“I’ll tell the driver to step on it,” he said, with a wink.
Las Vegas Boulevard was packed. I don’t know why I would have expected anything different. I craned my neck to see around the front seat. The driver was doing his best but there wasn’t much room to get around anyone.
“Take a deep breath, young lady. We’ll get you there. If I know anything about Mr. Greer, he won’t let the show start until he’s damn well ready for it to start.”
“Thanks,” I said, meekly. It didn’t alleviate any of my concern.
I decided to call Kaitlyn to help with the anxiety.
She answered the phone in a huff.
“I can’t believe you bailed on me tonight. You were supposed to watch the fights with me, remember? And then you didn’t even answer when I tried texting you.”
“I’m really sorry, I was in the air. I couldn’t get any messages.”
“Wait, you were on a plane again? What is that, like the millionth time this month? Where are you headed to now?”
“I just landed in Vegas.”
“You’re going to see Luke! Did you talk to him?”
“We fixed things. Like you said.”
“I knew it! You should listen to me more often. So you called him?”
“Actually, he called me.”
“That’s even better.”
“But I just wanted to tell you where I was. I’m sorry I forgot to let you know earlier.”
“No, that’s totally fine. Wait… are you there with him now?”
“No. I’m trying to get there but the traffic on the strip is a total nightmare. I’m kind of using you as a diversion so I don’t go crazy with anxiety. I’m afraid I’m not going to make it before the fight. He said he really needed me to be there for him before he went out.”
“Hang in there, Bri. You’ll make it. You have fate on your side.”
“I hope so.”
The phone clicked, then beeped three times. The call dropped. Great.
It felt like an eternity before we finally pulled up in front of the venue.
“This is it,” said the man sitting next to me. “When we get out I’ll take you right to him. I may be old but I can move fast so stay close.”
My phone told me it was eight fifty-one. Nine minutes to get there.
The old guy wasn’t lying when he said he was fast. I never moved so quickly while wearing heels in my entire life. I held on to the tail of his jacket as we went.
The casino was filled with people. Everyone was dressed in their best dress or suit. There was a real sense of excitement in the air.
I could hear the occasional roar go up from inside the arena as we made our way around to the side entrance. The preliminary fights had long been underway. Only the main event was left.
“Right through here,” he directed.
We ducked down a hallway and went through a small kitchen. Before I knew it, we were in the bowels of the building.
“Almost there.”
This was a restricted area. There were people milling about but they all seemed to have jobs to do. I imagine it was a mixture of tv people and event staff.
“That’s it,” said the old man. “Go on in, darlin’.”
He pointed toward the first in a row of doors that went down a long hallway.
It was just after nine.
I walked up to the door, then looked back over my shoulder to confirm with him that I was at the right one. He was already gone.
I held my breath, turned the knob, and pushed.
Luke’s was the first face I saw. He was sitting on a training table while someone massaged his shoulders. He was looking me deep into my eyes before I even entered the room.
People were bustling about in every direction. It was a mad house.
“Everybody out!” His voice boomed across the room.
There confused glances all around.
“C’mon, I said everybody out. Now!”
“You heard him folks, he said everybody out,” yelled a younger guy who I recognized from the gym back home.
“But we’re almost ready to go out. They want us to start-”
Luke shot him a glare that stopped him dead in his tracks.
The music from the arena speakers beat in dull thuds against the locker room walls.
One by one members of Luke’s team filtered out. I stood patiently to the side as they passed. When the door closed after the last one I ran to him.
“You made it,” he said, throwing his big arms around me.
“It was close. I didn’t think it was going to happen for a second.”
He planted a strong kiss firmly on my mouth.
“I’m sorry all of this happened. I should have called you sooner.”
“No. I overreacted. Don’t think about that anymore. It’s in the past.”