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Mike leaned near Ayesha’s ear. “The problem with that move is it puts Gano within grappling range, and you don’t want to be within grappling range with Joel.”
Joel evaded the knee, hooked Adrían’s leg, and took him to the mat. He locked the leg, and she saw Adrían trying to pull out of the hold, but it was too tight. His complexion, very quickly, went from olive to red all over.
“It’s done,” Mike said.
She forced herself to breathe. “How do you know?”
Just when she thought Adrían’s head would pop from his neck, he tapped.
Joel released.
Adrían fell back to the mat, his chest heaving, and there wasno way inhellshe would encourage Josiah to do this.
Without waiting for a bell, an alarm, a chime—nothing—Joel tugged off his gloves, tossed them next to where Adrían lay, and left the octagon without looking back. “TKO Remix” started playing, and while Stockholm wasn’t what she’d been expecting, she was all for it.
Mike whipped a finger through the air. “And that’s the match, ladies and gentlemen.”
Joel walked over and scooped her up without breaking his stride, following the others to the exit. “Don’t let me find out you were worried about me going up against your little boyfriend,” he warned.
“Um…”
“Don’t let it happen again.”
She grinned. “Yes, Mr. Lattimore. Anything you say, Mr. Lattimore.”
CHAPTER35
Joel used to tell himself that his first time here was a disaster, but looking back, he realized he didn’t dothatterrible of a job with Josiah and Theo. He’d compared how he did to how Ayesha would have handled an after-school evening at the park, but she’d had more experience with their mannerisms—theirauthenticmannerisms—rather than the ones they’d shown him up to that point.
A toddler who fell asleep without issue.
An eight-year-old who always listened.
Thinking about it now, he laughed to himself and took a seat on the same bench from that day. He didn’t know exactly what he expected to happen as he couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened the first time.
The man, Nikora, looked like the pictures Ayesha had of Curtis. Ayesha even told him it was one of Curtis’ names, which he’d passed down to Josiah. Yet, the entire thing continued to unsettle him, years later, though not for the reason most would assume.
He’d found himself trying to empathize and put himself in Curtis’ shoes, now more convinced than ever that love could be as eternal as energy. He’d tried to imagine Curtis having to accept that he would never again feel Ayesha’s skin, lips, or her arms around him.
He tried to imagine but couldn’t.
Most nights, it was Ayesha on one side and Theo on the other, but the last night it was just the two of them, he woke up first. He’d watched her, asleep with the covers pulled up over her naked breasts, bronze, brown, and breathtaking.
Then, when he’d thought about how much better things became when her eyes opened, it had been impossible not to pull her close. The icing on the cake was when she felt his body and snuggled further into it. No matter what, she sought him out. She appreciated him. She loved him in a way he never knew love could exist, never mind exist for him.
He made her happy.
And he didn’t have to do a thing but breathe.
That morning, he’d known he wanted to wake up to her many more times. He wanted to be by her side when silver strands blended with her dark hair and gentle lines made paths of wisdom on her face.
Occasionally, it did feel unfair to Sydney howdifferenthe found life with Ayesha. He’d loved Sydney with everything in him, and they had a history that would never lose its place in the timeline of their lives.
When he and Sydney married, he saw tomorrows, next weeks, and next years.He saw a repeat of the relationship they’d already had but with a legal and spiritual commitment. However, that was like planting a seed and never considering what kind of tree it would one day make.
With Ayesha, he saw years and years down the road. He saw family trips and car rides with terrible singing, while Theo and Josiah rolled their eyes and turned up the volume on their headphones. He saw quiet evenings, ordering takeout, pillow talk, and her eyes on his as she drew back on the bed while he climbed onto the mattress, her pretending the headboard represented an obstacle she hadn’t quite seen coming.
It felt unfair that every heart wouldn’t know love like this. That there were people who would search and pine but never findthis,no matter how long they lived. Those hearts still imagined what it was like, still felt the comfort of someonegoodin their dreams. Those hearts still got a glimpse, a taste.
