Caged Heart (5 page)

The time had finally come.

Selene, as well as millions of fans were about to see a battle between two great fighters. Volchev was the first to come out. He had on a black silk boxing robe and a grimace on his face as he walked towards the Octagon. He was only 32 years old but his rigid face and wide jaw made him look a lot older, probably due to his extensive weight training. When he disrobed, his tanned, muscular chest and arms appeared intimidating to say the least.

Volchev looked like he could take on a whole army and this made Selene nervous. Her heart sunk as she envisioned Dorian bloody, bruised and not being able to withstand the impact of Volchev's punches. She began to bite her nails as Vochev and his entourage entered the cage.

The lights suddenly dimmed and bright flashes of green, blue and purple theatrical lights blazed overhead. Dorian was on his way out.

The crowd got to their feet and cheered loudly as the cameras followed him out. There he was; her man. She couldn't help smiling and clapping. She felt proud of him for coming out with such energy. He was a crowd favorite and the cheering never stopped as he approached the cage. He did by no means look like a wimp or nervous. Dorian looked ready to take on anyone and her confidence in him came to life once more.

Before entering the cage, it was customary for the fighters to remove all articles of clothing except for their boxing trunks. Dorian quickly disposed of his shirt and sweatpants, exposing his gorgeous muscular body to the world. She hadn't noticed at first, but Tony was part of his entourage and stood right by his side. Dorian gave him a hug, as well as his coach and the rest of his team before he approached the cut-men. They proceeded to pat his body down and then applied Vaseline to his face. Dorian put on his mouth guard and was now ready to fight.

Volchev stared him down as he entered the cage but Dorian never wavered. He ran a lap around the cage and flexed his arms and legs as he waited for the referee to commence the fight. Selene watched as the referee called both men together, cited the rules and motioned for the fight to start. The crowd cheered on as the two fighters danced in the ring. Volchev was the first to receive a blow to the face but he caught Dorian fast and held him down. He beat down furiously on Dorian's head, blow after blow, attempting to knock him out. Dorian hung in there and twisted his body around Volchev, who hovered over him. With a quick and fluid move, he sprang up on Volchev's back and locked his arm around the giant's neck. It was a move similar to the one he used to beat Tony, only this time he was on Volchev's back.

The crowd was ecstatic, and the announcers were predicting that Volchev would be in a lot of trouble if he couldn't break out of Dorian's grip. The "Russian Bear's" face was now beet red as he failed to escape the choke hold and slowly fell to his knees. The referee ended the fight at that very second, naming Dorian the winner after 2 minutes and 45 seconds on the clock. After only one round, Dorian defeated a man that no one thought he could take down. Everyone was on their feet; the announcers, judges, the crowd, Tony and even Selene at home. There was an eruption of cheering and applause as Dorian ran around the ring, victorious. Tony rushed into the cage and lifted him up to the crowd. It was a great moment, and she wanted to cry because she had never seen Tony so happy.

Her two favorite men were together enjoying this great victory. One of the announcers entered the ring and congratulated Dorian on his win. He was thoroughly impressed at how Dorian executed his last move and wanted to do a replay for the fans to see. Dorian was still humble, even though Volchev looked very bitter on the sidelines. He was out of breath yet praised Volchev for his strength. He also took the time to thank his coaches and team, his parents for supporting him, Tony, the fans and as she listened she also heard him say "Thanks Lene!"

Words could not express how she felt. What woman wouldn't be happy after hearing someone publicly thank them in that moment? Her heart melted as he smiled and waved at the camera. She wished she could have been there with him. In all reality she knew that Dorian's reputation would grow after he won and didn't feel sad about it anymore. She was honored to be acknowledged after the fight and just wanted him to be happy. Selene wanted him as hers but falling for someone like Dorian would come with much insecurity on her part. It would take some time to get over but if he never reached out to her again, she would be okay with it.

**

Almost a week passed before Selene heard from Tony again. She knew that he would try to take advantage of his trip to Sin City and didn’t expect any word from him for a while. He contacted her six days later and sounded extremely happy from his hotel room.

"Lene! What up, what up!"

"Heeeey! How you doin?"

"Havin' the time of my life!"

"I'm sure you are." she giggled.

"You miss me huh? Being all alone in the house?"

"Not even! I'm having a good time all by myself!"

"Yea, whatever."

"How's Dorian doing? Is he okay?"

"Yea your baby's doin' good. He sprained his wrist and his eye was all swollen but it's goin' down."

"Aww man I hope he'll be alright...I saw the fight...you guys looked so happy in the cage." she smiled but then paused. "Did you just say my baby?"

"Yup, your baby! Come on Lene I'm not stupid. You think I didn't know that he wanted that booty?" he laughed.

"You're so...shut up Tony!"

