Rupert was silent for several long moments, then he finally said, “You’re right, Macio. I apologize for intruding. I just needed to see for myself that you were doing okay. Have you had breakfast yet? Let me treat you.”
“I, uh…”
“Come on,” Rupert cajoled, “surely you have thirty minutes to spare for me.”
“Okay,” Macio agreed. “Why don’t you go downstairs and get us a table at the restaurant while I get dressed?”
“Deal,” Rupert agreed. “I’ll see you down there.”
I went into the living room as soon as I heard the door shut. Macio’s look of disappointment made me feel better about the riotous emotions coursing through me. I commanded my brain to memorize everything about him in that moment because he wasn’t Macio the fighter, he was Macio the man standing in front of me wrapped in a terrycloth robe with wet hair from our joint shower.
He crooked his finger in my belt loop and pulled me to him. “This wasn’t what I wanted, Aiden. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.”
“Me either,” I answered honestly. “But we both knew it was going to happen, so maybe it’s better to get it over with; sort of like ripping off a Band-Aid.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t sound convinced. “Thank you for a wonderful evening, Aiden. It was more incredible than in my filthiest fantasies.”
“Yeah?” Hearing he fantasized about me did funny things to my insides and weakened my resolve to leave his hotel room. “For me too, Macio. I’ll never forgot this night for as long as I live.” Even though he said he trusted me, I needed to make sure he knew how much I respected him. “I would never tarnish what we shared by betraying your trust and going public with our night. Not that anyone would believe me,” I added with a smirk.
“I know you wouldn’t.” Macio looked at his feet for a long time, then returned his eyes to mine. “If things were different…”
I stopped his words with a kiss. I didn’t want to hear false promises that would never come to fruition; it would ruin the memories as surely as anything. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he’d change for me and I would never ask him to, just as I knew I would never love in secrecy again.
I stepped back once our kiss ended. “I wish you nothing but the best.” I felt him watching me as I gathered my stuff and put it in my messenger bag. I turned to face him once I was done. “Goodbye, Macio.”
“Goodbye, Aiden.”
I was overwhelmed with emotion when I left his room and stepped onto the elevator. I knew the score, but that didn’t stop me from feeling destroyed. I castigated myself for being foolish the entire ride down to the ground floor. I knew I’d pick myself up by my loafers and soldier on, but also knew it would be a while before it happened.
I stepped out of the elevator once the doors opened and came face to face with Rupert, who wore a sly grin on his face. “Uh…”
Rupert grabbed me lightly by the elbow and pulled me aside to ensure privacy from prying ears. “Save it, kid. Neither of you can lie for shit.” He narrowed his eyes at me menacingly and said, “If you even think about going public…”
“I wouldn’t.” I shook my head vehemently. “I’d never do something like that.”
Rupert studied me for several long moments before he nodded his head. “I don’t know why, but I believe you.” Then he leaned in so his mouth was almost pressed against my ear. “I will destroy you if you do.”
The venom in his voice caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. I had only seen a jovial, fatherly side to Rupert before and decided it was much preferred over his mob-like side.
I pulled back from him and looked him in the eye. “I’ll never give you cause.” I walked away from him without a backwards glance. I hoped that my confident posture disguised the way my knees knocked together from fear that nothing in my life would ever be the same again.
Fuck Rupert’s cock blocking ass! I had every intention of eating breakfast with Aiden, and I wasn’t happy that he interrupted my plans. I wanted to tell him that I had plans to eat with my brother, but something told me he might have wanted to tag along. It wasn’t like he didn’t know my family. Still, fuck him for ruining my would-be breakfast with Aiden. Not only that, but now I had a room service bill on my hands and food that might not get eaten.
I slipped on a pair of black boxer-briefs and then my Michaelson jogging suit. Because they were my sponsor, I really couldn’t wear any other competitor’s clothing. However, for what they were paying me, I didn’t complain. According to Rupert, the more popular I became, the more money I would make. So, I was just going to go with the flow. The interview I did with Aiden should help in that regard.
My heart skipped several beats as I thought about Aiden and I looked at the rumpled sheets on the bed with a longing I hadn’t felt… ever. I knew it was a one-time thing. A fantasy fulfilled, but I couldn’t help feel that familiar loneliness I felt whenever I had to look forward to another night alone, only this time it was more intense. I really didn’t care too much when those escorts left. A fun time was had, money exchanged hands, and that was that.
However, with Aiden, it was all so different. Being inside of him was the most intense sexual and emotional experience I’d ever felt and I wanted it to go on forever. When we woke up hours later and he pushed me back on the bed and rode me hard, I knew what real pleasure was. He didn’t have sex with me for money and what he felt was real. God, it was all so real! There was something in his expression that spoke volumes to me and I came hard just from looking at him.
Aiden, Aiden, Aiden… having sex with him was everything I had hoped it would be and a million times more. He blew my mind when I blew my cock. I’d jerked off countless times thinking about his lips wrapped around my dick and when he slid down the length of my body and took me into his mouth, I nearly exploded. It was the best fucking blow job I’d ever gotten and my dick was hard just thinking about it.
“Man, fuck Rupert!” I snarled as I shoved my feet into my Michaelson sneakers. The only other competitor that was bigger than Michaelson was Nike, so I was looking forward to working with them. Though I liked Nike’s clothes and shoes better, they hadn’t offered me a two-million-dollar endorsement deal.
I snatched up my key card and headed down to the ground level to meet up with Rupert in the hotel restaurant. I couldn’t make it through the lobby without having to stop for some of my fans and sign autographs. When I first started fighting for the ETC, I didn’t like having to do it. I felt like strangers were intruding on my time. But Bobby told me that my fans were my real bread and butter and I needed to show them proper respect. When he put it that way, I began to understand.
So here I was, stomach growling for some grub, but it did feel good to put smiles on people’s faces. They were asking me a bunch of questions about my last fight and it was almost like I was back at the post-fight conference, only a little better.
“I just try to keep my body conditioned and I watch what my opponents do carefully while in the ring. I capitalize on their mistakes and then make them my bitches,” I said to the approving laughter of my adoring fans.
