Raw Passion (MMA Sports Romance) (5 page)

Fighting also gave Colin an outlet for his rage.  And he had a lot of it.  Nothing made sense when he was younger.  Life just didn't seem fair.  Why else would he have lost his parents at such a young age?   Now even decades later Colin didn't have answers.  If anything, he had even more questions.    

When Colin lost his parents, he moved in with his grandmother.  She raised him the best she could with Colin's grandfather until he died too.  Now Colin's grandmother was the only thing he had left.  He cherished spending time with her.  And whenever he needed advice, he knew she'd have it. 

"You know, not a day goes by that I don't think of mom and dad," Colin admitted. 

"They'd be so proud of you," Wendy said. 

"Would they?   I mean look at me.  I'm not even thirty years old and I'm already a has been," Colin stated. 

"Colin, I know you're down, but feeling sorry for yourself won't get you anywhere," Wendy said. 

"I guess you're right," Colin replied. 

"Of course I'm right.  I'm your grandmother," Wendy joked. 

Colin couldn't help but smile after that statement. 

"Finally a smile.  There's a start.  Now let's see if we can't turn your mood around even more," Wendy said. 

"You always know just what to say, don't you grandma?" Colin replied. 

"Look.  You've have a good career.  You've been very successful," Wendy explained. 

"By whose standards?" Colin asked. 

"Mine.  You saved my house," Wendy insisted. 

Colin wasn't big on splurging.  Most of the money he made from his fights went into savings and investment accounts.  But there was one exception.  Colin did everything he could to help out his grandmother financially.  She'd done so much for him growing up that it only seemed natural.  So when Colin's grandfather made some bad investments that almost cost them their house, Colin stepped in.  It was the least he could do. 

"Of course.  I couldn't let you lose this place," Colin said.  "But that was a long time ago.  That was back when I was more successful."

"Colin, my mother had a saying when I was growing up--do what makes you happy.  So if fighting doesn't make you happy anymore, don't do it," Wendy explained. 

"You make it sound so simple," Colin said. 

"That’s because it doesn't have to be hard.  You know, I always loved teaching.  Every school year I was thrilled to be able to educate the young minds.  Then one year, everything changed.  I don't know if it was the crop of students I got, whether it was just a sign of the times, or maybe it was just because I was burnt out from teaching, but I absolutely hated that year.  I couldn't wait for it to end.  It was drudgery going in to teach everyday.  So I decided it would be my last year of teaching," Wendy explained. 

"Just like that?" Colin asked. 

Wendy nodded.  "Work is already hard enough as it is.  You shouldn't hate doing it.  And especially in the line of work you're in."

***

Colin spent a lot of time thinking that night.  But all the signs pointed in one direction.  Like that, Colin made up his mind.  So when he woke up in the morning, he knew just what he had to do. 

***

It took a lot of soul searching, but Colin had come to a conclusion.  He'd made the hardest decision of his life.  After mulling it over for the better part of a week, Colin decided it was time to retire from MMA.  He hated to do it.  He still had that burning desire to compete for a title.  But it just seemed like his body couldn't take the abuse anymore.  It seemed like he didn't have the moves he used to.  That his skill set wasn't elite anymore.  And if that was the case, Colin didn't want to get his ass kicked again.  So Colin headed into the gym to tell Jimmy the news.  But when Colin got to the gym, a surprise was waiting for him.

"Jimmy, I have to talk to you," Colin said.

"Colin, I'm glad you're here.  You won't believe what just happened," Jimmy replied, in his office.

"Actually, there's something I want to tell you first," Colin said.

But Jimmy was too focused on his own train of thought to keep his news bottled up.

"You got an offer to fight Roderick Jameson," Jimmy blurted out.

Colin stopped dead in his tracks.  He couldn't believe it.

"The Roderick Jameson?" Colin asked.

"As far as I know, there's only one," Jimmy said.

Roderick Jameson wasn't just any fighter.  He was the champ.  The top dog.  With an undefeated and unblemished 20-0 record.  Roderick was a one round wonder.  The kind of fighter that made his bones knocking out his opponents in the frame round.  His fights were quick but brutal.

"Wait a minute.  I thought Roderick was fighting Brock Thompson next," Colin said.

"He was.  But it looks like Brock is going to be seeing some jail time in the near future," Jimmy revealed.

Colin looked confused.  "What?"

Jimmy looked shocked that Colin didn't know what he was talking about.

"Don't you ever read the news?" Jimmy asked.

"I've tried not to lately," Colin admitted.  After his defeat, Colin had stayed as far away from the news as he possibly could.

"Brock got arrested for beating his girlfriend.  He's not going to be fighting Roderick anytime soon," Jimmy continued.

Holy shit.  That was a game changer.  And not just because Brock would be behind bars.  But also because it gave Colin a chance to redeem himself.  To get the title shot he'd always been looking for.  The shot that never seemed like it would come.  That appeared to be permanently out of his reach after getting beat by Trent.

The offer seemed too good to be true.  And judging by Jimmy's lukewarm delivery, there had to be a catch.  But what?

"So Roderick wants to fight me instead?" Colin asked, cautiously optimistic.

"Don't get too excited.  It's not the compliment you think it is," Jimmy said.

Colin wasn't following.  "What am I missing?"

"There's a reason Roderick picked you.  He wants to stay loose while Brock is in jail.  He wants to stay ready--in fighting shape.  But he's not looking for a big time showdown.  He's looking for an easy win.  A patsy.  Someone he knows he can crush without too much effort," Jimmy explained.

Colin lost all his enthusiasm all of a sudden.  "So that's why he picked me?"

