I caught it on the glove.
“What’s your position? Where are you, Indi?” Unc’s voice was in the ring again.
He threw two jabs and a cross before landing the hit to my ribs.
“That shouldn’t have landed.”
Unc’s words echoed just as I watched Junior jump. He thought he had something.
I reacted.
Jab. Cross.
Then I dipped forward, burying a right uppercut into his ribs. He folded immediately, caught off guard.
His head snapped sideways and I sent another cross right into it.
He dropped to his knees and I backed up. Still moving, waiting for him to stand again. He didn’t, instead he tapped the ground three times, signaling he was done.
Unc chuckled. “You told me you don’t want ol’ boy to land any hits in the ring. Then we need to work on the inside. Close contact. I can tell you watched those tapes I sent you though.”
My eyes were still on Junior. By now he was laid out on his back, breathing hard. “Hell yeah he did. What the fuck was that?”
Unc responded before I could. “That, son, was a body breaker, and from the looks of it, you’ll need a minute.”
“More than a minute. My fucking ribs are burning.”
I laughed. “My bad, bro.”
“Nah, fuck that. You better use that shit in the ring on ol’ boy. Out here doing combos on me.” He was still on his back, still trying to recover.
“Good job though. Next time I wanna see more inside work. You’re strategic enough, so I know you’ll have them down pat by fight day. And give your legs a break.” He threw that last part in there which had me and Junior chuckling because we both knew what he meant.
“Whatever, old man.” I exited the ring and grabbed a towel from the nearby chair. Once I wiped the sweat from my face and neck, I checked in with Unc one last time and exited the garage, going toward the living room.
As I was walking in, I was surprised to see Selah standing in the kitchen. I didn’t even realize she had returned.
“When you get here?” I asked, watching her pulling pans from the oven.
“A couple hours ago. I went to sleep. I was really tired. How was your training?” She looked up from the pans to me.
“Good.” I moved around the counter and kissed the side of her face, not giving a fuck how sweaty I was.
“After your photoshoot, do you wanna watch a movie? I kind of like that theater room downstairs.”
“My photoshoot?” I repeated, confused as fuck.
“Yeah. Jordyn is out there setting up the lawn for it.”
I was completely confused, but then it hit me. Jordyn must’ve told her it was a shoot to keep her from finding out it was a dinner setup. “Aight, yeah. We can watch a movie, but don’t try to have me watching some sap shit. Ain’t watching no chick flick, Selah.”
She laughed. “Okay, fine. Do you want to try these lemon protein bars?”
“Yeah, after I shower. I’ll be back, baby.”
When I made it to the bedroom, my first stop was the closet to grab something comfortable to throw on. Once I found it, I cut the water on and started moving around the bathroom. The entire time my mind was locked on my training session, mentally going over my motions. I was relying on muscle memory. Unc was right. If I wanted to beat ol’ boy without allowing him to land even a cross, I needed to be strategic in every motion. I needed to count every step and make every one of them count.
After a much-needed shower, I dressed and rejoined Selah in the living room. From the sound of laughter, I could tell Jordyn had joined her.
