Frost was owned by Dylan Frost, a former UFC champion who had since retired at the age of thirty-five due to a leg injury. He had opened this gym to help other guys that had been like him and just needed a place to let off steam without the regulations and rules of the gyms around OSU. It was almost an underground kind of place, where a lot of big names came by when they didn't want the pressure of a chain gym.
"Sheppard?"
Alex stopped hitting the bag and turned to see Vincent, one of the fighters training for an upcoming Columbus MMA tournament walk up to him. His knuckles were already taped up, and a grin was in place.
"Hell, no, dude." Alex fully faced Vince and shook his head. He knew that look, and there was no fucking way he was going to get in the ring and spar with him.
"What?" Vince's lip and eyebrow ring glinted under the florescent lights.
"Don't act fucking cute. You know damn well why you came over here."
"All right, well quit being a pussy and fight with me." Vince was already moving toward the ring. Alex gritted his teeth. He was warmed up, but Vince was a machine, and knew a hell of a lot more moves than Alex did. The last time they fought Alex sported a nasty fucking black-eye and limped for a week No way in hell Alex was a pussy, and could easily handle his own, but shit, Vince was a beast in the cage, was training to be in the UFC, and could kill a man with a few strategically placed moves. "I swear, no kidney shots, and I'll stay away from your face, pretty boy. I wouldn't want you trying to hook up with some chick looking like the shit got beat out of you."
Vince was a cocky asshole, and rightly so since he was the King of the cage, but if he wanted to fight, then so fucking be it. Alex had enough adrenalin pumping through his veins that he felt the power flowing through him. Another fighter came up to him and started taping his hands. Vince bounced on the balls of his feet in the cage, staring at Alex with an amused look on his face. Once he was finished prepping he climbed into the ring and faced off with Vince.
"This time you're the one that's gonna have the black fucking eye."
Vince threw his head back and started laughing. "Well, bring it on, pretty boy."
Alex didn't wait, just moved closer, his fists raised and his sole focus on Vince. They rounded on each other, and in a quick move Vince and he were on the ground grappling. Vince tried to use a kneebar to get Alex in a submission hold, but he flipped around quickly and had Vince on his belly with his arm behind him in an armbar.
"You fucker," Vince said through a strained chuckle.
Alex could have broken his arm, or at the very least dislocated it, but that wasn't what this was about. Vince twisted and moved out from under Alex, and then he found the two of them in a clinch, a move that had both of them face-to-face, their arms interlocked together, and their rapid breathing identical. Alex started throwing close shot to Vince's ribs. Vince grunted out in pain, and satisfaction filled him.
"Damn, Alex, you been training." Vince grunted again, but in a seasoned move Vince was now behind him with his thick forearm around Alex's neck. It didn't matter how good Alex was at bare-knuckle fighting, Vince knew his moves, and was an expert at Sambo, a Russian martial art. Vince slammed his free fist into Alex's side, and he grunted. "I saw you at Rocko's." Vince tightened his hold on Alex's throat, cutting off more air. "Was gonna hit you up to hang out, but then I saw this smokin' hot brunette with killer legs." Alex felt his anger rise at the way Vince spoke about Mary. "You bangin' that shit, dude? ‘Cause if you're not, I'll be all over that."
Alex saw red and was shocked by the force of which his rage grew. He was friends with Vince, but something inside of him snapped when Vince talked about Mary like that, like she was just another lay. Tensing, he used all of his strength to maneuver himself out of Vince's hold, spun around, and clocked him right in the fucking eye. Vince stumbled back, and a look of surprise crossed the fighter's face right before his own anger masked his features.
"Damn, guess I know what buttons to push." Vince rolled his neck on his shoulders and started bouncing on his feet. "So talking about that pussy is a no go, yeah?"
The asshole was baiting him, wanting an all-out brawl, and Alex was falling right for it. He couldn't help his reaction, though. He couldn't help the way his motherfucking blood boiled at the thought of Vince getting anywhere near Mary. In fact, it pissed him the fuck off to think of any asshole getting their hands on her. His emotions reared up like a fire-filled monster, wanting to take down anything and everything that came between him and her, but he knew how fucked-up that all sounded. Mary was never going to be his, in any sense of the word, but he grew violent at the thought of Vince or any douche trying to get to her.
"Shit, Alex, you look like a fucking beast right now. All you need is some smoke coming out of your ears." Vince held up his fists and beckoned him closer. Alex didn't want to do any fancy moves. All he wanted at that moment was to beat Vince's ass and get out all of this anger that suddenly filled him. He charged Vince and saw the fucker smiling. "That's it, buddy, don't hold back."
They came together in a tangle of fists and kicks, each one knocking the other in every available spot. Alex got hit in the gut more times than he cared to admit, but he got a good uppercut to Vince, causing the other guy's lip to split wide open.
"Motherfucker." Vince stumbled back and swiped his thumb across his mouth, bringing it down to look at the crimson smear on his hand. His face turned an angry shade of red, but Alex didn't give a fuck if he pissed the fighter off. Vince had wanted to fight, and when he started talking about Mary all hell had broken loose.
"What the fuck is going on?" The sound of Dylan's voice boomed throughout the gym, and Alex realized everything was eerily silent. Looking around he noticed all the fighters had stopped what they were doing and stared at them. "I asked what the fuck was going on." Dylan stood on the other side of the ring and glared at both of them. His short blond hair stood up on end, and by the sweat dripping from his body it was clear the big fucker had been training. "This is a fucking training center. If you assholes want to fight dirty do it someplace else, you feel me?"
Alex nodded and sent a glare at Vince who was already staring at him. "Go ice your fucking face, Alex. Vince, get the blood cleaned off the mat," Dylan barked out and turned, but not before he muttered something about young dumbasses.
Alex turned and climbed out of the cage and made his way to the back medical room. He grabbed a gel-pack from the freezer and slammed the door closed a little harder than necessary. God, he was acting ridiculous, getting pissed at his friends, and over what? Some girl he had just met? She was going to be his fucking tutor, yet here he was, with a fucking hard-on for her. He sat his ass on a chair and slapped the cold pack on his bruised cheek. Maybe that was all it was: getting between her legs.
"Shit." He ran his hand through his damp hair and hung his head between his shoulders. He was losing it, and going ape shit crazy on his friends over it. It had to be the fact Mary wasn't like any other female he had gone after before. She was just so good, clean, and wholesome. The chicks he went after were already there waiting for him, their panties down and their legs spread. They didn't wear clothes that covered more than they showed, and they certainly weren't smart enough to tutor idiots like him. The sound of the door opening had him dreading talking to Dylan about what his problem was, because honestly he had no fucking clue.
"Dylan, man, I'm sorry about that. I just snapped over some stupid shit." And it was stupid, given the fact there was nothing between him and Mary. He lifted his head when Dylan didn't respond and saw Vince leaning against the wall right across from him. Shit, he felt like a damn asshole, but he was still pissed that Vince had said that shit about Mary.
"What's up?" The nonchalant greeting had Alex straightening and eyeing Vince suspiciously. Vince grinned and pushed off the wall, moving toward him. "You were hella crazy back there." He opened the fridge and grabbed a gel pack from the compartment, pressing it again his already swelling eye. "Never seen you get that fierce." He leaned against the fridge and stared at Alex.
"What, man?"