On the Ropes (Down for the Count) (7 page)

“Sure, Frankie. No problem,” Jimmy looks over at me nervously.

I throw him a
nod,
letting him know it’s okay.

“Have a seat, Gabriel,” Frankie’s voice is stern.

“Nah, I’m good,” I blurt out, as I lean up against the lockers and cross my arms.

“Don’t gimme your shit, Gabriel. I said to sit the fuck down!”

I push myself off the lockers. “Alright, alright,” I say, surrendering. I know there’s only so far I can push Frankie, and by the tone in his voice, he’s at his limit.

Frankie takes a deep breath. “Do you know why I’m so hard on you, Gabriel?” he asks, sitting down next to me.

I sit quietly with my fingers laced between one another and my head down; staring at the floor.

“Do you?” he demands, raising his voice again.

I shake my head. “Honestly, Frankie. No, I don’t.”

Frankie turns his face towards me, “Because you’re the best goddamn fighter that has ever stepped foot in my gym. When I see you leave here with Jimmy and three girls, I know exactly what you’re gonna do. I don’t wanna see you throw your career away for the flavor of the week.”

Frankie’s words stun me; I wasn’t expecting him to say anything remotely close to that. I figured he was going to give me the same ole speech… the “you only get out what you put in” bullshit. I swear I can recite that speech in my sleep.

“Why are you lookin’ at me with that stupid look on your face?” Frankie asks gruffly.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” I stammer.

“Say you’ll cut the shit and concentrate on your fight.”

We sit next to each other in silence; I’m still trying to find the words to respond to him. I’m still passed, and I know everything I want to say will come out wrong.

“Gabriel,” Frankie’s voice cracks, “I want you to believe in yourself as much as I believe in you. I want you to go into that ring and face ‘
The Gladiator
’ knowing you
are
going to win.”

“Frankie, it was one freakin’ night,” I exhale, rubbing my neck with my hands. I can feel the tension building in my shoulders.

“One freakin’ night leads to two and three nights. No more partying until the fight is over. Are we clear?” he says adamantly, standing up in front of me.

“Crystal,” I snap back at him.

“Good. Now clean this fuckin’ locker room,” he says, looking around at all the towels, boxing gloves, and head gear laying all over the floor and benches. “It’s a dump.”

“Yeah… yeah… yeah.”

It takes me about forty-five minutes to make the locker room spotless. I even drag out the bleach and mop bucket to clean the floors.

“Holy shit! This place is so clean I could eat off the floors,” Jimmy laughs loudly.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend that,” I laugh back.

“You ready to get in the ring? Frankie’s chompin’ at the bit.”

“Tell the old man to keep his shirt on. I’ll be out in five minutes. I wanna put all this shit away,” I look around at all the cleaning supplies I’d dug out of the closet.

“Alright,” he walks out of the locker room.

After organizing the cleaning supplies in the closet, I sit down on the bench in front of my locker and begin lacing the wraps around my knuckles.

Jimmy comes barging through the door, “Saint, you’re not gonna fuckin’ believe who’s talkin’ to Frankie right now!”

“Who?”

“Blaine Davis.”

I stare at Jimmy with a blank look on my face. “Who’s Blaine Davis?”

“Only the richest guy this side of the tracks!”

I shrug my shoulders. “So, what’s the big fuckin’ deal?”

“It’s a big fuckin’ deal because he’s heard about you and your fight with ‘
The Gladiator.
’ Apparently, he wants to sponsor you or some shit. I was tryin’ to listen in, but Frankie caught me and sent me away.”

“I don’t need any sponsors. I’m good.”

“Do you realize what a sponsor could do for you?”

“Yeah, I do. I also realize I’d need to answer to that sponsor. I already have to answer to Frankie. I don’t need someone else breathin’ down my neck.”

“Well, if his money won’t sway you, you should see the cute little honey he has with him. She’s a Gingah.”

“A what?”

“A Gingah… you know, she has red hair,” he says, touching his hair.

“You’re so fuckin’ stupid,” I laugh.

