Chapter 12: Love, Death, and Lies 4
You're only just a dream boat
Sailing in my head
You swim my secret oceans
Of coral blue and red
Your smell is incense burning
Your touch is silken yet
It reaches through my skin
Moving from within
And clutches at my breast
-The Corrs
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Never in my life have I heard a more horrifying scream. It’s like the sound of a cat being eviscerated alive. She’s done it several times now. I’m not scared. I’m way past the shock. We dig our feet into the carpet, hunch our shoulders with our hands up and fingers spread like claws and prepare to tear into each other…again.
This is not what I expected. I knew Gloria was a crazy bitch but I had no idea she was this extreme a lunatic. Her brown eyes are wide open and maniacal. She bares her teeth like fangs. The stringy black hair hangs down in her face. A clump which I pulled out by the roots is attached by sweat to her shoulders. This is easily the most brutally vicious fight I’ve ever had. We started the fight with rules but mutually discarded them as the battle went on. Our bikinis have long been separated from our most intimate parts and lie torn on the floor. Nude, we circle each other. Strands of our hair, engulfed in the carpet stick to our sweaty soles.
Gloria looks awful. The left side of her face is puffy. Her left eye is nearly swollen shut. The surrounding tissue is becoming more purple by the minute. Blood trickles from her nose. I’ve hit her with so many punches, I’m surprised she’s even standing. Her breathing is heavy. I know it hurts her to breathe after I’ve pulverized her ribs. My right hand is swollen and throbbing from all the punishment I’ve dished out. Surely, she can’t take much more.
And me?…I’m in no better shape. My back is scraped raw as if I’ve been flogged. Linear scratch marks criss cross my shoulders, arms, and belly. My face has been raked on both sides. Both of my breasts are full of puncture wounds. Blood oozes out of my skin from several sites. Deep teeth marks from human bites are on my thighs. There’s hardly a square inch on my body that hasn’t been damaged.
Gloria is not a skilled fighter. Her insanity makes her aggressive. Her nails have been sharpened into blades. I’ve been clawed, scratched, and bitten. My hair has been ripped out. My tits have been tortured and my pussy has been mauled. It’s her nails and teeth vs my fists. Despite the pounding I’ve given her, she keeps coming back. Frank asked us three times if we wanted to quit and call it a draw. We refused. I came here to rid my life of this woman. I’ve invested too much time and flesh to not finish the job.
The two of us screech as our naked sweaty battered bodies smack together. We grab onto each other, grappling for control. Gloria manages to get inside my arms and once again sinks her razor nails into my left tit flesh. I can barely scream as five little daggers pierce my skin and penetrate into my mammary tissue. It is the worse pain I’ve ever felt in my life. Salty tears sting my abraded face as I drop to my knees. Gloria let’s out the strangest, most evil laugh as she stands in front of me, twisting her talons to the right, then the left, before ripping them away, pulling off more of my skin with her nails. She positions herself behind me. An arm wraps around my throat. Before I realized what happened, my trachea is cut off. My mouth opens but inhaling air is impossible. Stay calm, I tell myself. Gloria grasps her right arm with her left hand to apply additional pressure. My face feels warm from impeded venous flow and I’m sure it must be turning purple.
“Die bitch..Die,” she squawks out in a shrill raspy voice.
I try not to panic. After all I’ve been through with this kook, I can’t lose the fight from strangulation. Frank moves his face in close and asks if I submit. Oh no, I never wanted him to see my face like this. I wave him off with my hand. I’ve got to do something.
“Take a good look at Frank,” Gloria squeals, “because you’ll never see him again…Frank is mine, you broken down cxnt…Say it.” She positions my face to align with Frank’s. “Tell him…Tell him…TELL HIM!..TELL HIM THAT YOU’RE NOT WORTHY!…TELL HIM THAT HE’S MINE…MINE…MINE…MINE…MINE…MI..OOOMPH!”
My elbow connects to her ribs, shutting up her maniacal voice. I fire it again…and again. I’ve smashed these same ribs so many times tonight, I know she’s in severe pain. Gloria releases her chokehold and I fall forward on all fours and gasp in precious oxygen. I see she’s still on her feet but nearly folded over in two, clutching her ribs. I replenish my oxygen enough to continue. It’s time to end this.
Shifting into a crouched position, I lunge at Gloria’s legs, easily taking her down. I manage to get her on her back and mount her. The legs furiously kick every which way. The arms swing wildly, the claws extended, searching for flesh. The arms. It now comes down to the arms. If I can pin her down in a schoolgirl pin, I know I’ll finish her off. Her hands reach for my face. I attempt to grab them but she slaps them away. I bounce my weight on her chest to wear her down. I’ve got to get those arms down.
Her face looks hideous. Bruised, swollen, and bleeding, one eye is closed but the other is wide open and wild looking. She bares her teeth and gnashes them like a rat fighting for its life. We continue to fight for control of her arms, then…suddenly, I catch a fingernail to my left eye. The sudden pain is excruciating and I’ve lost my vision in it. Now it’s my time to snap.
“You crazy bitch,” I scream. I rear back and drill my right fist into her already swollen cheek. It makes a sickening sound of solid striking solid. Pain jolts from my hand up to my elbow but I ignore it. I punch Gloria in the face again. The blow knocks her head to the left before it recoils back to its original position. I punch again and a tooth flies across the room. I punch her again…and again…and again…and….
“Kiva, stop,” Frank orders. “She’s out.”
So she is. I sit atop my unconscious victim for a minute. I wonder how many facial fractures I’ve caused. She looks like a car accident casualty reminiscent of my ER nursing days. I feel no guilt or remorse. A fight is a fight. I sit on her for a few moments panting. I know it will take me weeks to months to recover. My right hand may never be the same. I look at my many scratches and puncture wounds. Small rivulets of blood ooze from my breasts and trickle down my belly. I need prophylactic antibiotics from the bite wounds. I try to rise but it’s so hard.
A male hand holds me by the arm and pulls. I lift myself up fighting through the searing pain in my legs from the bites. “Are you…Ok?”
“Yes, Frank, I’m fine.” I’m lying. I hurt everywhere, I can barely stand. My face and body are marked up. I feel a little lightheaded. Frank helps me to my feet. Gloria is still lying on the carpet, motionless. I stand over her body, then wobble as I lift my right foot. Struggling to keep my balance, I press my sole onto her face. It’s too bad she’s unconscious and can’t experience this humiliation. This is one crazy bitch who won’t bother me again.
