Page 53 of Meet Me In The Dark

Nathan and I exchange an arched brow and laugh because Mateo’s many things, but he’s not wrong.

“Go on then.” He tilts his head toward a teenage boy who is cleaning floors on the other side of the gym. “Or I’ll have you mopping again for old times’ sake.”

Fuck that.

We square up.

Nathan’s quick, always has been, but he’s rusty. Two jabs from me, and he knows it.

“Still telegraphing that left,” I grunt.

“Still a smug asshole,” he replies, ducking.

A hook grazes my side, and I blink.

Celeste.

Her mouth.

Those fucking eyes.

My glove cracks against Nathan’s face, splitting his lip.

He stumbles back. “Jesus. Ease the fuck up.”

Mateo laughs from outside the ropes. “That’s what happens when you poke the beast.”

Nathan spits blood before wiping his mouth. “Believe me, I’m not the one who poked him.”

I don’t deny it.

“Get to it,” Mateo growls. “Go on. Beat the smug out of each other.”

Nathan throws a jab, but I duck, sweep low, and respond with a left hook that makes him stumble back.

He grins right in my face. “There he is.”

I give him a full smile, showing him my gum shield, and wink.

We fall into a rhythm. Gloves cracking, breath heavy, bodies slick with sweat. It’s not elegant, but it’s honest.

For some reason, this is always where our real conversations take place—somewhere between the bruises and the blood.

“You know,” Nathan pants, sidestepping one of my shots, “I’ve been thinking.”

“Don’t do that, sweetheart. You know it hurts that pretty head of yours.”

He lands a body shot that makes me grunt.

“I’m serious,” he says.

“Fuck, here we go.”

“I’m going to ask Sienna to marry me.”

I freeze for a long second. “It’s about time.”

He exhales a breath that’s half a laugh, half a sigh of relief.