“Wow, I feel so much better,” she said sarcastically.
“Don’t worry, Marc only has eyes for you. You know that. As for the rest of it, you’ll see him, but not until he’s in the ring. Then he’ll get showered, maybe bandaged, and then come out to see you and watch the rest of the fights. He got us reserved seats up close. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
“What about the getting beat up part? That’s going to kill me. I hate the thought of seeing him get hurt. I’ve never even seen what he looks like after a fight. He says he gets bruised up.”
“I’m not going to lie. Sometimes it looks bad, but it depends on the fight. If he’s against more of a wrestler, the bruises aren’t too bad. If the guy acts more like a boxer, he’s going to have black eyes for days. Marcus is so good because he combines both all the time. He’s skilled and strong.”
“I don’t think I can do this,” Erin groaned.
“You just have to remember that he lives for this. For him, this is fun. I think he’s an idiot, but whatever. Before you, this was all he had. Now he lives for you
and
the adrenaline rush of the fights. Just make sure he knows you support him. That’s all I ask.”
“He knows, and I’ll try to keep it that way. No matter how horrified I get, I’ll keep my smile for him.”
“That’ll do it,” Cassie grinned. “Let’s get take-out and eat at my place before the fight. Good?”
Erin was so grateful for Cassie’s help. She was just as good for Erin as Marcus was.
Erin nervously went to the arena with Cassie an hour or so later. They found their seats and Erin took a deep breath several times while they waited for the event to start.
“This is exactly like you described,” Erin said, still intimidated but glad she had been properly prepared.
“Of course!” Cassie said with her infectious grin. “Did you check out the program yet? There are two matches before Marcus fights. That will give you a bit of an understanding of what to expect, but
nothing
will prepare you for seeing my brother.” Cassie got a proud grin on her face.
“He’s that good?”
“Oh, you have no idea. I’m actually excited for you to see him. I’ll probably watch you more than him just to see the look on your face,” Cassie smiled.
They chatted for a while longer until the announcer got the crowd going for the first match. Erin cringed nearly the entire time as she saw the two men punch, kick, and wrestle each other. The word “barbaric” came to her mind more than once. Bodies were slammed and legs got twisted at very awkward angles. By the end of the second match, Erin was terrified for Marcus.
She kept trying to tell herself that he’s been doing this for years and still has all his limbs attached. Tonight was just another fight for him.
“Relax,” Cassie smiled at her. “These guys have nothing on your man. You’ll see. There’s a reason he’s never had a major injury.”
“Ok,” Erin said, still worried in spite of all her logic and Cassie’s reassurances.
The second match ended and Erin’s nervous stomach did a massive flip-flop when they announced the names of the next two fighters. She saw Marcus walking out of the locker room.
My God
, she thought. What a sight to see. He was wearing simple black boxing shorts and blue gloves over the backs of his hands. Every muscle was hard and taught. He was the picture of strength and intimidation. Never had Erin been so blown away by his presence.
She watched as he strode purposefully into the six-sided cage. His eyes were heavy and focused; his stance was confident but not arrogant. Unfortunately, his opponent looked about the same. Bill was standing outside the edge of the cage, saying nothing but watching closely.
Neither competitor was showy or flashy. Erin wished the other guy didn’t look so well prepared. Once the ref went through the perfunctory rules, Marcus and the other fighter, Chase, squared off and bumped gloves. Each glared menacingly and backed up a few paces until the ref started the match.
Erin half-covered her eyes when the two started slowly pacing around gauging each other and looking for the opportunity for an opening move. It wasn’t long until Chase moved in for a punch which Marcus easily blocked. A punch from Marcus was just as easily blocked by Chase. They paced around the ring about one more time before any other moves were made. Erin could not relax at all.
Marcus took a defensive stance when Chase started to move in for a side-kick. He caught Chase’s leg easily before his shin could connect, then jerked the leg up and toward him, pulling Chase flat on his back. Marcus was over him in a split second, landing a solid punch on Chase’s jaw before Chase could recover from the slam.
