Raw Passion (MMA Sports Romance) (2 page)

Now seeing Matt in the park though, he'd gotten better looking with age.  He wasn't awkward and geeky anymore.  Instead he was downright hunky.  Julie couldn't believe her luck.  What were the odds that Julie would randomly run into Matt after all this time...and that he would be so hot?  Maybe Julie's luck was turning around after all.   

"Julie King.  What are the odds?" Matt said. 

"Matt.  It's good to see you," Julie replied.  "You look different."

"Than high school?   I hope so.  That was a long time ago," Matt said. 

"Yeah.  Well it's good to see you," Julie replied.  "So how have things been?"

"Actually, pretty amazing," Matt admitted. 

Just then a very pregnant Nina Tomlin waddled up to Matt. 

"Sorry, that was just my sister calling again," Nina said, putting her phone back in her pocket. 

Nina was too busy before fiddling with her phone to notice Matt standing with Julie. 

"Who's this?" Nina added. 

"Nina, this is Julie--an old friend from high school," Matt explained. 

"Nice to meet you," Julie said. 

"Julie, this is Nina--my wife," Matt replied. 

Julie then realized it wasn't her lucky day after all.  Instead this chance encounter was just a reminder of what Julie had passed up by chasing after bad boys. 

"Oh," Julie said, deflated.  "Well congratulations.  On both your marriage and having a child soon."

"Yeah.  It finally feels like everything is going right in my life," Matt admitted. 

Julie was happy for Matt.  But at the same time, she wanted that same happiness for herself.  And at that moment, Julie wanted to be anywhere but there. 

"Do you ever wonder when your luck is going to turn around?" Melissa King asked. 

Julie wasn't the only one in the King family with troubles.  Her sister Melissa had a much different history, but very similar results.  Melissa was younger and only a year out of college, but had just as many problems with men.  It seemed that heartbreak ran in the King family.  Melissa's heartbreak didn't come from cheating though.  Melissa's college boyfriend instead decided that he'd rather go chase a career in acting in Hollywood than to stay on the East Coast with Melissa.  In the end though, heartbreak was heartbreak, and neither Julie nor Melissa were finding it easy to pick up the pieces.  But while their hearts were in disarray, at least they had each other. 

It could be worse though.  In their youth Melissa and Julie had built up quite a rivalry, but as they reached adulthood, they managed to bury the hatchet.  Now they reveled in each others company. 

"When?   You mean--if--it's going to turn around," Julie replied. 

"Wow, this conversation got grim in a hurry," Melissa said. 

"Sorry.  I'm just having a bad day," Julie explained. 

"Tell me about it," Melissa groaned.   

"I take it Sean Crenshaw didn't ask you out today," Julie said. 

"Even worse.  He decided to ask out Kelly Shuster instead," Melissa replied. 

Julie grimaced.  "Damn.  I'm sorry."

Melissa sighed.  "Do you ever feel like we're the last two single people in the world?"

"Isn't that how it always feels when you're single?" Julie replied. 

"You're right.  I shouldn't be so doom and gloom," Melissa said. 

"Besides, it could be worse.  I ran into Matt McGuire today...with his pregnant wife," Julie revealed. 

"Ouch," Melissa said.  "Just think, that could have been you."

"I'd actually prefer not to think about that," Julie replied. 

"You're right.  It's too painful," Melissa said. 

"But look, when you're at rock bottom, things can only get better...right?" Julie said. 

***

"Alright girls.  You're going to have to fend for yourselves for dinner tonight," April King said. 

"Mom, I'm twenty-six years old.  I can make my own dinner.  Or, you know, order pizza," Julie joked. 

Melissa had other thoughts on her mind though.  "Wait a minute mom.  It's not Wednesday, so you don't have your book club tonight."

"Yeah, where are you going?   Do you have a hot date tonight or something?" Julie asked. 

"As a matter of fact, I do," April admitted. 

