Rolling With the Punches (4 page)

From the feel of the man, I knew exactly what that something was. I was also very frustrated by this. The sane part of my brain had latched onto this as a lifeline, using it as a chance to get away, but the rest of me knew what was coming next, and was crying out for it to happen. I had wanted this man to keep going, to fulfill all my fantasies.

But that wasn't going to happen.

Rhodes reluctantly released me, and I realized then that my dress was now in a bundle around my waist, my entire chest free for anyone to view. I quickly grabbed my bra and clicked it back shut, despite the cry of my breasts at the return of the compression. As the man fumbled about, fixing himself below the belt, I quickly hauled my dress back up to cover my breasts. Wouldn't want to give the wrong idea about why I was here in this boxer's dressing room before his fight, you know.

Just as I managed to cover myself back up, the door opened, and a small, ratty looking man stepped in. He was dressed in a black and white tuxedo, but his lack of height combined with his noticeable stoutness made him resemble a penguin more than a member of high society. He glanced at me, and his brow furrowed slightly, but he turned to Rhodes a second later. Clearly, he had bigger things on his mind than a mystery girl in his star's dressing room.

"Come on, the fight's getting ready!" he insisted, waving his arms at the big boxer as if he could magic him out of the dressing room and into the arena. "We have to get going!"

Rhodes looked a little bemused at this man's actions, and I had to stifle a giggle. The little manager was barely half as tall as Rhodes, but he was dancing around the boxer like a little chick circling a mother hen. I almost expected Rhodes to reach out and pat the little anxious man on top of his bald dome.

The man was still talking, a near-constant stream of words pouring out of his mouth. "C'mon, champ! What are you doing? Why are you still waiting? We have to get out and win this thing! You've got a lot of fans in the audience right now. They'll all be cheering for you. We have to go! Be sure to give them a good show. Watch out for your opponent, he's got a nasty left hook that sometimes catches them off guard. Don't let him get through your defense. You've got the power behind your punches, use it. Come on! We gotta get moving!"

Even as the man danced about, Rhodes turned to me. His voice was low and smooth, but I could still see the fire burning behind his eyes. "Maybe I'll see you after the fight?" he asked. "It would be great to continue that conversation we started." A little flare of light in his eyes indicated exactly what parts of my body he wanted to speak with.

At just the thought of going on, I felt a little burst of heat, blooming between my legs. Oh yes, I definitely wanted to continue "speaking" with this man. "Of course," I said quickly. DId I say it too quickly? I hoped not! I was just so full of frustrated energy. "But only if you win!" I added a wink to indicate that I was joking. Mostly.

The man seemed to take it as a challenge, however. "Oh, I'll win," he promised. "And you better be in the front row in order to see this victory."

Finally, Rhodes allowed the little balding manager dancing around him to push him towards the door. As they headed out, Rhodes reached out and grabbed a pair of boxing gloves off a hook right beside the door, looping them over his neck. And an instant later, I was left alone in the dressing room.

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As soon as Rhodes and the little manager were gone, I flopped down on the couch, lifting up one hand to fan my hot and flushed face. My thoughts were all mixed up in a swirl. I needed a minute to try and straighten things out.

This had certainly not been my plan for this evening! When Alexis had first dragged me out, I had imagined sampling some appetizers, making small talk with as few of the well-dressed gentlemen and ladies as possible, and hoping to perhaps catch an early cab ride back home to continue my prior engagement with misters Ben and Jerry. Perhaps the end of some romance movie would still be showing, and I could catch it on the television. Tears added a lovely bit of extra flavor to ice cream.

I hadn't even imagined that I'd meet anyone at the club or out with Alexis with whom I'd want to hook up! I certainly probably most likely wasn't much of a catch for the rich men out front, with their expensive watches and luxury cars and stock market investments. And they, with their dull talk and concerns over money, weren't much of a match for me, either.

But Rhodes, on the other hand...

I had to admit that I had always had some sort of extra draw towards jocks. Whether they were in baseball, football, or any other sport, something about seeing a man covered in muscles just did it for me. Even my former boyfriend, the one that had left me a crying mess just a few days earlier, had been one of the stars of his company's softball team, and I always made sure to attend every single one of his games.

After those games, we would end up in the back of his car, tangled up in each other's arms, my hands buried beneath his team jersey and running all over his sweaty muscles. I'd kiss him, tasting the sweat of his exertions, and he'd slowly work off those tight white pants of his to present me with a present of his own. I'd take him in my mouth, loving how he reeked with his own musk, and would suck until his tired muscles flexed once more and he exploded. His seed would fill my mouth and I'd gulp it down, sucking until he was completely dry and totally exhausted, his last reserves of energy drained.

Yes, there was something about jocks, about men covered in muscles who went out and pushed their bodies to their very limits to compete in physical games against each other, that made me instantly hot and ready. Rhodes was no exception - and he was even more ripped and shaped than my boyfriend had been! No wonder I was still finding it hard to think through the haze of red fog that filled my brain.

