“You know, Clara knew about you and Riley.” Luke’s voice changed and my breath caught as he spoke.

“What are you talking about?” Hudson’s voice was angry.

“She knew that you had a thing for her. We all knew.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You think she didn’t realize you were being cold to her that summer? Do you think she didn’t see how you used to watch Riley? Do you think she couldn’t tell that you were distant with her?”

“How would you know that, Luke?”

“She...she called me.” I watched as Luke’s face went white. “We were friends.”

“I don’t really remember you guys being friends.” Hudson frowned. “I don’t really remember you talking much at all.”

“Well, I’m just saying you need to win this.” Luke sat on the bench.

“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“Just think how many girls you’ll get if you win.”

“I’m not doing it for girls.”

“But it’s a great side benefit, right? A bunch of hotties bending over for you?”

“Luke, I think you better leave.” Hudson turned away from him and I could see that he was angry.

“Okay, well, good luck.”

“Thanks.”

I watched as Luke walked away from Hudson before approaching him. My heart was beating fast and I could feel the nerves jumping in my stomach.

“Hey, Hudson,” I said lightly and watched as he turned around to face me.

“You shouldn’t be here.” His eyes lit up as he dismissed me. His eyes were what gave me hope and a little bit more nerve.

“I had to come and see you before the fight.”

“What did you want?”

“You don’t have to be mean.”

“What do you want, Riley?” He sighed and looked into my eyes. “I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to talk to you.”

“I wanted to wish you luck. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” I looked down at the floor, feeling incredibly hurt.

“Thanks for the good luck.” His voice was hoarse.

“Do you think you’ll ever stop hating me?” I asked softly and looked up at him again. His expression changed and I could see a flow of different emotions cross his face.

“I don’t hate you, Riley. I could never hate you.”

“I know what I did was wrong.” My voice caught and I stopped talking.

Hudson stood up and slowly walked towards me. His hands made their way to my face and he tilted my chin up to look at him.

“Listen to me, Riley. You did nothing wrong. You are a beautiful, wonderful human being.” His eyes blazed into mine. “Never ever forget that.”

“Why did you leave me at the campsite?” I asked him, trying not to cry.

“I left because someone I know was in an accident.”

“Oh, no,” I gasped.

“She’s okay now.”

“You haven’t called me.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“Because you hate me!”

“Riley,” he growled and pulled me towards him. “If you only knew how false that statement is, you’d never say it or think it again. If you only knew how much I cared for you.”

I looked up at him with wide eyes. “How much?”

“This much.” His lips found mine, and I grabbed the back of his head as we kissed passionately.

I ran my fingers down his back and slipped my tongue into his mouth while biting down on his lower lip. He pushed me back into the lockers and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he groaned as his hardness came crashing into me. He eyes stared into mine with a dark gleam, and he leaned back a little bit and groaned. His mouth fell to mine again, and his hands gently held my ass. His fingers squeezed my butt cheeks, and I ran my hands through his hair. Our kiss deepened and I felt as if I were somehow flying through the air on wings of a dove. My whole body felt weightless, and I kissed him hungrily, wishing that all my other worries and problems would disappear.

“Now do you understand how much I don’t hate you?” Hudson let me down onto my own two feet and gave me a sweet smile.

“I guess you don’t hate me?” I asked breathlessly, still holding on to him.

“I love you, Riley,” he whispered against my lips. “I love you.”

“But you hung up on me.” My heart raced as he spoke. I wasn’t sure if I was living in some sort of daydream. He loved me? Could this possibly be true?

“Because you have more faith in me than you should.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Now’s not the time.” He shook his head and took a step back. “I don’t want to see your face before the fight. I don’t want you to hate me before the fight. I want you to still respect me, even if it’s because you don’t know the truth.”

“What are you talking about, Hudson? What truth?” I grabbed his arms. “Please tell me.”

“Do you love me, Riley?” he whispered, his eyes hopeful.

“I love you so much, Hudson.”

“Good. That’s what I want to go into the fight knowing.” He gave me a smile. “I want to know I have someone to fight for. I want to know that you’re rooting for me with all your heart.”

“Why?”

“Why?” He looked sad. “Because you’re the only one who’s always believed in me and loved me. And if I lost that before the fight, I don’t know that I could win.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about the fight.” I gripped his arms. “Please don’t enter.”

“I have to.” His fingers wiped the tears on my face away. “I have to do this for Clara’s mom.”

“But I already told you it’s my fault. It’s not your fault.” My voice cracked.

“It’s all my fault.” His eyes looked so bleak that my heart cracked.

“No, it’s not. If you knew about the text, you would have gone for her. She’d still be here.”

“Shh, my darling.” He softly kissed my lips again. “Thank you for being strong enough to always come back to me, no matter what I say or do.”

“I’ll always be here for you. I’ll always come back to you, Hudson. You’re my candle and I’m your moth.”

“You’re my heart, and I’m yours to do with what you want.” Hudson grinned at me. “Oh how I love you, Riley.” He kissed me again, hard and deep. “I want to freeze time. I want us to remain here in this moment, only knowing what we know now. I want this to be it. I could live the rest of my life just staring at the love in your eyes.”

“I feel like you’re saying goodbye to me,” I said sadly, gazing back into his loving eyes. “Why do I feel like this is the end instead of the beginning?”

