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  "Why?"

  "So I can work on your legs more." He winked. My cheeks must have turned red. I punched him playfully on the arm.

  "Let me show you the club." We walked around the club, hand in hand. He was describing all the things to me. How people practice, what various equipment, was used for and what each fighter was doing.

  When we sat on a bench to watch one of the fighters, I noticed a tall man with a pale skin enter the club and a few people gathered around him to shake hands with him. "Who is that?" I asked out of curiosity.

  When he looked over at the small crowd, his face turned dark. "That's Peter," he replied in a low voice. I touched his shoulder. I understood his pain, his loss.

  "Let's go. Enough for today." He hadn’t yet even told me about the fight, and I didn't want him to get upset.

  He nodded, and we started walking towards the door.

  "Hey, loser," somebody shouted from behind. I looked back and noticed that it was the same tall man. I looked at Nathan; he was holding his fists tight.

  "What a jerk," I said. "Don't listen to him."

  "Now a coward," Peter shouted again.

  Nathan turned back. His face was red, glowing with anger. He walked towards Peter. He went straight in front of him and stood chest to chest, eye to eye. I felt as if a flash of lightning passed between their eyes. "Now, talk," Nathan said, his voice full of anger.

  "Loser," Peter replied back, the smug grin spreading across his face

  "Prove it. Let’s have a match," Nathan replied in a slow, measured tone.

  A wicked grin appeared on Peter's face. "Who do you think you are?, I'm an International player and I box with National level players only. You’re not in my league, man. Go and win a Top Rank championship first and then come back."

  "I will." Nathan replied and turned back. "Let's go." He grabbed my hand. I wanted to say something, but feeling the anger coming off of Nathan, I kept quiet.

  "Is that another whore you stole from someone?" Peter hurled the insult like a spear.

  Nathan turned back, his hand clenched in a fist. He walked fast over to Peter, grabbed his collar and slammed a hard punch to his face. Fear crept up my spine, the worse was happening, but in a split second, before Nathan could hit Peter again, Mason stopped his hand. "Not now, Nathan." Mason shouted. "Save it for some other day."

  Peter was stunned. He tried to push Nathan away, but he couldn't. He raised his hand to punch back Nathan back, but Mason rushed between them and deflected his punch with his hand, and kicking Peter on his oblique. Peter stumbled back. All this happened in less than four, five seconds. I felt like watching an action movie.

  Mason dragged Nathan away from Peter. Peter stood there, confused. He looked like he wanted to attack both Mason and Nathan, but he stopped himself. "Come on, Nathan. Fight with me."

  Nathan looked back. "In the ring Peter, and if I lose, I will quit boxing." Nathan's face was full of rage. For a split second I was frightened, but he was furious because of me. He was angry because Peter had touched his vulnerable nerve, his girlfriend.

  "Nathan, let's go. Please," I begged him. I couldn't stay there anymore.

  Chapter 5

  Showdown

  Nathan

  The punching bag moved in a pendulum arc, swaying with every punch I landed on it; I stopped the bag and punched it again, harder than I thought I could. My confidence was lower than ever. I threw a straight kick at the punching bag, but I missed it completely. I lost confidence in myself for a moment. I can't even land a strait kick at a dead bag? I knelt on the ground.

  I hadn't expected a complete knock out. He was on fire from the first round, and he had more experience than I did, that was for sure. But still, that wasn't an excuse for an easy loss to him.

  I had prepared enough before the match, but when I finally hit the ring, nothing worked. Surprise tactics I had used on him a few months back hadn't worked this time. He was prepared for everything; he had the experience, he had the upper hand and his advantage had turned into a win. I was to blame for the loss. I made the mess and I had no one to blame but myself.

  My coach had been tough on me before the match, and he helped me in practice. He asked me to give everything to the match, but I guess I wasn't in the right mood. The things that happened between Eva and me the month prior to the match still troubled me. I know it had turned out for the best, but the time she refused to talk to me seemed like an eternity. I lost my drive, confidence, and my ability to put everything into practice for the match.

