Corruption

Chapter 1

Fuck. That hurt. She has a good punch, I'll give her that much. But she's sloppy. The way she moves her feet is like a toddler making their first steps. She keeps trying to psych me out. Yeah right. Like I'm gonna fall for that. I look at Mikey, he nods his head yes. Thank the fucking Lord. I can end this. I hate prolonging these fights just for the public.

I smile at my opponent, "Good fight, hon. Try again next month." I see her forehead wrinkle in confusion. I bring my foot up to her stomach, wait till she's doubled over, and then I start in. People say I'm ruthless, not ending a fight until my opponent says it's over, but I think it's fair. I would rather lose by giving up myself than the other person feeling sorry for me. It's not my fault that some bitches are too arrogant to give in. It's not my fault that that ends them up in the hospital.

"Stop...I said stop! Ronnie, please! I give, I give! Okay!" I glance down, her eyes are almost completely swollen shut, her nose looks broken, and her mouth is full of blood. I shrug and drop the girl. I've seen worse.

Mikey hops into the makeshift ring and holds up my arm. "Annnnnnd, the winner is, Ronnie McManaway!" I hear the cheers and some moans. Only the newcomers don't know not to root for my opponent. I've been fighting in these circuits since I was 15 and haven't lost a fight. You'd be stupid not to bet on me.

"We'll see you next week, folks. Don't forget to pay or collect as you leave! And remember, if anyone asks if you know about Corruption Alley, what do you say?" I smile, I swear, this is his favorite part of the night.

"FUCK NO!" The crowd cheers. "That's right! Now get the hell outta here!" I look at Mikey and smile. I know tonight's gonna be fun. The way his eyes were raking me up and down during that fight was to be noticed. Neither one of us are into each other for romance, we're both attractive people and we like to fuck. Nothing wrong with that.

Mikey is hot as hell though. Standing at 6'5", being pure muscle, blonde haired, and blue eyed, all the girls want him, but let's be honest, none of them compare to me. I know I'm hot. I'm 5'6", 130 lbs of pure muscle, just like Mikey, tan, dark brown hair, and green eyes. I'm a looker and I'm in shape. I run, I lift, I eat healthy, but I guess that's what you get when you live with a gym owner by day and organizer of street fights by night. Mikey's the one who got me into this. He found me wandering the streets, picking fights when I was 15. Decided to train me a little, make some money off of me. He's changed since then. He cares about me, I know he does, but he still loves his money.

"Hey, Ron?" Mikey's smirking, "What're you thinking about?" I know where this is going. I strut up to him, place one hand on his shoulder and one very close to his zipper and whisper, "I'm just thinking about how much fun we're gonna have celebrating my victory tonight."

"But you win every night, Ron," he fake whines.

"Exactly." I grab his hand with all intentions to walk through the back door when someone yells something across the room.

"Can I help you, dude? Everyone's gone.." Mikey sighs, squeezes my hand, and walks towards the mystery stranger. I roll my eyes and follow.

"I-uh-I just wanted to talk to Miss McManaway." I finally glance up at the mystery stranger and I'm pretty sure my mouth drops. Tall, dark, and handsome doesn't even begin the describe this man. Keep your cool, Ronnie. You can do it. Act like he's ugly. Nope. Can't do it. Fuck. Shit. Damn. Stop staring and talk.

"Call me, Ronnie. And you are?" Good job.

"My name's Cal, Cal Tucker. I just wanted to tell you that the way you fight is beautiful." I hear Mikey try and surpress a laugh.

"Beautiful? Dude. Ronnie's way of fighting is anything but beautiful. It's lethal, brutal, calculated. Not beautiful."

"I guess I'll have to disagree with you, sir. That's what makes it beautiful. She knows exactly what she's doing. Her movements are flawless. Her fighting it almost as beautiful as she is." His eyes rake up and down my body. I fidget. I've never been uncomfortable in my own body, but this stranger makes me want to put on sweatpants and a parka.

"Well-um-Thank you, Cal. I think." I glance at Mikey begging him to get the hint that I want to go. He did. "We're going to get going, so you're going to have to get going, Cal," Mikey says.

"Of course. Sorry," he looks at me, "I'll be seeing you around, Miss McManaway." He winks and walks away. Mikey follows to lock the door behind him and I whisper under my breath, "It's Ronnie."