Xavier bends at the waist and puts his hand on the mat in a football player three-point stance and then charges full speed at Rex. Cameras flash the moment Xavier makes contact and both men go flying.
A collective, “Ohh,” echoes through the massive room as Xavier tackles Rex down to the mat and then punches him once in the face.
Rex doesn’t make an attempt to get up, but Xavier isn’t finished with him yet. He crawls over to the corner of the ring and climbs up the turnbuckles until he’s balancing himself on the top rope. A six-foot-four man towering this high over the ring is really a sight to see. It’s spectacular.
Xavier stretches his arms out and then sends his body toward Rex. An audible crack echoes around the room, and I gasp. I’ve been around wrestling enough lately to know that sound means real pain, and I pray Xavier is all right.
I resist the urge to jump into the ring to check on him because doing that will stop the match, so I wait with baited breath to find out if Xavier is okay. I can barely watch to see what happens next.
Chapter 32
Xavier
The minute my elbow makes contact with Rex’s chest, he grunts in pain. Granted we aren’t trained to actually land with that much force on our opponent, but this motherfucker deserves all the pain I can inflict on him.
The lights overhead are nearly blinding when you stare up at them too long. The mats hard beneath me as I lay here attempting to catch my breath.
I roll over and then push myself up to my feet. Pinning Rex so early wouldn’t be good business. The fans are expecting a show, and it’s my job to give it to him.
I stumble over to Rex and grab his hair, forcing him to his feet. “On your feet, fucker.”
“Kiss my ass. I won’t help you take my belt.”
He grunts as I elbow him in the ribs. As much as I want to unleash my anger, I hold back and maintain perfect control of my temper. This asshole will not ruin this for me again no matter how much he tries to get to me.
Rex shoves me back, and I stumble back to sell it to the crowd. We face each other, both of our chests heaving, waiting on the other to make the first move.
“Come on!” Rex screams out of frustration as I rush at him.
Our arms hook up in a test of strength, and he tries to push me back. I plant my feet and a cold smile crosses my face when he realizes that I’m not budging.
His eyes widen as I slam a forearm across his chest. The wind gushes out of him as I pin him against the ropes and growl. “This is my house, motherfucker, and it’s time you respect that.”
I hit him one more time and he wobbles on his feet. It’s clear he’s losing the will to fight. It’s time to finish this.
I rush back against the ropes and bounce off of them with momentum that could rival a freight train. Rex braces for impact as I launch myself at him, spearing him to the mat with enough force to shake the whole ring.
The crowd chants my name, “X! X! X!”
He moans as he lies next to me, and I know he can’t take much more punishment.
Energy surges through me, and I seize the moment to hook my elbow around his leg, effectively pinning him to the mat.
The referee falls to the mat and smacking it hard as he counts out loud.
“One!” the crowd chants along with the referee.
“Two!”
“Three!”
I lay there stunned. I’ve finally done it. I’m finally the champion.
The referee hands me the belt and then helps me onto my feet. The gold on the belt glistens beneath the lights above the stage as I hold it out in front of me. I’ve worked so hard in my career, punishing my body to nearly its breaking point, all for this moment—the chance to hold this championship belt in my hands. I’ve earned this. I’ve went through hell for this belt and I finally feel like I deserve to happy.
“Your new Heavy-Weight Champion, PHENOMENAL X!” The announcer shouts over the crowd and my name echoes around the room.
Rex slams his fist into the ground like a spoiled child throwing a fit, but him being pissed over the situation isn’t my problem. This is how things were always meant to be.
I stare up at the crowd and every single person in the place is on their feet, cheering and chanting my name. It’s a fucking rush. I raise my hand in victory while I clutch the belt against my chest as I walk over to the corner of the ring. I extend my hand out to Anna. “Come on, beautiful. Share this moment with me.”
She takes my hand and I pull her up onto the ring.
She wraps her arms around me and I bury my face into her hair so I can say, “We did it.”
Anna pulls back and then shakes her head. “No. You did it.”
There’s no way I could’ve done this without her, and it’s high time she knew just how much she means to me.