Knuckle Up

Kicking your heels

“Did you know Sabrina is that flexible?” Clay asked when we entered the gym and found Sabrina in the yoga room. She was doing a kind of handstand with her right leg in front and the left leg, behind her in the air.

“I know she does yoga but didn’t know she was this far progressed,” I acknowledged watching her get back on her feet in one smooth motion.

“I am still regretting asking her to teach me yoga,” Clay muttered. “My body is stiff all over from just doing routine stretches,”

I chuckled. “She never said it was going to take it easy on you,” Sabrina didn't lie when she accepted Clay's request to teach him a bit about yoga and by the looks of it, he wasn't much liking his newfound hobby.

“When are you going to make your move on her?” Clay asked.

I frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s obvious you’ve got a thing for her. It's plain to see, by the way, you stare and smile at her,” Clay noted and glanced at Sabrina over his shoulder.

I rolled my tongue around in my mouth as I tried to figure out my reply but as he said it was obvious. “Sabrina works for me and has made it pretty clear that she doesn’t want me in that kind of way,”

Clay rolled his eyes at me, followed by a narrowed look of not believing me.

“Sabrina is a beautiful and talented woman. She’s not always going to be on the market as someone will see her worth and want to snatch her for themselves,”

“Sabrina is not an object you buy from a store,” I informed him and realized what I’d just done when a smile appeared.

“The first time I met you, what did you say to me when I was doubting myself?” Clay questioned lifting his eyes to the roof. “You told me that life passes us by in a blink and when that blink is over, we can’t get it back. We have to give it our all now before we regret anything,”

“You are using my words against me now,” I noted as I watched Sabrina taking notice of us and coming our way.

“I am just reminding you that life do passes us by and she won’t forever be your personal assistant,” Clay smiled at Sabrina when she reached us and looked at us with suspicion.

“How are you feeling?” Sabrina asked Clay. “Are you up for another round?” She then playfully asked.

“For how long do I have to do this before I can get back in the cage?” Clay asked with a long face.

Sabrina arched an eyebrow—finding a way to tease me to the core. “We can always stop. Nobody is forcing you,” Sabrina said with a carefree and untroubled raise of her shoulders.

Clay looked completely baffled by Sabrina’s frank reply where she had no intention of showing an ounce of care in the world about what Clay decides to do with his life.

I concealed a chuckle by shaking my head and wanting to give Sabrina a high five. She gives the impression that she can be agile but then she comes with her toughness.

“Is there some kind of catch?” Clay asked looking from me to Sabrina.

Sabrina shook her head. “No, catch. Not everyone is fond of yoga or meditating. It’s a preferable choice,”

Clay looked at me and I shrugged. I wasn’t going to force Sabrina to do anything—neither did Clay. Anything else he does after practice doesn’t have anything to do with me. If he doesn’t feel like he wants to cleanse his mind with yoga then that’s up to him.

“Can I at least challenge you to a sparring session?” Clay asked Sabrina.

Her eyes shifted to me before she agreed to the fight. “Sure, but I am not going to take it easy on you,”

I didn’t doubt her for a single moment that she was going to bring complete ass kicking down on Clay. I was curious to see them spar and I know it would give Clay some insight and learning tactics of what was going to be expected. Sabrina’s experience in the underground will be good for Clay.

Sabrina got out her gloves and slipped them on while Clay did the same thing. She then gave Clay a few minutes to warm up before they stepped inside the cage and started throwing punches.

I got out my phone and decided to record Sabrina and Clay’s sparring match to help her get awareness. She made quite a scene and got attention from not just EFC but UFC and Invicta FC as well. Agents were looking for her but nobody knew who she was except for me. I wasn’t going to destroy our friendship by getting her involved without her consent. Everybody was looking for Athena not knowing that it is Sabrina Denver they were looking for.

Sabrina was light-footed and she easily found a way to tiptoe around Clay’s heavy body. She showered him with punches and combos of kicks which he didn’t expect.

Sabrina loved mixing up her attacks with kicks and Clay wasn’t as agile as her. I’ve seen how meditation helps a fighter out and Sabrina was getting her flexibility from yoga—it also compliments any form of strength training.

Sabrina made Clay stumble into the cage wall when she struck him with a punch to the jaw. She was there showering him with jab after jab and got him down on his ass. She stepped away and gave him a moment to regroup. They went at it again and this time Sabrina got him down with a roundhouse kick—it was too late to warn him about Sabrina’s power moves.

Coach Mason showed up just in time to watch them go at each other. He showed pride from the moment he laid his eyes on Sabrina. She was moving at lightning speed. Covering. Throwing combos.

A strange feeling occurred inside of my chest when Clay landed a solid punch on the side of her face which made her go sprawling on her back. The impact was felt throughout the whole gym and I stood there in shock waiting for her to get up but I heard her outcry.

Memories of when I blew out my shoulder came rushing back and my feet advanced over to the cage without my knowledge. I stood there in shock watching her roll over—she got on her knees with a struggle before she got to her feet.

The impact left her breathless but she covered it up by raising her fists and getting ready for another round but coach Mason interrupted. I watched him walk over to her with a serious look on his face and then I overheard him mention something about an operation to which she nodded her head without looking at him.

“Did I do something wrong?” Clay asked me staring at Sabrina with big round eyes.

“No, you did great. I think Sabrina is hiding an injury,” I stepped away from his side to go check on her when I watched coach Mason place an ice pack on her back.

“What’s wrong?” I asked coach Mason looking at Sabrina whose hand was quivering as she held the ice pack over her back.

“An old injury that Sabrina never got fixed,” Coach Mason explained.

“From fighting?” I asked walking over and placing my hand over hers that was holding the ice pack in place.

Coach Mason stayed quiet and I felt there was something they were hiding. I pushed the ice pack away to see what I was looking at and noticed the swollen area on her shoulder. She took a hard beating to her shoulder and it doesn’t look recent.

“Sabrina,”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it,”

I looked at coach Mason. “I overheard you say something about an operation,”

He lowered his eyes. “It’s not my place to tell,” He walked away leaving me alone with Sabrina.

I watched her get to her feet keeping her gaze cast down. “I have an old injury which only can be fixed by operation but I never had the funds to get it done. I am fine most of the time but the impact of the fall just triggered the shockwave of pain. I will be fine by tomorrow,” She explained without looking at me and tried stepping away.

“Sabrina,” I grasp her hand softly in mine and gave a slight tug to pull her closer.

“I am not weak, Jared. I’ve hidden this because I hate sympathy and I don’t want your concern. I am fine and it’s not life-threatening. Clay did one amazing job by giving me a proper fight,”

“I am not feeling any pity. I am just concerned about how you got this injury, Sabrina,”

She lifted her eyes and once again they were guarded. “Punch after punch until my shoulder blade broke. I was an amateur when I joined the fight club and I crawled into a ball to protect myself from my opponent. He took the opportunity to beat me up,”

“You didn’t go for physio or received good medical care,” I noted.

She nodded her head. “It took me eight weeks to recover but because I didn’t receive the medical care, I needed I am stuck with this pain,”

“Can they still help you fix it?” I questioned.

“I can’t, Jared. It will take me out of fighting and you know what it does to a fighter,” Something didn’t feel right. It felt as if she was lying to me.

“So, there is a way they can fix it?” I pressed again.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, but it will cost a lot of money. Something I don’t have,”

“Then sign with me and we will get it fixed,”