The Playboy Ch. 01

Two men were fighting inside of a squared circle in the middle of a saloon, surrounded by a lively crowd as they cheered watching the young wrestlers putting on one hell of a show. This match was settled between a young wrestler named Javier Martinez and a heavyweight named Big Bang.

The one with blue trunks was trying to knock out Javier with a headlock. It seems like the young one was about to suffocate as he tried to claw the Big Bang's arms in vain. But before the crowd would think the match was now coming to an end, the young wrestler elbowed the big guy to the ribs, making him gasp in pain.

He elbowed once more, this time in the face that forced his opponent to release his grasp, and before he could recover, Javier jumped and launched an overhead kick to the side of the head. As Big Bang was stunned by the kick, Javier got on his feet before pushing him to the ropes.

Grabbing the hand, the young man sent his opponent running to the other side with an Irish Whip, but Big Bang didn't let him go of his hand before sending Javier running instead. As the young man turned around before being propelled by the ropes and ran towards the opponent, Big Bang was about to launch a Clothesline, but Javier ducked the attack before using the ropes again. When Big Bang turned around, Javier hit him with a Flying Shoulder and both men fell down.

Javier then kicked up to his feet and shouted to the crowd as they erupted into cheers, which means he was ready to finish the match once and for all. So he turned back to Big Bang and pulled him to his feet. Turning around with his arm hooking around the neck of his dazed opponent, Javier aimed to the corner and made a run to deliver the finishing move.

The crowd was on the edge of their seats when Javier began to run up the turnbuckles and was about to perform a backflip. But the moment he jumped off the corner, Javier was unable to drive the opponent to the floor, since Big Bang stumbled back while carrying Javier on his shoulder, and before the young wrestler could do something, Big Bang dropped him and his face hit on the top turnbuckle.

Now completely stunned, Javier stumbled around and inadvertently approached Big Bang, who took the chance to lift him up across his shoulders, and then spun around before throwing Javier's face down to the mat, performing an F-5.

Big Bang didn't waste any more second as he rolled Javier up and pinned him down before the referee rushed to make the count.

"1... 2... 3!" The referee finished the counting before announcing the end of the match, followed by the ring of the bell.

Javier Martinez just lost one more match.

****

An envelope was thrown on Javier's lap before he picked it up. "Thanks." He said nonchalantly as he thumbed through the bills and counted the money, only to sigh and hold up the envelope to the guy who gave it to him, meaning the payment was lower than he anticipated.

"I'm sorry, but they said there are some problems with the budget so they were forced to cut our salary." Big Bang, or his real name was Charles, said apologetically.

"I'm aware of that, but it's not even enough to pay my rent!" Javier argued while waving the envelope in his hand. "The landlord is gonna kick me out when I go back and I don't have anywhere else to go!" His tone began to grow desperate.

"Hey, calm down. You'll get the rest of the payment next week, I'm sure he wouldn't mind waiting for one more week." Charles reassured the young man with a pat on his shoulder. "Don't you know someone who can give you a roof? A friend maybe?"

"No... I don't." Javier muttered while shaking his head.

Charles tried to give him another idea, only to stay silent when he couldn't think of anything else that could help the young man. Letting out a sigh, he finally responded. "Listen son, whatever happens, no matter what, you must keep moving on. I know this is not the best time of your life, but as long as you don't give up, you'll be awarded. I assure you."

"I hope you're right." Javier replied with a resigned sigh before he stood up and shook Charle's hand. "See you next week man, and thank you for the match."

"Don't mention it kid, just keep doing your best and I promise you'll get to the top." Big Bang said with a smile.

****

After changing himself, Javier exited the locker room with his backpack, bid farewell to his friends and other people on his way before walking out of the building. The cold breeze at night time made him snuggle into his jacket as he began to walk to the end of the street.

He stood on the sidewalk until moments later, a bus parked and he took the ride. After taking a seat, he looked out the window while dwelling on his thoughts about what's next. Right now he was worried about going back to his apartment, talking to the landlord and convincing him that he could take the first half of the rent and by next week he'll get the other half.

