Page 40 of Undefeated

The referee stepped in front of me and pointed. I went to the neutral corner and paced back and forth.

Come on, get up. Get up. Get up.

The referee waved his arms. This fight was over.

I heard Ripp scream. Shane motherfucking Dekkar.

I waited. Get up, you big fucker. You can do it.

I saw Kelsey out of the corner of my eye. Wilson opened his eyes and began to sit up.

Thank you, Lord.

I turned and faced Kelsey. He was crying. He rubbed his eyes and opened his arms.

“We made it kid,” He said as he hugged me.

I pulled my face away from him and smiled. He pulled my mouthpiece.

“Stop calling me kid, you old prick,” I said.

“Boy he underestimated you with that peek-a-boo shit, didn’t he,” Kelsey laughed.

I nodded.

Kace and Ripp stepped into the ring and rushed toward us.

As Kace smiled, I remembered what she looked like without her tooth. Her now repaired teeth were perfect. I smiled in return.

“Exciting…hungry,” she blurted as she reached into her pocket.

I placed my gloves on each side of her shoulders and held her still. As I bent my knees and lowered my head, she placed my dog tags over my head and onto my neck. As I started to speak, I heard the announcer.

“At 2:37 of the second, by knockout, the winner….Shane Shame on Dekkar…”

I turned and raised my hands. I walked toward Wilson and patted him on the back.

“Great fight, Wilson,” I said as I looked him in the eye.

“You got hands, kid,” he said as he patted my shoulder.

I nodded and turned toward Kace and Ripp. As I walked to Kace, I could tell that she had settled down and wasn’t quite as nervous.

“You okay?” I asked.

She nodded, “What were you going to say?” she asked.

I bent my knees again, lowering my face close to hers.

“Kith me,” I chuckled.

As our lips parted I looked at her beautiful face. I looked up at Ripp, who stood beside her, his hand on my shoulder. Kelsey stood behind Ripp, wiping tears from his eyes, as he talked to Joe. I looked toward Kace again. As she looked up at me and smiled, I realized that this was my family.

The ring was my home.

And I smiled.

KACE. The difference between wanting someone to love you and actually being loved is the difference between black and white. I suppose I could have lived the rest of my life thinking I was being loved; but now that I actually had it, I knew what I had in the past was nothing more than some fucked up form of affection.