I let out a heavy sigh. "Doctor stuff. Even when you win, it takes forever to get checked out." I quirk an eyebrow at her almost-empty glass. "I see you two had no problem starting without us."
She giggles, trying to hide the sound behind her hand.Fuck me, it's the cutest sound I've ever heard.
She places her glass on the bar. "Sorry, I keep forgetting my tolerance isn't what it used to be. I switched to water already, don't worry. You won't have to babysit tonight."
I tug a lock of her hair affectionately. "Celebrate all you want, baby girl, I'll take care of you. You deserve a little fun too."
She smiles up at me, the blue in her eyes seeming extra bright tonight, either from the alcohol or her general good mood. Her gaze drops down to my white button-up shirt.
Her breath rushes out of her in a whoosh. “God, I always forget how hot you are when you’re all dressed up.”
I grin. And after her lips part in surprise when she realizes what the alcohol just let slip, it grows even bigger.
“You think I’m hot, Hailes?” I tease.
She swallows nervously but doesn’t backtrack. She just rolls her eyes and looks away, saying, “Like you need me to tell you you’re hot. You probably have plenty of women telling you that every time you wear a suit in public.”
I gently check her hip with mine in an attempt to get her to focus on me again. “I like it better coming from you.”
The corner of her lip twitches when she fights a smile. My grin grows even bigger, partly because I got her to smile again, but also because she thinks I’m hot. I lean back to check out what she's wearing so I can return the compliment.
My breath catches when I take in her appearance.
I was too amped up from Tristan’s win earlier to really look at her.
Now, I can’tstoplooking at her.
She doesn't look like the usual female UFC fans around the arena. She doesn't look fake, or overly done-up, or like she's only here to appeal to the male specimen and convince one of them to wife her up.
She looks... like herself. Like she threw on something that just so happens to accentuate her natural beauty. Like she doesn't give a shit about what other people think of how she looks, as long asshelikes how she looks. She's wearing a simple black dress that hugs her from tits to thighs, with thin straps running along her shoulders and the back completely open to anyone’s gaze. She’s barely wearing any makeup, and her golden hair is unstyled and brushed over her shoulder. Nothing about her outfit screamslook at me!
She's just... beautiful.As is.
Perfect.
I shake out of my reverie when I realize Hailey's staring at me expectantly.
"Sorry, what?" I blurt, completely clueless about how long I've been admiring her. Hoping she didn't notice.
I've been doing an awful lot of staring at her lately.
"I asked if that’s the watch I got you," she repeats with a knowing grin.
She doesn’t wait for me to answer, she just reaches out to grip my hand. “Itisthe one I bought you,” she murmurs, brushing her fingers over the face of it.
I nod. “It is. I never go to work without it. I think you gave it to me when I got my first big internship in college.”
She confirms the memory with a thoughtful nod. “I knew you wanted to look professional when you started. I saved for weeks for this. It was the most I ever worked in high school.”
I swallow roughly at the admission. I know the story, of course. I almost didn’t accept the gift when she gave it to me, since I knew how much a watch like this could cost—way more than a high school waitress could make in a small town. It wasn’t until Remy told me how much it meant to Hailey to give me the gift that I made my peace with accepting it.
She’s not looking at me—she’s still lost in the memory of the watch. And I know if I give into the seriousness of this moment that I might admit something I’m not even ready to admit myself, so instead I try to lighten the situation with some humor.
“I remember the girl I was dating got pissed that she was shown up by a sixteen-year-old,” I joke with a forced grin.
But it’s enough to snap both of us out of the pensive moment because Hailey sighs and finally looks up from the watch.
“Yeah, well, Amanda was a bitch. She deserved to be outmatched by a teenager.”