A Teacher’s Love

Jeremy Ramirez was a kickboxing instructor for the small beach community of Cocoa Beach, Florida. He loved his job helping people learn self-defense but his passion was to be a fighter. He was a huge MMA fighter 10 years ago but he was forced to retire when he had a horrific head injury at the hands of a fellow rookie Tony Blair who to this day feels horrible for what he did to Jeremy and often visits him at his studio but today would be a different visit because he arrived with his 21-year-old niece. Brooklyn was a little troubled girl who needed some direction in her life and a life check. Jeremy heard the ring of the bell signaling someone has entered the dojo. He just finished a training session with his 6 students for that day when he saw Tony “Perfect timing Tony, I will be ready to go to the movies here shortly” Tony then said “About that, I got a call from my sister earlier today about her daughter constantly running out of the house and has been getting into some trouble” his niece pushed past him saying “I still have no reason to be here and” it was then she laid eyes on the instructor and soon she forgot about what she was complaining about. “And never mind what I was saying. Hi, I’m Brooklyn, and I will be joining your class today if you will have me” her behavior changed on a dime seeing how smoking hot he was but he said: “Brooklyn my class is not for everyone and I will push to your brink most importantly you will need to be committed and establish yourself as a serious competitor otherwise you will waste our time and we don’t want that, right?” Jeremy demanded respect and she received it loud and clear “Oh yes sir, of course. Uncle Tony has told me all about you and feel like this will be good for me” Jeremy and Tony knew exactly what she was trying but if it caused her to be less of a problem child then they will put up with it. “Good, now let me see what you got.” he went to his mat and led her over to the punching bag and he stood behind it and said “Now hit it or kick it” she did a small pose before kicking it lightly before he said “Oh Brooklyn, your fuzzy slippers you have at home just laughed at that. Come on, hit it.” he was antagonizing her, and when she hit it again with not so great of force he sighed and took a new approach to it “Ok, Brooklyn what makes you mad?” she said “someone not believing in me” he smiled and said “Hmm Tony I don’t believe she has the guts to do this. Maybe you better take her to another dojo that will let her be who she is because she sure isn’t going to go very far here” she snarled and took a running start towards the bag and kicked it as hard as she could and sent Jeremy flying to the mat “now that is what I am talking about” he smiled and she went to him and offered her hand before he grabbed her hand and she helped him up “Well done, Brooklyn and welcome aboard to the team. “ Tony smiled and said, “now we can go to the movies but Brooklyn will have to join us if that is ok bro?” Jeremy nodded “that is fine, hope you like Chinese and hope you like marvel movies because that is where we are eating and watching” little does he know it but she already has a lot in common with him and the movies will be just the beginning of her wanting to get closer to him. After the movie ended Jeremy and Brooklyn were waiting on Tony to use the bathroom when she asked “Do you think we could do something without my uncle? I mean we will be spending a lot of time together so wouldn’t it be nice to know each other outside the dojo?” he knew what she was trying to do but to humor her he agreed but he has a purpose in his heart not to fall in love.

The Next Day

After last night Jeremy became more on guard when it came to the feelings that Brooklyn had for him. He saw the way she looked at him but he didn’t have the heart to let her down gently so he just let her think what she wanted to think. He was finishing up yet another training when Brooklyn came into the dojo and was waiting her turn to be trained. She learned some information last night about Jeremy that could swing things in her favor. When the class dismissed she came up to him and said “I am all set but first can I ask you something?” he sat down on the bench close by and said “sure” she sat down beside him and said “Uncle Tony tells me that your head injury has made you not want to have much of a life besides your weekly movie night with him. Is there any truth behind that?” he sighs “Yeah it’s true but I have my reasons why I don’t want a life. I lost everything the day that happened. My passion, my dream, and the great relationship I had at the time. I have finally gotten comfortable with the life I have now and I don’t want to go back” she shook her head “look no offense but that is the worst excuse ever. You are helping me with being committed and having a passion so why don’t I help you in having a great time again? Unless you are not man enough to do it.” she smirked after turning around to put her things up in the locker in the dojo. He chuckled a bit seeing she dished out what he dished out to her yesterday. He walked over to her and stood behind her with her back towards him and he rested his hand on the locker beside her “Consider that a challenge” she turned around and bumped into his chest with her hand “Yeah I am challenging you but I bet you won’t do anything about it” she slid between him and her locker “depends what you have in mind” she sighs and said “just a night in town, that is all I want. I will make it as painless as possible and who knows you might surprise me and have a good time.” he rolled his eyes and then said “Fine but one night but no more of this flirty behavior and trying to be in a relationship with me talk after it ends” one night is all she needed to get him to be hers. She was so confident in herself and knew what happens to men when she is determined to be with someone. “Oh yeah, sure no problem” she smiled and he began to work her out but towards the end of her session she overstretched her leg and he could tell she was in some discomfort “hey you ok?” she hobbled over to the bench “my calf feels like it’s on fire and I feel I pulled something,” he said “sounds like you overdid it, why not relax for the next 15 minutes until your uncle arrives” she laid down while he took some ointment that relieves muscles aches and handed it to her “Here this helps me when I overdo it” she grabbed it from him and pulled up her pants leg and felt the coolness of the ointment making it feel better “Are you mad at my uncle for doing that to your head?” he sighs, “People ask me that all the time and I was at the time it happened but he made it up to me by introducing me to his younger sister that was around my age. She brought me so much joy and Tony became my best friend in the process. I guess a better question to answer is do I miss MMA that is a yes because I know I could dominate it today. I would love nothing more than to have one more fight” she heard him and immediately thought of a plan to help him.

