Tapout (The Submission Fighter Book 3) (7 page)

Alice’s heart was racing in a furious pattern. She was thrilled. It was her first time on a plane in years. Hell, it was the first time she had been out of the state since her father had passed. Now, here she was with first class tickets in hand and on her way to the Windy City with her celebrity boyfriend (who was madly in love with her).

Everything these days felt so surreal to her. It was if she had hopped from one nightmare to a fairy tale. Or perhaps all of that good luck and karma that she had been saving up was finally being cashed in. Either way, if this was her reward for playing it safe for the majority of her life, she was perfectly content with her prize.

Micah assisted Jeffrey with unloading their bags from the back of the SUV as Alice waited at the curbside. The noise from the airline was just enough to cover up Jeffrey’s voice as he wished Micah good luck and promised to watch the match from home. The couple smiled and waved at him, as he returned to the driver’s seat and they marched onwards through the airport.

After checking in, Alice followed the crowd directly to the security checkpoints. Her black leather carry-on luggage borrowed from Micah’s personal travel collection trailed at her heels. She was eager to get inside and settled before their plane started boarding. But Micah lagged behind. When she turned to ask him a question, he was almost twenty full feet behind her. She slowed her pace, waiting for him to catch up. His eyes were on the ground, and he looked around about his feet nervously, as if he was waiting to be scolded from a teacher.

Alice took his arm to bring him further down to her level. She whispered gently into his ear, “What’s wrong?” As she waited for his reply, she looked about the expansive space for reporters or fans, anyone that may be annoying him. He had been extra-sensitive about that lately. Yet, there was no one there, not even one person had recognized him with his wide brimmed baseball hat and unimpressive sweats on.

He kicked his feet a bit and then, with resolve, led her to the far end of the room. It was only the two of them in that small corner. It was the perfect space to give her a fair warning about what he had planned on doing. “Listen Allie, you’re not gonna like this, but I have to do something today.”

She was surprised and bewildered. She could not imagine one thing he had to do besides get to the arena and begin the press junket ahead of tomorrow evening’s match. “What are you talking about?”

His voice lowered to a whisper, as he placed his hands in his pockets. His imposing body sunk as he spoke, “My agent, Lucy, she wants me to create a scene to get on the news. She thinks it will help distract from the whole romance story if I create, I don’t know, a distraction or something.” 

This was not the first time he had brought up the name Lucy. While she had yet to meet this industrious agent of his, she had already become well-aware of her other schemes to make the press think that Micah was cheating on her with the physical therapist. It was so low, even for a conniving business manager, that she had wished Coach Dean would come back. At least he wasn’t as clever to think of something as maniacal as that. And now this?

Alice was flustered by it all. What did he mean by “a distraction?” Was he really going to jeopardize their trip and his tournament just for a little airtime? She could not possibly see how this was a good idea.

Micah could read the expression on Alice’s face and the way that she folded her arms across her chest. He attempted to reassure her. “I’m not gonna get in trouble. I just need to rattle some people, complain about something going through security. There’s gonna be a plant there taking pictures and posting it to social media. He’s gonna make it sound a lot worse than it actually is.”

Micah reached out her hands and grabbed them once more. “It’s gonna be okay.
I
am gonna be okay.
We
are gonna be okay. We’ve just gotta to play along till this whole Romeo thing passes.”

Something in his speech gave him the courage he was lacking moments before. Without a word, he grabbed both of their luggage pieces and headed to the front of security area where a woman in a blue uniform checked their tickets and pointed them through the first class priority boarding area. Alice nervously looked down at her feet, letting Micah do all the talking and acting. It was her job to just let him do his thing so the “plant” or whatever Micah referred to him as could do his part and get the story in.

As he stepped through the body scanner, he started. It was unnatural to her. Even mad, he rarely raised his voice. The firm quality of his voice’s tone was replaced by vitriol and anger. She could hear him rant at a tall, young-ish man about the wait they had endured and the fact that, as a first class flyer, he would be subjected to such a search.

The uniformed man simply nodded his head. Even though Micah was putting on some good theatrics from Alice’s point of view, the security officer had obviously heard it all in the past. Micah took it up a notch, getting in his face and demanding an apology. Again, the man stood his ground.

Alice was mortified by it all. She waited behind him as the crowd of other passengers stood frozen as they waited to pass. Alice could hear them pointing the couple out and signaling them as disruptions. She could practically feel the eyeballs rolling in their sockets. Yet, Alice tried to remain focused on the security guard. The last thing she wanted was for Micah to take it too far.

When she noticed the man’s supervisor approach, Alice finally spoke up, “Micah, it’s time to go.” She leaned on his shoulder, slightly nudging him forward. Micah continued to cuss out the officer, as he slipped on his shoes and zipped up his and Alice’s luggage.

Once out of the security terminal, he smiled at her widely. He looked almost pleased with himself—while Alice could not muster up even a fake grin. She held her tongue, just hoping to make it to the plane so they could get out of this place and away from those judging eyes. 

The first class passenger lounge gave the two some respite from the crowds. Alice snacked away on some mini-bagels while sipping a glass of champagne. Micah, instead, buried his head in his laptop, as he searched for any news of his work in the security line.

At one point, she turned to him, bored with whatever news program was on the television screen, and said, “Did you ever imagine this life when you were younger?”

