“Surprisingly, I feel a lot safer than I expected.”
“Like, I thought this was some sort of street fighting?”
“But it’s legit,” I said, mystified.
“I know! And so many hot guys.”
I looked around, frowning. “Really?”
“Get your head out of your ass, Alex. This place is crawling with testosterone-laden beefcakes. It’s like a buffet of muscular men.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I guess. I didn’t really notice.”
“What are you two whispering about?”
I looked up as Cole returned, holding our tickets.
“Cole, you didn’t tell us these things were full of hot guys,” Lacey said.
“They’re not really my type,” he said.
“You have a type of guy?” I asked.
“Nope. They’re not my type because they’re guys.”
Lacey and I laughed as he handed out our tickets. He walked confidently through the crowd, and I had to admit that I was pretty impressed so far. The venue was large and clean, even though it was completely packed inside. Our sets weren’t far from the ring, only a few rows back.
“How’d you get these?” I asked Cole.
“I know a guy.”
We sat down and he looked around the place.
“See anyone you know?” I asked him.
“Plenty,” he grunted.
“Any friends?”
“Nope.”
I turned back toward Lacey to make a joke, but she was too busy ogling a group of men in business suits that looked like they would have been comfortable in an economic summit.
The lights were bright and the crowd was crawling. It was full of noise, nervous excitement, and prefight jitters. People were buying drinks and food and generally wandering around the place. Most of the seats were full already, and people were slowly filtering in. Music blared through the loudspeaker, but it wasn’t anything I recognized.
“Look at those hunky nerds,” Lacey said, staring blatantly.
I shook my head, smiling. “You’re unreal.”
“What? They’re like sexy accountants. I’d let every one of them bang me if they’d do my taxes, too.”
“Prostituting yourself for tax help?”
“What can I say, I hate doing my taxes.”
Suddenly, Cole stood up. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
“Okay.”
He stalked off into the crowd. I watched, curious about what he was doing, but he quickly disappeared into the mass of people.
“Where’s your husband going?”
I shot her a look. “We agreed. No jokes about that tonight.”
“Oh come on. Just one.”
“Whatever. I’m not sure where he’s going.”
I looked around and spotted him across the way. I watched as he approached a group of men and began talking to them. They looked like they all knew each other, shaking hands and laughing. I watched as Cole took over their conversation, dominating whatever they were talking about. He seemed completely at ease and in control, totally calm and collected. In the middle of the sea of wild people, Cole was like an oasis of cool and collected confidence.
Meanwhile, Lacey was still scouting out the crowd. I was afraid that if I turned my back on her for too long that she’d end up going home with the first mildly attractive guy that spoke to her.
Cole came back a few minutes later and sat back down. “What was that?” I asked him.
“What do you care?”
“Curious, I guess.”
He leaned in toward me. “Curious about me?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“I knew you would be, wife. Can’t help yourself.”
“I’m just trying to be nice.”
He smirked. “Sure you are. Well, that was just business.”
“Just business?”
He leaned back in his seat. “Sure. Business.”
“You’re so mysterious,” I said sarcastically.
Whatever comeback he had prepared fell short as the crowd began to cheer, drowning him out. I looked over toward the ring as men began to climb inside.
They were muscular and mostly naked, though not as large as Cole was. I looked at him and he nodded at the ring, a little smile on his face. The excitement of the crowd began to build, the electric shiver of excitement running through our bodies.
It was the buzz before something happened. It was the buildup to the fight. I glanced at Lacey, and I knew she felt it, too. The rush of excitement, anticipation, and even a little bit of fear.
It was exhilarating. I loved how in tune with the crowd I felt as the bell rang and the two men attacked each other savagely.
I didn’t think I liked violence. Well, I knew that I didn’t. That wasn’t what I liked about the fight, honestly. I could have gone without watching the thing entirely. But the feeling of being there with the crowd as we cheered the men on, the two of them pitting their bodies against each other, well, it was incredible.