Sammy

"Make sure to keep the back straight. Your stance is everything." I called out to the ring of new lads, over the sound of music that was blaring through the gym.

I couldn't tell if it was just my age starting to show, but I swear the music was getting increasingly more obnoxious each night. Most of the kids that were in here on this particular night, were between the ages of 17-19. Let's just say I couldn't understand ninety percent of what these motherfuckers wanted to listen to.

One of the novice hot heads, Kyle, had gotten distracted by a veteran boxer named Grayson. In a different ring further towards the entrance of the gym, Grayson was up against Michael, another veteran. They were neck to neck with throws, until Grayson did something pretty fucking impressive. He imitated the Dempsey Roll. He bobbed down to dodge three hits, then followed it with four quick yet precise jabs. It threw Michael back on the floor hard.

As soon as Kyles eyes left his opponents to look, Ricky landed a swift punch to the side of Kyle's face. I watched him go down, himself.

"Don't let that concentration break, Kyle. No distractions!" I called out, as Ricky lended a hand to help him back up. Kyles face instantly flashed with anger, but he shoved those feels down while he and Ricky stepped out the ring.

Before I could make it to the back locker room to have a quick word with the rest of the students, I was stopped by Grayson. He was pure sweat from his practice rounds, which was what I liked to see. "Man, almost time to close up huh?" Grayson asked. "Kassie mentioned she didn't mind hanging back tonight if you wanna wrap it up here then go get a drink? I think they'll be clearing house soon."

I set my water bottle and hand wraps on one of the desks As I thought about the offer. Technically, this would be me breaking my own pact to the guys. I was making them go a month with no liquor, in preparation for the next fight. But a shot of whiskey made my mouth salivate, and Kassie's drinks were always on the house.

"Give me a few minutes to close up, and we'll walk over together." I replied finally. That made Grayson break out into the largest grin. He followed as we made our way back to the locker rooms. I was surprised to see that everyone had changed so quickly, and were waiting patiently for me to dismiss them... then I remembered it was a Tuesday night and everyone here probably had school to catch up on.

Grayson took a seat on the bench next to the rest of the veteran boxers (who were pretty much all just our homies), while Kyle and the rest of the younger kids gathered at the opposite side. It was odd working with such a young group, and it was my first time doing it, but I appreciated how great of a role model my friends were to them.

"Alright, great job out there guys. I'll need you to tighten up that stance Xavier, we'll work on that this Saturday." I nodded to one of the kids sitting besides Kyle. He had a smaller build, but he moved quick out there. That was something I could work with.

"Yes sir." Xavier nodded to me.

"Good. And Kyle, keep that head in the ring. Focus on you." I shifted to the hot tempered one next.

"Yes sir." Kyle mumbled back. He did his best to conceal his emotions.

"Other than that, you were quick with that hit Ricky, nice job. On Saturday, we'll put in more hours on rotation so each of you can get comfortable with fighting different opponents. I'm also going to bring in the veteran group again-" I heard a series of groans from my friends before I could even finish that sentence. I could of sworn someone mumbled "Goddamn it, Sammy." But I pushed on. "No complaints, we got competitions to train for. Pretty sure it was you, Raiden, who got your ass handed to you by that Kalipsky guy in last years sections."

That was when the rest of the veterans burst out laughing.

"You'll all be in at nine in the morning sharp for a few hours of training. I won't keep you long, I promise. Now get the fuck outta my gym and go have a great night." And that was all people needed to hear.

They moved at lightning speed as soon as those words left my mouth. My money was on the novice fighters to clear the gym first, but my veterans floored them motherfuckers. Most of the veteran fighters had jobs they were going to need to wake up for in the morning. They also had girlfriends who needed to get laid, or a fish that needed feeding. It was always something with those guys.

I laughed as the last few fighters said a quick goodbye, then trickled out. It was finally just Grayson and I.

"Alright man, lets go get that drink." I nodded to him. That was when Grayson leaped into action with energy I did not know he had. Alcohol was a great motivation, I guess. We went through the closing process, making sure everything was packed up, rolled away, and stacked, before we left the building.

Tidal Wave was nothing more than one block down the street from the gym, and it's convenience was the real reason I could never stay away. Grayson and I enjoyed the stroll through the chilly air, allowing it to cool us down especially after the grueling workout we had faced. Grayson worked full time with me, so unfortunately we had to be back in doing the same thing for another fourteen hours tomorrow. I understood why a shot sounded so good now.

