Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone)

by L. P. Dover

  Leaning over toward Jake, I made sure to lower my voice so no one else could hear. “How much do you make doing the whole pay per view thing?”

  Jake shrugged. “It all depends on who’s fighting. Tonight with Matt being here I’d estimate it being several hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

  “Wow,” I breathed. “That’s amazing. Not to mention the money you get from the people that are actually here. So I guess with paying the film crew there would be a lot of leftover money. Who gets the rest of that … you?” I took a sip of my wine and almost choked on it with his next words.

  Rolling his eyes, Jake scoffed incredulously. “Hardly, my dear. I do take a small percentage, but I’m not a greedy man. I think you know that. The rest gets divided between the fighters.”

  “Are you serious?” I sputtered. “You mean Mason is going to get some of the money? He never told me that.”

  “It’s because he doesn’t know,” Jake remarked slyly. “Not many fighters around here will fight just because they like the sport. They fight to get the benefits of it, the money … the fame. Mason never asked about any of that. I thought it would be a nice surprise for him.”

  I couldn’t begin to imagine what Mason was going to say when he’s given thousands of dollars for just one night of fighting. Mason lived comfortably in North Carolina, but he wasn’t brought up in all the finer things in life like my family had. He worked hard for everything he had and it was time he got his break. I couldn’t wait for Jake to tell him.

  “Thank you for everything, Jake,” I murmured, hugging him tight. “It’ll be one hell of a surprise.”

  “What kind of surprise you talking about?” someone spoke out beside me. The seat beside me was empty just a second ago, but now it was occupied by a guy I didn’t want to speak to ever again.

  Jake looked over my shoulder and grinned. “Wade, you made it! Tonight’s going to be a good one, isn’t it?”

  Shit! This isn’t good. The last thing Mason needs to see is Wade right now. Not to mention, I hadn’t had the chance to tell Jake that it was basically Wade’s fault about Chase.

  Leaning back in my seat, I gave Wade a glowering side-long glance, but then turned my face straight ahead toward the cage. He was dressed in a pair of expensive dark blue jeans and a thin gray sweater which had to cost over two hundred dollars according to the brand label. He never dressed like that or even cared about wearing designer clothes when I was here. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees so he could get a better view of Jake on my other side.

  “Yeah, it’s going to be a good one. I just wish you could land me something like this,” he grumbled halfheartedly. He tried not to sound bitter, but I could hear the resentment in his voice. He was mad because Mason was the one picked to fight.

  “Isn’t that what Erick’s for?” I stated smugly, not looking at him. “He’s your agent, is he not?”

  Before Wade could reply, Jake cut in, “You’ve been asked to fight here, Wade. That’s how you got noticed in the first place. Anyway, Matt was the one who requested Mason. If you have a problem with that you might want to ask him. Although, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  Arrogantly, Wade huffed and added, “I could beat him. I’m sure I could beat Mason, too.”

  Rolling my eyes, I turned to him and glared. “What is your problem? You were never like this before. If you want to apologize to me then this isn’t the way to go.”

  “Well, it’s not like you’re going to forgive me anyway, Claire. You’ve ignored me all week when I tried to tell you I was sorry,” he snapped. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “What’s with you two?” Jake asked, narrowing his eyes at us both.

  “It’s just a misunderstanding,” Wade said. “Something happened at my party and it got a little out of hand.”

  “Seriously, Wade? A little out of hand?” I hissed, scowling at him. “You don’t even know what Chase was going to do to me. I doubt you would think it was a misunderstanding if that bastard had raped me out in the woods. You were the one who started it all in the first place.”

  “What!” Jake growled, about to get to his feet. I placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him in his seat while I finished with Wade.

  “Hell, Wade, what if it wasn’t me? What if Mason was with another girl and something like that happened to her? Would you even care? Something tells me that you wouldn’t. It makes me sick, and I don’t want to have anything to do with you or the piece of shit people you hang out with. You’ve changed, Wade, and honestly I don’t like what I see. So I’m going to say this one last time … stay away from me, and if you know what’s good for you you’ll stay away from Mason.”

