Karen Black Ch. 01

"Are you ok, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"I'm... I'm... Sorry, I'm more used to seeing you in tracksuits. Seeing this much of you, I needed a moment to digest."

Once she finished laughing, she got off the table and pointed to a couch she was walking toward. We met in the middle and I thought it prudent to put a little space between us. For a moment, she looked intensely at me and I couldn't help but feel like I was under a microscope.

"You really don't know who I am, do you? It occurred to me back at the gym a couple of times, but I thought everyone knew me at the gym so by extension, my assumption was you did as well."

Before I could answer, there was a knock at the door. Brad leaned in,

"Sorry Karen, but you've been pushed up to second bout. We need to get your guest up on the balcony and you in place."

Karen nodded and looked towards me,

"Please stay, we can talk later."

Brad coughed and pointed to his watch. Karen shrugged, and I stood and went with Brad. We made it to my seat as the first two contestants were being introduced. I don't remember much other than it looked like an intense fight. The crowed sure enjoyed it. They had only just calmed when Karen's match was announced... And all hell broke loose.

The noise made it impossible for the announcer to be heard anymore. The vibrations around the whole stadium were felt beneath my feet as the two contenders walked into the octagon. The woman facing Karen had a good three inches on her and, judging by her stance, she was pure muscle.

Both women stared at each other for a moment, before taking a step back and turning to stand against the walls of the octagon. As Karen turned, she looked up at me. I felt so cold. I'm not even sure I knew the person looking up at me, her eyes were so dark and her features, that always seemed to be so relaxed and calm, were now hard and callous. After a pause, she walked to the line in the middle and waited.

*******

I watched in stunned silence as Karen took her opponent to pieces, much to the crowd's pleasure. Her opponent retreated and regrouped, surprised by her onslaught. A few kicks and punches to the body gained her some respite, forcing Karen back against the wall of the octagon. I'm sure there are names for the kicks and punches that each dealt the other, but since this was my first ever visit to one of these events, all I saw was two women trying to kill each other.

Karen lifted her arms to protect her body, keeping her elbows close in. My mind compared her stance to a boxer. It was also now that I knew where the bruises she sported at the gym came from. Karen seemed to absorb a great deal of punishment before her knee came up, forcing her opponent to take a half pace back. The crowd bayed for blood. Two kicks later, Karen's opponent had to take another pace backwards.

The more knowledgeable within the crowd spotted what Karen was doing and the volume increased to fever pitch once again. The onslaught was one sided after that. Karen forced the woman backwards with continuous kicks and punches, her own face showing pain with each landed punch. Suddenly Karen's arm hooked under her opponents arm and twisted, forcing her over her opponent's body. She landed with a thud that was never heard above the crowd. Karen went to ground with her opponent to finish the event.

The ref stepped in then. Karen was up on her feet and bounced around the octagon to thunderous cheers and applause. She smiled, and her whole being glowed. I had seen her smile, and even laugh, at some joke one of the gym rats had told her, but I had never seen Karen glow. It's the only way I can describe what that woman bouncing around the octagon looked like that evening.

I couldn't stay. A few hours ago this world was unknown to me. My comfort zone was my computers, and yet here I was watching Karen beat another woman into submission. This Karen wasn't the one I had seen and talked to at the gym. Violence in my world simply didn't exist. My world was all spreadsheets and computers, meetings and schematics, long range projections and fellow geeks.

I sat in my room and recounted the evening, desperately fighting the urge to get drunk. The knock at the door was hesitant; it took a moment for me to even realize it was the door, and not just my imagination.

Karen was standing in the hallway, as our eyes met I could tell she was just as nervous as I was. With a sigh, I took a step back and let her in.

"You left."

Nodding my head wasn't enough for her. Karen's eyes stayed on me, demanding more as I motioned her to a seat, even offering her a drink. When half the bottle of water disappeared in seconds, I figured I was right to offer her one.

"You have to understand, what I saw tonight was all new to me."

