As I walked out of the locker room, I could hear the crowd screaming, chanting Sam’s name. They were ready for his big return, and they were out for blood. It calmed me only slightly to know that they were on his side.
But since none of them had to go home and nurse his wounds after the fight, their opinions meant a hill of beans to me. Oneof the security guards pulled the door open for me, smiling as he guided me to my seat. I was secretly grateful that Sam had arranged for someone to escort me to my seat. The crowd was so rowdy, and I was worried about getting swallowed up whole.
“Hey!” Blake shouted, waving me over to our seats.
The whole Parker family was here, excited to see Sam’s big match. And along with the Parkers came the very loud Collins family, who were all bickering with each other. Something about a date for an upcoming wedding.
“Is he ready?” Blake asked.
“Oh, definitely,” I nodded.
“And you?”
“About to puke.”
Laughing, she linked her arm through mine. “You’ll be fine once the match starts.”
“That’s what you say every time!”
“And you haven’t puked once.”
That may be true, but it sure as hell didn’t make me feel any better at the moment.
The lights dimmed and a spotlight swung through the crowd to the opposite side of the stadium. Boos filled the air as Joe Rubin came jogging out, his arms in the air like he was a king.
“That’s him,” I growled. “I hate him already.”
“You hate him because he’s an ass.”
“And because I want to take his insides and twist them into a braid, and then yank really hard until they come unattached from his body, and he bleeds everywhere.”
Blake blinked at me slowly. “Wow. A little vicious today, are we?”
“Sorry. I’m just really worked up. I can’t decide if I want to throw up or punch someone in the face. And considering that I’ve never hit a person before, I think it would be wise to just throw up.”
The music switched to Sam’s walkout, and then he was there, jogging down the aisle as he focused solely on the ring. The determined look in his eyes had me gasping for air. God, he was so sexy when he was like this.
“He’s gonna put you down!” a woman shouted nearby.
She was nothing more than a twenty-something with blue hair, and not even a cool color blue. The number of piercings on her face and the tattoos covering her skin said she belonged someplace like this a lot more than I did. I looked down at my skirt that I thought was pretty daring when I left the house. Now, I thought I looked like a wannabe boxing fan. Yes, it cut off at mid-thigh, but it had flowers on it.
Flowers!
“God, I’m so stupid!”
“Why?” Blake shouted over the roar as her brother climbed between the ropes.
“I’m wearing flowers on my skirt!”
“So?”
“So, I don’t look like a woman who should be dating someone like Sam! Look at her! She’s got piercings and tattoos!”
“And most likely, hepatitis,” Blake laughed.
“You’re going down, Collins! Rubin’s gonna annihilate you!”
I tried to tune her out, to focus as the match got underway. I cheered when Sam got in the first hit, and when he shoved Rubin into the corner, laying out a series of body shots that had Joe dropping his elbows in pain.
