friend.
“He’ll need it against Parker. Parker’s got a head harder than granite.”
Bo shuffled backwards, allowing Skull Man to gather himself. Skull Man shook himself like a dog and then threw himself, fists first, toward Bo.
I wanted to look away, afraid the next injury I’d see would be Bo’s, but I couldn’t. The blood sport unfolding in front of me, frame by frame, was arresting. With each blow, it seemed like the crowd felt it, rocking back on its heels and then from side to side. Bo advanced with a flurry of punches, but Skull Man wouldn’t go down. He was like an automaton. I held my fingers to my mouth. I wanted a bell to ring or something to pause the fight, but this wasn’t an event taking place on Pay Per View with referees and officials. This was some illegal underground fight club with no rules and someone was going home tonight hurt badly. At this point, I just wanted it to not be Bo.
The crowd parted, momentarily, and I shot forward to grab Ellie’s hand. She turned to me and pulled me forward, which displaced a couple of guys at the rope line. One of them was unhappy and a push in my back toppled me into Ellie. Her movement and mine, along with the crowd’s push from behind, forced Phil off balance. With that infinitesimal opening, the crowd surged forward, making the fighting area even smaller. Pushing and shoving began to occur within the crowd and Phil, realizing that he’d lost the line, pulled Ellie and me close to him as he maneuvered toward the back of the room. The fighting in the crowd began in earnest after a huge roar erupted. Elbows were flying, some being thrown by Phil himself.
“Fight’s over,” Phil said, explaining as he was pulling us backward. “Everyone’s a little chippy at the end of the fight.”
“Who won?” I yelled. Phil ignored me and Ellie merely shrugged her shoulders.
Phil lifted Ellie and then me onto a barrel similar to the one that we’d been sitting on when Bo first walked in. This time we stood to avoid Phil from crushing our legs. He planted himself in front and repeatedly diverted the crowd by pushing them away.
“Was it like this when you and Tim were here?” I yelled at Ellie above the din. She grinned madly and nodded.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” It was crazy. Adrenaline was an airborne drug here. Everyone was affected, and I wasn’t exempt. I could feel it coursing through my body, making me think of things—want things—that I shouldn’t. I could feel it in my fingertips, my throat, and that ever-dampening place between my legs. I squeezed my thighs together, but I wasn’t sure if it was to increase sensation or make the feeling go away.
Bo’s coterie stood at the edge of the lighted ring. It looked like the bookie was handing him something, probably money. Then the music that had been playing suddenly stopped and the dimly lit bulbs all brightened. The sudden lack of a soundtrack and the bright lights acted like a bucket of cold water and the mini squabbles that had broken out seemed to die down immediately. People began to be herded out the door.
“Where does everyone go from here?” I asked Ellie.
“Usually to the downtown bars, only Tim and I had to go home.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.
“Why did you ever break up with him?” I shook my head at her. It seemed like fight night and what came after ranked among Ellie’s college highlights.
“One can’t live on sex alone,” Ellie quipped. This made Phil turn his head to look at Ellie, and she leaned down to pat his shoulder. “No matter how hard you try.”
“Maybe you aren’t doing it with the right guy?” Phil offered.
“Is that an invitation?”
Phil’s response was delayed by a long look up and down Ellie’s body. Then his lips curved upward into what should have been a grin, but maybe rusty from disuse, it looked more like a sideways grimace.
“You look like a lot of work to me.”
“Everything worth having takes time in the acquiring.” Phil
“He’ll need it against Parker. Parker’s got a head harder than granite.”
Bo shuffled backwards, allowing Skull Man to gather himself. Skull Man shook himself like a dog and then threw himself, fists first, toward Bo.
I wanted to look away, afraid the next injury I’d see would be Bo’s, but I couldn’t. The blood sport unfolding in front of me, frame by frame, was arresting. With each blow, it seemed like the crowd felt it, rocking back on its heels and then from side to side. Bo advanced with a flurry of punches, but Skull Man wouldn’t go down. He was like an automaton. I held my fingers to my mouth. I wanted a bell to ring or something to pause the fight, but this wasn’t an event taking place on Pay Per View with referees and officials. This was some illegal underground fight club with no rules and someone was going home tonight hurt badly. At this point, I just wanted it to not be Bo.
The crowd parted, momentarily, and I shot forward to grab Ellie’s hand. She turned to me and pulled me forward, which displaced a couple of guys at the rope line. One of them was unhappy and a push in my back toppled me into Ellie. Her movement and mine, along with the crowd’s push from behind, forced Phil off balance. With that infinitesimal opening, the crowd surged forward, making the fighting area even smaller. Pushing and shoving began to occur within the crowd and Phil, realizing that he’d lost the line, pulled Ellie and me close to him as he maneuvered toward the back of the room. The fighting in the crowd began in earnest after a huge roar erupted. Elbows were flying, some being thrown by Phil himself.
“Fight’s over,” Phil said, explaining as he was pulling us backward. “Everyone’s a little chippy at the end of the fight.”
“Who won?” I yelled. Phil ignored me and Ellie merely shrugged her shoulders.
Phil lifted Ellie and then me onto a barrel similar to the one that we’d been sitting on when Bo first walked in. This time we stood to avoid Phil from crushing our legs. He planted himself in front and repeatedly diverted the crowd by pushing them away.
“Was it like this when you and Tim were here?” I yelled at Ellie above the din. She grinned madly and nodded.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” It was crazy. Adrenaline was an airborne drug here. Everyone was affected, and I wasn’t exempt. I could feel it coursing through my body, making me think of things—want things—that I shouldn’t. I could feel it in my fingertips, my throat, and that ever-dampening place between my legs. I squeezed my thighs together, but I wasn’t sure if it was to increase sensation or make the feeling go away.
Bo’s coterie stood at the edge of the lighted ring. It looked like the bookie was handing him something, probably money. Then the music that had been playing suddenly stopped and the dimly lit bulbs all brightened. The sudden lack of a soundtrack and the bright lights acted like a bucket of cold water and the mini squabbles that had broken out seemed to die down immediately. People began to be herded out the door.
“Where does everyone go from here?” I asked Ellie.
“Usually to the downtown bars, only Tim and I had to go home.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.
“Why did you ever break up with him?” I shook my head at her. It seemed like fight night and what came after ranked among Ellie’s college highlights.
“One can’t live on sex alone,” Ellie quipped. This made Phil turn his head to look at Ellie, and she leaned down to pat his shoulder. “No matter how hard you try.”
“Maybe you aren’t doing it with the right guy?” Phil offered.
“Is that an invitation?”
Phil’s response was delayed by a long look up and down Ellie’s body. Then his lips curved upward into what should have been a grin, but maybe rusty from disuse, it looked more like a sideways grimace.
“You look like a lot of work to me.”
“Everything worth having takes time in the acquiring.” Phil
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