I sat there on the couch for several minutes, thinking about what had almost happened. Try as I might, I couldn't seem to regret it in the slightest. Sure, I knew that it maybe wasn't the best idea to immediately throw myself at another guy, so similar to my ex, but what was wrong with a little one-night stand, a quick physical encounter to loosen some of the tension that had been constantly building inside me ever since the breakup?

It was harmless, I told myself. Nothing more to say on the issue.

And with that, I realized that I was sitting there as time ticked by! There was a fight going on outside, the whole reason that Alexis had brought me here (well, at least a small part of the reason), and I was going to miss it!

I leapt up from the couch and hurried out of the room. I wondered what it would be like to watch Rhodes fight, knowing that he'd been attacking me just a few minutes previously. To see him panting through lips that had only just been pressed against mine. To watch him throw punches with the same hands that had been exploring beneath my clothes only a few minutes before this.

I imagined that it would be quite the turn-on.

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After a few false turns and dead ends as I wandered through the corridors that led through the backstage areas of the theatre, I finally emerged into the main auditorium, the site of the arena. I knew I had found the right place when, upon turning the corner, I was hit with a wave of solid sound.

The arena was a big circle, with stadium seats leading down to the middle, where the raised square stage had the boxing ring set up on top of it. For people standing down by the base of the arena, at the very center of the room, their shoulders would be just above the floor of the boxing ring.

The room wasn't quite full, but it was definitely occupied by all of the high society folks that had previously been socializing in the lobby of the theatre. I scanned the crowd, searching for the little black dress and toned figure of my best friend. She had to be here somewhere - probably right in the middle of the excitement, knowing her, hanging off the arm of the richest man in the entire place.

I didn't spot her. But as I slowly advanced down one of the aisles towards the middle of the arena, I suddenly felt a pair of arms thrown around me give me a squeeze as I was almost tackled off my feet.

I looked down at the thin, definitely feminine arms currently just below my bust. It seemed that Alexis had been the one to find me.

"Caroline!" the girl squealed from behind me as she made a valid attempt to drive all the air out of my lungs. "Oh my god, where have you been? The fight's about to start!"

"I know!" I protested as I struggled in my best friend's surprisingly strong grip. "And I'll tell you where I've been, if you'll let me get a breath in!"

After one last squeeze, Alexis released me, and I turned around to face her. She was beaming up at me, her face aglow. She was definitely having a good time. A few steps behind her, I could see a tall gentleman in a suit keeping one eye on her. The man had slight patches of gray staining his hair in wings by his temples, but he was also tall and looked quite elegant. Apparently he had been chatting up my friend before she spotted me and went streaking over to hug me.

"Actually, I got turned around a little, and ended up backstage," I said, altering my story only slightly. I didn't exactly want to tell her that I was trying to stop my underwear from crawling up into the crack of my ass. "And I-"

I was interrupted mid-sentence by the unmistakable screech of a loudspeaker turning on. We both turned and glanced at the middle of the arena, and saw that the little bald manager I had met earlier was now standing in the center, one hand holding a microphone that descended on a cord from the ceiling.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the man spoke into the microphone, his voice booming around the arena and echoing back from the far walls. "Thank you for coming, and supporting our fight! Get ready to see a battle of epic proportions, as two undefeated heavyweight fighters step up to face each other for the very first time!"

"Come on!" Alexis called out to me, reaching out to grab my arm. I couldn't resist as she tugged me down the steps into the crowd of people. "Jasper managed to get us a great spot right in the front row where we can watch!"

Jasper must have been the tall and elegant gentleman who had been keeping Alexis company before she spotted me. He fell into step beside us, and Alexis looped her other arm through his, keeping both us pulled in close to her. Jasper cut through the crowd, and we headed in towards the central boxing ring as the little manager continued to speak, calling out all sorts of praise about the two fighters that would soon be brawling in the middle of the cheering crowd.

We finally came to a stop, and sure enough, we were right in the middle, front and center with the raised ring directly in front of us. Alexis, using those girly charms that she somehow had and I did not, had managed to get us front row seats! I didn't know how she did it, but she most definitely did it well.

As soon as we were in our spots, Alexis spun back to me, turning her back on Jasper once again. Over her shoulder, I saw that the man had opened his mouth to speak to her, but he now closed it, looking like a cross between sad and affronted. Despite his frustration, however, I knew that my best friend would somehow be able to soothe it with a single sentence, putting him back in the mindset of being willing to lavish her with gifts. I really needed to figure out at some point how she pulled that off.

"Okay, Caroline, keep going," Alexis said to me, ignoring the continued speeches of the manager/announcer. "What were you up to?"

As I opened my mouth to speak back, I noticed a commotion at the other side of the arena. A man was approaching - a big man, standing above most of the crowd as he sauntered down. A man with a face I instantly recognized.