Frank takes me by the hand and I step off of the sorry heap of humanity named Gloria. He turns me to face him, still holding my hand. Suddenly, I become acutely aware that I am…naked. I mean, of course I knew I was naked. Our bikinis came off awhile back during the fight. I knew there was a possibility that might happen. But this is different. I’m standing naked with the man I love. I’m exposed. Nothing about me is hidden from his eyes. He sees me now as I truly am. Completely uncovered.
He places his other hand on my back and pulls me into him. I press my body against his, resting my head against his chest. I begin to sob. I feel a torrent of emotions right now. I begin to feel my burdens lifted. The sobbing gives way to a deluge of tears, their salt stinging the scratches on my face. My tears are more about joy and hope. A new future. A new me. A new…man?”
“It’s ok, baby,” Frank whispers. He runs his hands up and down my back and kisses the top of my head. I wrap my arms around him and we hug. For a minute, we stay that way, slowly swaying in a sort of slow dance. I don’t want this moment to end. Finally, he speaks softly, “Let’s get you cleaned up…Wait here, I will get you a drink of water.”
Frank pulls away and I reluctantly let go of him. He walks away leaving me with Gloria. It’s been several minutes and she still hasn’t moved. As I walk toward her, my bare foot steps on something hard in the carpet. Gloria’s tooth. Her face is a horrifying site; purple, swollen, bloody. I didn’t realize I could cause such destruction. I note that she’s breathing but her respiration’s are slow and shallow.
“Frank, do you think we should call 911 and get EMS for Gloria?”
He doesn’t hear me. “What did you say, babe?”
“I think we need to call….Aahh! Oh my God!” As I speak, I see myself in a wall mirror. I knew my face was scratched but now I see it. Red tracks of nails and splotches of blood everywhere. I look hideous.
Frank returns. “Did you say something?” I let out another gasp. There are red stains on the front of Frank’s white polo shirt. Blood…My blood. Blood still oozes from my breasts and shoulders from scratches and nail punctures. I now see that I pressed blood from my tits onto his shirt when I hugged Frank. I cover my face and again burst into tears.
“Don’t look at me, Frank,” I wail. “I’m ugly. I’ve been disfigured. Please don’t see me like this. Look at your shirt!”
“No worries,” he coos. His voice sends tingles and shivers through my body.
“Really? You’re Ok with how I look?”
“I think you’re beautiful no matter what. You see, the fact that you shed blood today, it’s a sign of what’s to be…for you…for me….for us.” I’m feeling faint but I try to fight it. I try to speak but lost the ability to formulate words. I don’t understand it.
Frank removes his shirt and moves closer to me with those beautiful bare shoulders and chest. He gently wipes the shirt over my breasts, dabbing the scratches and puncture wounds, sopping up little droplets of blood. His comely face is the very picture of grace and compassion as he lovingly tends to my wounded tits. My breathing and heart rate become uncontrollably faster.
He then rubs the shirt across his own magnificent chest, leaving faint smears of crimson across his pecs. My blood. “Frank, what are you doing,” my voice barely able to articulate the breathless words.
“Let me show you,” he reassures. He reaches into his pocket and shows me a penknife attached to his keychain. In seconds, he flips open his blade and points it at his right index finger. After applying pressure, to my shock, a drop of his blood appears. I gasp while my body recoils.
“Let me explain,” he continues. “In some ancient societies, people made agreements with blood oaths. Those agreements could be about property, allied relationships, keeping promises. But sometimes they were about marriages…a bond between a man and a woman.”
“So, are you saying that we…um, you and I are…”
“Yes,” he whispers. “Let the mixing of our blood be a sign of our union. Our joining together. Our becoming one.”
He presses his bleeding finger onto my forehead, stroking over Gloria’s claw marks. “The forehead represents the mind,” Frank tells me. “Our thoughts, our wills working together, complementing each other, united.” Now I understand this.
I take hold of his hand with both of mine and with his lacerated finger outstretched, I directed it to my face and streak it down one cheek, then the other. A face is what we present to the world, the external part of us that women spend so much time, work and money to beautify. My beauty now belongs to him. It means little now if my face ends up scarred after today’s battle. His love for me is all that matters. I need not be pretty anymore for anyone but him.
Next, I bring his finger down to my belly and press his vital fluid into my navel. The belly button. The site of the umbilical cord, that precious sacred link between a child and its mother…All I can think of is how badly I want to bear his children. I know he will be a wonderful stepfather to Clarissa. We will be a family.
I lift his hand up to my chest. Expressing more blood from his finger, we both anoint each of my nipples with his liquid life source. What are a woman’s breasts, if not nourishment? I see my purpose now. I will quit my nursing career. He can be the breadwinner. I will be the homemaker, the nurturer. I will be there to take care of them. Our babies…Him.
Frank pulls me close to him as I again burst into tears. I clasp my hands around his neck and rest my head on his chest as we resume our slow dance, my bare feet gently marching on the carpet. He gingerly kisses the top of my head. I never dreamed my life would come to this and I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. I don’t ever want this moment to end…and it won’t…This is the beginning…only the beginning.
I take Frank’s cut finger back into my hands and hold it up to my chin, then my mouth, my lips. I kiss the wound, licking up the precious red substance with my tongue, then placing the entire digit in my mouth, allowing his blood to enter me. I feel his tongue on my face, lapping up my own streams of scarlet. He works his way down my neck, then onto my breasts where Gloria has torn my flesh. From my lacerated mammaries, he takes in my cells, my hemoglobin, my oxygen, everything that keeps me alive. We drink each other, sharing our essence of each other’s life, our very existences. I didn’t know it was possible to ever feel connected to another human being. My consciousness is heightened, as though I’ve been awakened.
But now, another feeling is stirred. Every nerve ending feels his soft tongue on my nipple. My brain processes it and my body responds. That response is…desire…My nipples arise to meet the emissary from his oral port. The tongue dances with them, entertains them, thrills them. They are electrified, their excitement sending a current that reverberates throughout my body. There is no controlling it. My heart rate and breathing speed up, my skin tingles, my womanhood gapes with craving…He knows it.
