Princeton
Things were finally falling back into place, and I couldn’t have been happier.
I was back in the gym for all the right reasons, Bella was back at my house working on her latest and greatest interview write-up, and even Tony was buzzing as he made his way over to me with a paper in his hand, announcing, “Looks like we got another one, P.”
“Who is it?” I asked, curious to see who my promoter had lined up for my next fight.
But I wasn’t expecting to hear the name that hadn’t been uttered in the boxing world for years. “Lights Out.”
“Scotty “Lights Out” Lewis? He’s coming out of retirement?” I asked, more amused than anything since he had sworn against it right after his last fight.
He said he jumped out early because he wanted to go out on top the way any of us did. But I knew the truth; he didn’t want to taint his undefeated record with a notch in the loss column from me. And Tony knew it as well, which only had him matching my amusement when he handed the paper my way and replied, “I guess so. Check it out.”
It didn’t take long for me to see my promoter had done his job, the fine details and the payout alone enough for me to want to sign on the dotted line ASAP. But when I saw the arrangements for when and where the fight would be, I became apprehensive.
“I don’t know about this one, Tony. I mean, training camp would cover most of Bella’s last trimester, and the fight would be right around the same time as her due date. You know I can’t miss that.”
“But do you see that number though? With a price tag like that, you’ll never have to fight again. You can set up your family for life and be there for baby girl every single day afterward. It’s not like she’ll remember being in the hospital anyway,” he said with a laugh that made me laugh too, though it wasn’t baby girl’s memory I was worried about.
It was Bella’s.
I could only imagine what her reaction would be when I told her the thing she secretly hated most was possibly going to interfere with me being there during the delivery. And while I thought about holding off on telling her until I was done for the day, I decided to call it quits a little early so I could just get it over with. Learn my fate before I got too invested in the preparation for “Lights Out”.
When I made it home, I expected to see Bella at the kitchen counter, glasses perched on her nose as she sat in front of her laptop engrossed in whatever she was working on. But instead I found her laid out on the couch in the living room, her belly and breasts both sticking straight out of her tank top as she snacked on a bag of chips and watched some trash reality TV show with Lucy at her feet. And to be honest, Lucy looked like she was into the show too, not even budging when I came in the room like she’d usually do.
It warmed my heart to see them getting along so well, a sight I knew I could get used to coming home to everyday. But since my last attempt at solidifying future plans with Bella hadn’t gone over so well, I focused on the now when I bent over the back of the couch to surprise her with a kiss.
At first, she jumped out of shock until she realized it was me, sitting up to meet my lips before she asked, “What are you doing back so early?”
“The real question is, what are you doing not working on your piece?” I asked, taking note of the black screen on her laptop meaning she hadn’t touched it in a while.
“It’s just another stupid write-up,” she muttered teasingly, still holding my little slip-up against me.
But since going down that route wasn’t even worth the trouble, I decided against letting her change the subject when I scolded, “Bella…”
This time, her voice was whiny as she said, “My creative juices just aren’t flowing today. So I decided to take a snack break with my favorite bitch, which turned into an epic binge-watch session because this couch is comfortable as hell. Now what are you doing back so early?”
I considered making it all about her, saying something slick about how I just missed her - which was true - to soften her up before I delivered the real news. But I also knew Bella was one who could always read right through my bullshit. So instead, I got straight to the point when I answered, “I’ve been offered another fight.”
“Dear God…” she groaned, bringing her hands to cover her face as if it was really the worst news she had ever gotten.
While that reaction alone might’ve been enough for me to give up in the past, I knew Bella well enough now to know it usually just took a little convincing for her to see things my way. So that was exactly what I did, plopping down next to her on the couch as I reasoned, “Bella, come on now. We already talked about this. And besides, I think you might be happy about this one.”
She first peeked between her fingers to see what I was talking about, and I handed her the same paper that Tony had given to me, watching as she skimmed through before releasing an audible gasp. “Oh my… I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many numbers in my life. Who the hell are you fighting? Better yet, what the hell are you fighting? A bear on live TV for one of those weird Discovery Channel challenges?”
I couldn’t help but laugh when I answered, “No, crazy. A legend. Scotty “Lights Out” Lewis.”
“”Lights Out”? Oh my goodness!” she squealed in response.
Though my face only scrunched since, “Bella, do you even know who that is?”
“Never heard of him,” she replied plainly, making me laugh yet again.
