Worth the fight

Chapter 31

Elle

I find our seats at the fight and my stepbrother Max is excited at how close we’re sitting. Ringside. Or, would it be cageside since technically there is no ring, but instead they fight in a cage? We weren’t sitting this close at the first and only fight I’d been to, yet I still cringed with each blow. Violence is something I have steadfastly avoided since I was old enough to control my own path. Yet here I sit, about to watch someone I care about pummel another human being. Or worse, be pummeled himself. I barely slept a wink last night, fretting over coming here. Yet, I feel like my body is wide awake, oddly on high alert.

Lily, Nico’s sister-in-law, arrives with her entourage and there is no doubt that the man standing next to her is Nico’s older brother Joe. They’re the spitting image of each other, only his brother is slightly shorter and carries a bit of a belly. Whereas Nico doesn’t have an ounce of fat on his body. Lily introduces me to her husband and he smiles. It’s Nico’s smile, sans the dimples. Seeing it on another man’s face is almost odd, but somehow it makes me warm to the man quickly. There’s a sense of familiarity that puts me at ease because of the likeness.

Lily also introduces me to a teen named Vinny. I’ve heard Nico talk about him before. Actually, quite a bit. Nico’s family have all unofficially adopted him, taking a strong interest in the boy with the bad home life. They seem to rally around him as a family, each providing different support where they can.

Vinny is wearing a shirt with a picture of Nico on it and he notices me checking it out.

“I took the picture.” He holds up a camera proudly when he speaks.

“Well, it’s a very cool shirt.”

“You really like it?”

“I do.” I smile at him. I can see Vinny has the same teen struggle going on that I often see in Max. He wants to be laid back and cool, but sometimes he has trouble hiding his excitement. It’s adorable.

I think he assesses my sincerity. Then he nods his head once and continues. “I’ll make you one. Nico will be all over his chick wearing a picture of him.”

We all laugh at Vinny’s comment, but I can’t help but think the boy is right. Nico would so love me wearing a picture of him across my chest to ward off the other lions when he’s not around. He’s a smart kid, knows Nico well.

Vinny and my stepbrother become instant friends and I’m glad that it gives me some time to get to know Lily better before the fight starts. Plus, the boys will have more fun without me sitting between them and cringing at every blow.

I don’t even realize that I’m fidgeting in my seat, but Lily does. “You nervous?” She smiles at me. It’s a genuine smile and I get the feeling she finds my inability to sit still amusing for some reason.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Well, I figured it was either that or you have to go to the bathroom pretty bad with the way that leg’s shaking.” She motions with her head pointing to my leg, which is frantically tapping up and down. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it. I smile at her and will my leg to steady.

“Fighting has never been my thing.” It’s the understatement of the year.

“Well, don’t worry then.” She pauses and sits up taller in her chair, a silent declaration of the confidence in her next words. “This isn’t going to last more than thirty seconds. Nico can take this clown with one arm tied behind his back.”

It’s almost a full hour later before the opponents are called into the cage. I’ve sat through girls in skimpy bikinis holding up advertising signs, commentators giving their predictions on the fight, and Max and Vinny have each downed three hot dogs. Lily and Joe try to get me to have a beer with them. I know they’re trying to help, get me to relax a little. But I’m aware of the effect alcohol has on my emotional state and I’m way too afraid to lose any control. I’m about to watch the man I’m crazy about do things that I’m nervous will dredge up bad memories. Memories I can’t allow myself to associate with Nico Hunter.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, in the red corner, standing six-foot-three-inches tall, weighing in at two hundred and twenty-one pounds, he is the former heavyweight champion, he needs no introduction to the ladies…I give you Nico ‘The Laaaaaaaadddyy Killlllllllllllllllller’ Hunter.” The crowd goes crazy, but not half as crazy as Vinny, who is jumping up and down and screaming so loud I can see the veins popping from the sides of his neck. Lily looks at me, then at Vinny, and then back to me and we both laugh, but no one can hear us standing next to Nico’s number one fan.

Nico’s opponent is introduced and he receives only a fraction of the cheers, plus some actually boo for the poor guy. Mostly Vinny and my stepbrother. The announcer goes through a bunch of rules and rattles off some information about disciplines, none of which means much to me. I make a mental note to learn more about the sport and file it away for my next afternoon alone with Google.