Frank bends his knees and I respond accordingly falling into his arms. He lifts up my legs while supporting my shoulders, holding me across his chest. A flood of emotions rise inside me as we move toward the bedroom. This is it, I tell myself. The time to consummate our bond has come.
The bedroom chamber. I’m greeted by the aroma of lavender oil. How did he know lavender is my favorite scent? A dozen lit red candles surround the bed. And the bed! Beautiful white satin sheets covered with rose petals await us. “Frank, how did you…?” I ask, unable to complete my question.
“I knew you would win,” he explains. “I only prepared for you.”
We kiss as he holds me. I close my eyes and relish his perfect lips, his mouth. My tongue searches and finds his. They become acquainted, dance, then lie together. Frank gingerly lays me down on the bed and I’m floating on a sea of satin and rose petals as I breathe in the lavender. Perfect peace. All tension is gone. So is the pain. I forget I am covered in sweat, blood and grime. Nude and on my back, I see him undressing beside the bed. With only the tiny black speedos left on his sumptuous body, he joins me in bed. We kiss.
His fingers and mouth explore me as if I were a previously undiscovered enchanted island. He roams my neck, the swells of my breasts, my abdomen. And he watches my reaction. Ask a woman what makes a man a good lover and she’ll tell you it’s his attentiveness. Rare as they may be, some men have the ability to read a woman’s cues and act on her desires. And Frank plays me like a master musician hitting all my right notes. Surges of electricity encircle me. I open my eyes. Instead of the ceiling, I see endless galaxies of scintillating spirals and ellipses extending into eternity. He’s a magician transforming my body. My blood flow is redirected. My skin is flushed. My nipples longingly reach out to him. I burn with anticipation.
His hand runs up my inner thigh, the fingers are like an entourage of scouts from another land, sent ahead to prepare for the arrival of a visiting king. My knees separate from one another as an open gate to welcome the band of travelers. The chamber doors have enlarged for this moment. The guests have entered to search for the queen. Their search is short, for the queen has risen to greet them. She embraces them. She flirts with them. One by one she dances with them. First slow, then fast. They please her. The chamber is prepared, the walls are lined with sweet nectar and female fragrance. Her visitors have left her but she won’t be alone for long.
The king has been unveiled. And what a magnificent king he is, such radiance and splendor. The queen stands at the door and waits. She aches for him. Come to me, my beloved, she implores him. He approaches, slowly at first, then he runs, charging to the door, faster and faster,…breaking through…HE’S HERE!
Uh…Oh…Uh…I never imagined this…Frank inside me…Uh..Ah…Uh…I feel you, my love…Uh…Uh…I rock my pelvis in unison with his…Uh…Uh…I feel his pubic bone grind on mine…We are totally synchronize…Uh..Oh…Aaaahhh…Now I know what I’ve been missing all these years…Oh…Uh…Oh….Everything is perfect…his timing…his pacing…his mouth on my neck. His hands stroking my face…Uh…Uh…The thrusts now come faster, and seem even deeper than before….yes, baby, faster and harder…give it to me, honey, Uh, Uh..AAAH…AAAH…AAH.
I open my eyes and look up, but I see no ceiling. Instead, I see endless galaxies of scintillating spirals and ellipses extending into eternity. It’s all so beautiful. They say the atoms in our bodies came from exploding stars. We are literally made of stardust. In our tiny insignificant speck of the cosmos, we share the energy of our electrons as they merge and mingle. His, mine, they’re all one. We are one. One with each other. One with the universe.
“AAAAHHH…..AAAAHHHH….AAAAHHHH…The rhythm is faster than ever. We are perfectly synchronized. The moment is almost here…..AAAAAAHHHHH……….AAAAAAAAAHHHH. We will climax together, both of exploding as one supernova sending our own stardust across the cosmos….We are about to arrive my love, AAAAAH…..AAAAAAAAHHHHH. I’m ready. He’s ready….and………
Beep….beep…..beep.
Don’t stop my love. We are at the threshold….AAAAAH……AAAAAHHH.
Beep….beep.
Just a little longer dear.
Beep….beep…beep.
Frank, is that your pager? Who is calling you now! Ignore it.
Beep…beep…beep.
Frank, why did you stop? Frank where are you? Fuck, you’re not here. Who is the nurse calling you? I’ll have her fired. You didn’t have to answer. Frank, come back.
I’m…alone. I climb out of bed. He’s not in the bedroom. I check the living room. I see…Gloria. Oh shit, we forgot about Gloria. She’s standing. That’s a relief. Her back is turned to me.
“Gloria?”
She turns toward me. She’s a mass of rotting smelly flesh. The eyes are empty sockets, the nose is gone. Strips of muscle hang from her face and bones. “You bitch, she shrieks. You killed me. You went off to fuck Frank and you left me here to die….It’s not over, whore. I will haunt you every day of your life and when your time comes, I will kick your ass for eternity,”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE”
Beep….Beep…Beep..
“Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Beep…Beep…Beep…My iPhone alarm.
“I’m okay, Clarissa. Mommy had a weird dream.”….Really weird….really…fucking weird.
*************************
We haven’t spoken for the last fifteen minutes. I stare out the front passenger side window of Kelli’s Jeep subconsciously watching the passing sidewalks, telephone poles, parked cars and people. In less than thirty minutes I will be in a fight…with a woman I’ve never seen.
Sure, I’ve seen her profile. According to her stats, she’s about my size. Gloria posted a picture of her body but, like many women, blurred her face for the public. Kelli focuses straight ahead with her hands on the steering wheel. She’s a fighter. She knows. She understands the mental turmoil a fighter faces just before a fight, the nerves, the emotion, trying to quell fear. She gives me my quiet and space.
Dressed in my favorite hoodie and sweatpants, I sit. I want the time to quickly pass but yet I don’t. I see my face in the side mirror and I try to make a tougher expression. I don’t exactly have an intimidating face so I scrunch down my eyebrows and make a scowl. Yes, that will scare Gloria. My hair is tied up in a bun. I check again to make sure it’s stable and secure. I pull down my golf visor. I’m sure Gloria will go for my hair. What else does she do? Does she have training? Or is she a crazy scratching and clawing catfighter? Is she a grappler? Does she strike well? I have no idea. There will be rules. No blows to the head except slaps. Scratching and clawing below the neck only. Once again, I won’t have my best weapon, a right hook fist to the head. Not many women want rules that allow that.