Chase managed to roll with the punch and get himself up before Marcus could get him wrapped up in a hold. Marcus landed a heel-kick to Chase’s hamstring from the floor, then kipped up off the mat quickly. The pacing began again, this time with Chase trying not to limp. Bill shouted encouragement and strategy from the side.
Chase could almost match Marcus move for move, connecting with Marcus’s face more times than Erin would have liked. Already she saw some shadowy bruises blossoming on his cheekbone. Marcus didn’t appear to be fazed at all. Still, by the end of the first round, both men were looking beat up. Chase was in worse shape than Marcus, but not by much.
Still, Erin was starting to relax a little. None of the punches seemed to affect her man at all. Marcus was just as skilled and strong as Cassie said. Erin could even start to see his strategy. He waited patiently for the best time to strike, and watched Chase closely for every potential move. He blocked nearly everything, and landed more punches than Chase could block. Every punch and kick from Marcus was thrown with insane force. Erin was blown away again.
By the beginning of the second round, she wasn’t covering her eyes anymore. She even found herself cheering along with the rest of the crowd. Marcus was obviously the crowd favorite. And even though he had one bleeding laceration on his shoulder and a swollen eye, Marcus was holding strong. At the end of the second round, Bill got Marcus some water and coached some strategy from the floor.
Marcus returned to his fighting stance, ready for the third round. The ref barked out the start of the third round. Erin held her breath with anticipation. This was the final round, and up to now the fight had been nearly equal. She hoped he could pull out the win.
Suddenly, Marcus dropped the focused strategy and instead came barreling from Bill’s corner like a raging bull. His raw speed and power dominated the ring entirely. Marcus caught Chase unprepared by switching strategies so quickly. Marcus deliberately waited to let loose his animal side for his best advantage.
Erin could still see the focus in Marcus’s eyes, but she knew he was using every bit of his animal side to pound out the win. He landed angry punch after angry punch on Chase’s jaw, then when Marcus had him on the mat, he wrapped him up in a strong submission hold and ended the match less than a minute from the start of the third round.
Erin jumped up and cheered with the rest of the crowd. The ref held Marcus’s hand up in victory. Marcus didn’t posture, pound his chest, or do any excessive celebration like one of the previous winners had. All he did was glance over at Erin and give her a quick smile. She laughed happily that her man was ok, and couldn’t help but be even more madly in love with him than she was before. Cassie grinned and elbowed her in the side.
“Told ya,” she winked.
Erin barely watched the next fight. All she could watch was the door to the locker room and wait for Marcus to come out. The fourth bout was over when she finally saw him. His face was pretty banged up, but she only noticed the smile he had just for her. He walked right past the cage-groupies trying to get his attention and straight into Erin’s arms.
“Hey, baby,” he said like this was just another Saturday.
“You are definitely the badass in this relationship,” she said with a wide smile. “I’ll just be the adorable butterfly.”
He gave her a quick kiss and then stood with his arm around her and bumped his fist with Cassie’s.
“Nice fight, meathead,” Cassie said with a smile.
He sat with them for the remainder of the fights. Erin watched him nearly the whole time. He was cheering on the fighters and watching closely like the strategist he now was.
When the event was over, Bill came over to congratulate Marcus on his win. Cassie and Erin each got a kiss on the cheek. “Marc, I love to watch you fight,” he said with a grin and a clap on Marcus’s back. Suddenly his gruff persona was back. “Now back at the gym Tuesday. I don’t see any broken bones, so no slacking. Don’t let this cute little win of yours go to your head.”
He turned to Erin and Cassie for a quick wink before walking to another one of his fighters. Marcus gave half a grin and shook his head at Bill. “You ladies ready to go?” He offered an arm to each of them.
“Yep,” Cassie said as they walked out to the parking lot. “I’m going to head home. Can you drive Erin for me? I mean, I
could
, but I’m not giving her a kiss goodnight and she looks like she needs one.”
