In His Corner

by Alexandra Warren

  Naturally, I tensed up. And I could see how uncomfortable the question made Princeton as well in the way he ran a hand across the back of his neck before he pushed out, “Yeah. He uh… he suffered a minor stroke pretty recently, so my team and I decided it’d be best to let him fully recover instead of worrying himself sick about something we knew we could handle without him.”

  While I knew that wasn’t the full truth, I could appreciate the way he handled it for the public as the commentator replied, “Well I know all of us here are sending well wishes to someone who’s a legend in his own right. But who can we expect to see you in the ring with next? Anyone in particular on your radar?”

  A sneaky smile grew on my face before he even said a word since I already knew the answer to this question. Still, I let it be news to everyone else in the house when he released a sigh, peeking over his shoulder at his team before he finally answered, “Actually, I’m proud to announce this will be my last fight. Leaving the ring as a champion, defeating who I believe was one of the best to ever do it, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Wouldn’t want to go out any other way.”

  The house fell especially quiet, everyone shocked as the commentator continued, “You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen. “The Prince” is bowing out gracefully. Thanks for your time and congratulations.”

  “Appreciate it. Special shoutout to all the fans who have shown love over the years, shoutout to Scotty for putting up one hell of a fight tonight. And to my Bella, I’ll be home soon, baby.”

  All eyes flashed towards me as I sank into the couch, giddy as hell for more reasons than one. Though Gina was the first to acknowledge, “Oh my God. You knew, didn’t you?”

  With my lip pulled between my teeth, I nodded, feeling especially relieved now that I no longer had to keep that secret. And before I had to put any words behind it, my phone rang, Princeton’s name flashing across the screen an even bigger surprise since he hadn’t been off the television for more than a minute. But his call made sense once I said, “Hello” and his immediate response was, “Is the baby still baking?”

  I giggled, shaking my head at his concern as I answered, “I don’t know for how much longer thanks to how stressed the fuck out you just had us, but she is.”

  There was a ton of commotion in the background, so I only vaguely heard him when he said, “My bad, B. He was a little more polished than I thought he’d be.”

  “Uhh.. weren’t you the one who told me you can never underestimate your opponent? Every fighter has a puncher’s chance?” I asked, my eyebrow piqued teasingly as if he could see me.

  But my teasing expression was easily transformed into a goofy grin once I heard him reply, “Yeah. But then I met this girl who gassed me the hell up and I forgot to take my own advice cause I liked hers better.”

  Once again, I shook my head with a laugh, biting back my grin as I gushed into the phone, “I’m so proud of you. Congratulations, Prince.”

  “Thank you, Bella. I’ll be home soon, aight?”

  I nodded as if he could see me, putting on a game face of my own since I knew his return meant more than just having him around again.

  We had survived this battle, but it was one of a pair. And while I could only hope mine would go over a lot smoother than his had, his overall victory had me inspired enough to reply, “One fight down. One more to go.”

  Princeton

  Couple days in a dark room - or sunglasses.

  That was the unofficial prescription the medical team had given me after the fight since they worried my eyes might be a little sensitive to the light with some of the concussion-like symptoms I had been experiencing. But my personal health was second in line to Bella’s, especially now that we were only a few days out from her expected due date.

  She was already over being pregnant, running through just about every labor-inducing idea she could find on Google before deciding she “deserved” a C-Section. But since I knew that was just the crazy hormones talking, I came up with an idea of my own - and got the doctor’s approval - before dragging her to the gym for some light exercise in hopes that it would do the trick.

  “You in those dark sunglasses kinda makes me feel important. Like you’re my bodyguard or something,” Bella said with a laugh, watching closely as I unlocked the doors then let her walk in first before locking them behind us so no one else could get in. But even when we were inside, she only continued her teasing, waddling towards the stools as she said, “Or maybe you’re one of the Men In Black.”

