A/N: Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a happy new year. Enjoy!
Even with being an up and coming writer, Alex can easily say the total number of sporting events she has been to in her life time she can probably count on one hand. Looking down at her simple outfit of a grey cardigan and jeans, she can't help but feel like she's a little overdressed.
"You look fine." Kim offers a knowing smirk at her best friend before casting a look of disgust towards the rowdy fans who nearly run them over. "A lot more than I can say for about ninety percent of the people here."
"Thanks. I've just…we'll I don't really come to things like this. I'm more of a…"
"Wine and dine and theatre type of girl." Serena injects with a teasing smirk of her own. "Seriously though, how much further? Those two have been asking 'are we there yet' for the past twelve hours. I swear I'm marrying a rendition of a toddler trapped in a grown woman's body."
Alex glances over to where Amanda and Liv are animatedly buzzing about the upcoming fight. She can't help the laugh that escapes her lips as the two women look like two giddy children about to receive the best Christmas present of their lives. She can only hope that they don't embarrass her too bad. Enough of that was done with Serena.
"Not far." Alex hums as she nods towards what she hopes is the ticket office. She visibly cringes at the long line and she wishes that Serena hadn't taken so long to get ready. Honestly, the woman is taken, engaged to be more exact, why could she possibly have taken so long just to go to a fighting match?
The group make small talk with one another (and on Liv and Amanda's part other fans), until they finally reach the front of the line. Alex awkwardly clears her throat, gathering the attention of the rather bored looking ticket attendant behind the glass.
"How many?" the man asks in a monotone voice, cleanly displaying that he's been asking the same question all night and he's pretty damned tired of it.
"Uh yeah, hi. Um, Casey Novak left tickets for me?" Immediately, Alex isn't proud of the way that she phrased that as the air around her goes still for a brief moment before people start whispering in hushed yet animated tones.
"Novak left her tickets?"
"Whoa, she knows The Phoenix?"
"Novak left tickets for me too!"
The attendant clearly doesn't look impressed as he rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you and the rest of the people in here who want to get in for free. Listen lady, either pay for a ticket or stop holding up the line. There are people here who can actually pay to see the show tonight."
Alex rolls her eyes and huffs irritably. So much for not causing a scene.
"No seriously. She left tickets for me. Alexandra Cabot." She explains as she pulls out her ID and slips it into the little slot beneath the glass. "She told me to bring my ID so jerks like you couldn't say I was making it up."
Glaring at the blonde, the attendant picks up her ID and exams it for a moment before his face falls. "I'm so sorry Miss Cabot. One moment." He explains, before disappearing from his chair. He soon returns with five badge, tickets, and blue wrist bands. "Here, these badges will get you in the back for after. No one should give you guys any trouble. Sorry again…"
"I bet you are." Serena huffs with a smug smirk earning her a swat from Alex and an eye roll from Kim. "So where are we gonna be sitting?"
"Ring side." Alex replies after reading her ticket.
"RING SIDE?!" Liv exclaims, successfully startling the other women. She immediately puts on her best pout and tugs on Serena's sleeve. "Babe? Can I get a t-shirt? Please, Babe? Please?"
Serena rolls her eyes again. "See what I mean? Toddler. C'mon Rollins, I'll get you one too. Maybe find where the concessions are while we're at it." She grumbles to herself, as the other two women exchange high fives and excited yells.
Alex giggles as she watches her friends walk off. "Well I suppose that it's up to the two of us to find where we're sitting." She states as she and Kim head off in the direction of the tunnel.
"Ring side seats huh? Those can't be easy to come by." Kim inquires.
"I mean, I think she gets a limited number of tickets for friends and family or something. I don't know. But she said she thinks it'll be good for the interview. For me to actually get an idea of what she does."
"For the interview?"
"Yes, for the interview."
Kim simply hums in response as they make their way through the current of fans. "You know, what with the display outside at the ticket office, people are probably gonna think you're her girlfriend or something?"
A blush immediately springs to Alex's cheeks as she comes to an abrupt halt, nearly causing someone to crash into her. Sending a murmuring apologize, she casts her best friend an incredulous glance. "Excuse me?"