Jimmy reluctantly nodded.  "After what Trent did to you, Roderick figures you're a walk over."

Colin was so mad he could punch a hole in the wall.  But instead he just gritted his teeth and groaned.

"I'm sorry kid," Jimmy said.

"I'm guessing you don't want me to take the fight, huh?" Colin asked.

"Well, there's something else you should know," Jimmy revealed.

"What's that?" Colin asked.

"Roderick's team is making it hard for you to say no," Jimmy said.

Colin was confused.  "What are you talking about?"

"Roderick's promoter said there's a million dollar payday for you if you take the fight," Jimmy remarked.

Colin couldn't believe it.  That was a hell of a lot of money.  The kind of money it was nearly impossible to turn down.  Especially for just one fight.  That kind of payday could ensure that Colin would never have to worry about money in his retirement from MMA.  At the same time, it was blood money in the most literal sense.  All of Roderick's wins were by knockout.  He'd sent more than a few fighters to the hospital.  And Colin would have had a hard enough time keeping up with Roderick in his prime.  But now that Colin was no longer at the top of his game, things could get out of hand in a hurry.

"This is unbelievable," Colin said.

"I know.  That's an insane amount of money," Jimmy replied.

"I meant the timing of everything.  I've always wanted a title shot.  And now I finally get one because the fighting community thinks I'm all washed up.  It's the worst kind of irony," Colin explained.

"Does that mean you're not going to take the fight?" Jimmy asked.

"No, I'm definitely taking the fight," Colin said.

"I don't blame you for taking the money," Jimmy remarked.

But Jimmy had it wrong.

Where Jimmy saw only an inevitable bloodbath, Colin saw an opportunity.  Sure it had come late and under the least ideal circumstances possible, but it was still a once in a lifetime opportunity.  And Colin couldn't pass that up.  Not after he'd dreamed about it for so long.

"This is about more than just the money," Colin said.  "This is my last chance at winning a title, and I'm not turning that down."

Jimmy was far more leery.

"Are you sure about this?" Jimmy asked.

Colin nodded.  "Roderick may not see me as competition, but anything can happen once we get in the cage."

Chapter Six

Julie

After their piss poor experience at the club, Julie and her sister Melissa weren't interested in a repeat performance.  But at the same time Julie and Melissa weren't going to meet any men by staying in at night.  Finding the right guy was a numbers game.  They just had to keep putting themselves out there and hope they'd eventually run into the right guy.  But even hope had its limitations. 

Julie and Melissa went out to a bar, hoping for better luck than they'd found at the club.  It became clear though that the dating scene had seen better days.  While Melissa and Julie were tied up in their relationships, it seemed that the pool of eligible bachelors had dwindled.  That left quite the slim pickings.    

The bar seemed to be filled with the same kinds of guys that were at the club.  The wrong kind of guys.  It turned out there was a lot more of them than Julie ever could have imagined. 

So given their situation, the sisters did the only thing they could think of--they tried to laugh off their romantic misfortune. 

"Damn, there aren't enough cosmos in this bar to get me to go home with any of these guys," Julie joked. 

"Oh come on.  What about that guy over there?" Melissa asked. 

"Are you kidding?   He looks like the kind of guy that refers to himself in the third person," Julie said. 

"Alright, well how about that guy?" Melissa wondered, pointing out another man at the bar. 

"You mean the guy that looks like he's the leader of a motorcycle gang?" Julie asked. 

"Hey, I thought you liked bad boys," Melissa said. 

"A bad boy is one thing.  A future convict is another," Julie replied. 

"Alright, one more for you," Melissa said, nudging to another guy at the bar. 

"You mean the Wall Street raider over there?    Never date a man that cares more about money than he does about you," Julie replied. 

"Look at you being all picky here," Melissa said. 

"Hey, you're welcome to take a crack at them if you want," Julie insisted. 

"I was just joking.  I don't want that kind of trouble in my life," Melissa said. 

"Is there a chance we're being too picky?" Julie asked. 

"We're talking about men that we're going to spend the rest of our lives with.  I think we have a right to be picky," Melissa insisted. 

"You're right," Julie said.   

"Still, this doesn't bode well for our future, does it?" Melissa asked.  

"You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'd actually take mom up on her offer to play matchmaker,"  Julie admitted. 

"I hate to say it, but we both missed the boat on that one," Melissa replied. 

"What are you talking about?" Julie asked. 

"I already asked mom.  Neither her nor her book club had any blind date suggestions for either of us," Melissa explained. 

Julie never thought she'd hear those words.  For years, their mom seemed all too eager to play Cupid.  Ironically, just when Julie was ready to take her mom up on the offer, there was no one to match her with.  Still, Julie didn't want to believe that was the truth. 

"You have to be kidding me," Julie said. 

"I wish I was," Melissa replied. 

Julie's face then went as white as blizzard.  "Yikes.  This is worse than I thought."

It was the kind of night Julie wished she could forget.  But Julie's memory seemed to have gone into overdrive at the worst possible time. 

Chapter Seven

Colin

"So, what have you got for me?" Colin asked, entering Jimmy's office at the gym. 

Jimmy was a master at breaking down tape.  He went through all of Colin's opponents previous fights, analyzing every punch until he found a weakness to exploit.  And somehow Jimmy was always able to find a weakness.  It was uncanny how he did it.  So after Jimmy spent the night breaking down tape on Roderick Jameson's previous fights, Colin was interested to see what flaws if any Jimmy was able to find. 

Jimmy sat back in his chair and let out a big sigh.  "This guy is just a fucking monster.  He eats up stand up fighters.  Boxers, kick boxers, jiu jitsu fighters--it doesn't matter the discipline."