  “Bella, quit playin’. You said you were ready for labor, right?” I asked, helping her sit down before going to retrieve the kit of boxing equipment.

  I made it back just in time to hear her reply, “I said it. But I won’t know if I actually meant it until it’s happening. Feelings could change in an instant, you know?”

  Instead of answering, I only shook my head as I grabbed the roll of wrapping tape before telling her, “Here. Give me your hand.”

  Her face immediately scrunched in disgust. “Uh… I thought you said light exercise? I was thinking more like, walking a few laps around the ropes as a sexy ring girl. Not throwing actual punches.”

  While I could only imagine how sexy she would look as a ring girl - with or without the baby - , I didn’t let that deter me from my plan as I demanded, “Bella, just give me your hand. I’m only going to wrap you to play it safe.”

  Since arguing against safety would’ve been silly, especially in her condition, she only rolled her eyes as she stuck her hand out to me, watching as I secured one hand before asking, “Has it hit you yet?”

  I peeked up to find her eyes over the top of my sunglasses, unsure of what she meant until she continued, “That you’re really done boxing forever?”

  Hearing the words out loud still felt strange, and maybe not quite real yet. But considering I would’ve been on the same sort of post-fight break regardless of if I was calling it quits or not, I felt comfortable answering, “I’m only done competing professionally forever. I can still get in the ring and bounce around a little bit whenever I want to.”

  “But are you... okay?” she asked with extra emphasis, hinting at the same worries she had expressed when she first interviewed me almost a year ago.

  Back then, I probably wouldn’t have been. But so much had changed since then, I had grown so much since then. And while I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of what the long term would look like, it still felt fair for me to tell her, “Ask me again in a week or two. I might say I’m okay now, but I won’t know if I actually meant it ‘til this damn headache wears off.”

  Bella pushed her lips out in sympathy, running her wrapped hand against my temple as she said, “I hope it does sooner than later.”

  As I finished her other hand, I assured, “It will. Don’t even worry, B.” Then I helped her up from the stool before leading her over to the stairs of the ring while asking, “Now what you got for me? A little shuffle action? Or were you serious about that walk?”

  I pulled the rope up to make it easier for her to climb in, following behind her and catching the sinister grin on her face when she answered, “Actually… I was thinking we could, maybe, put these ropes to use.”

  My eyebrow piqued as I asked, “Oh yeah? How so?” And Bella surprised the hell out of me when she turned around and grabbed onto the top ropes before stepping back and tooting her ass up in the air.

  “Oh damn. That’s what you on?”

  She peeked over her shoulder, licking her lips before she answered, “It’s a shame we hadn’t done it before. But now that I’m confident we won’t have anyone popping in…”

  “I got you,” I told her confidently, grabbing her from behind by the hips as I told her, “Baby girl’s been doing your body so good, Bella.”

  “Well hopefully Daddy will do my body even better,” she replied, making me chuckle as I quickly got rid of my sunglasses, sweats, and boxers before pulling up the hem of her dress and helping her step out of her p
anties.

  The sight alone was enough to have me hard as a rock. And when I ran a finger against Bella’s clit, I discovered she was even more ready than I was, her wetness in combination with the way she shivered in response to just a simple touch reminding me to tell her, “Hold on tight, aight? And let me know if I’m hurting you.”

  “Princeton, will you quit being so nice and get inside of me already?” she growled, her demanding tone only making me harder as I aligned myself with her opening and glided in with an easy plunge that had me thinking the same thing she was.

  It’s a shame we hadn’t done this before.

  Finding a rhythm came easy, Bella using the ropes and extra grip from her hand wraps for leverage to throw that ass back at me like she wasn’t with child. But if she was going to take it there, I was more than happy to follow her lead, keeping a steady hand against her waist as I met her with strokes of my own that elicited a guttural grunt like something I had never heard from her before.

  “Am I hurting you?” I asked, unable to stop things completely since Bella was still delivering.