"He can't talk too much, so he wanted me to call you to tell you sorry for not callin' back. He's been crazy busy and tryin' to get some rest before we come back."

"He told you that we talked?"

"Who d' you think gave him the number dummy? He had it since he gave you the strawberries. He asked me if you had a man and I told him no one's tapped that booty in years!" he laughed

"You asshole!" she said angrily.

"You're welcome! Anyway I gotta go, got some fine honeys over here."

"Wait, when are you coming back?"

"In four days. I'll call ya back tonight."

"I doubt that!" she muttered.

"Chill, can't a playa have some fun in Vegas? I'll talk to you later aight?"

"OK Tony, be careful." she sighed.

"Later!"

A few things were made clear to her during that call. She found out that Dorian had really meant to get back to her but couldn't. She didn't know that Tony was aware of his interest in her, which meant that Dorian's gift was really a romantic gesture.

Her mind fell upon the box of strawberries and remaining champagne. Selene thought that she should finish them. She had only gone to sleep after the fight. Tony and Dorian probably already had their little celebration and she should have her own.

Selene proceeded to the kitchen. It was one of those really quiet nights. Her empty apartment felt a little creepy. Most of the other tenants were probably out for the weekend because there was not a sound coming from anywhere in the building. It was eerily silent. She was lonely and hated not having Tony around. She smiled as she thought of their last conversation and hoped that he really was having the time of his life.

There was no need for formalities now. She ate one of the strawberries straight from the glass box and it brought back memories of the last night she spent with Dorian. If only he knew of her thoughts and how bold she had been to enter his temporary room. She had probably done it because it was in her home, her territory and she felt safe somehow. She laughed out loud as she thought of all the dumb things she had done because of this man.

She was suddenly startled as she heard the sound of the doorbell. She wasn't expecting anyone and it definitely couldn't be the landlord at this hour. She waited, thinking that someone probably made a mistake, but it rang again. She licked the chocolate off her fingers and made her way to the front door. Her phone was going off in the bedroom but she went for the door instead. She unlocked the door and slowly opened it, anticipating some kind of prank or troublemaker. It was Dorian.

"Goodnight Moon Goddess!" he said with a huge smile.

"Dorian? What are you doing here?"

"I told you as soon as I got back we're gonna have some fun!"

He was carrying a few large boxes and a gift bag. She offered to help him and led him to the kitchen counter.

"So is Tony here with you?"

"Naaa... I came on my own. I was supposed to leave in four days with him, but I decided to come home early."

"How long have you been back?"

"For two days now... I wanted to see my mom and dad."

"So...Tony knew that you were gone?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yup, I know he called you today..." he laughed "... but don't get mad at him. It was supposed to be a surprise. "

"That's so like Tony. Always trying to pull one over my head."

"I'm not fully healed so I brought dinner and desert to you."

If only he knew that she was looking at him as if he were dessert. He was dressed in an expensive black Armani suit and she recognized the musky scent of his cologne at once.

"Dorian, you didn't have to do all that. What happened to recuperating?"

"Come on Selene, give me a break I wanted to see you... plus I got all this great Italian food."

She laughed. It was obvious that Tony had given him tips about the things she liked. She loved the moron for doing this for her.

"Tony gave away all my secrets huh?"

"Not all, there's still some I'd like to find out for myself."

"Well, we shall see!" she said bravely.

She was starting to feel more comfortable around him and was happy that she wouldn't be alone tonight. They sat next to each other around the dinner table enjoying the pasta that he brought over. He had also gotten a bottle of white wine and Tiramisu for desert. She was impressed and didn't hold back with the portions. He had taken his time to do this for her and it would only be right to enjoy his second gift.

"Thank you for doing this Dorian. I feel like I really haven't done anything to deserve this treatment."

" Really? Even though you do all these things for Tony?"

"Well, honestly, everything I do has been part of my normal routine since I was a kid. I grew up in a large family and I was the eldest... so I was almost second mom to my cousins. I don't really look at everything I do as hard work. I do it out of love for Tony."

"Oh, I completely understand. He doesn't even have to say the words out loud, but I can tell he cares a lot about you. You're probably wondering how I got your number right?"

"Yeah I did at first."

"Well he gave it to me. I asked him if you had a boyfriend and he stopped everything he was doing and gave me this serious look. He told me that you're the only real and true family he has and if I hurt you, he would fuck me up!"

She couldn't hold in her laughter.

"Let me get this straight. You won your last fight with him... and he threatened to fuck you up if you hurt me?"

"Yea...and honestly I really believe that he would be able to do it too. When a man wants to protect someone he loves he'll give it his all." he chuckled.

"Well that was really sweet of Tony. I never see that side of him."

"Guys don't usually let women see that side but you mean a lot to him... so I promised him that I wouldn't fuck up." he laughed.