I gasped at his words and saw Hudson’s face go red, but neither of us responded.

“Do you need a few minutes?” Channing continued and looked at his watch. “I guess you still have some time to pull your shorts down so she can have a quick suck on your cock.”

“Shut it.” Hudson took a step forward and I grabbed his arm.

“Just ignore him,” I muttered, glaring at Channing’s smirk.

“Or would you rather like a suck on mine?” He laughed and grabbed his cock. “I’m sure you’d like to be with a man who could fuck you long and hard and not run off in the morning.”

“I’m warning you,” Hudson growled and took another step forward.

“You’re warning me?” Channing laughed again and his eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do? Hit me?” He beat his fists against his chest. “Are you going to try and fight me? Over this little whore?”

“I told you to shut the fuck up.” Hudson moved swiftly and pushed Channing back into the lockers. “I don’t care what beef you have with me, but I’ll fuck you up if you talk about Riley like that.”

“Didn’t she tell you that when you left I slipped into the sleeping bag and fucked her?” Channing licked his lips. “The only reason she knew it was me was because I lasted so much longer than you. Did she tell you that?”

My heart stopped as I watched Hudson slam his right fist into Channing’s eye. Channing didn’t make a sound, but I could see the look in his eyes turning into pure hate and evil.

“Put him down, Hudson.” I ran up to him. “Please.”

“Listen to your girl, Hudson,” Channing said in a sing-song voice. “Or she’s going to have to charge you extra tonight.”

Hudson’s breathing was heavy, and I was scared he was going to hit him again.

“He’s not worth it,” I whispered. “Wait until the fight.” I touched his arm and prayed to God that he didn’t do anything else. I sighed in relief as he released his grip on Channing and stepped back.

“Get the fuck out of here, Channing.”

“Yes, Batman.” Channing stared at us and laughed. Then he looked me up and down. “I’m glad you chose this loser. I was never that into big-thighed sluts,” he sneered at me and then turned away.

I watched as he walked out of the gym and then looked up at Hudson.

“You okay?” His eyes were full of concern for me, and my heart melted once again at how wonderful he was.

“I’m fine.” I nodded and stepped forward to hug him. “He’s a pompous ass.”

“I’ll enjoy beating the shit out of him.”

“Don’t hurt him.” I touched his face. “Please don’t do anything too bad.”

His eyes widened. “You want me to go soft on him?”

“No, but I don’t want you to break anything.” I bit my lower lip. “Don’t stoop to his level.”

“You have so much faith in me.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why you think I can stop myself from beating the shit out of him.”

“Because I know you. I know you and I love you.” I leaned up and kissed him. “Just remember that when you’re in the ring.”

“I’ll try.” He nodded and paused. “You’re making this so hard.”

“What am I making hard?” I frowned.

“You’re making me want to believe.” He closed his eyes. “You’re giving me hope.”

“I love you, Hudson,” I whispered in his ear. “That’s never going to change.”

“God forgive me, but I don’t know if I can give you up.” He grabbed my hands. “I’ve done bad, Riley. I know I’ve done bad and I know you’re going to hate me when I tell you, but I swear to God, I’m going to fight for you. I can’t let you go. I can’t let this go.”

“You don’t have to,” I whispered against his lips. “Now go out there and win that fight.”

We held each other for a few minutes before Hudson kissed my forehead and walked out of the locker room. I let him go ahead of me and sat down on the bench. I touched my lips and rubbed them softly. I felt warm and fuzzy inside. It seemed to me that everything was finally going to work out. He didn’t hate me for what I’d done. In fact, he loved me. He really loved me. I hugged myself as I sat there grinning. Finally, everything was working out. Finally, Hudson and I were going to get to be together.

I waited in the locker room for about five minutes before going back out. I was shocked by the crowds of people I saw in the gym. It was loud and packed, and there was a buzz in the air that I had never felt before.

I reached into my bag, grabbed my phone, and started taking some photos. They would be awesome to include in my article. I realized then that I should start taking some notes. This was the biggest fight Nick’s gym was going to see; in fact, it was the first real fight I was going to see. I was scared at what I was about to witness. I half-smiled to myself as I realized I should get used to it. If Hudson won and entered the championships, then there was going to be a whole lot more fighting for me to witness.

“I’ve got fifty on Channing.” A tall guy passed some money to a skinny guy with spiky blond hair.

“I’ve got two hundred.” Another guy gave the blond guy money and grinned. “He’s going to beat the shit out of that punk ass.”

“What’s his name again?” the tall guy asked and laughed.

“Rudson or something,” the other guy replied. “Or maybe it was Robin or something.”

“It’s Hudson.” I walked up to them. “The other guy’s name is Hudson, but he also goes by Batman.”

“Okay, okay.” The tall guy gave me a surprised look. “Don’t get it twisted.”

“What?”

“Don’t get it twisted.”

“Don’t get what twisted?” I rolled my eyes at him and turned away. “Dumbass,” I mumbled under my breath. I was pretty sure he had used the slang phrase incorrectly.

“Riley, come over here!” Justin shouted and waved at me.

I pushed my way over to the seat he was saving for me and gave him a look of thanks. “It’s really busy in here.” I looked around.

“Yeah,” Justin nodded. “Nick’s pissed. No one else was supposed to be here, but Channing created an event on Facebook.”

I frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“He thinks he’s going to win.”

“He doesn’t have a shot, does he?”

“If he plays dirty.” Justin shrugged. “Who knows?”

“You really think he’s going to fight dirty, don’t you?”

“I don’t know.” Justin’s face was grim. “I really don’t know.”

“He’s going to try and hurt him, isn’t he?” I stared at him and felt my body going cold. “I know you said that earlier, but I thought it was just conjecture. But you weren’t just saying that, were you? You think he’s going to really try and hurt him.”

“I don’t know what he’s capable of, but yes, I think he has a few tricks up his sleeve.”

“I need to talk to Hudson.” I jumped up, feeling panicked.

What if he didn’t fight back because I had told him to fight clean? What if he just took it because he was worried what I would think? I had to let him know to fight as dirty as he had to.

“You can’t go to the mat.” Justin grabbed me. “You’ll get him disqualified.”

“But I need to talk to him.” I shook my head as my whole body convulsed.

“You can’t go to the mat.” His fingers tightened their grip on my arms. “If you do, he’s out. It’ll be okay, Riley. Hudson knows what he is doing.”

“I hope so.”

I sat back down and watched as an older-looking man stepped onto the mat. He looked at Hudson and Channing and said something I couldn’t hear. Then the fight began. The room became quiet. I was shocked by the silence. I had always assumed that fights were noisy events.

“Why is it so quiet?” I whispered to Justin.

“People want to hear every break and crunch.”

“What?”

“They want to hear the bones break.” He offered me a gentle smile. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I swallowed hard. “It just seems so weird that people would want to see other people get hurt.”

“That’s humankind for you.” He shrugged and then gave me a once-over. “Are you sure you want to be here? It could get pretty bad. I’m sure there will be a lot of blood.”