“I wonder if her carpet matches her drapes,” Jimmy laughs, raising his eyebrows.

“Dude, seriously… are you twelve?”

“You gotta come see her. She’s a fuckin’ dime.”

Jimmy’s actually sparked my interest at this point. He isn’t one to check out other girls. He only has eyes for Stephannie.

“I’ll be out in one minute. Let me finish getting my gloves on.”

“Don’t take too long. I’d hate for you to miss out on this piece of ass.”

I highly doubt the girl standing in my gym is gonna be the hottest girl I’ve ever seen before. I’ve had my share of hot chicks.

Once the gloves are on, I do a once over in the mirror, then head out into the gym. I see Frankie talking to some young guy who’s probably around my age. He’s dressed in a well-tailored suit and some pansy-ass shoes. I laugh to myself.
What a jerk-off, walkin’ around in those shoes.

“Ahhh! Gabriel, there you are. Come over here, there’s someone I want you to meet,” Frankie says cordially.

I jog over. “What’s up, Frankie?”

“Gabriel, this is Blaine Davis.”

I hold out my hand to shake his, then realize I have my gloves on. “Sorry, I’d shake your hand but…” I say, looking down at my hands. Truth is, I don’t want or need this guy in my life. I’ve gotten by just fine before him, and I’ll get along just fine after him.

“Saint, it’s really great to finally meet you. I’ve been following you for some time now,” Blaine says enthusiastically.

“Oh yeah?” I reply, unphased.

“I can’t wait to see you kick the shit out of ‘
The Gladiator.
’”

“Gladiator’s gonna be a tough opponent. My guess is, it’ll go to a decision.”

“No way man, you’re going to knock him out within the first few rounds. I have money on it.”

This dude is raking on my nerves. He doesn’t even know what the fuck he’s talking about. Frankie was right, I need to focus on getting myself prepared for this fight. Gladiator is a phenomenal boxer and I have my work cut out for me.

“Well, it was really nice to meet you, but I gotta go start training,” I say, walking toward the ring.

“I’d really like to sit down and talk about sponsoring you,” Blaine says urgently.

“Okay, talk to Frankie and set it up. He knows my schedule.”

I have no intentions of keeping the meeting. I’ll have Frankie schedule it and then have him cancel it.

“Blaine, are you almost done?” I hear a sweet, soft voice say from the corner of the room.

I look over and there she is… this beautiful, petite redhead that must stand about five feet five inches, and that’s with her wearing stiletto heels. She’s dressed as formally as Blaine is. The dress she’s wearing hugs her in all the right places and it probably cost a small fortune. I’m sure my entire wardrobe didn’t cost as much. With her pale blue eyes, she looks me up and down; giving me a little smirk.

“How rude of me,” Blaine says. “Saint, this is my girlfriend, Salem Harris. Salem, this is Saint, the fighter I’ve been telling you about.”

“Blaine, come here! I want to show you something,” Frankie shouts, interrupting our introductions.

Salem and I stand in an awkward silence.

“Salem? That’s an intriguing name.” I smile.

“I was named after my great-grandmother,” she replies, completely uninterested.

“Well, it’s a unique and beautiful name.”

I catch her looking me up and down again. “You like what you see, sweetheart?” I wink at her.

Her smirk quickly changes to a sneer and she rolls her eyes. “In your dreams,” she fires back, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Burn! Shot down by the Gingah,” Jimmy laughs loudly as he walks by.

“I beg your pardon?” she snaps at him.

I can tell by the shocked look on Jimmy’s face that he didn’t expect to see that reaction come out of her.

“I… ummm… I’m sorry,” is all Jimmy can get out.

“Salem, he was just kidding,” Blaine says, walking up behind her and putting his arm around her waist.

“He has no right to insult me like that,” she says, raising her voice.

“You’re right, he doesn’t,” I interject, trying to defuse the situation. “Jimmy, apologize to the lady.”

Frankie would kill Jimmy if he pissed off a potential sponsor. Frankie’s gym stays open primarily through grants, donations, and sponsorships.

Jimmy walks closer to Salem. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. It was just a joke.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jimmy. She’ll be just fine. Won’t you, Salem?” Blaine compels her.