“Once you know who I am, what I’m capable of, I don’t think you’ll want to be with me.” He looked away from me. “I’m not the stand-up man you think I am.”

“Hudson, there is nothing you could—”

“Ooh, what do we have here?” Channing’s voice interrupted our conversation, and we both sprung apart as he walked towards us. “Is it my fellow fighter and his little slut?”

I gasped at his words and saw Hudson’s face go red, but neither of us responded.

“Do you need a few minutes?” Channing continued and looked at his watch. “I guess you still have some time to pull your shorts down so she can have a quick suck on your cock.”

“Shut it.” Hudson took a step forward and I grabbed his arm.

“Just ignore him,” I muttered, glaring at Channing’s smirk.

“Or would you rather like a suck on mine?” He laughed and grabbed his cock. “I’m sure you’d like to be with a man who could f**k you long and hard and not run off in the morning.”

“I’m warning you,” Hudson growled and took another step forward.

“You’re warning me?” Channing laughed again and his eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do? Hit me?” He beat his fists against his chest. “Are you going to try and fight me? Over this little whore?”

“I told you to shut the f**k up.” Hudson moved swiftly and pushed Channing back into the lockers. “I don’t care what beef you have with me, but I’ll f**k you up if you talk about Riley like that.”

“Didn’t she tell you that when you left I slipped into the sleeping bag and f**ked her?” Channing licked his lips. “The only reason she knew it was me was because I lasted so much longer than you. Did she tell you that?”

My heart stopped as I watched Hudson slam his right fist into Channing’s eye. Channing didn’t make a sound, but I could see the look in his eyes turning into pure hate and evil.

“Put him down, Hudson.” I ran up to him. “Please.”

“Listen to your girl, Hudson,” Channing said in a sing-song voice. “Or she’s going to have to charge you extra tonight.”

Hudson’s breathing was heavy, and I was scared he was going to hit him again.

“He’s not worth it,” I whispered. “Wait until the fight.” I touched his arm and prayed to God that he didn’t do anything else. I sighed in relief as he released his grip on Channing and stepped back.

“Get the f**k out of here, Channing.”

“Yes, Batman.” Channing stared at us and laughed. Then he looked me up and down. “I’m glad you chose this loser. I was never that into big-thighed sluts,” he sneered at me and then turned away.

I watched as he walked out of the gym and then looked up at Hudson.

“You okay?” His eyes were full of concern for me, and my heart melted once again at how wonderful he was.

“I’m fine.” I nodded and stepped forward to hug him. “He’s a pompous ass.”

“I’ll enjoy beating the shit out of him.”

“Don’t hurt him.” I touched his face. “Please don’t do anything too bad.”

His eyes widened. “You want me to go soft on him?”

“No, but I don’t want you to break anything.” I bit my lower lip. “Don’t stoop to his level.”

“You have so much faith in me.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why you think I can stop myself from beating the shit out of him.”

“Because I know you. I know you and I love you.” I leaned up and kissed him. “Just remember that when you’re in the ring.”

“I’ll try.” He nodded and paused. “You’re making this so hard.”

“What am I making hard?” I frowned.

“You’re making me want to believe.” He closed his eyes. “You’re giving me hope.”

“I love you, Hudson,” I whispered in his ear. “That’s never going to change.”

“God forgive me, but I don’t know if I can give you up.” He grabbed my hands. “I’ve done bad, Riley. I know I’ve done bad and I know you’re going to hate me when I tell you, but I swear to God, I’m going to fight for you. I can’t let you go. I can’t let this go.”

“You don’t have to,” I whispered against his lips. “Now go out there and win that fight.”

We held each other for a few minutes before Hudson kissed my forehead and walked out of the locker room. I let him go ahead of me and sat down on the bench. I touched my lips and rubbed them softly. I felt warm and fuzzy inside. It seemed to me that everything was finally going to work out. He didn’t hate me for what I’d done. In fact, he loved me. He really loved me. I hugged myself as I sat there grinning. Finally, everything was working out. Finally, Hudson and I were going to get to be together.

***

I waited in the locker room for about five minutes before going back out. I was shocked by the crowds of people I saw in the gym. It was loud and packed, and there was a buzz in the air that I had never felt before.

I reached into my bag, grabbed my phone, and started taking some photos. They would be awesome to include in my article. I realized then that I should start taking some notes. This was the biggest fight Nick’s gym was going to see; in fact, it was the first real fight I was going to see. I was scared at what I was about to witness. I half-smiled to myself as I realized I should get used to it. If Hudson won and entered the championships, then there was going to be a whole lot more fighting for me to witness.

“I’ve got fifty on Channing.” A tall guy passed some money to a skinny guy with spiky blond hair.

“I’ve got two hundred.” Another guy gave the blond guy money and grinned. “He’s going to beat the shit out of that punk ass.”

“What’s his name again?” the tall guy asked and laughed.

“Rudson or something,” the other guy replied. “Or maybe it was Robin or something.”

“It’s Hudson.” I walked up to them. “The other guy’s name is Hudson, but he also goes by Batman.”

“Okay, okay.” The tall guy gave me a surprised look. “Don’t get it twisted.”

“What?”

“Don’t get it twisted.”

“Don’t get what twisted?” I rolled my eyes at him and turned away. “Dumbass,” I mumbled under my breath. I was pretty sure he had used the slang phrase incorrectly.