Sweet Submission: Jenny and Max Complete Series Plus Bonus Short Story (7 page)

We moved the coffee table out of the living room and stood in the middle of the rug. Max gave me basic self defense instruction, and showed me how to protect myself in a variety of situations. I paid close attention, listening to every word he said, making sure I completely understood.

The lesson ended when Max had me on the floor, holding me down. I tried desperately to get up, but I was so overpowered.

“I submit,” I said, laughing.

“Oh, do you?” Max said. His hand wondered up my shirt and grabbed my breast. He bent over me, still pinning me to the ground, and kissed me.

*

The week leading up to the fight, Max and I behaved like we usually did for the sake of Lily, though I was a nervous wreck. Every car that passed by our house alerted my attention. When we walked to school, I grasped Lily’s hand tightly in mine and hurried her along the sidewalk. The only thing that helped was Max’s self defense instruction that had started to happen nightly.

I was getting more proficient in the moves he’d shown me, and was gaining confidence. I could even get out of some of his holds. But the lessons always ended the same way, with him pinning me to the ground until I gave up. It was a sweet surrender, though, because Max would pick me up from the floor carry me off to the bedroom.

No matter how much I begged, argued, or pleaded, Max forbid me to go to the fight. He said it was too dangerous, and that was right. But how could I let him face them alone? What if he needed my help?

The morning of the fight, Max took Lily and I to my friend, Susan’s house, which was an hour drive from where we lived. Susan agreed to let us stay in her guesthouse, and best of all, didn’t ask any questions. Once we were settled in, Max checked his watch and said he had to go. I clung tightly to him by the door, not wanting to let him go.

“I’ll be back,” he said, pulling my arms away from him. “I’m coming back.”

“Just be careful,” I said.

“Of course I will,” he said. “You take care of Lily.”

We kissed one last time, and he was out of the door. I watched his car pull away, knowing for certain that this wasn’t the last time I’d see him.

I’d see him at the fight.

I called Clara, Susan’s housekeeper, and asked her to keep Lily while I ran out to get some ice cream. I felt guilty, lying to her, but I couldn’t tell her the truth.

“Her bedtime is eight,” I told Clara as I was going out the door.

“That’s three hours from now,” Clara said. “Won’t you be back by them?”

I smiled instead of responding, and kissed Lily goodbye. Susan let me borrow her car, and I raced out to Chaos Stadium.

The crowd chattered excitedly around me as I took my seat. I envied their blissful ignorance. The lights dimmed, and the crowd hushed. Techno music pumped through the silence, and everyone jumped to their feet. Max marched to the ring, quickly and with determination. He didn’t do a lap with his arms raised in the air. He stood in the corner, shifting on his feet, and jabbing the air. He was serious. He wanted to win.

Max’s opponent was greeted with boos and sneers. His name was Jackson Soles. He was almost the same size as Max, with blond hair shaved closely to his head. When he entered the ring, he did a backflip, which made the crowd boo even harder.

Right when the match started, it was clear Max wasn’t going to let his opponent win. Max hit the ground running, and pinned Jackson up against the ropes. He landed several punches in his side and face. Jackson managed to push Max off of him. When Jackson was freed from Max’s grip, he was visibly weakened.

Though Max and Jackson were the same size, Max had the skill. He overpowered Jackson easily. Jackson tried valiantly to fight back, but he was no match. Max eventually pinned him on his back, Jackson’s legs crisscrossed over Max’s shoulder. It was a position I recognized from our lessons. Jackson tried and tried to break free, but eventually had to give up. Max was once again the victor.

While the crowd jumped to their feet, hailing Max as a hero, I slipped out the back. I knew they would be here, whoever ‘they’ were exactly. They would be waiting for Max, but where? I slipped down the hall to the backroom, and saw Jim, Max’s trainer, walking quickly in the other direction.

“Wait, Jim,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Max needs help. Where are you going?”

Jim yanked his arm away from me. “I’m trying to help myself, Jenny. And you should too.” He turned and scurried away from me. He was headed towards the reserved parking lot.

“No, Jim, it might not be safe,” I said, going after him.

