“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.
They were at the pinnacle of their physical skills, and we were watching them work as hard as they possibly could to destroy their opponent. MMA was different from boxing; there was a wider variety of moves allowed, not just punching. The two men kicked and wrestled and punched each other, and the fight went for a few rounds, seemingly close.
And I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I could feel Cole next to me, and he felt it too, that same adrenaline boost. When the taller man landed a rough punch on the smaller one, knocking him down, the crowd went absolutely insane. The taller man pounced on the smaller one, pummeling him, and then the fight was over.
It happened so fast. One second they looked evenly matched, though both of them pretty were beat up, and the next second the one man was standing in the middle of the ring, victorious.
The crowd was on its feet, cheering wildly. Cole was clapping, a huge, vicious smile on his face. I couldn’t stop myself from cheering along.
It was such a rush. I’d never experienced anything like it before. Although the fight still wasn’t really my thing, I was beginning to understand why Cole loved it and why so many people wanted to get involved with it.
“Come on,” Cole said over the roar of the crowd.
He shifted his way through the seats, and I had to struggle to keep up. Lacey was right behind me. I gave her a look, but neither of us knew where Cole was going. We went back up the ramp and toward the front. Cole pushed open an unmarked door and led us through a back hallway and into another room.
The sounds of the crowd receded, and I glanced at Lacey again. She gave me a confused smile but didn’t say anything.
This was smaller, more intimate. There were still a good amount of people in there, but it was quieter. There was a bar in the back with a TV showing replays of the fight just above it. Men and women all sat around talking, drinking, and watching each other.
“What’s this?” I asked Cole.
“Bar for the fighters,” he grunted.