Half Hearted

Chapter Fourty Nine

| Teresa |

The day of the fight arrived, and I could not have been less bummed out about it.

Ash went around the house with his 'fight routine' drinking orange juice and punching the air at the most random, opportune times. Meanwhile, I tried finding the least sexual outfit I had - because that would apparently make him feel the most comfortable. It wasn't much of a stretch, since all I had brought with me qualified for being pyjamas anyways.

After we ate lunch, he went outside to call 'someone important,' and I finished the movie from last night. After that, it was finally time for us to get ready.

He got dressed in his boxing shorts, and then wore track pants over it, followed by a large pullover hoodie. Meanwhile, I might as well have gone in my pyjamas.

"Satisfied?" I asked, lifting up my arms and showing him my dull, grey outfit.

After looking me up and down twice, Ash smiled and brought me into his arms. Then, after giving a brief kiss on my forehead, he spoke, "I've got a friend that you're going to stay with until I'm out of the ring. Make sure you stay with him until the end, got it? I trust him more than anyone."

"Okay, boss," I replied, breathing in his Old Spice scent. "Just make sure you win this, or I'll run away to Canada without saying goodbye."

He shook his head, chuckling, and then we both proceeded to head out of his house.

I drove on the way there, with him first giving me instructions on how to drive on the right side of the road. It took some time getting used to, but since I was driving on the highway to nowhere, it didn't even matter that I sucked.

Ash needed the time to focus and soothe his nerves. He didn't even listen to music or anything, so I tried being as behaved as possible.

When we got there, he introduced me to his friend - presumably, my body guard for the time being. His name was Dean, and he was about two feet taller than me - with a triangular body shape. It was a bit uncomforting, seeing how grande his shoulders and torso were, but how tiny his legs were in comparison. Either way, he seemed to be feared by the crowd around us.

And boy, was it a crowd.

All around me were middle aged men, hooting and hollering. Most of them were at the betting booth - which, I bet my last twenty pounds on Ash - while the others were grabbing drinks from the cooler. There were some women too, but they were more composed than the men. And they seemed to be bodybuilders too - just better torso to leg ratio.

Before Ash's fight, there had to be a minor one. It was a face off between two rookies, Dean had told me. Watching it had been painful.

Although the two of them were both inexperienced fighters, one was clearly winning - and he wasn't being humble about it. And since there were technically no referees to call anything out, the fight when on until one fell to the ground, blood gushing from his face.

I cringed as they dragged his body from the ring, and the winner stood victorious; the crowd both cheering and furious at the outcome.

Then, the winner was shooed off the ring, and the crowd got even more louder - if that were even possible. Dean assured me that Ash would be fine, that he had been doing this for years and that I had nothing to be afraid of. But that couldn't settle my fears.

Even a pro athlete made mistakes sometimes. And both had it in common that one mistake could take a life.

After Ash stepped up to the ring, he stayed focused on his competitor, not even bothering to give me a glance. Apparently he didn't want to draw attention to me, but with Dean protecting me all around, it didn't really matter anyways. I was being given looks that made me feel small.