Bull: An MMA Stepbrother Romance (12 page)

They had been walking for minutes and she realized she had no idea where they were going.

“Where are you taking me?” she said.

“Just up here. Almost there.”

“But, where is there?”

“You said you wanted to get to know me, right? What makes me tick? I’m going to show you.”

They rounded a corner and walked up a couple of steps to the entrance of an unassuming building. Unless you knew it was there you wouldn’t even notice it. There was a single wooden door with a small window in the middle. Peeling white paint covered the door. It said, “Gino’s Wrestling Gym.”

“Come on, I’ll show you,” Jake said as he opened the door.

The place had the kind of dank smell that only came from fifty years of sweat and blood. It was small. Wrestling mats covered the floors wall to wall except for a narrow path that went around the edges. Flags from all over the world hung from the ceiling. The owners had covered the walls with trophies, plaques, and old faded photographs. 

Kids wrestled on the mats and a few coaches weaved in and out of them. They were yelling at the kids with a mixture of encouragements and chastisements. No one even looked up at Lisa and Jake. 

“Do...do you know these people?” Lisa said.

Jake chuckled. “Nah, none of these people know me anymore. I used to train here when I was a kid, about their age,” he said as he pointed to the kids on the mats. “The gym’s changed ownership a couple of times since those days. Come here, I want to show you something.”

They walked along the perimeter of the gym making sure to stay off the wrestling mats. As the reached the back of the gym, they came to a faded old plaque.

“They still have it. I’ll be damned,” he said. “I wondered if it would still be here.”

Lisa read the plaque.

In Loving Memory of Tony Mata, whose tireless dedication to the youth of our great city, the community, and the sport we all love so much we shall never forget.

Beneath the inscription were the names of dozens of kids grouped by year. Beside each name was the list of their accomplishments. Every year for fifteen years there was at least one state qualifier. Several years had state champions or runners-up.

“That was my grandad,” Jake said. “He taught me everything I know about wrestling. He was like a second father to me.” 

“He...he died?” Lisa asked, afraid to pry.

“Yeah, he died when I was 15. Heart,” he said as he touched his chest. 

“I’m...I’m sorry,” Lisa said.

“Ah, yeah, that’s just...one of those things. I made out a lot better than most of my friends. Most of those guys never even knew their dads, much less their granddads. Cole didn’t. Shit, Pops was the closest thing Cole ever had to a father. Old Cole was there with me through almost every practice. God, so many fucking hours of drills. Pops volunteered here for...forever. He loved it. Fucking loved wrestling. Loved the kids, you know? Besides his family...this was his life. He just wanted to share it with the community. Teach kids, keep them off the streets. Discipline, respect, hard work. All that. One of these days I’m going to do that. Give back. Honor my Pops.”

Lisa grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled herself close to him. He seemed lost in thought, in his memories. She was afraid to say anything, afraid to intrude. He needed this time for himself.

He reached up and touched the plaque. “This one’s for you, Pops,” he said. He tilted his head away from Lisa and cleared his throat. “Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he said.

Just as they turned to leave a man came up to them. “Can I help you, folks,” he said. It was one of the coaches. He had wandered over to them while the kids took a water break.

“No, thanks,” Jake said. “We were just leaving.”

“Hey, are you...Jake Mata? The MMA fighter?”

Jake laughed. “MMA what? You must have me confused with someone else.” He grabbed Lisa’s hand and pulled her behind him as they walked out the door. 

Lisa looked behind them back through the glass pane of the door. Inside she could see the man reading the plaque they had just read. He suddenly grew animated and turned to the kids. He was pointing at Jake and saying something she couldn’t understand.

Chapter 17

Proof

Lisa wasn't prepared for what a world MMA title fight was all about. She knew there would be a pay-per-view. She knew posters and billboard signs would be all over Vegas. She didn’t know about the endless procession interviews. The days since the fight announcement had been a whirlwind. “Selling the fight,” they called it. She had barely seen Jake.

This morning was another TV morning show interview, the third one they had done. Jake and Cole had brought Lisa along. Rebecca Swift, the attractive female host, was interviewing them. Lisa watched from the monitor offstage.

“Jake, you’ve caused quite a stir in the division, not just with your fights, but with your antics out of the cage. You’ve bounced from model to actress at a rate that would make Hef blush. Some people are saying your good looks are why you got the title fight. What do you say to that?”

“I say those people have never felt my elbow crack their skull,” he said.

“But do you think it played any part at all? Your so-called marketability?”

“I don’t know. I don’t care. My good looks didn’t beat Beast. My elbows did. My power double-leg takedown did. When I was breaking him with strikes he wasn’t blowing kisses at me.”

Rebecca giggled. The pitch, the way she adjusted herself in the seat. It all seemed a little flirty to Lisa.

“Are you with anyone now? Some Hollywood A-lister perhaps? Could you give me the scoop?” Rebecca asked as she batted her eyes at him.

It was Lisa’s worst nightmare. She thought of running from the studio for a split second, but before she could Jake had answered.

“I’m with Lisa Dane,” he said.

“Lisa...who?”

Jake smiled. He turned to where Lisa was and motioned her to join him on stage.

A bolt of panic shot through her. She wanted to run. If she could have, she would have, but her legs weren’t responding.

“Lisa, come join us,” he said.

Lisa finally managed to shake her head. There was no way in hell she would get on screen with them.

Rebecca pretended Lisa didn’t even exist and changed the subject.

“Tell me, Jake,” she said. “Are you worried at all about Oliveira’s striking?”

“Nah, part of the game,” Jake said.

