I nodded, terror running through me, and I had the instant urge to flee the scene. I quickly got my shin pads and gloves on. My mouth guard was in place, and I headed into the ring to the corner where Jet stood. He was grinning from ear to ear, and I hoped for his sake that I would not live to regret the moment.
My nerves were jangling, and I had the fight-or-flight reflex warring in my head. It was really freaking me out. This was a lame little practice round; I couldn't imagine how I would feel in a real fight where there was a chance I could get hurt. Jet had warned me about that, everyone had them, he said, you just had to fight through the fear. I had nothing to worry about, though. Jet would be in my corner guiding the fight, and since it wasn't real, I could always stop if I felt I couldn't do it. I waited for the other girl to get ready, and when she got back into the ring, Jet set the timer. The girl was relatively the same size as I was, but a bit more muscular.
The bell rang, and we met in the middle of the ring and touched gloves. We circled each other with Jet in the corner shouting out commands. I went in for a straight one-two, made contact, and then backed off. The girl came back at me, and went with a high kick that I blocked. I couldn't even believe I reacted that quickly but I was also grateful that I had stopped the hit. I came back in, landing an uppercut into the girl's chin. The hit made the girl a little dizzy and she backed off. Seeing a weakness in the girl, I came back in and connected with a roundhouse kick, and then gave her a liver shot. The girl backed off again. I could hear Jet calling my name, and it was amazing how it was only his voice I could hear, and nothing else. I was getting tired, but I looked up and caught my breath, noticing the girl’s hands dropping. I came in quickly with a straight punch and then a left hook, making a connection with her head. When the girl staggered, I swung around and went for the head kick. She didn’t see it coming, and it knocked her flat on her ass. Jet was going nuts, and the fight was called. I had won my first amateur round.
I came out of the ring to where Jet was standing. I ran into his arms, jumped up, and encircled my legs around his waist. I was so excited. I couldn't believe how well I had done. A few weeks ago I would never have thought that was even possible for me to accomplish, and now there I was, I had knocked a girl on her ass with a kick. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me and Jet at that moment--I was on top of the world, and this was my man. I kissed him passionately as the girl came up to me and shook my hand while I was in Jet's arms. She congratulated me, and told me we could train together anytime I wanted to. I was so ridiculously happy at that moment I didn't know what I was going to do.
“My little warrior. I told you that you had come a long way.”
I kissed his mouth, loving the warmth against my skin. “It was so amazing. No wonder you want to do this as your career. It's such a rush, and the feeling is addictive.”
He laughed. “Yes, I know. I'm proud of you, Natalie, you did extremely well. Congratulations, my beauty. She didn't even get a chance to draw blood.”
I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. I hadn’t felt that good in quite some time. I was truly blissful in the arms of a man that had helped me get this far. Bring it on, world, because at that moment I felt like I could conquer anything.
It was the night of Jet's fight at the nationals, and I may have been almost as nervous as he was. It was a big night for him, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Julie and I had gotten seats front row center, and the arena at our school was jam-packed. You couldn't fit another body in there, it was that full. I had done girlfriend duty already by being backstage in the locker room with him. I kissed him good luck, and gave him a complimentary smack on his ass as I headed out the door. All eyes had been on me while I was in the locker room with Jet, and I assumed the rumor mills would be cooking in overdrive after that. Despite the fact that there were other girlfriends in the locker room as well, eyes had followed me around the entire time. Maybe I was that big of an anomaly in Jet's life.
I had been thrilled to see Jet's entire family at the fight. His brother and girlfriend were there, as well as a sister I never knew he had, and his mom and dad. Although they were divorced, they still sat side by side in support of their son. I wondered what it had taken to convince Jet's dad to show up that night. Well, at least he was there. That was all that mattered, as I knew it would mean the world to Jet.
“This guy must be in love, Natalie. Look at the seats we are sitting in. Either that, or you give a mean BJ.” Julie laughed, enjoying herself. I couldn't help but laugh; Julie was a riot.
The seats at the fight were magnificent, but Jet wanted me as close to him as humanly possible. And, hello, I was his girlfriend, after all?shouldn't I get great seats? I noticed however that Katie managed to get herself backstage with the teammates. She was going to be part of his corner for the evening, but I refused to let it bother me.
“Well, to be honest, Julie, I haven't got that far with Jet. The penetration alone was quite breathtaking, though. The guy is good, and to be honest, I can't get enough of him.”
“You're kidding me? Well, don't start bragging or anything.”
“No, I'm being honest here. But I am very eager to get the opportunity to give him one.”
“Oh my God, are you in love with this guy?”
“Oh, quiet. We don't need to get into that here. You don't want me to get stoned by all his adoring fans, do you? Besides, it’s a little early for love, don't you think? I was just nominated to be his girlfriend like a week ago.”
“Hey, I've heard of love at first sight, haven't you?”
I cackled. “Well, as you well know, that certainly wasn't the case. We almost killed each other for the first few weeks, and poor Jet, every time I think of the first time we met, I'm surprised the guy didn't curl up into the fetal position after that.”
Julie was laughing pretty hard at that point. “Yeah, you were a real prize that night for sure. Drunk and bitter at the bar and you wouldn't even look at the poor guy.”
“Yeah, and then he asked me to dance. As if I even know how. What a spectacle that would have been.”
“Yeah, dancing isn't exactly your strong suit.”
We were dying laughing in our seats, and I think we were even starting to draw a crowd.
“Here's the moment you all have been waiting for! Come on out, Jetttt!!”
“Oh, Julie, he's coming out.”
The crowd, as usual, were losing their minds screaming at him as he came down the aisle toward the cage. My hard was beating hard in my chest as I watched him come down with his team in tow. He looked so sexy, I thought I would lose my mind. Katie wasn't far behind him as she brought up the rear of his cornering team. The crowd was calling out his name in a fury, and it was obvious that he had some very loyal fans. Jet rushed into the cage and circled it, awaiting his opponent’s arrival. I admired him as he circled the cage, and I could tell he was searching for me in the crowd. When our eyes met, he grinned devilishly. He was a little cockier when he was fighting, and I liked seeing that side of him. Actually, I liked seeing all sides of Jet. I was definitely a lucky girl.
Julie gasped as the other fighter came out and headed down the aisle toward Jet.
“He's so hot!”
“Hey, whose side are you on?”
Julie laughed. “Oh, sorry. He is hot, though. Like, ‘I would throw my own mother off a train just to go out for dinner with him hot’.”