KNOCKOUT

Chapter 6

The light shines through the window, and I squint my eyes, turning away and facing the man next to me. Holden's curls are sprawled out across the pillow, the light shining directly on his face. His face looks so relaxed, so peaceful. One arm is curled underneath his head, covered by the pillow while the other is thrown across my waist, keeping me close to him. I study his face for a long time, listening to his soft snores fill the room.

I flip onto my stomach, burying my face in my own pillow, sighing when I hear him shifting next to me. It's probably time for both of us to get up, but all I want to do is stay in bed with him all day.

"Good morning, baby," his voice is lower than usual, his eyes still groggy with sleep.

I peek up at him from my spot on the pillow, "Morning."

"What time is it?" His eyes squint against the brightness in the room, and he pulls me even closer to his body.

I shrug, "Don't know, don't care."

Placing a small kiss on my forehead, he lets go of me to roll over and take a look at the clock. It's nearly eleven, which means we should've been up a couple hours ago. I watch from my spot on the bed as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he stands up.

"Cute butt, Samuels," I giggle, watching the muscles in his back flex before he turns back around to face me.

"I know," he winks, disappearing into the bathroom. I sigh, sinking further into the bed until I hear him call out to me, "Get ready, Smalls. Today's the big day."

He's right, today is the big day. After several weeks of healing and being on rest like Dr. Ramsay suggested, it's finally the day Holden can start training again. He was cleared at his check-up yesterday; Dr. Ramsay's only rule was to find a coach who could teach him how to defend his weak spot better.

Holden will still have to take it easy for the first few days of training, but he should be back up to his normal standard in no time.

I allow myself to stay in bed for another minute before finally picking myself up from the comfortable mattress, picking up some clothes off the floor and sliding them on my body. Taking a deep breath, I walk into the bathroom, nudging Holden over as I start brushing my teeth.

He's fumbling around with that familiar American flag bandana, trying to get it to hold all of his hair back. It's a good effort, really, but his hair has grown so much in the time I've known him. He has too much of it now to be held back by a scrap of fabric.

After I finish brushing my teeth, I push Holden from in front of the sink, bending down to rummage around the cabinet. When I find what I'm looking for, I hold my hand out for Holden's bandana and instead place a hair tie in his outstretched hand. He looks at the object, unsure what to do with it.

"What's this for?" His eyes are focused on the small stretchy band, his accent still thick with sleep as he pinches the band between his fingers.

"To pull your hair up."

I shrug, grabbing another one from underneath the sink, quickly pulling my hair back in a messy bun. Even though he's the one training today, I know he'll make me throw some hits on the bag. Might as well be prepared.

"How did you do that?" He's looking at my bun in wonder, as if he's never seen it before. I guess it never occurred to him that is own hair is long enough now.

Quickly, I pull my hair out of the band, "Watch me."

I go slow when pulling my hair up, making my bun ten times better than the first time I did it. Holden still seems amazed, looking at the hair accessory he's holding.