FIGHT

Chapter 10

My mind is awake before my body is ready to be. Without opening my eyes, I can tell it's now daytime. Even with my eyes closed, things are bright. I shift my body, stretching as much as possible with the large weight plastered across my waist.

I allow my eyes to open slowly, taking their time to adjust to the bright sunlight filtering in through Holden's window. My eyes travel to my waist; Holden's shirt is pushed up a little and Holden's arm is laying on my bare stomach, holding me close to him.

I turn my head, focusing my gaze on Holden. His face is less than a foot away from me. I watch as he breathes in his sleep, soft noises escaping his pink, parted lips. With the sunlight basking around him, he looks almost angelic.

My body scoots closer to him, and I try to be as quiet as possible, but the bed has other plans. It creaks loudly and when he shifts, I know I've woken him up. Holden's eyes flutter open, squinting against the light.

He's grinning at me, just watching me before he whispers, "Morning baby."

My stomach flutters at the nickname, a small smile on my face as I look at him. His voice is thick, his accent even more prominent than usual.

"Good morning, Holden."

Holden pulls me closer, pressing me against his body. He lovingly rubs his nose against mine, making me giggle.

"Tell me, Tatum. How is it possible that you look this beautiful when first waking up?"

I place a small kiss on his nose, blushing at his words, "I don't know. Maybe you should be asking yourself that question."

He rolls his eyes at me, pressing light kisses all over my face. It seems so surreal that yesterday was his match. That it was the same day I broke up with Luke. That it was the same day I told Holden about the horror that is my family.

"What do you want for breakfast, T?"

I lock eyes with him, forcing my expression to be completely serious, "You're trying to fatten me up."

"You need energy for training, love."

He really needs to stop with the pet names because I can't think straight whenever he calls me them. I find myself watching his lips, waiting for the next sweet word to fall from them.

"Training?"

My voice is low, my eyes still trained on his lips. Holden's pink lips pull up into a smirk and I know he's caught me watching. I can't focus, not with those lips so close to mine. Not when he calls me sweet names. Certainly not when I know how good his kisses are.

Holden leans closer to me, barely brushing his lips against mine. I feel my eyes flutter closed, waiting for him to kiss me.

Instead, he just continues talking, "Yes, baby. You have boxing training today."

Boxing training.

I push away his words, trying to focus on the fact that I've got training. I hear the word baby ringing in my ear, but I try my best to ignore it.

Focus, Tatum.

I whisper back to him, our lips still barely brushing, "Right. Boxing. Punching a big bag. Got it."

He pulls away from me slightly, laughing at my less than intelligent response. My eyes peel open, catching Holden while he's still laughing. His eyes are crinkled in the corner and his mouth is open wide. Both of his dimples pop out and I decide to give in to the urge, poking one of them with my index finger.