Page 12 of The Breaking Pointe
“I hear you,” I say, quickly, hoping to make him relax. “Let’s just get this over with, alright?”
He nods in agreement, joining me in an ominous stare at Daniel and his nonstop fidgeting before I walk into the unpredictable.
4
olives
NOELLE
“Elle, you couldn’t have made us any more late?!”Lauren yells over the obnoxiously loud chanting throughout the arena as I follow closely behind her.
We both shuffle between people and the seats in front of us, slowly nearing our assigned spots.
“Excuse me, it’s not like I’m dying to come here in the first place, Lauren!” I clamor above the noise.
Our shuffling comes to a halt as Tony leads us to ourseats and we all plop down, facing the ring. Already, Daniel is causing a commotion by yelling profanities, hyping the crowd with absurd sounds and over-masculine movements. “I get it. You know we don’t have to stay, though, okay?”
shesays,lookingatme.
My eyes stay on the ring, peering at the two rows in front of us, noticing how close he got our seats.Probably so he could watch me.
“I know. I’m just gonna see how it starts. I want to be gone before it’s over so he can’t find me after,” I say, looking back at Daniel again.
“Deal,”Laurensays.
I never understood the anger he built up before fighting— or how. He has an unwarranted anger that’s different from your normal, regulated person.
As interesting as his outbursts are to watch, I’ve been more interested in seeing who the competition is, since I’m here to cheer for them, anyway.I hadn’t bothered to do much research on anything, so I know nothing about the importance of this fight for either side.All I know is that whoever Daniel’s opponent is, is who I’m siding with, even if that guy doesn’t have a single supporter in this place. I’m in favor of anything that’s not in favor of Daniel’s rotten agenda.
My eyes follow the white of the floor in the ring, all the way to the other man, standing in the opposite corner to Daniel. Stopping at his legs, I study his body up until I get to his face. His gaze is glued to the floor, listening to his team talk tohim. I’m lucky. My limited view of him is already allowing me to get a boxing match and a show in the form of an olive- toned, possibly Jewish man.His curly, thick locks on hishead and heavily shadowed facial hair is a nice touch, too.A view I don’t mind staring at for the next thirty minutes,at minimum. He’s an unfamiliar face, but it’s exceptionally handsome.
“Everything okay, Elle?You’re completely out of it. Popcorn or not?” Tony asks, holding a bucket of popcorn in my direction, shimmying it to offer me some.
Ilookathim,watchinghislipsmove,butnotregistering
anything. Only one thing could come out of my mouth. Nothing about popcorn, either.
“Olives?”I ask blindly, quickly shutting my eyes in embarrassment.
“What?”Tonyasks,lookingatLauren.
“Do you want popcorn or are you too busy staring at men’s bodies?” she asks, looking at me as she shoves a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
“I wasn’t staring,” I defend, keeping a straight face as I pick a few buttery pieces out of the bucket.
“He’s cute, right?The other guy.”She smiles, eating more.
“Right in front of me, huh?”Tony chuckles, tossing a piece at her.
“What? She’s almost drooling.” She laughs. “I’m…admiring the set up,” I say, keeping my chin up.
I watch her continue to find my embarrassment comedic, slowly peering back at the ring again. So maybe I’m swoon- ing over this mystery guy—but big deal. It isn’t hard to do when his posture is that impeccable, and he looks like he knows exactly what needs to be done.If I were any other man in here, I’d be cowering. He has a thing about him that makes him look like he’s in charge. From the way he walks and bumps his gloves together, to the way his chest hair is perfectly placed on his body, trailing all the way down his stomach to his pant line.
“What’s his name?” I ask Lauren, leaning closer to her. “Who?” she quickly responds.
“The guy down there?I didn’t look at the flier,” I say, trying not to point.
Shesmirks,lookingatme.“HisnameisColtonKennedy.
