I walk through the corridors with Zack in my arms, searching for the break room that Nate directed me to go to. There are enough passages and connecting hallways that I get lost in and eventually have to ask a beefy man in uniform for directions.

"You Mr. Hunter's girl?" He'd grunted.

It felt weird to acknowledge out loud. It still struck me when I realized that Nate and I were in a relationship and that I actually got to call him mine. Even though it took us a long time to get here, it still felt like it had happened so suddenly. I was on cloud nine and these days and it was all because of the handsome boxer/stripper that made me smile and laugh more than I've ever done in my life.

Realizing I zoned out and probably had a dreamy look on my face, I felt my face flush and quickly nodded my head in confirmation. The security guard led me to a door that I had somehow passed twice without noticing and I thanked him before going inside.

The room was a large and spacious area that was clearly meant for the boxers to take refuge in. There was a bathroom, a couple of couches, a T.V. mounted to the wall, a centre table, and even a vending machine just off to the side. There was also a large counter on one end of the room that had a water cooler on it right next to the sink and fridge. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and inviting the room seemed especially since Zack and I would be here for a while.

I'd been feeding him for only a few minutes when I hear a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I call out, already grabbing a slip to cover myself.

"It's us." I hear Emily and Avery's voices reply.

"Come in."

The two step inside and close the door behind them. I let the slip fall away, not concerned that they're getting an eyeful of my boobs. They'd seen them enough times that I'm no longer self-conscious.

"He's getting so big!" Avery squeals and sits next to me, staring down at Zack.

"I can't get over how beautiful he is, Del." Emily sits on my other side and strokes the hair on his head.

I look down at my son with a huge smile. The pride is evident in my voice when I say, "Me neither."

"I'm so glad he looks like your clone and nothing like his sperm donor." Avery scrunches up her nose. I shake my head with a barely contained smile on my face.

"It's not like Chris wasn't handsome."

"No, he was definitely cute. And really tall too. I can see why you went for him. He just turned out to be a total jerk-off, is what I mean."

I shrug. "It happened for the best. I wouldn't have Zack without him so I can't be entirely hateful. I could just care less about him."

"Especially now that you have Nate." She waggles her brows and I feel my cheeks grow warm. "I can't believe you guys are finally together! Cameron and I have been waiting for this for way too long."

"I'm glad your wishes came true." I deadpan.

Emily laughs and nudges me with her elbow. "How's life with our own personal knight in shining armour going?"

"Unbelievable." I answer honestly. "Because it's seriously so hard to believe how amazing he is. I spent my whole life convinced that all men are selfish and rude and do more harm than good. I genuinely thought Nate was faking his goodness the first time I met him but I was so wrong. He's...everything, you guys. He makes me so ridiculously happy and he always puts me first, which is unheard of in the life I've lived. I never question my worth when I'm around him because I know how he sees me and I know how he genuinely believes in the person I am. I just can't believe how lucky I am that he chose me of all people to share his life with."

"You so love him." Avery sniffs and I'm surprised to find her teary-eyed.

"I do." I admit without hesitation. "I've loved him for much longer than I've been with him. I loved him when he wasn't mine and I love him even more now that he is."

"Have you told him?" Emily bounces in her seat. "Has he told you?"

"Not yet but I think we both know it." I duck my head to hide my smile. "I guess I'm just waiting for that perfect moment. Maybe when it's just the two of us for a bit or something."

"But why wait?"

"I don't know, Em. I guess...there were so many firsts I missed having with Nate. He could have been my first kiss or the first man that made love to me or the first man I ever dated. We missed out on so many things and this is one of the last firsts I have left. I want it to be special."

"Hold up." Avery puts her hands out. "You never told Chris you love him?"

"No." I hesitate before telling them one of the many things I'm ashamed of when it came to our relationship. "He said it to me but I could never bring myself to say it back. I think deep down I knew that I didn't love him because my heart was already taken by someone else. I just never believed that Nate would give me his heart in return so I stayed with Chris because I was scared of being rejected by the person I actually wanted to be with. I know that makes me a bad person."

