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  I rolled with one of his rights and wrapped him in a clinch. I knew he wasn’t ready for me to take him down yet, but I let him struggle hard for a minute before I let him push me away. I wanted his muscles burning with fatigue before we went into the next round. Once he was loose, I fended off a couple of strong right hooks and then not heeding Sam’s advice, I walked into a left that I was sure was going to be as weak as the rest of them had been. It wasn’t. It connected with the right side of my face like an accelerating train. I staggered back and tried to reel away. I was dazed and the gray spots floating before my eyes were impeding my vision. The ringing in my ears was muffling the sound of the crowd as I tried to get my bearings in time to keep from hitting the floor. Gizmo wasn’t going to let me slink away and recover, he was following me relentlessly, throwing one punch after the next.

  I was still too dazed to do much but try and bat them away. Most of them were connecting and I saw him step back, ready to throw out his right leg and try to drop me to the floor. I stepped forward into it, the only thing I did right this round. I was too close for it to land the way he had intended it to and I wrapped him up while one foot was still off the ground. This time he stumbled backwards and I went with him, both of us landing against the side of the cage. We were still locked in our slow dance when the buzzer sounded. Neither of us wanted to be the one to let go first so we held on until the ref finally tapped on us both and said, “Break!”

  I went to my corner with less swagger this time. I could see Sam shaking his head as I dropped down heavily onto my stool. He handed me the towel and the bucket. I spit out the mouth guard and grabbed the water out of his other hand.

  “That one lucky punch almost took you down, kid.” I laughed, but it sounded more like a snort.

  “You think?” I said, sarcastically.

  “His left’s not as weak as he wanted you to think.”

  “That explains the throbbing in the right side of my face. I wondered where that was coming from.”

  “You wanna be a smart ass or you wanna win this fight?”

  I was going to say “both” but Sam didn’t look to be in the mood for my sarcasm so I muttered, “Win.”

  “Then listen to me, leave this bench like you’re on fire. Don’t fight him, assault him. If you go out there defensive, he’s going to bring out everything he’s been saving up while you thought he was wearing himself down.” I was nodding, the buzzer rang and I went out with Sam’s voice ringing in my ears, “Attack! Assault!” I was on fire, and Gizmo was in trouble.

  I could see in Gizmo’s eyes that he knew the game had changed. There was a look of fear in them that hadn’t been there last round. I feinted right and sent a left out straight from my shoulder. He was expecting a right and his fists up in front of his face were too. My fist shot right through them and I not only saw and felt his head snap back, I heard it. I didn’t stop though; I didn’t plan on it until he was on the ground. I attacked his body. His core was strong but I belted away at it shooting out punch after punch to his ribs and landing a few good kicks to the backs and sides of his thighs. He wasn’t throwing anything back. I was moving too fast and he was too busy trying to protect himself and fend me off.

  I started pounding at his gut and that was when he dropped his hands, his core wasn’t as strong as I thought. If I had been less tired and intense at that moment I would have smiled, right before I landed a perfect right upper cut underneath his chin. It was like watching a fight in slow motion. His head went back, his arms went up and he lost all balance, landing hard flat on his back. For a second I thought he was out cold, but as the crowd roared, Gizmo tried to roll himself over so he could push up off the floor. I didn’t have much left in me and if the son of a bitch got up, I was toast. I dropped on top of him and we grappled for a few seconds, both of us knowing it was over. When I finally got him flipped over and my arm around his neck, he quit squirming…and tapped out.

  It took less than a second for it to penetrate my brain…I won…it was over and I had won! The crowd was going insane. I could see the green of Emmi’s shirt but I couldn’t make out her pretty face over all the bodies pushing and shoving around her. They better watch themselves…she was about to be the champion’s fiancée. The ref grabbed my arm and dragged me to the center of the ring. He wasn’t going to give up his part. The announcer was going crazy yelling my name. The whole place was chaos. I won, I really did it.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  EMMI

  The warehouse was total chaos. I could barely see my parents two seats down, much less Braxton up in the cage. I could see his hand and I knew the ref was holding up his arm. He won and I was happy for him. I was also happy that it was over, that was the last time I would have to watch someone beat on his beautiful face. Zoe was jumping up and down next to me screaming, my dad had his fingers in his mouth blowing a whistle and my demure little mother looked incensed with the smell of blood. I guess it goes to show you that you never really know anyone, not even your own mother.

