Smack

Chapter 34 - Smacking Claire

SPECIAL Chapter: I've just released Guilty Emma, and this one is different... There's content inside that reveals what actually happened between Mike and Emma that night of the rescue.

Want to know what happens? Check it out on Patreon at the end of the chapter.

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Mike pushed open the gym doors.

The smell hit him first—sweat, leather, and rubber mats warmed by the morning heat.

Then came the noise. Bags thudded in steady rhythms. Jump ropes snapped against the floor. Someone in the far corner barked out numbers as a fighter worked through a set.

Mike took two steps inside.

Something was wrong.

The usual crowd had gathered near the center ring, but nobody was training. A tight circle of bodies blocked his view. Voices rose over one another.

"Back off, Sam."

"Or what?"

Mike slowed.

Sam stood at the front of the group, his shoulders tight. Three of his usual friends crowded around him, cutting off the space on either side.

And in the middle stood a stranger.

Mike had never seen him before.

He looked about their age, dressed in plain black training shorts and a gray tank top. His arms were solid, but it wasn't his size that caught Mike's attention.

It was how relaxed he looked.

Four men surrounded him, yet he didn't step back.

His hands hung loosely at his sides. His weight rested evenly on both feet. He wore a small, almost amused smile.

Like he had all the time in the world.

Mike frowned.

Who the hell is this guy?

Mike watched as one of Sam's friends stepped forward and jabbed a finger into the stranger's chest.

The stranger glanced down at the finger, then back up.

Sam said nothing. His jaw worked as he stared at the newcomer.

The guy didn't even flinch.

He only tilted his head, that faint smile still on his face. Four men surrounded him, and somehow he looked like the one who would win.

Mike turned to the nearest boxer watching from a few steps away.

The man looked older, maybe late twenties. White tape still wrapped around his hands, probably left over from an earlier round.

Mike nodded toward the group.

"What's going on?" Mike asked.

The boxer didn't look at him.

"It's that new guy."

Mike frowned. "What did he do?"

The boxer glanced toward the group. "Walked in and started something with Claire."

Mike's eyes narrowed. "Claire?"

"Yeah. Sam didn't take it too well."

Mike's eyebrows lifted. He glanced across the gym and spotted Claire near the water cooler. She stood with her arms crossed tight, face set in a hard line, watching the circle but staying well back.

Mike looked back at the new guy. "He just talked to her? Some confident guy walks up and says hi. Why all this?"

The boxer shook his head.

"If he'd only talked, it would be different. But he walked right up behind her and smacked her on the ass without saying a word."

Mike's expression tightened.

"Then he started running his mouth," the boxer continued. "Vulgar shit. The kind of stuff that makes people look around because they can't believe they actually heard it. Claire told him to back off, but he just laughed and kept going."

"And that's when Sam showed up?"

"Yeah. Sam and the others." The boxer glanced toward the group. "And now we're here."

Mike looked at the new guy again.

That same calm smile rested on his face.

Sam's right hand was already closed into a tight fist. The muscles in his shoulder bunched as he drew the punch back.

The new guy did not flinch. He raised one open hand, palm out, and spoke loud enough for the whole group to hear.

"Hold up. You can see it's four against one. I'm at a clear disadvantage if we start swinging out here. How about we make it fair? We spar with proper rules and winner takes her."

He turned his head and looked straight at Claire.

His eyes moved from her face down her body and back up again, slow and open, the same vulgar once-over he had been giving her with his words earlier. Claire's arms tightened across her chest. She did not look away, but her mouth pressed into a thinner line.

Sam's fist stayed cocked for another second.

Sam's pride would not let him walk away from this challenge in front of the whole gym.

"You wanted a fight?" Sam said. "Get in the ring. Let's see if you're still smiling when I'm done with you."

The three lackeys stepped back a little, clearing space. A few other gym members drifted closer, sensing a fight was about to happen under the lights instead of in a pile on the floor.

Ryan walked out with a clipboard in one hand and a whistle around his neck. He took one look at the circle and the way both Sam and the new guy faced each other, then stepped between them without hesitation.

"All right. If you're going to settle this, you do it inside the ropes with someone watching. I'm refereeing. No cheap shots, no leaving the ring until I say. Clear?"

Sam nodded once. The new guy gave a short shrug that said the rules did not bother him.

Ryan looked at the stranger. "What's your name?"

The new guy rolled his shoulders once, still smiling that same easy smile. "Danny."

Ryan wrote it down on the clipboard without comment. "Danny. Sam. Get your hands wrapped if they're not already—three-minute rounds. I call the start and the stop. Winner is the one still standing clean when I stop it, or the one who forces the other to quit. Everyone else stays outside the ropes."

Danny walked toward the ring without hurry.

He climbed through the ropes and stood in the center, bouncing once on the balls of his feet. Sam followed, jaw still tight, and took the opposite corner. The three lackeys stayed at the apron, arms folded, eyes locked on Danny.

Mike stayed where he was near the older boxer. He watched Claire for a moment longer. She had not moved from the water cooler. Her face still showed the same hard anger, but under it sat something else—unease at the way Danny had looked at her and at the fact that two men were now about to fight with her as the prize.

The gym noise dropped to a low murmur, and everyone turned toward the ring.

Ryan stepped into the center, whistle ready. He looked from Sam to Danny and back again.

"Ready?"

Sam raised his gloved hands. Danny raised his own, smiling.

Ryan brought the whistle to his lips.

Mike folded his arms and kept watching. The first day for a new boxer had already turned into this.

Read up to Chapter 45 on Patreon and The Special Chapter: https://www.patreon.com/c/KDaddy935?vanity=user.