“Eh.” Val held an ice pack to her cheek. “That Diego guy packs a punch.”
“You don’t understand!” Liam crowed from the back seat. Isabella followed in her car. “You beat a legend, Val. A legend!”
“Yeah, and he beat me,” Val grumbled.
Archibald and Buck reached the Iron Fist first. When Val and the others arrived, “We Are the Champions” was blaring at full volume. Buck paraded around the bar with Val’s championship belt above his head.
“How did he get my belt?” Val wondered as they entered the bar.
“There she is!” Enzo spread his arms. “Our very own MMA champion!”
The patrons responded with a roar of approval and copious applause.
Buck and Archibald charged Val. “Noooo,” she moaned as they bent to put their shoulders beneath her butt.
“Dudes, easy,” Henry cautioned. “She’s banged up.”
The guys hesitated.
“C’mon, Val!” Enzo yelled.
“Yeah, show us that belt!” Isabella roared.
Val laughed. “Okay, fine, but go easy.”
Archibald and Buck scooped her onto their shoulders as if she weighed nothing (which was not the case). Henry handed her the belt, and she held it up, grinning.
“That’s right, bitches!” she yelled.
The crowd went ballistic. Archibald and Buck paraded her around the bar several times, then deposited her on a stool by the counter. Enzo slid a quart of Iron IPA into her hand.
Henry squeezed onto the stool beside hers. “Hey, you’re sure you don’t have a head injury, right? Because alcohol—”
“The medic cleared me, Henry. Shut up,” Val told him amiably. He had no way of knowing that her skull contained large chunks of iron and was almost impenetrable.
She raised the excellent beer to her lips and downed the glass. The patrons cheered again when she slammed the empty glass down. “Another!”
Tetra took the glass, and a cold wind blew through Val’s glow. The faerie gave her a long stare, black eyes baleful, and stormed to the dishwasher.
“Brrr.” Henry shivered. “That was cold. Is everything okay between you two?”
Val shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Talking helps.” Liam sat on the stool opposite Henry.
“Not right now, okay?” Val growled.
Liam gestured placatingly. “Okay.”
“Jess says congrats,” Isabella announced, leaning over the bar with her phone in her hand. “She’s sorry she couldn’t get off work tonight. I sent her the videos. She also says you’re insane.”
Val laughed. “Thanks, Bella.”
“Are you okay with doing your bodyguarding stuff tomorrow?” Henry asked as Val shifted in her seat with a groan.
“Oh, I’m fine. Little sore. Nothing new,” Val reassured him.
Tetra slammed a second quart of IPA on the bar, spilling it. She wiped up the mess with a harsh sweep of her cloth and marched away.
“Ouch,” Liam muttered.
“Ignore her,” Val told him loudly. “She’s being unprofessional.”
Tetra flipped her off.
“Valerie,” Enzo chided quietly. “I don’t want to ruin your night, but you two need to iron things out.”
“I’m not sure they can be ironed out,” Val muttered.
“That’s a problem for tomorrow,” Henry announced. “Tonight, we celebrate!”
Enzo just grinned as “We are the Champions” started anew. The drunken patrons sang along, and on the third chorus, Val gave up trying to be humble and joined in. She held her beer over her head in one hand and her belt in the other. Henry had to grab her shirt to keep her from tipping over.
“Good thing you fight better than you sing,” someone joked behind her.
Val turned. Diego Lopez stood a few feet away, arms folded. An awkward silence spread through the bar like ripples in a pond. The song continued to play loudly.
Val cleared her throat. “Diego!” She grinned. “Have a beer, dude. On the house!”
