A lot of people are turned off by MMA the first time they see it because it’s so brutal, but the people who give it enough of a chance almost invariably end up hooked. I just need to find some way to convince her that it’s worth it.
The initial burst from the crowd has died down, but the basement is far from quiet as over twenty voices all try to talk over each other.
Ash is still covering her ears, and I’m not entirely sure what to do here. I give her a pat on the shoulder to let her know that I’m still here and she turns toward me, hands over her ears, yelling, “How many more fights are there?”
“I’m not sure,” I answer. “We’ll go until the energy levels start to drop. It could be as few as five, as many as ten.”
“What?” she asks, partially uncovering one of her ears.
“It’ll be going for a few more hours,” I tell her.
“Oh,” she says. “Do we have to stay the whole time?”
Only a few people turned before, but with Ash’s question, nearly the whole basement is looking in our direction. It’s not a response of anger, but one of confusion.
Why would someone be here who didn’t want to be here and how the hell did they get in?
The answer, obviously, is that I could see myself really getting into Ash as we get to know each other better, and I don’t want her to run for the hills before we’ve had that chance just because I choose to fight. To the pit, however, this is an intriguing and unique scenario.
“Why are they staring at me?” Ash asks quietly, lowering her hands.
The good news is that the people here tend to have short attention spans when it comes to anything that isn’t fighting, so they quickly start to turn back to the middle in anticipation of the next fight. Still, I think this may have been too much, too soon for Ash.
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “You’re fine. You’re just new, that’s all.”
“Yeah, but…” she trails off.
“I’m here,” I tell her. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“So if you weren’t here, something would happen to me?” she asks.
I smile. “No,” I assure her. “Despite clear evidence to the contrary, these are generally peaceful people.”
About then, the next match starts and these guys don’t waste time trash talking, they go straight to blows.
After each thump or smack, admittedly rather loud in this enclosed space, Ash winces. I think it’s probably time to get her out of here before she ends up psychologically scarred.
I really thought someone training to be a nurse would have a bit more stomach for this sort of thing. Then again, it’s entirely possible that she can see the damage these guys are doing to each other more clearly than anyone else here because of her medical training. I can imagine that being worse.
There’s a loud thud as one fighter slams the other to the ground, and instinctively I turn back toward the center. I don’t know the guy who just got put into the ground, but I’ve chatted a bit with the one standing over him with a grin. That’s Paolo Menendez, and I’m just glad we’re a couple of weight classes apart.
I kid around with Logan, but Paolo is vicious and unpredictable. He’s gotten better in the time that I’ve known him, but at first, there was about a fifty percent chance that half the guys in the pit would have to pry Paolo off of this opponent or that after he’d already won the fight. It wasn’t until he was threatened with being banned from all future matches that he started to clean up his act.
Still, you never know what’s going to push him over that edge.
Paolo’s hesitation lasts less than a second, but I’m distracted long enough I don’t even notice Ash is gone until I look back to my side to find she’s not there.
This can’t be good.
I make my way through the people who got here after Ash and me, and head up the stairs.
My phone’s in my hand now, and I’m calling Ash’s number as I make my way the rest of the way out of the house. It rings a couple of times and then goes to voicemail.
I come out the front door and ask the bouncer, Big D, if he’s seen a shorter brunette with blue eyes leaving the house.
“She didn’t look happy, bro,” D says. “I’d give her a little time to cool off. She seemed pretty freaked.”
“Did you see which way she went?” I ask.