Karen looked so intensely at me. Holding her stare was easy, there was nothing in me to hide, what I had said was the truth. After a moment she just shrugged her shoulders, placed the water on the table next to my laptop, and stood.

"Sorry... I just assumed you knew who I was and when you gave me such good advice and it won me my match, I was almost certain you knew."

She sighed once again, apologized, and walked towards the door. This was the Karen I knew, not the one who could flip a switch in her head and physically destroy another human being with thousands of people watching and cheering her on. Her hand got as far as the handle of the hotel room door before I spoke again.

"It's obvious that you came straight from the arena. Go take a bath and relax for a while, I'll get room service up and will knock when it's arrives."

The pause as her hand hovered over the handle made me think I had been over familiar. It would have been understandable if she had thought that. Not even I knew where her next statement came from.

"How will I know you won't take advantage of me when I get naked?"

Her shoulders shook and eventually she giggled. Hell, even I laughed as I stood and opened the bathroom door for her. She turned and looked at me. The smile was genuine, just as we both knew that if she had left my room right then, we would never have spoken to each other again.

"You're kidding right. After what I watched tonight I'm never going to be picking a fight with you. Go get a bath. I would offer one of my world famous massages but I never give one of those out until at least the third date."

Karen laughed as she passed me.

"Oh? Sounds interesting. Well since tonight could be classified as a date, I have one down, two to go."

She twisted her side, bumping her hip into mine as she passed - her sweatshirt already off her body before the door to the bathroom was closed. I thought it wise to allow her body to soak for a while before ordering anything from room service. The news station was on, but not a lot of it soaked in as my eyes kept wandering from the TV to the bathroom door.

I knocked once room service had left. I knocked louder the next time. The sound of water splashing made me smile; Karen had fallen asleep in the bath. I forewarned her I was opening the door enough to pass something into the room, and did before she said anything about it. My hand held one of my shirts and dropped it onto the bathroom floor before the door closed again. Karen came out five minutes later in my shirt, a confused look on her face.

"Is there a reason I'm wearing one of your shirts? I could have just gotten dressed again. It wouldn't have been a bother, although this is a nice shirt by the way."

My smile made it to her before the hidden reason why did.

"Karen, you came straight from the arena after your contest. What would be the reason for having a bath, only to put on sweaty clothes again?"

Politeness made me stop there. I could also have added that she also looked hot dressed like that and smelled a lot better as well. Karen thought about it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and sitting down to eat. Well, again I'm being polite. She would have beaten a plague of locusts to her plate and had finished her drink before I got half way through mine. Pushing my plate towards her and her understanding why turned her beet red.

"Sorry, I burn a lot of calories when I fight."

I understood her statement just as I smiled while her gaze still alternated between me and my plate. She held off asking for another couple of seconds before she caved and went on to finish mine. All I could do was sit in wonder at where the heck she put it all. The shorts and top I saw her in for the contest proved that none of what she was eating sat on any part of her long enough to encourage friends of theirs to visit and stay for a while.

Her burp was unexpected, but funny. She turned a different color red this time. I stacked the plates while Karen went and sat in the middle of the bed. I chose the chair and moved it slightly since she was crossed legged and airing parts of her I shouldn't be seeing. The conversation turned to her. Born Karen Sharon Black and if I dare call her that, be ready to spend time in hospital.

She still hadn't forgiven her folks for that one. The youngest of four children, the three oldest were all boys, so she learned from a real early age to stand up for herself. She took her education into the army and ended up an unarmed combat instructor. When the papers for her re-enlistment were put in front of her with the incentive of promotion, something in her said no.

"I can't explain it. I had everything, my life was just perfect as far as I was concerned and yet I refused to sign up again. I knew there was nothing out there for me, and yet I turned my back on the one thing I got out of bed with enthusiasm for every morning."

As a civilian, she kept fit in a gym and moved on to MMA soon after. It turned out the money she won off the back of her contests bought the gym I worked out at. That made me smile. I was in my hotel room with the boss of the gym. No wonder the gym rats left her alone. When Karen stared at me, waiting for my life story, I blushed slightly. It was nowhere near as exciting as hers.

