Gunner (EDITED/REWRITTEN)

5- Gunner (EDITED)

It felt good to have a beautiful woman on the back of my bike again. Aria snugging me with her arms tightly wrapped around me, with her face resting on my back, made me feel more alive than when I was inside the cage. But, what had me feeling even better, I got her to trust me again.

Without Aria knowing who I was, other than a professional fighter last Friday night, I talked her into trusting me in giving her and her friends a ride home. Luckily, her brother was thoughtful enough to give my driver the address to her house. Because after dropping her brother off, Aria passed out in the backseat of my Escalade.

When I got Aria home and couldn't wake her, I had to carry her into her home. What worried me was that when I used her key to get in, I found that she had left her house unlocked. So, after finding her bedroom and laying her on the bed, I walked around, making sure no intruders entered her home. Then, after seeing she was safe, I locked the door behind me when I left.

Trust is something you earn, not handed to you.

And because I like Aria and would like to know more about her and who she is, I will do everything I can to get her to continue trusting me. I have learned over the years that the best process to going in the right direction of earning someone's trust is by using small steps. And that's what I'm doing with Aria.

So far, I like the results.

I know I'm beginning to earn Aria's trust. Because ever since I got her out of the city and onto a road less traveled, out in the open air, where the views are much more spectacular to look at, she's become more relaxed and comfortable. If I had more time with her, I'd love nothing more than to bring her somewhere where the views are more beautiful to see because that's what makes riding so much more peaceful and relaxing.

Nevertheless, I can still tell she's enjoying the ride.

I, too, was enjoying the ride. This ride gave me more time to think about how we crossed paths, what I was doing with Aria, why I was with her, and where I wanted to go with her going forward, for the reason that I wasn't sure what having a woman in my life would be like again. Thinking about that somewhat scared me. But then, when I think about how Aria spent time with me at the gym this past weekend, that fear started to subside.

As I think back to last Friday afternoon when the event manager came to me, asking if I could talk to a group of people he had given free tickets to and where they'd be sitting, I'll admit that I wasn't too thrilled about it. At first, I told him no, I wouldn't do such a thing. But then, when I stepped into the arena and saw Aria standing there, looking nervous, I changed my mind.

She immediately caught my attention. I could tell it was her first time attending a fight by the look on her face. So, once I got into the cage, I wanted to show her who I was, what I was about, and that I'd be the one winning the night's match.

Not only did I win it for myself, but I also won it for her.

Throughout the fight, it was hard to keep my eyes off Aria. I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I've seen in a long time. I wanted to know who she was, what she was thinking, if she was enjoying the fight, and I wondered if the man standing next to her was her significant other. I'm glad I decided to walk over to Aria and her friends after the fight.

Seeing her up close was more evident and unmistakable to how beautiful she was. The purity in Aria's sky-blue eyes and the fresh appearance that showed on the bloom in her cheeks gave her such an aura of innocence that I couldn't keep my eyes off her. She was unlike any of the other women I've had in my life, which only piqued my interest in getting to know her more.

The look on Aria's face when I assumed the guy she was with was her boyfriend was priceless. And it had me smiling from the inside, hearing it was her brother. Then, after leaving to get cleaned up, I couldn't get her off my mind, so I sent my trainer out to offer her and her friends to come back and join me. When he returned and said they were gone, I demanded that he go out looking for them.