Chapter 40: Lexa

Our car pulls up in front of the Staple Center for the fight weigh-ins at about eleven o'clock. The scene reminds me of golden globes, which I watched on TV while Ash was in her coma. There was a red carpet leading up to the entrance, and the walkway was roped off with security guards standing every few feet. Once everyone was out of the car, everyone paired up.

Clarke and I were first, with Asher between us, Ash and Callie were next, Octavia and Morrigan, and so on. I was really trying not to freak out with everyone looking, but I was extremely nervous walking in front of all these screaming people. I was about halfway to the door when I hear someone scream my name from my right. When I look over, it's Cree standing there waving with a big smile on her face. She has two men with her, one on each side, who I assume are her bodyguards.

I let go of Asher, running over to her, but as she takes a step towards me, one of the security guards cuts her off. I look at him and say, "It's fine. She's with me."

He replies, "If she was with you, then she would've been in the car with you and not out here, ma'am. No one is allowed to cross the barriers."

"I'm telling you she's with me, and you will let her come with me. If you would like, I can call Dana, but I'm sure that wouldn't be good for you."

"Fine, but from now on, make sure all of your group arrives with you."

"Sure." He opens the barrier, letting Cree and the two guys through. As soon as she is on the same side with me, she runs, jumps in my arms, and kisses my cheek. "I can't believe you are here! How did you even know I was fighting?"

"Ash called and told me when she invited me to the cookout. I had to come. So, I guess Ash is back with the bitch since they are holding hands and who is the kid that had your hand?"

I laugh, "There is so much I need to catch you up on later, but right now, we really need to get inside. Come on, walk with me." I walk back over to Clarke and Asher, holding Cree's hand. Asher stares at Cree for a moment before looking at me and saying, "Xa, how you know Babe?"

I look at him confused and say, "Who's Babe?"

He points to Cree, "Oh, I will tell you later. We really need to get inside." When I look over at Clarke, she looks upset or pissed. I'm not sure which. I raise my eyebrow at her and ask, "Hey, are you okay?"

She sort of snaps, "Fine, we will talk later." Then she starts walking. Well, alright. I wonder what that was about.

Once we finally get inside, I realize that the crowd outside is nothing compared to the one here. I can only imagine what the place will look like on fight night if there are this many people here just for the weigh-ins. Once inside, I'm told that only the corner crew can go with me to sit down front. Everyone else will be shown to their seats.

I look at my group. Who is supposed to be my corner crew? No one bothered to mention this at the contract signing. So I look back at the guy and ask him, "Um…who is supposed to be in my corner?" He kind of laughs until he realizes that I'm serious.

"Oh, you must be the last-minute fill-in to fight Jewel. I guess you've never fought before. So, usually, you would have your trainers, cut man, and doctor in your corner."

"Okay, thanks." I turn around and face the group and say, "Clarke, Octavia, and Jose, you all come with me. The rest of you follow him to your seats. I feel a tug on my shirt and look down to see Asher looking at me. "What's up, buddy?"

"Why can't I go with you and Larke?"

"I'm not sure, buddy, but I will see you after this is over. Besides, you can talk to my friend Cree. She will keep you company, right Cree."

She smiles, "Sure, I will." She then leans in, giving me a kiss on the cheek before taking Asher's hand with the one she was just holding mine with. I watch as they walk away, then turn to my little group and head down to the stage. Clarke and Jose lead the way as O and I follow.

O looks at me and says, "Dude, you could've told me Cree was going to be here. I would have dressed a little nicer. Also, what crawled up Clarke's butt? She looks pissed."

"I don't know! I tried to ask her, but she just snapped and said she was fine, that we would talk later. So I don't know what that is all about."

"If I had to guess, it has something to do with the fact that a hot ass actress pretty much jumped your bones right there in front of everyone." She laughs, "I know I would be pissed if Cree jumped into the arms of my girl, kissing her while walking hand in hand to a major televised sporting event where people were snapping photos left and right."

"What are you talking about? One, nothing is going on between Cree and I. Two, Clarke hasn't said I was her girl, technically so, I don't know why it is a problem."

"Remember when you first got here, and you told me to keep you straight with social cues that you miss? Well, I think you missed a big one here. Clarke may not have come out and said she wants to be with you yet, but we all know that she does. She's simply scared, and after what happened with Finn, I can't really blame her. She's either pissed, jealous, or both because of Cree showing up and acting the way she did with you, whether there is anything between you and Cree or not. She doesn't know that. I think you should talk to her when we sit down."

"Great, how did I manage to mess up a relationship before I even technically had it? Thanks, O." We get to our reserved seats about fifteen minutes before the event begins, and there is a board listing the order of the weigh-ins. It looks like I go fifth. I sit beside Clarke and ask her if we can talk. I can tell she is upset, but she says she is fine, and we will talk later at the hotel. I don't want to wait to clear this up, though.