The head game escalates. Who is this psycho bitch? Why do I never see her? What if she’s a much better fighter than me? What is she destroys me? Humiliates me? In front of Kelli? In front of Frank?…Frank…No, I refuse to even think about that. A fighter never considers losing an option. When I told Frank that I challenged Gloria, he said he’d make all the arrangements. All I’d need to do is show up at his apartment. He was ok with Kelli coming as my second. My mind swirled with conflicting emotions all week. One minute, I want Frank. The next minute my rational mind tells me to slow down. Know him better. Find out his intentions. But the fact is, I’m in it deep. I’ll be fighting another woman in front of his eyes. Why did I agree to bikinis? My top will probably come off and he’ll see my tits. That’s not so bad, is it? I mean, I saw him in these little briefs. What happens if…no, when I win. I think of sending Gloria home crying. He’ll see I’m the better woman. Will Frank and I then be a couple. Is Frank the prize? Yes, he is. I’m fighting a woman I don’t know…over a man.
And just how good a fighter am I? I ask myself. I only have one defeat. But I could have beaten Cynthia had I not made mental mistakes.
“Kiva, are you still here?” Kelli asks.
“Yeah, I am,” I answer. “There it is. That’s the apartment building,” Kelli pulls up to the security gate. “We’re visiting room 122,…Frank Romero,” we tell the guard.
He looks down, “Yep, you’re on the guest list,” he informs us as the gates open.
Kelli pulls into the parking lot. Now it’s time for the long walk. I open the car door and pick up my gym bag. The walk to the arena begins. As we proceed over the blacktop, the butterflies are as bad as they’ve ever been. This fight is different. An unknown opponent. A man. What did I get myself into?
The apartment complex is arranged around a lovely courtyard, with grass, flowers and benches. Frank’s apartment on the first floor opens to the outside. As we enter the courtyard, I’m struck by the quaintness and tranquility of it on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. There are only two other people here. A man I don’t recognize is walking a dog. The second man, sitting on a bench, seems strangely out of place.
“Look at the size of that guy,” Kelli exclaims. Hard to say for sure as the man was seated but I imagined he was six feet, five inches and close to 300 pounds. He looked very intimidating, dressed in jeans and boots and only a leather vest on top showing off massive, heavily tattooed arms. The large head featured sunglasses and a very impressive long forked beard, like the leaders of ZZ Top. He appeared focused on his cell phone screen.
“Scary looking guy,” I reply. “Looks like a biker type. Hey let’s ask if he fights…in case Jake needs an opponent.” We laugh.
“I dunno,” Kelli says. “Jake might think twice before messing with that guy.”
“I’m gonna call him ‘Skull Splitter’” I joke.
“Skull Splitter?”
“Yeah, I saw a documentary on Vikings. There was an actual warrior king called Skull Splitter. I imagine he looked like that.”
We follow along the side walk, reading apartment numbers. 119, 120, 121, here it is…122. Right in front of Skull Splitter’s bench. I find the doorbell button, and experience one last bout of butterflies. Well, here it goes. I reach for the button and…
“Is one of you Kiva?” A deep voice asks behind me. How does Skull Splitter know me? This is weird already.
“Ignore him,” Kelli advises.
“If one of you is Kiva, they’re waitin for you inside…You’re here to fight another girl, aintcha?”
That does it. “Who wants to know?” I shot back.
“I’m just a friend…of your opponent. I drove her here and I’ll drive her home,…after you ladies are done with each other. I was just wonderin what ya looked like.”
I don’t like this. I don’t want to fight Gloria in front of a big scary guy she brought with her. This is supposed to be about Frank. “Are you…coming in…to watch us?” I ask Skull Splitter.
“No, ma’am. While you two chickies are rollin around, settlin yer differences, I’ll be right here waitin, watchin y’all on livestream…that is, unless anything funny happens…Well, good luck and may the better woman win.”
Livestream? Oh that’s right. Gloria and I met on the website. We’re expected to record and post the fight. I really gotta win this one.
The door opens and we’re welcomed by Frank, dressed in jeans and a beige T shirt hugging his ripped upper body. “Hello, ladies,” he greets us. I introduce him and Kelli and his eyes walk all over her. We follow him in and Kelli gives me that single raised eyebrow look. Ok, Frank likes to look at women but so what. After today, he’ll be mine. His living room is what you’d expect from a young single male. Not very furnished. A TV on the wall, and a table, a chair and a love seat, all pushed to the side to make a clearing on the carpet for Gloria and I. We make small talk for a minute.
“Gloria, Kiva’s here,” Frank calls out.
The bedroom door opens, and out steps an alluring olive skinned woman in a cheetah print bikini. She pretty much looks the way I imagined her. About my size. Thick black hair waving past her shoulders, brown eyes. She looks fit. Not rock solid but feminine and athletic. My eyes focus on her hands. Her nails are…short. She looks at me with a slight smile.
“Kiva, this is Gloria. The two of you finally meet. And this is Kelli.”
“Well Kiva,” she says, obviously sizing me up. “It’s very nice to meet you. So we’re going to have a tussle today. Let’s try to have a safe sane fight and may the better woman win. And Kelli, I understand you’re an accomplished fighter. I’ll give you my card and if you ever need an opponent, feel free to contact me.”
Okay, this is NOT what I expected. The woman who messaged me was a lunatic. In person, she’s relaxed and cordial. Safe and sane? Fuck, she threatened to rip out my eyes and tear my tits off. Frank also looks confused.
“Oh, and before we start, could I ask for a little favor? Would one of you happen to have some extra hair ties? And if you have an extra hair brush, that’d be great. This is embarrassing. I totally forgot I removed all my hair products from my gym bag.”
Kelli and I look at each other. “Uh…sure,” I offer. “You can have mine.”
“Well, ladies,” Frank says, “Shall we get this started? Kiva, you can change in my bedroom. Come out when your ready and we’ll let the fight begin. He directs Kelli and I to the bedroom. I quickly notice that there are no candles or rose petals. The room is very plain. What does stand out, however, are mirrors on the ceiling. I open my gym bag and begin stripping down.
“So that’s your psycho?” Kelli asks.
