Billionaire Fight Club: Fight of My Life (COMPLETED)

War.

She was here.

Earlier, when we were in the press room, I saw her. Her hair, anyways. I didn't know for sure, but she was the only girl I had ever met with hair that color naturally, like butter and toffee all mixed together. I was moving the circle of reporters around, trying to get closer to where she was without being obvious, since the last thing I needed was another dating scandal. If I could get to where she was, I would know. 

And I was right. I could smell her, as weird as that sounds. She always smells the same, like coconut and sunshine. That's when I had to see her. I had to see her face!  I was trying to find her in the crowd... but when we made eye contact, it was like it had been all those years ago. Bolts of electricity zapping through my veins, putting my body on edge.  She was the most beautiful creature I'd ever beheld.

I couldn't hold her eyes for too long. My body couldn't take it. She was like the song of the sea, drawing me in with her eyes. My heart was hammering, watching the way she stood there, appraising me.  I felt like a kid again, hoping in my heart of hearts that she was proud of me standing here. 

 I had to look away.  She was a shock to see.  A shock to my system. I couldn't lose focus, tonight was too important. I broke the gaze, hating it the moment I couldn't feel her eyes anymore.  It was like a junkie getting a small taste of love back on their tongue... in five seconds, I was already hooked.  I wanted to look back, but knew that I couldn't.  I couldn't show that she was still my weakness.

Before the fight, I told Margot, my Support Director, to find her after the fight, and bring her to the after party. She was with some dude. I'm not sure what's going on there. The last time I talked to her dad he said she was still single after moving to the city. But, knowing her, he'd be the last person she'd tell about anything, especially romance.

After all the photos had been taken, and the interviews had been given, I hurried through changing to get to the after party. I should be elated over that win, but my insides were nervous, lurching at the thought of being in the same room as her again. My hands were shaking, the water pelting me in the shower only helping to raise my anxiety.

I slipped my suit jacket over my open button down. Indecisive for all of two minutes, I decided to leave three buttons open. No, four. 

Screw it. 

Leave it open to my mid chest. I worked hard for this body, and if there was something I wanted her to think of, it was going to be me. Checking my reflection, I patted back the blonde sprigs of hair on my head. She was here! I could feel myself slipping under the water of my mind... she was the only that could ever pull me back to the surface.  Hesitating at the door, I tried to calm down.  "Tonight of all nights," I heard myself mutter.

Blowing out a breath, I strode into the room, immediately getting slaps on the back and congratulatory salutations shouted at me from across the bustling room. There were people as stuffed in here as there were in the dome, and they were all here for me.

I couldn't get over that, sometimes. The overwhelming support that has come out of the wood works to make me feel like America's idol. People stopped me in the street, stalked me, and paid to meet me. Me, the once scrawny kid from the backside of Philly with two balled fists and anger issues for days.

Quickly scanning the room for her, I headed to the bar. I popped my finger up, getting a double of my preferred Scottish whiskey, taking the shot and letting the fire in my belly do its work. Finishing it, I asked for a second from the barkeep. I felt like I was going to need it. What if she hadn't come? Would she really refuse? My fingers were racing through  my hair.  Calm down, I kept repeating.

Did she recognize me earlier? Rubbing my jaw, and replaying the scene in my head, I knew she recognized me. Her eyes told me so. They did this thing when she gets excited, where her left eye has this little... I dunno, twitch to it. And later, when she was ringside, I know she was staring at me. There's no way she wasn't. Sure, I'm man of the hour, but you never forget how someone who's loved you, looks at you.

Racking my brain, I tried to think of what Sofie would do in a situation like this. She was always bashful...  She hated crowds... I peered into the dark corners, looking for a wallflower. Wilting, I was walking back to talk to Dana, the UFC President, whom I'd just seen walk in, when I spotted a door leading out. It wasn't the exit, they were French doors with curtains like they would lead to a... balcony.

Got her.

I watched that pretty boy slip his finger under her dress strap, immediately feeling a rage brew down inside my chest. The girl who lit up my life was less than four feet away, being manhandled by a weasel. Working the inside of my jaw, I moved closer, hoping that the i***t would retreat once he saw who was coming to chat. Controlling myself, I approached, puffing my chest. The thought of her picking him over me made me feel like I had been sucker punched, the breath threatening to leave my lungs. Here I stood, hoping she'd notice that in the last five years, the boy she had loved had turned into a man.

"Sofie. I've been looking for you." I said the words to her, directing my eyes to him. I bit back a laugh when the douche circled her waist with his hand.

That's when it hit me. This moron didn't know...

I let my eyes drink her in. She was beautiful, effortlessly as if a day hadn't gone by. My body reacted to the sight of her like it used to, and I started to ache for her; the way she felt in my arms, the way her skin felt when I'd held her on my chest... It was enough to make me crazy. I licked my lips, knowing that this was my shot to win her back. Anything I could do to remind her of how we used to be, I was going to pull out of my arsenal.

I had to focus.

I tipped my head back, acknowledging the dipshit standing beside her for the first time. "So, Sofie, who's this?" I studied him, wanting to say something that would completely gut him. I wanted him to know how intimately I knew Sofie, how I'd been the first man to touch her, and had plans on being the last one to have her.  "The new...me?" 