Micah closed the computer screen and looked down at her seriously. “Yes. I did. I never saw myself flying coach or being anything less than a success. I don’t plan on being that person, ever. I lived that life long enough. I’m not giving it up now.”

Alice nodded to herself. She had always known him to be proud, but this was another side to him. This was a part of Micah that she was newly discovering. And she frankly loved it. It took a certain man to be so sure of himself and so determined to speak with such frankness. She wish she could be the same way.

The two continued to talk about Micah’s childhood dreams. He mentioned the big white mansion of his dreams, the shiny black cars he had envisioned, and even the children he had planned on having. And with each question Alice would throw at him, he would ask her the same back. For Micah’s white mansion, hers was a dream home along the water and a car big enough for a family of four.

The flight to Chicago didn’t take too long, just enough to create some hype over the whole airport security incident. Sure enough, when they got off the flight, a handful of reporters were there to take their pictures. Micah and Alice both feigned annoyance as Micah refused to comment further, and Alice ducked behind the hood of her coat and out of the eye of the lenses.

Lucy and Chris were both there to greet the two at their arrival gate. Lucy approached first, giving Micah two kisses on the cheek and outstretching her hand in friendship towards Alice. Chris thrust printed schedules in both of their hands, as he called for their two drivers to bring them to their destinations. Micah was to head directly to the stadium for a pre-show taping and interviews—while Alice was to hang around at the hotel until it was time for the match the next morning. Each party told her to lay low and to avoid talking to anyone she did not know.

“I guess this is goodbye for now,” Alice said as she turned to Micah. His coach and manager argued to the side about outfits for the first evening. “Should I wish you good luck?”

She smiled gingerly, yet her brows remained furrowed in sadness. She had expected that she wouldn’t be allowed to go much further with him outside the airport, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to handle this forced separation. All she wanted was to watch him take the stage. She knew he wanted that too.

He took her body into his, wrapping the lengths of his wingspan around her small frame. She inhaled his scent and kissed the exposed skin of his chest. They shared one kiss, each lingering to the end of it as if making a promise. He released her without warning, as he spun on his heels and headed straight forward as Lucy ran through interview questions and Chris talked shop.

Alice was left alone with the bags, waiting for someone to come walk her through this new type of life.

Once she arrived at the hotel, she sank into the wide, king-size bed. She ran herself a bubble bath in the whirlpool tub, and a television in the bathroom allowed her to catch the tail end of the news. As the announcer flipped their attention to sports, she cringed as she caught sight of herself trailing behind Micah at the Chicago airport. The reporter talked about the disruption he had caused ahead of his fight—at one point calling it a circus. Whomever did the scouting at the security line had sold a pretty far out story. 

She flipped through the sports channels, hoping to see live coverage of the match’s pre-show festivities. There was always the ceremonial weigh-in, the head to head matchups, and the individual and joint press conferences. Neither would be on until later that evening, ahead of the actual match according to the announcer.

A knock came on her door while she was still in her tub. She leapt up, grabbing a plush robe and towel to wrap around her body and hair as she rushed to the door. Looking through the tiny peephole, she could make out several people. Each were dressed in the hotel’s official blue shirts and white bottoms.

She opened the door a crack as the gang leader, a meek and mild woman stepped forward. “Ms. Anderson? Mr. Anderson has requested that we were to come give you a massage, a manicure, and pedicure in room. Would you like to do that now or should we come back at a better time?” 

Stunned, Alice welcomed them in, as her day of pampering began. It was totally unexpected and thrilling. Never had Alice been treated to something as luxurious as this. She let them do their magic, as staff member after staff member entered and exited her room with a flurry of new gadgets and treatments she had never even heard of.

But it was the box that really made Alice stop in her tracks. A man, not dressed in the hotel’s uniform, arrived just about two hours before she was to leave for the match. He placed the white, oblong box on her hotel’s bed and opened the contents with his white, pristine gloved hands. Carefully, he pulled out a gold, glittering dress, a pair of sling back heels, and a dazzling chocolate gold necklace with matching earrings.

Once the clothing was laid out, he handed her a note jotted down in Micah’s messy handwriting:
For the woman I love who has always sparkled in the crowd.

The concierge took her into the bathroom’s dressing area and assisted Alice, as she tried on the gown. A hairstylist and makeup artist followed soon after, all at Micah’s request. As she walked out of the room, the rest of the staff stopped to gasp at the gown and Alice in her full glory.

Her car came soon after the staff had left her. As she confidently walked the hallways of the hotel, she watched as heads turned in awe—all eyes planted on the girl in the golden dress. She had never received such attention in her life. It felt almost as if she was back at home as a small child trying on her mother’s party dresses.
This is just pretend,
her subconscious reminded herself.
Tomorrow this all goes away.

The black limo pulled up to the glittering stadium just in time. She could hear the familiar roar of the crowds as the first fight was being introduced from her entrance in the VIP area. As she was escorted into the stadium, she passed the locker rooms where she knew Micah waited impatiently. She could imagine him pacing back and forth as he and his team of coaches attempted to both calm him down and psyche him up at the same time. There was nothing more that she wanted than to be there with him, resting her head on his shoulder and stroking the small of his naked back as she whispered that she loved him no matter what happened that night.