Life wasn't going easy on him lately ever since he started wrestling. Sure, he wasn't expecting to be successful in just a matter of days, but because of his financial issues, he's at the very risk of becoming homeless. He wouldn't last long in the streets with the upcoming Winter and he doesn't have anyone else who can ask for help.

He would try contacting his family, but he doubted they would wanna talk to him.

When the bus arrived at his stop, Javier got out of the transport and found himself standing in front of a small building with weathered bricks. Without spending any second pondering, Javier climbed up the staircase and opened the main door. Once inside the building, he started climbing up the stairs to the upper floors but at a slow pace. His body still aches after his recent match, so the next thing he wanted to do once he got to his apartment was lay on his bed and have a good rest.

After reaching the third floor, Javier walked to the end of the hall and reached the door of his apartment. Letting out a tired sigh, he reached out with his hand to the doorknob and turned it.

It didn't budge.

"What the?" Javier blinked before trying to turn the handle again, but again it didn't do anything. "Come on you stupid thing, why aren't you opening!"

He looked up and at that moment he stopped struggling when he just saw a paper stuck on the door, but as he started reading it, his heart just sank.

This was an eviction note.

"No! No, no, no, this can't be right!" Javier uttered in disbelief as he ripped the paper off the door and read it, thinking he must have read it wrong. But after reading it over and over again, it said exactly as he feared.

His shock suddenly turned into a pure rage all over his face once he realized who left that note and locked his apartment. Gripping the paper in his hand, Javier stomped his way back to the ground floor and went down the hall where there was a door at the end. This was where the landlord lives, the bane of Javier's existence.

Now standing in front of the door, Javier didn't hesitate and began to pound the door with his fist. "Hey, open the door!" He shouted, without even caring if he was making a lot of noise in the building.

However, there was no response.

"Open the fucking door! I know you're in there!" The young man shouted angrily before punching the door.

Suddenly, the door was opened and a baldy old man wearing a stained shirt and ragged pants didn't look pleased.

"What the hell do you want?!" He spat.

"What is the meaning of this!" Javier seethed as he held up the eviction note in his clenched fist. "It's not even rent day and you kick me out, just like that?!"

"Maybe I wouldn't have done it if you have paid the goddamn rent months ago!" The landlord answered with a hint of arrogance.

"Couldn't you just wait until I returned? You lock me out without giving me a chance to pack my stuff!" Javier snapped as he stepped forward.

"Well, that's not my problem." The landlord retorted smugly. "Now get out of here or I'll call the cops! You're making a lot of noise here!" And then he slammed the door before Javier could answer.

"Now I see why the neighbors want you to rot in Hell, asshole!" Javier shouted to the door. He crumpled the paper angrily and threw it to the floor before he turned around and walked away.

He went back to the third floor until he was back to his former apartment. If the landlord thinks he will leave the apartment with empty hands, then the old man's mistaken. After enduring his constant "Where's my rent!" yelling, having to watch the old man hiring hookers with his money, and treating him like shit, Javier had enough.

Raising his foot, he kicked the door open! It snapped in half by the force of the kick before slamming into the wall, no doubt the noise have awakened the neighbors already.

As he got inside the apartment, Javier started to take out all of his clothes from the closet and the drawers before throwing them to the bed, then he got the duffel bags and began packing his stuff, still fuming in anger to consider the fact that he just lost his apartment. As a matter of fact, he's happy that he's going to leave this dump after all this time.

After packing up, he carried the bags on his shoulders all before walking out, without paying attention to the neighbors who peeked out of their doors to watch the commotion. Once he went downstairs to the ground floor, he made his way to the exit, only to stop his tracks before turning over his shoulder and his eyes glared at the door where the landlord's apartment was.

He can see the smugly face the old man was wearing after kicking out one of his tenants, and just thinking about it made his blood boil. At that moment, he wouldn't leave until he gave that bastard his last message.

Dropping the bags to the floor, Javier walked back to the landlord's apartment before pounding the door with his fist. He took a step back and waited until the door was opened.

"How many times do I have to tell you to get the fuck out of-"

WHACK!

