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Adão chuckles as he grabs one off the plate. “Just don’t be bringing in more treats as we get closer to fight time. I don’t want to be cutting more weight than I need to.”
Well, damn. I may need to find a new coping strategy.
Ty awkwardly shifts on his feet beside me, glancing out into the gym. I can feel the anxiety and anticipation radiating off him, but an elbow to the ribs puts his scowl back in place.
I chuckle, grabbing a cookie, finally, and take a seat at the table.
“So, just a couple days until we find out who we’ll be fighting in Dallas.” Elijah smiles as he leans back in his chair. “Any guesses on your opponents?”
My eyes slide to Ty as he visibly shifts his attention to everyone at the table.
“I’m pretty sure I know who I’ll be fighting,” Rosa says, carefully eyeing the plate of cookies as she finishes her last bite. “Teresa Byers fights out of Innovate MMA in Phoenix and she’s also a flyweight on the road to qualifying for LFA. So, there’s a good chance she’ll be headed to Dallas.”
Elijah lets out a low whistle. “I’ve seen her before. She’s a gnarly striker. No wonder you’ve been going hard on the bags.”
Rosa smiles and shifts her gaze to Ty. “Yeah, but that doesn’t really matter. Us grapplers have a way of getting what we want in a fight.”
Ty’s lips quirk up in a small smile and he gives her a little nod.
“That may be so,” I say, finishing off my cookie. “But you grapplers use up all your energy in a constant struggle for an advantageous position, while us strikers pace ourselves and control the tempo. Make it last long enough, and a striker is coming out on top.”
Seb holds out a fist for me to bump, which I do with a smirk aimed at Ty.
Ty rolls his eyes at me and turns to exit the kitchen. “I’m going to get changed. Hurry up.”
I chuckle as he leaves, grabbing another cookie as I push my chair back. But Noah’s hand on my arm stops me.
He glances towards the kitchen door. “How’s he doing?”
All eyes land on me, and as I look around the table, I smile. Everyone knows Ty won’t want them to ask about his progress, and no one has. But they care, and they want to support him in whatever way they can.
“He’s looking good.” I nod. “He’ll be back before we know it.”
“Awesome.” Adão smiles. “Never doubted it for a second.”
I wink at him as I take a bite of my cookie and grab my bag from the floor. “But I better go get changed before he has a stroke.”
As I head out of the kitchen and into the locker room, I push down the worry from earlier today and remind myself that despite this tight timeline, we’re fucking doing this.
Ty is at his locker, in just his fight shorts as he puts his clothes away. My eyes sweep over the muscles of his back and down to his ass in his black shorts. Mm.
He doesn’t turn to face me, so I chuckle to myself and quietly remove my sweatpants and hoodie, tossing them in my locker. But when I turn around, he’s leaning against his locker with his arms crossed, watching me.
“Like what you see?” I ask, shaking my ass in my favorite teal shorts.
His eyes stay fixed on mine for a moment before he pushes off his locker and crosses the room to stand before me. His hand lifts, and his fingers lightly trace the moon and stars tattoo on my ribs.
“You’re fucking annoying,” he murmurs as his eyes drop to the tattoo.
A small smile finds its way to my lips, but I stay quiet as I let him share his feelings and take what he needs, in the only way he knows how.
Tigers can’t purr, but they show their feelings of comfort and safety through their actions.
His eyes lift to meet mine again and he holds my gaze for one more beat, before he steps back and heads out into the gym.
Such a romantic.
I follow him out to the mats and stand beside him with my hands on my hips. “So, what’s the plan?”
