he was going to put her on his shoulders, and the next thing she knew, she was sitting on his shoulders, high above the crowd.

He put his hands on her thighs and pulled down to stabilize her, and she pretty much had no choice to but wave to the crowd as he walked them out of the arena.

The couple faced reporters and camera crews a few dozen more times after they left their backstage areas and tried to make it to their hotel suite. Ethan let her walk this time, though they went slow so she could make her way without a visible limp.

Sometimes a reporter wanted to talk to only one of them, but most were happy to interview them side-by-side.

On one of the occasions a reporter wanted Ethan without Sam, and they were close enough to the elevator, Sam motioned to Tyler to let him know she wanted to go on up.

No sooner than they began moving, another film crew moved in front of the elevator, and Tyler moved away as they approached the cameras.

A spectator took the opportunity to jump out at her from the crowd, and she was looking right at him when his fist came at her face.

Her reflexes were still engaged, and she caught his fist and — without thinking about it — flipped the very large man into the air so he landed on his back. Her reflexes took her to her knees and she punched him in the face several times before someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her. She had her arm ready to elbow whoever it was in the ribs when Tyler said, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me.”

She realized security was all over the man, and she relaxed and allowed Tyler to pull her backwards a few steps before putting her down. She turned to him and her arms went around his neck, and he hugged her back.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just…
damn
. He scared me.”

Tyler chuckled, his head still buried in her hair as he spoke into her ear. “They caught it on camera, and I believe we’re still on camera.”

Ethan made it to them and he lifted Sam out of Tyler’s arms and clapped his friend on the back. “Thanks. What happened?”

Ethan leaned down so Tyler could talk into his ear, and Sam heard the story again, which made her sound like more of a bad-ass than she felt.

“I panicked and overreacted. Don’t make me sound like I kicked butt. I went all girly-girl and freaked.”

“Don’t say that to the cameras,” Ethan said. “Just say he caught you off guard and you reacted. Honestly, it’s what a man your size would have done, too. The guy they have in cuffs probably weighs more than me, Sam.”

When security had carted the guy away and a mic was stuck in their faces, what was the first question the camera crews asked? Not what was going through Sam’s head, or how she managed to throw someone in the air who weighs three or four times her weight, but, “Ethan, how do you feel about walking up to see your wife in another man’s arms?”

Sam burst into laughter, and looked up to see Ethan smiling as well.

“How many times do I need to tell you? Sam’s mine. I don’t have to be jealous because she’s
mine
.”

Sam added, “Other than Ethan, or one of our coaches, I doubt anyone else could’ve pulled me away and calmed me with their voice, so I didn’t turn on them, too. I was operating purely on instinct at the time, and it took a familiar voice pulling me away to let me see others had stepped in and I could back off.”

She shrugged. “And, embarrassing as it is to admit, I went a little girly at the idea someone had attacked me from the crowd. He scared me, and my friend comforted me until Ethan could get to me.”

The reporter looked around and asked, “Where did he go? Can we get him on camera?”

Sam shook her head. “He’s not a fan of the cameras. He handed me off to Ethan and left. You won’t get him on camera for an interview.”

Nathan nodded at her as she spoke, but she didn’t look at him too long, understanding he wouldn’t want the cameras paying too much attention to him, either.

It was at least another thirty minutes before they finally made it back to their floor. Sam had requested Miguel have steaks and chocolate cake sent up, and she almost fell on the food when she saw room service in the conference room with the table full of what smelled like mouth-watering goodness.

Sam hugged Kirsten, Cassie, and Viv, and then Tyler again. Frisco and Tom came from the other side of the table, and Frisco made it to her first and pulled her into a giant bear hug while somehow managing to keep from hurting her ribs.

“You kicked ass, Chica.”

“I kinda got mine kicked in the process, too,” she admitted as she sat and let Tara gently lift her foot onto another chair.

“Girlfriend’s knee, ribs, and face are in rough shape. No one’s had a chance to check Ethan yet, but I’m guessing Jameson is just as wary of getting between him and food as I am.”

“You got that right,” Jameson agreed.

The group laughed and Sam reached her arms to Tom from her seated position. He leaned in and hugged her, and she said, “So, you once beat the current titleholder in a fight. And, the two of you are the amateur and professional titleholders.” She turned in her chair and looked at Ethan with one arm still around Tom’s waist. “I want to set up a fund and a website, and I want to talk about how domestic abuse is such a bad thing. As part of it, I’d like to see the two of you standing beside each other in a commercial saying it’s not okay for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend.”

Ethan looked at Sam, then Tom. “I don’t think it’s safe to say no to her. Did you
see
what she did to the guy in the lobby?”

Sam picked up a breadstick and tossed it at Ethan. He caught it, and took a bite, smiling. “Of course we’ll do it.”

She looked up at Tom, who smiled and nodded, and she stood to give him another big hug, looked across the table and told Ethan, “You’ll get your hug later.”

Dave spoke from the other side of the room, looking at Tom and then Ethan. “Would the two of you be interested in a rematch? Friends in a fight? I could really get some attention out of that — especially since Tom won last time, and we have footage of Ethan and Sam coaching him to the top of the amateurs.”

The two men looked at each other, unsure, and Sam said, “No decisions about the next fight right now. Tonight, we celebrate!”