Chapter 15: Lexa

I have about fifteen minutes before the championship fight. I find O to fill her in on what Sloan told me about Jas. She looks at me, "Yeah, I was going to tell you about that. I've seen Jas fight a couple of times. She's a big girl with a lot of power, but nothing you can't handle. So just be prepared for her to try and muscle you up against the cage. Then use her elbows and knees to take you to the ground so that she can pound on you."

"Awesome! Any suggestions on what I should do?"

She smiles, "Don't let her get you up against the cage or on the ground."

"Really? I'm going to the locker room to relax. Come get me when it's five minutes to fight time." I turn and head to the locker room, only to be joined by Clarke. I stop to look at her, "What is it now? I really just want to relax for a few minutes before this next fight. I don't want to argue with you."

She looks at the ground, "Why do you think I came to argue with you?"

"Mainly because you are either yelling at me or arguing with me. Never once have you actually wanted to have a civil conversation with me. Look, I really just need to get my head right, so can whatever wait until after the fight?"

"Look, Lexa, I just wanted to check on you one last time and tell you good luck. Um…I also wanted to say thanks for earlier. So, can we just go in the locker room and let me have a quick look, please."

"Griffin, I'm fine. It was no problem. Besides, I couldn't stand by and let him lay his hands on you. I'm just getting a little stiff and need to go stretch a little, that's all. You're welcome to come if you want, just no yelling."

She laughs, "Fine, come on then."

We go into the locker room, where she looks at my eye again before I start trying to stretch out my shoulders. I sit on the bench, close my eyes, and begin rolling my neck to stretch it out. Suddenly, I'm startled by an electrical shock accompanied by someone touching me, massaging my neck. My eyes snap open, and I jump only to be held in place with strong hands. Clarke whispers, "Calm down. You're super tight. I'm just trying to help loosen you up. Why don't you lay down so I can get your hamstrings too?"

"Um…okay." I do as she asks while she begins to massage my shoulders down my back and then my legs. It honestly feels fantastic, so I just lay there and let her work her magic. I can't help but think how good it feels to be touched by her, even if it is innocent. I start to feel the butterflies in my stomach the longer this goes on and know that I have to stop her. I've felt an attraction to her since we met, but she is with Finn. I'm not that type of person, even if he is an asshole. I need to get some distance between us and fast.

I clear my throat, "Um…Griffin…I think…you need to stop. I should start getting my gloves on and ready. Um…I really appreciate you helping me, but won't Finn be pissed if he finds out…well, about this?" She stops. I sit up so that I can look at her. She really is beautiful.

She just stares at me for a moment before saying, "Probably. The reason Finn was mad earlier was he bet against you and lost big. I told him he was stupid for betting against you in the first place that if he wanted to win his money back, he should bet on you to win the next fight. That set him off more, we got into a huge fight, and he was about to hit me when you stepped in. It's fine though, I'm sure he will meet up with us after the fights."

"Griffin, don't take this the wrong way, but Finn seems like a real jerk. I mean, I haven't known him long, but he just rubs me the wrong way. He seems to have some anger issues, and he definitely doesn't like me. Has he ever hit you before?"

She just laughs, "Yeah, he can be an ass, but he doesn't mean it when he gets mad sometimes. He just snaps. It's never that hard and doesn't happen often. We've been together for so long, and he has been through a lot with me over the years. I think everyone just expects us to stay together. Our families have always been close, and he wants to go into politics. It's just that lately, he has been under a lot of stress from his dad about his grades and getting into law school. I think it's really getting to him, and he takes it out on me because I'm the one that is usually there. It's fine, though. He will calm down and then apologize."

"I don't want to pry, but what do you want? If I have learned anything in my short life, it's that a person needs to do what makes them happy. You shouldn't stay with someone just because it's safe. I even told Ash that I didn't want her to choose me just because I am the safe choice because she knows that she can trust me, and I won't hurt her. Instead, I want her to choose me because she can't live without me. I honestly believe that is what everyone deserves, to be happy. So what I'm trying to say is don't settle for someone you can live without."

She puts her hand on my leg, squeezing it, "Dang Lexa, you just got deep. I really appreciate what you're saying, and I will think about it. Good luck out there."

About that time, Octavia comes in yelling, "It's go time, bitch! Oh, sorry, I thought you were in here alone. Hey Clarke."

I chuckle, "It's fine O, Griffin was just checking my eye one last time. Let's go."

I follow her out of the locker room and immediately hear loud music playing. I look at her, she shrugs, "It's the main event, and we are going to a different room that can hold more spectators."

We follow the sound of the music when I enter the room. The crowd goes crazy. The announcer says, 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is the fight we have all been waiting for…the main event…the championship match of tonight's tournament. If you are just getting here this evening, let me recap what we have seen here today. We have a newcomer who has taken the tournament by storm, ending all her matches in the first round. Fighting out of the red corner, standing six feet tall, weighing one hundred and forty-two pounds, is Lexa 'Stryker' Trikru.'

I can't help but smile at the name, looking at the front row to see Allie smiling up at me. I walk into the cage, raising my hands. If possible, the crowd gets louder, then they begin chanting, 'Stryker, Stryker, Stryker' I can't believe it. I know at this moment, this is what I am meant to do. I was born to fight. Now I'm doing it because I want to, not because someone is forcing me to.