Salem nods her head in response, yet she’s still giving both Jimmy and me a dirty look.

“Come on. Let’s get into the ring before you say something else that’s stupid.” I laugh at Jimmy and pat him on the back.

“Saint, I really want to talk to you about that sponsorship,” Blaine calls after me as I enter the ring.

I look over at Salem and smile. “Yeah, definitely.”

Giving me the once over again, she rolls her eyes at me, then turns on her heel and struts off. Which, in my mind, is the perfect way for me to remember her; she has a magnificent ass. Maybe having Blaine sponsor me isn’t such a bad idea. I can definitely use the backing, and if it means seeing Salem again, then I’m all for it. I like a challenge.

“Hey, lover boy, you ready?”

My attention is still on Salem. “What?”

“Training… remember?” Jimmy shakes his head.

My eyes are still locked on her; I’ve never seen such a beautiful woman in person. I’ve seen them in magazines and TV but never in the flesh.

“I told you she’s a dime,” Jimmy says, approaching me from behind.

“Eh, she’s okay,” I try to play it off.

“Bullshit! I’ve seen that look on your face before, Saint.”

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” I laugh off his comment, knowing exactly what he’s talking about. I want to see this girl again; everything about her intrigues me, even down to her name. It doesn’t matter to me that she’s taken. That just means that when I get her, the reward will be that much sweeter.

“Saint, she’s got a boyfriend.” Jimmy’s voice has gotten extremely serious.

“Yeah, I know she does,” I say, blowing him off.

“And that doesn’t make one difference to you does it?” he asks with disgust in his voice.

“Nah, not really.”

“You really are a bastard, aren’t you?”

“Jimmy, if she fucks me, then she obviously wasn’t that serious about her boyfriend, was she?”

“Sometimes I really fucking hate you,” he walks away pissed off.

“Jimmy, wait up!” I catch up to him and reach for his arm.

“You have no fuckin’ respect for people in relationships. You’d probably fuck Stephannie if I didn’t watch you like a hawk.”

“What the fuck, Jimmy?” I get defensive. “You honestly think I’d try to fuck Stephannie?”

“I’ve seen you in action, Saint, and to be perfectly honest, I really don’t know,” he looks at me with nothing but disgust on his face.

He’s right in some aspects; when I’m bound and determined to get a girl, nothing stops me. I’ll go after her until I’ve got her, boyfriend or not, but for Jimmy actually to think I’d hit on his girl? I’d never betray our friendship that way. No piece of ass is worth losing him as a friend.

“Well, then you don’t know me at all… I’d never try anything on Steph,” I pause for a moment, devastated by his words. “You, Steph, Frankie, and Patsy are all I have and I’d never do anything to jeopardize our friendship.”

Jimmy won’t even look at me; he just keeps his eyes down on the mat. “Jimmy, will you fuckin’ look at me?”

Jimmy slowly raises his eyes to mine.

“I would never even look at Steph in that way,” I do my best to try to convince him that what I’m saying is the truth.

“Alright, I believe you. Jesus, will you chill?” he tries to laugh it off.

Deep down inside though, I wonder if he actually does believe me or if he’s just trying to shut me up.

“Are you two gonna make out in there or are you gonna spar?” Frankie yells from across the gym.

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”

—Muhammad Ali

As my fight gets closer, the training gets more intense. I only have ten more days until the fight and Frankie has me training anywhere from four to six hours a day. Most mornings, I run to the gym to get my heart rate up, then I’m shadow-boxing, and hitting the bags until our “before school program” begins at seven a.m.

Shortly after the kids arrive, I make sure all of their homework is ready to go while Frankie serves them a small, healthy breakfast. After breakfast, I walk them to school. I do my best to try to make our walks to school as fun as possible since the majority of the kids dread going. It doesn’t help that most of their parents aren’t positive influences on them. They couldn’t care less if their kids even go to school. That’s part of what makes Frankie’s program so unique; he tries to instill in them how important school is. So, if the kids want to attend his program, they must attend school.