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“You look like shit,” Walt muttered. “Why the fuck are you fighting again already?”
“It looks worse than it is,” Theo said, not even having to lie. “I’m fine.”
The trainer continued grumbling under his breath as he handed Theo a fresh pair of sky-blue shorts. “Hurry up and change so we can get those hands wrapped. You did well last night, but your opponent tonight will be a lot harder. You got your cup on, right?”
“I suspect so,” Theo deadpanned, getting serious, as he stripped down and adjusted the groin protection keeping his dick and balls safe. “Tell me about him.”
“He’s bigger than Bruno, but still maybe an inch or two under you. This guy, he goes by Kansas, is a corn-fed, home-grown, rough-and-tumble kind of guy. Stocky, all muscle. He uses brute strength to defeat his opponents. He can and will take a punch or two. Make you feel like you’re winning, then WHAM! He’ll catch you with an uppercut that’ll knock you back six feet. Guy’s got steel blocks for hands or something. Like getting hit with Thor’s hammer.” Walt chuckled to himself. “Probably fancies himself a god or something, anyway. Guy’s got an ego ten feet tall.”
“So you’re saying I should knock him down a peg or two?” Theo smirked, and Walt chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah. You do that.”
The medic from the day before, Glen, approached. “You almost ready? I wanna take a look at that cut; make sure it's sealed good.”
“Yeah, sure.” They made their way to Glen’s area and Theo sat, holding his breath as the medic examined him.
“This healed well,” Glen noted, prodding at the scabbed cut. “I’m just going to throw some extra adhesive on it. Hopefully, that’ll keep it from opening unless you get a direct hit to the area. Try not to do that, okay?”
Theo caught Glen’s wrist and met his inquisitive gaze. He smiled softly and winked. “I’ll try.”
Glen rolled his eyes and patted Theo’s shoulder. “Good. Now hold still.” Theo sat unmoving as Glen poked and prodded, declaring him fit before sending him back to Walt. His hands were taped, his weight double-checked, then it was off to the weight room where he hopped on the treadmill to warm up.
When Walt reentered, the low hum of the crowd erupted into a dull roar. “It’s a good match out there. Really working the crowd to a frenzy. Lots of blood.”
“Blood?” Theo’s fingers hovered over the stop button, and he readied himself to jump off if needed.
“Eh.” Walt waved a hand around nonchalantly. “They broke each other’s noses. They’re pretty evenly matched, so I expect they’ll go all three rounds.” He was silent a moment before he added, “Saw your Sugar Daddy out there. He’s biting at the bit to get back here.”
Surprised, Theo nearly stumbled when he stopped moving, and the treadmill slid him backward onto the floor. He stared at Walt. “Daddy?”
Walt let out a bark of laughter. “Damn. Your face! Ha!” He slapped his thigh for good measure before explaining. “Dan, ya idjit. You know that man’s old enough to be your father?”
“What are you talking about?” Theo growled.
Walt cut his mirth short and put up his hands, palms out. “Hey, I didn’t mean any offense. I was just noticing the age difference between the two of you. He’s in his thirties, and you’re what? Twenty-one? Twenty-two?”
“So?” Theo took a step forward.
“Hey, hey. I’m sorry.” The shock of fear written across Walt’s face and the apology tempered Theo’s rising anger.
He stepped back and took a cleansing breath, releasing his annoyance into the universe, a silent prayer on his lips. “You’re right, but I… Look,” Theo lowered his voice, “I like Daniel—a lot—but it’s new. I’m not sure how he feels about me.”
“He likes you.”
“You think so?” Theo fished, to which Walt smirked.
“He risked his stomach to watch you fight yesterday. Didn’t toss his cookies until we were back here, right? Screams love to me. Now get on with your prep while I go see how the other fight’s doing.”
Theo didn’t quite understand the strange analogy Walt had made before he left, but he let the thought go to focus on warming up and stretching his muscles. When the cacophony of cheers boomed through the room, Theo twisted just enough to see his beloved enter, followed closely by Judah. Unfortunately, coming in behind them was Troy.
Daniel
Daniel and Jay slipped past Sabre and Bull at the door. He introduced Jay, who proclaimed his friendship with Theo and was there to watch his bestie fight.
Sabre gave Jay a thorough once-over. “He’s gonna ask, you know?”
Daniel shrugged and jerked a thumb at Jay. “He can hold his own.”
