His hard expression softened then and he gave her a grin. “If i wasn’t going to bleed on you, honey, I’d kiss you senseless right now.”
Then he held the rope up for her to slip out of the ring and down to the ground.
On the ground, David put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Breathe in and out,” he told her. “He’s doing good.”
She nodded, but couldn’t say a word.
“You can kick his ass for scaring you later on.”
She nodded again, her arms stretched down at her sides and her fingers curled up into her palms.
The round felt like it was taking forever.
Harmony wanted to pull on her hair and turn away.
Neither fighter was landing much of anything, but her nerves were shot.
The clock above the ring was ticking away and she hoped it would end with both men putting on a good show for the crowd, but then something happened in ring.
It looked like Hank dropped an arm down giving Crois an opening.
And Crois didn’t let the opportunity pass him by.
He threw a punch that hit Hank’s chin and lifted it up and back.
There had to be a name for it, but Harmony couldn’t seem to make her mind work at the moment.
It felt like the whole crowd held its breath as Hank staggered back a couple of steps and went down.
Harmony felt David clap his hand down on her shoulders.
She heard him say… something but her mind couldn’t process it.
The speakers above their heads flared to life and Harmony found herself feeling faint.
The referee inside the ring stepped into the middle and picked up one of Crois’s arms and lifted it up into the air.
Harmony turned to look at David and the older man waved her forward.
“Go, woman! Our boy won! Go and give him a hug!”
Harmony clambered up into the ring and climbed through the ropes.
Crois seemed to sense her coming and turned.
Joy washed over her and she went a little crazy.
Harmony jumped when she was a couple of steps away from Crois and he caught her in mid-air.
She wrapped her arms and legs around Crois and hugged him tight. “You won! You won!”
Crois spun her around, looking at her instead of the crowd.
“Yeah, honey,” he grinned at her. “I won because you’re here.”
She grabbed hold of the sides of his face and kissed him.
Hard.
