Colin reluctantly rose, only to see Daly and Moore pumping their fists; in their minds, it was clear who’d won the fight. Reese’s, too; as he rose, he avoided Colin’s eyes.
The judges, however, didn’t score it that way. When Reese’s arm was raised in victory by a plainly skeptical referee, Colin knew that he’d just been handed his first defeat. Colin shook Reese’s hand and Daly and Moore charged into the ring. The crowd began to boo and catcall.
Colin tuned it all out; he was spent. He left the cage and headed toward the locker room alone, only mildly disappointed and not terribly surprised.
“If it’s any consolation, you don’t look nearly as bad as you did after your last fight,” Evan noted. As was becoming a custom after Colin’s fights, they were at a sketchy roadside diner, Evan watching Colin eat. “Just that little cut on the bridge of your nose, but other than that, you’re good. Which is definitely an improvement. Last time, you could have passed for Rocky after the fight with Apollo Creed. And that guy sucked.”
“He head-butted me.”
“He might have cheated in the fight, but unlike tonight, the decision in that one was fair. You know you kicked his ass, right? It wasn’t even close. The crowd knew it, and so did the referee. Did you see his face when they announced Reese?”
“No.”
“He couldn’t believe it. Even Reese’s coach was shocked.”
Colin used his fork to slice into his pancakes and stabbed a mouthful. “Okay.”
“If it had gone on another twenty seconds, Reese would have tapped out. Maybe ten. There was no way he was stopping that last arm bar because he was toast by then. The guy could barely do anything at that point.”
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you more upset? Your coaches are pissed as hell. You should be pissed, too.”
“Because it’s over,” Colin answered. “There’s nothing I can do now.”
“You could register a protest.”
“No.”
“Then at the very least, you should have clocked Reese when he started doing that stupid dance after the announcement. Did you see that?”
“No.”
“The fight had to be rigged. They wanted Reese to finish his amateur career undefeated.”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
“I don’t know. The judges, the promoter, whoever. My point is, the fix was in.”
“The fix was in? You sound like a character in a gangster movie.”
“I’m just saying that no matter what you did, short of knocking him out or having him tap out, Reese was going to win that fight.”
Colin shrugged. “Reese is heading to the pros. I was a last-minute fill-in. It’s better for everyone if he finished undefeated as an amateur.”
“You’re kidding. That stuff matters?”
“Not officially. But produce a fighter from this area that gets to the UFC and it’s good for everyone.”
“You make it sound like a business, not a sport.”
“It’s the truth.”
Evan shook his head. “Fine. Be philosophical about it or whatever. Do you think you won?”
Colin took a forkful of eggs. “Yes.”
After a moment, Evan shook his head. “I still think you should have clocked him when he started doing that dance. Hell, I wanted to clock him.”
“Okay.”
Evan leaned back in his seat. “All right, then. Since you’re fine with it, I’m glad I got to watch you get your ass kicked. Especially after the fiasco last weekend.”
“Okay.”
“And there’s something else, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Maria was there tonight.”
Colin lifted his chin, instantly alert.
“She was with another girl who could have been her twin,” Evan added. “Well, not exactly like her, but close enough. You know what I mean. They were on the opposite side of the ring, way in the back. But it was her, without a doubt.”
“Okay.”
“What’s going on with the two of you, anyway?”
Colin forked a piece of sausage. “I don’t know.”
CHAPTER 18
Maria
“Thanks again for coming,” Maria said to Serena on the drive back to Wilmington. The rain blew in soft sheets, making the oncoming headlights shimmer.
“It was fun,” Serena said from the passenger seat, a soda wedged between her legs. “It was also one of the more interesting Saturday nights I’ve had in a long time. I think I actually know one of the fighters.”
“Duh,” Maria said. “You were the one who set us up.”
“I’m not talking about Colin. I’m talking about one of the other fighters – I think I’ve seen him on campus. Of course, from where we were standing, it’s not as though I could be certain. Tell me again why we didn’t try to get closer?”
“Because I didn’t want Colin to know I was there.”
“And again… why is that?”
“Because we haven’t talked since last weekend,” Maria said. “I already told you all of this.”
“I know, I know. He yelled at the waitress and the police came and you got all freaked out. Blah, blah, blah.”
“I appreciate your sympathy.”
“I’m sympathetic. I just think you’re making a mistake.”
“You didn’t say that last Sunday.”
“Well, I’ve had a chance to think about it. And on that note, thanks for keeping me in the dark about the stalker until then.”