No Safeword: Matte - Happily Ever After (Safewords) (29 page)

“Why will they want to put stitches in?” Sam asked.

“If he were going to be active in the next couple of days I’d stitch them, but he’ll be lying around taking it easy, and by the time he starts moving they’ll have healed enough to handle the activity.”

Sam nodded. “We have a lot of friends who came to see the fight, and they’re supposed to come by sometime this morning, depending on how he feels. Will it be okay if they’re here when the doctor arrives?”

“Sure, but he’ll want to do the inspection behind closed doors. Not a problem in the suite though, so invite away as long as your caveman is up to it.”

Their friends stayed a few hours, but left so Ethan could take a nap. As soon as he was asleep, Sam called Dave’s assistant and asked her to move their flights back a few days, as Ethan needed more time to recuperate before trying to make the trek home.

Jameson came in to check on him, saw him asleep, and told her he’d come back later.

Not five minutes later, Dave called Sam’s cellphone and invited her to the conference room he’d turned into an office for his stay, and ended with, “Just let the big guy sleep, I don’t need him for this.”

Sam realized Jameson must have told him Ethan was asleep, and knew Dave rarely did or said anything without a reason. She wrote a note for Ethan in case he awoke while she was gone, propped it against the lamp on the side table, and left.

Dave’s makeshift office was literally just down the hall, and when she stepped in, he leaned back in his chair and motioned towards another chair as he said, “I have a proposition for you.”

“Yes, and one you want to propose while my husband isn’t around.”

He tilted his head. “Guilty. I know you’ll talk to him before you decide anything, but I wanted a chance to give you the entire proposal without him nixing it.”

“What makes you think he’ll nix it?”

“Because I’m offering you a chance to fight the number two bantamweight
man
in three months. An exhibition fight, not official, mind you. But…” He shrugged. “There’s been an outcry to let women fight the men, and so far it doesn’t look as if the league is willing to consider it. You’re all over the internet fighting a heavyweight man so it isn’t such a politically incorrect minefield to put you out as the test case.”

Sam went through the fighters in her head. “You want me in the cage with Jose Clemente?” When Dave nodded, Sam exclaimed, “He held the title until six months ago, barely lost it, and is expected to fight for it again in five months!”

“Yes. And if you win, or even manage to hold your own…” Dave shrugged. “Look, if you’d rather enter as a female fighter I can get you into a fight with the number twelfth ranked woman, but it won’t be on TV, and the purse for winning will barely cover your travel expenses.”

“But if I fight Clemente and don’t go down in the first couple of minutes, and give him a decent amount of damage — even if I lose, I’ll start a lot higher than twelfth.”

Dave didn’t say anything, and Sam realized why they were having this conversation without Ethan present. “You don’t think Ethan can stand by and watch another man hit me.”

He shrugged. “I have my doubts your caveman will even
consider
letting you step into the cage.”

“Let’s assume for the moment he will. I’m willing to consider it, but…” She paused as she decided which of the million questions in her head she should ask first. “Will Jerrod coach me? He’s mentioned taking me on, but I don’t want to take time from Ethan.”

Dave walked to his door as he spoke. “You’ll need a coach who can teach you how to fight in the bantam class. Jerrod is good, but he knows how heavyweights fight.”

He opened the door and motioned someone in.

Sam’s heart dropped as she saw the little prick who’d been a thorn in her side. She looked to Dave. “Tell me this is a sick joke.”

“Sam Levi, meet Miguel Jones.”

Sam glared at Dave, and Miguel said, “Not a joke, Bruiser. If you’re going to do this you’ll need a coach who knows how to beat Jose Clemente.”

She hadn’t recognized the face, but knew the name. “Yeah, and you coached him to the title, and then the two of you had a falling out and he lost his next fight.” Sam couldn’t resist. “Rumors are rampant about what precipitated your split, but after meeting you, I’m guessing it’s because you’re such an ass.”

