Tough Girl

Chapter one

“Cover-up, Alex!” Tony instructed from outside the ropes when my opponent advanced on me. Throwing punches to my face.

I held my head low. Holding both of my gloved hands against my temple. Covering my face and jaw with my forearms. Bracing myself.

“Move! Move! Away from the ropes!” Tony’s voice was calm and composed—urging me on to pursue my opponent.

I proceeded forward on my opponent. Throwing shift and controlled combos to his face, chest and lower body, wearing him out until I could finally pin him to the mat. I grounded him with a roundhouse kick when he least expected it and took him out in a chokehold.

I got up from the mat. Shook my opponent’s hand and met Tony’s face which was glistening with pride. Tony has been my coach since I was eight years old and hasn’t quit on me ever since I lost my shot at the UFC champion belt.

“How’s the ankle?” He asked, showing concern and watching me remove my ankle guard.

“Six months of healing and another six for physio—I feel great,” I beamed.

My father made sure to get the best surgeon to work on my ankle after I shattered my ankle during a league fight. The operation was successful. Yet. I was a bit sceptical to get back in the professional fighting world.

“Great enough to come back as my league fighter?” Tony asked with optimism and it wasn’t easy to turn him down—he was always the one who believed in me.

“I am done with the spotlight,” I replied, confidently. I was a fighter from eight years old, won fights and glided through to the finals. I had the best life for thirteen years but when I got injured, I was reminded of how short life is and I decided to open a patisserie.

“I don’t think it’s done with you as, yet,” Tony noted. He was still after three years hopeful of me deciding to get back in the cage permanently.

“Well,” I threw my bag over my shoulder. “It just has to move on without me,”

He shook his head at my obstinate mind. “Then what are you doing at my gym every day, sparring with my fighters and getting me to help you get back into shape?”

“I can always go somewhere else?” I pointed my thumb over my shoulder, only bantering with him. Tony was the absolute best in town. He is even responsible for turning Ryder into a champion. If that isn’t enough clarification that he is the best coach then I probably played too much roughhouse with my brothers.

“You are also aware what kind of family feud it created when I got hospitalised—learning that my whole family watched me go down,” My mom kept yelling at me about how the cage is not a place for a woman and screaming, “told you so,” instead of comforting me as a mother should.

“You are meant for the cage, kid,” Tony remarked, motioning to the fight ring. “I gave you that exact speech when you entered my gym and took out one of my best fighters,”

I bit back a chuckle. “You forgot the part where I made him cry,”

Tony chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s why you will have a place to return to and I will always be waiting for you when you decide to come back,”

“Thanks, coach but I think Ryder is going to be LA’s finest for quite a while,” I excused myself when my eyes landed on the time, realizing that I still had to take a shower and pick Amy up. I got two tickets to the heavyweight title fight and I am so not going to miss Ryder defending his title. Three years ago, I had the privilege of watching him take the title and for three years, he defended the title. He became heavily built over the years, a rebel in the cage and didn’t let his guard down for one second.

I said my final goodbyes after taking a shower and getting dressed for tonight’s event. I had to take my car since Amy is afraid of bikes and fully refuses to get on even when I promised that I would go slow. She can ride men past the danger zone but she couldn’t get her ass on my bike which is so more thrilling.

I showed up at the house finding an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. I was in the middle of removing my seatbelt when Amy came strolling out of the house with a man following. Amy came over to the passenger side, poking her head inside and smiled at me. I lowered my sunglasses when the guy’s face seemed oddly familiar.

“I will be just a second,” She assured me and went over to say her goodbyes.

I dropped my head not wanting to fabricate awkwardness since I haven’t spent much time around men in the last three years. Amy and my mother tried to find me dates but I found no interest. They all seemed great but they are just not meant for me. I am a little rough around the edges and skipped the femineity progress of my life when I liked sports more than fashion shows.

Amy got in the car with a risqué smile and waited for me to back out of the driveway.

“Isn’t that your boss?” I questioned slipping my aviator glasses back on.

“Yeah, why?” She asked fixing her hair and checking on her make-up.

“Let me guess. He is the guy you have been seeing over the past month,” I figured out.

Amy is my best friend—frankly, she is my only friend and it’s difficult for me to accept what she’s doing with her life.

“That’s him,” She noted boldly.

I shook my head in dismay but kept my disappointment to myself.

“You think I am playing a dangerous game, aren’t you?” She asked, noticing my disgruntling response.

“He’s your boss, what’s going to happen when things go bad between the two of you?” I don’t believe in work relationships because they don’t always go accordingly to plan and things do get uncomfortable—not only for you two but for the people around you.

“It’s just s*x,” Amy said it like it didn’t mean anything but I knew better. It wasn’t just s*x. Amy has a big heart and she has this downside of falling quite easily in love.

Amy was there for me when my relationship with Eddy boomeranged in my face. She didn't lecture me or judged me in my time of weakness. She comforted me all the time and it would be unfair of me to lecture her on her choices even if I didn't approve of them.

"I can sense your concern." I heard her say.

"I am worried because I care for you and I don't want to see you get hurt because it sucks.”

"You forget that I know what it feels like." The reason Amy turned out this way is that her fiancé from college turned out to be gay.

"Did you remember to put your poster in the back asking Ryder to marry you?” She changed the subject by looking at my backseat.

I rolled my eyes at her weak attempt but went with it. “That’s so unoriginal, considering that there is going to be endless posters of women screaming and begging him to take them,”

The parking lot of the LA UFC arena was already stacked with cars when we rolled up.

“That might be true, but you’ve got an advantage,” She reminded. Referring to the day I met Ryder three years ago.

“As if he is going to remember the girl with a cast,” I muttered under my breath. He has probably met hundreds if not thousands of women over the course of time. I won’t be mad at him for not remembering my face or that I was the girl with a cast.