“I’m not buying her act,” I respond. “Psychopaths can appear perfectly normal when they want. People thought Ted Bundy was a charming guy. I’m preparing for the worst. Gloria is a skank. And she can keep my brush. Hell, I’ll get head lice if I use it after her.”
Frank at least has a full length mirror. I examine my nude reflection and strike a few poses. “So, what do you think of Frank,” I ask Kelli. “Isn’t he the most gorgeous thing ever? And after I get Gloria out of the way, the two of us can have peace together.” Kelli gives me the single raised eyebrow again. Fine. I don’t care. She’ll see.
“Well this is interesting,” she says, reaching her arm under the bed.
“What is it?” I ask. Keeping the eyebrow raise in tact, Kelli shows me a woman’s panties.
“So, uh, so,” I stutter. “Maybe his sister visited, stayed overnight and she misplaced one of her panties. You know how things get knocked under the bed.”
“Would she have signed them?” Kelli shoots back, showing me the words, “To Frank, Love Danika” written in marker on the fabric. I know a Danika. She’s a radiology technician at the hospital. Kelli directs me to the waste basket, where I’m shown several used condoms and wrappers at the bottom.
“Well, you’re quite a detective, aren’t you,” I reply as I slip on my black bikini. “Well, Kelli, I know Frank slept around. But maybe that’s all in the past now, y’know, since he started seeing me. And who knows how long this stuff has been there. You know how men don’t clean much.”
“Then I suppose he hasn’t changed his sheets in a long time either,” Kelli remarks, lifting the pillow up to reveal a few strands of long blonde hair.
“We’ll look,” I insist, checking out my bikini body in the mirror. “Once Frank and I are officially a couple, he’ll change. I’m going to change him.” I get another silent raised eyebrow. I know she’s wrong. I’ll make Frank mine and prove everybody wrong. And I’ll start right now making Gloria submit. Then, everyone will submit when they see how much Frank loves me. “Let’s go,” I said, “I wanna kill that bitch, Gloria.”
We enter the living room to see Frank and Gloria engaged in a rather serious looking discussion. Frank’s back is turned to us. He’s doing most of the talking while Gloria nods. I don’t like this. Is he giving her fighting advice? She sees us and alerts him. Their conversation ends.
The four of us meet in the center of the room. Gloria’s face contorts into a scowl. Her upper lip quivers like a snarling dog. “Well bitch,” she growls. “Take a good look around this apartment because you will never be here again.” I remember her saying something like that in my dream and my blood momentarily chills. “I warned you and warned you but you would not listen. You couldn’t stay away from Frank and now I will rip you apart limb by limb. You could have walked away but now I’m going to fuck you up!”
Kelli and I look at each other and I give her a look that says, “I knew this woman is nuts.” This is the Gloria I was expecting. What happened to safe and sane fight? Gloria and I stand chest to chest and nose to nose. Kelli fades into a chair on my side of the room while Frank slips into the love seat.
“Gloria, are you ready?” She nods. “Kiva, are you ready?” I nod. “Okay ladies….FIGHT!
I react first by giving her a shove to the chest. She backs up a few feet, then shoves me back. For a second we stare at each other. I have no idea what she will do. She’s crazy so I anticipate her wildly charging in but she looks cautious with her knees bent and her hands up. I do the same as we circle each other. I wait for her to shoot first but she doesn’t as if she expects me to make the next move. Fine, if that’s what she wants.
I rush after her to try to tackle her to the floor. In a flash, she sidesteps me, maneuvers herself behind me and runs me into the wall. I press my hands onto the wall to push back from her pressure. Quickly, she takes my arm behind my back into a hammer lock and pushes my face into the dry wall. “Get used to it bitch,” she taunts. “After I finish with you, me and Frank will be in the bedroom on the other side of this wall fucking our brains out, while you sit here listening to our moans.”
Pain sears through my shoulder as she has the hold in tight. “Fuck you, bitch,” I snort out, but I realize this will be a difficult escape. Escape won’t be needed. Gloria releases the arm, goes behind my knees and suddenly, I’m falling backwards, hitting the carpet on my back. She picks up my ankles and I kick furiously as she seems determined to fold me over. I crab walk backward, kicking and squirming with everything I got. Finally, I manage to pull one leg free and kick away at her hands until she releases the other. I roll away, and quickly try to stand. I have no time to react as Gloria sweeps low and I feel my feet go flying up and I crash to the floor on my ass. She dives on top of me and we lock arms and legs and go rolling on the floor. I grab her hair for control as we alternate which one of us is on top. Abruptly, we stop rolling and I realize I’m trapped in a body scissors. Gloria is underneath me with her legs wrapped around my belly and her arms across my chin as she tries for a choke hold. My chin is the only protection from me being choked out so I keep it tucked in tight as Gloria tries to slip her arms underneath to get to my neck.
“Bedtime, sweetie,” the psychopath sings. “While you sleep here dreaming about Frank, I’ll be fucking him for real.”
My breathing is getting harder. I’m not getting choked but I can’t find a way out of this hold. I dig my nails into her arms and try to scratch my way out. Finally, she releases and pushes me to the side. I roll out of the way and begin to stand, but she tackles me back down. The loon mounts my back and pulls my hair back as I get to my hands and knees. “Give me a ride, pony girl,” she laughs as she slaps my ass. I go down on by belly, but the attacker swarms all over me. I can’t outmaneuver her. I can’t get to my feet. I can’t get away from her. I feel like I’m wrestling an octopus with eight arms. She controls me on the floor, transitioning through a myriad of holds: full nelson, chicken wing, three different versions of headlocks, head scissors, guillotine, leg traps. I’m getting stretched, twisted, squeezed…and thoroughly humiliated.
Finally, I manage to wriggle away and get to my feet. Gloria pauses and I try to take advantage by stretching and catching my breath. This is definitely not what I expected. Gloria may be a nut job but she is a very skilled wrestler. I’m thoroughly outclassed and out of confidence. I see the concerned and puzzled look on Kelli’s face and Frank’s intense expression.
I try to gather myself before we clash again. I can’t match her wrestling skill. But this isn’t a wrestling match. It’s a catfight. I’m confused by how clean she fights. I don’t have a single scratch. Even my tits have been untouched. Maybe that’s her psychology. She’s destroying me without such tactics. That doesn’t mean I have to fight clean.