Jim burst through the double doors out into the parking lot, then marched towards his car. I stayed behind in the shadows, watching. Before he could make it to his car, five men emerged from behind a white van. One carried a club, and the others reached into their pants for what I assumed were guns. Jim fumbled for his keys and got into the drivers’ seat. The men surrounded the car, and the one carrying the club struck the hood.

“Where is he?” a man yelled.

“He’ll be out soon. Please, let me go home,” Jim pleaded. “I told him to throw the fight. He didn’t listen to me.”

“That’s true, Jim,” the man said. “You’ve always been a team player.” He signaled to the man carrying the club. The man nodded, then swung at a side window, shattering glass everywhere. “Get on your way,” the man said, banging the drivers’ side door.

“Thank you,” Jim said, peeling out of the parking lot.

I watched the men walk back to their hiding place behind the van. Max’s car was parked very close to it. They were waiting for him. Discreetly, I slipped back into the building and rushed to find Max. He was in the backroom wiping down with a towel.

“Jenny, what are you doing here?” he snarled.

“I know I disobeyed you,” I said, rushing up to him. “But there’s no time for that now. Max, they’re waiting for you out there.”

Max straightened his back and looked past me. “How many?”

“I counted five,” I said.

Max nodded, digesting the information. “Any weapons?”

“One man had a club,” I said. “I’m sure the others had guns.”

“Where are they?”

“There’s a white van out there,” I said. “They’re hiding behind that.”

“Cowards,” Max spat.

I knew what he was thinking, and I couldn’t let him do it. “Max, you can’t fight all of them.”

“I can, Jenny.” He gazed intensely into my eyes. “But not without you.”

Max grabbed a long, wooden stick. He whipped it through the air skillfully, then held it by his side. “I need you to go out there. Distract them.”

“Alone? Max, I can’t. What if something happens?”

“You know how to defend yourself,” Max said.

“No, I don’t. I’m not that good,” I said.

Max approached me, and holding the stick between two hands behind my bottom, pressed me into him. “You are that good, and you can do it.”

Being so close to him, I felt like I was absorbing his strength and confidence. I gritted my teeth, and nodded.

“Good girl,” Max said. “Now let’s go show them who they’re messing with.”

Standing in front of the doors that led out to the parking lot, I went over every technical detail that Max had taught me. I took a few deep breaths and hopped from side to side, getting the blood pumping through my veins. I was ready.

The parking lot was eerily quiet. The light poles cast dim, reddish light, leaving plenty of dark shadows for people to hide. As I took those first few steps out, my mind raced with worry. What if there were more men that I hadn’t seen? They could be hiding anywhere.

I walked towards Max’s car. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement around the white van. In just a few seconds, they were on me. The stood in a semi-circle in front of me. One carried a club. The others kept their hands close to the waistband of their pants.

One, two, three, four, five,
I counted.

Time seemed to slow down, and there was a buzzing in my ears. In my bewildered state, they didn’t seem like men at all, but creatures that I must defeat.

“Good evening, Jenny,” a man said. It was the same man that had spoken to Jim. He had a casual demeanor and a Joker-esque smile. “Where’s your husband? We have business to attend to.”

“He’ll be out any minute,” I said, innocently. “Excuse me.” I tried to walk past them, but they moved closer together, tightening the gaps between them.

“Maybe you could entertain us while we wait,” he said. “Come on into the van.”

I stepped back and assumed the fighting stance Max had taught me. My feet were staggered apart, my fists up in front of my face, the muscles in my stomach and thighs contracted. The men looked at me and howled with laughter.

“Look at Mrs. MMA,” the man said. He nodded to the other men, and they closed in around me.

I kept my body solid, ready to kick, punch, whatever I had to do. At that moment, Max ran up behind them, yielding the stick high above his head. He startled the men by knocking a few across the head. They turned, all reaching for their waistbands. With the end of the stick, Max knocked the guns out of their hands faster than they could get a hold of them.
Rat-a-tat-tat
, one by one, followed by the clatter of metal against the asphalt. I ran and kicked every gun I could find under cars.