“Such
spunk
. I won’t talk publicly about why we parted ways, but if you sign a non-disclosure agreement I’ll tell you the story. “

“Fuck that,” Dave said as he focused on Sam. “Miguel caught Clemente getting rough with a girl and the two came to blows.”

“How the hell do you know what happened?” Miguel asked.

Dave smiled and focused on Miguel. “It’s my business to know these things. Sam won’t tell. She isn’t one to gossip, even when I want her to.”

Miguel shook his head. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind it coming out, but his attorneys were going to fuck me over if I said anything, so I signed the agreement saying I wouldn’t as part of the media crapfest.”

Always wary of vanillas misinterpreting kinky sex, Sam asked, “You’re sure you didn’t step into some kind of roleplaying game? He was really getting rough with her?”

“Oh, I’m sure. I took her to the hospital, but he paid her off so she wouldn’t press charges.”

Sam leaned back, straightened her legs in front of her, and crossed her ankles as she considered Miguel.

“I still think you’re a little prick, but I find I no longer hate you.”

Dave laughed. “Farther along on our first day than I’d dared hope.”

Sam shook her head and returned to the subject of whether she should accept the fight. “You both know Ethan never uses his fists on me, and only uses his feet to sweep. In a real fight there’ll be actual punches and kicks. If you’re worried about being politically correct, I’m not sure you’re thinking it through.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Dave said. “You may only be sparring and not fighting, but it often looks as intense as a real fight, and you hit him with obvious power.” He pulled up a video on the wall beside them. “Here’s Ethan’s third fight of the day. Watch his head when he’s hit.” She hated watching Ethan get punched in the face, especially in slow motion, but she watched, and waited for Dave to make whatever point he was heading towards.

“Here’s a little from his last fight.” He let them watch fifteen or twenty seconds where Ethan was again punched with a solid strike, and then played in slow motion.

“And finally, here’s his head when
you
hit him.”

Sam grimaced as she watched his face and head react almost the same in slow motion. She’d always assumed her punches were more of an annoyance than…well,
that
.

Miguel leaned forward. “You know the lighter weights are more about speed, flexibility, and the ground game; where the big fighters are slower, and are more about strength, size, and punching power.”

Sam nodded and Miguel continued. “You have the speed and flexibility of a bantam, but you’ve been sparring with someone who weighs nearly three times your weight. You have the power of someone several weight classes above yours. I’ll need to get you used to fighting small, wiry people, but I believe I’ll only need to get you in a position to deliver a half-dozen to a dozen punches and it’ll be lights out.”

“You think I can beat Jose Clemente?”

“I think you have a damned good chance.”

She looked at Dave. “Let’s talk details, then. I’ll need specifics when I go to Ethan.”

* * * *

Ethan was still asleep when she returned, and she took the time to look through some online video of Jose Clemente in the cage.

A few Google searches also turned up some talk that seemed to back up what Miguel had said about him, and she began to like the idea of fighting this particular man.

When Ethan awoke he came into the living area of their suite and said, “The note says you’re down the hall with Dave.”

“Oh, yeah, I was. Should have thrown it away when I returned. Sorry about that. How do you feel?”

“Same as before. What did Dave want?”

“He wants me to fight an exhibition match in a big TV spot in a few months.”

“Why exhibition? And a TV spot for your first sanctioned fight?”

She took a breath and didn’t try to sugar coat it.

“He’s offering me a chance to go up against Jose Clemente.”

Ethan sat in a chair as he shook his head, but before he could say anything she said, “There’s more.” He closed his mouth, waiting, and she told him, “The little prick who’s been antagonizing me? Dave wants him to coach me.”

“Miguel Jones?”

“You know him?”

“Yeah. He kind of gets off on being a prick, but he’s not so bad. Jerrod had us sparring some before you arrived.”

“So, you like him?”

Ethan shrugged. “I don’t dislike him, and it’s been fun to watch the two of you with your verbal jousting.”