Most of the streets had cleared out as Tidal Wave closed up. I noticed there was someone standing outside of the bar next to Willis. By the way Willis was rocking back and forth, I knew that motherfucker was fucked up on something. Then again, it was always something with the guy. He tweaked when he was high. He tweaked when he was sober.

Willis looked aggravated as he spoke to this kid that couldn't have been much taller than him. From the street lamp right above, I could make out some of the kids features. He had a smaller build, nothing more than 5'9. Maybe fresh out of high school? His skin was the shade of mocha, and paired with the crisp black button down he was wearing, made him look all the more dark and mysterious.

I wonder what the hell this kid was doing with a crackhead like Willis.

It looked like the guy had offered Willis a small smile, before trying to turn around. That was when I noticed the all too familiar patterns in aggression. Before the kid could fully turn away, Willis grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back. The mystery kid looked completely caught off guard, way out of his element, and fucking terrified. It seemed like he had started to say something, but then Willis did something completely out of character.

He punched the mystery kid square in his face.

As soon as the punch landed, the kid fell back on the pavement. That was when Grayson and I leaped into action.

Grayson sprinted the rest of the way, to get Willis in a headlock before he could do anything else. Willis was wailing about something to do with... change? I was really hoping cash wasn't what Willis had socked a complete stranger over.

I dropped to my knees instantly to check out the kid. As I drew closer to his body, I realized the guy was older than I originally presumed. His nose was definitely busted, yet even through the blood, I was able to see him. He had a very gentle face, one that was going to need a fuck ton of ice very soon.

"Hey. Hey, are you alright?" I asked him as calmly as I could, when I noticed his eyes start to flutter.

"What the- what the fuck?" The guy mumbled. Once his lids shot open, I saw panic in his eyes. Real panic.

"Hey. Hey, it's good. You're good. Willis landed a nasty one on you, looks like. Let's get you cleaned up yeah?" I offered the man my hand, which he gratefully took. Grayson had let Willis go with a warning by now. I could just make out the silhouette of him before he disappeared down the street. We both helped the poor guy into Tidal Wave, but was met with an ear deafening scream as soon as we walked through the front door.

"What the fuck happened?!" Kassie demanded immediately.

Grayson was the first to respond. "Willis punched him. Not sure why, so don't ask."

Grayson's dynamic with his sister was always entertaining. Kas had a bubbly personality, but Grayson just liked to hang back. I never understood how they got along so well. Maybe it was that ying yang completion shit.

"Oh my fucking god, Dante? Can you hear me, Dante? Are you okay?" She asked the man as soon as we set him down on a barstool. He leant against the counter, holding the bridge of his nose.

Kassie called him Dante.

"You know this guy?" I asked her. Kassie gave me a nod.

"He's our new bartender. It was literally his first day today too, what the fuck is wrong with this city?" She heaved a heavy sigh, while she started wetting a towel to give to Dante. Once he got the blood cleaned up, I was able to see him much better.

"Does it look broken?" He moaned. I shifted in front of him to take a better look.

"Can you move your hand for me?" I asked. He gave me nod, as his hand fell to his side. I placed a finger under his chin to lift his head up further. His eyes had this look- this very guarded look, as they bore into mine. He was very skittish and tense around everyone. I didn't understand why though.

Judging by the fallout, it was definitely broken. If this guy could come to terms with a broken nose, then he'd be alright.

"You'll live." I told him with a smile. His eyes broke contact with mine as they looked away nervously.

"Thank you." He mumbled. I gave a solid nod.

"You know what, sugar?" Kassie gestured to Dante. "Don't worry about cleaning up here. You go home and ice that thing. Come in whenever you can tomorrow because we've got all the shifts covered anyways, and we'll work out your schedule from there."

Dante gave her the biggest smile he could muster.

"Thank you... Bridgette?" He replied. Kassie's face looked confused for a split second, before she busted out laughing.

"You're fucking adorable. These guys are the OG regulars, sweet pea. Kassie is fine around these fools."

Dante chuckled himself. "Got it, thank you." He did his best to catch his balance as he slid off the stool.

"Would you like for me to walk you home?" I asked him. He sort of avoided my eye contact again, but he still gave me a smile.

"I should be okay, thank you though. For everything. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Kassie!" He called out over his shoulders.

"Please just promise me you'll survive till then!" She called back. The last thing I heard was Dante's light laughter as he went out into the night.

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