I come in right at two-hundred and twenty-eight pounds while Vinny is a whopping two-hundred and forty-seven.
Coach Briggs goes red in the face and throws a fit because his coach promised he wouldn’t be more than two-hundred and forty.
“It’s fine, Coach. He needs all the help he can get,” I tell the assholes with a grin.
“Say your prayers tonight, Malone!” Vinny yells back. “I’m gonna beat you to a pulp!”
“Wow,” Cass says when she comes up to me. “That man is massive.”
“He’s not that much bigger than I am,” I remark defensively.
“I know, but he looks titan-sized.”
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” my dad interjects, offering me a fist bump that I hit. “You’ve got this, X-Man. Get some rest and eat up your carbs tonight.”
“Will do,” I agree before I give him and my mom and sister a hug goodbye. Macy is surprisingly quiet.
“See ya,” she says before walking off without even making any snarking comments.
“Yo, Mace,” I call out and jog to catch up with her before she gets to the door. “You think I can beat him?” I ask her softly, knowing that she’ll tell me the truth even when no one else will. Sometimes I worry that Coach, Dad and Jude have all been blowing smoke up my ass about how great I’m going to be, and I’ve been buying it without considering the alternative.
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I just…there’s a lot riding on this fight, you know? One wrong move…”
“And I can forget ever getting in a cage again?” I finish for her.
“Exactly. But no pressure,” she adds with a grin. “And don’t end up brain damaged.”
“Thanks for that motivational speech,” I mutter.
“You can beat him if you’re smart,” Macy says. “I know you can. He knows you can. Right now you’re going into the cage undefeated, while he’s lost two fights.”
“Only because this is my first one!”
“Still, you’re technically undefeated. If you want to stay that way, then you’ll need to be on top of your game. Faster and smarter than in training. You can’t make any mistakes tomorrow.”
“I know that,” I tell her.
“Good. Then you’ll be fine,” she says with a smile before she leaves.
“Everything okay?” Cass asks when I walk back over to her.
“Yeah. Just think the pressure is starting to get to me. It’s hard to remember all the reasons why I thought fighting was a good idea…”
“Xavier, you don’t have to do this. We could call the fight off, and you could go back to the office. Just say the word, and I’ll support you either way,” she says like the understanding best friend she’s always been.
But she’s more than that to me now. And I want this fight, this win for her because I want to be the kind of man who earns his keep and takes care of his woman, even though Cass is more than capable of taking care of herself.
More than anything, though, I want to do this for myself, to fulfill the lifelong dream I’ve had but was too scared to follow it.
I’m not scared anymore.
Now, I’m ready to fucking fight.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cassidy
I didn’t get much sleep last night. How could I when I’m sleeping alone in the strange hotel room in Norfolk without Xavier?
This week he’s kept to his strict, no sex rule. Or should I say no orgasms for him rule. He has been getting me off like his life depends on it with his tongue and fingers. And while I can’t complain, I still miss being with him and his entire body that he’s been holding back.
Xavier’s also been a little distant these past few months, and I know it’s because of all the stress that’s on him to win. I just think it’s incredible that he’s finally pursuing his dream even if it doesn’t go the way he wants in the cage.
He’s too competitive to see it that way, though. And if he loses, I’m not sure if he’ll ever recover. Then I’ll feel awful for encouraging him to give up his job to fight.
Crap, I feel like I’m going to throw up.
The nauseous feeling continues throughout the day when I’ve barely seen Xavier for more than a few minutes because the coaches want “his head in the fight” and apparently, I’m a distraction.
At least they do let me see him and give him a hug before he walks out.
“How are you feeling?” I ask him.
“Good,” Xavier says when he wipes the sweat from his brow after his warmup. “What about you?”
“Me?” I repeat with a laugh. “I’ve felt sick all day because I’m worried about you. Please don’t get hurt.”
“Not exactly something I can promise,” he responds with a grin.
“I know. I just…I don’t want you to blame me if you do or if things don’t go the way you hoped…”
Wrapping his arms around me, he holds me close and says, “Bambi, I would never blame you for anything.”
“Are you sure?” I ask since I’m the one who gave him the push in this direction. Not really a push but a giant shove.
“Absolutely, baby.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but we’re already running a few minutes late,” Jude tells us.
“Right, I’ll go,” I say, squeezing Xavier one last time.
“See you after?” he asks with a quick brush of his lips over mine.
“See you after,” I agree.
“I guess I better get going too,” his mom Page says before she hugs Xavier and kisses his cheek. “You’ve got this, honey.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he replies with a smile before waving his gloved hand at us as we leave.
“This part doesn’t get any easier,” Page says as we weave our way through the tunnels to get to our seats in the front row of the arena.
“It doesn’t?”
“Nope. But it’s worth it to see how happy they are when they win.”
“What if he doesn’t win?” I
