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“I wanted to text you, but we didn’t even know we were coming until about a week ago,” Shawn says. “And I could only imagine what the week was like leading up to this, so I didn’t want to interrupt your preparation. Figured we could meet up after. We’d love to hear everything you’ve been–”
“Ty, they have cinnamon rolls, but because I didn’t make them, you’re not allowed to have them.” Luca appears beside me, looking down at his plate and poking at the cinnamon roll. “Also, the cinnamon to dough ratio is way off.” He looks up, and glances between me, Dylan and Shawn, then his face breaks out in an excited smile. “Oh hey! Ty’s old gym buddies! What’s up, guys?”
“Hey, Luca,” Dylan chuckles. Then he curiously glances between us. “We heard you were both accepted onto the team in St. Louis. Happy to see you could finally become friends.”
Luca turns to face me with a massive smile.
I roll my eyes at him, but bite back a smile of my own. “Actually, we’re… more than friends.”
Dylan and Shawn are quiet for a moment as their eyes flick between me and Luca.
“You mean, like…” Shawn trails off, clearly not sure if he’s understanding this right.
“Fucking.” Luca nods, then takes a bite of his cinnamon roll. But immediately sets it back on his plate with a look of disgust. “Damn, that’s nasty. And we’re also in love now too.”
Their eyes widen and immediately slide to me, like they’re waiting for me to punch him or tell them he’s joking.
I nod. “It’s true.”
Dylan laughs. “Holy shit! Never saw that coming. How the fuck did that happen?”
I sigh and look at Luca, while he just smiles back at me. “Long fucking story.”
FORTY-ONE
My eyes roam over the Legacy Fighting Alliance logos along the base of the octagon, as Ty and I stand before it in the huge, empty arena. The spotlights are all focused on the center of this massive space, illuminating the cage we’ll be fighting in in just a couple hours. The anticipation continues to build with every silent moment we stand here… but it feels good.
Because when I step foot in that cage, it’s mine. It will be my time, and I’ll be leaving that cage a winner. And so will my Tiger.
I hear the happy chatter of our teammates behind us as they make their way to our dressing rooms, but Ty and I stay where we are. We continue to stare up at the cage, just taking this all in. We worked fucking hard to get here, and we’re going to make the most of every moment.
After a few more minutes, Ty gently slides his hand into mine and squeezes it.
I turn my head to him, and he softly smiles before turning to look at me as well.
“Looks like a good place to fuck up some d-holes.”
I chuckle with a nod. “It does.”
“Oh my god, this is insane.”
We both turn to look behind us to see Mia and Nadia walking down the aisle towards us. They each have a look of awe on their face as they look around the arena and take in just how fucking big this place is.
I smile as Nadia rushes forward and I pull her into a big hug.
“Hey, guys,” Mia says with a smile as she hugs Ty, and he awkwardly hugs her back.
And as Mia wraps her arms around me next, I hang onto her just a bit longer. It means the world to me that they are here to support us, and I am so happy I get to see them before the fight.
Mia releases me with a smile and looks around the arena again. “It’s so big… How are you guys feeling?”
As I look at Ty, I can see in his eyes that he feels the same way I do.
“Good.” I nod. “It’s… maybe a bit overwhelming, but in a good way.” I take a deep breath in and blow it out. “We’re ready.”
“Never doubted it.” Mia winks at me. Then she glances between me and Ty. “So, who’s first?”
“Luca,” Ty says. “He’s the fourth fight, I’m the sixth.”
