Seth (5 page)

“You
think
I’m hitting on you? Darling if I was hitting
on you there’d be no doubt and there’d be no defense against me.”

“Oh my god, are you freaking kidding me? Wow, and I
almost thought you could actually be a nice guy. You’re nothing but an ass
that’s full of himself. Wow…thank you so much for opening my eyes tonight.”

“You just keep getting angry dear, it’ll make this that
much more fun.”

I can’t believe this guy. The more he talks the more
pissed I’m getting. Problem is I know if I can’t stay mad at the guy I’m going
to end up doing something stupid here. After setting his helmet on his
handlebars he just walks up to me like I’ve invited him or something. The
closer he gets to me the taller he seems to grow. By the time he’s within hand
shaking distance it feels like he’s about ten feet tall. Now he takes off his
gloves and holds out his right hand.

“So nice to see you again Kim.” He says.

Now I’m in trouble. The way my name comes rolling off his
tongue really gets my juices flowing. I may as well hold up a white flag now
because I’m rapidly becoming helpless around this man.

“I can’t believe you don’t remember my name.” He says and
for a second I can hear his hurt pride showing through.

“Sorry…when we met I was going through some stuff. You
could have been the president and I wouldn’t have remembered.”

“Yeah I guess it was pretty intense, that guy dying and
all.”

“Oh that wasn’t the intense part.” I reply.  I wasn’t
going to tell him about my brother but there is just something about him that
makes me open my stupid mouth and just say the first damn thing that pops into
my head.

“What could be more upsetting than watching a man die
right in front of you?” He asks.

“Yeah…it’s just a little more disturbing when it’s my
brother who’s doing the killing and then the…the worst of all biker gangs
actually rewards him for the killing… Now that’s disturbing.”

Now it’s his turn to be caught off guard. It takes a
couple seconds for him to get his bearings again.

“Iron Skull is your brother?” He asks incredulously.
“I’ve known the dude for almost three years and he hasn’t said a word about
having a sister.”

“Yeah I’m not surprised at that. We haven’t spoken since
he left home when we were in our teens and we didn’t leave on good terms. So
that means I haven’t spoken to him in something like ten years I guess. So how’d
he get tangled up with you guys?” I seriously doubt he’s going to answer that
question.

“I really think that’s a question best answered by
Skull.”

“Who the hell is Skull and why would he be the one to
talk to me about my brother?”

“Because he
is
your brother.” He replies.

“Oh yeah… I’m just not used to the secret code name. I
know him as Caleb not…not Skull or Iron Skull. Why do you guys call him that
anyway?”

“Wasn’t it obvious from his MMA fight?” Seth asks.

“Did I miss something?”

“We call him Skull, or Iron Skull because of a bar fight
one night that some of the brothers got in to. Being a good prospect, your
brother waded into the fight and started crushing heads. Then some guy cracks a
pool cue right over the top of Skull’s head and he just blinks and kicks the
dude’s ass. I have
never
seen anyone get a pool cue broken over their
heads and still be able to stand afterwards. Your brother has the hardest
fucking head I have ever seen.”

“Oh…”

While we have been talking I have this speech formulating
in the back of my mind. It’s a good one and it’s the one that’s going to put
this guy and his club of thieves in their place. Trouble is, the longer I stay
here talking to him the more attracted to him I am. It’s an awkward situation
at the very least. Bikers are supposed to be grubby, scruffy, and smelly. Seth
is none of these things. He also seems to genuinely care about his brothers and
he’s not some uneducated, barely literate human being. I wouldn’t be surprised
to learn he is college educated.

“So I guess now that my brother has a new family you’re
going to forbid him from associating with his real one?”

“Why would I do that?” Seth replies with a perplexed
look.

“Never mind. So how often does he do these fights?”

“It used to be just every once in a while, but now that
he’s making a name for himself he’s getting even busier. The club manages him
now and we’re trying to get him some big fights; headline fights. You should
come to the next one. It’s at Arco Arena again, but he’s fighting an
established fighter with a 21-1-0 record. They call him Breaker on account of
how many bones his opponents have broken while fighting him. It’s the headline
fight for the evening and supposedly Mike White from Surge is going to be there
scouting him for the possibility of taking him on as one of their premier
fighters. The guys who fight for Surge make twice as much as the average MMA
fighter and they get so much more exposure. It’ll be a good fight.”

Then he pulls a postcard out of his jacket.