"Like hell it does." Emily admonishes. "Feelings are a complicated thing. They're never just black and white, especially when it comes to love. Love is grey. It's exhilarating but exhausting, it's fulfilling but draining, it's joy but also sadness, it gives you more than you could ever expect and takes even more than that. But that's the beauty of it. It's never just one thing, you know? It's a spiral of every possible feeling and it's the craziest thing you'll ever do in your life but you've got to choose who's worth going through all that crazy for. The answer isn't always clear and you'll probably choose a lot of jack-asses before you choose the right guy but that just makes finding your soulmate that much sweeter when you do."

"Wow." I whisper, totally enthralled by her words and the truth they resonate. "That was beautiful, Em."

"Damn." Avery wipes the corners of her eyes. "You got a bitch crying."

Em and I burst out laughing and I can't help but comment, "That was such a Cameron thing to do."

Avery snorts. "Tell me about it. I've been using douchenozzle in every sentence because of him."

"Seriously, though." Emily lays her head on my shoulder. "You could have talked to us about this while you were dating Chris. You were always so...closed-off to us when you were with him."

"I know." I agree with clear remorse. "And I didn't mean to do that but I felt so guilty that I was cheating the feelings of the guy I was dating. I thought you guys would think of me as a bad person and not want to be friends anymore or something."

"Why the hell would you think that?" Avery lays her head on my other shoulder. "You're an amazing person, Del, and we love you for you. That's not going to change. We're here to kick ass for you and with you until we're all grey and old, okay?"

"Okay." It's my turn to sniffle, overcome with emotions over how lucky I am to have these two as my best friends. "I love you both."

"We love you." Emily lifts her head again. "Are you going to come watch the match?"

"Not with Zack." Who, speaking of, is done feeding. I wipe myself down with the slip and tuck the goods away, hoisting Zack on my shoulder to burp him. "Nate arranged for me to watch it from a laptop in this room instead. That way I can be here to support him and not have to worry about being without Zack."

"That's so sweet. He really is a real life knight in shining armour." Avery kisses me cheek. "We'll see you after the match, chica."

"Tell Nate I said good luck." I wave them off and they leave the room, shutting the door behind them.

I burp Zack and then bundle him up in his carrier, rocking it with my foot to lull him to sleep while I open up the laptop on the coffee table. The live footage is already open and I unmute it, lowering the volume so I can still hear it but it won't bother Zack. I don't bother with headphones because they make it harder for me to be aware of my surroundings.

"You got this, Nate." I whisper as I anxiously watch him step in the ring with his opponent John Thompson. They shake hands and exchange what seems to be a few polite words. That doesn't surprise me. Nate is always polite before anything else, unless you give him a reason not to be. I think back to his match with Kevin Wong and suppress a shudder. He'd went ballistic but in a totally controlled way. He was...lethal. Beautiful.

The bell rings to signal the start of the match and Nate and his opponent circle one another. He seems calm but I know him, know the ticking in his jaw. He's nervous but trying to make sure no one sees it. I don't blame him. He lost his last match by knockout and I know he'll do everything he can to make sure it doesn't happen again.

His opponent makes the first move, swinging his arm in a hook that Nate easily ducks under. I don't know much about the sport but I know a fair amount after watching the Fighter's Den men fight and so I try to keep up as the match progresses. To me, it's nothing more than a blur of arms reaching and retracting followed by the flesh-on-flesh sound after each hit. Each time Nate gets hit, I wince and cover my eyes. I've never liked violence and seeing the man I love at the complete mercy of it? It's almost unbearable but I swallow my discomfort so I can show him my support. I know boxing him keeps him sane the way writing does for me and I never want him to lose that. Besides, you can't be a boxer for the rest of your life so he's going to have to give it up eventually. I want him to have as much of this as long as he's able to no matter how scared it makes me.