“Yeah, I can take care of that for you,” Marcus said with a smile. “Goodnight, Cass. I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Bye, you two,” she smiled.
Marcus drove Erin home and came straight inside with her. “I know I promised Cassie that I’d kiss you goodnight, but I’m going to save that for later. How about a thank-you kiss for coming to my fight?”
“Ok, but is it going to hurt if I kiss you?” she laughed.
“I don’ think so, but it would be worth it either way,” he grinned and leaned down to rest his lips on hers. He brushed a sweet kiss on her mouth and then opened to kiss her deeply. When he finally leaned away from her, he whispered a soft “I love you” and smiled at her.
“Come sit down,” Erin said. “Do you want anything? Water? Snack? Industrial-strength pain killers?”
Marcus laughed. “Water’s good. I don’t need any pain killers. I already took a few Tylenol. This really isn’t that bad.”
“Not that bad? You look like you were in a train wreck!” Erin said, incredulous that he could be so nonchalant about two black eyes, a bruised jaw and a swollen cheekbone.
“I promise, baby. I’m ok.”
“If you say so,” she said, handing him a glass of water. “I’m surprised that I’m glad I went. I was terrified to go, but your sister helped psyche me up for it.”
“I didn’t know you’d be so nervous. I’m sorry. You should have told me. But at least Cassie got you there, because that made the difference for me tonight. That guy and I were a pretty close match, but I needed to show my girl how it’s done. You won that match for me,” he said with an ornery grin. “See. You can still be the badass.”
“Does that make you the butterfly?” she teased.
“Nah, you can keep that title, too. Now come here.”
He pulled her over to him and held her on the couch. He ran his fingers through her red hair and kissed her sweetly every once in a while. The two were so relaxed together on the couch that they eventually fell asleep there.
Erin woke up a half hour later and got an icepack put together. She gently traced his hairline with one hand and rested the icepack on his cheekbone with the other while he slept. She hated to see him so beat up, but she understood him a little better now. Like he said from the start, fighting wasn’t about the violence. The gym, the cage…his skill and intelligence shone so brightly there. She truly understood why he considered the gym his home now.
A smile played across her face when she considered her role in his success, no matter how small. According to both Bill and Marcus, he was able to learn the importance of focus and strategy because of her.
Still while he slept, Erin leaned down and kissed each of his bruises. She tended to him lovingly. He was so spent from his fight that he didn’t even stir as she cared for his injuries. Not wanting to leave him at all, she snuggled back under his arm and slept the entire night there with him on the couch.
The next morning they rested together on the couch still. Marcus rubbed her arm slowly, frequently pulling her tighter against him. He understood just as much as she did that their connection was even stronger than before.
“Erin?”
“Hmm?”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve just been thinking a lot about how much better my life is now that I have you. I mean, I
thought
I was happy before. I had my job, Cassie, the gym, my arrangement with George…it was all good.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“But then you happened and there’s just so much more now. All of those other things are still good, but now it’s
happy
. Deep down. I’m just happy. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Marcus,” Erin said, softly smiling at his beautiful words. “You did the same for me.”
Marcus kissed the top of her head again and held her tight. He got a little quieter when he continued, though.
“It makes me worry about Cassie. I always thought she was the happy one. She definitely comes off that way, but she doesn’t have anything like this. I keep trying to take care of her, but now I’m worried that she’s so alone. And I can’t fix that for her,” Marcus said, sounding a little sad.
“You don’t have to fix it for her, baby. She’ll find her other half. I have no doubt that when she does, it won’t be a compromise. She won’t put up with anything less than awesome. Right?
“I guess you’re right,” he said, still sounding sad for her.
“She’ll be fine. I promise. Now, let me up so I can make some coffee. You want an icepack?”
“Yes please. Two, actually,” he chuckled. “My shoulder is a little more banged up than I thought.”
Erin eased up off the couch as to not jostle him too much. Still, he let out a small groan.
“Ooh — sorry,” she cringed.