  I hadn't wanted this match, but the club had made it a fundraiser for charity and I had to get in it. I lost badly, worse than any match I had lost in my career. A knockout? The memory was torture.

  I got up. Fiercely, I hit the bag, vibrations echoing through my fist and then into my hand. "Come on, buddy, you can do this," I muttered to myself. But it wasn't enough to calm the flames burning my heart. Eva had tried to make me feel better about it, but a knockout was burning a hole in my heart. I didn't know how I would recover from it.

  "It won't help you, mate," came the deep voice of Mason from behind.

  "Nothing to do with you," I replied without looking back.

  "You know I can help you."

  "Thanks for the lifelong help." The bitter thought of Samantha occupied my mind.

  "I have told you I’m sorry enough times, Nathan, I hoped we could sort things out between us," Mason said.

  I turned back and looked in his eyes. I searched for the lie there, but I could only find honesty, and sincerity. "You should have thought about that before sleeping with Samantha."

  "That was a colossal mistake, I admit."

  "If you are planning to get your hands on Eva, I will kill you." I spoke my heart. I didn't like the way he had told Eva the story of Samantha. He actually helped me get Eva back, but I suspected a hidden agenda there.

  "I tried for redemption and I will try ‘til my last breath."

  "Nice words, try them on somebody else." I looked at the bag again and threw a fast punch at it. I imagined Mason in place of the bag. "And yes, Samantha is in the city. You can have more fun with her." I laughed sarcastically.

  He grabbed hold of my shoulder and spun me around to face him. "Come on, man, can't you forget the past?" He shook his head "She came to meet me a few days ago. . She wanted to stay with me, butut I threw her out of my apartment. Then she reached you and you know what happened after. In the end, I saved your ass man."

  "For what, Mason? Why do you want to come in my life again?" I asked furiously.

  "I want redemption, Nathan. I cherished your friendship, but one moment ruined it all. One girl ruined it all."

  I grabbed his collar and shook him hard. "It destroyed me, Mason. I felt like killing you, and because of you, I left the city. But you followed me here as well."

  "I promised you before all this that I would always watch your back."

  "How, by stealing my projects? Laughing at my losses? And yes, what was that act of courtesy in the Santa Ana?"

  "To watch your game Nathan, but you lost it hard. I wished that you could have practiced more."

  "I told you, my game is none of your business."

  "Nathan, it is my business." He shook his head in disapproval. "Damn you, Nathan. For five years I have been trying to say ‘sorry’ to your ass and you say that 'it's not my business’?'"

  "You fucked our friendship, Mason. I would have died twice before doing the same to you." I pushed my finger into his chest.

  "Five years, Nathan. I waited five years for your forgiveness and still you think that I have some hidden agenda here." He held the ring ropes tightly. "What do you want from me, Mason?"

  "I want to train with you, Nathan. I want you to beat Peter. He has hurt you enough."

  "Yes, he has." I remembered his words after he knocked me out, as I slowly regained consciousness. Motherfucker, that was for Amelia. I will fuck you again and again, until I destroy your career and your life. "He muttere
d a threat to which I wouldn't give a damn."

  "Hell with that bastard. He deserves a loss. I could have helped make that happen for you. But you wouldn't take it. I remember the way you trained to beat that monster back in college."

  "It is my fight, Mason, and I don't want your help." I refused him, straight up. But I wasn’t sure if I could do this without his or someone's help. "And involving you back then didn't turn out well."

  He looked disappointed for the first time in the last five years. He had tried everything he could to make me forgive him, but the moment I saw him in bed with Samantha, our friendship died for me. He had gone beyond forgiveness. "Nothing you can do here, Mason. Thanks for asking, though, and please stay away from Eva."

  "After I found out she was your girlfriend, I looked at her like my sister. My offer is still open, if you want." He waved good bye and walked out of the club.

