“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 were pretty 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.
“Oh hell yeah,” Lacey whispered. “Showtime.”
She disappeared toward a table of young men before I could say anything. I couldn’t believe how forward she was being, but then again, you never knew with Lacey.
“Come on,” Cole grunted.
We made our way to the bar. Several people in the room gave Cole a nod of recognition, and he nodded back, though nobody came up to him. We sat down on stools and ordered drinks.
“How many people in here do you know?” I asked him.
“Most of them.”
“These are your people, then, I guess.”
“Used to be.”
We got our drinks and I looked at him, interested. There seemed to be something bugging him, though he wasn’t saying what.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Since I was gone for so long, it’s like they all forgot about me.”
“You were gone a long time. You’ll get back into it.”
He nodded. “I know. It’s okay.”
“When do you fight again?”
I didn’t know why I asked, because I shouldn’t have cared. I just wanted my divorce and that was that. But being there, in that crowd, I suddenly had a new respect for what Cole did.
“Soon,” he said. “Very soon.”