Page 55 of Last Round

“You’re late,” Declan scolds as I walk through the door. But when Molly follows in behind me, he’s all smiles.

“Where is Luke?” I glance around the room, looking for the man of the hour.

“Throwing up.” Declan shrugs.

Nerves.“I’m gonna go talk to him.” Molly’s eyes go wide as I kiss the top of her head. Declan clears his throat, looking around the room as he pretends not to watch. “Behave,” I caution him as I make my way to the en suite.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Fuck off,” Luke groans and flushes the toilet. Ignoring his request, I open the door and slip inside the bathroom. He turns on the faucet, cups water in his hands, and splashes it in his face. Pale with dark bags under his eyes, his reflection stares at me in the mirror. “I can’t do this,” he sighs.

“Okay.” I pick at my nails.

“Okay?” Luke’s jaw drops.

“Yup.” I shrug. “If you can’t do it, might as well go home now.”

“Seriously?”

I look up from my fingers. “Oh, this is the part where I’m supposed to give you the inspirational pep talk, right?”

“Yeah, something like that. And not tell me to throw in the towel.”

I tap my chin and hum. “Which movie? I mean, obviously there are several from the Rocky franchise I could probably choose from.Independence Day… Oh,Braveheart,that’s a good one.They can never take ourFREEDOM!”

Luke’s laughing and shaking his head.

“No? That’s still not right, is it?”

This time he looks up at me. The panic is back and he appears desperate.

“What do you want me to say, kid? Look, you go out there, one of two things is gonna happen. You’re either going to step out into that ring, kick some major ass—like I believe you can. Then we’re going to go to the bar, get smashed in celebration before we head back to the gym and get ready for the next match.”

“Or?”

“Or you lose. Because there is always going to be a fight you eventually lose. Sometimes it happens early. Fuck, other times it happens when you think you’re king of the fucking world and it knocks you down a peg or two. Still, you get your ass handed to you tonight, and we’ll go to the bar, lick our wounds, then get back into the gym and prepare for the next match. You see, tonight, none of this matters. It’s not about how you do in the ring. Because just like how this could beyournight, it could be his too. Both of you worked for this. Everyone has their time to shine. But what really matters is what you do when tonight is over. That’s what makes a fighter. Not how many titles he has, or ticks in a column. None of that truly measures your success. The guy who gets back into the gym, doesn’t let the ring mess with his mind, he’s the real winner. It’s not about fighting some asshole out there. It’s about fighting the asshole in here.” I tap his skull. “Never compare yourself to someone else. Only compete with you, because that’s all that matters. Regardless of the outcome, the score, when we get back to training, your only goal is to be better than you were today. Not anyone… just you.”

Luke remains silent as he stares at himself. Maybe I should’ve quotedRocky? Or sent Declan in?

“You know, you really suck at pep talks.” The kid smiles and pushes off the sink.

“What? No?” I say sarcastically. “Where are you going?” I ask Luke as he opens the door.

He looks back at me, his brows pulled together in confusion. “To finish getting ready?”

“I guess my pep talk didn’t suck that much.” Laughing, I pat his shoulder as I exit in front of him.

“All good?” Molly whispers as I approach her. Declan is already working on final warm-ups with Luke.

“Perfect.” I rest my hands on her waist, pulling her in for another kiss.God, I fucking love making her blush. The way she licks her lips urges me to sayfuck itand take her home. But as her big green eyes keep looking between me and the guys, I can see that her work mode has been activated. As much as I hate it, I let her go.

Molly takes a bunch of photos of them getting ready, keeping our followers up to date, while Luke puts on his game face, all the nerves from earlier a distant memory. When it’s finally go time, Declan takes the lead with a couple other staff and we follow behind. Luke’s theme song is cranked as we walk down the hall, the loud base pumping him up as our group reaches the ring. Molly and I break off and take our assigned seats on the sidelines.

While I’ve trained with Luke this past year, it was nowhere near as much as Declan—he’s earned the seat in his corner. Win or lose tonight, Declan’s time and dedication is what really got the kid here. I was just tagging along for the ride and passing on what wisdom I could. Honestly, it’s another reason why I’m not that interested in bringing on the new hotshot fighter.

“In this corner, we have Luke ‘theTornado’Fox,” the announcer calls, then proceeds to go over the rules of the match.

“I’m so nervous,” Molly says, squeezing my hand.

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