"I'm just saying." The brunette responds with a shrug. "We both work for a magazine so you and I both know better than anyone how things can get with assumptions. I mean, I'm sure she doesn't give just anyone ringside seats?"
"Yeah well, not just anyone is writing a feature story on her for a magazine." Alex responds with a shake of her head, praying to any deity that is listening that the inconvenient blush that plagues her often is gone. Curse her pale complexion. "C'mon, I think this is our tunnel."
Alex is immediately overwhelmed by the loud noise of the crowd and the bright lights of the arena. Thankfully it takes them little to no time to find their seats. Letting out a thankful sigh, she glances around and immediately freezes as she realizes she's surrounded by celebrities. "Kim are we-"
"We are." The brunette responds in a clipped matter as she continues to unblinkingly stare forward.
"Kim….Kim isn't that-"
"It is. Don't look at them. If we don't look at them they aren't there."
Alex can't help but let a slight giggle escape at her best friend's sad attempts to cover up her inner fangirl. Well, she's definitely got to say that Kim handles these kinds of situations loads better than Serena did. Best friend of the year award is most likely going to Kim.
Thinking back to the brunette's earlier words, however, she surely hopes that no one goes around spreading rumors. Sure Casey is a popular athlete and celebrity and she's more than likely used to rumors like this, but the last thing Alex would want would for herself to be the reason to some kind of scandalizing embarrassment that could upset the fighter.
She glances around the crowd, picking out easily recognizable faces from other athletes to singers to actors. Apparently, going to an MMA main event is typical for an A-Lister's Friday night plans. She eventually tears her eyes away from the crowd to keep from appearing like she's ogling.
Eventually after taking in the rest of the arena, her eyes land on the eight-sided cage that happens to be directly in front of her. Okay, maybe not directly in front of her, but she's only about two rows back so it may as well be directly in front of her. She examines the cage, taking note of how large and dangerous it must be. She can't help but wince as she imagines someone smashing someone else's face into the grates. Do they do that here? Or is that wrestling? Nevertheless, she will never understand the appeal two humans fighting inside a cage like animals.
"Oh god." She hears Kim groan from beside her and she turns her head just in time to see their friendly trio returning.
"Well, at least they didn't paint their chests and their faces." Alex giggles taking note of the matching t-shirt her friends are wearing. No doubt the design on the shirt is definitely Casey's silhouette surrounded by flames and her signature insignia; the mythological phoenix.
"C'mon now, Lex, we at least have some class." Amanda states, proudly displaying her shirt.
"I do have to admit, it is a cool shirt." Alex returns with a smile. Looking around, she then takes note of the amount of Phoenix paraphernalia that they're surrounded by. All in all, she's actually sure that she and Kim look like outsiders. She's even pretty sure that one guy has a few of Casey's more memorable tattoos replicated on his body, but she's trying not to stare.
"What sucks is the fact that we have to sit through a few boring match ups before we actually see what we came to see." Olivia grumbles, taking a loud sip from her soda. "But Alex, it's so cool that you got these tickets and these seats no less! Geez, none of my subjects ever invited me to any of their events. Maybe I should've been a pretty blonde."
Once again, Alex feels her worse enemy making itself known on her cheeks. This time, she can't help but be thankful that it's dark enough for said cursed blush to be hidden. "Yeah well, Casey actually invited you guys herself. She said that you would've never let Serena it down if she had come without you."
"I know I'm going to be hearing it from Masen for the rest of eternity." Kim mutters.
"Well you'll be glad to know that People took care of that bitch from the fundraiser." Abbie grumbles as she hangs up her phone. "You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Casey responds, biting down on her mouth guard as she rolls her shoulders. She flexes her fingers beneath her gloves before she throws her hood over her head.
Abbie studies the redhead for a moment. A soft sigh escapes her lips and she squeezes her shoulder. "Alright, let's do this. Let's remind this chick why you're the one with that belt around your waist."
Nodding, Casey follows Abbie through the tunnel. She briefly closes her eyes and tries to get into the zone. With every step she takes she can hear the noise of the crowd getting louder. People are yelling, screaming, chanting her name. She swallows deeply and tries to calm her breathing. She can fear her heart pounding in her ears and hammering against her chest.