I sat against the edge of the couch, resting my elbows on my thighs and clasping my hands together so I could explain, “He was the man before I came on the scene, retired before I could get my shot at him, and now he’s back to challenge me for the belt.”
“Hmm… Ol’ “Lights Out” must be having some trouble playing the electricity bill if he’s crazy enough to willingly come back to boxing…” she muttered as she diverted her eyes, making jokes and dropping hints all at once.
Since I didn’t want to give her any ammunition to vote against the idea, I only replied, “Very funny, B.”
“No, what’s funny is you coming in here acting like my opinion is going to change your mind about something you obviously want to do.”
“It could,” I offered, knowing a convincing case from Bella was just as good as any lawyer’s.
But even that didn’t stop her from firing back, “It won’t. And if it did, I might be more upset with you because did you see the payout on that contract? That’s not even including ticket sales, Pay-Per-View sales, merch sales, the endorsement deals you’ll get after you whoop his old ass…”
Her enthusiasm about me fighting was so foreign that I thought I was hearing things. But since I desperately wanted it to be real, I had to ask, “So you’re good with this?”
“I’m great with this. Hell, if I wasn’t pregnant, I’d train you myself,” she replied, my shoulders sinking with relief almost immediately now that I had gotten her approval. In fact, her approval almost made me want to rush back to the gym so that I could officially seal the deal.
While my mind was already racing about it all, Bella stared at me with a confused expression, her eyebrow piqued when she asked, “Why do you look so surprised?”
“I guess I just thought you’d be trippin’ with the fight being so close to your due date,” I explained, the gasp she inhaled in response making me cringe since… shit, she hadn’t noticed.
“Wait, what?” she asked with tight eyes as she scooted towards the edge of the couch to find mine.
I released a sigh of my own before peeking over to tell her, “Yeah, B. If I accept, I gotta get into camp right away which means…”
“Which means leaving me to fend for myself during the homestretch of this pregnancy when everything is wildly unpredictable. I could go into labor any day now!”
Of course I knew that was true since we were inching closer and closer to the finish line. But with her pregnancy being so by the book thus far, I felt confident replying, “Bella, don’t be dramatic. You ain’t going into labor anytime soon.”
“But I could.”
“But you’re not, because my princess knows she has to wait for daddy to be there before she decides to enter the world. Ain’t that right, baby?” I asked with a hand to her belly just in time to feel, not quite a kick but enough movement for me to add, “See. I know you felt that.”
Bella wasn’t as amused by our tag team efforts, falling back against the couch as she gnawed on her lip before she said, “Princeton, I don’t know about this. I mean, of course I want you to do it. It feels like a no-brainer, except for the fact that sending you off means not having you here with me when I need you the most.”
“I’ll only be a phone call away,” I quickly reasoned.
Though Bella was just as quick to shut that down, replying, “Yeah, a phone call and thousands of miles A.K.A. useless during any real crisis.”
Watching my girl go from the highest high to… not so sure had me racking my brain for what to say to get her back on my side. And while I hadn’t expected to announce the decision in this particular moment, there was no use in holding back when I blurted, “It’s gonna be my last one.”
“What?” Bella whispered in shock, sitting back up as if she didn’t believe the words had actually come from my mouth.
But I had no problem making it clear, grabbing her hand as I said, “This fight. After this, I’m calling it quits for good.”
“Princeton…”
“It’s already decided, Bella. I’m ready to move on from this shit. Ready to be there for you every day, be there for baby girl every day, spend some time getting to know my mom again, find my own lane, bake your fine ass some cookies or somethin’,” I told her with a chuckle as I reached to pinch her chin.
She pulled away from my touch with a grin, rubbing a hand against her belly when she groaned, “Oh my God, can we expedite that part of the deal? Cause your baby, man. She has quite the sweet tooth.”
“Oh, my baby has a sweet tooth, huh? Which baby? The little one or you?” I asked, leaning into her as I licked my lips thinking of my own sweet tooth that was far from food-related.
Still, my explicit thoughts didn’t stop Bella from giggling as she put her hands to my chest to stop me and answered, “Both.”
I settled for a kiss before I fell back, Bella scooting my way to ask, “Are you sure this is it? That’s a big call to make before it’s even happened.”
