Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(80)
I had three minutes left.
For the first time in all the rounds, Kyle took Matt to the floor and it was hard to tell who had the upper hand. Cries and cheers erupted from the crowd, but from their position I couldn’t see a thing. Finally, when they turned and grappled some more my heart sank when I realized Kyle was trying to put Matt into a Kimura hold by grabbing Matt’s wrist and angling his own body to the side where he could grab onto his other arm that held onto Matt’s. Once he got into position, all he had to do was start pulling and it would be game over.
I never knew about MMA submission holds or anything like that until Matt started fighting. He didn’t know any of that stuff when I was with him and it was amazing how much he’d learned over the years.
The Kimura was a highly notable maneuver and was used to hyper rotate the shoulder, which in turn could snap your opponent’s arm and be very painful. I had two minutes left and it didn’t look like Matt was going to get out of it.
Come on, Matt.
Blood red and eyes closed, Matt’s face contorted in full-blown pain and anguish, but he still had that stubborn sense of determination. He was holding on for as long as he could, but if he didn’t tap out Kyle would break his arm.
Jumping to my feet, with my heart pounding, I screamed as loud as I could, “Matt, focus! I didn’t come here to watch you lose. Tear him apart!” I didn’t care who heard me or if I made a scene.
Out of the corner of his eye, he looked over at me and it was as if the whole world had frozen still in that moment. The only sound I could hear was my ragged breathing as I waited on him to make a move and finish it. His lips moved in a silent plea of my name and I nodded, reassuring him that I was there for him.
“I’m here, Matt,” I whispered.
Closing his eyes for only a second, a small smile splayed across his lips. Before I knew it, he was out of the hold and on his knees, pounding his fists into Kyle’s side, stomach, and face.
Jace put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed; my time was up. “Shelby, it’s time to go,” he murmured regretfully.
Slowly, I walked away from my seat, keeping my gaze on Matt as his relentless blows finally knocked Kyle out. He was motionless on the floor and the crowd went wild, their cheers more deafening than I’d ever heard in an arena before.
I was halfway up the walkway before the announcer rushed into the cage and lifted Matt’s arm triumphantly. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your Heavyweight champion for four consecutive years … MATT ‘THE DESTROYER’ REEYYYNNOOOLLLDDSS!”
While Kyle’s coach and a medic helped Kyle out of the ring, the announcer turned to Matt. “Okay, so I’m sure the whole crowd wants to know … what gave you that last jolt of energy that got you out of Kyle’s Kimura hold? That’s pretty much an impossible feat.”
Jace and I were almost to the door, but I stopped, refusing to move a step further until I heard Matt’s reply. His brows furrowed when he didn’t see me in my seat, but once he lifted his gaze he found me as if I was the only person in the room. No matter where we were or what was going on, I could always find him in a crowd. Even if there were a million people around I knew I’d be able to find him. It was as if our connection tethered us together by an invisible cord and every time he was around that cord would tingle and spark like a bolt of electricity. I remembered feeling the same thing on the first day I met him after school as a teenager. For that many years nothing had changed, and I knew it never would.
Keeping his gaze on mine, Matt smiled directly at me and spoke into the microphone, “What can I say? I have an angel watching over me. It was all her.”
“Shelby,” Jace called, “let’s go, babe.”
Taking a deep breath, I smiled at Matt one last time and lifted my hand in a silent farewell. I didn’t know what was going to happen or how long I’d be gone, but there was one thing for certain … I was going to miss him, terribly.
FOR THE FIRST TWO DAYS after I arrived in North Carolina, I honestly admit that I did kind of stare at my phone in hopes that Matt would call or text. Jace ended up taking my phone and hiding it so that I’d stop looking at it and have fun. I was a routine kind of girl, so it didn’t take long to develop one. The weather was hot and sunny, so I went shopping on my first day and bought a ton of little sun dresses since it was hard to wear them at home with the cooler weather.
Each day I watched Jace work, and once sunset came I’d walk to the pier that was only a little over half a mile away. Sometimes Jace would come with me, but most of the time I preferred to take the walk myself.
The highlight of my week was watching Jace act on film. His lead was a beautiful red-haired female with creamy skin and a dash of freckles on her cheeks that gave her a natural glow. Her name was Allie and she had the cutest southern accent I’d ever heard. One thing was for certain, her and Jace’s chemistry during the love scenes was epic. I honestly didn’t think Jace could pull it off.
“So what did you think of the ocean scene?” Jace asked, sitting down on the towel beside me.
The ocean scene was a romantic one with his leading co-star taking a sunset dip in the water where they gave in to their urges and made love in waves. The whole sky was bathed in the beautiful sunset colors of reds, oranges, and pinks. I had never seen a more beautiful sunset in all my life, or a more beautiful kiss for that matter.