The landlord couldn't finish the sentence when Javier launched a Superkick to his chin and knocked him out!

"I always wanted to do this for a long time." He said while looking at the unconscious old man and spat on him before he went back to pick up his luggage and finally left the building.

****

Javier was walking aimlessly through the streets for almost two hours, finding a new place where he could settle in, or at least just to clear his mind. A part of him felt like he's now at peace at the fact that he no longer has to worry about paying the rent and not dealing with that grumpy old man anymore. But on the other hand, he just became depressed after realizing that not only he just lost his apartment, but also his fear of becoming homeless came true.

For a couple of days, he went to every hotel nearby to rent a room, but they were either all taken or just too expensive to afford for only one day and he had no choice but to sleep in the park. At this point, Javier wasn't even sure if he can continue with his wrestling career like this.

Maybe his father was right about him...

Casting a glance to his side, Javier stopped his tracks when he looked inside by the window and saw some sort of bar. The place seemed empty though, yet he spotted the bartender idling in his spot.

He thought it would be better if he could just walk away instead of drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but in view of the recent events, he had nothing to lose anymore.

"I guess I could use a drink..." Javier sighed before he entered the establishment. As he dropped his bags next to him, he sat on the stool. "Hey, good evening. A shot of tequila, please."

The bartender looked at him in puzzle, but once he noticed Javier didn't look that young as he thought, he nodded before starting to serve a drink while the young man paid him in advance with the money he earned from his match.

Suddenly, the door was opened and a busty young woman with blond hair tied in a ponytail entered the place. She wore a navy blue off-the-shoulder top, a pair of dark scrunchy, tight pants, and matching high heels. As the door closed behind her, she made her way to the counter where Javier was sitting.

"Hey, Dave! I'm back!" The woman said cheerfully as she took a seat at the corner, a little away from the young man who didn't react at her arrival at all.

"Oh, hey there miss. Good to see you again." The bartender said with a smile as he poured the tequila into the glass. "What would you like for tonight?"

"A green margarita with no salt would be nice, thanks!" She responded, without glancing at the guy who was sitting a few feet away from her.

"Alright, coming right up." The bartender said and after serving Javier a drink, he proceeded to serve the drink for the lady.

Javier seemed very distracted in his thoughts to notice the beautiful woman next to him, the only thing that stuck in his mind was taking a shot of his tequila. So he grabbed the glass and drank it down. But what he forgot was that he didn't drink alcohol for years, so what happens when you drink alcohol for the first time since then? You'd feel like your throat is burning, which is not an exception for Javier.

The moment he gulped down the shot of his drink, he started to cough as if he was choking on something.

"Oh my God! Are you alright?" The young woman stood up from her seat and approached Javier with a look of concern.

"Y-Yeah! *COUGH* It's just- *COUGH* The tequila, dammit! *COUGH*" Javier responded while waving his hand to gesture it's not a life-threatening situation, though it didn't help his throat was still burning like crazy.

"Dave, can you give us a glass of water?" The woman asked.

The bartender didn't need to say anything as he complied, handing a glass full of water to Javier before the young man drank it.

"Whoa, go easy, go easy." The blondie said as she patted Javier's back. However, an intriguing expression spread across her face when she was starting to feel like she had seen this guy before.

"Aaahh, oh man. Thank you so much, I think that worked." Javier nodded in thanks to the bartender, who just nodded back and continued to prepare the drink for the lady. He then turned back to the woman. "Thank you for your..." And then he went speechless once he met face to face with her.

Javier and the woman remained to stare deeply at each other as if they're looking into a mirror, but as they took a long moment to recognize every facial feature on their faces, they both exchanged a stunned look before their memories took them to the moment where they met before.

"Lori?" Javier muttered.

"Javier?" She gasped with her mouth covered.

"Lori Loud from Royal Woods Highschool?" The young man repeated with his finger pointing at her.

"YES!" Lori exclaimed before she lunged and hugged Javier. "Oh my God! I can't believe it's literally you, Javier!"