"Clarke, will you please come with me to the bathroom for a second. I really need to talk to you somewhere private. I don't want to wait until later."

She looks at me and says, "I would really rather wait until after this is over."

"I can't wait. I really need to clear this up now so that I can concentrate. If you don't go with me, I'll just talk right here." I smile, "Or…I could go up on stage and profess my love to you in front of everyone here."

She cuts her eyes at me, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Wouldn't I?" I start to get up.

She jumps up, "Fine, let's go."

When we get out of the packed room, we find a quiet spot, and I say, "Clarke, remember when I told you about turning off my emotions? How I still have problems with some social cues and stuff. Well, O helped point out to me that I missed a massive one earlier…."

Clarke interrupts, "Lexa, it's fine. I overreacted when I saw that girl throw herself at you…well…."

I hold up my hand, "No, please let me finish. I know I don't always say or do the right thing, but I promise you can trust me. I'm not Finn, but you have to tell me when I do something wrong or if something makes you uncomfortable. I'm still trying to figure out some social things. I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier, but there is nothing between Cree and me. We are friends, nothing more."

"How do you even know her? If there is nothing between the two of you, why was she kissing you?"

"I thought you heard the story of how we met. I saved Cree from kidnappers while we were in DC. Then her dad hired me for the day to be her bodyguard. We just hung out for the day, going to the museums and stuff. We just hit it off. At that time, I didn't know anyone except Ash, and it was nice to have someone to hang out with and talk to. That's it, I promise. Please, Clarke, you have to trust me; otherwise, this, us is never going to work."

She looks at the ground, "I do trust you. I'm sorry, I don't know what is wrong with me. I just don't like when other girls, especially hot actresses…I don't want to share you with anyone. What makes it even worse is that no one knows that you are mine."

I laugh, "Ya Amar, you have nothing to worry about in that department, not with Cree or anyone else. You are the only one I want. The only problem we are going to have is me being able to keep my hands and lips off of you." I lean in to kiss her cheek, but at the last minute, she turns, and her lips meet mine, and the firework works begin. I cannot get enough of this girl. I run my hands through her hair onto the back of her neck, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Too soon, I hear someone clear their throat. When I turn around, I see Raquel and Tecia laughing until they realize that it's not Ash that I was kissing.

Raquel says, "Um…sorry to interrupt Lexa, but we just wanted to say a quick hello before the weigh-ins start and invite you and um…the rest of your group to dinner this evening." Raquel looks at Clarke and then me.

"Hey guys, this is my girl, um…m-my friend Clarke. Clarke this is Raquel and Tecia. They are the ones that got me this fight."

Clarke smiles, "Hi, actually, she had it right the first time. I'm Clarke, her girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." She steps closer and puts her arm around my waist. I look at her and smile.

Tecia says, "Sooo, I guess we will see you tonight?"

"Of course, but are you sure you want the whole group? I brought a bunch of friends along with Ash and her kid." Raquel gave me a surprised look. I say, "Yeah, you've got a lot of catching up to do."

They both laugh, "The more, the merrier. I will text you the address later. Right now, we need to get back in there for the weigh-ins. Nice to meet you, Clarke."

I smile and look at Clarke, "So we are doing this tonight? You and me?"

"Yeah, I don't want to wait any longer. I want everyone to know that you are mine and to keep their hands off you. We can tell everyone tonight at dinner. Sound good?"

I pull her in for another scorching kiss as an answer. When I pull back, I look her in her beautiful green eyes and say, "I would love nothing more than to show you off as my girlfriend. Just remember, I'm going to screw up at some point like I did today, but as long as you trust me and talk to me, we will be able to work it out. I promise, now let's get back. The weigh-ins are about to start. One last thing, I am really sorry about earlier. It shouldn't take O pointing these types of things out to me, but hopefully, I will figure it out one day. Until then, please bear with me."

She smiles at me and takes my hand, "I'm sure that I won't be perfect either, but I…I…I'm willing to take the chance with you. I'm sorry about earlier. It's just that I can still hear Finn's words rattling around in my head at times like that, and it makes me think that he is right. So why would anyone want to be with me now?"

I wrap her in a hug, "Sweetie, don't let that bastard get inside your head like that. I will always want you no matter what. Understand? Besides, you know that I have been through the same sort of thing, and you still want to try with me, right?"

"Of course, I do. It's just that you are so strong…and nothing seems to bother you. I sometimes forget what you have been through. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, but know that things do bother me. I've just gotten really good at hiding my emotions. But, remember, I'm always here if you need to talk." She nods, and we head back to our seats.

