he walked, he felt sharp stabbing pains in his one knee. Back at his apartment he’d topped himself up with pain medication, but he doubted it would be enough to numb himself for the duration of the fight.
“You have to win this,” Carl warned, growing pale when Jasper failed to respond to him. “I made it very clear how important this fight is.”
“Yes,” Jasper looked up at his agent, annoyed. “You’ve made it clear, Carl. I get it. Trust me.”
“Let’s just hope all these extra hours you’ve put in at the gym have been worth it.”
“Tell me about it,” Jasper agreed. He felt like he was constantly on the verge of exhaustion. He didn’t spring out of bed after a day of excessive training the way he used to when he was younger. What if he was just too old to fight? He couldn’t think like that. With a brisk shake of his head, he banished the negative thought to the back of his mind.
“Just go out there and give this guy hell,” Carl offered encouragingly.
“I intend to.”
Jasper remained sat rigidly on the sofa of his changing room. This was the time when he needed to focus, to descend down a black hole of thought focusing only on the pin prick of light at the end. He had to visualize winning, convince himself that he’d already won. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, expecting to hear the thunder of applause in his ears, but instead he heard Kait gasp in pleasure. He was thinking about her again. He clenched his hands tightly together as they had started to shake. Why was he thinking about her now? His mind needed to be clear. He needed to be focused.
Carl had already left, aware of Jasper’s pre-fight ritual and needed for solitude before he entered the ring. Only Jasper wasn’t currently alone; Kait was in his mind polluting his every thought. When he tried to imagine throwing a crucial punch, he thought of the way she smelt, of how soft her hair was when he ran it through his fingertips like spun gold.
“Focus,” he snarled angrily at himself. But it did no good. Kait was all he could think about. Getting to his feet, he started to anxiously pace about, thinking that some movement might help banish Kait from his mind, but it didn’t. With each tense step he took, fresh images of her popped up in his mind’s eye.
“No, no, no,” Jasper was shaking his head as he walked back and forth. “Focus.”
A brisk knock on the door caused him to cease pacing. The door opened, and Carl was standing there, his expression unreadable.
“It’s time,” he told Jasper.
“Right, yes, let’s go,” Jasper clapped his hands together and bounced up and down on the spot, trying to fire himself up.
“You’ve got this,” Carl told him as he patted him on the shoulder as the pair of them walked down a corridor towards the arena. The chanting of the crowd made the walls around them eerily tremble. They sounded louder than usual, more riled up. The noise made Jasper even more apprehensive about the fight. Usually he played off the energy of the crowd, but now it was subduing him. He wasn’t ready for this.
Already, his knee was causing him to grind his teeth together, and he was merely walking. What would happen when he was maneuvering around the ring or trying to execute a round kick?
“Come on, it’s go time!” Carl had to shout to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Jasper could just make out the distant boom of the announcer calling his name. The crowd grew even louder.
Bunching his hands into fists by his side, Jasper took a deep, steading breath, pushed open the double doors before him, and entered the arena.
Chapter 21
The crowd was on their feet when Jasper entered the arena. People were eagerly waving homemade banners at him and screaming his name. Kait also stood up and felt her heart quicken when she saw him striding confidently towards the ring. His head was held high, and his shoulders were
“You have to win this,” Carl warned, growing pale when Jasper failed to respond to him. “I made it very clear how important this fight is.”
“Yes,” Jasper looked up at his agent, annoyed. “You’ve made it clear, Carl. I get it. Trust me.”
“Let’s just hope all these extra hours you’ve put in at the gym have been worth it.”
“Tell me about it,” Jasper agreed. He felt like he was constantly on the verge of exhaustion. He didn’t spring out of bed after a day of excessive training the way he used to when he was younger. What if he was just too old to fight? He couldn’t think like that. With a brisk shake of his head, he banished the negative thought to the back of his mind.
“Just go out there and give this guy hell,” Carl offered encouragingly.
“I intend to.”
Jasper remained sat rigidly on the sofa of his changing room. This was the time when he needed to focus, to descend down a black hole of thought focusing only on the pin prick of light at the end. He had to visualize winning, convince himself that he’d already won. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, expecting to hear the thunder of applause in his ears, but instead he heard Kait gasp in pleasure. He was thinking about her again. He clenched his hands tightly together as they had started to shake. Why was he thinking about her now? His mind needed to be clear. He needed to be focused.
Carl had already left, aware of Jasper’s pre-fight ritual and needed for solitude before he entered the ring. Only Jasper wasn’t currently alone; Kait was in his mind polluting his every thought. When he tried to imagine throwing a crucial punch, he thought of the way she smelt, of how soft her hair was when he ran it through his fingertips like spun gold.
“Focus,” he snarled angrily at himself. But it did no good. Kait was all he could think about. Getting to his feet, he started to anxiously pace about, thinking that some movement might help banish Kait from his mind, but it didn’t. With each tense step he took, fresh images of her popped up in his mind’s eye.
“No, no, no,” Jasper was shaking his head as he walked back and forth. “Focus.”
A brisk knock on the door caused him to cease pacing. The door opened, and Carl was standing there, his expression unreadable.
“It’s time,” he told Jasper.
“Right, yes, let’s go,” Jasper clapped his hands together and bounced up and down on the spot, trying to fire himself up.
“You’ve got this,” Carl told him as he patted him on the shoulder as the pair of them walked down a corridor towards the arena. The chanting of the crowd made the walls around them eerily tremble. They sounded louder than usual, more riled up. The noise made Jasper even more apprehensive about the fight. Usually he played off the energy of the crowd, but now it was subduing him. He wasn’t ready for this.
Already, his knee was causing him to grind his teeth together, and he was merely walking. What would happen when he was maneuvering around the ring or trying to execute a round kick?
“Come on, it’s go time!” Carl had to shout to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Jasper could just make out the distant boom of the announcer calling his name. The crowd grew even louder.
Bunching his hands into fists by his side, Jasper took a deep, steading breath, pushed open the double doors before him, and entered the arena.
Chapter 21
The crowd was on their feet when Jasper entered the arena. People were eagerly waving homemade banners at him and screaming his name. Kait also stood up and felt her heart quicken when she saw him striding confidently towards the ring. His head was held high, and his shoulders were
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