Later That Night

Jeremy met up with Brooklyn that night at a popular restaurant called Florida’s Fresh Grille expecting just to eat and have a casual conversation and just move on with his life. Brooklyn, of course, got all dressed up in hopes to impress him but what happens next would completely blow him away. They were sitting waiting on their order to arrive when Joe Rogan, one of the announcers of UFC live approached the table. “Excuse me, I’m sorry if this is forward but aren’t you Jeremy Ramirez?” He nodded stunned to see Joe there “Yes, I am, what brings you by?” Joe sat down at the empty seat beside him “A little birdie saw me in town today and told me that you would love to have one more fight if a doctor would permit you to fight one” he looked at Brooklyn with her expecting him to be a little mad with her but all he did was smile at her before saying “Joe that would a dream of a lifetime” Joe nodded and said “I will have a UFC doctor fly in tomorrow and give you an evaluation and of course, you are welcome to visit your primary care also” Jeremy then said “Funny you should mention that, I visited my primary last week to get an eval on my head trauma and they said that it’s improved quite a bit. But sure send them my way, thank you, Joe” he reached out his hand and Joe shook it “by the way your fight with Tony was by far one of my favorite fights to watch and I hope to see one more classic” Joe then left the table and he looked over at Brooklyn filled with so many different feelings at that moment “I'm sorry, I should have asked you first but I saw him at an ice cream place by the beach and saw an opportunity to do something for you when you have already done so much for me” he shook his head and said “Just shut it and kiss me” she smiled and pulled him to her in the booth and the two kissed right in the booth with waiters and waitresses walking passed them but they paid them no attention. When he pulled away from the kiss they looked at each other not sure what to do next “thank you for that, you didn't have to do all of that for me but just know that kiss was just a kiss between friends. Nothing else right?” that question was more to convince him that he felt nothing to her but that was sadly mistaken. “What do you think? Are you trying to convince yourself or are you truly asking me?” he hung his head “Yeah I figured, is there something wrong with me?” he shook his head at her question “not at all, it's just hard to want a relationship after what happened to your aunt, can't you understand that?” she nodded “yes I can I miss my aunt as much as you do but I did not stop living my life because someone I cared about was gone. I am standing right here waiting for you, the ball is in your court and if you need to figure it out then figure it out but know I will not wait on you forever.” the rest of the night he was pretty quiet until he took her home “Goodnight, Jeremy, I hope you had as much fun as I did tonight” she turned around but he grabbed her shoulder “I did but I don't want to be without you. Your aunt taught me one thing and that was to never pass up a good opportunity when it comes. Brooklyn what you did do for me tonight no one has ever done anything like that before and I appreciate it, besides I need someone beautiful by my ringside to make me look beautiful after my match” she laughs and turned around “You are an incredible person, Jeremy. From the first time I heard my uncle talk about you, I wanted to know you.” he smiled and said “Now you know me and now we are going out” they kissed once again on the front porch until they saw the front door open.

Moments Later/6 Months Later

They jumped apart seeing the door open with her mom “mhmm I saw that you two, hello, Jeremy. Nice to finally meet you” he smiled and said “Sorry about that, I was kind of hoping I would see you, Miss Everly. Tony talks about you all the time” she smiled “Looks like you two had fun” he nodded and smiled at Brooklyn “we did, I should get going. I'll call you when I get home, Brook” she smiled and went inside. 6 months has gone by since Joe Rogan gave him the news and it was the night of his big fight he had a thousand thoughts and butterflies going through his gut as he gets mentally prepared for his match with a UFC fighter. Tony and Brooklyn will be by his side as he competes and he was excited about that part. He stood at the entrance gate all ready to go out and as he walked out with the two of them. He walked through the crowd as they cheered and he had to admit this was an awesome experience it made him focus on a whole new level. As he stood inside the octagon Brooklyn wrapped her arms around him and whispered “I know this guy's move, he likes to take you down immediately into an arm bar just let him overpursue and when he turns around hit him with your huge roundhouse” she kissed him and he smirked hearing her recommendations and sure enough, after the announcement of the fighters were said and the ref told them the rules the bell rang and just as she said he went straight down to his legs but he quickly stepped to his right just as his hands were about to wrap around his ankles and before he knew it Jeremy saw him in the corner of his eye and jumped as he hit the fence and turned his body around and kicked him right under the jaw knocking him out as soon as he hit the mat. The bell rang three times before Joe said “wow, what a kick, I can’t help but think that Jeremy did his research on James Franklin and knew exactly what to expect. Jeremy jumped on the cage and climbed to the top hearing the crowd chanting his name. Tony and Brooklyn stood to the side letting him have his moment and it was then Tony saw the old Jeremy come back as he threw his hands in the air. As the crowd began to leave Jeremy came down from the fence and hugged Tony and Brooklyn “I owe you two everything, especially you Brooklyn, you made all this happen tonight and I have a question to ask you.” He reached his hand back and Tony handed him a box before he kneeled down and opened the box showing a sparkling diamond ring “I would love nothing more than for me to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” She saw the glamorous ring and nodded before hugging him “yes I will, this ring is incredible and so are you babe.” He slid the ring onto her hand and they kissed before her mother took pictures of them and submitted them to her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with a video of the roundhouse kick and him kneeling to propose. She added the insert to all three social medias *From a vicious roundhouse kick to James Franklin, to a wedding coming soon. Happy Retirement from UFC to you getting married, we all love you and can’t wait to welcome you to the family* they would go on to get married just 6 months later and they lived happily ever after.

The End