The more she focuses on her fight, the more she can't help but envision a certain blonde. She hasn't told anyone, granted the only person she would actually tell would be Abbie, but since the coffee shop she hasn't been able to get the writer out of her mind.
"Yo, Novak! I'm talking to you!"
"What?" Casey blinks rapidly, not realizing that they've come to the mouth of the tunnel. She looks up to find Abbie gazing at her with concern. "Yeah, I'm ready, I'm ready."
Shaking her head, Abbie sighs. "Let's hope so. I'd hate to see your ass get decked in an exhibition." She mutters, slapping the redhead on the shoulder, squinting against the lights and flashes as she exists the tunnel into the arena.
"Ho-ly shit she's right there!" Amanda squeaks, practically bouncing in her seat. "Oh my god where's my phone. Phone, camera, phone!"
"This is the last time we take them anywhere." Serena mutters.
"Says the woman who was ready to throw herself at Casey on her doorstep." Alex whispers back, grinning when she earns a swat in return. She can't help the rather amazed smile that graces her lips as she watches the redhead step into the cage. Sure she's seen videos and pictures of Casey's fights but none of those can come close to seeing her in action live.
She finds herself gazing at the beautiful tattoos and toned muscles of the fighter as she continues to nod and listen to Abbie talk in her ear. Alex almost thinks that she imagines it when Casey manages to spot her in the crowd and send her a small smile and a wink. Cue blushing. Looking away, Alex is thankful that they're in a big enough crowd for the exchange to go unnoticed.
Almost unnoticed. Alex doesn't factor in the fact that Kim is the best photographer at their magazine for her keen eye for detail. The brunette caught the exchange; everything from Alex's dreamy smile, to Casey's wink, back to Alex's reddening cheeks. 'What is going on here?'
Once the fight actually starts, Alex is completely thrown by Casey's speed. She watches as the redhead dodges all of her opponent's strikes while landing several powerful blows of her own. She marvels how muscles flex under each movement, how crimson hair is pulled into a tame braid, how sweat is-no. She's here for professional matters. To gather information on her story. To get to know more about her subject.
It doesn't last long. Alex isn't an expert on these sort of things but she's fairly sure that they're supposed to last longer than fifty five seconds. It all happens so fast that Alex barely registers to roundhouse kick that sends Casey's opponent sprawled across the mat. She glances between a smug looking Abbie Carmichael and the referee of the fight who is checking on the downed fighter. Shaking his head, the ref immediately calls the match.
"Honestly, people pay so much to see her come kick a chick once in the head?" Kim quips, wincing at the loud eruptions or the crowd, or more so their friends beside her. "That can't be it."
"Oh that's definitely it." Serena winces, watching as the opposing fighter's trainers have to practically carry her out of The Octagon.
Shaking herself out of her trance, Alex stands and taps her friends. "C'mon, Casey said we can meet her backstage."
"Meet her?!" Liv and Amanda exclaim simultaneously, their earlier excitement fading fast.
"Please don't embarrass me." Alex pleads, sighing as they show their badges to the security guards who nod their approval. Honestly, she has no idea where she's going or what she's going to say and she suddenly finds herself wishing that she had come by herself.
Walking down a long hallway she hears a familiar voice coming from one of the rooms and she can't help but chuckle at the southern coated excitement.
"Well shit Case, I at least thought you'd give her a minute."
"Wanted to finish up in time for drinks." Casey shrugs, folding her arms with a satisfied smirk. "You wanted me to remind her why im the Champ. I was simply following your orders boss."
Rolling her eyes when it comes to Casey has become a second neighbor to Abbie. "What am I gonna do with you." She mumbles before clapping her hands. "So where are we celebrating yet another stellar win?"
Casey opens her mouth to respond before is interrupted by a quick knock. Turning her head towards the door, her eyes light up and a large smile graces her lips. "Hey!"
"I hope I'm not interrupting." Alex smiles sheepishly as she steps into the room. "I um…I brought people…"
"Cool seeing you again Serena." Casey nods towards the photographer before extending her hand towards the stranger. "We haven't met though. I'm Casey."
