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He didn’t leave or step away.
The panic settled in Ayesha’s chest.
The crowd noise elevated, and one of the men, the smaller of the two, now stood over his opponent. The man on the floor stared up at the ceiling, hands at his sides. Each time he tried to turn over, he rolled right back onto his back.
“Eesh, did you see where that Josh guy went?” Mo asked, looking around.
He’d been standing right next to them, and based on the level of flirting he’d been putting down, it did seem strange for him to walk off without at least trying one last time. Then again, Mo had barely given him eye contact. Maybe he’d finally gotten the hint. However, Ayesha’s thoughts told her something different.
“Hey, Xara,” Tayler called, “you think Mike could take that dude?”
Xara flicked her wrist.“Pfft.Easily. My baby is amazing. I wish y’all had seen him and Dom. Don’t get me started. Gets me going just thinking about it.”
“Oatmeal gets you going,” Ayesha quipped.
Xara giggled. “Try mixing it in a bowl sometime. Tell me what it sounds like.”
Ayesha, Mo, and Tayler groaned.
The announcer called the fight.
The smaller man thrust his arms into the air and roared, dried bits of blood on his mouth and cheek. He could barely blink, his left eye swollen to the size of a fist, and one of his fingers stuck out in a different direction than the others.
“You sure you want to do this tonight, Mo?” Ayesha asked. “Even though he won, he’s pretty messed up. Plus, Giorgio’s not about to have you come home with a busted eye and broken finger and not kill every red-blooded individual in Stockholm.”
When she didn’t respond, they looked over to find her staring at her phone.
“Guys, my fight just got canceled,” she said. “My opponent didn’t show up.”
Xara patted Mo’s stomach, which was exposed in a black cropped tank top she’d paired with a gray hoodie and black leggings. “Maybe they saw you coming. Saw all these abs, girl.”
Mo laughed, her excitement visibly dampened. “Maybe.”
While a small team cleared and cleaned the cage for the next fight, “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark”by Fall Out Boy blasted from the speakers. The crowd hopped, yelled, and screamed the lyrics.
Fists shot up in the air.
Heads rocked and spun.
Fingers tickled Ayesha’s palm. “Olá, querida. What are you doing here? This is the last place I expected to find you.”
She took in Adrían’s shorts and sleeveless T-shirt. “Are you fighting tonight?”
“Yes. I need to let off steam.” He placed his right hand over his heart. “The love of my life loves another.”
“Oh, stop.”
He stuck out an elbow, nudged her. “Will you stay for our fight? It’s number six.”
“Yeah, I’ll stay for…wait, did you say ‘our’?”
“Obrigado, querida. Thank you.”
He tickled her palm again and walked off.
“Adrían,” she rose onto her toes and peered through the crowd, “who’s ‘our’? Adrían?”
Tayler grabbed her wrist and gave her a firm shake. “Eesh.Ayesha. Who is that up there?”