“But two of his last three opponents had to go to the hospital. They both received nine-month mandatory medical suspensions after those fights,” the lady pressed. “Surely that has to make you at least a little afraid.”

“Afraid of Oliveira? No. On any given fight night, any one of us might take the kind of damage most men will never experience in their lives. It’s what we do. We’re not like most men. Men like me...we could never have an office job. Sit in a cube in front of a computer all day? No way in hell. I live for this. And this Saturday night when I take that belt from Oliveira all the pain and hard work will be worth it. I don’t want an easy life, Rebecca. I want glory. And I will get it.”

“Those are bold words, Jake. We certainly wish you the best of luck. But the betting–”

“Let me stop you right there, Rebecca. Luck has nothing to do with it. This is about hard work. Grit. Being the best. Oliveira didn’t get where he is because of luck. He got there by wrecking the hardest men in the world. When I take that belt from him it won’t be because of luck. It will be because he finally met his match. I’m the
Baddest Man on the Planet
and I’m going to prove it.”

“But, don’t they call the heavyweight title holder the
Baddest Man on the Planet
? Not the light heavy champ.”

Jake chuckled. “Some do. Those fatties move like molasses. If I made a trip up to heavyweight it would be a vacation for me compared to the shark tank of light heavy.”

“Interesting,” Rebecca said. Her own confidence seemed to be cracking. 

“The betting lines have become ever more lopsided since the fight announcement,” she continued. “You’re now a +625 underdog. Those are the most lopsided odds in Light Heavyweight Title history. I understand you need to be confident, but–”

“No. Again, it’s not confidence,” he said, interrupting. “It’s understanding. Are you confident that two plus two equals four? No, you know two plus two equals four. You understand addition. That’s just how two plus two works. Me going in there net Saturday night? It’s like two plus two. I’m not confident I will win, I know I will win. That’s how this works.”

“But the lines–”

“Gamblers draw those lines. Not fighters. They don’t know shit. They may have looked at some of my earlier fights. They think they know me? They don’t. Yeah, I lost a couple of my earlier fights, but that was before I knew what I was doing. Those fights weren’t the same Jake. I’m +625? Then I recommend you go put $16,000 on me. It will be the easiest 100 grand you will ever make.”

Lisa listened to Jake parry the interview questions like a master. Any time Rebecca tried to sow some doubt, Jake shut her down. Before the interview was over Lisa could tell Rebecca was a true believer. She would go home and make that $16,000 bet. That’s what Jake did to people. His belief in himself was absolute. When you were with him he swept you up in it. 

It was part of what made him so attractive to Lisa. It was part of what made it all seem too good to be true. It still didn’t make sense to her.

She, Cole, and Jake made the trip back to Jake’s hotel room in silence. She kept her head down, afraid that Jake would bring up the incident during the interview at any moment.

Jake’s hotel room was a magnificent suite that overlooked the Vegas strip. Once inside Cole said, “I’ll get some dinner going, Jake. You relax.”

Jake was already on his fight weight diet. Lean fish, veggies, grilled chicken. It was the beginning of the weight cut. Cole liked to manage everything that went into Jake’s body at this point.

“Thanks, brother,” Jake said. “Lisa, can we talk for a minute?” he said. 

This was it. Time to answer for her cowardice.

Jake led her into the bedroom of the suite and closed the door. He took her to the window. “Look out there,” he said.

The strip was crawling with people. Even now it teamed with people. It wasn’t the dazzling scene it would be at night, but it still made an impression.

“I’m not bragging when I say there is not a woman out there on that strip I couldn’t have in bed within 24 hours. I believe that. I’ve never failed.”

Lisa looked down, avoiding his gaze. She nodded her head. She knew it was true.

“I’m in here with you. Not them. You. You’re my girl. You’re the one I want. That’s the end of it. You need to be with me now. I need you, especially this week.”

He lifted her chin with his strong hand and met her gaze with his. “Are you my girl?”

Lisa hesitated. She wanted to be. More than anything in the world she wanted to be. Something inside her just wouldn’t let it happen. She still feared she would let him down, that he would tire of her. He would find someone more beautiful, sexier, better in bed.

“Why do you hesitate?” he whispered.

Lisa closed her eyes. “I...I want to be your girl. I just...you could have anyone. What if you...”

“What if I what?”

“What if you get tired of me?”

“I won’t.”

“What if you don’t like...what if I’m not good enough...in bed,” she finally admitted.

“You will be,” he said with supreme confidence.

She pulled herself away from him. “You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

She looked away from him. “I sometimes I can’t make guys...” She was unable to see his face when she said it. “Sometimes I can’t make guys...cum.”

Jake grabbed her and spun her around to face him. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” she said.

“Doesn’t sound like nothing to me. Tell me,” he said.

When she was with him she found him impossible to resist. “Please don’t make me talk about it,” she said.

He grabbed her hands, brought them to his mouth and kissed them, one at a time. “Lisa, you’re safe with me,” he said. “You can trust me.”

She considered it for a moment. Could she? Could she trust him? Would he drop her like a sack of rocks if he knew how lousy she was with men? She realized it didn’t matter if he found out now or later. He would find out.

“I...I have trouble being...sexy, with men,” she finally managed to say. “I...you know I’m not experienced. I’ve only had one other man.”

She found it harder to continue than she had expected and again her fight or flight response kicked in. It was always flight for Lisa. She fought the impulse to run from the hotel room.

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “We had sex many times, but...it was never good for him. I always...came,” she said. She looked at Jake to make sure her coarse language hadn’t upset him. “But he...my boyfriend, Roger...he almost never did.  He kept telling me how to do it and I just kept...doing it wrong. I ruined it, almost every time.”