“Fight!” the referee yelled, pulling his arm away and stepping back.
Abram immediately rushed for Hunter, brown eyes blazing red. His friendly expression now maniacal, he lived up to his name “Mr. Hyde”. Hunter ducked and hopped to the side, avoiding what would’ve been a knockout blow.
Abram threw lightning quick jabs left and right but Hunter dodged each of his strikes. A wild jab caught Hunter across the cheek but Hunter quickly shook the blow off as if it was a light tap.
Hunter circled around the ring and Abram followed. They cautiously circled each other until Abram’s back was toward me and Hunter was facing my direction.
Abram went for a punch again but dropped at the last moment to tackle Hunter’s legs. The punch had been a feint. Hunter quickly hopped backward and thrust his body weight forward as Abram slammed into his legs. Hunter managed to keep his balance, preventing the immediate takedown but they were still struggling. I could clearly see Hunter’s face. I could see his mouth guard behind his grimacing lips. He was straining with every ounce of energy to lift Abram off the ground so that Abram wouldn’t have leverage to pull Hunter’s legs out from under him.
“Uh oh,” Gary said. “Hunter has a shitty ground game. If he gets taken down, it’s over.”
I watched in horror as Abram was about to overpower Hunter and take him down. Once on the ground, he’d probably only be able to defend himself until the round ended. I was barely aware of my hands cupping the sides of my face in disbelief. My savior was going to lose.
I watched him with fierce intensity. My breathing slowed as my heart rate jumped. Hunter must’ve sensed the tension because he tilted his head, diverting his attention from Abram. His dark eyes locked onto mine. He stared at me. My breath caught. A millisecond passed. Or a second. Or an hour. I didn’t know. It had to have been my imagination.
There’s no way he spotted me.
Suddenly we broke eye contact. Hunter returned his attention to Abram. Hunter growled, summoning strength from who knows where and picked up Abram and threw him to the side like a two hundred pound rag doll. The move was good enough to buy Hunter enough time to regain his footing.
Abram got to his feet and lunged with a wide hook. Hunter ducked and shot skyward with powerful legs, landing an uppercut under Abram’s chin. A mouth guard flew across the ring and clattered against the fence. Abram crumpled to the ground in a daze. Hunter was about to jump on top of Abram to land the finishing blow but the referee stepped in between.
“Stop! Stop! It’s over!” the referee shouted, waving one arm over his head. Hunter backed off.
A bell chimed three times.
Hunter was declared the winner. The crowd cheered. One girl fainted with her hand over heart and her friend had to fan her with a “Go Hunter!” sign they made with blue glitter.
Hunter paraded around the ring with his fists in the air. When he walked over to my side of the cage, I ducked behind Gary’s wide back to hide from him. The last thing I wanted was for Hunter to acknowledge my presence. It would be completely awkward considering I’d ran off from his place without explanation. He probably still thought I was suicidal. I also still technically had his shirt and jeans. Maybe he’d demand to come over to my place to take his clothes back. Or demand that I’d bring them to his place. Either way, I didn’t want to get involved with him. I had enough shit in my life to deal with already.
After seeing Hunter win, I decided to leave before we ran into each other. I could’ve been mistaken—it very well could’ve been my imagination—but I was almost certain he had recognized me right before he delivered the knockout blow.
“It was nice to meet you Gary,” I said. “Thanks for explaining to me how this all works.”
“Leaving already?” he replied. “A little too violent for your tastes perhaps?”
“Eh . . . I just have to get back to my friends in the bar. They’re probably wondering what I’ve been doing out here for so long.”
He grinned. “It was nice meeting you Lorrie. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I smiled at him then turned to the crowd and began wiggling my way through the sea of excited bodies. Although everyone was packed in tightly beneath the tent, most were gracious enough to make room for me passing through. I had to push a few people aside though. The endeavor was like an obstacle course and I already felt the first signs of sweat prickling my skin despite the cold weather. I finally caught a faint glimpse of the familiar beer-guzzling squirrel sign atop the bar before more energetic bodies piled in and obscured my view. It took a lot longer than I expected to weave through the crowd probably because more people had trickled in when I was watching the match. I was nearly out, when I ran into someone tall wearing a gray, zippered sweater.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to push my way past him. He wouldn’t move though, not by will and not by force.
Who was this douchebag? I moved to step around him.
A firm hand grasped my arm. “Not so fast.”
The familiar voice halted my footsteps. I looked up and saw beneath the gray hood, those dark eyes I’d seen before both in real life and in my daydreams.
Hunter.
Chapter Five
NEVERLAND
“I thought I saw you.” His presence was powerful and his voice, although no louder than normal, somehow seemed to drown out the raucous around us.
His sudden appearance was alarming. “H-How did you get out here so fast?”
“I saw you run off so I threw on a new sweatshirt and came out here before you could run away again. Gotta be quick to catch a thief.” He winked. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you still have the clothes I lent you.”
Damn it.
He continued, “So you came to cheer for me huh?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I shot back, suddenly unnerved by being so close to him. Not to mention his hand firmly around my shoulder and the warmth from his palm seeping through the thick fabric of my coat. It should’ve been comforting but I found myself becoming edgy and restless.
“You were right in the front. You seemed really concerned about me during Abram’s takedown attempt. I was touched.”
We were surrounded by Hunter’s adoring female fans but he was hooded and in inconspicuous attire so nobody noticed who he was. Except me. Was that his intention?
“What makes you think I was concerned about you? Maybe I was concerned about ‘Mr. Hyde’.”