Branna dropped her jaw; Ryder sighed when he saw me while the rest of the table either snorted or looked at me like I was mental.
"Bronagh, don't be so rude. This is Ryder, I was goin' to introduce-"
"Fuck that, you are literally sat with the enemy. That is Dominic! The lad who you are all but dry humpin' up is his brother!" I growled and pointed to the smug-looking American bastard.
Branna widened her eyes. "Wait Nico is Dominic? That Dominic kid that tried to-"
"Yeah!" I snapped, cutting Branna off.
Branna was like Muhammed Ali when she reached out and punched Dominic; it was so fast, none of us had time to react. Dominic's head snapped to the side, but he turned his head back just as fast to glare at Branna. Ryder jumped up, and all but pushed her off him like she was dirt, and that enraged me.
"Don't fuckin' push me sister, you big bastard!" I snapped and tried to hit Ryder, but he ducked out of my reach.
"Get lost Branna, we're done," Ryder then hissed to Branna, clearly mad that she hit his little brother.
Branna laughed as she grabbed my hand. "Believe me, sweetie, I'm goin'. I'd kill your pervy little brother for doin' what he did to me little sister otherwise!" she growled.
I didn't get a chance to give Dominic the finger again or even rat off an insult in farewell because Branna pulled me away with her.
I hugged her when we were back at the dance floor. "Holy shite, Bran, you were amazin'. You punched Dominic in the face; I'm so jealous!" I gushed in awe and delight.
Branna smiled and hugged me tightly. "Nobody messes with my sister, especially not a pretty little batty boy."
She was brilliant, she seriously was!
I was about to ask her how she knew Ryder, but she cut me off by shouting, "Now, let's dance!"
I didn't need to be told twice; I let Branna lead me into the crowd of swaying bodies. I was a little nervous at first, but I literally just let go along with Branna, shoved my hands in the air, and got lost in the music. It was so much fun, possibly the most fun I had ever had.
I knew I needed to get out more, but this, being here right now, was a huge step from hiding behind my Kindle at home or behind my iTouch at school. It was progress, and I was happy about it.
After five songs and some serious carefree dancing, Branna and I were parched. She ordered me a small vodka and Coke because I didn't feel any drunken effects from the three glasses of WKD that I had already drunk. She was pretty buzzed by the time she finished her fifth glass of vodka and Coke. I was still on my first one, because it tasted strong; I was sipping it every few minutes instead of gulping it down like I did with the WKD.
Branna and I were laughing at a joke she told when lights from our right suddenly lit up the darkened side of the club, earning loud cheers and screams. The majority of the dance floor and bar area emptied as everyone ran towards the lights. I focused my eyes and noticed there was a round platform up a few feet in the air in the centre of the now lit up area. A single black line went around the edges of the circled platform that looked important, so I asked Branna what it was.
"It's just showin' the no cross point of the circle. If a fighter gets knocked out of it, it's an automatic knockout. It's a pretty big circle, so no strong fighter ever falls off; it's usually the weak fighters who get beat up so bad they unknowingly move backward makin' it easier for them to be knocked off," Branna explained.
I widened my eyes and pointed. "What about the people standin' around the platform?" I questioned.
Branna snorted. "They usually move back quick enough to avoid a body landin' on top of them."
I gasped. "That's horrible!"
"That's the sport." Branna shrugged. "It's a mixture of different things, the main things being hot, sexy, sweaty, dangerous, fierce men-"
"Oh, shut up," I muttered, making Branna chuckle.
"Ladies and gents, welcome to Darkness!" A deep voice suddenly blared through the speakers around the club where music was playing just seconds ago.
The voice caused loud cheers to erupt around the club.
"It's Friday night here at Darkness and you all know what that means…"
"Fight Night!" The crowd that surrounded the platform screamed out in answer, making the deep voice chuckle through the speakers.
"That's right, it's Fight Night, but tonight is a little different. Instead of our usual three fights, tonight we have four."
More cheers.
"The first two lads up are still newcomers so go easy on them, because they sure as hell won't go easy on each other. They have both fought a few of times over the past few weeks so you may recognise them."
Cheers and screams came from next to me, causing me to roll my eyes; Branna was so into this.
"Make way for our new boys, you all get to choose their fight names durin' the fight tonight so for now, welcome Nico and Drake!"
I widened my eyes.
No.
No fucking way!
"Bronagh, it's Nico, your Nico!" Branna gasped.
My Nico?
What the fuck?
"He isn't mine!" I bit out.
Branna waved me off because she was watching the show, so I turned to look as well and watched as Dominic pulled himself up onto the platform and sort of bounced on his feet while he shook his limbs out. He was shirtless, and even though I hated him with a passion, my mind automatically flashed back to when that shirtless body was pressed against mine, making me shudder before shaking my head and the thoughts away.
I studied the rest of Dominic; he had on black shorts that ended a little above the knee, and wore padded fingerless gloves. His hair was pushed back out of his face; I guessed there was some gel in it now because it stayed the way it was pushed back, making it look messy.
I widened my eyes as I got sight of his right arm and back when he bounced around. I had seen his back in his room when I was running away from him, and it was only partial curled at the shoulder with a tribal tattoo. Now, though, there was more detail on his shoulder, and his sleeve was complete.
"Nice tat," Branna mused.
I growled, "We hate him, remember?"
She shrugged. "Yeah but that doesn't mean we can't say he has a nice tattoo, because he does."
I huffed. "It's new, the sleeve wasn't complete a few weeks ago."
Branna side looked at me. "Yeah, you got a good look at his body back then, didn't you?"
I growled at her, making her laugh as she reached for her vodka and Coke. I reached for my own and gulped it down. I welcomed the burning in my throat and chest since it took my mind off Dominic. Well, until I looked back up at him that is.
I blew out a breath when another lad the same height and build climbed up on the platform. He was wearing the same thing as Dominic except his shorts and gloves were a dark blue.
"That Drake kid is hot," Branna gushed.
I looked him over and agreed with her; he was hot. He had a sexy lean body, blond hair, and I could only guess that he had pretty blue eyes to match.
"Here we go," Branna beamed as she pulled me from my seat and towards the crowd.
I went with her without protest and laughed when she screamed, "Kill him, Drake!"
Drake heard this and grinned around his mouth guard, while Dominic quickly glanced down. And out of everyone, he made eye contact with me and glared like he thought I had said that to Drake.
Whatever, I was thinking it.
Dominic returned his focus to Drake and attacked him when a loud beep sounded. I gasped when Dominic landed a solid punch to Drake's face; it reminded me of when he beat up Jason and Gavin. How he fought then should have given me some indication that he did this a lot, and the fact that he rolled into school some days with bruises on his face and swollen bits of flesh everywhere. But it didn't, which was why I was still surprised to be watching him in action now.