Page 18 of Her Unending Horizon

I didn’t bounce. I rolled my neck once. Twice. Felt the tightness there. Felt the weight in my arms.

Three rounds. No headgear. Cappy watching us closely.

He gave us a short nod. “Keep it clean.”

Then he stepped back and waved us in.

Round one.

JJ came at me fast.

Not wild—confident. He snapped a quick jab that caught me off guard, my guard a little low. Then he circled left, light on his feet.

I tested him with a low kick, felt it land solid against his thigh. The kid absorbed it without a flinch.

Good.

I drove forward, using my size, forcing him toward the ropes, but he slipped away before I could trap him. He pivoted clean and landed a sharp punch to my ribs that had me grunting.

The kid had reach.

I answered with a hook that clipped his shoulder, then another that grazed his jaw. Not enough to drop him, but enough to make him blink. He shot in low, aiming for my legs.

We went down in a tangle, my forearm pressed into the back of his neck. He twisted, scrambled, and got free.

The bell rang.

I was breathing harder than I wanted to be.

JJ grinned—just a flash. Not cocky, just excited.

Round two.

This one hurt.

JJ switched tactics—less movement, more pressure. He crowded me and threw a short set of punches, forcing me to keep my hands up. I blocked most of them, but a knee slipped through and slammed into my thigh.

Pain bloomed, hot and immediate.

I grabbed him, wrapped an arm around his torso, and muscled him backward. We slammed into the ropes. For a second, I felt solid again. Grounded. I drove him down to the mat, my knee pinning his hip.

For a moment, I thought I had him.

He bucked hard and suddenly I was off balance, and he was the one on top. He scrambled, his forearm pressing across my chest. I shoved him off and rolled to my knees, and we both got up again.

Sweat dripped down our faces.

This was exactly what I needed, and I grinned.

His brow furrowed, just a little.

The bell saved him.

Round Three.

Everything was heavy now—my arms, my legs, my thoughts. Everything except my will to win. JJ looked tired too, but he was younger. His recovery time was faster.

He shot low again.