Chapter 28
KC
Mattie informed me via text earlier that he would meet me at our reserved table. He told me that he had acquaintances in the audience—people from out of town that he needed to socialize with first.
My form-fitting chiffon gown is suffocating me.
I pose in the mirror and give myself another once-over before we need to head down to the fights.
The fit of the bust has my breasts pushed up dramatically, with the rest of the bodice sucking me in, in all the right places.
The red heels are surprisingly comfortable.
The black gown looks great with the dark purple dye in my hair.
I couldn’t decide how to style my hair, so Brittney helped me with a low side ponytail that trails down my left side.
Simple diamond stud earrings were an easy choice to finish the look.
Brittney walks up from behind me; her fingertips trail my sunflower tattoo.
“It really is so beautiful.” I grab her hand, stopping it, and pull it away from my neck.
I turn my body to face Brittney’s and give her a hug.
“I miss her too, Kailey. She’d be so proud of you and how you never gave up in this life. ”
Unwanted tears fill my eyes. “Okay, stop or you’re gonna make me ruin my makeup.” I grab a tissue from the nightstand and lightly dab underneath my eyes.
Brittney’s hair is down in big, bold curls; her silk halter top gown showing off her hourglass figure. She went with long gold dangle earrings, ones that wouldn’t pull attention away from her new necklace.
“Alright, one last thing to do.” She hands me a deep red lipstick.
“Oh, are we feeling spicy tonight?”
“I’m hoping you’re feeling spicy tonight since Mathew will be here. Maybe he could be more than a hookup, right?”
Her bluish-grey eyes watch me intently in the mirror as I swipe the bold lipstick over my puckered lips. Brittney zeroes in on my necklace, the heart pendant tucked in between my smooshed breasts. I grab another tissue and lightly dab my lips, ignoring her judgment.
“Maybe, he could be, but not tonight, beautiful. I’m here for you. Let’s just have the best time cheering for your man. Let’s get drunk at the after-party, dance the night away, and crash in this badass suite.”
I look toward the king bed in the middle of the room.
“Yes, I see where your mind is going. But I’ll actually be staying with Skyler tonight, after he wins…
hopefully.” She crosses her fingers, and we both walk out of the room, heading toward the arena; our elbows link together.
“You know, you could’ve gone without that necklace tonight; it would’ve been okay. ”
“I could’ve, but it anchors me.” The gown probably would’ve looked better with my chest bare, without a random necklace, but I didn’t really care all that much.
We can hear the music well before we see the crowd of people forming.
Brittney gives our names to the men standing guard at the entrance.
One turns around, unhooks the rope, and leads us through to our table.
It’s located directly in front of the cage.
Ring girls are taking photos with fans. Their outfits leave no room for imagination: red shorts with their ass cheeks hanging out; and white tank tops with push-up bras.
“Isn’t this great?” Britt asks as we both sit down into the high-back elegant chairs. I relax against the cushions; thankfully, they’re comfortable. I’ll definitely be able to suffer through watching these fights.
“Yeah, it’s really a vibe, isn’t it?”
“I love the lights, the music, the aura at these fights.” Her eyes look around the arena, hoping to catch a glimpse of her man, I’m sure.
A beautiful, short brunette waitress stops at our table; she’s wearing a black cocktail dress. “What can I start you ladies off with tonight?”
Brittney leans over me before answering for the both of us. “Let’s start with two shots of tequila, then a bottle beer for her, and a coconut pineapple cocktail for me, please.” I love how she takes charge these days—that wasn’t always the case with her growing up.
“Thank you. I think we’ll be ordering more shots before the fights begin.”
“Yes!!! Fun KC is out tonight!” She wraps me up in a hug. “Yes, I’m going to have so much fun tonight with my best friend!!!” She screams the last part.
“Don’t forget your man will be arriving soon,” Brittney states as our drinks are placed on the table.
Salt and lime are next to our shots of tequila. Yeah, he should be arriving anytime actually. I pick up my shot, and wait for Britt to grab hers.
“To a night of memories that we never forget!”
We clink our shots, lick the salt, swallow the alcohol, and bite the lime.
The music here is actually nice, and our bodies are swaying back and forth in our seats to the rhythm of each song. I don’t even realize that we’re on our third round of drinks. Now the lights are flashing overhead, a silent message to inform everyone the fights will start soon.
A kiss comes from behind me, landing on my exposed neck, and it catches me off guard.
“Hey, you.” Mattie’s voice sounds more seductive than it really should.
He appears before me in an all black tux that’s tight in all the right places; it looks like it was tailored just for him.
I sink my front teeth deep into my bottom lip and let my eyes slowly drift over his body, as he looks down at me, watching.
That kiss made my nipples perk up—I don’t miss the way Mattie’s stare is trained on my pebbled peaks. This dress demanded that I go braless, so here we are…
“I’ve missed you.” Abruptly, I stand from our table, and my heels make it easier for me to kiss the right side of his mouth. His face is smooth, and he smells like aftershave.
