Page 3 of I Am Lioness

“I understand, believe me I do. I used to feel the same back in my days, but you need to remember it's not over till…”

“The fat lady sings?” I cut him off with a grin, my eyebrows rising playfully.

“Hazel…” He warned, though I could sense he wanted to laugh.

“Alright, alright, focus. I got it, old man.” My grin widened, mostly because I knew all too well how much he despised that particular nickname.

He was one breath away from protesting when something in the opposite corner grappled his attention, halting the words on the tip of his tongue. I followed his line of sight to see Leilani had risen to her feet, her face clean, though the swelling was more prominent now. She tilted her head from side to side, bunching then releasing her shoulders as her coach stood beside her rattling off some genius plan to take me down. A plan that, unfortunately for them, Kealoha would never see through.

“So what's your strategy, kid?” Bernie asked studiously, his stare fixated on my opponent.

I shrugged. “A little bit of this, a little of that.”

“You’re going to have to be a bit more specific kid. I’m not a mind reader.”

“Judging by Lani’s current state, I'm going to say prowling around seems to be the most promising approach going in. You know, tire her out, then swoop in with the quick attack.”

“My thoughts exactly. Get her against the cage and drill her with those hammer punches. You’ll have her down in no time. Now give these people what they came to see.”

Bernie squeezed me to his side, then bumped his fist with mine before disappearing behind the cage door.

The referee stalked back in moments later with his usual air of authority, stirring the arena to life again. A fresh wave of hoots, hollers, and ear-piercing whistles shot off around me like rockets in a harmonious chorus that escalated rapidly into an uproar by the octave.

“LI-ON-ESS, LI-ON-ESS, LI-ON-ESS!” They chanted.

Their warbled voices filtered through me, pumping my blood in time with their boisterous cheers.

Show time.

I took off trotting toward center ring with my head held high, my body buzzing to life. Within seconds I had gone from idle to fully amped. Wired. I waswired,ready to dominate and finish off the night strong.

Suddenly a bright flare somewhere on my right lured my attention away from Leilani’s approaching form. Over the years I’d grown accustomed to the constant flood of camera flashes, learned to tune them out entirely when inside the confines of the cage. This specific one, however, compelled every fiber of my being to look its way. I surveyed the near area, my gaze raking over dozens and dozens of faces in attempt to find this beckoning source, but nothing significant stood out amongst the crowd. Just as I had convinced myself it was all a mere figment of my imagination, my breath caught, trapping like an abrasive ball of cotton in my throat.

At least ten rows back from the cage were the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen in my life. Their clarity slashed through me like a knife to the gut. I literally felt like I couldn't breathe. Then I noticed the striking male face those hypnotizing pools belonged to; a perfectly sculpted nose, nibble-worthy lips and a chiseled jaw, all framed by a deep caramel-colored mane. The top was noticeably longer and slicked back into submission, showing off the buzzed sides of his head. Whoever he was, he was absolutely drool-worthy and I was severely awestruck, rooted to my spot as we stared each other down.

Blue Eyes flashed me a wicked smirk that tilted up one corner of his mouth, sending a heart-stopping shiver to roll down my spine. My knees felt weak but I forced myself to stand tall and take a deep breath, giving him an equally coy smile in return.

“Are we ready?!” The referee’s voice roared, effectively snapping my attention back to center ring.

Leilani was already in stance, black eyes focused solely on me. I followed suit, bringing my arms up with my feet apart.

The ref extended both arms, pointing a finger at me and one at Lani. When we nodded in unison, he clapped his hands in time with the bell and yelled above crowd, “Let’s get it on!”

I grinned, waving my palms in a challenging manner. “Come get it, Lani.”

Shuffling around the cage in light, brisk bounces, I prowled around my opponent. Leilani was first to throw a punch. When I deflected, she came out with a double, and again I dodged each one with ease, hopping out of reach.

I’ll admit her stance was solid for a newbie but the girl just didn’t stand a chance. At least not with me. My fists flew out at lightning speed, crushing into her face twice. She took them like a champ and shook it off, keeping her feet in motion as we circled around the cage.

Coming back around my corner, I caught that blue stare in my peripherals. It zapped through me, prickling every plane of skin as though I’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. I felt every last bit of it down to the tips of my toes. Knowing he was watching me intently gassed me up all the more and I all but charged toward her, alternating my jabs. Surprisingly enough, Lani managed to bounce them off and shot right back out, but I crouched low as her fist came flying out to where my head was seconds prior. Using the new position was to my full advantage, I surged forward and wrapped my arms around her waist, hurdling her back into the cage.

The crowd around us went wild.

Lioness!

Take her out, Lioness!

We struggled against each other for quite some time; her trying but failing to free herself from my grasp and me throwing in repetitive hammer punches to wear her down. Finally she managed to wiggle herself free and bounced back to center ring, her chest heaving wildly as she sucked in heaps of air into her lungs, fresh blood dripping down over her lips.

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