*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
The loud smacking of Nick's giant palm hitting the mats resounded throughout the gym like thunder.
"Stop!" The referee ran in, grabbing Ben and pulling him off Nick's arm before an injury occurred.
Everyone around had their mouths open. They couldn't believe it, as one person vocalized their shock. "Nick actually…lost?"
It was an unbelievable upset. Nick, a mountain of a man, and the best purple belt at the gym, one step away from brown belt, lost to a much smaller opponent, and a white belt at that?
What the hell was going on?!?
In reality, however, everyone there had witnessed the match, having observed Ben's one-sided dominance from start to finish. Yet, that didn't make them feel any better. It would've been one thing if it was a freak accident or miracle submission, but here was a white belt, almost toying with a beast… Who could have expected this result?
Even Valentina and Fariq who'd believed Ben stood a chance had their jaws dropped when they watched Ben submit Nick with such ease. Even the big boss Ricardo himself had to blink a few extra times to make sure this wasn't like that time he fell asleep on the beach and dreamed he was a sea turtle.
…
Yet, the most shocked of all, was Nick himself. He couldn't fathom how this happened! Everything occurred much too quickly! Still, he had to tap! There was no choice! Because his elbow was on the verge of breaking, and also, once Ben fully extended his arm, Nick felt the back of his hand—touch Ben's sausage and shnutsack.
…
That was the big Slurpee straw that broke the camel's back…
Although Nick was a veteran in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was thus used to grappling with men and women in all kinds of positions, when his hand reached there, he took a quick glance at Ben's face and the two exchanged eye contact. At that moment, Ben lipped a word, one more deadly in this situation than any submission or illegal technique… He said, "Teabag."
…
At that moment, Nick had no choice but to tap…
Meanwhile, huffing for breath, Ben stood up. After that grueling match of strength, his muscles were exhausted and his lungs were on fire. Yet, one thing was a fact at this point, something that no one in the room could deny and which led to a breathtaking silence amongst the mass of people in the audience—Ben was the champion!
He grinned as he realized all his hard work and hard cheating from the system paid off…
After all, it wasn't easy f*cking all those beauties to collect points…
Now, at long last, he was reaping the rewards, not counting all of those other rewards…
Still, as Fariq clapped and shouted from the edge of the room, Ben had a feeling of elation in his chest.
"Yea! Way to go, Ben!" Fariq started clapping, genuinely impressed with Ben's shocking performance. He still remembered the day he invited Ben to start Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a day he had to triple-check he remembered correctly because it was not that long ago…
Still, there was no doubt that now, this roommate of his somehow ended up being a BJJ genius. Yes, that was clear now, Ben was a genius at this sport, and it wasn't only obvious to Fariq, but to Valentina who sighed, accepting it. And also, to the audience, who following Fariq's lead, began to clap.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
One person at a time, the room recovered from their shock, and clapped at this final match result. Every person was thankful to have seen such an unexpected sight and joined in. Even the people who hated Ben for soul cranking them, ended up clapping once Ben's gaze made a pass around the room and stuck for an extra second on them…
In fact, the one clapping loudest, was the master himself Ricardo, whose eyes were shining as he stared at Ben, as if he had found a diamond, or like that time he went through his computer and found old nudes of his ex he thought he'd deleted…
Watching this white belt show such a shocking result was at that same level of pleasant surprise...
Yet, there was one person who wasn't impressed. Watching Ben's face filled with satisfaction, receiving a shower of applause from everyone in his gym, Nick felt a fire raging inside him. He was used to being the victor. He was used to such applause. He was used to being the one giving menacing looks to people so they'd applaud…
When was it ever his turn to take such a loss?!? Now, he was no longer the one for people to revere, but the loser who everyone ignored! Goddamnit, he was the boss Ben just scored points on!
Losing to a rookie small white belt in front of everyone like this…although it was only a BJJ tournament, it was such an embarrassment! This was another of the horrible recent events in Nick's life! Breathing heavy, he thought back to everything that had gone wrong in recent times:
Problems with Lia…
Getting smashed by a truck…
And now being shamed in front of his own MMA gym…
As Nick looked up and saw Ben rubbing an invisible championship belt on his waist…Nick began to see red!
Because this curly-headed bastard was at the center of it all! Involved with each one of his problems! It was really like Ben was the cause of all the misfortunes in Nick's life! Even though Nick knew it didn't make any rational sense, somehow, he still couldn't avoid believing it!
As a result, before he knew it, Nick was up on his feet, moving like a river of fury and embarrassment flowed from his chest to his brain and the rest of his body. Then, only one thought passed through his mind—revenge…
So as Ben was half-turned away from him, winking at Valentina…Nick took his chance.
"Huh?" At the same time, Ben felt his vision become darker, as he witnessed a giant fist arriving, only centimeters from his face.
*BOOM!*