Born Martin Anderson, both folks died in a car accident when I was ten and then was raised by my aunt. The insurance from the accident paid for my education. Passed third out of MIT and then on to IT. Karen waited for more. When none was forthcoming, she went looking.

"Married?"

"Nope, came close once but I found out she decided that life as a wife would restrict her social life too much."

"That doesn't make sense. You can have a social life and be married."

It was as she finished her statement that she realized what I had meant. The nod of her head and the 'oh' meant she understood. It was my turn to ask.

"Why me?"

Karen went beet red again.

"I thought you were my muse."

As I leaned forward on my chair waiting to hear this, Karen took her story back to the flower. She was in negotiation to fight the only woman to beat her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do that now or leave it until next year, when the fans would be more and more eager to see that match once the publicity people stirred the pot a little.

"Please bear in mind I still thought you knew who I was, ok?"

The nod of my head was enough. She told me that in her eyes, while she was at the gym thinking about the deal on the table, I had walked up and told her to fight that opponent. The flower was a nice touch since it was her favorite. She looked at it as a sign, and signed on the line. Karen won the fight, hence the bruises I saw on her at the gym.

"It wasn't until I got into this game that I realized that we are a superstitious bunch. One moment I'm thinking about whether to sign on the line or not, and the next you get in my face and you utter those words that, even now, I can say word for word. 'Just remember you're never alone. People do care and wish you well. Take that to heart and choose the path that will help you achieve what your heart wants the most."

Now it was my turn to turn beet red as she recited those same words I used with her. Karen made herself more comfortable on the bed. I had seen that look before, she had said enough, it was my turn.

"The folks I work with are a great bunch, but also quick to point out that I was all work. Since I was in a gym back home, out of habit, I decided to return to it. The way people acted around you made me look closer. Not one person in that gym has a bad word to say about you."

Karen once again blushed. She took in a lung full of oxygen to calm and hold the redness threatening to creep up her neck at bay, before she gave me one of those smiles once again.

"The day you came close to having an accident on the bench press and took off the track top is when I noticed the bruises."

My memory of the anger that rose within me that day came again, as did the embarrassment of finally finding out the truth.

"My assumption was that you were in an abusive relationship. What angered me was that the guy you had helping you either didn't notice or didn't care."

The hotel room erupted with laughter. Karen fell back onto the bed, holding her stomach while laughing. As she did, the shirt rolled up her body and her pussy came into view. With all my might, I pulled my eyes back towards the laughing woman rolling around the bed. Finally her senses came back to her and she once again sat crossed legged on the bed, her arm outstretched towards me.

"Good evening, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Karen. I own a gym in Houston, and I also fight in an organization known as MMA."

We smiled. I held out my hand and we both shook on it. As our eyes locked on one another, something also seemed to change between us. As my hand came away she looked at the time on my watch. She frowned slightly and then looked back at me.

"It's getting late and we both have to travel home tomorrow. Do you sleep naked?"

I blurted out that I usually do, before my mind realized the question. This time I tuned beet red. The smile from Karen was as disarming as ever.

"Well I'm sleeping here tonight, and if you're ok with wearing underwear to bed, I could do with the body contact."

It was clear to see from her eyes, and the anxious look, that she was worried I would want more. The nod of my head was enough. I even went to my suitcase and tossed a spare toothbrush, still in its wrapping, onto the bed. She gave a squeal and climbed off the bed, wrapped her arms around me, and gave me a kiss on the cheek before heading for the bathroom once again.

*******

The room was dark. The feeling from my loins told me something was definitely going on and the faint slurping sounds between my legs reaffirmed everything. My body put my senses on hold and told them to stay there. Minutes later, I erupted into Karen's mouth. She stayed attached to me until I had gone down and then put my cock back into my underwear.

"I know you're awake, and thank you for not asking for more, but your cock had been stuck between the cheeks of my ass half the night and I just couldn't get to sleep. Now that that's out of the way, I can."

