RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE) (89 page)

The two fighters circled each other as the bell rang signifying the end of round one.

He came to the near corner and sat down on the stool. His trainers were telling him he was doing great… that it was close, but he won the first round.

The bell rang for the beginning of the second round. I couldn’t stand to watch anymore so I closed my eyes and listened to the commentary.

“Greer circles to his left. He’s doing a good job at keeping Simmons away from him with the jab.”

“Simmons shoots in to take him down. The fight moves to the mat.”

“Greer lands a big right hand. Simmons counters and sends the challenger reeling.”

The rise and fall of the crowd’s screams gave me enough insight into just how hard they were going at each other.

That’s how I followed those next three rounds. I hated to see him get hit.

By the time the fifth and final round started I had to force myself to watch. From what I could gather by listening to both the commentators and the guys in Luke’s corner, the fight was close. It was all going to come down to this.

Luke had a gash over his left eye that seeped blood. His body was red in some spots from the punishment. His opponent looked to be in far worse shape.

“Simmons lands a big left hand! Greer goes down to his backside to try to recover but the champ is all over him. This could be the end!”

Oh no!

“Simmons is throwing punches from the top. The ref might stop this fight!”

“Greer is swinging from his back. He’s trying everything he can to keep the champ off of him.”

C’mon Luke. Get up!

“Greer is able to tie up the champ’s arms and he’s leveraging himself back to his feet!”

Go.

“Both men are up now. The crowd is going wild. Luke Greer seems to have recovered but that exchange may have swayed the fight towards Simmons in the judges’ eyes.”

You can do this.

“The fighters separate and each takes a big deep breath. There’s less than a minute left to go in this fight!”

The crowd was back on their feet.

“Greer comes forward first. They trade punches but each man misses his mark. Time is ticking and if the challenger wants this fight he can’t allow it to go to the scorecards.”

“Simmons finds his mark with a kick to the front leg! Thirty seconds now!”

You have to go for it.

“Oh! Luke Greer connects to the chin. He follows up flurry to the body! The champ is having trouble getting his legs under him. There’s twenty seconds left. This is a fight for the ages!”

“Another right hand. Now a knee to the body! Simmons is down! Simmons is down! The referee is stopping the fight! Luke Greer is the new light heavyweight champion of the world!”

The ground shook beneath my feet from the roar that came from the crowd. Everyone in the building was jumping up and down and screaming their lungs out.

I opened my eyes to see Luke standing defiantly over his downed opponent. He raised his arms high above his head. When he turned, our eyes locked on one another’s.

“I love you,” he mouthed from within the midst of the chaos.

“I love you too.”

L
uke was supposed
to stay for the post-fight question and answer session with the media but he blew it off. He said he would probably get fined for it but he didn’t care.

We drove Las Vegas Boulevard with the top down on his rented Mustang. The warm air blew my hair back from my face.

“Are you really going to wear that ridiculous thing all night?” I asked.

He had his newly minted championship belt sitting around his waist.

“Hell yes. I earned this thing. Look at my face.”

His face actually wasn’t bad. Aside from the cut above his eye, he was no worse for wear. The doctor had done a really good job of stitching him up in the locker room after the fight. Somehow, it made him look even sexier.

“What’s it feel like?” I asked.

“What does what feel like?”

“What does it feel like to be the best at something?”

“No different. It’s how I feel every morning when I wake up.”

“I thought you might say something like that.”

“Where are we going anyway? I thought you had a suite back at that hotel.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Just wondering.”

“Good. Sit tight. You’ll see in a minute.”

We rode together in comfortable silence as I admired the lights along the strip. We had such a great time in this city just a few short weeks ago. It was a special place for us.

Luke turned off of the main drag and down a street on the south end. He pulled into a small parking lot.

“Okay…,” I said. “What’s this?”

A crooked grin crossed his face. He nodded toward the building across the street.

“Look.”

A huge sign adorned the exterior of the building. It read: Graceland Wedding Chapel.

My jaw dropped.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Will you?” he asked.

“Oh my God. You
are
serious.”

“Of course I am.”

I sat in stunned silence.

“I get it,” he said. “This is fast... But I feel like fate is telling us to do this. And I’m
sure
. I don’t need time to tell me what I already know in my heart.”

He pulled a little box from beneath the seat.

“Will you? Will you marry me?”

The box flipped open. Inside was the most beautiful diamond ring I’d ever seen.

“I… I…”

His grin widened. Everything bit of logic told me to wait. To think it over. But I’d done the logical thing my whole life. It was time for me to trust my instincts.

He was everything I’d ever wanted.

“Yes!”

I threw my arms around his neck, letting him pull me close.

“Yes! Let’s get married.”

