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Rachel had been training hard for the past few months, doing everything her trainers demanded of her. The exercise she was getting day in, and day out would make the average athlete ache by just hearing about her routine. She was up at five every morning for a run before eating anything, and then off to the gym the rest of the morning. After lunch she went to the cage to spar for most of the afternoon. Some of the time rest would be watching video of her coming opponent to talk strategy with her coaches. They had a game plan going into her next title defense, and yet Rachel was determine that there was nothing that was going to stop her as she had confidence in her training and her staff. Yet sometimes during the grueling grind of her schedule, there were times when she would pause and think about him. It was a distraction that didn’t come to her that often, but those days with Chad on the island were sometimes difficult for her to ignore.

There were days that she wanted to pick up a phone and call him, but good judgement got the best of her. Chad was back at his life and Rachel was where she was meant to be; in the gym and cage every day working hard to train for her fight. She was in the middle of her morning workout, doing some sit ups when she paused in the middle of her set, thinking about her vacation and the man she missed so much. He was a total dick part of the time, and then there were other days when he was a pretty cool, someone she enjoyed spending time with. Someone noticed she was zoned out and tossed a rubber ball at her. She was quick enough to catch it, but the point had been made. Her sparing partner had noticed Rachel had stopped training.

“Earth to Rachel,” the man called out, “Where were you just now?”

“Nowhere,” Rachel lied.

“Liar,” the man she was sparing with called back, not hesitating to call her out. “You were thinking about him again. That douche bag fella, right?”

“Are you jealous, Mad Dog?” Rachel said, knowing it would dig at him.

“Not really,” Mad Dog replied, laughing. “I’m not a douche bag.”

“That’s debatable.” Rachel countered, “And for the record, he lasted longer on the ground than you did.”

The other people training in the gym heard what she said and laughed. She wasn’t lying however, as Chad had lasted a lot longer during their fight in the limo than most fighters she spared with fared in the cage.

“At least he can take a punch,” Mad Dog noted, “Maybe he’ll give me a few rounds to see who’s better.”

“He’s not in your weight class,” Rachel noted.

“He’s got my respect,” Mad Dog confessed.

“How so?” Rachel asked.

“Because he’s not here,” Mad Dog answered, “He may be a douche bag, but he at least respects you enough not to show up and distract you. He’s giving you space to focus and keep your eyes on the prize.”

“Fair point,” Rachel said, tossing the ball away, “Though I wish he would show up or call. I kind of liked him a bit.”

“A bit?” Mad Dog repeated.

“Okay, a lot.” Rachel conceded.

“I’m happy for ya,” Mad Dog told her, “But we need you to focus on what’s ahead. We all do. You knock this challenger out in the first round, and I’ll pay for the ticket to New York myself so you can visit your new lover boy.”

“Don’t call him that,” Rachel said, annoyed.

“Why not?” Mad Dog replied playfully, “This is fun! Rachel and Douche Bag sitting in a tree...”

“Seriously?” Rachel asked, “Are you five?”

She jumped back to her feet to shut him up, but Mad Dog ran away from her as fast as he could while he continued singing.

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G...”

“Stop that!” Rachel called out.

“First comes love,” Mad Dog resumed “Then comes marriage...”

“Seriously,” Rachel said, staring at him. “I’m going to beat you senseless.”

“Then comes Rachel with the baby carriage!” Mad Dog finished with a smile.

Rachel finally got her hands on Mad Dog and tackled him to the ground and gave him a few stiff punches for nagging her like a school kid.

Rachel got back to work and didn’t have any issues with the rest of the training staff for the remainder of the week leading up to her flight to in Vegas. After flying over to Sin City, Rachel was checked into a lush suite at the Casino that was also hosting the event. The room was nearly as grand as Chad’s at the resort, but there was just one significant different between the two rooms, that being that cuddly douche bag from New York wasn’t there. She missed him a lot, more than she was willing to admit. Still, she worked out all week, prepping for what was a very important title defense. Rachel was hoping for at least a call from the big apple, but she got nothing. Not even a short call to say good luck before the big fight, which would have made her day. She was sitting alone in the dressing room, her hand wraps and gloves already applied. The previous fight was entering its final round and Rachel knew her bout was next. There was a knock at the door, which startled her a bit.

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“I said I didn’t want to be disturbed!” She called out.

“I’m sorry,” the guard called back, “there’s a man here who insists on coming in. He claims to be your lawyer.”

Rachel jumped up to her feet in surprise as a part of her was hoping it was who she thought it was.

“Let him in.” She called out.

The door opened and a big smile creased her face as Chad strolled into the room, carrying half a dozen roses. Rachel was overcome with excitement as she ran right up to Chad and gave him a big hug and a pretty deep kiss as well. After that sweet kiss was finished, Rachel took one of her padded fists and punched Chad in the arm with a little authority.

“Oww!” Chad called out, slightly surprised. “Save it for the cage, champ!”

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Rachel said, still surprised. “And here I was getting upset because I thought you were not even going to call to wish me luck.”

