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I turn around to see Max at the door.
“Gloves on, almost time,” he says.
I nod, blowing out a breath as I grab my gloves. As I slide them on, I once again take in the sounds of the crowd outside and hop on my feet as I psych myself up.
I can do this. I fucking got this.
“Alright,” Max says as he steps before me and looks into my eyes. “You know exactly what to do. Stay focused and remember to plan your attack. Watch his defense and come in strong, fast and committed.” He grasps my shoulder and smiles. “And fight like you always do. Be ruthless.”
I nod and tap my gloves together. “Got it.”
“You got this, Luca!” Rosa yells from the other side of the room.
Seb claps his hands and whoops. “You’re going to kill it, bro!”
I hop on my feet again and shake my arms out as everyone cheers and calls out their encouragement. The urge to fight is overwhelming, and I’m fucking ready… but there’s one more thing I need.
I turn around, expecting to find Ty in the corner, but I come face to face with him instead as he stands before me.
His dark eyes stare into mine as energy flows through my body and my heart thunders. But as I hold his gaze, I stay completely still and take in this moment with him. Everything could change for us tonight… and I can’t wait to take this next step with him.
He slides his hand onto my ribs over the moon and stars tattoo, as my name is announced and the crowd cheers. But I don’t move.
As his lips meet mine, I lift my hands to hold him against me and take everything I can.
And when he pulls back, he gives me a soft smile. “Let’s get ‘em.”
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
I head to my corner of the cage as the first round ends, tired and breathless, but ready for more. Max enters the cage as I lean back against the post, and the cutman applies a coagulant to my cut lip.
“You got him,” Max says as he stands before me. “I know you’re tired, but he’s exhausted. Keep coming in with a strong offense and continue to wear him down. He’s going to want to save his energy and stay upright in round two for as long as he can, so take him down to the floor early.”
I nod, blowing out a breath as the cutman applies more Vaseline to my face. My opponent, Andre Veiga, is a tough fucking fighter, and a strong offensive striker. But he’s been on his defense for the entire first round, as I forced him to take a steady stream of hits on the ground. And I plan to keep it that way and end this in the second round.
“He’s going to come in with a strong attack right away so he can take control,” Max says, keeping my focus on him. “So do what you do best, and don’t let him.” He glances over his shoulder as the ref tells us that the second round is about to begin. He looks back at me and smiles, squeezing my shoulder. “Take it home.”
I nod again, and as he leaves the cage with everyone else, I sweep my eyes over the sight before me, allowing myself to take it all in for a moment. The sounds of the loud and excited crowd fill the space, and the bright lights and cameras are all pointing towards the middle of the cage. I look down at the floor and let my gaze linger for a moment on the UFC logo, taking another moment to remind myself exactly where I am, and appreciate every step along the way that got me here.
The cage door closes, and it’s just me, Veiga, and the ref in here once again. I hop on my feet and shake out my arms, ready to block it all out again and focus on the fight. But before I do, I drop my gaze to the side of the cage.
Luca is sitting with Max, watching me with a sly smile. His cheekbone is cut and bruised from his fight just before mine, which he won with a knockout, and he looks happy and refreshed. His smile grows as he points to the sky, and I nod back at him, bringing my hand down to pat my thigh over the baby blue moon and stars on my fight shorts.
The ref approaches the middle of the cage and points to me and Veiga. “Ready?”
I nod, and Veiga does as well.
“Begin.”
We both step forward, and tap gloves, then Veiga immediately comes in with a straight right. But I expected that, so I manage the distance between us so it doesn’t land. He closes the distance again with a front kick followed by a cross, doing exactly what Max said he would. He’s coming in with a strong attack right off the bat so he can take early control of this round. But that’s not happening.
I take the kick and block the cross, then drop down low in my stance and rush forward, wrapping my arms around his legs for a double leg takedown. But he must have also figured out my approach, because he defends against this by sprawling as he leans forward and spreading his legs out behind him so he doesn’t land on his back.
And that’s fine by me.
The cheers from the crowd are loud, but I don’t let them in, and I don’t let it break my focus. Veiga is going to try to take my back, since I was forced to drop to my knees and that’s the last place I want him. So I quickly roll onto my back and wrap my legs around his waist to put us in closed guard.
