Page 53 of Rum & Coke

“Nothing. You remember all the guys?”

“Yes.” I smiled, remembering that I’d met them the night of Gabe’s bachelor party, and gave all of them a hug. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Bachelor party for this guy.” Nick slapped Paul on the back.

My gaze moved to Vinny. “Well, isn’t that a coincidence that you’d have it here?”

He grinned. “Ain’t it?”

I shook my head as I laughed. Vinny hadn’t mentioned that they were coming to the fight when I told him I was, but then we didn’t know until the range that Paul was getting married this coming Saturday. Had Vinny talked the guys into coming so he could keep tabs on me?

“How’d you find me anyway?” I asked.

“Not a lot of people sit ringside. You were easy to spot.”

“How’d you know I was sitting there?”

He shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

“Where are you guys sitting?”

“On the opposite side and up a few rows. Ringside was sold out.”

“Oh.” I looked at the other guys, and they were all chatting amongst themselves. “I better get back. Sebastian told me to hurry because the fight is starting soon.”

“Dinner tomorrow at your place for winning the bet?” Vinny asked.

“Steak and lobster?” I beamed.

“If that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want.”

He smiled. “I’ll be at your place at five.”

“Okay.” I hugged him once more and took a step away, but then stopped and turned back toward him. “Just so you know, the Dodgers are only allowed on my TV when they play the Giants.”

Vinny grabbed his chest as though he was having a heart attack or that I’d wounded him. “That shit will change one day. Might not be tomorrow night, but it will.”

I laughed and started to walk away, calling over my shoulder. “In your dreams.”

The fight went eight rounds. I didn’t know if that was long or not, but in the end, Campbell did win. The arena seemed to be torn with the win because when he knocked out Williams, there were gasps, groans, and cheers, plus, a lot of shouted cuss words. It was fun to watch, but also kinda scary. How did these guys do it? I’d hate to have a job where I got punched in the face, suffered broken bones, or whatever. That was not my idea of fun. It also wasn’t fun because I sat there and didn’t talk to anyone. During the fight, Sebastian only talked to his friends. I had no idea why he’d invited me or wanted to pay me a grand to sit by his side.

“How was your first fight?” Sebastian asked as the limo drove us toward Red Diamond. He was again sitting across from me.

I shrugged. “It was okay.”

“Didn’t have fun?”

“Well, you’d said that your friends would try to flirt with me and get into my pants. They didn’t even utter a word to me.”

“Because I warned them not to.”

“To not flirt with me or not to talk to me?”

“Both.”

“Why?”