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.”I walk to the corner of the ring, where she’s walking up the stairs, and sit down on the middle rope; making room for her to get through without flashing everyone.“Come through here, Salem.”“Thank you,” she says kindly, giving me a meek smile.“Any time.”Blaine reaches out to her with his cell phone in his hand.“Here, use my phone to take the picture.Saint, get over here,” motioning me to join him and Jimmy.I walk back over to them, and Blaine puts his arm back around my shoulder.Salem stands up against the ropes holding up the cell phone.“Okay, babe.We’re ready to take the picture,” Blaine is impatient with her.“I swear, she acts like she doesn’t know how to work the damn camera.She and her friends take enough selfies to fill a freaking memory card,” he complains lowly in my ear.I see the flash go off a few times.“Okay, there you go,” she snaps, as she hands him his phone back.“Can we go now?”“Yeah, we’re going,” Blaine rolls his eyes at her.“I’ll see you guys later,” he turns, pointing at us.“Later? What’s going on later?” she questions him.“Nothing, babe.I’m just meeting them for a few beers to celebrate Saint’s victory later on tonight,” he kisses her nose.“You’ll be fast asleep by then.”“Boxing is drama on its grandest scale.”—Howard CosellOnce I get home from the fight, I jump in the shower.With my hands up against the wall, I stand under the hot water and let it run down my sore body.I gently touch my rib cage and wince.Gladiator definitely landed some punches and there’s no doubt I’ll have some minor bruising tomorrow.My cheekbones are also very tender to the touch as I run a cloth over my face.Even with the headgear, I still feel battered after a fight.Cool air enters into the shower.“Dude! You did great today!” it’s Adrian.I poke my head out of the shower curtain, “Thanks, man.”“A few times, I thought he was going down.”“He’s a tough competitor.Are you coming out with us tonight to celebrate?”“Definitely.”“Go find your suit, we’re going to Shikago’s,” I shut the shower curtain.“No fuckin’ way, I’ve been dying to go there! Hurry your ass up then, I need to take a shower next.”“Give me five more minutes.”“Alright, I’m gonna go iron my suit.”Adrian and I turn down the street Shikago’s is on and see that people are already lined up down the sidewalk.The guys are dressed in suits and ties, while the girls are all in barely-there dresses and skirts.Blaine wasn’t kidding when he said this place would be packed, but we manage to find spots for our bikes in-between two parked cars.We bypass the entire line and walk right up to the doorman, who’s holding a clipboard.I can hear people complaining but Adrian and I ignore them.“Name?” he asks without even looking at either of us.“Saint.”“’Saint’? No first name? No last name?” he briefly glances up at me as he flips through the pages.“That’s right.”He turns to the big burly bouncer, who must easily weigh two hundred and fifty pounds.He’s dressed in all black, his arms are covered in tattoos, and his nose is pierced with a large bullring.The doorman nods his head at the bouncer, who then steps aside to let me go through.Adrian follows.“Whoa… whoa… whoa! You’re the only one on the list,” clipboard boy says to me.The bouncer immediately steps in front of Adrian, stopping him from proceeding any further.“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” I say loudly.I feel a hand on my chest as the bouncer starts pushing me back, “Take it eas…” he stops mid-sentence.“Hey, you’re that fighter I saw on the news last week!”“That I am,” I answer smugly.“I tried to get tickets for your fight, but they were already sold out.How did it go?”“I won.”He shakes my hand, “Congrats, man.That’s awesome.”“Thanks.Can you let my friend in now?” I smile.The bouncer steps aside, making way for Adrian.“Alright, alright,” Adrian cheers, “let’s party!”From the moment we step through the red velvet curtain, that divides the entrance from the bar, we can barely see a foot in front of us.Loud sultry music is blaring from hidden speakers all around, and as we round a corner, we see two girls dancing on a pedestal.They look like fifties pin-up girls.One has her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail while the other’s hair is long and blonde; both are wearing skimpy sailor costumes.As we walk by them, the blonde leans down and runs her index finger over my shoulder.“Hey sailor,” she whispers.I spin around quickly and let my eyes scan over her.“Come back to see me later and I’ll give you a private show,” she blows me a kiss.“Most definitely,” I respond as I walk away
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