A few days later.
Lacie is in the living room when the doorbell rings.
The door opens and a man steps in. He’s shrouded in a black shirt. The top buttons are open. His sleeves hug his huge biceps. His well-toned chest makes the shirt taut against his torso.
His legs are in a pair of trousers.
“It’s been a while.” He grins as his hands hold the edge of his pockets.
Lacie looks up. Her mouth falls open and her eyebrows rise.
The man was Alex. Her best friend since childhood. He stands there smiling at the shock on Lacie’s face.
“Alex! Is it really you? This is a surprise.” She stands up and moves to embrace him.
She hugs him tightly and rests her head on his shoulders.
“I have missed you. You have no idea.” She coos as Alex pats her head and holds the small of her back.
“I’m here now.” He replies.
She eventually untangles herself from him.
“Wow!” She exclaims as she takes in his appearance.
“You really looking good. I guess you have a lot of ladies fawning over you.”
“ I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Alex holds up his hands in protest.
“ Yeah. Yeah. You never do.” She replied sarcastically.
“Take a seat. Would you care for a drink?”
She asks Alex as he sits down. “Nah. I don’t really drink much these days.”
Lacie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Really? A lot has changed. You used to be the life of the party back then.”
“That’s life. Changes are part of it. I could say the same thing about you. I never thought of you as the domestic type”
He chuckles as he reclines on the chair. “How’s my Lacie been doing?”
Lacie sighs heavily and her smile fades a bit.
Alex picks on the changes in her countenance.
“ That bad huh? It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it yet.”
“Thanks a lot. Alex. So tell me what have you been up to?”
“Let’s see.” He rubs his upper lip as he thinks deeply.
“ I have been working very hard…” He suddenly smiles. “ At doing virtually nothing”.
Lacie bursts into a cackle of laughter.
“ You scoundrel! You still haven’t stopped this nonsense you do. Here I was thinking you have finally gotten serious with life. I guess some things never change.”
She says amidst her bursts of laughter.
“I decided to take a break from work and just explore. I got tired of the same view and routine every morning. So one morning, I said ‘fuck it, I’m going on a vacation.’
Lacie isn’t talking to Mark. He has been in the room all day.
He starts hearing voices and cackles of laughter in the house. Curious, he stands up and walks to the living room. He sees Lacie wiping tears away from the corners of her eyes. Her face is red. She has been laughing hard. Her male visitor is still sitting down and smiling.
Lacie on seeing Mark, stands up and walks to him.
“Alex, this is my husband Mark, Mark, this is Alex.”
She introduces them to each other. The men shook hands. Mark and Alex size each other up.
“ It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Alex says with a smile.
“ I could say the same.” Mark replied guardedly. He is wary of Lacie’s associates and with good reason.
“ It’s almost dinner time. Please stay for dinner. It’s been ages we ate together. It would really mean a lot to me.” Lacie pleads with him.
Alex looks at Mark. “ I don’t want to impose.”
Lacie looks at Mark. Mark thinks about it in a jiffy.
Well, what is the worst that can happen?
“Nonsense! You can stay. As a matter of fact, I insist. I’ll go freshen up.” He says and leaves them.
Lacie turns to Alex. “ Make yourself comfortable while I serve dinner.” She disappears into the kitchen. A few moments later, the house comes alive with the aroma of food.
“ Lacie, damn… that smells good.” Alex murmurs under his breath.
“Dinner is set. Come over here.” She calls out to Alex. After some moments, Mark joins them and takes his seat.
Alex and Lacie engage in small talk while eating completely shutting out Mark.
Mark clenches his jaw and his cutlery as he eats. He stares at his wife laughing freely and talking to Alex without a care in the world. He felt stabs of pain in his heart.
He very much wants to strangle Alex but he finds his self-control.
When he feels, he is in control of his emotions, he addresses Alex.
“I notice you have creases on your knuckles. Your body is toned. You haven’t deceived me.”
Alex’s hand stops mid-air. He returns his fork to his plate. His forehead wrinkles a bit.
“I have no inkling about what you are talking about.” He shrugs his shoulders.
Mark chuckles while Lacie looks lost. She faces Mark with a glare. Mark ignores her hostile gaze and continues. “So you want to play dumb eh? Alright, I’ll bite.”
He sets down his cutlery and leans forward. “ The way you shook me. Well you can say, you are no weakling. The way you eyes appraised me, looking and assessing what sort of a threat I might be. Your stance is perfect at all times. That doesn’t happen. That’s the evidence of practice. The giveaway was the creases on your knuckles. You definitely spent a lot of time on the wood. So I’ll ask again, Do you indulge in martial arts?”
Alex chuckles and lifts his hands. “ You have caught me. Yes, I do. You have remarkable powers of observation.”
“What do you say to a friendly bout to see who comes out on top?” Mark challenges him.
“Are you high or something. Alex is a guest!” Lacie cautions Mark. She turns to Alex.
