Chapter 6

I walked to the center of the mat and faced my opponent. He towered a good half foot over me, but I knew I couldn't let his height intimidate me. Before the ref started the fight, I glanced around with my eyes to scan out the room for Ruby.

I instantly saw her right in the second row, her eyes locked onto mine and I felt a rush of adrenaline in me. She smiled and cheered out, and I smiled to myself and faced the beast.

The bell rung and I shifted from foot to foot, holding my hands in front of my face. The crowd went silent and all I could hear were the breaths of my opponent and me.

He threw the first punch but I ducked right before and swung to his stomach. He grunted but quickly repositioned. We kept throwing punches to each other, and once I knocked his jaw sideways.

Without me knowing, he lunged and tackled me to the floor. His body weight pinning me down as he threw punches repeatedly at my face while I blocked. The crowd was now cheering.

I kneed him in the stomach and switched my position so I was now on top and was swinging at him. I managed to punch his nose and make blood stream out.

Several moments later, the bell rung, signaling the end of round one.

I sat back in the corner to get a drink and looked out for Ruby again. She was still standing in the same spot with a grin on her face. I lit up inside.

God, what is happening to me?

Sure, I've had tons of girls come cheer me on while fighting, but none of them made me feel as good as Ruby. I guess it was her understanding of fights and she never pitied me or babied me.

The ref signaled for round two and I hopped up and went back to the center. He started and I immediately swung my legs at his shins and he fell on his back. I pinned him down and put an arm around his neck. He tried to reach back and punch me or get my grasp off his arm, but finally the ref signaled the end and the crowd cheered.

He grabbed both our hands and raised mine up towards the ceiling. I pumped my fist up in the air while the sound of screaming people cheered along with me. Including Ruby.

When I climbed down from the ring, she was waiting for me in my room. The moment I looked at her, a huge smile occupied her face and it made me grin, too.

"Hey winner!" she came over to me and hugged me tightly. I stiffened but then wrapped my arms around her body. When she let go, I saw a little blush creep on her cheeks.

"You did amazing." She said.

I sat down in a chair in front of a large mirror and smiled at the reflection of her. "Thanks. Did you enjoy it?"

She nodded excitedly. "I've never been to one this crazy before. It's so exhilarating."

"Whoa, she knows big words." I joked. She slapped me on the arm and grabbed a washcloth for me. "Here, let me." I looked in the mirror to see her hold the washcloth up against my shoulder.

"You have a big gash right here..." she said, gently wiping away at the blood. I studied her features. She looked so calm and steadied while she cleaned up my wound. When her eyes caught my gaze, I smiled and she returned the gesture.

"There you go, fighter. All cleaned up. Except that you reek of sweat." She grimaced and I laughed.

While I gathered up my things, my coach came in. "Here you go..." His eyes wandered to Ruby and he nodded curtly. "It's your paycheck. Nice fight Daniels." Then he left.

Ruby looked at me questioningly. "You get paid?"

I shrugged. "Only if I win. He started paying me about a year ago, that's how I kind of bank up."

"Huh..." she wondered.

She followed me out of the building, occasionally having to stop because of people congratulating me.

"Wow, you must be well liked around here." Ruby said.

I nodded. "Yep, I'm a pretty awesome dude." She laughed and I chuckled along with her.

When we got outside, she hesitated before turning to me. "Thanks for inviting me. It was a lot of fun."

I smiled, then looked around. "Do you need a ride home?"

She chuckled and pointed to a nice white bike parked a little ways by mine. "Nope, I have a ride."

I was shocked. Yeah, I knew she was into motorcycles, but I had never seen her ride one to school or anything and I just assumed she didn't have one.

"This is yours?" I asked. It was a nice bike, I instantly recognized it as a Ducati. "Damn..." I touched the sides with my fingertips and felt a cool rush over me. "How'd you ever land one of these, they're like, more expensive than a car..."

She just shrugged and sat on the leather seat. I noticed then that it suited her perfectly. A biker girl. Nice.

"My dad loves bikes, it took me forever to save up for this one, but I thought, 'hey, why have a car when you can have a motorcycle, right?'" She said.

Gosh, this girl is something.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." I stared into her dark brown eyes and before blurting out: "Your eyes are, uh, really pretty." I slapped myself mentally for saying something so stupid.

I could feel the blush on my cheeks and she chuckled. When did I ever blush? What is she doing to me?

"They're the color of poop." She answered.

I shrugged before pointing to my own. "So are mine, so it's okay." We just smiled at each other comfortably before she turned forward and placed her hands on her thighs.

"Well, I should get going, my mom's home for once and I should probably spend some time with her."

I nodded and hopped on my bike that was besides hers. "Alright. I hope you have fun."

She grinned and reversed into the street. The white bike glinting against the lights. "Thanks again, Ryder. It was really fun." She said before revving her bike and zooming off.

I was still smiling like a goof before turning my own engine on and pulling forward.

One word for Ruby.

Damn.