"I-I can't believe it's really you either!" Javier replied in a mix of surprise and joy as he returned the hug, though he couldn't hide the blush on his face when he felt Lori's breasts pressing against his chest.

"How long has it been since we've seen each other? Ten years, I think? Dude, you sure have changed a lot." Lori said as she broke the hug and sat next to him.

"Heh, I could tell you the same thing." Javier chuckled nervously as he glanced down at her incredible voluptuous figure. Her breasts have grown like melons, the leggings hugged around her curvy waist that accentuated her meaty thighs and her sinuous legs, he even caught a glimpse of her buttocks while she was sitting on the stool.

"Where have you been after all this time? One day you never came back to high school, and the last thing I heard about you was that you ran away from home and you... You were never seen again..." Lori lowered her head in sadness. "I even tried to ask your family about you, but they didn't even want to talk about it..."

There were so many questions that Javier couldn't answer all of them, especially when Lori just mentioned his family. It still hurts just to remember what happened between him and his parents, no matter how much he tried to move on.

"It's complicated... I rather not talk about it." Javier muttered as he rested his arms against the counter dejectedly.

Lori only looked at him in confusion as she wasn't satisfied with the answer, but when she noticed the pained look on his face, it was more than enough for her to find out that whatever happened was the reason why he ran away. She was asking though, why? Did he have a fight with his parents? Was he forced to get out? All these questions were killing her, but she knew pressuring him to get more answers won't help at all.

Reaching out with her left hand slowly, Lori patted on his arm gently as Javier turned to her. She didn't speak, but she was giving him a softened look to try to comfort him. Moreover, she was telling him how happy she was to see him again and she wanted to spend some time with her friend after a long time.

This of course helped Javier to make feel a little better, but also convinced him that he could at least try to tell Lori his story. She's been a good friend to him in highschool, so maybe she deserves to at least know where he's been after all these years.

"Let's just say me and my parents had some differences about my future." Javier continued with a sigh. "After I ran away from home, I left Royal Woods with some friends and started pursuing my dream of becoming a wrestler. I started going to the gym seven days per week and met some professional wrestlers who could give me a chance to enter a promotion. It wasn't an easy task, but in the end, I managed to get into the independent circuit. I made a few appearances on some shows, but I had some decent matches with some big guys, though at that time I was still looking for an identity for my gimmick, so right now I'm just a jobber."

"Quite an adventure you had." Lori said with a chuckle as she sipped her margarita the bartender just handed it to her.

"Yeah, but not anymore. I just got kicked out of my apartment because the landlord was a pain in the ass." Javier seethed with his hands clenching into fists.

Lori's smile disappeared before feeling she just ruined the atmosphere. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, maybe I deserved it if I stayed in Royal Woods, maybe I wouldn't be here if I didn't drop out of the highschool." Javier said with a depressed sigh.

"Don't belittle yourself, Javier. I'm actually glad you decided to follow your dreams, no matter what." Lori responded with a soft smile, placing her hand on his back to provide comfort.

"Thanks Lori, that means a lot." Javier smiled back to her, feeling a little better. "By the way, what are you doing in Great Lakes city?"

"Oh, well... We live here..." Lori said with a forced chuckle.

"Really? Since when?" Javier inquired in surprise.

"A couple of years ago. It wasn't the easiest decision, but so far we're doing well."

"I see..." The young man nodded with his head. "So how you've been after you moved in this city?"

"Oh, doing great! Not only I graduated the Fairway University, but I also worked for a prestigious spa hotel. Started as an intern, but I worked on my way up and bam! You're looking at the owner!" Lori gestured herself out of pride.

"Wow, that's amazing! And how's Bobby doing? I can assume you're both happy now that you live here"

Lori's eyes suddenly shot wide open as her smile faded, like that question was too much of a shock for her. She lowered her gaze to look at the ground while biting her lower lip. "He's... He's fine, but we... We've moved on."

The grave tone of her answer took him aback and for a good reason. Last time he remembered, Lori and Bobby used to be together and even though Bobby had to live away from Royal Woods, they did their best to keep the relationship. "Damn, I'm really sorry." He replied solemnly.