“You’re on,” he said. “Just you and me. Right here, right now.”

“I have to call… I have to call-”

My brain struggled to keep up with everything.

“You don’t have to call anyone,” he said. “This is about us. Here. Tonight.”

He waved his arm toward the city behind us.

“This is ours. We’ll do one for everyone else when we get back home. The church, the guest list, whatever you want. But tonight, it’s about us.”

“Luke,” I asked. “When did you know? When did you know that you were going to ask me to marry you?”

His eyes fluttered and he nodded again toward the chapel.

“Let’s go.”

My cheeks flushed. I felt lightheaded. It was like floating on a cloud.

We ran to the front, laughing and pushing each other. There was a big warning sign on the door. It said something like ‘use caution when combining alcohol with you impending nuptials. This chapel, including its proprietors, are not responsible for your choices.’

We were greeted by an overweight man in a sequined Elvis costume. He’d given up on trying to make the hair look the part long ago.

“You kids ready to do this?” he asked, enthusiastically.

We looked at each other and nodded. Neither one of us could contain our exuberance.

The place was all ours. Apparently, we were the only couple in Vegas feeling the allure of an impromptu Elvis wedding tonight.

I threw on a gaudy white dress from their selection in the back. Luke came out wearing a hilarious lime green tuxedo. He still had his championship belt around his waist.

I jumped into his arms. I let him cradle me so Elvis’s wife could take a picture.

“Just the two you?” asked Elvis.

“That’s right,” I said. “Just us.”

“Well, alright then pretty mama, why don’t you and your beau step on up to the alter so we can commence with this momentous occasion.”

“You got it, Big E.”

I took Luke by the hand and led him to the front. He was trying not to crack up.

Elvis’s wife shoved a bouquet of fake flowers under my arm and kept taking pictures.

I got lost in my own thoughts while our wedding official gave his little spiel. I still didn’t quite understand how my life had gone from zero to a hundred in less than a month. It was better than any fairytale.

There wasn’t a question in my mind that I was doing the right thing. Luke gave me something that I never thought I would have.

“Now, would the bride and groom like to share any of their own words before we put a seal on this thing?”

Luke made me blush with that look. The same one he gave me that first night in my condo.

“We’re going to have a lot of time to say a lot of things to each other,” he said. “But right now I just want you to know, Bria, that I’m madly in love with you and I’ll always do anything for you.”

I started to cry.

“It’s kind of hard to talk right now,” I laughed, “but I want you to know that I’ll always be there for you.”

Elvis placed a big hand on each of our shoulders.

“Beautiful,” he said. “Now let us say the words.”

“Do you, Luke Greer, take this woman to be your hunk of burning love?”

“I do.”

I never thought that watching my future husband laugh his way through our wedding would be a good thing, but in this case it was perfect.

“And do you, Bria Hudson, take this man to be your hunk of burning love?”

“I do, too.”

“Then by the power provided to me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

We wrapped up in a tight embrace, letting our lips linger on each other’s.

“Now you two hound dogs get out of here and have one hell of a night!”

Elvis’s wife threw flower petals over us as we thanked them and headed for the dressing rooms. After a quick change we were back out in the warm night air.

“Did we just get married?” I asked as we headed back to the car.

“Damn right we did.”

I ran around to the passenger side while Luke jumped over the door and into the driver’s seat.

“Where to now?” I asked.

The buzz I had going from the wedding had me feeling like I could do anything.

“Time for the honeymoon, of course.”

I liked the sound of that.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “We’ll just drive until we feel like stopping.”

“Really? We can just do that?”

“We can do whatever we want.”

Luke dropped the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot. We let the stars be our guide as we drove away from the strip.

“We’ll go east and see where we wind up.”

“For how long?”

“Until we feel like going home. Hell, we might just drive
all the way
home.”

“But what about our clothes? We’re going to need clothes. And a toothbrush.”

“Bria, relax. We’ll pick up whatever we need along the way.”

I was satisfied with that.

“Think about it,” he said, “we can turn off our phones and no one in the world will have to know where we are.”

I pulled my phone out and shut it off.

“Like that?”

“Yep. Now toss it in the back.”

I did and he followed suit with his own phone.

“Find a place to pull over,” I said.

He stopped at a wide spot in the road. We were on a two-lane highway that had next to no traffic. The light pollution of Vegas was now miles behind us. The twinkling stars were surreal. I’d always heard about the midnight view in the desert but this was my first time experiencing it.

“I’ve missed you,” he said.

“Me too. I’ve missed you too. The last couple of weeks have been so-”

Luke leaned across the gear shift. Those deep dark eyes focused on my neck under the moonlight.

