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“This is the new co-trainer, Kirk Ford,” Henderson stated with a slight frown. I assumed he just had the news delivered to him, because normally, he would have been very welcoming. It was just his personality.
I looked at Ford with a smile, and he gave me a ‘I told you so’ look.
“Who would like to go first?” Henderson continued.
“Remy and I will go,” Terrance said gleefully, holding up his hand.
Remy shot him a pointed look. Terrance and Remy were equally big and tall. They were the two most prominent men I had ever seen. They were evenly matched, but I knew Remy had used his gifts in the past in the ring. He didn’t fully utilize it, but he applied it enough to thwart the other man so that he never won.
“Let’s go,” Henderson called out before backing out of the ring. He then began to quietly talk to Kirk Ford. I imagined he was telling him what the rules were.
Three two-minute rounds. Controlled kicks to the head were awarded two points. Shots to the body were worth one. If you put your opponent in a submissive hold, you got the point for every three seconds you successively held your opponent down. If you exited the ring, you got the point deduction. If you exited it three times, you were disqualified.
Remy stood, wrapped his hands, and made his way to the rings. We didn’t wear any protective gear except for wraps, cups for the men, and mouthpieces. Helmets were optional. We were supposed to use controlled force in all our movements.
“Good luck,” I murmured as I caressed his back.
He gave me one of his rare crooked grins as he entered the ring. Henderson held a thumb up to the scorekeepers, ring watchers, and the ref. They all held their thumbs back up to indicate that they were ready. Henderson blew the whistle, signifying the start of the match.
Terrance went in immediately with aggression. Remy was a large man but was quick on his feet. He was the man I ran with the most. He loved lifting weights, but cardio was just as important to him.
Remy feinted away from him and landed a solid kick to Terrance’s midsection.
Remy didn’t have the flexibility of Troy or even Noah, but he was capable of landing good solid kicks to the midsection. He was more into the brute strength of his hands and b
ody. He did most of his fighting on the mats, adopting a Jiu-Jitsu or Judo style. He had used the element of surprise to his benefit, awarding him his first point.
Terrance grunted and turned, sweeping Remy’s feet out from under him. Again, despite his size, Remy was deceiving. He rolled with agile grace and wrapped his legs around Terrance’s waist before he could touch him, then flipped him over to his back. He lifted himself up and put Terrance into a choke hold, taking him down. Terrance struggled against him and made an astounding effort to try and break the hold, but Remy tucked his chin to his chest, making it harder for Terrance to find a grip and reverse it.
I watched with bated breath, counting silently to three. In my head, I cheered when the point was awarded to Remy.
Terrance twisted and used the momentum of his lower body to break the hold Remy had on him, scrambling to his feet. Remy jumped back up and immediately went in with more solid punches and kicks to Terrance’s midsection before Terrance was able to take him down to the mats and get his first point. By the end of the match, Remy was up by three points. They continued beating on each other and putting each other into submissive holds, making it a pretty even challenge.
I was happy when Remy beat him by two points by the end of the match. It had been entertaining, to say the least.
“Okay, girls,” Henderson blew his whistle. “I’m tired of watching these men sweat. Time to see some of you out here. Who’s first?”
“I want to see a rematch between Adams and Thomas,” one of Adams’ friends called out, looking smugly at me.
Somehow, I knew it was coming. Adams and her friends had been whispering and looking in my direction a lot this afternoon. They weren’t privy to my loss of gifts, but I knew they had noticed my absence from training. Plus the rumor had circulated about me being sick. I didn’t think anyone except for my immediate family and friends knew about the cause of my mysterious affliction.
“If she won’t use her gifts, that is.” Adams smirked as she looked at me. I knew she was implying that that was the only way I had won last time.
“She has a doctor’s note for light training only,” Remy stated to Henderson, indicating my arm. I was dressed in a black, racerback tank top, so my white dressing was clearly visible. I still had it wrapped because it was nasty looking. I hadn’t taken a pain pill the last two days, fighting through the slight pain it gave me from time to time.
“I’m surprised to even see you training.” Henderson frowned as he noticed me ensconced between Troy and Jace.
I stood up, brushing the bottoms of my pants. I had enough angst boiling up in me, and it was itching to get out. I needed to vent, and what better way to do so than physically in a ring.
“I’m game,” I called out. “…if she promises not to take any cheap shots to my arm.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Henderson said hesitantly.
“Blake,” Remy said with a warning growl.
“‘Tis but a scratch!” I said in my best British accent.
Jaxson and Noah immediately started snickering. They had made me sit through many hours of Monty Python movies when I was laid up. I found some of it wasn’t that amusing to me, but I did discover some parts to be hilarious, hence the reference.