We face off again. I go up on my toes and circle around her. I get within range and fire a slap to the face. As she recoils, I drive a knee into her belly, doubling her over, then follow it up with another hard right face slap. But slaps don’t win fights. I have to do something. I need to inflict pain. I need her to submit.
Taking advantage of her vulnerable state, I wrap my arms around her and trip her feet, tackling her to the floor. With us on our sides and my arms around her chest, I realize I’m in a perfect position to cause some tit damage. I dig my nails into her bikini top cup and squeeze. I hear her howl as I squish her boobs while attempting to pull the top off. A little more. A little harder, then….”Oowwwww!” Sudden severe pain shoots through my left hand and wrist as Gloria applies an expert wrist lock, forcing me to free her boobs. Gloria rises, holding on to my left wrist. She pulls me to my feet, flinging me across the room by my arm as she lets go. My hand throbs. We look at each other. “Had enough yet, whore?” she asks.
The realization sinks in that Gloria is the better fighter. I’m worn out and exhausted, I’ve been completely fooled and seriously underestimated her. I just can’t quit. If I lose, I’m going to go down fighting. I’m still a good striker, even if my right hand is all I have left. “Bring it, bitch,”
We circle each other again. I throw a flurry of slaps at Gloria’s head with most of them missing. She slaps back, striking me hard on the left cheek. A slap fight is fine with me. It beats getting tied up on the floor like a pretzel. We assume boxer stances and dance on our toes. I’m faring better, not losing but still not winning. We feign, flick jabs, and swing hard. It’s clear that Gloria knows something about boxing. If I can just stay on my feet, I’ll be fine I tell myself.
We go toe to toe peppering each other with open hand slaps until I finally land the hard right hand that spins her head around. Eyeing her exposed ribs, I close my fist and prepare to land the game changer. I position my body, turn, throw and….nothing.
Gloria backs out of the way as my fist sails through the air. Exposed and off balance, the skank grabs my right arm and dives for my right thigh. Before I realize what happened, she lifts me off my feet in a fireman’s carry. With my body across her shoulder, she transitions me into an upside down bear hug. With no place to go but down, I’m in a perfect position to be dropped on my head. I sense her taking a few steps, and before I can wonder if I’ll be the next admission to the neurosurgical unit, I’m flat on my back on the carpet.
Oddly, my head is fine. I felt Gloria cradle my head, actually protecting it when she slammed me. But the damage is done. The wind is knocked out of me. I can barely move. She sits on my chest. Her knees press on my arms in a tight schoolgirl pin. I know I’m done. I kick up with my legs but it is useless. It’s over. Any second now, she will scoot her ass up to my face and either sit on my face or suffocate me with her pussy. There’s nothing to do now except await my fate…and more humiliation.
“So go ahead, Kiva,” she starts. “Tell Frank who is the better woman. Say it and I’ll spare you. Look at you. Totally helpless. That’s how I like to leave all the women who think they can get between me and Frank…Ha ha…ha ha ha. The crazy laughter escalates until she arches her back to laugh at the ceiling. This careless move is what I need.
I lift my hips and legs, hooking my ankles around her neck, pulling her off to the side. The maniacal but puzzling fighter rolls to her side, exposing her back to me. I scramble to my knees, grab her left arm and left leg while planting my foot into her lower back. I pull the limbs back and push forward with my foot executing a bow and arrow hold.
Gloria screams. “Give up?” I ask.
“Yes, stop. Let go, please.”
“Tell Frank who is the better woman.”
“You are. Please let me go.”
“Are you going to leave me alone and stop sending messages.”
“”Yes, I promise. You can have Frank. He’s yours.”
I stand. The rush of victory gives me a new energy. Gloria rolls on her back as a sign of submission. I oblige by placing my foot on it and flexing my biceps, looking down on my defeated foe. I’m stunned and confused by this fight. I know I’m very lucky and will do a lot of reevaluation of my fight career after this.
No sooner do I step off of my victim, when I feel a gentle tug on my arm. It’s Kelli. “Very nice”, she says as she hands me my sweat clothes and shoes. “I have your gym bag. Just throw these on and let’s go now….I think we need to talk.” That’s it? Really, Kelli? I just beat my insane rival and she won’t let me bask in my win? I feel another soft pull on my arm.
“Leaving so soon, Kiva?” Frank asks. “But first, may I speak to you for a minute…in private…in my bedroom?”
I glance at Kelli, who doesn’t appear to approve of this meeting. “It’s ok,” I reassure her, “I feel safe.”
“Be out in two minutes,” she whispers to me. “Keep your trigger finger on my cell phone number if anything happens.
By now, Gloria is on her feet and stretching. “I’m leaving too,” she tells us, “right after I clean up and change in the bathroom. Good luck with Frank, Kiva. He’s yours now. Please take good care of him. I wish you both well…Uh, I’d like to give Frank one last goodbye kiss…for, y’know…old time’s sake.” I roll my eyes. Come on, bitch, I want to say. You lost. Now move along.
Gloria and Frank embrace and kiss. With her arms still around his neck, I see her whisper into his ear and he responds by nodding. What a nutcase. She walks off to the bathroom as Frank leads me by the arm, to his bedroom. It’s not at all like my dream. There are no candles or lavender fragrance. Just a plain old bed with blonde hair in the sheets and old condoms in the trash basket. But yet, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of anticipation. What will Frank say to me? Is this our defining moment? Sweaty, achy, and still in my bikini, I stand before him and feel a tingle as he places his hands on my shoulders.
“That was amazing,” he tells me. “I heard about you as a fighter, but now that I’ve seen it, I know it’s all true. You are a talented fighter. Gloria had you several times but you fought through it and won…And so…I’d like to make a proposition to you.”
My heart ripples like jello. A proposition? THAT kind of proposition? It can’t be. “Whaaat?” I ask with a weak voice.
“I’d like for us to be a couple,” he says in matter of fact tone.
“Really?” I reply, my lower lip quivering. “You…and…me?”
“Let me explain,” Frank responds. Some of the guys in my fight group are now doing couples fights, competing with other groups. You know, men against men, women against women, as couples. I’d like to ask you to be my fight partner.”