  Sighing, Wade got to his feet and stared down at me, clenching his hands into tight fists at his side. Through gritted teeth, he spat, “I’m sorry, Claire, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen.”

  Wide-eyed, I watched him stalk off through the throngs of people and disappear into the crowd. He wasn’t going to leave Mason alone and he just confirmed it. Why did I agree to leave tomorrow? When I turned my head, my eyes caught a familiar set of green eyes staring angrily my way.

  “Shit! Has he been watching the whole time?” I asked, turning to Jake.

  “Yeah, for the most part, but it’ll be good for him to feel the anger. He’ll take that frustration out on Matt and hopefully kick his ass.” Jake paused, releasing a heavy sigh, and peered back toward the door where Wade disappeared out of. “I don’t know what’s going on with Wade, but he’s changed over the past year or so. I barely recognize him anymore.”

  “I know what you mean,” I mumbled. “So much has changed since I’ve been here last, and with everything that’s happened I think I’m going to head back home. My flight leaves tomorrow late morning.”

  “Is Mason going with you?” Jake asked.

  I shook my head. “No, he’s not. He said he wanted to stay here a little while longer.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  Mason finally met my gaze again and my heart ached just thinking about him going through all of this alone. With Wade gone I think it helped relieve some of his tension because he winked at me and tilted his lips in the same devilish way he did on the first day I met him.

  “I trust him, Jake,” I uttered wholeheartedly. “He may have a wild past, but he’s changed. I love him.”

  With sorrow filled eyes, Jake smiled sadly and glanced toward Mason. “Well, I’m happy for you, kitten. I can see it in his eyes that he loves you, too. It reminds me so much of the way I used to look at my wife before she passed.”

  Jake’s wife died of breast cancer a year before he opened the club. He engrossed himself with work to help deal with the grief of her loss. Over time he thrived and made a new family with all of us. I never saw him date anyone when I was living in Vegas, but I never asked either. Even when Mason and I weren’t together I knew I wouldn’t be completely happy with anyone else, and now that we’re together the thought of him being gone forever was terrifying. I didn’t want to ever experience that pain.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentleman, we have a special treat for you tonight.” The announcer finally entered the cage with his microphone in hand, waving out to the crowd. I clapped my hands along with the audience; the sound was almost deafening as it echoed in the arena.

  Stephen had Mason’s face in his hands and was talking quickly to him, trying to get him pumped up and ready, almost like you would see a coach do with his fighter. Smiling from ear to ear, Tyler slapped him on the back and waved over at me when he saw me looking at them.

  As the music began to play, the lights around the cage beamed in all sorts of colors, almost like a concert. It wasn’t like that when Mason fought last time, but then again, it wasn’t being shown live either. The announcer, with his slicked back dark hair, wore a white dress shirt under his black tux with a black bow tie at his neck.

  His voice was amazingly loud, and even without the
microphone I was sure he would be heard across the room. “As you all know, Jake Montgomery hasn’t disappointed us tonight. In all of The Labyrinth’s history there has never been a fight as epic as this one’s going to be. Last week we saw Mason ‘The Eagle’ Bradley manhandle Chase Benfield in his first match back in almost seven years of being away from the sport. Looking at him you wouldn’t think so, though. If anything I’d say he improved since the last time he competed. So, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a warm round of applause to Mason ‘The Eaaaggggglllle’ Bradley!”

  The crowd cheered, hollering out Mason’s name as he made his way into the ring. He circled around the mat, waving at everyone, and flexing his muscles to a set of women who held up signs for him saying they wanted to have his babies. A light shone in Mason’s eyes after that and I couldn’t help but smile and be proud. Grinning over at me, he did something I hadn’t ever seen him do. He kissed his fingers then touched his heart before pointing toward me. I did the same thing to him, not caring about the bitchy looks thrown my way.

