Chapter 23 #2
The three of us—me on one side of Frank, and Dawn on the other—were making small talk when someone stopped next to me.
A guy stood there, looking at his ticket, then at the seat and chuckled. “Damn, Cross hooked me up.”
“You’re here for Rowan’s fight?” I asked.
He sat down next to me. “Yeah, I wouldn’t miss it.”
Something in the way he said it made me think this wasn’t just a random fan. “So you guys know each other?”
“Sure do. We served together in the Air Force.”
That caught Frank’s attention, and he extended his hand. “I’m Frank. Rowan’s father.”
The man immediately shook it. “Nolan Bradford. Nice to meet you, Mr. Cross.”
Rowan’s dad laughed. “Frank’s fine.”
“Yes, sir.” Nolan grinned.
Dawn chuckled. “Definitely military.” Then she offered her hand. “I’m Dawn, Rowan’s mother.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“You don’t have to call me ma’am either.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
That earned a laugh from all of us.
I stuck out my hand next. “Keaton Stafford.”
Nolan’s eyes widened slightly. “Nice to finally put a face to the name.”
I blinked. “Rowan mentioned me?”
Nolan shrugged. “Yep, and for what it’s worth, he seemed really happy when he told me you two were together.”
Before I could figure out how to respond to that, the crowd exploded around us, drawing everyone’s attention toward the announcer who stepped into the center of the cage.
Nolan nodded toward the tunnel. “If I remember correctly, this is the point he starts pacing.”
“You’ve seen him fight before?” I asked.
“Yeah. I caught a few of his boxing matches when we were stationed together in San Antonio.”
“That’s cool,” I replied, but hearing about Rowan’s time in the Air Force hit me hard. Nolan had seen a version of my boyfriend that I didn’t know much about, and I hated that those were years we’d never get back.
The giant screens above the cage lit up, and Rowan’s picture appeared.
People cheered, and it wasn’t just our section or the handful of Atlantic Combat members scattered throughout the arena.
I doubted that any of these people knew Rowan’s name a few months ago.
Tonight, they were excited to see him fight.
The music changed, and Rowan appeared at the entrance. He walked to the cage with his coach and the rest of his team behind him, then immediately started moving, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet as he waited for the announcer to continue.
Beside me, I saw Dawn grab Frank’s arm.
“Already?” He laughed. “The fight hasn’t even started.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not nervous,” she argued.
Suddenly, Navarro’s music hit and he headed toward the cage. The reaction was a bit louder than Rowan’s had been, which wasn’t surprising since he was already an established fighter in the area, but overall, the crowd was close to evenly split.
The cage door closed, and the referee began giving his instructions.
“Okay,” Dawn announced. “Tell me when it’s over.”
I looked again to find she’d covered her eyes with one hand. “You’re not even going to watch?” I teased.
“I’m listening.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is for me.”
Nolan laughed while Frank shook his head, but the fight started before Dawn could defend herself any further.
Navarro came forward immediately, looking to pressure Rowan against the cage. Not long ago, Rowan probably would’ve met him head-on. Instead, he stayed patient. He gave ground when he needed to, circled before Navarro could trap him, and forced him to keep resetting.
The first clean punch landed about a minute in. Rowan slipped a right hand and answered with a straight left that snapped Navarro’s head back.
The crowd reacted instantly.
So did Dawn. “What happened?”
“Rowan punched him.”
“Way to go, sweetheart!” she shouted, still covering her eyes.
A second later, she peeked through her fingers. “Okay, maybe I’ll watch a little.”
My attention stayed fixed on the fight after that.
Back when Rowan and I first visited Atlantic Combat, Coach Isaac had pointed out that Rowan had all the pieces, but he needed to learn how to put them together under pressure.
Watching him now, I could understand exactly what Coach Isaac had meant because Rowan looked like a completely different fighter from the one I’d watched in LA.
Every movement flowed into the next. When Navarro stepped forward, Rowan didn’t just retreat. He jabbed, and after it landed, Rowan lowered his stance enough to make Navarro react, but broke away before Navarro could answer. Everything looked smoother. Cleaner. More complete.
“Wow,” Nolan muttered.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “He looks fucking awesome.”
The second round began much like the first, but Rowan looked more comfortable.
Halfway through the round, Navarro threw a kick, but Rowan caught it, and the crowd leaped to their feet.
Instead of rushing, Rowan used his momentum to push Navarro back while threatening a takedown.
The exchange lasted only a few seconds before they separated and reset.
Rowan looked dominant, but Navarro wasn’t making it easy. In a move I didn’t see coming, Navarro landed a hard right on the side of Rowan’s face, drawing a groan from our section.
“He’s okay,” I heard Frank reassure Dawn.