By round four, both fighters are equally bloody and visibly tired. Thompson is a good fighter and he's not making this easy for Nate. I watch as he uses his forearm to wipe away a trickle of blood that's dripping from his brow bone and my chest tightens painfully. I want nothing more than to clean that up for him and make sure he's okay. I hate seeing him get hits to the head. What if he gets a concussion? A lot of boxers suffer long-term brain issues due to their careers and all the hits they take. I did my research. I know I shouldn't have but I couldn't hold back my curiosity about just how unsafe this sport is. It's like when you're sick and you feel the burning need to figure out what's wrong so you google your symptoms only to find out your flu means you're dying. The internet can exaggerate things and that's the only thing that comforts me after what my research told me. He'll be fine. I won't lose him. I'm just thinking that way because of my daddy issues or whatever.

When round six comes to an end both boxers are tied in points. I cover my cheeks with my hand and sink into myself as I watch Nate kick the side of the ring in frustration. The camera zooms in on Greg talking to him to rapidly and ducking his head to force Nate to look at him. Nate shakes his head and kicks the ring again. His patience is slipping. The camera switches to Thompson who's watching Nate's meltdown with a stoic expression but I don't miss the twitch of his lips. He knows he has the upper hand. Crap.

Without thinking, I grab my phone and dial Greg's number. I can't see if he has his phone on him because the cameras are still showing Thompson and his Coach that are talking to each other, heads close together.

I almost cry out in relief when Greg picks up with a worried, "Darlin'?"

"Hey, Greg." I take a deep breath and blurt it out before I lose my nerves. "Can you give the phone to Nate for a sec?"

There's a pause. I wait patiently even though I'm itching to talk to Nate.

"That...you might distract him, darlin'."

"He's losing it, Greg. Let me talk him down. We both know where this match is going if I don't."

Another pause and then he sighs deeply. "Alright. You're the boss."

"Thank you." I grin even though he can't see it. There's rustling, an exchange of voices in the background, and then Nate's deep voice meets my ears.

"Angel?"

"Hey, superstar. How're you feeling?"

"Like shit." He sighs and I strain my ears to hear him against the roar of the crowd. "This guy is good."

"True. But so are you and I think you're forgetting that. You're Nate freakin' Hunter. There isn't anything you can't do when you set your stubborn mind to it. If you got me to be with you after the fight I put up, then there's not a single fight you can't win."

He chuckles and I can practically see his shoulders loosening. I smile. "I would fight that fight for the rest of my life if I had to."

My heart thumps. Oh, Nate. "Well, you won't have to. You've won that fight. Now go and win this one, yeah? Zack and I are cheering you on. We know you've got this without a doubt."

"Thanks, baby." He murmurs. There's a pause like he's figuring out what to say but he opts for, "I'll come see you after the match?"

"We're here." I remind him. "Whether you win this or not, we're here."

I hear him inhale a deep breath before he gruffly tells me, "I can't wait to see you."

"Me neither. Now kick some butt."

"You got it."

"Good luck, superstar."

There's some more rustling and then Greg's voice is back on the line. "I don't know what you said to him but he's as level-headed as when he started this match."

"Just a trick of mine. Good luck to you both."

"Thanks, darlin'."

We hang up and I return my focus to the screen. The ref blows his whistle and round seven is on.

Right off the bat I can tell that Nate is less wound up as he bounces on the heels of his feet, shaking his arms out. He takes deep even breaths and closes his eyes like he's envisioning something. I selfishly hope it's me.

I gasp lightly when Thompson strikes and Nate's eyes are still closed but he somehow senses it because he ducks and comes back up with his fist driving into Thompson's chin. His right arm lashes out in a hook that hits the side of Thompson's head followed by a jab to the throat. Thompson's face turns red as his breath gets caught and his hands grip his neck, lips parted. Nate swiftly jabs his stomach and Thompson lets go of his neck to protect his midsection instead. Just as quick, Nate punches his throat in the exact same spot then strikes his temple in the next second and Thompson goes down. He's wheezing hard and I don't doubt his breathing is seriously compromised after his throat and gut were attacked in hard punches within five seconds. As soon as Thompson's knees hit the ground Nate brings his arm down on Thompson's temple who crumpled like a sack of potatoes. He lands on his face, arms by his side that twitch for a moment, and then he goes completely still. I hold my breath as the ref counts down and goosebumps take over my arms at the sound of the crowd chanting alone.

