“Oh, yeah,” she said as an afterthought, “What happened with Brandon? Did he leave or is he lurking around here somewhere?”
I sighed. “He left and I’m not getting into this with you right now.” I took the clothes she tossed me and went into the bathroom to get dressed.
Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of the mirror, turning side to side, trying to decide if I could bear to wear what she’d given me. It used to be one of my favorites before…just before. I hadn’t worn it in a long time. It’s not that it looked bad on me; in fact, quite the opposite. The last time I’d worn it, the short yet tasteful teal blue shorts were a little baggy, and the flowy, sheer, black key-hole racerback tank was extra baggy. Now, since I’d gained a little ‘happy’ weight, as I called it, it fit perfectly and looked pretty damned good, if I do say so myself.
The shorts covered enough of my long legs and I paired the tank with a plain black tank underneath to preserve my modesty, among other things. Things I don’t talk about.
I felt good, looking at myself, which is something that hadn’t happened in a long time. Looks-wise, I was the polar opposite of my brother, Jackson. He had the dark hair and deep brown eyes of my father, while I took more after my mother. Size eight, 5’6”, hazel eyes, long blonde hair, and built pretty generously in the boob department, but not overly so, you could say I was passably pretty. Some would say I’m beautiful, but I’ve never been one to really put stock into my looks.
I turned sideways again, took a deep breath, and shook myself out of my stupor, deciding that it was time to quit hiding. I tied my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck and did my makeup, a little of my favorite perfume and I moved out of the safety of the bathroom.
Leah glanced up, muttering a faint ‘finally’, gave pause for only a moment, raising one eyebrow but saying nothing. I appreciated that more than she could ever know, especially because I’ve never really dressed up to go out since I moved here. Yeah, I dressed up for special occasions, but not like, dressed up dressed up, you know, for going out. You know what I mean.
“Alright. So, let’s swing by my house so I can change, then we’ll head to Griff’s for dinner, a pre-fight cocktail, then we’ll head to the arena to watch the buff-daddy’s get to it. Cool? Cool! Let’s go!” Leah cheered the last part, her perkiness making me giggle.
Time flew by, and I was having fun. Seriously, though, it’s hard not to have fun when you’re with Leah. She’s so bubbly, sweet, and genuine, and then she’s crazy, zany, and wild, too. Definitely never a dull moment with her and I was so happy that she and I had become so close.
Pre-fight cocktails turned into pre-fight happy hour, so we were pretty thankful Calland decided to pick us up from Leah’s house and take us to Griff’s. And pretty thankful he was our unwitting DD. He’s a nice guy...unless you’re his sister or his sister’s best friend, apparently. So maybe I should watch out?? Hmm…
Now we were halfway through the fight, our buzzes had pretty much worn off, and Leah was still drooling over some guy she’d bumped into, literally, when we were headed to our seats. Not gonna lie, I had totally drooled, too. Seriously hot. Tattoos…mmm. He’d winked at her, steadied her, and walked away, leaving her completely dazed and confused in the middle of the aisle, halfway to our seats. I say she’s still drooling over him because, turns out, his seat was about three rows down in front of us and about two seats to the right.
The next round started with a roar from the crowd and I turned my attention back to the cage, cringing as blood flew in an arc as a well-placed blow lanced open the brow of one of the fighters. Calland was jumping up and down beside me, shouting and hollering, and even Leah had abandoned her hottie watching to join in the cheering.