Silver and Chrome: A Bad Boy MC Romance (61 page)

Sunday was always a day
off for Amber, the bar wasn't nearly as busy as people had to get up the next
morning. She woke up late after a rough night of arguing with herself about
whether she was angrier at Joel for being a dick, or herself for caring so much
about this guy that she had known for just a day.

It had hurt more than she
thought it would when he told her to leave the shelter and not come back, and
she hoped that she had turned away fast enough from him so that he wouldn't see
the foolish tears that started to well up in her eyes. She was happy, at least,
that she held them from falling down her face. It was stupid. He was just some
guy she met. Not even a successful guy. He was a fighter, for god sakes. What
did she need that in her life for?

And yet, she couldn't get
him out of her mind. He'd been injured, and there seemed like no one around
that cared. His family was gone, all of the people who looked to be his friends
the first night she saw him couldn't care less about him the next night. That
would be one thing if he was a horrible person, but after spending the night
with him she didn't see that side of him. What was it that kept him so alone?

He had asked her not to
come back to the shelter, and she would respect that. But she knew where he was
going today, at least. And she was pretty sure he wasn't going to have anyone
else there to support him. He was keeping her away from some sense of twisted
duty that told him he was no good for her, but that was up to her to decide,
not him. She was going to the fight tonight, whether he wanted her to or not.
At the very least, maybe she would stay in the back where he couldn't see her.
But she wanted to see him. Make sure he was okay.

It felt like forever
before it was time to leave, and even so she ended up getting there much too
early so she spent some time in a coffee shop across the street, sipping a
latte and watching the venue from the window. She felt almost as nervous as if
she herself was going to fight. She couldn't imagine how Joel was feeling.

As soon as she started to
see people starting to arrive and go in, she finished up and made her way over.
She was just paying her entry fee of ten dollars when she heard some shouting
coming from the back. One of the voices sounded like Joel. She hurriedly paid
and followed the sounds to a black curtain at the back of the gym.

"...fucking
bullshit. Fucking scam artists." It was unmistakeably Joel.

All of a sudden the
curtain parted and he stormed out, walking past without even seeing her, his
eyes filled with fury and likely only seeing red.

"Joel, what's
wrong?" So much for her keeping a low profile at the back of the room.

Joel stopped and spun
around, clearly surprised at seeing her. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to
watch," she shrugged.

"I told you... you
know what, never mind. It doesn't matter anyway, I'm not fighting."

"Why not?"

"Because this
tournament is a fucking bullshit scam to drive business to this fucking
club," he retorted hotly.

"Wait, slow down,
what are you talking about."

"The poster said it
was $100 to enter, which I brought. What it didn't say was that it was open to
club members only. Fucking BS."

"So can't you join
the club?" she asked. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to her. He
hadn't said anything negative about Golden Dragon Dojo's last night so she
couldn't imagine what he had against being a member."

"Sure, if I have
$300 extra for a membership. Like I said. Fucking scam. Let's get out of
here." He turned and started to walk away, not even looking to see if she
followed.

"Joel, wait,"
she hurried to catch up to him and grabbed his arm. She knew how much this
fight could mean to him.

"You don't have any
other money? Isn't this worth it? I mean, I get that it's bullshit and they
should have put that on the ad, but you're here now, and think about what it
could mean if you win this? 300 bucks won't mean much then."

He spun around, his eyes
still filled with fire. "You think I just have money lying around, Amber?
Do I look like I'm fucking rolling in it over here? Everything I have I'm
saving to get an apartment. To make first and last month's rent. That's a goal
too. You think I want to live in a fucking shelter for the rest of my life?
Yeah, if I win it I get a grand. What if I lose? There's a good chance of that
happening as well. I have to fight four fucking times and win every one of them
to win the whole thing. All of those today."

Amber said nothing. She
didn't realize just how hard up he was. That made this opportunity even more
important.

"Anyway, even if I
wanted to, all I brought was $100. I left the rest with everything else I own,
locked away at the Y. It starts in 20 minutes and there are no late entries. So
fuck it, let's just go. Or you can stay if you want. I'm going."

He wrenched his arm away
from her and started to storm away again.

"Wait," she
said again. He kept walking. The club was starting to fill up now, and the
noise level was rising but she knew he heard her. She raised her voice this
time, though, and called out behind him. "What if I pay for your
membership."

This time Joel stopped.
He only stood there though, a few feet away from her, so she walked forward and
around him so that she could look him in the eyes. He was looking down at her
feet, though.

"I said what if I
pay for your membership."

"I heard you."

"And?"

Now he did look up. His
face was contorted, as if in pain. "I could never ask you to do
that."

"That's fine,"
she said. "You aren't asking. I'm offering. You can pay me back if you
win."

"Amber," he
said, shaking his head. "Winning is a long shot. Let's be honest.
Especially with this." He reached back and touched his head, but kept himself
from wincing visibly. It still hurt, but not quite as much as yesterday.