“What’s this?”

“This is the event. It’s the last Saturday of the month
and your brother’s going to be training seven days a week to prepare for it.”

I stash the postcard in my purse. I’ll look at it later.
In the meantime I need to get home and get some writing done. It’s so late as
it is but I just have a hard time dragging myself away from Seth. Sometimes I
just want to stand and look at him. He’s just so damn flawless it makes me want
to see more.

He takes a step towards me so close I can smell his minty
breath.

“Come on darlin’.”

“What, is it time for me to put out now, is that it?”

“Well I woul-”

“Oh my god, you’d like it if I was easy wouldn’t you?
Just shut up and put out; right? Just because you saved my ass back there
doesn’t mean I have to put out. I’m grateful but I don’t show my thanks by
dropping my drawers.”

“Darlin’ I wouldn’t expect you to.” He breathes.

“And what’s with this darling shit anyway? Is that what
you call all the girls?”

“Only if it fits.”

“Well I don’t date criminals so sorry to burst your ego
bubble.”

“Hey I’m not looking for a date.”

“Then what the hell do you want if not a date?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“I just can’t believe you actually think you have a
chance with me.” I reply.

“And I can’t believe you actually think you can resist
me.”

“Well if you’re just going to rape-”

“I’m not taking about rape darling. That is one behavior
that is
never
tolerated in the club. You force yourself on a young lady
and the club will cut off your balls! We’re not a bunch of savages sweetheart.”

“Yeah I’m looking at these boots, all that leather, and
then that wraith on your back… You’re never going to convince me you’re not a
lot of savages.”

“It’s just an image darlin’. There’s so much more going
on underneath this cut.”

My head’s going; ‘I don’t give a rats ass what he’s got
underneath that cut’, but my body’s panting a totally different story. There’s
something about the way he looks at me that’s a total turn on. He has such a
high level of confidence… but then so does Marc so it’s more than just that.
Maybe he’s got a twelve inch cock or maybe an eight inch one that makes a
serious left turn; I don’t know. My body just betrays me at every turn when it
comes to this guy.

While my head’s in turmoil he reaches out and does
something as simple as brushing an errant strand of hair from my forehead and
suddenly I’m flying the white flag. His hand brushes my cheek and the touch is
both gentle and electrifying! I’m no longer capable of resisting. When his
mouth finds mine I’m more than ready for those tantalizing lips. At first the
whiskers on his upper lip and chin tickle,  and then I’m just lost in his kiss.
I’m a big fan of kissing. Trouble is, most guys while fans as well, their
skills don’t hold up under pressure so to speak. Seth on the other hand is
fantastic! When our tongues collide and begin their erotic dance it sends
twinges of pure pleasure right between my crossed legs. Damn this guy is good!
I can feel warm bursts of air in my face from his nostrils as he exhales
intense passion. And just when I feel like I could be content if I did nothing
else with my life but kiss Seth I get hit with a world class round of guilt
that I’m sorta stepping out on my boyfriend Marc. And despite that I feel a
vacuum immediately and wish I could just keep kissing Seth.

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

“This…never mind.” I reply. “I have to go.”

I really have to go now before I start trying to justify
doing even more than just kissing. I have to leave or the next time I’m with
Marc my guilty transgression is going to be written all over my face.

“Sorry I really do have to go.” I say to the bewildered
biker.

Judging by the look of astonishment on his handsome face
I get the feeling he’s not used to women spurning his advances. I turn on my
heels and go into my house without so much as a backward glance.

When I finally do get to bed it’s like 2:30 am and
there’s no way I’m going to get any work done so I might as well try to sleep.
I strip off my clothes and let them fall where they may. I crawl into bed and
I’m asleep the second my head hits the pillow.

My dreams alternate between flashes of my brother getting
his ass kicked in the ring and torrid love scenes where Seth and another woman
are introducing me to new hedonistic heights between the sheets.

During my waking hours I am increasingly plagued with
thoughts of Seth and the Soul Eaters. When I’m with Marc I’m having a hard time
carrying around the guilt from my dreams of his arch enemy Seth. If I’m not
careful it’s going to cause a problem in our relationship and I haven’t really
done anything to feel guilty about.

