I lift another box and toss it out of the back of Marty’s truck over to Britany who places it out on the curb. “Is that the last one?” she asks.

“Last one,” Tyler says and hops out the back before grabbing one of the boxes from the curb and heading up to Laurel’s apartment.

The whole gang is here today helping me to move in with Laurel: the female fighters, Marty, his now fiancé Amy, Tyler, and Bobby. I didn’t really have that much to move apart from a ridiculous amount of clothes that I hadn’t ever unpacked over at Tyler’s, but they all came out anyways. Laurel had cooked, so that probably had a lot to do with it. Britany, Marty, and I grab the last of the boxes and head up with the others to Laurel’s apartment.

Laurel is in the kitchen pulling out some hot wings she had cooking in the oven. The girls Katie, Eleanor, and LaWanda, and Marty’s girl Amy are all standing around greedily waiting on the wings. I glance over in the corner and see Marianna and Tyler sitting on Laurel’s couch together, each with a beer in hand; they’re both acting really flirty, and I smile and wink at them both to let them know I’ve caught on.

Britany, Marty, and I drop the boxes we brought up –all quite eager to get a hold of some of those hot wings. Everyone digs in, and once the plates all start looking empty, Laurel calls out for some entertainment. “So,” Laurel says, propping her elbows up on the kitchen island, “what’s the plan for tonight, boys? Looks like everyone is free.”

“Yeah,” Marianna chimes in, her eyes fixated on Tyler, “we should all go out.”

“We actually have plans,” Marty says, checking out his phone to double check the time.

“Oh,” Laurel says, “Well, Marty and Amy are out. What about-”

“No, he means we,” I say while pointing at all of the guys in the room as well as Amy.

Laurel frowns. “Really? Our first night moved in together, and you made plans with the guys?”

“You ladies can come,” Bobby says.

In response to that Marty, Tyler, and I all shout, “No!”

Amy laughs. “You guys embarrass too easily.”

This sparks the interests of every one of the fighters. “I’m sorry, but what exactly are you all up to tonight?” LaWanda asks.

“Nothing,” Marty says quickly.

“I agree with Bobby,” Amy sings, grabbing a hold of Marty’s arm. “We should invite Jonathan’s friends. Bobby, why don’t you call and see-”

“No,” Marty says again.

“What are you boys up to?” Laurel questions. “Because I can’t decide if I want in or not.”

“You don’t,” Tyler says.

“Hold on, guys,” I say, “I say we let them come. But, they have to go right now and take a chance on what it is. If they come, they gotta play along.”

The women exchange glances. “He’s sketching me out,” Katie says, “I don’t want to go.”

“They’re just being stupid,” Britany retorts, “They’re probably just going to a bar and don’t want us to come.”

“Okay, your loss,” I say and look at the time. “But we have to get going.”

“Screw it!’ Katie makes a full 180, “I want to go. I’m going. Who else is going?”

“I don’t know what we’re going to,” Laurel complains. “Quit being so mysterious, and I’ll go.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I tease. “Come on, you might actually have fun, but you better make up your mind quick –because we’re going to be late if we don’t leave now.”

It takes about thirty seconds for all of them to decide to go with us. I suppose curiosity got the better of them; Marty and Tyler do not look at all amused that we have some uninvited guests. The look on all of the fighter’s faces when we pull up outside of this high end costume shop is pretty priceless. “What the fuck?” I hear LaWanda say, and I continue to play coy –Marty and Tyler get in on the fun, having accepted their fate for the evening.

“Now, now, LaWanda,” Marty sings, “you agreed to come on our guys night out without asking any questions. You chose to came, so you have to play.”

Bobby leads the way into the costume shop, and the women all remain in the back of the crowd –all looking incredibly sketched out about being here as though we took them down a back alley to buy drugs. “Hey, Bobby!” the guy behind the counter waves, “I was wondering if you boys were going to show. I got your costumes ready.”

“I need a favor, man,” Bobby says and winks back at the women, “we have some last minute guests. You think you can hook us up?”

“I’m not wearing a fucking costume,” I hear Britany hiss.

“She’d make a pretty Belle with that long brown hair of hers,” the shop owner says, “Let me see…” he does a head count of the women, “You know, I think I might have just enough. I’ll be right back.”

