Mason’s eyes narrowed on his friend, but he didn’t say another word. Instead, he took his hand and shook it. Then he hugged him.
“You take care of yourself. Watch each other’s backs.”
“You know we will. It’s what we do. Oorah,” Alex exclaimed.
“Oorah,” both Roland and Mason responded.
Alex went to talk to Lou, who looked sadly at Alex but nodded his head. Then Alex went to me.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
“I need to make a quick trip with Roland, so I won’t be here tomorrow to get our boy ready for his fight. I’m going to leave that job up to you.”
I shook my head.
“You can’t do that. He needs you, Alex.”
“Now, that’s where you’re wrong. He needs you now more than ever. He fights better when you’re by his side. I know it, Lou knows it, and even Reap knows it. You’ll do fine until I get back.”
My eyes grew wide, but I didn’t say anything else. I just nodded and hugged him fiercely. Mason looked over at me.
“Hey, find us a seat, baby. I’m going to walk them out. I want to see the other matches before we call it a night.”
I nodded and looked in his eyes. I saw how worried he was for Alex, but he was trying to control it. He walked out of the arena and came back within twenty minutes. He found me quickly—I’m not sure how exactly, since I was mixed in with hundreds of people—and sat down next to me.
I leaned close to him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, baby.”
That was all he said. Then he squeezed my hand and started talking to Lou about some of the fighters that were fighting in the cages.
That night he stayed quiet and to himself. I knew he was worried about Alex, especially after he told me what happened. Alex was going on a mission with Roland and his team. Mason was fearful for him only because he hasn’t been in active duty for two years. Mason wasn’t worried about his capability to shoot or take out someone. He was worried about if his intuition was still intact. Would he be able to detect danger before it came upon him? He and Mason were good at that when they were both in the Navy, but he wasn’t so sure about Alex now.
I tried my best to be there for him, and he seemed to appreciate it some. But what could I do really? When the fight came on Saturday, he fought like crap. As a matter of fact, he almost lost his match. Lou was screaming at him to get focused. I stood in his corner, helpless. But then something came over me. It was a feeling of resolve, of something that I couldn’t fight any longer. Before the final round started, I went to his corner as Lou was trying to get the cut above his eye to stop bleeding. Mason was giving his opponent problems, but he was taking some hits as well. I looked in his eyes, and I could tell he wasn’t all here.
Mason was exhausted. His chest was heaving, and his shoulders were slumped. It looked like he wasn’t going to make it through this round, and I had to do something. I found my voice and courage. I climbed up the cage to where my feet were on the mat, but just not in the cage.
“Mason, there’s something I need to ask you,” I said quickly
Mason turned and looked at me, but Lou spoke: “Not now, Maxine. He needs to focus. You’re getting your ass handed to you out there. Get your head in this, or just fucking…”
I didn’t let Lou finish. I said again, “Mason, I want to know something.”
My voice was stronger, and he turned to me.
“I’m fine, Max. Okay?” he replied, not looking at me.
I moved closer to him.
I said, “I love you, Mason, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Will you marry me?”
Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but it was on my heart, and I wanted to know right then and there what his answer was. His head slowly moved to face me, and so did Lou.
I didn’t crack a smile; I wanted him to see how serious I was.
He shook his head and faced Lou, so I said loudly, “Is that your answer? Mason, I said I want to marry you—the sooner the better. I know there is no man on the face of this planet that I love more than you. My body only craves you. My heart only desires you. I want nothing more than to start my life with you, now more than ever… Mason West, will you marry me?”
I didn’t realize how loud I was until even his opponent and his team looked over at us. I even heard some gasps behind me, but I didn’t move my eyes from his. He stood and turned to face me.
“Are you serious? You want to marry me?”
I nodded my head.
“Yes.”
“Baby, this isn’t very good timing,” he started.
“No, its perfect timing. I want you to know that I want to move in with you. But I also want to be yours forever. I want you to know you have me for eternity.”