Fight Club ⚣ ✓

46

Sammy

As soon as those words fell from Dante's lips, I was on immediate high alert. Though I'd only heard this name a few times from Dante, I knew exactly what I needed to know about this trash of an excuse for a human being.

He didn't deserve to share the same oxygen as Dante.

The first thing that came to mind as I took in the man that stumbled into this gym, was that I'd seen him before. I recognized him almost instantly from Dante's apartment. It was the nasty gash under his cheek that sparked that memory. It looked like someone must have finally cleaned it up a little, because there was a bandage there now... however, those features were unforgettable.

He had that same uncomfortable smile as the man I saw walking through that lobby. The type of smile you just want to sink your knuckles into, you know?

Before Shaun was given the opportunity to say or do damn near anything else, I was in front of Dante in a heartbeat.

"The gym's closed." I spoke, in a voice I almost didn't recognize. It was dripping with every ounce of maliciousness I felt.

Shaun's smile dropped slightly at my words. His eyes  were first on Dante when he entered, but now they had gravitated towards me and were giving me a once over. Wherever they wandered, made my skin crawl in disgust.

"The sign outside had said that walk-ins were available. That, coupled with the door being wide open, I just thought-"

I pulled the stretchy bands up, allowing my foot to slip through as I stepped out of the boxing ring effortlessly. Dante had started to say something, but he stopped himself short. Or I ignored it. I really couldn't tell, but it was one of those two. I hadn't meant to, of course... my anger was overpowering most of my senses. Not all, but most.

"This gym is closed to new members." I stated. It was just a few more steps, before I'd be in range to throw a punch... his face would have looked perfect after I was finished with it.

But that wasn't the objective tonight.

Don't get me wrong- I wanted nothing more than to paint the mats with his blood right now, but there were a couple important things holding me back. One was the fact that he could call the cops. This was very much still a business, and I didn't need heat like that so close to our first tournament. I'd be letting all the guys here, down.

The second thing holding me back, was personally a little more important to me than the cops being called. It was the whole reason I allowed myself to continue fighting. To open up this gym. It was the only thing still keeping me in line.

I only fought in self defense.

I had made a personal promise to never get there again... but as I took another step towards him, I really did debate whether just this once I could break it.

"No new members, huh?" Shaun asked. "Seems like Dante here got added pretty quickly."

When he first spoke, Shaun's voice was collected. He damn near walked in here like he owned the building. Now, I could hear the irritation with every word. The smile that was once playing on his lips, was nowhere to be seen. It left with the control he once had. That shift was immediate, and for sure imitated the actions of one mentally unstable man.

I would be lying entirely if I said he didn't have a large build... but I still had height and weight on him. Sizing him up proved close to nothing, however. It was impossible for me to tell his skills as a fighter. His body led me to believe he had some speed to him, though. Something Dante had warned me about tonight.

"No new members." I reiterated, taking another step closer. "So I'll say this one last time- the gym's closed."

I was almost taunting him now. Daring him to take that first swing. Letting him know my hands were itching to make some contact.

But he didn't. Instead he took a step back, putting more distance between us.

"Understood." He nodded. That word held damn near no emotion. "I'm looking forward to see what you can do... both in and out of the ring."

My body responded to that challenge like it did with any. I took another step forward, making him back up towards the door. "Likewise."

That was the last thing I said before he pushed the door handle, and backed up onto the streets of NYC. My eyes never left his, until he turned around. Once his body finally disappeared into the darkness of the night, I locked up quickly.

"I can't believe that was the man that broke into your apartment. If I had known when I saw him leave-" my words were cut short once my eyes found Dante. He was still standing in the ring, frozen. I quickly closed the large distance between us. "Are you okay?"

At first, it looked like Dante hadn't even heard me. His eyes were still glued to the door that Shaun had just walked out of. Before I could ask again, Dante's lips twitched up into a weary smile. "I guess I'd argue I'm as okay as I could possibly be, given the circumstances. I should have known he'd find the place sooner or later, I guess I was just banking on the latter."

I gave him an understanding nod, yanking my boxing gloves off so I could pull him closer to me.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you-"

"You can't promise something like that." Dante replied, cutting me off. "Not now anyways. Not when I've decided to fight."

And I guess he was right. I couldn't promise Dante he wouldn't get hurt inside that ring.

I could, however, promise Dante he wouldn't be touched outside of it.

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