“Are you disappointed?” he asked softly.
The question caught me off guard. I opened my mouth to answer and then stopped.
“I think…” I paused, searching for the right words. “I thought I would feel relieved,” I said, trying to hold back tears I didn’t understand.
“And you don’t?” he said.
“Not completely.”
His eyes softened.
I let out a small breath then leaned into him. “When we thought I might be pregnant,” I admitted quietly, “I started imagining things.”
His arms wrapped around me. “What kind of things?”
“Staying here with you, having a baby,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat. My voice grew quieter. “Building something.” Asher held me a little tighter.
“I imagined that too.”
My heart skipped. I tilted my head up to look at him. “You did?” I felt surprised. But why should I be? It was nice to know we were on the same page.
“Yeah,” he sighed. His expression was open in a way I hadn’t seen before. “Seems like this situation made us think aboutthe future,” he added, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. “I wanted to say pregnancy scare, but I wasn’t scared,” he swallowed.
“I wasn’t either. I mean, I was scared about the responsibility, but not the bigger picture, if that makes sense.”
“It does, beautiful,” he said.
I reached up and touched his face with both my palms. We looked into each other’s eyes. Beside us, the pregnancy test sat on the counter. A small plastic stick that had made our hearts race for the last few days. The tension broke when Asher let out a quiet laugh.
I laughed too. It felt like a release. The heaviness lifted from our shoulders.
“Well, you have to get some sleep,” I finally said.
“I wish I could take you to bed,” he said. “I want you beneath me, but Coach was pretty adamant about his no-sex rule close to fight day.”
“I could sleep next to you,” I offered, wanting to keep him close.
“I’d like that. Just don’t stick that fine ass anywhere near my cock. He has a mind of his own,” he warned.
“Okay,” I said.
“Do you think we should leave the bathroom now?” he asked.
We both laughed together. The mood lifted. We were feeling lighter and had plans for our future. I just had to keep myself from worrying about him and this fight. The thought of him getting hurt terrified me, but there was one thing that had become clear to me, whatever happened next, we would face it together.
CHAPTER 32
Asher
The last couple of days flew by in a blur. Training had taken over my life completely. Coach kept reminding me that the last days before a fight mattered the most. That was when fighters either sharpened themselves into something lethal or let doubt creep in. Claire made sure I didn’t forget to eat. At night, I went over to her cabin after training, and she had something ready for me. Real food. Not the quick protein meals I survived on during fight prep. She spent her time after working at the orchard cooking in her cabin kitchen. Last night, she made me roasted chicken and vegetables with a quinoa salad. The food was delicious, but what really got to me was how much she cared and the way she went out of her way to show it.
After dinner, I grabbed my things, and met coach at the airport. We flew to Toronto together. He insisted fighters should sleep in the city before a fight to get their bodies adjusted and fully rested.
Claire was driving to Toronto with Soleil, Elise, and Jonah in the morning. They were planning to stay at the same hotel so that we could celebrate after the fight. That is if I won. And I planned to.
I was settled in my hotel room, lying in bed, scrolling on my phone when Claire called.
“Are you settled in?” she asked.