  But it made sense once she answered breathily, “No, that was a good grunt. Keep going.”

  With her approval, I did just that, enjoying the sounds of her little cries of pleasure echoing off the walls of the gym, enjoying the extra moisture coating my dick with every stroke that gave some proof behind the whole “pregnancy pussy being the best” theory Brandin had once spoken of, enjoying having an intimate moment with my woman before two would become three.

  While Bella was giving it just as good as any other time, I could tell it was catching up to her with how heavy she was breathing, her determination and enthusiasm truly deserving of more than just any ol’ orgasm. So I decided to give her that and more, straddling the line of gentle and rough as I ran a stiff finger against her swollen clit and delivered a stroke powerful enough to send her over the top.

  She immediately collapsed against the ropes as she continued to throb around me, giving me a nut I wasn’t even trying to get. And somehow I managed to pull out just in time to shoot my seed out onto the floor of the boxing ring as Bella rested against the ropes, working to catch her breath.

  “Blood, sweat, tears, and now semen. This canvas has truly seen it all,” Bella said with an exhausted laugh, her forehead coated in sweat as she pulled her dress back down over her butt.

  I was glad there were plenty of unused sweat towels nearby, allowing me to clean both the canvas and myself up as I explained, “Baby girl is sitting a little too low for me to feel comfortable cummin’ inside you, Bella.”

  She nodded to agree. “Fair enough. But now I want tacos. They say spicy foods can help.”

  “We can make that happen,” I told her as I put my boxers and sweats back on before giving her her panties back.

  Well… trying to give her her panties back, though she insisted I just stuff them in my pocket since she was too tired to put them back on herself. And since I wasn’t one to argue about that, I followed her instructions before helping her out of the ring, stopping by the bathrooms so we could both do a better job of cleaning ourselves up and getting rid of Bella’s hand wraps, then making our way out of the gym to go get the tacos she had requested.

  But we were barely a foot out of the door when Bella hissed, “Shit. Forgot my phone.”

  “I’ll go get it,” I told her, making quick work of unlocking the doors I had just locked so I could retrieve it. But when I stepped back inside, things somehow already felt different since I wasn’t really sure of the next time I’d be here, and wasn’t exactly pressed to return any time soon.

  The feeling was so foreign that I really didn’t know what to do with it, though I was forced to shake it off so that I could grab Bella’s phone and make it back out to her. And once I did, I found her already waiting by the car wearing sunglasses of her own which reminded me to put mine back on.

  My walk to the car was accompanied by background music as Bella sang, “Here comes the Men in Black…,” making me laugh as I helped her inside before climbing into the driver’s seat. But once again, we hadn’t made it very far when Bella said, “Uhh... Princeton? I think you might need to turn around.”

  “What your baby brain headass done forgot now?” I asked teasingly, already laughing to myself until I realized Bella hadn’t joined me.

  And when I peeked over at her, I could see the pain etched in her face as she held a hand to her stomach and answered, “Nothing. But the hospital is in that direction and I’m pretty sure my water just broke.”

  “Oh shit!” I shouted before remembering the advice I had read regarding this exact moment and telling her, “Aight, aight. Stay calm. We’re good. You’re good. I’m turning around. You just keep on breathing. Use your techniques.”

  “Princeton, will you shut the fuck up and drive?!” she growled through clenched teeth, the pain transforming her into a whole new beast.

  “I’m going as fast as I can!” I shouted back over her latest howl of pain.

  But my yelling only made her burst into tears as she cried, “Why are you yelling at me?!”

  “Cause you’re… nevermind. Call your mom. Or my mom. Or hell, somebody’s mom and tell ‘em where we’re headed. I’m gonna get us there as quickly and safely as possible, aight?”

  “O-Kay,” she cried, giving exaggerated breaths as I just barely made it through a yellow light.

  “Now we gotta keep track of the time between your contractions, right?” I asked, taking my eyes off the road for just a second when she hadn’t immediately replied to make sure she was still alright.

