12 Rounds

Chapter Six

Jax swung his fist around and connected it right into the jaw across from him. His opponent's head snapped back on impact, spewing out a stream of blood and spit. Goddamn, that felt good. Adrenaline carried him through another sucker punch and then he juked to his left, hooking his right fist around to land another solid hit into rock hard bone. The crowd thundered in his ears, numbing the burning in his fists.

Some blood and sweat mingled together on his forehead and stung his eyes, but none of that mattered right now.

"One more time, Jax!" Happy's gruff voice rang out through the crowd. "Watch your feet, watch your feet!"

With the way this was going, that was all he needed to do - one more punch and watch his feet. When his opponent stumbled backward, a little dazed and momentarily confused, that was the opening he needed to slice his fist in an uppercut, catching the guy right underneath the chin.

Lights out.

The guy teetered once, and then twice, fumbling for something to hold onto, and then he dropped to the mat like a ragdoll as the crowd erupted around him. Jax nodded to himself, satisfied with the high, reveling in the rush, and he pounded his gloved fists together in response. Finally, the ref called it and lifted Jax's right arm up in the air, cementing his victory.

He tipped his head back, letting out a roar and pounding his fist into his chest as he met Happy at the ropes. Happy clapped a hand on his sweaty head, his normally stoic face breaking apart in a proud grin.

"Fuck yeah!" Happy yelled above the noise of the deafening crowd. "Fuck yeah, bro!"

Jax flashed him a grin, spitting out some blood before he grabbed the water bottle Happy handed to him. He tried not to do it - he really did, but his eyes scanned the crowd as he took a swig from his water bottle. There were just too many blurred faces packed into this place like sardines, and just too much happening around him right now to really be able to pick any one person out of the crowd.

She was here somewhere.

And he tried to just focus on the adrenaline booming through his muscles and the stinging in his eyes and the burning in the open cut right underneath his left eye as he swung his body underneath the ropes. The crowd was still going fucking crazy, and so he gave them what they wanted, lifting his hands in the air one more time. They didn't disappoint either, whooping and hollering right back at him as he passed by and headed to the locker room off to the side.

This was the part where the high usually started to wear off. When he tossed his gloves off, he went to work on peeling away the bloodied tape on his knuckles, and wiped some more blood off his face with a towel. The fight was over - he'd knocked the guy out in three rounds, and this was the part where his body started to give way to the aches and pains and bruising that came with a fight.

"Bro," Happy was murmuring to him now as he pulled his Samcro T-shirt over his head and tossed it onto a bench. "I think that was the best fight you've had since we got to Reno. What got into you?"

Jax flashed him another cocky grin. "I think I could say the same to you, Hap. But then again, I think I know what's got into you since we got to Reno."

For once, a smile cracked across Happy's normally flat and thin-lipped face, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. So, he barked out a laugh and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Enough said, bro," Jax laughed, shaking his head at his club brother as he headed for the showers.

Happy really didn't have to say anything else. Whatever he was doing with Mrs. Robinson in his hotel room on Friday nights was clearly working for him. Jax had some ideas, but he didn't need the mental image either. The smile on Happy's face said more than enough.