“Never,” Chad replied, smiling back. “There’s this great website called Stub Hub, and they sell tickets to events all over the world. I may have overpaid a tiny bit, but I landed some prime tickets to this great event. We have a great view of the cage and look forward to seeing you kick some serious ass in there.”

“Wait a second,” Rachel interrupted, “What do you mean we?”

“Oh, the Andersons are here,” Chad informed her, “And so is your mother.”

“My mom is here!” Rachel repeated, “She doesn’t like watching it live!”

“It’s okay, I bought her a hoodie,” Chad informed her, “If things get to rough, she can pull the hood over and cover her eyes, and I’ll let her know when it’s okay to look again. Unlike her, I’m not worried. I think you’re going to be alright.”

“Is that so?” Rachel asked.

“That is so,” Chad said, rather confidently. “If the woman who kicked my ass in the limo is the same person who steps into that cage, your opponent doesn’t stand a chance in hell.”

“Fair enough,” Rachel said, as she looked down at the suit he was wearing, “Is that the same suit you wore...”

“No, that suit is toast.” Chad reminded her, “This is a new one so try to be gentle this time, okay?”

“You bought a new one,” Rachel repeated, looking at it, “What’s the occasion?”

“I’m in Vegas to watch my girlfriend win a fight,” Chad answered.

“Oh, is that so?” Rachel asked.

“That is so,” Chad said, leaning in to kiss her again.

Rachel gave the man before him a playful pat on the chest.

“Get out of here,” she told him, “Get back to your seat and take care of mom. I need to prep for my fight. Someone in a hot suit is distracting me.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” Chad said, walking back to the door. He stopped at the doorway and looked back. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said, as she watched as he closed the door behind him. She took a deep breath and sat back down, trying to hype herself again for the fight that was just moments away. She had a hard time believing Chad about who had come to see her fight but as she walked down to the cage to wage war on her opponent, she could see them all sitting less than ten rows from the cage, proving Chad was not fibbing about them all having a great view. It was the first time someone had done that for her, even bringing her mother to the event. She couldn’t help but break character and wave to them all, smiling as she looked back at Mad Dog whose face was one of pure surprise.

“What?” Rachel asked, “That’s my mom out there.”

“And the man in the fancy suit?” Mad Dog asked, “Is that him?”

“It is,” Rachel confirmed, “Jealous?”

“Should I be?” her friend asked.

“I think so,” she said, smiling while the ref checked her gloves, “That suit he’s wearing is worth more than your sports car.”

“No!” Mad Dog replied, looking back at him. “Damn...”

“I’ll be right back,” Rachel said, before strolling into the cage. She was a woman of her word, because two minutes into the first round Raging Rachel landed some brutal punches that shook her opponent’s knees. Rachel used that to her advantage and wrestled her dazed opponent to the mat and pounded her until the ref broke things up and ended the fight only halfway through the first round. The crowd was on their feet and roaring their approval as Rachel’s hand was raised in victory and that fancy championship belt was wrapped around her slender waist again.

“Rachel,” the in ring commentator said into the mic for the entire arena to hear. “That was a top notch defense of your title, but you’re smiling a lot more than you had your last few fights. What gives this time out?”

“I have family and friends here today,” Rachel replied, “I’m just happy I didn’t let them down.”

“I guess they were your fuel,” the commentator assumed, “So, what does the future have in store for Raging Rachel?”

“I’m going to take a break,” Rachel said, “Move to New York and hang out with my new boyfriend, spend some quality time with him.”

“That sounds like a plan.” The commentator approved, “Congrats!”

Rachel left the ring to join her family, giving her mom a big hug, before walking over to Chad to give him one too. He looked at her with an intrigued look on his face.

“So, you have a boyfriend in New York,” He started, “Anyone I know?”

“You know him,” Rachel replied, “He’s a total douche bag.”

“Is that so?” Chad said.

“Yes, that is so.” Rachel confirmed, “But he’s my douche bag, unless you’re going to disagree with the champ on that?”

“No way,” Chad said, recalling his previous ass kicking and the one he just witnessed in the ring. “You’ll get no fight from me.”

“Good,” Rachel said, kissing him again. “I’ll pack up after we take mom home.”

“Forget that,” Her mother called out, “They have nursing homes in New York. I’m sure Mr. Money Bags here can find a good one.”

“I know a few people,” Chad confirmed, “I’ll make some calls.”

True to her word, upon returning home Rachel and her Mom packed up and moved to New York, where Chad was happy to take care of them both. It felt weird for Chad to have a woman in the house again, but it was something he got used to quicker than he had anticipated, which was all right by him. When the thirty days had passed, Chad was tempted to take the dive again but had thought better of it. He didn’t want to distract her while training and he also did not want to come off as desperate and wanted to prove he could do things slow and on their timetable. Chad was determined to take things easy and do things right this time out, refusing to rush into things and enjoy his time with Rachel rather than burden their relationship with society’s insane expectation. Rachel appreciated the slow pace as she just wanted to be with her new man, just have fun, and be patient until they were both ready. The time would come when they were both ready, which was actually occurred the next time the two of them went on vacation, this time together.

They even bought an extra seat to hog the entire aisle to themselves.

The End