I feel a mix of confusion and excitement. The very idea of Frank and I fighting side by side stirs me like nothing else. “B..b..but,” I stutter, “aren’t the couples in a relationship? Isn’t that the whole point of couples fights. It’s not about business relationships, it’s about romantic bonds. Like husbands and wives and boyfriends and girlfriends.”
“I know that,” he responds, hands still on my bare shoulders. “That’s why I’m asking you.”
I gasp. I warm flush washes over my face. “F…f..Frank, are you asking me to…”
“That’s right…I want us to be a real couple…in a real relationship.”
My hands shake and now both of my lips quiver. Tears run down my cheeks. My words choke up in my throat. “Yes,” I finally manage to get out. “Yes, Frank, I’ll be your girlfriend…And yes, I’ll be your couples partner…in fights and in life, I’ll be there beside you…Yes,,,Yes…YES!!!.”
Our faces draw to each other like two high powered magnets. Our lips seal together. He removes his hands from my shoulders and wraps them around my back, over the bikini top strap. He pulls me into him as I hug his neck, my lips holding on to his. We begin a slow dance, as in my dream. I haven’t felt this way since the night Tom proposed. I’m older now. This will be different. A new start. A new man.
There’s a knock on the door. “Kiva, are you alright?” Kelli asks.
“Yeah, Kelli, I’m good. I’ll be out in a minute,” I answer before our lips rejoin.
Knock, knock, knock. “Frank,” Gloria asserts, “I must leave now. We need to talk before I go.”
“Oh, what the fuck does she want?” I groan. “She promised she’d leave us alone…the crazy bitch.”
“Coming, Gloria,” Frank replies. “I’ll be right there.”
“That loser can wait,” I grumble while Frank and I resume our embrace and I suck his face.
He caresses my back, his hands running up and down over my bikini top strap. I work my way under his shirt, kneading his back muscles, lightly gliding my nails over his skin like a cat claiming its territory. I pull the shirt up to his neck, while his hands briefly leave my body to remove it over his head. I nearly gasp at the sight of Frank shirtless. His amber eyes are mesmerizing as they gaze into my blues. With our eyes still connected, his fingers release the strap clasp on my back and I feel my breasts drop with an exhilarating sense of freedom. He unties the strings behind my neck and our hands join together as we both participate in the unveiling. The cups peel away and fall to the floor as my boobs, still moist with sweat, celebrate in the free air. My bare breasts stand before him like puppies meeting their new master for the first time. Palpitations form inside my chest as I stand before him in just my bikini bottom. Frank places his hands gently on my shoulders and tilts his head forward to where are foreheads touch. “Kiva, you are so beautiful,” he whispers.
Stealthily, he wraps his arms around my waist, and rotates me in front of him. From behind me, he places his hands on my belly and holds me. Together, we sway back and forth. He caresses my belly, my hips. His lips find my ear, my neck, my shoulder. My hand reaches back and runs through his hair. Yes, this is what I imagined. It’s all so right. Straight ahead, I see us in the mirror. The image is…perfect. My new lover and I. He sees it too. Are faces are cheek to cheek. His hands glide up my belly and delicately cup my breasts. I see it in the reflection. I feel the blush, the tingle. “Frank,” I coo in his ear, “I want this moment to last forever.”
“I can make that happen, gorgeous,” he replies. One hand leaves my breasts, then returns second later with a cellphone held in front of us for a selfie. Click. “There, now it’s ours forever.” I giggle like a schoolgirl. “Let’s take another. Click. The still image of me topless with my man heightens my excitement.
He holds the phone out as we look at it together. “Send it to me, love,” I plead. “It’s so beautiful.”
The phone pings. Our lovely pic becomes partially covered by a message window.
From Charlee: ‘Hi Sexy. Been thinking about last night.’
Charlee? That’s the name of a respiratory therapist in my ICU. A cold chill sweeps over my entire body. I feel like I just crashed back down to earth with a thud. Is this another dream? No, it’s not. I’m here with Frank in the flesh. And I’ve just been slapped with a hard reminder that I’m about to be the latest in a long line of his conquests…And he has pictures to prove it. He resumes kissing the back of my neck. I brush him away.
“Frank, stop,” I tell him. “Those pictures…let’s delete them.” He looks confused. “I know I allowed it, but it’s a mistake. It’s just that…I’ve never done that before. I’ve never let a guy take nude or topless pictures of me. Not even my husband…Please let me have your phone so I can delete them. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’d just feel better if I did it.”
He looks at me with half amusement and gives me an understanding nod. “Uh…Ok…Sure,” he says, handing me his phone.
“Thanks for understanding,” I respond as I delete the first image, then the second. The screen returns to Frank’s photo roll as it was before our pictures were added, revealing a nude blonde. Holy shit! That’s Payton, one of the emergency department nurses. I swipe it away, uncovering the next pic - a naked Tori from the pharmacy with those familiar big tits she proudly displayed in the cage at Billy’s. Swipe. Next is Tori’s sister Amber, the cxnt who attacked me at Cynthia’s house, naked with her legs splayed open. Swipe. Another nude woman. I’m done. I hand Frank his phone.
“What’s the matter?” He asks.
“Did you really need to ask that, Frank? What woman around here haven’t you fucked?”
“Look, Kiva,” he begins, his voice smooth and low. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve had plenty of girlfriends. I didn’t take these pictures. The women sent them to me…We all have our past. We all have baggage. I dated girls. You’re married with a child. That’s what a relationship is about. We grow. We make concessions. We change.” ….Did he say “change”?
“And all the women I’ve been with,” Frank continues. “Well, it was all really about you. It always was, even before I met you. You see, I was always looking for you. I just didn’t know it at the time. You could say that I had a Kiva shaped hole in my heart and I tried to fit other women into it. But none of them fit. No one can. Only you. Every other woman was just a charade of you. You’re the only one that can complete me. You’re what I’ve been looking for my entire life.”
Every woman - a charade of me. I’ve never come close to hearing words like that before. I can’t find the words to speak.
Frank continues. “I can’t change the past. Every woman I’ve been with, every dead end relationship, every one night stand, I think of it now as a garbage heap. But trash can decompose into fertile soil. Now that you’re here, I can build on the mistakes of the past. Out of that soil can grow a beautiful tree. That’s us, beautiful.”
I can’t even think of what to say. His voice is exquisite poetry. My knees feel weak. My eyes tear up. I feel like I’m going to melt.