  Lifting his arm, the announcer waited for the crowd’s cheers to die down before he continued, “Okay, so now that I’ve mentioned Mason let’s get down to introducing his opponent for the evening. This guy is no stranger to the UFC scene and by his own personal request he recommended he be here tonight. I’d like to hear the story behind that. Anyway, you all know him as this year’s UFC Heavyweight Champion, Matt ‘The Destroyer’ Reynolds! Come on out!”

  Music began to blare through the speakers and the lights all focused on a door out toward the back of the arena. There were three men who walked through and there was no mistaking who Matt was. His shorts were red with different sponsor logos on them and on his left arm he had a tattoo of an ankh to go along with his golden tanned skin. There sure were a lot of tattooed fighters. I thought Mason’s eagle on his arm was sexy as hell.

  When Matt got into the cage it was easier to see what he looked like. His hair was so dark it had to be black, and along with his sun kissed tanned skin it made his bright green eyes stand out even more. He and Mason were very similar in build and height so it was hard to see where an advantage would come in. Their stats displayed across the billboard screen, but the only thing I understood were their weight and height. Mason was an inch shorter and there was a five pound difference between them with Matt being the heavier one. I couldn’t even see the difference.

  Matt walked straight over to Mason, and instead of talking shit, he smiled at him and extended his hand. Mason smiled back, returning the shake, and they both seemed to be engrossed in an interesting conversation.

  Turning to Jake, I asked, “What do you think they’re talking about?”

  Keeping his eyes on the cage, he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I’m not sure, but Matt was the one who suggested he fight Mason. Maybe there’s a story there or something.”

  The announcer handed Matt the microphone and stepped back while he spoke to the crowd, “Everyone, I just wanted to say that tonight’s fight was my decision. Before I started competing there was one fighter I watched diligently, his moves, everything, and I knew that when the time came I would compete with him for the Heavyweight championship. It just so happens that he pulled out of the sport before I even had a chance at him … until tonight. That guy was Mason Bradley.”

  The crowd went crazy and cheered, stomping their feet and clapping their hands. “Oh my God,” I breathed. “This is insane.”

  Jake chuckled and agreed, “Yes, it is, but it’s amazing. This is definitely going to be the best fight we’ve ever had here.”

  Mason and Matt got into place, facing each other, while the announcer stood in between them. Mason glanced quickly over at me and smiled before turning back to Matt with a renewed determination.

  “All right, gentleman, you know the drill. When the bell rings, begin.” The announcer exited the cage and the whole room immediately went silent. I couldn’t look at anything else other than Mason and it was as if the whole world moved in slow motion. It felt like hours went by with no sound of the bell and all that while I held my breath, waiting. As soon as the bell echoed through the arena, I gasped and gripped onto the arms of the chair.

  The fight was on.

  My knuckles were white and my hands were numb by the time the first two rounds were done. Breathing hard and bodies glistening with sweat, Mason and Matt were both bleeding, Mason from above his left eye and Matt from his right cheek. I’d watched Mason fight Chase with no problems, but this one was way more intense.

  “Kitten, you can let go of the chair now,” Jake teased, “Relax, they still have thirty seconds before round three.”

  Relax? Yeah, right.

  Each round lasted five minutes a piece with a one minute break in between. The fight was scheduled to be only three rounds long, but if they kept fighting the way they were it was probably going to extend to another round or two. Tyler wiped the blood off of Mason’s face and used a water bottle to squirt some water in his mouth. Before the bell rang, signaling it was time to get back in, Mason looked over at me and beamed, the red and black mouth guard being all I could see when he smiled. He was bruised and beaten, but he was happy.

  He isn’t going to be happy when the adrenaline wears off.