“Did he say Belle?” Britany snarls. “If you think we’re all about to get decked out as damn princesses, you’re out of your damn minds.”

“I agree,” I say, “I think Britany will make a charming Belle.”

“You all did agree to play along, remember?” Tyler jokes.

“What in the world are you guys doing tonight that requires you to wear costumes?” Mariana questions.

Tyler smiles, “She’s got to be Ariel. She’s got red hair,” he smiles at her.

“No asking questions. Its do or die tonight, ladies,” I say.

They look at each other; as a bunch of die-hard athletes, they probably haven’t done anything this goofy and girly since they were five. Laurel shakes her head, “Fine. I’ll do it. We’ve come this far. So are you boys being princes, is that it?”

“Prince Charming,” I say with a wink and a bow.

“Of course you are,” Laurel says. “Fine. I’ll do it, but I get to be Cinderella if you’re Prince Charming.”

“Fine. Deal,” I say.

The other women laugh, but Laurel’s compliance gets them in on the game. Marty and Amy dress up as Sleeping Beauty and whatever her prince is –Prince Phillip? I don’t know. Tyler dresses as Prince Eric to go with Marianna’s Ariel. I do Charming, and Laurel is my Cinderella. Bobby, ironically the scrawniest guy of the group, does the Beast while Britany is his Belle. When I tell LaWanda to be Tatiana she flicks me off, calls me a racist, and chooses to be Pocahontas instead. Katie and Eleanor dress up as the new princess sisters –Katie the blonde one with the weird ice powers while Eleanor does the younger sister. I forget their names.

The shop-keepers wife is kind enough to help all the women with their hair; they’re pretty legit costumes, and I’m glad Marty offered to foot the bill for all the extra costumes we’re renting. I hear Marianna groaning, “A pink dress? Why couldn’t I wear Ariel’s mermaid costume –you know, the purple shells and like some green pants or something?”

“The pink really clashes with your hair –who designed a redheaded princess with a pink, fluffy bridesmaid dress anyways?” LaWanda teases; everyone is checking out her legs in that Pocahontas outfit.

“Looking good, ladies,” I say while I finish buttoning up my Prince Charming costume. “All right, we got to go.”

“God, I hope we don’t run into anyone we know,” Laurel says; she looks adorable as Cinderella. “You realize we have a reputation, right? Could you imagine what would happen if someone saw a bunch of female boxers and MMA fighters dressed like Disney Princesses?”

We load up and drive out to the suburbs, pulling up into a driveway. We all crowd out. “Remember, everyone,” I joke, “You have a role to play.”

“Are we at a fucking kid’s birthday party?” Britany groans; she actually looks gorgeous –who would have thought?

“Pretty sure Belle doesn’t cuss,” Bobby says and hooks her arm; he smiles, “you good with being my princess tonight, Britany?”

“I will punch you,” she warns.

We head inside, and I instantly hear Mary, Gabe’s little sister, scream bloody murder to see who has shown up for her birthday. The other girls in the room who are sitting around waiting for the bouncer to be blown up in the back yard are equally excited. Mary comes running up to us; she’s wearing a little princess tiara on her head and a pink boa. “Hey!” she squeals when she sees me. “Jonathan, you’re Prince Charming!”

I laugh and bend down to give her a hug. “Of course, didn’t you know that, Mary?”

She giggles. She about loses her mind over Katie and Eleanor. “It’s Elsa and Anna!” she screams. That’s right; I’m glad I didn’t call them by the wrong names.

I’m actually surprised at how quickly everybody gets into character. By the time the party is underway Britany is in a corner with Bobby reading books to some of the kids, Marianna is trying to do Tyler’s hair with a fork, and Laurel has a couple of kids helping her find one of her missing shoes.

Mary’s mother has me helping to cut the birthday cake once the party is really hopping. She smiles. “I really appreciate you boys doing this for Mary,” she says. “She didn’t want to have a birthday party, you know? Gabe always dressed up for her, so this was just perfect.”

“Really?” I question as I cut into the cake, “I didn’t know he would do that.”

“He and Mary were always really close; he loved her so much. I know he’d be really happy to know you guys are looking after her like this,” she woman kisses my cheek and then starts to pass out cake to the kids. I smile. I certainly hope Mary is having a good time.