She offers me a smile. “Call me Syd. You must be Lena.” She scans me up and down, but not in an unfriendly way. “Gabe’s told me a lot about you.”
He has? He hardly seems the chatty type.
“Best friend, huh?” I ask, because based on the way her cheeks flushed when he kissed her, she’s into him as more than a friend.
But she just nods. “Yeah, Gabe and I go way back. Come on, I’ll show you to our seats.” As we walk, she talks. “Gabe and I grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same schools.” She sighs. “We used to be inseparable.”
I have to increase my pace to keep up. Though she’s shorter than me, Sydney can move fast. “Used to be?”
She slants me a wry look. “The only thing he’s inseparable from these days is his boxing gloves. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but MMA is more than a sport or a job to these guys. It’s an obsession.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that impression.”
She pushes an unmarked door and suddenly we’re in the arena. It’s massive, with a high ceiling, grandstands, and a cage in the center. The seats are starting to fill, and the atmosphere is buzzing with excitement. It hits me now how real this is. Before long, Jase is going to walk the aisle between the seats and enter the ring. He’ll face off against Karson, and you can bet your ass they’re both going to bring the pain.
I’m not sure if I can handle this.
“Oh, shit. I can’t.” I stop walking, and Sydney spins to face me.
“It’s okay,” she says, reaching over to thread her fingers through mine. “I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there. But you need to remember that our boys are tough. Jase has trained harder for this fight than any other, and if you’ve ever seen him, you know he usually kicks ass. Gabe says it’s like he’s possessed.”
She squeezes my hand, and I pray my palm isn’t too sweaty because she’s being really nice and I don’t want to pay her back by perspiring all over her.
“Jase will give everything he has out there, and you have to have faith it’ll be enough.” Her lips kick up. “Think you can do that? If not, tell me now because I also snuck in a flask of tequila and a pair of tinted glasses.” She leans closer and murmurs, “They’re great for pretending to watch when you’re really shitting yourself.”
Her honesty startles a laugh from me. “I think I’ll be okay,” I tell her. “But you’re kind of great, did you know that?”
She flashes her perfect teeth. “I try.”
My legs release from their knee-lock and I follow her to a pair of reserved seats immediately in front of the cage. Possibly the best seats in the entire place.
I whistle. “Impressive.”
“I know, right?. The boys always make sure I get to watch in style.”
We sit, and Sydney draws a copy of the fight card from her purse, passing it to me. I scan the names, quickly finding the only one I care about.
“Jase is last.” That means I have to sit through every undercard fight before we get to him. The nerves are going to kill me.
“That’s because he’s the main event. It’s a big honor for him.”
“I know, but that doesn’t make me any less queasy.”
She slings an arm around me. She’s a very touchy person, which reminds me of Breanna, and I instinctively like her more for it. A subtle scent washes over me. What is that? I sniff.
“It’s disinfectant,” she explains, and I immediately feel like a weirdo for being so obvious about it. “I’m a surgical resident at Sunrise Hospital.”
“That’s awesome.” She must be crazy smart.
Sydney shakes her head. “No, awesome is what you did for Jase.”
“Thanks.” I’m a little uncomfortable with her compliment, but it’s sweet. “You know what?” I ask. “I’ve got a good feeling about you. I think we’re going to be friends.”
She grins back. “I agree.”
We settle in and it doesn’t take long before the first fight is announced. The ball of tension in my gut winds tighter, and I prepare myself for a long evening.
19
