Don't Fear The Reaper

Ass Kicker

"What?" I question, still a little confused. A small crowd of people are headed in our direction now. They walk past us and I see them walk out a door at the end of the hallway. I can only assume it leads outside.

"Here, take this." He pries the black ring off his middle finger and hands it to me. "No rings allowed."

I take the ring from him and look at him sort of bewildered. "Are you gonna explain what's happening?"

"Come on." He nods his head toward the door and starts walking so I follow him.

Upon exiting through the back door I am greeted by fresh air and the sight of a few picnic tables surrounding a boxing ring. It dawns on me, Jake is about to fight whoever the fuck Tommy is. I try Jake's ring on a couple of my fingers, it's loose on every single one except my thumb. I leave it there and try to process the situation. Is this for fun or is there some sort of incentive? I figure fighting is probably how Jake got that "ass kicker" patch he has. When I said I wouldn't be opposed to seeing him kick some ass, I didn't think I'd actually be seeing it first hand.

People continue to file through the door and soon enough the picnic tables are almost all filled up as well as any stray chairs there were scattered around. Some people are left standing and a few gather close to the ring. The crowd isn't huge but it's sizable.

"Take a seat babe." He kisses me and walks off toward the ring, taking his jacket off in the process.

"Sit with me." Lacey tugs on my shirt and points to a couple of empty spots at a table right in front of the ring. "And don't worry, Jake knows how to fight. He'll be fine."

We sit down and Joe joins us a few moments later. "Jake and Tommy, this should be good."

I see Andrew and Jake on the opposite side of the ring. Andrew is helping Jake wrap his hands up. Once his hands are all wrapped he starts jumping up and down slightly and practicing punches. On the other side of the ring I see a man who must be Tommy doing the same thing. He's larger than Jake, not by a lot but he does have some height on him. I'm weirdly excited but I'm definitely also nervous. I don't want to see Jake get hurt but I'm sure he won't escape this fight unscathed. Andrew jumps into the ring and stands in the middle, addressing the small crowd that's gathered.

"Who's ready for a fight?" He yells, his voice guttural. People cheer and clap, including Lacey and Joe. I still feel sort of out of place so I stay silent. "On my left, the one and only bone breaker, Tommy!" A shirtless Tommy slips into the ring, hands in the air as people yell for him. Bone breaker, I think to myself, how lovely. Andrew continues. "On my right, the notorious ass kicker, Jakey boy!" More cheering ensues, I join in this time.

Jake quickly takes his shirt off before diving into the ring and tying his hair up. I've never seen him with his hair up before but he looks damn good. Andrew says a few more words before exiting the ring. Tommy and Jake shake hands, they both look excited. Jake throws a wink in my direction and Andrew yells "fight", Tommy throws the first punch. Jake dodges out of the way just in time and hits Tommy with a gnarly right hook straight to the face. They continue back and forth like this, each of them hitting and missing multiple times. Every time Tommy actually manages to punch Jake I find myself wincing a little.

"So, what are the rules?" I ask.

"There aren't many rules." Lacey answers me. "Basically, just no fighting dirty."

"How do we know who wins?"

"They fight until someone gives up." Joe says. "Jake and Tommy are some tough son's of bitches but Jake's a better fighter. I got my money on him."