Julie and Melissa were both stunned.  Somehow their shy mother, who preferred going to her book club than hitting than town, managed to have a date, and they didn't. 

"Wow," Julie said. 

"Oh, don't act so shocked," April replied. 

"Oh no.  I'm not shocked that you got a date.  I'm happy that you're going out," Julie said. 

"Yeah ma, it's about time you got back out there," Melissa added. 

"Well thanks.  You two should do the same," April suggested. 

"Yeah, I don't know about that," Julie replied, leery. 

"Me neither.  It may be a little too soon for me," Melissa added. 

"Hey--if I can do it, you can," April reasoned. 

"Have fun tonight," Julie said. 

"Look, I understand you two don't want to rush back in to anything, but you have to get back out there eventually," April replied.

"I know ma," Julie said. 

"I'll tell you what.  I'll consult with the book club to see if there's any promising single young men out there for you," April replied. 

"Oh, please don't," Julie insisted. 

The only thing more embarrassing than having her mother going out on a date when Julie was hopelessly single was the prospect of being set up on a blind date from one of her mother's book club suggestions. 

"Alright, suit yourself," April said. 

And like that, Julie's mother went out on her date.

***

Julie and Melissa's plans were far less exciting.  They were going to eat some chocolate and watch some chick flicks.  But the ladies night in lost its luster pretty quick.  Maybe their mother was right.  Maybe it was time to get back out there.  Julie and Melissa had certainly spent enough time feeling sorry for themselves.  So they decided to hit the town. 

But the club offered little comfort.  If Julie and Melissa were after some grinding with strangers on the dance floor or a night of frivolous sex, then they'd be in paradise.  That wasn't what they were after though.  If the players were out in full force, the good guys seemed to have stayed home. 

The question became, where were all the good guys?   They hadn't all gotten married.  They couldn't have, could they?   Julie and Melissa were still young.  There had to be decent guys for them somewhere.  But where? 

***

That night Julie had a dream.  Sure reality had let her down, but Julie's dreams were always so vivid.  In the dream, Julie was with a man.  Her desires her satisfied.  Her passion was rewarded.  She was with a guy that treated her with respect.  That honored her feelings.  That made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.   

"Whenever I'm with you, I feel like my life can't get any better," the Man said, peppering Julie's body with kisses. 

"Keep talking like that and I'll turn into putty in your hands," Julie replied, running her hands through the Man's hair. 

"God are you sexy," the Man continued, making Julie's heart nearly beat out of her chest. 

"A woman can never hear that enough," Julie insisted. 

"Well I have more where that came from," the Man said. 

"I'll bet you do.  The question is, what else do you have for me?" Julie asked. 

The Man then brought his kisses back up to Julie's lips, taking her breath away with both his tongue and his touch. 

Julie's dream man was a skillful lover.  A man that knew how to please a woman.  That didn't skimp on foreplay.  That valued romance.  And that didn't stop until Julie's sexual appetite was satiated. 

It was the kind of love that Julie always dreamed about.  The kind of sex that only existed in her dreams.  But it was a dream that Julie never wanted to end.  Dreams didn't last forever though. 

So when Julie woke up in her bed alone, it was an all too jarring experience. 

Chapter Three

Colin

Colin Robinson was taking the beating of a lifetime.  He was getting his ass handed to him by Trent "The Wrecking Crew" Cutler in front of live nationally televised audience.  It was quickly devolving into a bloodbath.  An absolute slaughter.  Colin felt like he'd been pinned against the cage the whole fight.  For the first time in his MMA career, Colin seemed to be completely outmatched.  With so much time spent on the defensive, all of Colin's pre fight planning was completely shot.  That was the thing was mixed martial arts though.  Every fight was completely unpredictable.  Some bouts went the distance while others were over with one quick takedown.

Still, Colin had trained for months to take on Trent.  His trainer Jimmy Mackenzie was convinced he'd found a plan of attack to take down Trent.  Jimmy thought he'd found a weakness in Trent's fighting style that Colin could exploit.  But Trent had come out of the gate thirsty for blood.