The men couldn't attack him fast enough. Max kicked and punched them away. Two tried to attack him at once. Max grabbed onto their torsos, and butted their heads together. Someone attacked him from behind. Max lurched forward and threw him over his shoulder. The man with the club approached. He started to take a swing, and Max caught him around the wrist. Max squeezed so hard that his fingers were forced to open, and the club fell from his hand. The man stepped back, his eyes wide in terror, then turned and ran into the night.

It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen, and it cemented my trust in Max. He could go up against anyone, anything, and come out victorious. I wanted to run to him and jump into his arms. Then, a tall dark figure emerged from the shadows and headed right towards Max. Nico.

Max didn’t see him. I tried to warn him, but it was too late. Nico surprised Max from behind and pinned him against a car. His entire body was leveraged against Max. He grabbed the stick from Max and raised it high above his head.

It was like I was watching a scene from a movie, and the narrator said, “Jenny, this is it.”

I resumed my fighting stance, then charged as fast as I could towards Nico. I slammed against his back, and he let out a startled yelp. Before he could turn around, I wrapped my leg around him, then hooked my heel between his thighs. I pressed against his back with all of my weight and pushed him to the ground, freeing Max.

Max immediately stood over Nico, who was lying on his back on the asphalt. Nico put his hands out in surrender and whispered, “Please.”

Max bent and grabbed the front of Nico’s shirt, lifting his shoulders from the ground. Max’s face was inches from his. “Stay away from me, stay away from my family,” Max growled. He let go of Nico’s shirt and stood. “And don’t ever come back to this stadium. You’re ruining the integrity of our sport.”

Max protectively put his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go, Jenny,” he said, then whispered in my ear. “You were amazing.”

Epilogue

It was Friday at the stadium, and Max had done the impossible. He’d won a championship match without the help of a trainer. After that night, Jim had disappeared, and we never heard from him again. Max had difficulty finding another trainer, and decided to move forward on his own.

In the backroom of the stadium, I popped open a bottle of champagne and poured some into two paper cups. Max started to refuse his.

“Come on,” I said. “Can’t you take a break from your training diet? We’re celebrating.”

Max grinned, took the paper cup from my hand, and took a big swig. “I’d rather celebrate in a another way.” He pulled me close to him and kissed me. I could taste the sweet champagne on his lips.

“Max McCall,” came an unfamiliar voice, forcing us apart.

A man in an extremely nice suit stood in the doorway. Max tightened his arm around me, holding me by his side.

“I’m Ben Stevens with Christof Group Sports Management,” he said, walking into the room with his hand extended.

Max’s arm relaxed around me. He shook Ben’s hand, and took his card. I watched him read it, and his face brightened up.

“Mr. Stevens,” Max said. “Thank you for coming down.”

“No, thank you. That was one hell of a match,” Ben said. “And all without a trainer. Wow. Amazing.”

“I appreciate it,” Max said, humbly.

Ben looked to me and the bottle of champagne. “I can see you’re celebrating, so I won’t keep you long. My number’s on the card. Give me a call tomorrow and we’ll set up a time to meet.”

“I’ll do that,” Max said.

When Ben was gone, I turned to Max. “Honey, who was that?”

Max refilled his paper cup with champagne, and drank it down. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

I followed Max out of the building, wondering where we could possibly be going. There wasn’t much out this way but industrial warehouses.

“Look, there,” Max said.

I gasped at the beautiful sight. In the distance were two huge piles of granite, so tall they looked like mountain. They perfectly framed the setting sun. The golden rays made the granite cast a bluish light, which was beautiful under the pink sky.

“This only happens for a few minutes every day,” Max said. “I thought you would like it.” Max folded his hands over mind. “Christof is the biggest in the business. They turn fighters into celebrities.”

“Max, that’s amazing. This is what we’ve been waiting for,” I said.

Max shrugged. “I didn’t think it would happen on this level. Jenny, if I sign with them, our lives would change completely. I’d be on television, in the public eye. We probably have to move.”

I turned to Max, snuggling against his chest. “I’ll follow you where ever you go.”

Max beamed, then leaned down and kissed me. The sun dipped deeper between the granite mountains until the last ray blinked away, allowing night to fall.