“Because it’s your birthday.”
I frowned, trying to remember when I told her about my birthday. It’s not a day that I ever celebrated, so the chances of me actually going out of my way to tell her the date were zero.
“I saw it on your license. When you dropped it in my bedroom, after our first night together, and I picked it up and handed it to you.”
I nodded, remembering every moment we spent together.
“We’ll go out to dinner before the fight. Sorry, I can’t celebrate with you tonight, on your actual birthday, but I’m working a twelve-hour shift and am usually exhausted after those.”
Was she honestly apologizing?
“I gotta go.” Moving in, she lifted on her tiptoes, checking around to make sure it was just the two of us in the hallway, before pressing a quick kiss to my lips. Instinctively, my desire took over and I pulled her to me, deepening the kiss.
Grace pulled back, giggling and slapping my shoulder. “We’re at work. Bye.” She waved and headed in the opposite direction, presumably to prepare for her next surgery.
It was also what I should’ve been doing but I just stood there, staring at the two tickets in my hand, and the name of the two fighters. I’d never been to a live NFA fight for reasons I wasn’t ready to share with Grace. But she’d gone out of her way to not only remember my birthday but to make it special. Saying no wasn’t an option.
Chapter Seventeen
Jacob
“You’re awfully quiet tonight. I mean, even more than usual,” Grace joked as we exited the Indian restaurant we decided to have dinner at before heading over to the fight.
“I’m enjoying listening to you and hearing about your day more than I like talking.” That was a more than half truth. The sound of her voice whether, she was talking or singing, was my favorite sound. I enjoyed it more than my own voice.
“You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we’re about to go watch one of your favorite athletes live?”
“Possibly.” I shrugged while pulling out my key to unlock my car doors.
The drive to the sporting complex where the fight was held was only about fifteen minutes from the restaurant, but it took a while to find parking.
“Ugh, I should’ve sprung for the reserved parking,” Grace lamented. “It’s going to be a mess getting out of here.”
“It’s fine.”
“At least we’re early and our seats are already reserved. Oh, and I have a surprise for you after the fight.”
After finally finding a space, I turned off the car and raised an eyebrow in her direction. “I don’t like—”
“Surprises,” she repeated at the same time I did. “I know, I know, but you’ll like this one.”
I sighed and pushed out of the car, going to her side to hold the door open for her. We made our way to the arena and spent twenty-five minutes getting through the security line. By the time we made it inside, we only had ten minutes until the fight began, which was fine with me since I hated sitting and waiting for things.
“I had no idea cage fighting was so popular,” Grace stated, looking around at the hundreds of ticket buyers who passed us, anxiously heading toward the concession stand or their seats. “Did you know it’s still not legal in some states?”
“It’s a brutal sport, some say.”
She nodded.
“You want popcorn or anything?”
She shook her head. “Our seats are upfront.”
For the first time I actually looked down at the seat number on the ticket. I was in seat B12 and Grace was B13. We were in the second row, right at the center. I hadn’t even looked at the seat numbers because I’d still been working through my tension of actually going to one of these things.
It’ll be fine.The voice in my head worked to calm me down as I stepped aside, letting Grace pass me once we got to our row. Not until she sat in her seat, did I take the time to look around the room. There had to be over two thousand people in this audience. And at the center of the room stood a huge, octagonal-shaped cage that spread thirty feet in diameter. The cage sat atop a platform, allowing the fighters, once inside, to be more visible for the entire audience.
I watched as the lights around the auditorium dimmed and the walkways in which the fighters came out were illumined.
