Thoughts of her going down on me the night before flooded my mind, and I almost slipped up on the treadmill. It was kind of embarrassing how crazy this girl made me. I wasn't sure how to handle her, and in truth, I didn't really want to. She was a handful, and so was I. I needed her more than anything, and I knew there was a little more going on in my head than just sex, because no matter how I sliced it, I could not stop thinking about her, no matter what.
I wanted her in my corner for the next fight. To be as close as possible, cheering me on in the same way that Katie had done last time. I would not allow Katie to be a part of my fight this time around. It was too much of a sore spot for Natalie, regardless of the talk they had, and I wouldn't do anything to make Natalie uncomfortable at this point. She was my priority, and Katie was not even on the list. There was no need for her to be there at all, aside from being part of the cheering squad, and she could do that from the audience if she truly wanted to be there for support.
I would have to talk to Coach about making sure she didn't just show up. It would be problematic, and even if Natalie said it was okay, I wouldn't believe her, and I didn't want to cause any strain in our relationship at that point. It had already been strained enough times without me deliberately putting stress onto it without reason. Katie should understand that Natalie needed to feel comfortable, and currently she didn't. If she hadn't tried to kiss me after knowing I had a girlfriend, we might have remained friends. But I would never be able to convince Natalie that Katie and I could hang out alone without her worrying that Katie would hit on me all night. I knew that Natalie had no interest in hanging out with Katie at all, so I couldn't even suggest they get to know each other in that respect. Katie would have to become a lesser part of my life than I had originally thought. Despite the family connection, she just wasn't going to be a large part of my life. Even though she was part of the MMA team, she would have to stay out of my corner, and I knew that would be something she would find difficult to deal with. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but she had made the mistake of kissing me, and because of that, she would not be accepted wholeheartedly by Natalie.
I slowed the treadmill down and got off of it. I towelled myself off and started chugging water. I felt great, which was usually the case after a good workout. I went off in search of Coach; I assumed he would just be in his office awaiting my arrival.
A few of my teammates waved to me as I walked through the gym. They were all good guys, but I didn't have time to chat. I was on a mission.
“Hey, Coach,” I said as I walked into the office.
He had already been watching the video as he sat enjoying his coffee.
“Hey, superstar. I was just going through the video, and this just might be the toughest fight you're up against.”
“That bad?”
“He's a killer, and he's an amazing striker. So you guys are probably going to end up going toe-to-toe.”
“You don't suggest me taking him to the ground if he's good at striking?”
He started the video over and let me watch it play through. He was right about the striking part; the guy was definitely good at it.
“No, I don't think you should go to ground with him. You are a strong striker, but just because you meet up with an opponent that is also a great striker doesn't mean that you go to ground. Don't give up your best weapon just because his weapon is impressive too. You can beat this guy, Jet, there's no reason why you can't. You just have to be a strong fighter too.”
“Okay, sounds good. I won't go to ground. Do you see any weaknesses?”
“He drops his hands after he takes a swing. You could probably drop him with a head kick after he throws a punch.”
“Hmmm, sounds good to me.”
“Perfect. Now I want you to watch how he moves in and out. His head is a moving target. You will have a hard time determining what and when he is going to throw.”
“Yeah, you're right. I can see that.”
“He moves a lot, but I don't want you to chase him. He will try to tire you out that way. Just wait him out; let him come to you, and then take him down.”
“Okay, Coach, I got it.”
“That's my boy.” He patted me on the shoulder, and I knew this was going to be one of the hardest fights of my career.
Chapter Five
Natalie
Jet's championship fight was that evening, and my heart is already in my throat. I remembered the last fight I had attended, and I knew that once again it would be hard to watch him fight. I didn't like watching him take hits; it was really hard on me. But if I was going to be a part of Jet's life, I had to get used to the fact that he was a fighter. It was his dream, after all, and I didn't want to get in the way of that. I wanted him to be successful and have the career he always wanted. So I would need to be a supportive girlfriend in the sense that I didn't have a complete meltdown every time he got in the cage. It wouldn’t be fair to him.
To be honest, I was incredibly proud of him and all that he had accomplished so far in his fighting career. I knew he would make it to the big leagues; there was no doubt in my mind.
Young college students filled the arena until it was brimming full of people. The girls were the worst part?they were everywhere, and they were screaming the names of the fighters. I guess that was something else I would have to get used to. It was pretty easy to become jealous when it came down to stuff like that. The girls would give anything to get a piece of Jet; they didn't care if it was just for one night or not. They wanted him just for the sake of having him. It scared me to think how easy it would be to lose Jet, and I didn't want that to happen.
I could hear some girls behind me talking about how big his hands were and what that could mean about the package in his pants. It took all my willpower to not turn around and glare at them. I had to play cool, however; he was all mine, so there was no need for me to have a complete meltdown. Julie was with me once again, and we had front row seats right beside where Jet's corner would be. He told me that he wanted me as close to him as possible, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I noticed, too, that Katie wasn't in the back with the team. She was sitting in seats with friends as well, and I wondered why she decided to not be in Jet's corner that time around. Not that I wanted her to be or anything. The girl annoyed me to no end, and I truly didn't want her anywhere near Jet. She had gotten just a little too close for comfort, and just looking at her near him made me extremely uncomfortable.
I noticed as I looked around the arena that there were many people wearing Jet's apparel. I thought it was cute to see my boyfriend’s name printed on shirts, and people actually loved him
enough to wear it and show their support for him as a fighter. Like I said, I knew he was bound to be going places.
The shirts were black, and the scrawl was white, so I could pick out the shirts all over the arena. I would have to remember to ask him if there were ladies’ sizes, as I wanted to wear one for his next fight. The finals were a pretty big deal, and that was made obvious by the fact that it was standing room only at that point. The crowd was already going insane, and the fighters hadn't even come out yet.