  I turned back to punch the bag, but I lost my concentration quickly. Mason kept apologizing to me, but I couldn’t imagine training with him again. College days were different, I was six years younger then and had had lots of fire, but now, I felt old and tired for the first time. My confidence was broken, I kneeled on my the ground and held my face in my palms. Not many options looked viable from there. Eva was the only bright spot in my dark life, and everything looked bleak. Peter had broken my spirit.

  Chapter 6

  Nathan

  “Holly shit.” What am I doing? I couldn’t punch the bag straight. All I could think about were my college days. Though I had gotten up early for the practice, it was getting harder to punch the bag straight. Bloody Hell, why am I thinking about Mason?

  I was doing pushups when I remembered the days when we were buddies. Samantha was the deal breaker. If she hadn’t come between us, we could have been best friends still.

  The days before Samantha's betrayal were awesome. Me and Mason shared a very close bond with each other. I do miss his friendship.

  But when I found Samantha in Mason's bed, our lives had been turned upside down. I went into isolation for almost five years. Those years turned me into a bad boy, and it woke up the animal inside me. Personally, I regret those years. I regret being a jerk and hunting down a new girl every night.

  "Damn Mason and Samantha." Mid-pushup, I wiped sweat from my face with my right hand, but my left hand buckled and I fell flat on my face. "Ouch." I screamed in pain as my hurt jaw touched the mat. Stars floated over my eyes, and I’d lost concentration again. What was I doing? I remembered I was doing some pushups and I paused on the upper position with stretched arms. "Damn Nathan." I laughed at myself. "That ass is still causing me pain." My cell buzzed. I saw a text from Eva.

  Hey, up for a quick coffee at college?

  Sure, pick you up in forty minutes I replied.

  I jumped to my feet and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. When I was out, my cell had a reply text from Eva.

  I am already at the coffee shop. Come fast.

  I ran towards bathroom.

  ***

  "Butterfly, what's up?"

  "I missed you, sweetie." Eva hugged me tightly and kissed me on my cheek.

  "I missed you more," I teased and placed my hand on her lower back, pulling her closer. Her firm breasts pressed against my chest and the feeling was awesome. I smelled her hair; her shampoo always made me crazy.

  "No, you didn't. You didn't even called me after last night," she complained, but her voice was deep and sexy. I pulled her even closer and lowered my head to kiss her cherry red lips. She tasted fresh, like a morning flower.

  "I texted you good night. I was tired after the practice last night."

  "Damn you, Nathan, a few weeks into the relationship and a good night text is enough for you." She made her angry face, pushed me away and punched me on my shoulder.

  "Sorry, babe. Starting today, I will come and hug you every night." I remembered she was going to stay with me for a few days. "Hey, what happened with your plan to take care of me?"

  "My mother happened."

  "Oops, I forgot. So, when is she coming?"

  "Tomorrow, that’s why I called you to meet. Don't know how much time we’ll get when she is here."

  "How long is she staying?"

  "Two whole months." She sighed and made her irritated face.

  "Hey, I never get to know anything about your mother." She never talked about her family in detail. She had briefly talked about her mother once, when she was in the hospital, and she had looked troubled when she talked about her mother few days earlier.

  "It's better that you don't. She is manipulative"

  "Manipulative?"

  "Manipulative in the sense that she likes to control people around her. " She blinked her eyes rapidly while talking about her mother." And she Controls a quarter of the economy of America," she whispered.

  "What?"

  "You’ve heard of the IFH?" she asked.

  "Martha Clark? International Fashion House?" I asked. "What about it." I thought for a second. "Wait a second. Eva Clark -- is there a connection between you?"

  "She is my mother, Nathan."I was so stunned, I had to grab a chair. My legs were shaking. I couldn't believe I was dating a girl whose mother had so much money. . "That's big..." I stammered. "You never...." I was afraid that I would fall of the chair. This was big for me. Martha Clark, one of the ten richest people in America.

  "I never told you this, but she is coming here for two whole months. And I suspect she has something up her sleeve for me."

  "But why?" I was still in shock about Eva's family.