"So, if you lose,
consider it a gift. Look, I'm not saying I'm rich, if I was I wouldn't live in
that shitty apartment. But on a good weekend, I can make 300 in tips alone so
it's not the end of the world to me. And it's my money, I can spend it however
I want. This is as worthy a cause as any."

"You just met
me," he protested.

She shrugged. She'd made
more impulsive decisions in her life than this one. For a lot less noble a cause.

"I don't know,"
he said. "I hate to feel like I'm in someone's debt."

"You won't be.
Anyway, if you lose, maybe I can think of something you can do to repay me
anyway." She grinned slyly and then moved closer to him. Her hand touched
his stomach and then slid down his body between his legs, giving him a little
squeeze. His eyes popped open and she laughed. "Just kidding," she
said. "Sort of."

She let go and walked
around him, heading towards the curtained area he had just come from.
"Come on," she said. You only have a few minutes left to sign
up."

Joel couldn't believe
what Amber had just offered him, and he really wanted to turn her down. Owing
someone, anyone, something was a feeling he absolutely despised. He'd gotten
this far in his life without anyone giving him anything, including his own
family, so he wasn't sure how to react to it. And yet, this fight was an
opportunity that could change his life. How could he turn it down?

Numbly, he followed Amber
to the back where the sign ups were happening.

"Look who's
back," a large Hispanic looking man said as Joel walked up to the desk.
The man stood next to a couple of others that were sitting at the desk in front
of clipboards. They were wearing Golden Dragon Dojo t-shirts, but didn't look
like they were fighters. The man addressing Joel was wearing a white karate gi,
with the Golden Dragon Dojo crest sewn onto the breast. Obviously already a
member before today. He had long black hair slicked back and tied into a tight ponytail
at the back. His face was worn and creased, with a small scar under one eye.
One of his ears was puffy as well, clearly having been punched one too many
times.

"You back to swear
at our club a little bit more, ese?" the man asked, walking around the
desk. He was actually about Joel's height, but broader in his shoulders. Joel
sneered at him as he approached and moved forward until the two of them were
almost bumping chests.

"Maybe if your club
wasn't trying to rip off fighters I wouldn't need to," he spat back.

"So maybe you should
get the fuck out," the man replied, pushing forward into Joel. Joel stood
his ground and didn't budge, but he clenched his fists, ready to throw down
with this guy if he tried that one more time.

"Hey now, cool your jets
Carlos," a voice came from behind both men. The man called Carlos glared
one last time at Joel, but then stepped back. Another man was behind him,
wearing a similar gi but in black. The same crest was sewn onto his breast. He
had dark hair for the most part, but streaks of gray gave a hint at his age.

"Is there a problem
here," he said, walking up to Joel and extending his hand. "I'm
Marcus Flores, the owner of this club." Joel actually recognized his name.
Flores use to be a big name fighter in MMA, holding more than one title in his
day.

Before Joel had a chance
to speak, Amber cut in. "No problem. We were just signing Joel up here for
your event."

"Fabulous," the
man said. Joel shook his hand begrudgingly, but his eyes stayed trained on
Carlos behind him who was glaring right back. "Glad to have you with us.
We look forward to you joining our club, regardless of how you do today. Good
luck!" He gave Joel another slap on the shoulder and then nodded as he
walked past him. Carlos grunted at Joel one last time and then followed Marcus
through the curtain.

"Do you take credit
cards?" he heard Amber say. The person at the desk nodded as Joel turned
to the desk to fill out the paperwork.
 
I
hope that fucker is fighting today
, he thought.

"You're up next,"
Amber was saying. "Should you head to the back now?"

They were sitting in the
makeshift bleachers, a set of temporary wooden stands that were set up for
people to watch the fights. So far there had been two matches out of the six
scheduled for round one of the tournament. There had been only 14 entrants,
which meant two fighters went immediately to round two without having to fight.
Unfortunately, Joel hadn't been one of them. He had been watching the first two
fights closely, but so far hadn't seen anyone too skilled that worried him. But
there were still nine other fighters he hadn't seen.

"Yeah, I guess
so," he said, just as he finished putting on the gloves the Dojo had lent
him. He was use to bare knuckle fights in alleyways, but he'd worn these MMA
style gloves before. Each fighter was supposed to be behind the curtain before
their match so that they could be announced and make an entrance. Match two had
just ended, which gave him five minutes before they called his name. Each first
round match lasted only 10 minutes, and if there wasn't a submission or
knockout in that time, the decision was made by the judges. The judges were
apparently made up of MMA fighters, with Marcus being one of them.

He made his way to the
back, leaving Amber in her seat. Only fighters were allowed in the back while
the tournament was on. There were only a couple other guys waiting, but he knew
most of the smart ones would be out watching the fights. Always made sense to
know your competition.