“Hey, Mattie! Where have you been? The fights are about to start,” Brittney chimes in.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. There are important people in town from New York for me and my family. They needed some special attention. They’re bidding on certain fighters tonight.” Mattie smacks the table playfully. “Wait a minute; who are we supposed to be cheering for, again?”
Brittney rolls her eyes while smacking his arm dramatically. “Stop it! You know that we’re here for my boyfriend, Skyler.”
He surrenders under her stare. “You’re right, sorry, I was just kidding.” He grabs her hand and gives it a light, reassuring squeeze, and then places a peck on top. Britt and Mattie have always gotten along. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure why I’ve never gotten more serious with this man.
He catches me staring at him and rubs my cheek with the back of his hand. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life, KC. When you walked in earlier, you took my breath away.”
“Oh, yeah? How long have you been watching us, you creeper?” I ask with a seductive tone, and lean deeper into his hand.
“Long enough to make sure no one was stupid enough to talk to what’s mine.”
“Yours?” I purr.
“Tonight, that’s what you are, KC… Mine.” Mattie seals his statement by grabbing the back of my head and smashing his lips into mine in a suffocating kiss.
“Okay, okay, you two, this is Skyler’s walk-out song. Time to focus and cheer!”
Mattie gives my bottom lip one last suck before he pulls back, sliding his hand on top of my thigh.
“Fight Back” by NEFFEX thunders through all of the speakers in this arena.
Skyler runs into the cage, wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue metallic shorts.
He circles the cage, throwing his hands up in the air before doing a standing back flip.
His short black hair is styled into a faux-hawk.
Brittney is standing up, hoopin’ and hollering for her man as loud as she can.
He’s all hers alright. I can see it…. why he’s phenomenal in bed.
He looks like he can do anything with that body.
Skyler comes over to our side of the cage and stops directly in front of Brittney and blows her a kiss.
The fight starts and is intense; his opponent isn’t weak by any means.
I look over at Brittney to see one hand covers her mouth while the other grips the edge of the table.
Skyler takes multiple hits at once: one to the face, and two to his ribcage.
My hand grabs Brittney’s hand, the one covering her mouth, and keeps a hold of it.
“He’ll be okay; you’re his lucky charm. Skyler’s going to win this fight.”
Then, in slow motion, everything changes. A switch goes off inside Skyler, and he goes crazy. This man is like a machine, throwing nonstop punches at his opponent. The last hit puts the other guy down, flat onto the canvas, and he doesn’t make a move to get up. The speaker announces, “Knock out!!!”
Skyler spits out his mouthpiece and walks out of the cage, his trainer following close behind.
“You okay, babe?” I shake the dazed Brittney; she looks frozen in place.
“What? Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Whew, that was just a lot.” Her body sinks back against the chair.
“Someone will be celebrating tonight.” I raise my eyes dramatically at her. With that, she finishes off her drink and waves down the waitress, telling her we need another round.
I look over at Mattie, noticing there isn’t any alcohol in front of him. I point at my bottle of beer, then toward him. He shakes his head and taps my thigh. “Not tonight.”
The ring girls are huddled together in the middle of the cage, performing a coordinated dance.
Once they finish, the announcer talks about the next fighter.
The arena’s lights dim down again as “Paid My Dues” by NF plays.
Interesting choice… My eyes try to find the new fighter who’s supposed to be walking out of the tunnel and toward the cage.
Finally, I catch him on the right side—he’s walking, and appears to be in no rush.
Once he arrives at the cage, he swings open the gate and saunters in.
He’s tall, and walks with a purpose, like he isn’t excited about this match.
His chest is on display, well-defined and showcasing multiple tattoos.
Only the front half of him can be seen because he’s wearing a white hooded robe and dark red silk shorts.
He keeps his head down while he does some shadowboxing.
The opponent makes his appearance in the cage by doing a front flip, then shows off his muscles and walks over to talk down to the first guy.
No one can hear what’s being said; we can only see their body language and their mouths moving.
Alrighty, this fight might be interesting.
I don’t realize that my upper body is leaning forward until Mattie’s laugh captures my attention.
I acknowledge it, rolling my eyes and sitting back into my seat, then mouth, What?
to him. An air horn pierces through the air, and the fighters go to their assigned corners.
The guy wearing the robe takes it off as the timer starts ticking down.
I tip my bottle back all the way to finish it off, and finally get a look at the first fighter’s back.
In contrast to his front, his back is plain and simple, with only one tattoo across his upper back, from shoulder to shoulder.
Seeing those letters, I’m caught completely off guard.
The beer, mid-swallow, goes down the wrong pipe, causing me to cough uncontrollably.
Brittney starts to pat in between my shoulder blades while asking if I’m alright.
I can’t even speak right now. Did she know he’d be here?
Brittney’s gaze follows my finger, and when she finally sees where it’s pointing, her eyes go wide. “Oh. Fuck…”