He was quiet, thinking, and Sam didn’t try to fill the silence. Finally, he asked, “What did you tell Dave?”

“That I needed to talk to you, which he knew ahead of time, of course.”

She told him about her conversation with Miguel, and he moved beside her on the sofa.

“Let’s look at some of the video I’m sure you’ve been watching.”

* * * *

Ethan was in no shape to fuck Sam into unconsciousness, so he rubbed her feet until she was drowsy, and then laid down with her until she dropped off.

When he was sure she was asleep he went into the other room, got two beers from the refrigerator, and called Jerrod.

“You’re aware of this cockamamie idea of Dave’s?”

“The one where Sam fights Jose
fucking
Clemente.”

The venom in Jerrod’s voice made Ethan pause. “You don’t like him?”

“If I could get away with it I’d tear him limb from limb. I want nothing more than to see him ripped to pieces in front of the world by a woman. Please tell me you’ll support her and won’t stop her.”

“You think she can take him?”

“She takes you.”

“You know better than that. One strike to the face and she’d be on the ground and we both know it.”

“I’m not convinced. I mean, sure, a solid punch from
you
might do it, but if she was ready for it and deflected, I think she’d survive even a few of yours. I’ve watched some of the clips from her rise to the Kung Fu title and she took a few beatings on her way up. She’s a tough one.”

“So is Jose Clemente.”

“No argument, but I think she has a few aces up her sleeve. Is she there with you now? Why do I have the feeling she isn’t listening to your side of the conversation?”

“She’s napping.”

He chuckled, and then changed the conversation to talk about how Ethan was feeling.

* * * *

After much discussion with Ethan during the night, she let Dave know first thing the next morning she’d accept. They spent three hours in his office, arguing and negotiating the contract for him to manage her, and then the contract proposal for her to fight Clemente. Ethan was mostly silent, with only a little input, though he insisted he was allowed to be a part of her coaching team, too.

He also nixed Dave having any say-so whatsoever about what Sam would wear, saying, “She’ll take your suggestions under advisement, but all final decisions will be hers.”

Because they’d changed flights at the last minute, they had three layovers and it took forever for them to get home. It would’ve been faster to rent a car and drive, and Sam made a mental note for future trips.

Ethan gave numerous phone interviews the first couple of days home, and the following week there were dozens of interviews at the local TV station as well as via Skype from home.

Sam had her own share of interviews. Despite Dave’s warning about the media assault once they made the announcement, it still took her by surprise.

Ethan went into the office first thing in the morning and sometimes late in the evening, but spent his days at home while he recovered.

Sam went back to work right away, though she ran in the mornings in preparation for Miguel’s arrival in a few weeks to begin her training.

Her evenings became ultra-scheduled, as she spent two evenings a week with Luca, two evenings in Tom’s dojo, and Friday evenings shooting with Tyler. Ethan also joined the shooting class, and it became the norm for them to spend time after class with Tyler and Viv. Sometimes they went out to eat and had a normal double date, other times they went back to one of their houses and made use of the playroom.

Sam’s concealed carry license arrived, and she spent a Saturday evening with Kirsten and Viv showing her a variety of holsters, as well as other ways to carry a weapon, and how each worked with different kinds of clothes. She settled on a belly band or a shoulder harness for just about everything, with a pocket holster for a few kinds of outfits. As her friends pointed out, an inside-the-pant holster might work well for men, but was a pain in the ass to go to the bathroom in for a woman.

At Tyler’s recommendation, she’d bought a safe she could open with her fingerprint, and Ethan mounted it by the bed so she could easily get to it. He put another safe in her office at work, because she took to wearing her weapon to the office and taking it off before walking across the street to the courthouse.

If she walked out of the courthouse with someone she seemed to be okay, so her assistant stayed with her and didn’t go back to the office to get a head start on paperwork. Sam hated to admit weakness, but she detested freezing at the door even more.