The last Saturday of the month is on me before I know it
and tonight is the biggest fight card of the year at Arco Arena. One more time
I wade through the crowd of single, silicon boosted whores looking for a new
boyfriend or looking to step out on the one they already have. Now that’s the
story I should be writing for the website. I grow tired of covering cage fights
and I’m even more tired of the fighters themselves and their oversized egos.
Why can’t anyone in this business go by their real names? Even the cage referee
goes by The Judge. He was probably a fighter himself in the past. The crowd is
already chanting the names of various fighters on tonight’s card. There’ll be
eight fights tonight and I swear all sixteen fighters names are being shouted
simultaneously right now and it’s making my ears vibrate painfully. I flash my
press pass at the edge of our area and duck under the tape. Somewhere in this
mass of flesh should be Molly. One of her clients is Bullshido.com. She’s
actually their lead writer. She also writes for several print magazines and
she’s the one who got me into this business.

“Hey girlfriend!”

I turn around and discover Molly standing right behind me
holding her fight card.

“I see your brother is the main event tonight.” She says.
“How’d he manage that?”

“The club’s doing this huge push to get him into Surge
and tonight Mike White from Surge is going to be taking a look at him. I guess
the club is hoping he’ll become the company’s flagship fighter for the New
Year.”

“Wow! That’s impressive. I had no idea your brother was
that good.”

“Yeah I didn’t either. The club is acting as his manager
and they have some amazing coach working with him so they think he actually has
a shot at this guy tonight.”

“I hope you’re right.” Molly replies. “Breaker is not one
to let anyone tap out. If he beats your brother he’ll fuck him up!”

“Yeah, did you really have to remind me of that?”

“Sorry, sometimes I forget he’s your brother.”

“So do I. But I don’t think the club would put him in
this position if they thought he’d lose. They know a loss to Breaker could be a
career ender. That’s what happened to the Black Knight last year. He’s never
been able to come back from his fight with Breaker.”

“Don’t I know it. I had a month’s rent on that fight and
I lost it.”

The lights dim and a hush falls over the crowd as the
ring announcer takes the microphone and introduces tonight’s first fight.

The first seven fights come and go with few surprises. If
I hadn’t been here for my job I would have skipped them and arrived right now -
minutes before the premiere fight. When they announce Breaker’s name, the crowd
goes insane chanting his name over and over again until I’m pretty sure my
eardrums are broken. He’s definitely a crowd favorite and I’d hate to be the
guy stepping into the ring with him. It’s gotta be hard to keep from getting
psyched out by the crowd and your opponents reputation. When they finally
announce my brother a huge explosion of chanting and cheering comes from one
section of the auditorium; right where the Soul Eaters have gathered. While
most of the crowd is cheering for Breaker, the bikers actually hold their own
in the noise department. That should help my brother stay in the right frame of
mind.

Caleb is wearing a pair of black shorts with the words
Soul Eaters across the butt. He is actually an impressive specimen. He’s
obviously bulked up and with his biker’s patch tattooed on his broad muscular
back he looks like someone to be reckoned with. For the first time since I
heard who he is facing tonight I actually think he might have a chance.

Both fighters approach the center of the cage and stare
at one another as the referee goes over the rules. It’s clear neither man is
paying him any attention. The refuse to tap gloves and just glare until the ref
drops his hand and steps back. He barely gets himself out of the way before
Breaker is all over Caleb. In seconds my brother is reeling backwards, blood
already flowing from his nose. But the Breaker doesn’t let up. He charges in,
pounding his opponent left and right before he finally leaps in with a knee to
the torso.

Amazingly Caleb sees it happen and sidesteps, then whirls
around and drops his elbow right onto Breaker’s spine just below the skull. On
a normal man that would be the end of the fight. The shock to Breakers spine
makes him take a knee on the mat for a brief second before he lunges up trying
to attack Caleb from up and inside. My brother is ready for that too and grabs
the Breaker by the jaw and back of his head and wrenches his neck to the side
and down. Both fighters go to the mat in a heap, but my brother is on top.

Suddenly the Breakers rabid fans are silenced and the
Soul Eaters sound as if they’re the only ones in the arena tonight. They are
going nuts and it looks like every single one of them is giving Caleb shouted
and demonstrated advice on the fight. One dude is advocating a jab to the eyes,
another to the throat, while a third is mimicking some kind of move to break
the Breaker’s neck. These guys aren’t just out for the win, they want blood!

