Blow (TKO 3)

“Yeah, he is pretty awesome. I love him. If Raegan hadn’t had her baby, you could have met her tonight. She’s Garrett’s girlfriend and she’s really nice.”

I love how accepting everyone seems to be and they don’t even know me. I could be a legit crazy person and they would still be so open and friendly. “I heard someone was having a baby. I have a feeling I’ll be around quite frequently now. Between Austin joining, and then he got Ruston to join, one of them will drag me here.”

“Who’s Ruston?” she asks with a crinkled nose. I’m almost ready to ask her why she’s making that face but she suddenly sneezes and that explains it.

My face lights up as I begin excitedly telling her how he’s my best friend and how we grew up together and all those details. She just listens and watches with kind eyes as I babble on. When I finally stop, she just sort of laughs.

“So, you’re sure he’s just your best friend? Because it sounds like so much more. Almost like a love story.” She zones out in the middle of her sentence and snaps back into reality rather quickly. “Sorry, I’m a sap and I believe in fate. How could I not after Lance and I were brought back together?”

I wondered how she could be on to me, when I just met this woman a few moments ago. “You are creepily accurate. I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m a great listener if you ever want to talk,” she assures me. Truth is, I could probably spill for her right now, and ask her opinion, but considering I just met her, I’m not looking forward to running her off.

Before I can reply, the lights dim and a spotlight shines brightly in the middle of the ring. A voice booms over the speaker and I notice someone entering the ring. “That’s Blaize,” Hilary tells me. “He announces all the fighters.”

This Blaize guy makes me laugh as he jokes with the crowd. The adrenaline running through the arena is contagious. The hairs on my arm are standing on end as I wait to hear who is fighting first. He talks a little bit longer before announcing the line-up for the evening. Lance will go first against some person whose name I didn’t catch. Once the line-up is finished, Blaize steps out of the ring and music begins playing as each opponent makes the walk down.

I get my camera ready and manage to capture a few good shots of Lance walking down to the ring. Once or twice his eye caught the camera and he gave a thumbs-up or tried to give the most badass look possible. Thank God I’m not videotaping because my laughter would be too clear.

I look for Austin but I don’t see him at first. I finally catch him standing on the side of the ring with a few other people. They’re shouting things I can’t quite hear at Lance as the fight begins. I don’t know a single thing about what is going on but it’s exhilarating to say the least. I make a mental note to thank Austin for suggesting I bring my camera, because by the time Lance’s arm is raised in victory, I’ve got so many shots that I can’t wait to get home and look through them.

Hilary cheers loudly for her man and stands to her feet. I almost feel like I should help her up seeing as how she’s got that huge belly. She points in the direction we were standing in earlier and nudges me to walk that way. Once we get away from the crowd, I turn to face her. “I have no clue what was going on but that was so amazing to watch. I can’t wait to look at these photos. I told him if he won, I’d give him the prints for free.”

“No, you have to let us pay you. Oh, hey, maybe you can take my maternity pictures. What’s your rate?”

“Don’t worry about a rate. Just tell me when you want them and as long as my calendar is clear, I’m yours.”

“You are too sweet, Tamilyn.”

I just smile. I love helping people and I love taking pictures. I make enough money most of the time that doing two jobs for free isn’t going to hurt me. Lance and Austin come toward us and Austin’s arms snake around my waist. “You enjoy your first fight?”

“Yeah, that was pretty amazing. Oh, and Lance, I am positive I have some amazing shots. I can’t wait to go through them.”

“Your camera was just blessed, anointed by the amazing one’s face

.” He tries to speak seriously, fails tremendously, and I’m doubled over laughing. “What are you two up to now? You sticking around to watch the rest of the fights? We’re probably going to go check on Garrett, Raegan, and the baby.”

“We’re gonna go get something to eat,” Austin says. “I’m glad I saw this. Now I can’t wait to get inside the ring, man, for real.”

“In time. Y’all have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I wave to Lance and Hilary as they walk off. Austin leans forward and kisses my lips. I’m taken aback by his kiss but I don’t exactly push him away. “I’m sorry I just left you hanging during the fight. I’ll make it up to you.”

“It’s fine, Austin. Hilary and I just sat there and talked. I had a good time, I swear.”

“Want to go back to the apartment? I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich.” His eyes are sparkling and I know I should say no in case Ruston is there, but I nod and tell him yes.

I could be adding salt to the wound, but right now my stomach is growling, and all I want is something to eat.

Chapter 10

Ruston

One of these days I swear I’m going to invest in a cat or a dog. Any kind of animal would be nice. It would beat being home alone. Being alone just makes me grumpy, giving me the mentality that the world is out to get me and no one is my friend. That’s because no one really is my friend, because my one best friend is out with my cousin, thus sealing my alone status. Fuck, I really need a pet.

They’ve been gone about an hour or so and stir crazy isn’t even the word anymore. I’ve managed to clean what little mess I’ve made over the last few days and I’ve done laundry. That shit has been cleaned, dried, folded, and put away. I know I could have gone to the fights tonight to scope it out like Howard suggested, but I decided I didn’t want to be part of that tonight. Why be reminded that the one person who dragged me to the gym is the one person who is single-handedly taking everything that’s important to me?

The doorknob turns and I jolt out of my trance to see who is walking in. Of course it’s only going to be one person. I pull myself from the couch and slowly trudge toward the refrigerator. I need a beer to get through whatever pathetic story he’s going to feed me. I’m sure the night they had was magical, but it has nothing on the night I shared with her.