Maybe This Time(44)

“Who’s that?” I ask Jade.

“Reid’s trainer,” she answers. I notice her eye Xander, which makes me bristle.

“Don’t even think about it,” I say in a sing-song voice, my eyes still on Reid.

“I’d think you’d be happy, at least I’d back off Reid,” she says.

I tilt my head to look at her. “Reid sees you like a sister. And as I’m sure you know, Xander is my brother.”

Who I’m not willing to share with you, either.

I hear a few cheers so I look to see what the commotion is about. A bulky man dressed in a pair of shorts stands on the other side of us, a small posse surrounding him.

“That’s who he’s fighting?” I drawl.

“Yep. Daniel “Devil” Lanchester, in the flesh. He’s kinda cute, huh,” Jade says, nudging me with her elbow.

“What’s with the nickname thing? Kinda silly, isn’t it?”

Jade shrugs. “I don’t know who started it but everyone has one. Maybe it’s safer not to use a real name, not like these are sanctioned fights.”

“Yeah except you still know the guy's real name,” I say, shaking my head in confusion.

Jade shrugs, her attention going back to Xander. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. “Oh, look. Your real competition's here. Haven’t seen her here in a long ass time,” she says sweetly, looking out into the crowd.

“What?” I have no idea what she’s on about.

“Hey, sis, you ready?” Xander asks as he steps up next to me. Dash comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Hey, Dash.”

“Hey. You smell good,” he says, sniffing me again.

“Hey, Ry.”

“Hey, babe, come stand next to me, and don’t move, okay?” he says, looking serious. His lips are pursed and stare unwavering.

I grin. “Did Reid threaten you?”

“He needs to be focused so we needa do our part on this end,” he says.

“Well, don’t worry about me, I’m not going anywhere,” I say as I stare out at the crowd. The warehouse is filling up with even more people, and I start to feel a little anxious. I see Reid approach and run into his arms.

“Beauty,” he murmurs, I can hear the smile in his voice.

“You gotta head up there, Reid,” Ryan says, rubbing the back of his neck. Reid nods sharply, and takes a step back so he can remove his hoodie. Underneath is a white singlet, which he pulls off as well, leaving him bare-chested, and left in nothing but a pair of low slung shorts. No wonder people pay so much money to watch these fights. He wraps his wrists and hands, smiling up at me once he's done.

“Plenty of time for that later, Summer,” he says, amused at my obvious ogling.

“Looking forward to it.”

“Stay-"

“With Ryan, I get it. I’ll be right here, okay. Just concentrate on the fight.”

“That’s my girl,” he says approvingly, giving me a quick kiss before he heads to the centre of the Octagon. A man introduces Reid and his opponent, which is met with alternate cheers and boos. I start to wring my hands as I watch them both warm up a little, jumping up and down and stretching.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Ryan tells me.

“Summer, stop fidgeting,” Jade says. She looks calm and collected, then again, she’s been coming to fights with Reid since he started this whole thing. Dad and Xander move in even closer, close enough that they can talk to Reid if need be. I’m happier being further back. I see Dash shifting on his feet, anticipating what’s to come, and Ryan’s intense gaze on his brother. I look back to see Reid and Daniel face one another, as the referee stands between them, talking. After a few moments of this, he knocks their gloves against each other twice and they both take a step back.

Then it begins.

The cheers are so loud that I wince, trying to block them out. As I catch a glimpse of Reid’s expression, I can tell he’s in the zone. His face is blank, and his eyes are hard, calculating. Apparently that doesn’t stop his gaze from darting to where I’m standing, if only for a second. Ryan curses when he sees it, and takes a step closer to me so he’s directly behind me. I know he doesn’t want Reid to worry, even though I think they're all over reacting. I walked through the last fight, alone and in a pair of stilettos and I managed just fine.

Lost in my thoughts, I don’t even pay attention to the fight, and a sudden cheer makes me snap to attention. Reid throws a punch to Daniel’s head, and I turn to look at Ryan. Ryan grabs my shoulders and spins me back so I’m watching the fight. Reid and his opponent are now hugging each other, or at least that’s what it looks like to me. Reid brings up his knee with force and throws a few more punches. How long does this go for, exactly? When Daniel gets in a kick to Reid’s stomach, I reach back for Ryan’s hand and dig my nails into his palm. Ryan brings me closer, and puts his arm on my shoulder.