  Her eyes were tight with another wave of pain as she pushed out, “Sorry. I was trying to send them a text, but it’s happening again.”

  “So that was like, five minutes or so,” I guessed while also doing a quick estimate of how far we were from the hospital.

  And I was glad we weren’t too far since Bella could only answer, “I don’t know. Just drive!”

  With my hands tightening around the steering wheel, I pressed the gas pedal with as much force as I could without putting us in danger. And it seemed as if the road Gods were working in our favor, traffic light enough for me to maneuver around and get us to the hospital in record time.

  The car was barely in park when I hopped out and rounded the front to help Bella do the same. But not even the sunglasses were enough to stop someone from recognizing me, the obvious emergency doing nothing to deter the guy from shouting, “Hey! You’re The...”

  “Not now, homie. Can you get me a wheelchair? My girl is ready to rock and roll.”

  “Absolutely!” he shouted, springing into action as I guided Bella out of the car.

  With a hand against her stomach, she groaned, “Princeton, it hurtssss…,” just as the guy returned with the wheelchair.

  I lowered her into it while reminding her, “You can do this, Bella. You were built for this.”

  “No the fuck I wasn’t!” she shouted as I wheeled her in before one of the nurses took over.

  Still, I was able to keep pace, damn near jogging next to them as I told her, “Well even if you don’t think so, I’m here to help. I got your back, love.”

  Through her tears, she nodded before the nurses started asking us both a series of questions, things quickly becoming a blur as they prepared her for delivery after seeing how far dilated she already was. But even in what felt like complete chaos, I knew it was time for me to really show up for Bella the same way she had always done for me.

  We were in this together.

  &

  Zuri Princess Lattimore.

  Seven pounds, eight ounces, and nineteen inches of absolute perfection.

  She was literally the most beautiful thing I had ever seen; so pure, so angelic, so… ours. And while she might not have been a part of our plans at the time of conception, she was already the best thing that had ever happened to me - they were the best thing that had ever happened to me.

  Bella had hel
d it down like a true champ, making labor look like a breeze outside of cussing out everyone involved. But now that it was all over, she looked just as angelic as our daughter, in a much-deserved deep sleep as I kept eyes on the both of them.

  I wasn’t alone; my mom, Bella’s parents, Gina, and my play relatives in Tony, Little Tony, Brandin, and Denise all taking turns coming in and out of our suite to welcome the latest addition to our family. But now that Bella and the baby had been resting comfortably for a good while, I decided to go check on them. Though I wished I hadn’t once I saw who had joined them.

  “Fuck are you doing here, man?” I growled, stepping up to the man who I had once saw as a hero. But now he just looked… defeated; better than he had been the last time I saw him, but still a shell of himself compared to what he used to be.

  He wasn’t in the wheelchair anymore, getting around with a walker instead. But his condition still didn’t stop me from being offended by his presence on what was supposed to be a joyous occasion, though Tony tried to talk some chill into me, putting a hand to my chest when he said, “P, relax. He’s not here to start any trouble. He just wants to talk to you.”

  Instead of addressing the person he was talking about, I kept my attention on Tony when I asked, “Talk about what? I ain’t got shit to say to him.”

  This time it was my mother putting a hand to my shoulder, prompting me to turn her way as she said, “Princeton, it’s okay. Just go talk to your father.”

  I was surprised to hear her even acknowledge his existence, surprised to see her encouraging the conversation with someone who had done her so wrong. But if she could find it in her heart to even be in the same room with him without flipping out, I could respect her wishes, releasing a heavy sigh as I nodded towards the hallway for more privacy.

  Leading the way with long strides, I turned around to find my father struggling with each step, a sight that honestly tore at me since he had always been so active - so agile. But I refused to get caught up in sympathy for a man who had never shown me any, keeping my face neutral as I rested with my back against the wall and waited to hear what he had to say.