  The crowd began parting and people were shoving up against us to get out of the way. Girls were screaming and swooning. I couldn’t see a thing, but I knew they must be taking Braxton back to the locker rooms. I felt Callie right up against my back and turned my head slightly.

  “I’m sorry, am I squishing you?”

  “No, it’s cool,” she said. “Are you going back there to see him?”

  Before I could answer Zoe said, “Yes she is, let’s all go.” I gave her a weird look, wondering what the heck was going on with her.

  “Yeah, Callie,” I told her. “I just want to wait until some of this crowd dies down.”

  It took a good twenty minutes for the place to start clearing out. It felt like longer. I was dying to see Braxton, but I guessed it at least gave him a little time to shower and get patched up before we all bombarded him. When the path was clear, Zoe grabbed my arm and said, “Let’s go, come on.”

  “Wait, let me say good night to my parents,” I told her.

  “They’re coming on back too, right Emmi’s mom and dad?” Zoe said.

  “Sure, I’d love to congratulate him,” my mother said.

  “Yep, lead on,” was my father’s reply.

  Okay, they were all being weird. I guessed I would have to wait until Braxton and I were home alone for my good congratulatory kiss. Zoe led us all to the locker room and then stepped back and let me knock. In a few seconds Sam opened the door. He grinned at me, wider than I had personally ever seen him grin. It was a big win for him too so that wasn’t so strange, but when he wrapped me in a sweaty bear hug, I thought it was a little on the far side of weird. I tried not to stiffen up too much and after a bit he let me go.

  “Congratulations, Sam,” I told him. “These are my parents.”

  My dad and Sam shook hands and my mom introduced herself and said, “Nice to meet you.”

  Meanwhile, my eyes were scanning the room for Braxton. I was craving him all of a sudden.

  Sam must have noticed because he said, “The kid is getting dressed, he’ll be right out.”

  Braxton emerged moments later in a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt. His hair was still wet and the side of one of his eyes was turning purple. God, he was gorgeous. He had a glorious smile stretched across his face and my heart felt like it was going to explode. I ached to just grab and kiss him.

  He came over and took me into his arms and we hugged. I made sure to tell him how proud I was of him. He grinned at me again and kissed the side of my face. My parents were there, so I didn’t really expect much more. He hugged his sister and Zoe and then he hugged my mother and shook hands with my dad who as I recalled, he had never even met before. I just couldn’t figure out why everyone was acting so strangely. That was, until Braxton pulled something out of his pocket…that little velvet box…and then he dropped down to one knee. For a second, while I waited for him to speak, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  He took my hand and said, “Emmi, I have never th
ought that I’d want to share my life with one woman. I looked at people who had been together forever and I felt sorry for them when all along, it was myself that I should have been feeling sorry for. I was fooling myself, thinking that I could be happy not having someone to share my entire life with. A lot of it was protecting myself from getting hurt. But lately, from the moment you walked in the door…everything changed. That apartment I lived in alone, thinking I was happy, suddenly became this home that I couldn’t wait to get to and never want to leave. I lay awake at night sometimes and think about you down the hall and I feel comfortable and safe and content just knowing you’re there. I thought my heart was locked up, but piece by piece, you’ve taken it. So I give up, I told Sam to toss in the white towel. Emmi, will you marry me and live with me forever, and have babies with me and—”

  I stopped him there. The tears that had filled my eyes while he was talking began to spill out over my cheeks. In another few seconds I would be sobbing and unable to talk.

