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seemed to be trying to attack Rhodes from the opposite side, forcing the man to put his weight on his injured leg. Rhodes was putting up with it so far, but it could give way at any point. And if Rhodes went down, I somehow knew that the fight would be all but over.
    The fight felt like it had been going on forever. I glanced up at the clock hanging over the arena, and was stunned to see that only a little under a half hour had gone past. With every moment charged with so much tension, each second felt like an eternity.
    Yes, Rhodes was definitely limping now. He was trying his best to hide it, but my eyes were pinned to his face, and I saw a couple momentary flickers of pain wash over him. My heart leapt up into my throat. What if he went down? What if he took a hit and was out? Even though my attraction to this man was purely physical, I wanted more than anything to see him win, to get to catch up with him afterwards - and maybe even have sex with a champion!
    I wasn't the only one to see that wince of pain, it turns out. Lamar must have spotted it as well, for an evil, twisted grin suddenly bloomed across his face. And with his fists up, he lunged forward, charging heavily across the arena. He was bearing down on Rhodes from the perfect angle; with his injured leg, there was no way that Rhodes would be able to dodge out of the way in time...
    Lamar's fists came up, swinging around in an unstoppable arc. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't seem to move my eyes off of the scene unfolding in front of me. That blow was coming in towards Rhodes, and there was nothing I could do about it.
    But then, suddenly, Rhodes wasn't there any longer.
    For an instant, I couldn't understand what had happened. It seemed like an impossibility. The man had dodged aside, much faster than I, Lamar, or anyone else had expected him to move! Around me, I heard a collective gasp as everyone sucked in a breath. How in the world had he done it?
    Rhodes must have been exaggerating his limp, I realized! He had been teasing out Lamar, making him lower his block so that he could go for such a tempting target. He knew that, sooner or later, the other fighter would take the bait - and this would leave his guard down, perfect for a counterattack.
    And now that Rhodes had his opening, he didn't hesitate to take advantage of it. He swung around, moving off that foot and stepping up to slam an elbow sideways into Lamar, just below his ribs. This blow, unlike the others, definitely had Rhodes' full weight behind it, and I watched with barely concealed delight as Lamar nearly bent over double, gasping as the air was knocked forcibly out of his lungs.
    But Rhodes wasn't done yet. He put out his leg, his good leg, in front of Lamar, even as his hand came sweeping back in a smack to the man's back. With the stumbling block of Rhodes' leg in front of him, Lamar couldn't catch his balance in time. He went tumbling forward, down onto the floor of the ring.
    Lamar managed to get his hands under him as he fell, and caught himself before landing flat on the floor. But he was down, and the fight was all but over. Rhodes spun on one foot and brought his fists up, hammering blows down onto Lamar's back and sides. The flurry of punches was fast, but they did their job, keeping the man from rising back up.
    Rhodes didn't need to land a knockout blow. The referee came charging in, a whistle in his mouth that had been hanging from a lanyard around his neck and blowing so fiercely that his puffed cheeks were red. "That's it! That's it!" he was shouting over the cries of the audience. We were all on our feet, and most of the men were stamping and clapping, the women cheering with delight. It had been an amazing finish.
    Reluctantly, as the referee dove in to pull the two men apart, Rhodes backed off and ceased throwing punches. I could tell that he hadn't even initially heard the whistle of the referee. He had been totally and completely focused on the fight, on making sure that