I'm on the edge of my seat and practically inside the screen when the ref calls out "10" and the crowd goes wild. I leap up with a scream and jump up and down, clapping so fast my palms actually burn.

"That's right, baby!" I point at the screen that's now showing a close-up of Nate grinning and holding his arms up in victory. It's obvious he's proud of how fast he turned that match around. As I eye his skin that's slick with sweat, muscles tight from the exertion, I have the insane urge to lick his body. Every part of me is buzzing as I shout, "You knocked him out! I knew you would!"

I squeal again but cut it short with a slap to my mouth when Zack's crying interrupts my cheering. His red face is angry and tired as he glares up at me.

"I'm so sorry, sweetness." I apologize and take him out of his carrier. I hold him against my chest and rock him side to side to stop his crying. He sniffles and his tiny lip juts out but he's quieted down. "Mama got a little too excited. You were having a nice nap, huh?"

He blinks up at me and the skin between his brows creases in disapproval. I can't help but giggle at how cute he looks when he's upset.

"Why're you making that face, huh?" I say in an embarrassingly high-pitched baby voice. The smile he gives me in return is worth it, though. "Why're you making that face at Mama? Why's my boy so grumpy?"

I rub my head into his little tummy and he lets out a gurgled squeal, his gummy smile melting my heart. I do it again and again until his cooing and squealing is so loud that I have to stop before we get a noise complaint. I'm red in the face from laughing along with Zack when the door bursts open, startling me. I look over my shoulder and catch Nate watching us with a warm smile.

"Hey!" I say a little breathlessly and grin. "There's the champion."

He chuckles and closes the door behind him, stalking his way to me. "Only because a certain someone kicked my ass back into line."

"This person sounds incredibly smart." I nod seriously.

"Smart and beautiful." He winds an arm around me and bends his head down to capture my lips. I sigh into his mouth and sink into the kiss, losing myself in the way our lips part and meet softly over and over. His large hand spans over my cheek before sliding into my hair to angle my head better, his tongue snaking into my mouth and teasing mine. A soft sound of pleasure escapes me and he grunts in approval, the hand on my waist digging into the skin.

"I love kissing you." He whispers against my mouth and I feel my lips curl up in a smile. "I still can't believe I get to do it whenever I want. I can't fucking stop myself."

"No one's asking you to." I whisper back and he hums, melding our mouths together again. Our breathing picks up as he presses us closer together and the feel of his hot and hard body against mine is making me throb with need. I can't get over how amazing his body is, how large and masculine it is. He's so attractive I could cry that I get him all to myself.

"Goddamn." A third voice startles us apart and I whip my head to the entrance of the break room where I find Emily and Avery grinning at us. Avery waggles her brows. "I told you he'd give you those panty-melting kisses."

My face flames when Nate's confused voice asks, "What does that mean?"

I recall the conversation I had with Emily and Aves over a year ago when I had my first french-kiss with Chris. I'd described the kiss as "nice" and the two looked at me with clear disappointment. They'd told me kissing with tongue is never supposed to be just "nice." Apparently kissing with tongue was supposed to be "panty-melting" and light you up like the fourth of July. I wouldn't have described any of my kisses with Chris that intensely but with Nate, panty-melting didn't seem sufficient enough. Panty-destroying maybe?

"Never mind." I tell him and shake the intruding thoughts away. Zack makes a sound of protest and Nate and I look down at him practically crushed between us.

"Sorry, little man." He laughs and takes his from my arms. He bites Zack's chubby cheek with his lips and makes grumbling sounds like he's eating him up. Zack squeals in delight, revealing a grin so wide the sides of his eyes crinkle. My heart bursts as I watch Nate peck Zack on the lips and then nuzzle his nose. "I missed you, dude."

Zack babbles something back and Nate nods solemnly. "Tell me about it. I'm so much cooler to hang out with than your Mama, huh?"

I slap Nate's arms who only laughs and turns his body away to shield Zack. "You are awful, Nate Hunter."

"You should punish me for it." He winks.