Page 94 of Heal Me, Love Me

Love you too

After I finished with Reid in the cage, my shoulders were on fire, and my knees were red from the mat. Coach Isaac had spent most of the round making me work with my back near the fence, correcting my head placement every time I tried to muscle free instead of turning my hips to create space.

Grant was waiting near the edge of the training floor when I stepped out. He’d texted the night before to say he’d be at the gym to go over a few things. He lifted his chin. “You have five minutes before recovery?”

“Yes, sir. What’s up?”

“Just want to talk about the Miami card.”

I grabbed my water bottle from the edge of the mat. “Am I fighting?”

“That’s what I’m working on.”

“Nice.”

I followed him to a small conference room off the hallway near reception. He set his tablet on the table between us and waited for me to sit. “So, yeah, there’s a spot on the card I like for you.”

“How soon?”

“In nine weeks.”

“That’s enough time?”

“For where you are? Yes.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’re already training. This isn’t starting camp from zero.”

That made sense, even if nine weeks still felt fast. Then again, this was exactly what I’d come here for.

I nodded. “What do you need from me?”

He turned the tablet toward me. “If we take this fight, I want more eyes on you before the announcement. Nothing crazy. Justtraining clips and a few posts from the gym. Enough so that when your name shows up on the card, people already know who you are.”

I glanced at the screen. It was a still from a training clip someone had taken that morning, when Dante had me backing across the mat, and I cut to his outside before he could square up again. “I didn’t realize someone was filming us.”

“One of the assistants grabbed it. They get clips during pro training all the time.”

“I’ve noticed them filming other people.” I looked at the paused video again. “It’s weird seeing myself in one of the clips.”

“It gets easier.”

“Not sure I want it to.”

Grant leaned back again. “You don’t have to become someone else for people to care. But they do need to see you.”

I knew that. I didn’t love being on display, but I knew it was an important part of our industry. Fighting wasn’t only about what happened after the bell. People cared about the build, the training, and the little pieces that made them decide who they wanted to root for before anyone threw a punch.

“All right.” I leaned against the back of the chair, trying not to let my excitement show too much. “So, we have nine weeks to make me social media famous?”

His mouth twitched. “No. Nine weeks to make sure the right people know your name before fight week.”

“Cool.”

He closed the tablet. “My team will handle the posts. You handle recovery.”

“Works for me.”

By the time I stood, my body had cooled down just enough to remind me how much work I’d already done. I followed Grant out of the conference room, then headed back to the training floor, where Coach Isaac had me run through mobility exerciseswith one of the trainers before icing my knees while he reviewed the next few days. When I left the gym, my body was exhausted from working hard. Since Grant had pulled me into a meeting before I could start recovery, Reid had beaten me back to fighter housing. He was stretched out on one of the couches in the common room, one arm tucked behind his head, as a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game played on the TV. He glanced over when I came in, then lifted his chin.

“Your clip’s up on The Loop. Did you see?”