On The Ropes

Round 23

Merry Christmas and happy holidays gang. Thanks for sticking around while I got things together. This book was not discontinued, I know a lot of you were worried about that. I put updates on a hold while I finished my other book (Unrequited), and then some things in my personal life prevented me from writing as much as I wanted to.

But I'm back in business and Unrequited is over which means On The Ropes is back in action.

Enjoy the update, thank you for your patience 🫶🏾

(Not proofread, I apologize for any mistakes)

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Javier's POV

The sound of yelling, talking, grunts and the occasional sound of impact filled the boxing gym, surrounding me as I focused on hitting the punching bag in front of me. I threw different combinations at the bag, hearing Tyreek's voice in the back of my mind as I worked on all of the things he told me to focus on.

My footwork needed work, as well as my left hand dominance. With training, I was slowly getting smoother with my boxing. Tyreek was constantly teaching me his own techniques and allowing me to apply and tweak them to fit my own style. We fought similarly besides us having opposite dominant hands, but I still did my best to change my own style up.

The last thing I needed was to be labeled as a second Pretty Boy rather than my own person.

For the most part, I'd been training either with Tyreek or by myself. Tyreek and Dayquan were hesitant to put me back into the ring just yet, especially with Frostbite being the only person who didn't have a preferred sparring partner.

I didn't mind being put against Frostbite again despite how scared everyone else was at the concept.

He's an angry man and it's clear that he takes his anger out via boxing—but that just tells me that he has some issues.

He reminds of Rodney in a way. Rodney's a sad man who got his trauma out via his art, but sometimes he also acted out with people—especially Zavier and Antwon—because of his anger.

Somewhere deep down behind Frostbite's anger, there's some type of pain. So if he's gotta knock my head loose a few times, then so be it.

Plus, I feel that learning to fight against someone as volatile as him will only help me get better.

Trying to convince Tyreek and Dayquan that I can fight him has been a battle in itself, though.

"Javi." I heard from beside me.

Continuing to throw blows at the punching bag, I hummed and glanced at Zavier who sat on the floor with his legs crossed, watching my every move. "Wassup, mi Osito?" I asked, seeing that he'd zoned out immediately after calling my name.

Blinking, he focused on me again and flashed me a smile, showing off his diamond grillz in his mouth. "I love you." He said, smiling even harder.

I let out a laugh, shaking my head at him. "I love you too, Osito." I responded with a small smile, "that's all you wanted?"

Zavier shrugged his shoulders at the question. "Maybe, ion know. I forgot." He responded, continuing to grin at me. "That angry nigga here." He added, nodding towards the front of the gym.

I turned my attention to the front, watching as Frostbite walked in with a scowl on his face while he carried his bag over one shoulder.

He was freshly bruised, like he'd just gotten into a fight before coming here, but the bruises didn't seem to bother him as he made his way through the gym and back to the locker room.