“Okay,” I say, feeling a little confused.

“I can’t kiss you unless I win.”

My eyebrows dart up to the top of my head. “Well, that seems a little harsh.”

She smiles up at me just as Vic calls her over and takes up to the ring.

“Shelby,” I call for her just before she climbs up. She turns back to stare at me. “You better fucking win.”

Shelby

The girl walking toward me isn’t any bigger than me, but she is staring at me like she wants to rip my face off. I swallow down my nerves and step into the circle. I sparred before but never with Isabel. She’s young and tough as nails, but Vic feels confident that I can beat her.

He says she’s feisty, but she doesn’t think. Apparently, I have the brains and the strength to pull it off, but I can’t seem to feel all of that confidence he wants me to feel.

Vic decides to take the ref job on this fight. After taking the mic and doing his announcer bit, he turns toward us and puts his hands out for each of us to put our wrists on his. “A fair fight, ladies. Yes?”

“Yep,” she snaps. Then she holds her fists out toward me and I knock them quickly. Suddenly, at that moment, I stop feeling like Shelby, the nurse and quiet rule follower. I’m ready to fight, ready to get hit.

In the corner of my eye, Rafe is standing there, his arms crossed and a blank expression on his face. Beside him, Ezra is a ball of nerves.

I push the image of them aside. This isn’t about them. It’s about me.

When Vic rings the bell—an actual bell because he loves to be authentic—my opponent comes in quick with a swing on the left, and for a moment, I don’t think. Nothing my coaches told me to do to prepare registers, and I just throw up my arms to block her. The impact of her punch on my arms hurts so bad. But quickly, my adrenaline spikes and the pain is replaced by a buzzing under my skin.

I watch her eyes, seeing where she is about to land her next punch, and I block her again. This time when she throws her punch, I follow with my own directly to the side of her face.

I have never honestly punched someone before this moment, and as a nurse, I honestly feel bad for how good it feels to slam my fist against her cheek.

She falters, and judging by the surprise in her round eyes, she didn’t expect me to be so strong. The crowd around us erupts in cheers, and I see behind her where Rafe is watching, still stoic and calm.

Ezra on the other hand is hanging off Rafe’s shoulders, shouting things at me that I can’t even begin to register. Rafe signals something at me, pointing to his eyes then to her.