Natalie
Five months.
Time flies, doesn’t it? I’d say that time flies when you’re having fun, but that hasn’t exactly been the case. Sure, I had Logan by my side during all these months but, without Hunter, I feel like a puzzle with a missing piece.
I’m closer than ever to Logan, and I love him with all my heart … but I’d be lying through my teeth if I told you I've forgotten about Hunter. It’s just impossible. Somehow, the connection the three of us forged is too strong to break off.
Twenty phone calls.
Probably a lot more, but these were the ones I remember. I’ve tried to reach Hunter over and over again, but I never managed to get through to him. He instructed everyone around him, from his agent to his lawyer, to shut us out, and that’s exactly what they did.
As a last resort, I even sent word to Hunter’s lawyers about the way things unfolded, and about Ed’s involvement with the leak. As they told us, they would relay the message, but that we shouldn’t expect Hunter to believe such nonsense. Apparently, there’s a huge penalty if one of them backs out of the fight… And so, by trying to convince Hunter that he doesn’t have to fight, I must be playing right into his assumption that Logan and I have bandied up together to crush him.
Seven press conferences.
That’s how many of them I’ve accompanied Logan to. I don’t know if it was appropriate of me to go with him, but he insisted he wanted me by his side. And how could I refuse? When the man you love asks you for your support, ‘no’ is the last word you want to say.
The journalists always go crazy when they see us, and I’ve lost count of how many times my face has appeared on articles about Logan. Our relationship is no longer hidden from the world; it’s in the open now. I’m just afraid of that making Hunter even angrier than he already must be.
Two face-offs.
The contract obliged them to it, and even though that was the last thing they wanted to do, they had to meet. Those are awkward events, but there was no way around it. And so I accompanied Logan to both of them, and I sat in the front rows as they marched onto a stage in front of thousands of people and were forced to do their fighting poses just a few inches away from each other.
While most events of the kind involve trash-talking and are akin to a circus, it was completely different with Hunter and Logan. They refused to do any kind of trash talking, and they barely acknowledged each other.
Okay, I’m not being completely fair; Logan tried to talk with Hunter the first time he saw him, but he just pretended he wasn’t listening to any of his words. Just like I had predicted, Hunter has his heels dug in, and he won’t listen to anything that comes out of Logan’s mouth, or mine, for that matter.
You’d think that two face-offs as cold as as these ones would disappoint the fans but, somehow, it has only made the interest in the fight grow. With everyone aware of their past, they know that this isn’t a fictional grudge; no, it’s all very real, too real.
Five sparring sessions.
Logan has been training like a maniac and, despite not embarking on a training camp that cuts him off from the rest of the world, his focus is laser sharp. I’ve seen him spar five times with different opponents, all of them former heavyweight champions, and he cut through all of them easily.
Still, every time he steps inside the ring, I feel anxiety gripping me tight. And those were only sparring sessions. Once it’s only Hunter and Logan inside the ring, I’m going to be a complete wreck. After all, Hunter isn’t just a champion; he’s the champion of champions.
Hundreds.
Logan and I, we’ve been together hundreds of times now, and you know exactly what I mean by that. You’d think that, with all his training, there wouldn’t be much time for us to be together, but that’s exactly the opposite. I don’t know how much I believe him, but Logan insists on telling me that he needs me by his side to keep focused.
And, well, I couldn’t be any happier to oblige. We’ve been fucking every single day now, sometimes more than once, and every time we do it we seem to grow closer.
Still, there’s that damned hole inside my heart…
I can’t make it go away and, oh, I tried.
Twenty four hours.
That’s right, twenty fours to go. After five months of training, anxiety, and tearing my hair out… Fight day is finally upon us. Tomorrow, Logan’s going to step inside that ring, and there’ll be no way out for me; I’ll have to watch the two men I love pummel each other to death.
“Hey, you okay?” Logan asks me, resting one hand on my knee and turning to face me. Looking away from the window of the private jet we’re in, a sea of clouds stretching underneath us, I offer him what I hope to a confident smile.
“I am… I’m just nervous,” I admit, placing my hand on top of his and holding it tightly.
“I know,” he nods somberly, and now he’s the one looking out the window. Under that sea of clouds, there’s the Mojave Desert; in a few minutes, we’re going to start our descent and land in Las Vegas, the meeting ground for the two best fighters in the world.
“Is there no other way…?” I ask him again, already knowing what his answer’s going to be. But I can’t help it; even though this fight is inevitable, I’ve been clinging to hope like a drowning man would cling to his lifejacket.
“No other way,” he whispers back at me, shaking his head. “But whatever happens… We’ll still have each other.”
“We’ll still have each other,” I repeat after him, my heart tightening and tightening until I think it has stopped beating.