Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee(43)

It’s both thrilling and terrifying to see Lawson in his element. It’s hard to watch, but at the same time, I can’t look away. I’m trying to reconcile the goofy, sweet guy I’ve been on a sorta date with and the calculating warrior I’m watching.

Lawson slips out from under Steak ’n’ Veins and jumps to his feet, and the two square off again. Lawson throws a kick and knocks him off-balance. He charges and forces Lawson to retreat with a flurry of punches. So on and so forth.

Time spills out like ketchup from a bottle, but the bell finally rings, ending the first round. The fighters go to their respective corners and get water and pep talks.

I’ve been clenching my fists for the last five minutes. I breathe and relax back into my seat. I feel like I’ve been fighting.

“You nervous for Lawson?” Delia asks.

“I mean, yeah, but he seems to be doing fine.”

“I’m thoroughly enjoying this. We might have to start a second show where we watch MMA fights and comment on them.”

“If Jack Divine doesn’t leave us too busy, I’m in.” Cold guilt runs through me as I say it. I have the urge to confess the promise I made my parents, to get it off my chest. But now isn’t the time—she’s having too much fun. I would be too, were I not so worried about Lawson.

“I was mostly kidding,” Delia says. “But a little bit not.”

“Heard anything else from Jack Divine?”

“No. But I wasn’t expecting to. We sort of left it at ‘We’ll talk at the con.’?”

“Should we, like, try to get a firmer plan down for what we’ll be talking about?”

“I’m afraid of bugging him. We probably don’t want to come across as too needy.”

The break ends, and Lawson and Steak ’n’ Veins meet in the middle of the octagon again. My heart resumes its hurried patter.

“Put him away, Nightmare!” Hairy Sandwich yells.

“Knock his ass out!” Corncob yells.

“Go, Lawson!” I yell.

Maybe he heard me, because Lawson goes on the attack. Steak ’n’ Veins absorbs the force of the assault, somehow remaining standing. He grapples his way behind Lawson and grabs him around the torso in a sort of bear hug. He leaps backward, taking Lawson with him, slamming Lawson’s head and upper back onto the mat. The crowd goes bonkers, drowning out the sound of my involuntary gasp.

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuplex,” Corncob hoots in Delia’s face. “Suuuuuuuuuuuuuplex, come git you some.”

Her face puckers and she turns away, fanning in front of her nose. “Your breath seriously smells like you have a raccoon graveyard inside your body.”

I wasn’t in the mood for these clowns even before they were rubbing Lawson’s getting hurt in my face. “Your breath smells like you ate a bowl of dog turds with a spoon made of cat turds,” I snap.

He shrugs matter-of-factly. “I had some garlic bread from Little Caesar’s in my truck and ate it before I came in.”

“You just keep garlic bread in your truck?” Delia looks at him like he told her his favorite drink is warm milk with a handful of cat hair thrown in.

“It’s truck bread. If I need a snack.”

“Truck bread isn’t a thing. That’s gross. You’re gross,” Delia says.

“Joke’s on you because it’s delicious. Gets crunchy like chips.”

I lean over to Corncob and hiss, “Shut up. You’re making the arena stink. Shut up.”

I turn my attention back to Lawson, who’s back on his feet, visibly dazed and unsteady. He parries a flurry of blows from Steak ’n’ Veins. My heart feels like it’s under a board that someone is stacking books on. I’m so far forward in my seat, I’m barely sitting. My thighs are burning. “Come on, come on, come on, Lawson, come on,” I murmur urgently, over and over.

Almost as if he can hear me, Lawson dodges a knee strike, takes a couple of steps backward, and delivers a ferocious kick directly to the side of Steak ’n’ Veins’ head. Steak ’n’ Veins stumbles back and lands on his tailbone. The crowd’s reaction is almost as explosive as after Steak ’n’ Veins’ suplex.

I jump out of my seat and scream, “Go, Lawson!” I turn to Corncob and point in his face. “Kick in the heeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaad. Kick in the heeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaad.” I chant it a few more times, Delia joining in.

Lawson tries to capitalize on Steak ’n’ Veins’ fall, but Steak ’n’ Veins manages to tangle him up on the ground so he can’t get in a clean punch.

The second round ends, and the third round begins. Both fighters are obviously tired. They spend a lot of time circling each other, moving more slowly. During one of the grab-ass interludes on the ground, Steak ’n’ Veins catches Lawson over the right eye with a lucky elbow, opening a cut. Blood starts streaming down Lawson’s face. The sight turns my stomach into a balloon animal.

I don’t know how he’s doing this—down there, all alone, injured, bleeding, fighting through the humiliation of being slammed on the ground in a giant room filled with shouting people. In front of me. After he invited me. He’s made of something different from every other guy I’ve known in my life. He’s made of something solid and warm that feels nice to run your hand over, like a wooden banister in an old building.