“You were amazing tonight,” I whispered. “It was like watching a movie.”

He breathed gently on my collar bone.

“Your skin is so soft.”

He traced the line of my jaw with the tips of his fingers.

The vision of him dominating in the cage made it hard to believe it was the same person, sitting next to me now, touching me so gently.

Meeting him half way, I found his lips with mine. He kissed me sweetly.

“I want you to touch me,” I whispered.

I guided his hand to my knee, just inches away from the curve of my mound.

“I need you.”

His abs rippled as he slowly peeled his shirt off.

“Are you sore baby?”

He only smiled.

I placed the backs of my hands against his bare shoulders, then allowed them to move down the length of his biceps.

“Lean back,” he directed. “Recline your seat.”

I did as I was told, letting my knees fall away from each other.

He reached one hand under my dress and slowly pulled my panties down to my knees.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a beautiful night,” I said.

“Watch the stars.”

Luke turned me in my seat to face him. My eyes went skyward. A star shot across the sky.

His hungry mouth covered my trembling slickness. The initial shudders that went through my body were almost too much. The strong grip he had on my hips kept me from squirming out of reach.

He made little circles on my clit with his tongue. I was swelling with lust.

“Luke that’s so good.”

With his hands under my butt, he moved me up and down in rhythm with his mouth.

He slipped one hand between my legs, sliding a finger gently inside.

“That’s good baby.”

His drew in and out of me with long strokes of his finger while he continued to work my clit with his tongue.

“Is it the best?”

“Oh God, yes. It’s the best.”

I was ready for him.

“Pull that dress up over your head. You won’t get many chances to be naked under a sky like this.”

The light fabric came off of me with only slightly more than a tug. After I tossed it away he reached his hand behind me and undid my bra.

“That’s better,” he whispered.

“Your turn,” I said, seductively.

Perched on the top of the seat, he let the warm breeze wash over him. When he stood to unbuckle his belt, I decided I couldn’t wait a second longer.

With nimble fingers, I pulled apart the metal clasp. It came away easily, allowing me to yank it through the belt loops and off of his waist.

He let me take care of his jeans, too. The inside of my forearm brushed the length of his substantial member.

Another shiver of pleasure went through me when I curled my fingers over the top of his jeans and found them snugly tucked against his warm flesh.

Luke bent forward, using his thumbs to push my elbows toward the floor. When his pants finally dropped his tool sprang forth.

I took him in my mouth but he didn’t let me stay there long. By the way his cock seemed to struggle and pulse against the firm pressure, I knew he was eager to be inside of me.

“Take me.”

He picked me up by the waist so I could maneuver my legs around him. We were nose-to-nose as we sat down together on the top of the seat. I braced myself with my heels against the back seat so I could take him in at my own pace.

With two fingers at the base, he guided himself to my pussy. The wet folds of my body dripped only centimeters from his tip.

I gently lowered myself on to him, at first taking only his head. I let my hips work from there. I moved my body slowly. I went back and forth, but barely. The tip of his cock was less than an inch into my body. I played with him mercilessly.

His left hand flailed outside of the car, grabbing at air until it finally found purchase on the door handle. He wasn’t trying to let himself out, he just needed something to grab on to that would help him stay steady beneath my teasing.

“Let me have it,” he growled.

I dropped even further onto his shaft. Half way down I had to ease back for my own safety. His girth filled me all the way. My warm, wet walls hugged him tightly.

Luke started to thrust into me from the bottom position. I held tight to his neck and was careful to mind my position until I was ready for all of him.

Our sounds of passion rolled across the barren desert floor.

I pushed my breasts together and leaned toward his mouth.

His lips pressed firmly into place on my nipple. I enjoyed the way he sucked so hungrily at me.

“You don’t have to go slow anymore,” I whispered.

A car blew by us on the highway. I couldn’t tell if it was the passing breeze that pushed me off balance or if it was him pulling me, but I came down hard on his cock.

I yelped from the sudden insertion.

“Are you good?”

“I’m perfect. Put me on my back.”

Luke swapped positions with me while simultaneously lowering his own seat to a reclined position. The leather stuck to my bare skin.

We adjusted ourselves so that he could fit between my legs.

I guided him in this time. My hand trembled when I held his tool. There was so much power in him.

This time he slid in much easier.

A relieved grunt escaped his lips.

“You’re so tight.”

My fingers weaved together behind the back of his head as I pulled him closer.

“Do you really love me?” I asked.

“More than anything in the world.”

He started to push harder.

My legs could only spread so far in the close confines of the car.

“Fuck me!”

“Tell me how bad you want to come.”

“Fuck me hard!”

The car horn made a short honk when he temporarily used his hand to brace himself against the steering wheel.