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I bit my lip, close to laughing. The doorbell rang, and Dad opened it after a look at the camera. Nevio stood in front of the door. It was the first time someone other than Carlotta picked me up at my door. Usually, I went over to the Falcone mansion when I spent time with the trio. This felt oddly like a date, even if I knew itdefinitelywasn’t.
Nevio was dressed in black pants, a black tee, and black sneakers, nothing out of the ordinary, and his grin wasn’t as tense as I would have expected on the night of a fight.
Dad appeared behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. His expression was hostile. He acted as if Nevio and I had a date, and he had to scare him to behave. My cheeks warmed, and I nudged his side inconspicuously with my elbow. What was his problem? He could see Alessio and Massimo in the car in front of our house. This definitely wasn’t a date.
“Get Aurora to the arena safely.”
Nevio didn’t seem overly concerned by Dad’s threatening undertone. “Massimo is driving, and I don’t need road rage to get me in the mood for a bloody fight.”
Dad shook his head, one corner of his mouth pulling up in a way that suggested he knew.
“Come on, Rory, before your dad delivers a few more threats he picked up in chick flicks.” Stifling laughter, I stepped up beside Nevio and followed him to the car. He opened the back door for me so I could climb in. Now this really felt like a date. A date with his two best friends along for the ride…
“We’ll arrive shortly after you,” Dad said as a way of goodbye, making it sound more like a warning than a mere piece of information.
“Not if Massimo races through every red light on the way,” Nevio shouted as he closed my door, then hopped into the passenger seat. Dad gave him a look that suggested he would join his opponent in the cage tonight and give him a thrashing.
Nevio waved, and with squealing tires, Massimo pulled the car away from the driveway.
I looked back to see Dad still watching our departure. He was pissed.
Nevio turned up the music, something about a “pelvis being on fire,” which made me pull a face—because of the lyrics and the melody.
“A good night for a fight,” Nevio mused, his arm propped up on the rolled down window as the wind tore at his hair.
Nevio didn’t seem to be in fight mode. He was relaxed and in a joking mood, as if we were heading to a party.
I was surprised that he didn’t take this fight seriously. Massimo was silent and focused. Maybe that was because he was driving, but I had a feeling it had more to do with his fight, and Alessio had earphones in, and his eyes were closed. That was how I imagined someone to look who was about to get into a potentially life-threatening fight. It happened a few times a year that people died in the cage, and in recent years, the number had grown. From what I heard, it was mainly because of Nevio’s fights.
Massimo parked the car in one of the designated spots in front of Roger’s Arena. I had to admit I was nervous about tonight. I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of everyone. I hopped out of the car, and Nevio joined my side, strolling along like this was business as usual. A few customers stood outside of the bar to smoke, and they mustered us curiously as we passed them by.
“Nervous?” Nevio asked as we headed toward the steel door of Roger’s Arena. I’d never been inside before, but Carlotta had told me many stories because she had accompanied Diego there during closing hours on occasion to visit Antonia.
I gave him an embarrassed smile. “Shouldn’t I ask you that question? I’m not going to enter a cage for a brutal fight.”
Nevio flashed me a grin that was full of eagerness. “Are you nervous before you step on your skateboard?”
“No, but it’s not the same.”
“Why? Fighting is in my blood. When you step on the skateboard, you risk your health too.”
“The risk is low. You know you’ll get hurt when you step inside the cage. It’s inevitable. If I perform a trick well, I definitely won’t even suffer a bruise.” I had had a few harder falls in the past, but nothing too bad, not even a broken bone so far. My brother, though he’d been skating for fewer years, had already suffered a broken arm and rib. Of course, he sometimes acted like a lunatic, which made accidents more likely.
“I don’t mind getting hurt, and I know my opponent will be far worse off than me.”
There wasn’t a bouncer at the door. I suppose if you entered the arena intending to cause trouble, there would be many willing participants to teach you a lesson you wouldn’t soon forget.
“It’s more unsettling for spectators to watch Nevio fight than for him to actually do it,” Alessio muttered as he stepped up to us. It was the first time he’d taken his earphones out, but an air of concentration still surrounded him.
Nevio opened the door for me and winked at Alessio. “That’s just how I like it.”
When we stepped inside, my breath halted. The bar was filled to the brim with guests, mainly men. Every table was occupied and even the booth along the concrete walls. People who hadn’t found a seating place stood against the walls to watch the spectacle as well. The wall beside the bar was decorated with red neon tubes encircled with barbed wire that said words like Blood, Sweat, and Courage. The stench of smoke, sweat, and alcohol carried in the air. Some guests smoked inside, so I wasn’t sure why the others had fled outside to do so. My eyes were drawn to the huge fighting cage in the center. The mesh looked like chicken wire, but I knew it was much sturdier to withstand the impacts. Two men and a referee were inside of it as the first fight of the evening was about to begin.
Nevio threw his arm around my shoulders with a teasing smile and took a deep breath. I was momentarily startled by his closeness, especially in such a public place. Even if this was a solely friendly gesture, people in our circles loved to draw the wrong conclusions and spread false rumors.
“This is the scent of pure adrenaline. Isn’t it intoxicating?” Nevio asked in a low, compelling voice.
I drew in another, slightly deeper breath, and was once again hit with the odor of sweat and alcohol. I gave Nevio a doubtful look.