The kiss on the lips tasted of us, and was a warm acceptance that this woman couldn't be rushed. Karen turned and backed into me. Her hand searched for mine and held it, traveling up her warm body until my hand came into contact with her breast before she would let go.

"It's not much of a consolation for you, but I can promise you no man has been where you are now for sometime. I don't know where we are going or if you wish to travel this route again. I'm sorry, but I can't give you anymore of myself right now."

Her voice broke once as she spoke. Being attached to her via my hand, I felt her shudder ever so slightly as she finished speaking. Part of her was trying to tell me more - another part was preparing itself for the worst. I gave her breast a small squeeze to let her know that I understood and added to my reply by moving my lower body away from her another couple of inches. She would have felt me start to grow again otherwise, and I couldn't allow that right now.

For a woman I had seen not more than six hours ago take another woman bigger than herself to pieces with a crowd of thousands watching, she was feeling ever so vulnerable. She sighed and I thought I heard something from her, yet it was intermingled with those funny little noises we all make when we are content and happy to share something about us with those we care about. Karen had placed her trust in me. We are all vulnerable when we sleep, and tonight that gift was mine to hold onto until she woke.

The sun was up when my eyes opened. The clock on the cabinet showed me that it was later than I expected. My room was empty. A part of me was sad, yet I knew as I showered and got dressed that I had made a friend that night. The geek in me wanted to get my laptop out and find out all about her; the man in me refused to violate what little privacy she had fought so hard to hang onto. Perhaps when it was time, I would know the Karen that she wanted me to know and if she did, then I would be the one richer for it.

I headed straight back to the office when I landed, sat down with the big boss, and we talked for over an hour about my meeting at head office. Our conclusion was the same; Huston had stolen a march on the other branches of the company and although the boss had gained points over it, he knew that it wouldn't take long for us to be one amongst many once again.

Catching up with paperwork meant that I had to give the gym a miss that evening. The next day gave me a lesson in seeing but not looking. It also gave me a lesson in talking and listening. As I walked into reception at the gym, Cheryl waved and I stopped. She dipped under her counter and came out with a bag.

"Washed and ironed for you. Karen said thanks for the loan and from me, thank you for keeping her company. She needed it."

Her attention then went to the young lady behind me, and I was left to look into the bag to find the shirt I had loaned to Karen. As confused by all this as I was, the autopilot in me took over and pointed me in the direction of the changing rooms and then onto the gym floor. I was an hour into punishing myself on the machines before Karen sneaked up on me.

"You're still using the machine wrong."

I smiled when I heard her.

"Do you think I should sue the gym for not giving me the required instruction?"

The laugh that followed made me smile.

"I'm starving, want to go to dinner?"

"Is this a bribe?"

"Hell yeah, get showered, I will meet you downstairs at Cheryl's desk."

Cheryl had as big a grin on her face a Karen had. She then pointed to one of the walls. A huge picture of Karen, in the middle of planting a kick to the side of some woman in one of her competitions, hung on the wall. I'm told, although I will flat out deny it to my dying breath that the same picture hung on that same wall all the time I had been going to the gym.

To change the topic as quickly as I could, I gave Karen the option of picking where we went to eat. The waiter in the family-owned Italian restaurant two blocks down took one look at Karen as she came in and quickly escorted us to the tables in the back. We were still there when the owner started to turn the lights off. We found ourselves holding hands on the way back to the gym.

"Please don't freak when we discuss this, but I talk with Cheryl a lot. She seems to think that although you will accept what I do, you won't like it. I can understand that, but it's my life."

"Totally agree with Cheryl. You are who you are Karen, and I refuse to make you change to be someone you're not."

That comment alone earned me a hand squeeze. We stopped at a door next to the main doors to the gym. It seemed when she bought the building to turn into a gym, Karen decided that the ideal solution was to have an apartment built at the top for her. I got a punch on the arm when I told her I would check to see if that was tax deductible.