  “Yes, Braxton…Yes!” He stood up and took me in his arms and I finally got my kiss. When we broke the kiss he slipped the ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. “Oh my God, Braxton…it’s beautiful, I love it!”

  He kissed me again and then we heard a throat clear. We had both kind of forgotten anyone else was there. My mom grabbed me in a big hug and then it was my dad’s turn. Callie hugged Braxton and said something that I didn’t hear, but they both laughed, so I assumed it was one of her sarcastic comments.

  Then Zoe hugged us both and I finally asked, “What are you all doing here anyways? Mom? Dad?”

  “Braxton asked us to come,” my mom said.

  “He called and invited me to lunch the other day. While we were there, he asked for my blessing. I gave it, happily.” I hugged him again and he whispered in my ear, “You’ll still always be my little girl. I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too, Daddy.” I was crying pretty good once I heard those words. Zoe hugged me next and we cried together for a minute. “Hey, you’ve been acting really weird today, did you know about this too?”

  Zoe looked at Braxton and he grinned and nodded. “Yes! He asked me too. He asked for my permission.”

  “And you said yes?” I asked as I wiped away another stray tear.

  “I’m still thinking about it,” she said with a giggle. I hugged her again.

  “Hey! I said yes too. As a matter of fact, it was my idea to begin with,” Callie said.

  Braxton punched her in the arm and I wrapped her in a hug. I was ecstatic, on top of the world. I wanted to go find Trent and shake his hand and thank him for cheating on me. If he never had, I would probably still be with him and I would have never met this amazing man who was going to be my husband.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  BRAXTON

  It took an hour after I proposed to Emmi to get everyone calmed down enough to get out the door. Emmi’s mom and dad invited us all out to dinner. I told Emmi we could go if she wanted to. I didn’t let on that I really didn’t want to go, but I was relieved when she said that she didn’t want to. We set up a dinner date with them for the following week to celebrate. All I wanted to do was celebrate with Emmi, alone. I was dying; I physically needed to be alone with her. I wanted to kiss her and touch her. We finally walked her parents out and after more hugs and kisses between them and Emmi and another handshake for me from her dad and a hug from her mom, we got them tucked into their SUV and on their way. They were nice people and I looked forward to getting to know them better. Zoe wanted us to go to Lou’s for a celebratory drink.

  “Just one,” she said.

  It took a minute, but we finally convinced her that we really didn’t want to go to Lou’s for not even one drink. She finally got the hint or maybe it was what Emmi whispered into her ear, but she gave us both another hug and took off. We had to take Callie home next. She had ridden the bus out, but I wasn’t letting her get back on the bus down by the docks at night by herself. She chattered on the way home like an excited little girl about our wedding. She apparently had all kinds of ideas, the biggest of them being that we do it down near Grandma’s cabin by the lake. Emmi was sweet; she listened attentively and nodded or said, “Um hmm…” where she needed to. I loved my sister, but I couldn’t wait to drop her off and be alone with Emmi and have a little comfortable silence for a while.

  I drove up in front of the house, noticing my dad’s car wasn’t there. That was probably good for Callie, although she was still under the impression he was staying sober or at least trying. I hated to think that she was just going to be disappointed again, but I was pretty sure that was going to be the case. Hopefully by the time he came home she would be asleep and she wouldn’t have to deal with his drunken ass.

  We said good night and I waited until I saw her go inside before I put the truck in reverse. As soon as my back-up lights came on, I saw his car.

  “Shit!”

  “What’s wrong?” Emmi asked.

  “Nothing, the old man just pulled in. Move the car! What the hell is he doing?” He had parked right behind me and turned the car off. “Shit! I’m sorry, Emmi, I’ll be right back.”

  She didn’t say anything, she only nodded. I saw her turn to watch as I walked back to see what the hell my father thought he was doing. God, I hoped that he wasn’t drunk; I didn’t have any motivation at all to fight with him. He was stepping out of the car when I got there.

