“Beer for me,” Lexie orders.
“I’m good,” I say.
Ford turns to June, but she stays quiet. “And you?” he prods.
“I’ll take a…rum and diet, please,” June murmurs.
Ford smirks. “Coming right up.”
As he disappears to grab our drinks, Lexie says something to June when a guy from one of my classes approaches Jagger.
“Hey, man,” he says. “Heard about the fight. It’s gonna be insane.”
“Yeah.” Jagger hesitates. “You’re not going to want to miss it.”
“For sure,” the stranger replies. “I already dropped five hundred on you.”
Five hundred? As in…dollars?
Yeesh.
I mean, I guess it makes sense. The guy isn’t from The Drift, so he has more cash to spare. Then again, even if he didn’t, it still wouldn’t be a bad bet. Jagger’s talented. Like, really talented. And since I’ve witnessed firsthand how hard Jagger trains, how much he eats, sleeps, and breathes this sport, I’m pretty sure he could fight professionally if he didn’t already have a promising future laid out for himself.
No. I’m not afraid of Jagger fighting.Whohe’s fighting is what makes me nervous. When I found out, I may or may not have had a baby meltdown. I don't think Jagger will lose. I’ve seen him in action. It’s just…well, there’s some bad blood there, you know? And most of it’s my fault. Jagger squeezes me into his side as if he can read my thoughts while he continues his discussion with what’s-his-face. Letting Jagger take my weight, I loop my arm around his lower back, grateful he’s here with me. Besides, he’s going to be fine. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have said yes to the fight. Right?
“What about you?” June asks Lexie. “Are you going to make a bet?”
“Nah.” Lexie shakes her head. “Not that I think my brother’s going to lose after the way the last fight ended. No offense to your boyfriend and all,” she adds, looking at me and pulling a small smile from Jagger who’s attempting to focus on hisown conversation despite being caught eavesdropping on my discussion with my friends.
I squeeze his butt, hoping to keep things light. “I’m not worried.”
“Worried about what?” Ford interjects. He hands off drinks to everyone.
“About Jagger’s fight tomorrow,” I tell him. Jagger’s forearm muscles flex around me, and I peek up at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you around,” Jagger says to the guy he was talking to and turns to me. “It’ll be a good fight.” He clears his throat. “I am, uh, I’m a little tired, though.”
“Tired?” Lexie scoffs. “The party just started.”
“It’s the night before a fight night,” Ford hooks his thumb toward his big brother. “And Jagger’s a superstitious fighter. Aren’t you, Jag?”
Jagger’s mouth twitches, but he doesn’t bother defending himself.
“Supersititious?” I question.
“Jagger always calls it early the night before a fight,” Ford announces. “He’s gotta do his night-before-fight-night-routine before bed. Don’t ya, brother?”
“What night-before-fight-night-routine?” Lexie asks. “And also, what a mouthful.”
“I bet Hawke’ll show you a mouthful,” Ford interjects. Jagger sucker punches him in the arm. With a gasp, Ford rubs at the sore spot as if he’s personally offended. “What, too far?”
“Ya think?” I tease.
Instead of apologizing, Ford simply rolls his eyes. “Anyway, Jagger’s night-before-fight-night-routine is pretty standard. Brush his teeth. Wear the same boxers to bed. WatchRocky. Lights out by midnight. Right, Jag?”
“Yeah, which means I should probably get started soon.” Jagger’s hand slips to my hip, and he looks down at me. “Want to come?”
He wants me to come? My pathetic heart pitter-patters at the opportunity. It’s not that we haven’t had any one-on-one time this week, it’s just… Okay, so we haven’t had a ton of one-on-one time this week. I’ve been busy, and he’s been…distracted, I guess? The guy has spent every waking moment in the gym, at school, or at the coffee shop if I have a shift and he’s free. I haven’t wanted to push him or step on his toes, so I’ve been quietly available as much as possible. The idea of being included in something as integral to Jagger’s fight-night routine feels…special. So much so, I can’t help but want to swoon.