The announcer starts my opponents' intro, and the crowd quiets down. 'In the blue corner, standing at six feet eight inches tall and weighing in at one hundred eighty-three pounds all the way from Brazil…Jaslene 'Jas the killer' Andrada.' She walks into the ring. I can see for the first time just how big she really is. She's about eight inches taller than me and has an amazing body. You can tell that she trains hard and often. We approach the middle of the ring to touch gloves. I expect her to comment about me going down or something, but as I look up at her while touching gloves, she just smiles, saying good luck.

In my corner, O says, "Don't forget what we talked about. Expect her to come out trying to muscle you to the ground. I've also heard that she is quick to anger, and when she is angry, she gets careless, leaving herself open."

"Alright, thanks. If we get deep into the round, Octavia find a way to let me know when I have a minute left. Hopefully, it won't go that far, but just in case, I need to know." She nods her head as the bell rings. Andrada comes out with her hand's high throwing jabs but none of them land. I throw a front kick to her stomach just to keep her on her heels. She throws another jab then shoots for my legs, but I take a quick step back, pushing her head down and away while bringing my knee up, connecting with her forehead. She falls back into the fence; I follow fast with a flying knee that she partially blocks. She quickly gets me into a clinch flipping me so that my back is against the cage.

She is definitely strong, but so am I. I grab her neck, pulling downward while rotating her so that she is against the fence. While I have her there, I throw a couple of knees to her body. She lowers her hands to block my knees, so I unload a hard-right elbow that connects to her temple, staggering her. She recovers quickly, catching me with an uppercut that snaps my head back. She goes low, trying to get a double leg takedown but only manages to grab one leg. I throw a right hook to her body then a left hook to her head. As she lets go of my leg, I manage to catch her with another knee to the forehead. She stumbles back to the middle of the cage but doesn't go down. I'll give it to her; she has a strong chin. I take two quick steps toward her hitting her in the nose with a superman punch. I hear the pop as her nose breaks.

Again, the cage keeps her from going down. She shakes her head while smiling at me. What the hell? She comes charging out, slamming me to the mat hard. I grab her neck and pull it toward me so that I can control her head. She pulls out of my hold and throws a massive elbow to my right eye, opening a cut on the goose egg from the other fight. I use my feet pushing off the mat, throwing her off and over my head. I roll onto my stomach pull my knees under me as she comes toward me. I push off as hard as I can with my arms. Launching my feet at her head, connecting right under her chin as my momentum carries me on through a backflip landing on my feet as she flies into the cage, sliding down it out cold.

The crowd erupts as I throw my hands into the air. O comes running into the cage, lifting me up spinning me around. The chant starts again, 'Stryker, Stryker, Stryker.' I guess Allie's nickname is now officially my fight name. I feel amazing! Once Octavia puts me down, I walk over to check on Jas. The ref has her awake and sitting up, so that is a good sign. I bend over, "Are you alright?"

She smiles, "I will be. What the hell was that move?"

"I don't really know. Someone I used to know taught me a few capoeira moves. I guess it was some combination of those. I hope we meet again sometime."

"Thanks. Would you be willing to train with me sometime?"

"Sure, just ask Mickey for my number. Here let me help you up for the official decision, and I have a doctor friend in the crowd if you want her to take a look at you." I help her to her feet, heading to the center of the ring for the decision.

The announcer begins, "The winner by knockout in the third minute of the first round and tournament champion Stryker!" The ref raises my hand as the crowd jumps to their feet, chanting my name. I turn, walking out of the cage. Then Allie jumps into my arms, wrapping her legs around me, and proceeds to kiss me, right here in front of everyone. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, but I kiss her back quickly then pull away smiling. I set her down, walking out of the ring right into my group of friends, where Clarke immediately grabs my chin so that she can see my eye.

I look at her, "I promise, I'm fine. Before you say anything, follow me to the locker room, and I will let you stitch me up before going to see Mickey about a boat." Once in the locker room, I sit down on one of the benches so that Clarke can get a better look. She immediately grabs my chin and begins cleaning the cut. When I look into her eyes, I swear I see not only concern but…I don't know. Fear, hurt, anger? Maybe all three. I start to speak, but no words come out as she begins the process of closing the cut. As soon as she's done, she bolts from the room.

Twenty minutes later, I had a shower and ten stitches in my eyebrow. Octavia and I head into Mickey's office, where we are met by a smiling Mickey. I start laughing. I can't help it; I mean, he looks pleased about losing his yacht. Finally, I can't take it. I say, "Why are you so happy? You just lost your yacht."

He just laughs, "Kid, I never liked that stupid boat anyway. It was a gift for my ex-wife that I got in the divorce just to piss her off. Besides, you made me a lot of money tonight, and now that you are a regular, I'm sure there is a lot more to come. Here are the keys and directions to where she is docked. I've already called the captain and told him to get the crew together. It should be fully stocked and ready for your celebration party. Captain Miguel will have all the paperwork and can answer any questions you have. I never even took the time to name her, so once you decide on a name, let me know, and I will have it painted as a sign-on bonus."

I smile, "Thanks for everything, Mickey. As far as the name, I'm going to call her 'The Untouchable Stryker.'"

"No kid, thank you. I will text you when to bring it in for the paint job. Now go enjoy it."

As soon as the door closes to Mickey's door, I grab O in a bear hug. "Can you fucking believe this? We're millionaires, and I have a yacht. A fucking yacht! I know they always say that America is where dreams come true, but I never imagined anything like this."

"Lexa, or should I say, Stryker, I wouldn't be a millionaire if it weren't for you. I can't believe you did this for me. Now I can buy my mom a house wherever she wants, but right now, I'm ready to celebrate."

"So am I, but you have a fight in about an hour. Let's go see Sloan about our money, and then I need food. I'm starving!"