The two men turn to make their way to their respective corners and Nico is facing the crowd for the first time since he entered the arena. He is undeniably a feast for the eyes, every woman’s fantasy. He’s tall and gorgeous with a square jaw and eyes the color of jade. And his body, oh his body. I could get lost in the valleys that define his muscles. But I’m not the only one to notice. Women yell and catcall to him like construction workers when a miniskirt passes by in the heat of summer. Nico either doesn’t care or he’s so focused he won’t let outside interference in. I figure he’s probably an expert at drowning out the crowd. But then he turns his head and his eyes find mine instantly through the crowd. And hold. There’s probably ten thousand screaming people in the room, but for a few quick seconds, there’s only me and Nico. He doesn’t smile or acknowledge me outwardly, but he wants to know I’m here. Watching him. Supporting him. And I finally realize, even with my past, there’s no place I’d rather be.

The first round is only five minutes long, but it feels more like five hours. I quickly learn it’s a lot more difficult to watch a fight when it’s someone you care about inside the cage. The gates to the cage close and I take a deep breath, hoping Lily is right and I can exhale in thirty seconds when it’s over.

Nico is holding his own, but it’s definitely not the lopsided fight everyone seems to have expected. The break between rounds is short, but Preach seems to spend the entire time yelling at Nico. Something is off. I can see it in the way Preach yells and Nico tunes him out. It shows on Nico’s brother’s face too.

The two men are back at it after a rest that was too short for me to catch my breath, no less a fighter. There’s less jumping around scathing at each other this time. The blows have started now and I watch as Nico’s opponent lands a strike connecting directly to the left side of his jaw. A real wave of nausea rolls over me and for a second I think I might be physically sick. Nico looks pissed, but takes the hit in stride, without as much as a waiver of his balance. He hits him back and his opponent takes two steps back from the force of the strike, but he remains on his feet. Fall, god damn it, fall.

Eventually Nico forces his opponent to the ground and he’s quickly put on his back with Nico on top of him. His opponent is completely exposed and it looks like Nico has the perfect opportunity to strike. I brace for what it looks like is about to come next to the poor man sprawled out on his back in such a vulnerable position. But then it never comes. A few seconds later his opponent is righting himself again and the two men take to a ground wrestle.

When the round finally ends, I peel my eyes away from the cage long enough to look at Lily. I feel desperate. “Is everything okay? It doesn’t look like the easy fight you thought it would be?”

Lily looks at me and I see a flash of pain in her eyes. She’s upset about the fight, but something in her expression tells me the pain has nothing to do with Nico’s opponent being able to stand longer than everyone predicted. Lily opens her mouth to respond, but then stops and closes it. But Joe chimes in.

“He’s afraid to hurt him. That’s not Nico fighting up there. I’ve seen him strike harder sparring in his gym as a warm up.”

Faster than I can take the enormity of the words that are slowly sinking in, the break is over and the two men meet back in the middle, ready for the final round. It’s only a few seconds into the clock when his opponent strikes hard, hitting Nico with a kick to the ribs that looks like it could leave a few broken in its wake. Again, Nico doesn’t flounder, he stands his ground. But something else happens, I see it in his face. He’s pissed. Really pissed.

His response is to lunge at his opponent, taking him to the mat in one powerful takedown. Nico moves fast, and within seconds he has him in some convoluted hold that looks like if the guy moves a fraction of an inch, his arm will snap in two. Nico twists his body once to add pressure and the guy taps his hand against the mat, conceding the fight.

The crowd roars, some of the women are standing on their seats and waving banners telling Nico they love him. I’m elated that it’s over, but somehow I can’t find it inside of me to cheer. I know I should celebrate, he’s won, but it doesn’t feel like victory. After taking in the crowd, I turn to see Lily and Joe aren’t celebrating either.

The announcer holds up Nico’s hand, declaring him the winner, and I catch my first glimpse of him. He’s not smiling either. His face is blank, devoid of any emotion and it sends a shiver down my spine. I notice he doesn’t look my way, not even on his way out when he passes right by our row. It’s the first time the shiver I get from Nico Hunter isn’t welcomed.