The brunette stares at the wrapped hand for a brief moment before returning the handshake with a tiny smile. "Kim. And this is…" she trails off realizing that the spot beside her is vacant.
"Oh god…They're going to embarrass me." Alex groans to herself as she watches Serena huff and step outside of the room. She can hear harsh whispers outside and she can only catch the words 'you wanted to meet her', 'Serena no!', 'stop being babies', and a hard swat followed by an 'ow!'.
Casey exchanges an amused look with Abbie, and she places her hands on her hips, her smirk widening when she sees Serena practically shoving two other women into the room. Her amusement grows as she watches the two look between each other and her before trying to scramble out of the room that is being blocked by Kim and Serena. She chuckles and shakes her head. "Hey."
"Hi…" Liv mumbles when she sees Amanda has gone into shock. She awkwardly clears her throat and rubs at the back of her neck. "You uh, you fight good."
"Thanks. Nice shirts. Heard that chick is pretty good." Casey responds with a smirk. She laughs when the two women immediately cross their arms and look away with bashful expressions. "Thank you guys for coming. It really means a lot."
"Thank you for inviting us. We really enjoyed it." Alex says with a smile before clearing her throat. "And I mean-it's good that I got to see what you do. You know…for the story. Even if it was a little short."
"Yeah well, like I told Abbie, leaves more time for celebrating. Hey, why don't you guys come out with us tonight? You know, for drinks and such?"
"What?" Abbie and Alex exclaim simultaneously.
Casey ignores the look that she's getting from Abbie and continues. "C'mon, it'll be fun. We were gonna head over to Onyx."
"Onyx? The extremely exclusive nightclub you can only get into with a name?" Kim inquires with an even more inquisitive quirk of an eyebrow.
"Lucky for you I have a name." Casey responds with a shrug. There's something about this woman that she can't quite put her finger on. It's almost as if she's testing her. "C'mon, Abbie will give you guys all the details."
"I will?"
"You will. Now if you guys don't mind, I kind wanna talk to Alex about something. If that's cool with you guys."
"Yeah…yeah that's fine." Alex responds, rolling her eyes when her friends don't move. "I said it's fine."
There is a great deal of mumbling as the others exit, and Alex is too busy trying to hide her blush to notice to look exchanged between Abbie and Kim.
"So…you looked really great out there. I've never seen a person move like that." She starts, flinching when she feels like she worded that poorly. She's a writer damn it, one would think that she would be better with words than this. "Still though, getting hit like that has gotta hurt."
"That's what training's for. You learn how to absorb the hit so it doesn't really hurt as much." Casey responds with a shrug. "Maybe you'll come to more in the future? I mean, as long as you promise to hang out after."
Chuckling, Alex shakes her head. "I'm not really much of a nightclub person." She explains, finally succumbing to the battle she's been fighting to not let her eyes roam over Casey's body. 'Even in just track pants and a sports bra she's sexy as hell. Wait what?!'
Catching Alex's gaze, Casey winces. "Sorry I'm still kinda sweaty and gross. You guys caught me before I could hop in the shower."
"No, no, it's totally okay. I'm the one who intruded I was just…well I was just looking at your tattoos." Alex shrugs. "I remember a friend of mine telling me how for most people ever tattoo usually tells a story. You have a lot of tattoos so I was just wondering if there were a lot of stories."
Casey is silent for such a long time that Alex is actually worried that she has some how offended the athlete. She quickly wracks her brain as she tries to come up with a way to apologize for putting her foot in her mouth. Before she can, however, the redhead speaks.
"I'll tell you what. You let me buy you a drink tonight and I'll tell you a story. Deal?"
"Oh no I couldn't. I mean, you're not inclined to tell me anything I was just."
"Relax Alex, it's just drinks. What do you say?"
Biting her lip, Alex tries her hardest not to get lost in the emerald gaze boring into her. Swallowing thickly, she sucks in a deep breath as she nods her head. Yet another battle lost because of this woman.
"One drink can't hurt."
Hm….seems like Alex's best friend and Casey's best friend seem a little suspicious. And a flustered Alex gives me so much life. Hint for next chapter...there might maybe be dancing ;) Leave your thoughts?