"I love you," I tell her. I've never said it to anyone except my mom, and I take the time now to roll the words around on my tongue, testing their weight, checking how they feel. They feel like the greatest words I've ever spoken. When she smiles, I decide I love her happiness just as much as I love the sound of those words coming from her lips.
I start to kiss her again, and now that the talking seems to be finished, it doesn't take long for our breathing to become ragged and our bodies to start grinding against each other. I groan when she slides her tongue in my mouth.
But then my phone starts ringing on the other side of the room. I freeze when I recognize the ringtone.
Remy notices and frowns. "What?"
"It's my manager." I untangle myself from her and quickly pull my pants on before rushing across the living room to grab my phone.
"Jimmy, what's going on?" I ask nervously. I glance at my phone screen to see it's almost 11:00. "It's late on a Saturday night. You got a fight for me?"
"Boy, you are about to fall at my feet and worship the ground I walk on," Jimmy's loud voice sings across the line in his obnoxious South Philly accent.
My breath hitches. If Jimmy is calling late and sounds this happy, it has to be big news. I can't even respond to his greeting, I'm so nervous to hear what he has to say.
"Brandon Allen just got injured and had to pull out of his fight in two weeks," Jimmy says softly.
I frown, racking my brain for that name. "Brandon Allen, isn't he that guy that had that big knockout a few months ago?"
Jimmy stays silent on the other end of the line.
I freeze, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. My heart starts pounding.
"That knockout was on the UFC highlight reel," I whisper. "He's supposed to fight Kevin Holladay in two weeks." I whirl around and stare at Remy, my eyes widening and my heart feeling like it's about to jump out of my damn throat. She looks just as shocked as I feel. "Jimmy, are you telling me you got me a fight in the UFC?!"
His chuckle breaks through my temporary shock-induced blackout. "I did," he confirms simply.
"Holyfuck," I breathe. "That's a big fight. Holladay has been in the UFC for a while. He's beat some big names. That's… that's a big fight."
I can practically hear Jimmy grinning through the phone. "Yup. They're looking for a last-minute replacement and I told them I got just the crazy bastard to make it happen." He sobers and continues seriously, "They've been looking at you for a while. You accepting this fight is your interview into the UFC, kid. Do you want the fight?"
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline at the ridiculous question. "Please tell me you know me well enough that I don't need to answer that. Did you already tell them yes?"
"I did," he confirms again. "Get some rest, kid, the biggest fight camp of your life starts tomorrow."
I stare at my phone in disbelief after our call ends. I think I'm forgetting to breathe but I can't tell because I'm still convinced my heart is going to jump out of my chest. Eventually I raise my eyes to look at Remy.
She's got a hand covering her mouth as she stares at me with wide eyes. She doesn't speak, just lets me digest the last few minutes at my own pace.
"I got a fight in the UFC," I whisper finally. "I… I made it. It's finally happening."
Remy chokes on a sob at my words. I don't know if it's the sheer happiness written all over her face, or me saying it out loud, but it shakes me out of my delirium.
A massive grin stretches across my face right before I launch myself at her. She shrieks as we tumble back onto the couch.
"Remy baby, holy shit! I'm in the UFC!" I thump on the cushions, making Remy bounce into the air with uncontrollable giggles.
I settle on top of her and brush a few strands of hair out of her eyes. She smooths her face into a look of mock outrage. "Speaking of, we need to talk about that," she says seriously.
The grin slides off my face.
Her frown deepens and she grips my chin with her fingers. "Just because we're together, doesn't mean 'Remy baby' is now an acceptable nickname."
I can't help the ridiculous smile that stretches across my face again. "I make no promises." Then after a moment, "So we're together, huh?"
The corner of her lips twitch. "Well how else am I going to be a WAG?" she teases.
I growl and reach up to grip her hair, pulling her head back to bare her neck for me to nip. She moans at the sudden contact.