Her hands are moving fast and it makes me wonder if she's hurrying just to stop second guessing. Her fingers are unbuttoning my shirt now as I continue to kiss her smooth lips. She moans, her fingers at my pants now.
Without a thought, I pull back, sitting up on the sofa. Out of breath, I watch her heated face fold into confusion.
"I'm sorry." I shake my head. "I don't think we should do this." All the heat in my body has traveled somewhere else, the thought of being able to touch her body makes it so much harder to pull away.
"You don't want to?" She asks, her eyes studying mine.
"It's not that." I speak quickly as she leans up onto her elbows. I cover my face, taking a deep breath before I uncover them to look at her. "I want to, believe me, I do but we shouldn't. Not like this, at least."
Her eyes avert from mine, her cheeks growing red.
"You're right." She falls back onto the cushion as I button my pants back and begin on the buttons of my shirt. I stop, watching her face as she stares at the ceiling. I can't tell what she's thinking or feeling anymore. I lean forward and press a kiss to her lips again, a short one, but it brings a small smile to the surface.
"Can I stay the night?" I ask. "Just so you aren't alone."
She smiles softly at me, nodding once.
~••~
My fanbase has seemed to grow in the past week and a half. There are more people beginning to notice me on the streets, it's hard to be able to walk anywhere lately. I'm not complaining, I love that these people know who I am but it's become a little hard to manage interacting with crazed fans. I take a few pictures with them, as much as I can, before I hail a cab. Rick says I should get my own driver but I can't help but think that's a bit extreme. I've always gotten around on my own.
I'm on the news, pictures of me during fights make their way onto the tv screen, even clips from my first interview. Rick turns the volume up on the gym tv whenever I'm mentioned and the men get fired up, shouting my name. They make me laugh every time, the fact that they enjoy making a fool out of themselves to show their honor for me.
Julio, one of my boxing mates, can't stop talking about how big I'll be years from now. "Everyone will know your name just as they did David Anderson." He says.
"Can we just fight now?" I mumble as I push my mouth piece in. He chuckles, knocking gloves with me before we begin to circle the ring.
We throw a few jabs and crosses, a few hits and a bunch of dodges. We continue until Rick calls for me, tossing a glove at my head and giving Julio the opportunity to jab at my gut. I double over and begin to laugh as he obnoxiously circles the ring announcing himself as the winner. As I stand again I chuck the glove at him and hit him in the back of the head. We both laugh a bit harder, fist pounding before I leave the ring.
"Are you ready for tonight?" Rick asks as I unwrap my fists.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I shrug. "Why do you look like you have to shit?" I playfully joke about his worried facial expression.
"Because Carter James is fighting at the same charity event." He says and my joking state vanishes. I take a deep breath. "You're fighting Carter when you make it to the last round."
"Why didn't I know about this before?" I ask him.
"He just entered and I'm betting a million bucks he saw your name on the roster and put himself in." He says and I shut my eyes. "Listen, you've been training the greatest part of your life for this moment. Don't let him intimidate you. He's just afraid."
