Page 19 of Breaking the Habit

The fight bell rang.

Levi’s thoughts ceased; everything became a fluid string of reactions. Dodging Murty’s low kick, delivering the uppercut, spinning him into a rear naked choke.

The only thing that coursed through Levi’s mind as he fought was,You got this. You got this.

Levi secured the advantage on Murty early in the first round. He had him grappling and reactionary, trying to dodge Levi’s firm blows and catlike defenses. When the bell rang for the end of the first round, Travis was ready at his side.

“You’re fucking killing him,” he said as Lex squirted water into Levi’s mouth. “You can knock him out. It’s coming. Just keep him off balance.”

Levi rolled his shoulders in circles as he assessed Murty from across the octagon. Lex dabbed at a cut on his forehead.

“I’m so fucking ready for this,” Levi mumbled around the mouthguard.

Break time ended. The fighters met in the middle, and the bell rang again. Levi didn’t hold back. He funneled every ounce of disappointment and worry and sexual frustration and money anxiety into his opponent. His punches rained down, and they weren’t into minute two when the referees hauled him off of Murty. He’d won the round by technical knockout. Murty was unable to fight back.

Levi was distantly aware of the swell of cheers. He pumped his fist in the air and did a victory lap around the cage, going as far as scaling a side of the octagon to pump his fists into the air. He caught the wild eyes and victorious cheers of nearby fans. They ate this shit up. And so did he.

It wasn’t until Travis herded him back into the dressing room that the spell broke. Levi collapsed into a chair in front of the mirror while Travis and Lex assembled around him.

The joy was unmistakable.

“Now they fuckin’ know,” Lex affirmed as he pointed at Levi through the mirror. “They fuckin’ know who our boy Levi is.”

Travis laughed, grabbing Levi by his arms. “You fucking killed it.”

A knock on the door a moment later was the league doctor, making his rounds to check on the fighters, post fight. He was a short and serious man who looked like he came from 1940 instead of modern days.

Levi tilted his head as the doctor examined a cut on his upper cheek. Riley popped into the dressing room a moment later, pressing her back to the door. She was out of breath.

Her eyes were wide. Like she’d just seen her first real MMA match.

“So what’d you think, Riley?”

She let out an incredulous laugh. “Uhhh…no big deal.” She shrugged, but he could practically see the pulse throbbing at her wrists. “Just a regular evening, doing work stuff.” She tripped over the carpet as she approached, and a laugh escaped her. “Holy shit.”

Levi grinned, which made the doctor tut as he tried to dab at his face. “Stop smiling.”

“Can’t when she’s around,” he said. Her reaction meant more to him than he wanted to admit.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Lex murmured. Riley lifted her camera, snapping a few shots in the dressing room.

“How’d your pictures come out?” Levi asked.

“Fucking fire,” she said, checking the digital screen of her camera. “Oh my god.” She fanned herself a little. “I don’t think my heart has stopped racing yet.”

That made Levi grin even wider. It was a special thing, to witness the birth of a new MMA fan.

“No smiling,” the doctor said.

“Levi, he said stop smiling,” Lex reprimanded, a new bark to his tone.

“Is that your dad voice?” Levi cracked.

“Yes, and if you push me any further, I’m gonna add an ass whooping, too,” Lex said, the hint of a grin on his face. “Just kidding, I don’t talk to my kid like that. But let the doc get you buttoned up.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Levi said. He heaved a sigh, checking out his face in the wall mirror once the doctor was done. “Not too bad. I don’t need stitches.”

“Murty probably will,” Travis offered. They all thanked the doc before he left.

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