  Round three started off a little slow, both guys circling around the cage, but then Mason psyched Matt out, pretending he was going to land a punch and ended up doing something completely different by bending low and tackling him to the mat. Rolling around on the mat, they grappled and had each other in different holds at times, but never anything solid to put them in submission. However, just when I thought Mason had Matt in his clutches, Matt reared back and landed a hard blow to his ribs before getting to his feet.

  Mason grimaced, but he swiftly got up, and out of nowhere, head kicked Matt so hard that a stream of blood flew out of his mouth when his face snapped to the side and he fell to his knees. Please go down, please go down, I chanted over and over in my mind. It’s over, I thought excitedly to myself, but my disappointment came when Matt got right back on his feet. Holy hell, these guys were relentless.

  When the bell rang, ending the fight, Mason and Matt bumped fists and then went to their corners to replenish and get semi-cleaned up. Tyler and Stephen both worked on Mason’s hands to get his gloves off while he sat back in the chair, breathing hard with his eyes closed. Since neither of them were knocked out and they both fought like champs, I was curious to see who the judges picked as the winner.

  “Who do you think won?” I asked Jake, hoping he would say Mason.

  Jake furrowed his brows and sighed. “I honestly don’t know. They were both amazing and if I had to guess I’d say their scores were really very close. It could be anyone’s match really.”

  After about three minutes or so, Mason and Matt joined the announcer in the center of the ring and both shook hands. Once the announcer was given the slip of paper by the judges, all sound ceased to exist as he opened it up, the sound of the paper crinkling in the microphone. This is it! Jumping to my feet, I watched as the announcer’s eyes grew wide in delight as he held up the paper in his hands.

  “Ladies and gentleman,” he announced excitedly, “this is the first time I’ve witnessed this, but all three judges have agreed to a unanimous draw. According to the scorecards, both fighters earned a total of forty-eight points each per judge. It looks like we have ourselves a tie!”

  The announcer took each of the fighter’s wrists and held their arms high in the air. As soon as he did that the crowd erupted in cheers and got to their feet. Jumping up and down, I squeezed Jake around the neck and whistled and hollered out in joy for Mason. Even if he didn’t knock Matt out, he was a winner in my eyes; he was unbelievable. Matt was one of the best fighters in the UFC and Mason came out on equal ground. That was a huge accomplishment.

  Before Mason and Matt could leave the ring, the people in the crowd started to chant a set of three words, over and over, “We want more! We want more
! We want more!”

  They were bloody and beaten and they wanted more? The fight was absolutely brutal, how could they want more?

  The announcer walked back to the middle of the ring and turned around in a circle, acknowledging the crowd. “Are you all saying you want more? Is that what I’m hearing?”

  “Yes!” the crowd roared, clapping and stomping their feet. It was so loud it felt like the whole place was vibrating.

  Mason and Matt both smirked at each other as they met in the middle of the ring, facing off. They shared a few words and then fist bumped before going to their corners. What were they doing? Tyler and Stephen quickly fetched Mason’s gloves and started getting his hands ready.

  With eyes wide, I gasped and turned to Jake. “Are they going to fight again?”

  “It sure looks like it,” he replied with a grin. “I’ve never had this happen before. Maybe Mason can redeem himself in another round and come out on top.”

  The announcer’s booming voice came through loud and clear when he announced, “All right, ladies and gentlemen, you said you all wanted more well it looks like you got your wish. Both fighters have agreed to give you one more round. So stay in your seats and enjoy what we’re going to call the sudden victory round. Good luck, fighters.”

  He nodded to both men and exited the ring. My nerves were shot, and I honestly didn’t know if the chair was going to handle another five minute round of my incessant gripping. Once the bell rang, it all started again.

  They fought harder this time because they knew it was their chance to make up for the tie. Mason wanted to prove he could do it, and even though this fight was unofficial I was sure Matt still didn’t want to mess up his undefeated statistics. My heart pounded with each second that passed and with each punch and kick my stomach would twist, especially when I could hear the force of it projecting from their skin.