I stared at him, waiting to see what his reaction would be. 

He didn't disappoint.

Pretty boy choked on his liquor, snorting part of it up and out his nose. I cast a glance at Sofie, knowing she'd be riled. I laughed into my glass, sipping on my second--or third--scotch this evening.

To my surprise, she wasn't glaring at me, but more or less looking sympathetic towards him. Hell no. Not this dunce.

"Is that drink a little too strong for ya?" I teased, hoping to gain her attention.

Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Sofie closed her eyes, and I could tell she was prepping. The way she flattened her face when she was ready to strike was always fascinating to me, like she went somewhere deep inside her head in order to choose the appropriate weapons for war.

Cursing myself for not thinking this through, I dug in. "Sorry to spring that on ya, man." I laughed, swinging my gaze to Sofie, I said gruffly, "I didn't know she hadn't mentioned me." I know her life didn't revolve around me, but I wanted the acknowledgment.  

Her eyes were looking at me, repentant, almost. "I didn't know we were coming here tonight. It was kind of a surprise for me..." She let the words hang, a sheepish scowl sullying her lovely features, her arms coming to cover her chest.

Nodding in understanding, I waited to see if she'd continue.

Pretty boy quit sputtering from the railing. "No, man, it's cool. Just a little... shocking! I guess you could say. I figured she knew you, but I was thinking..." He looked at Sofie for help. When she didn't throw him a life line, he forged through, "I don't know. Maybe a neighbor or something." His shoulders slumped, his back easing to rest against the railing.

Downing what was left in my glass, I stood silent. Not sure where to go from here.

"Liam, I.. uh, I think Dave and I should probably go..." She tucked her clutch under her arm, waiting for Dave to stand to attention. "It was really nice seeing you." She added, smoothing her honey blonde hair away from her face.

I wanted to touch her so badly, my body was screaming. The way her black dress hugged those familiar curves from top to bottom was making my eyes swim. I hated that she felt like she needed to go, because if I could just get her in my arms once more, she'd know what I knew.

We were kismet.

Her eyes were on mine, a wary look of uncertainty hiding behind her amber eyes. I held her gaze for as long as she'd let me, trying to reach down as far into her soul as I could in those moments before she broke away. She blinked, breaking our contact, and breaking my heart. Turning her head away from me, I swear I saw her swipe at her eye, almost convinced that there had been a tear there--for me. For what we'd had. For what we'd lost.

She knew it. I wasn't alone in this.

"Before you go, Sof, can I hug you?" I held my arms outstretched towards her, hoping she'd take the bait, and allow me in.

She inched towards me, her eyes averting mine. As soon as she was near enough, I pulled her in, hard. She was touching me, and damn... I was cursing myself for not thinking this through. I had to pull back. My whole body was buzzing on high alert. The scent of her hair, her skin exposed like this, it was unnerving. I wanted her now, just as badly as I wanted her then. She was mine, forever, and some way, somehow, I was going to make sure she knew it.

I'd prove it to her.

She looked at me, unsure why I had pulled away. I cleared my throat nervously, nodding my dismissal at Dave. I wasn't ready for her to walk away from me. Not again.

Surely I'd done enough to earn her back into my life now. I had to be enough. How could I not be?

Just then screams echoed out from the inside, smashing through my reverie. "Liam! Liam! Hey bud, get in here! We want to see you!" My trainer stuck his head through the doors expectantly waiting for me to follow.

Whipping to face Sofie, I was begging her in my head to stay. "Hey, do you want to come with me? Let me introduce you to some people?" Holding my breath, I watched her look from Dave, to me, and then back to her whooped pup of a lover. He had been brooding in the corner, sulking to tend his wounds at the massive dose of reality just handed to him. 

"It'll only take a minute. If you hate them, hate being here, then you can leave. But how many times are you going to be able to say that you crashed this kind of an after party?" I strung the words, assuming that Dave would go for it. I knew his type. He controlled attention with telling stories of his adventures. He was vain. He would tell everyone how he was dating the ex of Liam Kelly.

And that made me sick.

I sized him up while I waited for her to decide. He probably didn't even know what an amazing person she was. I could tell. He was oozing that aristocratic vibe that she had tried to emulate for so long, back when she had first been accepted to law school. It was pretentious, and arrogant, with just enough apathy to keep people thinking you were a mystery, but I could see right through him.

Pretty boy shrugged his shoulders, agreeing to accompany us into the party. Smiling my approval at him, I slapped his shoulder. "That's it, sport. Come on." Dodging in front of him, I made a barrier of myself between him and Sofie.

I said he could come.

I didn't say I would give him a fair chance.

We headed back into the den of bodies, swimming through the admirers to get to the far side where the group of guys Trevor wanted to introduce me to stood. Instinctively, I placed my hand on the small of Sofie's back, drawing her next to me as we wound through. I liked the feel of her next to me, excited that she didn't pull away from under my hand.

That warm feeling of her body was seeping into my palm. I flexed my fingers into her softness, stroking her side protectively, easily slipping back into the role I used to play. Hearing Dave grunt behind me, I slid him a smirk. 

This was war, and he was going to lose.