More than any other sport, MMA fights had a tendency to get out of hand in a hurry.  One well timed blow, one unexpected takedown was all it took.  If Colin ended up on the mat, he knew it would be all but over for him.  The pummeling Colin was taking was bad enough with him standing upright.  But if Trent knocked Colin to the mat, he'd the leverage and the free reign to wail on Colin.

Nothing good ever happened on the mat.  That's where fighters ended up unconscious.  Where knockouts turned into emergency room visits.  Where promising careers evaporated in an instant.

Some fighters lived and died by the takedown.  Their whole strategy was to tackle their opponent, get them to the mat, then lock them in a suffocating grip like a boa constrictor until their opponent was forced into submission.  Colin and Trent were stand up fighters, mixing kickboxing with straight up boxing.  Colin's strategy was to land punch combinations, get Trent up against the cage, then keeping landing blows until Trent was knocked out.  Unfortunately, Trent was using that same strategy on Colin, and was far more successful at it.

There was no worse time to be having a bad day than on fight night.  But Colin was completely off his game.  From the opening round, Colin found himself in a funk.  In most jobs, a funk could be shaked off.  In MMA, coming out of the gate sluggish was a recipe for disaster.

That's how Colin ended up finding himself tasting his own blood.  It was only the second round, but he was already soaked in sweat, with his luck down for the count.  Colin used to be one of the best in the league at dodging punches, but all of Trent's blows seemed to be landing one after another that night.

Suddenly Colin's focus wasn't on winning the fight.  He just wanted to get through the rest of the round without his face being plastered against the mat.  He could hear the crowd screaming for a knock out.  It was a demoralizing feeling for Colin to hear thousands of fans clamoring for him to get knocked out.  But the mob mentality was in full swing.  The crowd was the least of Colin's worries though.

Trent was at the forefront of Colin's mind.  The man was an absolute beast.  Just wall to wall muscle from head to toe.  He had the cockiness of youth.  But even worse was the fact that Trent had the fighting skills to back up his bravado.  At twenty-four years old, Trent was young and inexperienced enough to not know the weight of expectations.  He was able to just go out and kick some ass.  Of course having the speed, agility, and strength advantage over Colin didn't hurt either.

Colin meanwhile was quickly learning that age didn't mean wisdom in MMA.  At thirty-one years old, Colin had a lot of fights under his belt.  But there was also a lot of tread on his tires.  He'd lost his step a little.  He was nowhere near as fast as he used to be.  And after thirty-four bouts, it seemed like his best fighting was suddenly behind him.  That was not an easy thing to come to grips with.  Especially since it was dawning on him all at once.  It was hard to think of anything else though given the way Trent was beating Colin down.

The sad thing was that Colin used to be just like Trent.  Young, taut, and cocky as hell.  Everything went Colin's way.  There wasn't anyone in the world that Colin felt he couldn't knock out.  And save for two fighters, that was true.  Colin had only lost twice in his career.  Both of those losses had cost Colin a shot at a title bout.  That was the one thing Colin was missing in his fighting career--a chance to fight the best.  An opportunity to lay it all on the line to take home the title.  He'd come close to reaching that title fight before, but it seemed to always be just out of his reach.  That's why Colin was sticking around.  That's why he was still fighting even though his best fighting days were behind him.  Because he just wanted one shot.

At the same time, Colin still thought he could hang with any fighter.  That he still had the skills to take on a young gun.  Trent was proving otherwise.

The beat down continued in round two as Trent unleashed a flurry of punches on Colin.  There weren't the proper words to describe how much it hurt to take a shot in the face.  Even after ten years of professional fighting, every punch to the head was skull rattling.  And that was exactly what Colin was trying to avoid.  The gut and even rib shots Colin could take.  Sure they made him wince, but he could still keep fighting after a few jabs to the gut or chest.  All it took was one clear shot to the face and it would be lights out for Colin.