About twenty minutes later, I am standing alone behind a curtain, waiting for my name to be called. I hear Joe Rogan say, "Now for the women's featherweight division. First, we have the number four ranked Jewel 'the KO Queen' Budd. Her record is 14-3." I hear the crowd go wild, and then Joe announces her weight as 145 even. "Next, we have a newcomer to the UFC, Lexa 'Stryker' Trikru. This will be her first official UFC fight."

I walk out onto the stage. At first, it is eerily quiet, but then my group starts chanting, "Stryker, Stryker…." I step up to the scales and take off my shirt and sweats and step on the scale. "Lexa 'Stryker' Trikru official weight is 140 pounds." I strike a pose showing off my abs and biceps before stepping off and walking over to Dana. Next is the face-off with Jewel. I walk up, shake her hand and then just stand there. She gets up in my face with her fist right in my face. I mirror her pose, and the pictures are snapped. Then it is over, and I exit the stage to the left and go back to my seat.

We sit and watch the rest of the fighters weigh in and face off for the next hour. Then, finally, Rogan announces the main event, it's a women's strawweight title fight between Zhang and Torres. Wow, I didn't realize that Tecia was also fighting or that she's fighting for the title. It would be fantastic if we both won, that would make the celebration that much better afterward.

After the weigh-ins are finished, we meet up with the rest of our group. Asher was stuck to Cree like glue. He finally let her go as she starts towards me. Suddenly I feel Clarke grab my hand, pulling me close. I look at her and smirk. Jess, of course, noticed this and said, "Um…Stryker, is there something that you and Clarke want to share?"

I just smirk and shrug. Clarke rolls her eyes, "We were going to wait until after the fight, but what the hell! She wore me down, and I have decided to give this crazy, romantic, dancing, singing fool a chance."

I cut my eyes at her, "Really? So, that's what happened? I wore you down, and here I thought you just finally came to your senses and decided that you could no longer deny that you just had to have this amazingly carved body or was the word O used statue."

Everyone started laughing, and Clarke says, "See what I'm talking about. She's a crazy fool."

"That might be true, but now I'm your crazy fool, so there." I finished by sticking my tongue out at her. That's when Raquel and Tecia walked up.

Raquel started laughing, "Nice, what are you five?"

I looked at her and stuck out my tongue again. "Maybe, I just don't like being called a crazy fool."

Raquel said, "Well, maybe you should use that tongue for something more useful than just sticking it out. Maybe use it like I saw you doing earlier, then she wouldn't be calling you a fool."

I feel my ears turn red and look at Clarke, whose entire face was red. Ash chuckles before saving me by saying, "Hey guys, nice to see you again."

Asher runs up to Tecia, tugging on her shirt, "Hey, you tiny tornado. I like watching you fight, and that Rocky. She okay too. I'm Asher."

Tecia says, "I see we have missed quite a few major changes since we last met. Hey, there, little buddy. Thanks, who in this group do you belong to?"

He laughs and points to Callie first, then Ash, "That's my mom, and that's my mommy, and Xa is my bestest friend."

Raquel looks at Ash, then me, and I say, "It's sort of a long story."

"Okay then, how about you all join us for dinner so we can get up to speed," Raquel says.

Cree speaks up, "I know what you mean. I feel like I am completely in the dark about all of this. I have the dining room reserved at my hotel's restaurant, the Chateau Hanare. Why don't you join us."

Raquel says, "Wow, that place is fancy. Sure, but it'll have to be after the fan meet and greet, say around 8:30ish tonight."

I say, "Sounds good. I hate to run, guys, but I promised my new girl here a shopping spree. So, Cree, where is a good place to buy clothes around here."

Ash looked at me and said, "What? You're actually going shopping willingly. You must really like her then, or else you are punishing her for something."

"Ha, ha, Ash. Yes, I do really like her, and if she wants me to take her shopping, that is exactly what I'm going to do." I smile at Clarke and see that her face is crimson red.

Cree says, "Aw, you two are so cute. I can show you a couple of places that I like to go on Rodeo drive."

Raquel says, "Damn, who is this girl? She must be loaded renting out the restaurant and shopping on Rodeo drive."

Tecia smacks her in the back of the head, and I laugh. "Sorry, this is Cree. She's an actress here in Hollywood. Cree, this is Raquel and Tecia. They are both UFC fighters."

Tecia says, "Nice to meet you. I thought you looked familiar. You play Babe, right? My nieces and nephews love your show."

"Yeah, that's right. In that case, I will bring you some autograph pictures to give them. Now Lexa, shopping?"

I look at Clarke to make sure she is okay with Cree tagging along. She nods yes, so; we follow Cree and her two bodyguards.