Stand Of Redemption(47)

Ria was afraid to look at the cage, but felt obligated to watch. As she looked into it, she saw the fighter that had blood gushing out earlier was on top, punching the crap out of the other fighter lying on his back. She saw spurts of blood with each punch and noticed the splatter on the floor.

“Hey, is this your first fight?” Melanie seemed to notice Ria’s discomfort.

“That I’m actually trying to watch, yes.” Ria didn’t want to explain that she had been forced to watch pit fighting for the last two months.

“I grew up around the sport, so this is nothing to me. But my best friend Trish, she can’t handle it. I’ve dragged her to a couple, but she finally admitted she hates them,” Melanie laughed.

Ria laughed with her. “Well, I want to try to enjoy the fight. I know MMA is important to Nicholas.”

Ria watched Melanie’s head nod in approval. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Ria and Melanie shared a smile of understanding.

When Melanie reached for her drink, a flash caught Ria’s eye.

“Are you two engaged?” Ria asked as she looked at the rock on Melanie’s finger.

Ria watched Melanie and Zane look at each other, the love between them clearly evident. It’s what every woman, including herself, dreamt of having one day.

“Yes. Zane popped the question this morning!” Melanie stretched her hand out for Ria to see.

“Congratulations to you both!” Ria said as she looked at the beautiful, princess cut ring which suited Melanie perfectly. “It’s a beautiful ring.”

“Thank you so much,” Melanie replied as she squeezed Zane’s hand and gave him a quick kiss.

Ria’s heart warmed at the obvious adoration they had for one another.

Before they could speak again, she heard a voice come over the speakers, announcing the winner of the fight. The man that she had seen get punched first had ended up winning. She was surprised since she would have thought a punch that forced so much blood to pour out would have put the fighter at a disadvantage. It was pretty incredible that he’d ended up winning.

“Ty’s fight is next,” Melanie told her.

“Okay,” Ria replied nervously.

She looked toward the ramp and saw Nicholas and Ty standing at the top. The sight of him took her breath away. He was so much taller than the rest of the men around him. His t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, narrowing down toward his waist, and his biceps were clearly defined under the sleeves. He was incredibly handsome. All she wanted at that moment were those arms wrapped around her as he kissed her senseless.

She watched him speak to Ty as they walked. She took a moment to observe Ty. He seemed steady, as if this wasn’t his first fight. It definitely wasn’t, just his first one in a cage. She knew from Nicholas that he tended to get in many fights outside the gym. She didn’t think that the night she had seen him fighting in the pit was virgin territory for him either.

As Ty approached the opening in the cage, it looked like Nicholas was giving him a few more words as a coach. Ria watched him and felt the excitement when she saw him looking for her. When their eyes met, he nodded at her, and she smiled back. He turned back as the crowd watched Ty’s opponent walk down the ramp.

“That’s a first,” she heard Melanie declare under her breath.

“What is?” Ria asked with curiosity.

Melanie jumped. She must not have realized she’d said it loud enough for Ria to hear. “Oh, I was just thinking I’ve never seen Nick acknowledge anyone in the stands before. I think he really likes you.” Melanie grinned. “He’s never introduced me to a girlfriend before.”

As Ria felt herself blushing, she had no response. Melanie patted her leg with a laugh.

“In the black corner, participating in his third fight, weighing in at one hundred sixty-one pounds, Ty Cooper!”

Ria listened to the mix of boos and cheers for Ty. With him being new to the cage, she assumed he would have to win a few fights to win over this whacked-out-of-their-minds crowd. She still couldn’t believe she was here. She liked Ty and didn’t want to see him get beaten up again.

The announcer called out the name of the other fighter, but all Ria heard was his weight of one hundred sixty-five pounds. She wondered how the weight difference affected the fight. Was one faster because he was lighter, or was it better to be heavier and able to hold off a take down? She would have to ask Nicholas later.

She watched as the announcer stepped out of the way and the ref spoke a few words before she heard the bell ring. Then Ty and his opponent started circling.

Ria sat at the edge of her seat without a clue as to how this fight would go down.