But the Breaker’s not finished yet as he manages to hook
his leg around Caleb’s neck and suddenly he’s on top and my brother is on his
back fighting for his life. Molly who is right in front of me suddenly flinches
away from the fight, covering her face. When she drops her arms I can see what
happened. There’s a sizeable swath of blood smeared across her face and chest.
I can see the revulsion in her face as she tries to focus on the fight and to
keep from vomiting.

My handsome brother’s face is a wreck. Even if he wins
tonight he’s going to be the walking wounded for quite a while. Breaker is
hammering his fist into Caleb’s smashed nose when the first bell rings
signaling the end to round one. The Breaker is so intent on crushing my brother
he either doesn’t hear the bell or refuses to acknowledge it. Suddenly the ref
tackles Breaker and they both go down. Reflexively Breaker goes to elbow the
ref in the face but it’s easily blocked. Then two more bodies converge on
Breaker and they drag him away to his corner holding him down until he regains
his senses. The ref gets up and I’m sure he’s going to throw Breaker out but he
just wipes his bloody nose and signals for round two to begin.

I’ve been to a lot of cage fights and while some are
pretty tame, most are pretty brutal, and none compare to tonight’s
bloodletting. The fight is scheduled to go three rounds but halfway through
round two and it looks like neither fighter is going to last that long. Breaker
has cuts above both eyes and a gash on his chin. Caleb’s nose is squashed and
off to one side and he has a nasty cut beneath his right eye. Breaker is having
trouble seeing anything but my brother is having trouble just breathing.
Something’s gotta give and I hope it’s not Caleb. He’s beaten up Breaker so
badly that a loss now will certainly result in numerous broken bones. If my
brother doesn’t win this fight and win it soon his career will be over before
it’s really even gotten started.

When the bell sounds for the end of round two it takes
the ref and two others to separate the two combatants. If my brother wins this
is going to set up the rivalry of the ages and that’s just perfect for Surge if
they choose to take on Caleb. Nothing sells fight tickets better than an
ongoing blood feud.

When round three starts both men are still shaky but
focused. Breaker goes for a quick takedown but my smaller and slightly faster
brother sidesteps the move and goes for a takedown himself. Breaker easily
slips him and goes on an attack with his legs by firing an onslaught of kicks that
are surprisingly fast for the big man. Caleb narrowly dodges one that would
have literally taken his head off at the shoulders. Both men’s faces are
covered in bright red blood making them look like a pair of creatures from one
of Wes Craven’s horror movies. Suddenly Caleb slips on a pool of blood on the
mat and he goes down to his knees. Breaker pounces and there’s a flurry of
punches from both opponents but they’re so fast I can’t even begin to see who’s
punching who. Suddenly Breaker’s head rocks back violently and I can literally
see the light go out of his eyes. The fight’s over before he hits the mat.

The entire auditorium leaps to their feet erupting in a
mixture of anger and glee. The underdog has taken on the big man and defeated
him in a spectacular blood-fest! My brother is so out of it that when the
referee grabs his glove to lift it in victory he nearly punches the ref in the
face. When it does dawn on him a huge smile breaks out across his bloody,
battered face. That’s an image that’s gonna stick in my mind for a long time.
He looks truly crazed. When I finally tear my gaze from Caleb’s hideous face I
look down at his fallen opponent and two paramedics are transferring him to a
back board. They’ve got a collar on his neck to protect his spine and are
administering oxygen. Suddenly I’ve got a déjà vu from the first fight I saw my
brother in. I seriously hope he hasn’t killed another fighter.

In the middle of the celebration in the cage Mike White
from Surge enters the throng and congratulates my brother. Then he hollers
something in his ear Caleb pumps his right fist in triumph! Then everyone
around him is jumping up and down and hollering to one another.

“Looks like your brother just became Surge’s new
superstar.” Molly says to me.

“You’ve got a little something here.” I reply, pointing
to the corner of her mouth.

She actually has a little something all over her face and
neck. It’s going to take some washing to get the smell of blood out of her
hair.

“You don’t think…” I begin.

“No he couldn’t have killed his second opponent.” Molly
reassures me.

“You’re right.” I reply. “He was just knocked out and
they’re just taking extra precautions given how bloody a fight that was.”

We say our goodbyes and return to write up our stories
and get cleaned up. Once in a while I actually enjoy the fights but tonight was
just too brutal for me. I feel like I need to go home and wash my eyes. There
are some things you wish you could un-see and tonight is one night I’d love to
erase from memory. This is gonna cause some nightmares; I’m sure of it.