Making the call before the fight occurred, while things were still neutral, seemed like the only way I’d for sure stick by it since the high from a victory would only make me want to experience it all again and the dread of a loss would only make me want to get back in the ring and redeem myself. But if I made the decision now, and gave Bella my word, it was what it was. So that was exactly what I did, grabbing her hand as I replied, “I’m positive, B. My heart is just… it’s elsewhere now.”
“Well you need to put it back so you can beat his ass, and then it can move on to the next thing,” she offered before pulling her hand away to climb up from the couch, her little waddle towards the kitchen too adorable as I hopped up to follow her.
By the time I made it, she was already digging in the fridge, quickly growing disappointed by the options as I brought things full circle when I said, “I can only do that if I have your blessing. So…?”
I couldn’t quite read her expression when she turned around, her eyes everywhere but on me as she crossed her arms over her chest before finally asking, “Last one?”
“Last one, B. I promise,” I told her with praying hands.
She was gnawing on her lip as she bounced back and forth on her fluffy sock covered toes like she was toying with the idea in her head. But eventually, instead of answering me, she put a hand to her stomach to say, “You hear that, princess. Your daddy is about to put some money in your college fund and start an account for the down payment on your first house.”
Having her co-sign made my chest tight with excitement, tempting me to lift her off the ground in the tightest hug I could just because I was hyped as hell. But before I could get to her, I noticed a folder on the counter where she must’ve at one point been working, the label on the top of the paper sticking out enough for me to ask, “Speaking of houses… lease renewal?”
She was digging in the cabinets, back on her quest for snacks, when she answered, “Yeah. I have to finish dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s so I brought it with me. But the rent is going up thirty whole dollars a month, so I really need to get my butt into overdrive with this write-up. No paid maternity leave when you work for yourself.”
This time, I caught her in an embrace from behind, bending my head towards her ear and suggesting, “Well I think you should just crumble that shit up and move here. With me.”
I knew I was going out on a limb with the offer. And even though Bella sunk into my hold in response as if it wasn’t too far out of bounds, the way she groaned, “Princeton…” had me thinking otherwise.
Still, I didn’t back down, resting my chin in the crook of her neck as I defended, “Come on, Bella. It only makes sense. I mean, do you really wanna raise baby girl in two different households? Stock two nurseries? Keep two freezers full of pumped breast milk? I know them titties are sittin’ right these days, but that still doesn’t mean they should have to put in overtime just because you don’t like me like that.”
Bella flipped around with lightning speed to smack a hand against my chest when she squealed, “Oh, shut up! You know I love you.”
“So what do you say? Can I clear a side of the closet to make room for the queen?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her as close as I could without crushing her.
But even in our closeness, she still diverted her eyes, popping her lips when she answered, “Nope. You can clear the entire closet to make room for the queen. And you can finish clearing out that trophy room so I can get started on the nursery before I get too big to maneuver around.”
I nodded excitedly, trying to bite back the grin that came with her surprisingly accepting my offer as I replied, “Yes ma’am. Anything else?”
“Those cookies still sound like an excellent idea,” she said, batting her eyelashes teasingly.
And while I was sure I couldn’t have told her no if I wanted to, I was glad I didn’t have to, resting my forehead against hers and whispering, “Whatever you want, love. It’s yours.”
The mention seemed to make her even giddier, her smile wide when she said, “Well in that case, you can add a side of sea salt ice cream to that cookie order. Ooh! And an especially hearty helping of daddy dick.”
“Bella!” I growled, my dick jumping in response to her cute ass making filthy requests as if it was already ready to report for duty.
But my girl was completely unfazed, shrugging as she reminded me, “You said anything I want, right? Well that’s what I want, even more so now that I know you might not be here to loosen me up for labor.”
“Loosen you up… girl, where do you get this stuff from?” I asked with a chuckle, landing a kiss against her forehead that was probably the last sweet gesture I’d give for the next hour now that she had me ready to blow her damn back out in the safest way possible.
Still, that didn’t mean Bella wasn’t going to relish in it, even when she answered, “Baby books. Lots of baby books and lots of Google.”
“Too much damn Google if you ask me...” I muttered, this time sneaking a kiss against her neck that made her moan.
With her arms wrapped around my neck to keep me close, she replied, “Well good thing I didn’t ask you for that. Only for cookies, ice cream, and daddy dick. So…?”
Compared to the world I had already promised her, this request was miniscule. And now that I knew I had her on my side for what would be one of the most important fights in my life, it was truly a privilege to tell her, “Daddy dick it is.”