“So what do you say, angel? Are we a couple? Will you try it? You’ll see that I’ll be everything I promise for you. Are we together? Is it you and me?”
“Yes, Frank,” my voice strains out as tears return running down my cheeks. I again hug his neck, pressing my bare tits into his chest as he kisses my forehead and my wet eyes. For a minute, we stand there embraced until we’re disturbed by a forceful wrap on the door.
“Frank, I need to see you…NOW,” Gloria bellows.
“Be right there,” he answers.
“Fuck, Frank,” I complain. “Tell her to get lost.”
“Kiva?” I hear Kelli call. “Kiva, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, Kelli,” I assure her. “We’re just…talking. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Now, where were we?” I ask my newly minted boyfriend. We lock lips again but after the start-stop-start cycle, it will take time to build up the momentum. Gloria is acting nuts again, and I don’t want to keep Kelli waiting, but I know we can do this. During my marriage, my husband and I went through long periods of time seeing other briefly in passing only, due to our busy schedules. Out of necessity, we perfected the practice of the quickie. Quickies are usually satisfying only to the men, but I learned to make it into an art form.
I unbuckle Frank’s belt and slide his trousers down his legs as he steps out of his shoes. I strip away the little black Speedos barely covering his bulge…and there it is! Slightly larger than average but magnificent. The desire of so many women…and it’s all mine now. And it’s ready.
Taking both of my lover’s hands, I lead him to the bed. As I fall on my back, he bends forward, covering me. His tongue finds my nipples. He dances with them, nibbles them, wets them. I look up at the ceiling mirror, I find the new view exciting. I feel his fully erect member on my thigh.
“Frank, I mean it!” Gloria again. “We have to finish our business…RIGHT NOW!”
Business? What the fuck is she talking about? This chick is so freaking delusional. I’ve had enough.
“Gloria, go away,” I shout. “You lost. Leave us alone.”
“Kiva, this has nothing to do with you,” she yells back.
She wishes. She wants Frank and I got him. If she wants to even talk to him, she will wait until the alpha female allows it. The alpha female…that’s…me. It hits me. I defeated a woman, and took a man. The reality of it gives me an intense body blush and a tingling everywhere. My blood engorges to where it’s needed and the aroma of my own musk tells me my pussy gets the message. It’s time.
I direct Frank’s hand to my bikini bottom, and lift my hips as he dutifully strips it past my knees and I use my feet to remove it entirely. So this is it. I’m naked. He’s naked. It’s not exactly how I imagined it but it’s a start. Our start. Our consummation.
My desire swells. I dig my nails into Franks shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist. The anticipation is overwhelming. He positions himself. My mind and body yearns. My womanhood is an enlarging tent. Give it to me my love. I want you so much. I’m yours. Your mine. Take me, Frank. Come into me. Fuck me. Let’s do it now, baby. Let’s fuck. Yes, let’s fu…
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“This is your last warning Frank, let me be clear. This is Diane.”
Fuck! Gloria is now calling herself Diane. She’s crazier than I thought. Perhaps she has multiple personality disorder.
“I’ve warned you three times,” says the loud stern voice of Gloria or Diane or whoever. “You only paid the deposit. I need the rest now. I usually demand payment up front but I trusted you. I’ve done everything you asked. I played Gloria like you wanted. I jobbed to your girl. I have another session in an hour and you’re making me late. Get out here now and pay up!
“Wha..What?,” I gasp. “Did she say ‘session’?…Session?…Gloria is a session wrestler?…OH FUCK, FRANK!…YOU SET ME UP WITH A SESSION WRESTLER?…And you hired her to JOB TO ME?…YOU SON OF A BITCH…GET OFF OF ME!”
I’m still on my back in bed trapped beneath this bastard. I squirm to escape as he tries to hold me down. “Wait Kiva,” he starts with his fake as fuck voice. “Let’s talk about this.”
We struggle in bed until I knee him in the balls. We both roll on to the floor, then stand facing each other. All of a sudden, I feel naked and embarrassed, as I glare with burning hatred at this equally naked dickhead.
“Then who?,” I resume. “Then who sent me those crazy emails if there’s no Gloria? Oh FUCK! It was YOU! YOU WERE GLORIA! You sent those yourself. YOU’RE A FUCKING POSER!”
“No Kiva,” Frank tries to explain. “I did it for you. To make you a better fighter…And I did NOT tell her to job. You beat her on your own…Really. Let’s go somewhere and talk.”
“I will not listen to any more of your lies and I will NEVER be part of your PUSSY PARADE!…I’m outta here!
He reaches out to place his hand on my shoulder and invites me to talk using that condescending paternalistic voice. “No, Frank, I’m done talking,” I snarl as I clench my fists and send my right hook into his jaw. I watch him as he stumbles backward into the wall. I become more cognizant of the sounds of chaos from the other side of the door. I hear Kelli screaming my name. I hear an eardrum breaking sound of something like a hammer striking metal. The doorknob falls to the floor. The wooden door violently swings open, the force breaking the stopper on the wall. I have no time to react. I’m knocked to the floor by a charging Goliath.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” Skull Splitter says. “I got some business here.” My last image of the room is a naked Frank, lifted off his feet and pressed to the wall by a Viking barbarian. “You heard the lady, Mack..You’re gonna pay her NOW!”
I feel a hand pull my nude body up off the floor. “Come on Kiva,” Kelli urges. “Get out of here, now.” We run out to the living room, where I hastily slip into my sweatpants. Panicked, I run out the door without my top or shoes. Covering my boobs with my arms, I follow Kelli’s lead out the courtyard, into the parking lot and into her Jeep, hoping I don’t get recognized.
I sit topless and in my bare feet in the passenger front seat of Kelli’s vehicle, too numb to speak. So I stare. Finally, Kelli breaks the silence. “You’re not ok, are you?”
she says softly.
“Uh…No.” Just then, my iPhone pings a text message. From Frank: ‘I want you back, baby doll. Let’s talk.’ I shake my head. The fucking piece of shit.
The phone pings again. From Tom. Oh great. Can this day possibly get any worse? I read his message. ‘I want you back, my love.’ How lovely. Who’s he kidding? I am so fucking done with men. Another ping. Tom again. “Oh please,” I groan. “What the fuck now.” My eyes turn to the phone screen.
‘I want to fight for you.’
