the boxer (rocky balboa)

e i g h t

Keke's POV:

The next few days were a wonderful blur. Rocky began training much harder, since he now had a fight to prepare for, but we still had plenty of time together.

He was often so tired after training that all he wanted to do was lay on the couch and cuddle while watching TV, but I was fine with it. I laid in his strong arms, and ran my fingers up and down his chest.

He sighed, and I looked up into his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh ain't nothin wrong. I just wish ya would come watch me at the gym sometime or somethin."

"Rocky," I sat up, straddling him, so I could see him clearly. "You know how I feel about fighting."

"I know, I know. Ya don't want nothin to do with it. But, it'd mean a heck of a lot to me."

He gave me his sad puppy dog look, and I sighed. I just didn't want to see that side of him. I knew it really wouldn't change anything, but I wanted to know him as the sweet boyfriend Rocky, not the aggressive boxing Rocky.

"Rocky... I just... I don't know." I ran my hands through my hair, and as I dropped them in my lap, he pulled me into him, running his fingers up and down my back.

"Just think about it, will ya?"

I nodded. "I will."

—————

Rocky's POV:

I sighed as I made my way into the gym the next morning. I mentioned her coming to watch me again before I left, but she said she had a busy shift at work. I knew it was just an excuse for her to not come, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely disappointed.

It doesn't make that much of a difference, but I just wanted her to see all sides of me. Boxing took up pretty much all of my life before I met her, and I wanted her to be involved in it.

I shook my head as I made my way to the jump rope, and worked on my agility. I found myself pushing harder than I ever had, like I had something to prove.

—————

After a few hours of agility and punching drills, I made my way to the ring. A young kid had been talking smack for the past couple of days, and I decided it was time to put an end to it.

"Ya ready to be knocked on ya ass?" He taunted, jabbing at the air.

I rolled my eyes as I got taped up by Mickey. "Yo, shut this kid up, will ya?" He pounded my gloves as I nodded and turned to face the kid.

"3-2-1 FIGHT!" The kid bounced around, making his way towards me. I put my hands up, and took a few side steps of my own.

He tried to throw a quick one at my chin, but I easily deflected it. He was ready for it though, and quickly turned and managed to hit me in the lip.

"Not so tough now are ya?" He taunted again, getting cocky.

I let out a low growl and threw a quick punch in his gut. He staggered back, clearly not expecting it. I used that to my advantage, and threw another punch. My fist collided with his head, and I threw another, this time at his chin. He began to sway, and I threw the finally blow to his cheek. He went down, hard.

I stood over him, breathing heavily. He slowly opened his right eye, but his left one was swollen shut. "Here." I extended my hand, and helped him up.

"You's got potential, just need more time." I said. He nodded, and winced. Mickey helped him out of the ring as I heard some whispers. I looked around, expecting them to be talking about the fight, but then I made eye contact with a pair of eyes I never expected to see here.

Keke's POV:

I felt bad lying to Rocky, but I couldn't come up with a better excuse. I just didn't want to see him fight. I supported him one hundred percent, but that didn't mean I wanted to see him punching people.

I sighed as I made my way down the street. Walks really did help me think, and this time was no different. However, just as I was getting ready to turn around and start heading home, someone ran into my shoulder. They hit me hard enough to spin me around, but didn't say anything. I was getting ready to yell after them, when I saw where I had stopped. It was Rocky's gym.

I sighed, staring at the door. "You're going to regret this." I muttered, as I made my way inside.

—————

I was hit with the sweaty smell as soon as I passed through the doorway. There were shirtless men everywhere, doing all kinds of different exercises. I didn't see Rocky anywhere though.

"Can I help ya?" A gruff old man asked.

"Um, yeah. I'm looking for Rocky Bal-"

"Oh I knows who Rocky is." He said, chuckling. "Ya must be Keke I've been hearing so much about. I'm Mickey."

I smiled, thinking about Rocky talking to other people about me. "Nice to meet you Mickey, would you mind taking me to Rocky?"

"Ain't no problem, follow me." He took me down a set of stairs down to a smaller training area. This room had a boxing ring in it, and I could see two men using it currently. I looked closer, and could tell one was Rocky.

I stopped walking, and stared. His muscles shone with sweat, and moved so fluidly. He knew exactly how to move his body, as well as judge his opponents. I felt a heat building inside of me, and had to blink a few times to regain my composure.

"Is he-" I turned to ask Mickey, but he was gone. He had walked over to Rocky's side of the ring.

The kid managed to land a punch on Rocky, and I cringed, but Rocky quickly regrouped, and soon the kid was on the mat. I expected Rocky to taunt him and walk away, but he helped him up. I smiled, that's the Rocky I knew.

A few of the boxers in there had noticed my presence, and had started whispering. I blushed, and Rocky looked up, searching for the source of the whispering. His eyes met mine, and lit up with recognition.

I stood, frozen for a few seconds, before I slowly started walking towards him. He leaned over the side of the ring, and I walked up until I was directly under him. He looks even sexier up close.

I smiled as I slid through the cables to get to him. "Hi." I wispered.

"Hey." He whispered back. "Nice of you's to show up."

My grin widened as he wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me in for another heart-stopping kiss.

Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Like I said, I'm really excited for where this book is going! We also just hit 200 reads! Thank you guys so much! I was also really appreciate it if you could vote and leave a comment! Thanks!

~ K