  "She wants me in the family business, Nathan. She doesn't want me running and doing some stupid sports career."

  I couldn't say anything. The shock was big for me. I couldn't believe she was the daughter of a multi-billionaire, self made company CEO.

  "She will try everything to manipulate me. I could come to New York only because our university offers the best classes." Her face turned darker. "She never approved of my running career. And she wants me to live with her for a couple of months."

  "That doesn't sound good." I had never met her mom, but the way she described her didn't exactly make a good impression on me.

  A tear fell down her cheek. I moved close to her and wrapped her in my arms. "Come on, sweetheart. Don't cry. You will get out of this. And now you have the scholarship to show for it. You won the race and you have a bright future." I tried to comfort her in my arms.

  "I don't want to stress you, Nathan."

  "I'm there for you, babe." I kissed her forehead."I'm hungry, buttercups." I wanted to distract her from the subject of her worry.

  "Sorry." She wiped her tears. "What do you want to eat?"

  "The special burger and then we will go to your favorite place," I said.

  "Oh, honey. Thanks a lot." She hugged me tightly.

  We took the burger to go and walked to the beach. "You remember you shed your first tear in front of me here?" I asked.

  "What a jerk you are, Nathan," she commented.

  "Why?"

  "I thought you would tell me how sexy I looked when we came here. And you are talking about the tears. Damn you, man," she teased me.

  I traced an imaginary line on her arm, starting from her wrist to her shoulder. "Like this?"

  "Stop doing that. We are in public." Her cheeks turned red.

  "When we came here last time, you looked beautiful, with the sun falling on your face and tears falling down your cheek." I moved my hand over the edge of her top, touching her neck.

  She shrugged. "Please don’t."

  "Why not?" I placed my other hand on her hip and caressed her round ass.

  "Stop it Nathan." She turned to face me. I lowered my mouth to kiss her lips and pulled her buttocks.

  "Like this?"

  She punched my shoulder and ran away from me. "We are at public place, mister."

  I ran behind her, but she was faster than me. After five minutes of cat and mouse, chasing her as best
I could, we settled on the bench. "You looked beautiful back then, and look gorgeous now." Stroking her hair, I kissed her lower lip. She tasted marvelous. I didn't feel like eating the burger anymore. Instead, I wanted to kiss her forever. "I could kiss you forever, babe," I whispered in her ear.

  "I love you, Nathan." She kissed me back with the force of a storm. I forgot where we were; my hands moved inside her dress and started rubbing her thighs. But she recovered in time. "Shall we save it for tonight? I thought you were hungry."

  "I'm hungry. For you, babe," I replied, grabbing a handful of hair.

  "Let's eat the burger for now," she giggled. She took the burger out and pushed it in my mouth.

  We ate the burger, watching the sun making magic on the water. "It's beautiful here. You ought to come here to practice," she said. "Can I ask you one thing?"

  "Yes."

  "Why did Mason message you?" She looked in my eyes. She had a serious look on her face.

  I looked away. "He wanted to train with me."

  "Why?"

  "He believed that training with him would make me strong and ready for Peter someday. I trained with him in my college days."

  "Is he a good fighter? You know, in boxing?"

  "Yes, he is. He boxes for a hobby, but he has the potential to be a professional. "

  "Why did he choose to make it a hobby, then?"

  "He is a billionaire, Eva. He doesn't need to get in this. And also, from the start, he believed in training others. It's complicated with him."

  "He was your best friend, right?" she asked.

  "More than anyone. He was like my brother." Painful thoughts flooded my mind. I had never talked about this with anyone, but Eva ought to know everything about me. I couldn't imagine losing her because of some stupid lies of mine.

  "I think you should train with him."

  "Why do you think that?"

  "My gut feeling. I don't have the answer, but I feel that way," She replied.

  We finished our burger and walked back to the car. "I need to go and pack my bags. I will call you before heading to bed."

  "You are serious about living with your mother, then?" I asked. "What about Chloe?"

  "That's another story. I am trying to convince her for just a month." She threw her hands in the air.