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Ty glances between her and Noah as he gets into position to start his final match. He simply shrugs and doesn’t say anything.
Whatever. I think there is. And that could be real cute.
The match begins, and now we’re all on our feet, cheering on our little dude.
He makes some epic takedowns and passes, but the guy he’s fighting is good. Like, crazy good.
“Jesus,” Max murmurs from my other side as Noah’s opponent effortlessly sweeps him, switching their positions like it was nothing.
But Demon Mouse puts up an excellent fight. And when he unfortunately has to submit to a rear naked choke, every single one of us is beyond proud of how far he made it.
“Silver!” Rosa throws her hands in the air and smiles widely. She turns to Ty and holds up a hand, waiting for a high five.
He gives her one, albeit without much enthusiasm. But… I think I detect a hint of a smile on his lips as he watches Noah walk towards us.
“Amazing, man!” I pull him into a tight hug, and he laughs against my chest. “Damn dude, that was fucking impressive. He was a beast.”
“Thanks, Luca.” He smiles.
“Good job,” Ty says, and holy fuck. It is a smile.
I try not to gape at it but fail. He quickly scowls in my direction instead.
“Alright, you guys are up.” Max turns to me and Ty.
“Kick some ass, boys!” Seb yells from the end of the bench as we strip our sweats off.
After a round of good lucks from everyone, we head onto the mats, and I take a deep breath. I’ve been training hard for this, and even though the real purpose of this tournament is to get a good gauge on my grappling with various opponents, I still want to win. And I know I can.
My first match is a guy from the gym that is putting this tournament on, and he looks… mean. He’s standing at the edge of the mat observing me, with arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face. I give him a smile to test the waters and his expression hardens.
Aw. Maybe him and Ty could be friends.
He puts up a hell of a fight, keeping me on my defense for the first minute. But eventually, I gain control. And when he’s on his back and his ankle meets the back of my knee, I quickly turn, grab it, and pull him into a legbar.
I hear Rosa and the guys cheering from the benches, and I send a smile their way. My opponent is eliminated, and I move up to the next round.
As I wait for my next opponent to be determined, I can’t help but seek out another match that is still underway.
Ty is controlling his opponent’s back, making it look easy. He grabs the forearm of his opponent, and just as he is pulling him into a triangle choke, I’m pulled away to my next match.
Each round is more intense and challenging than the last. But the increased, focused training I have done with Ty over the past couple of weeks has paid off. I feel confident in the areas I was struggling in, and I’m controlling each opponent and making it my fight.
As I lay an amazing takedown on the opponent I’m going to beat in this round, I hear the cheers from the stands. I let the sounds urge me on, creating energy in my body and calm in my mind.
I got this. This is the last round before the final… I can do this.
Except those cheers are also for Ty, as he is on the mat beside mine. He’s still in this too, and if we both win this round… we face each other in the final.
I’m in closed guard with my opponent, and I smile down at him as his legs wrap around my back. Swiftly, I place my hands on the front of his hips, pushing down and unlocking his feet. The second he’s unlocked, I sweep to the side, opening his knee and taking complete control. Then I get him in an armbar, and he submits. Exhilaration rushes in as I stand up and take in the cheers from my teammates.
I’m going to the final.
As I turn to shake hands with my opponent, another loud cheer sounds from the crowd.
Reluctantly, I look over to Ty’s match. And see his opponent submitting to him, in a cutting armbar.
Well, fuck.