“I’m sorry for my husband’s… “
“It’s fine.” Alex interrupts her. He leans forward and returns Mark’s gaze.
The air around them suddenly cackles sending off sparks of primal energy around the room.
“Alright. I accept your challenge.”
Mark smiles as a glint flashes through his eyes.
“ I have the perfect place in mind”. Mark says. “ By all means, lead the way.” Alex replies coolly.
“ I don’t think this is a good idea. This is madness. Come on! Stop this dick measuring contest.” Lacie objects vehemently.
“Don’t sweat it. It’s men being men”. Alex says that and follows Mark out of the house.
Lacie reluctantly follows behind them.
After thirty minutes, they arrive at the Mark’s favorite gym. “ The Hammers”.
Mark as an honorary member has a key to the gym.
They went in and changed into loose clothing.
They enter the ring from opposite sides. They walk up to each other and tap hands.
Lacie screams, “ It’s not too late to put an end to this nonsense”. “ There is no going back now.” Alex responds to her.
They start to circle each other. They watch each other with cautious eyes, trying to ascertain weak spots.
Suddenly Alex yells, steps forward, and throws a jab. Mark parries the jab without any fuss.
“Come on man. You can do better than that.” Mark teases him as they circle each other.
“ Chill man, that was me just stretching my arms”. Alex replies. Mark feints with a right hook, and Alex dodges to the left and leaves his right open. Mark launches a kick at him. Alex realizes his plan a little too late. He grimaces in pain as Mark's fierce kick lands on his mid-riff.
“Whew! That was a good one. You don’t hit like a lady at all.”
“You talk too much. Do you plan on talking me to death” Mark taunts him.
Alex shrugs off the pain and takes his stance again. Alex lunges at him with lightning-fast jabs but Mark parries his strikes.
“Not bad. See how your fighting improve as you kept quiet for a few minutes. Keep quiet for an hour and let’s see how good you can be”.
Mark feints to the right this time, Alex didn’t buy it. Mark runs towards him and launches a roundhouse kick to his face. Alex blocks it by crossing his hands together. The force of the kick brings Alex to his knees. Alex throws off Mark’s leg. Mark vaults into the air and lands a few meters. Alex doesn’t give him a moment of reprieve. The movement of his hands was blurry. He sends various jabs and hooks towards Mark’s face. Without warning, he launches a knee to Mark’s torso. Mark uses his hands to block his knee attack but that leaves him defenseless.
Alex’s right hook immediately connects with his chin. Alex presses his advantage and cuts him with a left hook in quick succession. Mark ducks out of another right hook, and rows away. He rolls his tongue in his mouth and spits out blood.
“Not bad. Not bad at all.” Mark rubs his jaws and goes towards Alex. His eyes hold a fierce look.
“ Look who’s back for more. Seems you are a glutton for punishment.” Alex attacks him again.
Alex sends a kick at Mark's torso, who blocks and counters with a kick to his face. Alex neatly steps out of range. He beckons Mark with his fingers. Mark smiles and leaps into the air, launching jabs and his knees simultaneously at Alex’s face.
Alex grunts as he struggles to block Mark's vicious attack. Realizing he going to be on the ropes of the ring, he rolls away but not before taking a hit on his back from Mark’s knee.
“ Damn! That hurts like a motherfucker. I’m not gonna lie. You almost had me there.” Alex groans in pain.
Lacie who has been sitting, with her heart in her mouth, runs to the ring. “ Stop this madness before somebody gets hurt. Mark! I’m talking to you.”
Mark pays her no attention. Alex and Mark lock eyes. Alex goes on the offensive. He throws several jabs at Mark who blocks them. He adds his knees to his combos. Each blow is more savage than the previous ones.
The fight takes on a frantic tempo. The taunting stops. They stop blocking and parrying blows. The fight descends into a brawl of fists. It is now a contest of power and will.
Blood splatters on the ring as the ring echoes with the sounds of blows landing on bodies.
Alex suddenly attacks him with his open palm but at the last moment, clenches his finger to form a cobra-like fist. The movement takes Mark off-guard and enables Alex to land a blow on his chin.
Mark falls and Alex gets on top and begins to plummet him with blows.
Mark stretches and strains to reach the ropes as Alex continues his plummeting.
Mark gets his hand on the rope and clenches it firmly, pulling up himself close to the ring despite Alex still on top him raining down blows on his body.
Mark holds the ropes and uses it as a lever. He steels himself and draws his knees with brutal force into the small of Alex’s back. The force throws Alex off. Alex arches his back in pain. His eyes close as he slaps the bed in pain. Mark goes over to him. In the blink of an eye, pins in a chokehold. Alex tries to wriggle free but Mark counters all his attempts to break free.
“Tap out” Mark urges him. His voice was strained as veins popped out around his arms and face.
Alex's face begins to turn blue. His struggle decreases with every passing second.
“Tap out!” Mark calls out to him again. Alex finally goes limp. Mark rolls off him.
“ You killed
him! What in God’s name is wrong with you?”. She runs to the ring screaming.