  “Hey there, son,” he said.

  “Dad, can you move your car please? I can’t get out.”

  “You don’t want to introduce me to your fiancée?”

  “My fiancée? What are you talking about?”

  “I was at the fight tonight, Braxton. You were…I don’t even have words for it. It was the first time I let myself see past my anger and really see you in a long time. I know that I don’t have a right to be but I am really proud of you.”

  I was staring at him, probably with my mouth hanging open. He didn’t seem drunk. He wasn’t slurring his words or anything, but I couldn’t help but wonder if his words were chemically induced. I didn’t know what to say.

  Finally I said, “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure, anything,” he said.

  “I have just never been able to figure out what the anger is about. What did I do to make you so angry?”

  “Aw, Braxton. You didn’t do a damn thing. I was angry at life. I was pissed off at God or fate or whoever took your mother away from us. It got all mixed up in my stupid head, especially when I added alcohol to it. I’m so damn sorry.”

  I nodded. “I was angry too, about her leaving. I guess we should’ve talked about it. Thanks for coming tonight. Um, Dad…how did you know about the proposal though?”

  He smiled. “I was waffling about going back and telling you how great you did. I wasn’t sure if I would be welcome or not. I was standing outside the locker room. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Congratulations, son.”

  “Thanks, she’s pretty amazing.”

  “I don’t doubt it. In spite of the hand God dealt you in the parents department…One perfect one who had to leave too soon and the other a big loser, you turned out good. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

  I couldn’t remember the last time I cried; maybe it was winning the big fight, proposing to Emmi, my dad doing this huge thing about face all of a sudden, or the combination. I wasn’t sure. I felt my eyes stinging with tears and I had a lump in my throat that I wasn’t sure I was even going to be able to swallow.

  “Thanks,” I said again. Then, because he needed it or because I did…I grabbed him in a hug and for the first time in years I let my dad pull me against his chest and hold me there for a minute. It was like being thrust back into time when he was my hero and not just some jerk that I avoided like the plague. He didn’t smell like alcohol and his hands weren’t shaking. Maybe Callie wasn’t just being optimistic and he was really going to stay sober this time or m
aybe all the sentimental stuff was working overtime on me. Either way, right at that moment I wanted to believe it myself.

  “Um, Emmi’s waiting,” I said, pulling back. He had tears in his eyes too. I think we both really wanted to believe everything was going to be okay. “Do you want to meet her, my fiancée?”

  My dad had to wipe a tear off his cheek as he said, “I would love to.”

  We walked over to the truck together and I opened the door and said, “Emmi, this is my dad.”

  My dad took the hand she offered and shook it. Smiling at her he said, “It’s so nice to meet you, Emmi. Congratulations on your engagement. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you from my daughter. You’re getting a good man.”

  Emmi smiled and said, “I know. Thank you though. It was nice meeting you too.”

  I said goodnight to him and he moved the car so we could leave. He was still sitting in the car as we pulled out on the road. He probably wanted to compose himself before Callie saw him.

  On the way home Emmi and I didn’t talk. It was another thing I loved about Emmi. She knew when I just needed time to reflect and her quiet support was appreciated more than I would ever be able to tell her.

  I parked the truck in the parking lot and my feelings for Emmi just completely overwhelmed me. I turned and finally pulled her in for the kind of kiss I had been dying to give her all night. She responded like she had been waiting for it too and the only reason I stopped it was because I was dying to get her inside where we could lay down together and really celebrate our engagement.

  I stepped out of the truck and helped her down. I closed the pickup door and pushed her gently by her hips that I still had ahold of against the side of the truck and kissed her again. It took us a good ten minutes to get up to the door. We had to stop two more times before we made it inside. Once against a little tree and once again up against the stucco wall of the apartment building. That time Emmi complained about it scratching her back so we spun around to the door. I fumbled to get the key in the lock while my lips and tongue still explored her warm, sweet mouth. When the door finally came open, we nearly fell in.