Page 2 of A Lapse in Time

"Let me wrap your hands."

Carsyn's eyes were on me as I wrapped her hands and put on her gloves. She had her signature teal shorts on with Ross on the waistband. My chest swelled with pride every time she wore them because she bore my last name. Whether or not she won, I would forever be proud of Carsyn for pursuing her dream. Since I'd met her, she wanted to be a fighter, and I was happy that I was able to provide that for her.

"Let's go! Go out there and show them why they call youThe Handler'cause you be handing out ass whuppings on these bitches."

Carsyn tilted her head back and giggled.

Calling women bitches wasn't something I normally did, but at the moment, it didn't matter. My wife knew what I meant by it, and it only happened in the moments between us.

There was a knock on the door, signifying it was time to go. Carsyn and I stood facing each other, our foreheads touching.

"You got this, Champ. Time to beat some ass." I kissed her nose, then led her out of the room.

Carsyn never talked too much before a fight, and I was okay with that. I would talk if she needed it or stay quiet if she required that. I was whatever I needed to be for her, in and out of this boxing shit.

We walked down the hall toward the arena's entrance. Carsyn's team was waiting for us at the end of the hall so we could all walk in together. As soon as she was introduced, her theme song started playing.

I saw the fire in Carsyn's eyes as she entered the ring. She was no longer Carsyn, the wife and mother. She was officially The Handler, and I couldn't wait to see what she did. My nervousness before she entered the ring gave way to excitement. After all of this time, I still enjoyed watching my wife fight. The shit turned me on, and I couldn't wait until it was over. Nia was staying with Courtney and her parents for the night, so I was ready to knock the sonic rings out of my wife by the end of the night.

"You got this," I reminded Carsyn one more time before I went to take a seat with our families.

Her parents, her twin sister Carlie, Carlie's husband Bobby, my father, and my aunt Grace were all in attendance. Evander was her official trainer, so he was ringside with her, along with Raheem, the cut man.

"How are you, son?" my father asked when I sat next to him.

"The usual, anxious and shit." My leg bounced as I looked toward the ring.

My father patted my shoulder. "You know she'll be fine."

Besides Evander, my father was my best friend. He was the only one who knew my true feelings whenever Carsyn fought. I never told her parents because I didn't want them to worry, even though they did anyway. I was the one who tried to keep everyone together.

My father, Noel, was the only parent I had. My mother died from a pulmonary embolism after she gave birth to me. Since then, it had been me and him. Aunt Grace helped out as much as she could. She was Evander's mom, which was why we spent so much time together. Evander's father wasn't around, and my dad used to take us to the local boxing gym. He was the reason both of us were so into it. I was surprised to learn how much Carsyn was into boxing, which was one of the things we bonded over.

The arena was loud as the announcer went over the rules. Once the bell rang, I was on the edge of my seat.

"Let's go, Carsyn!" My baby was doing her thing in the ring, but she knew not to get too comfortable until it was over.

It didn't matter if she won the first three rounds. Things could change quickly. Round for round, Carsyn and her opponent went blow for blow. At one point, Carsyn had a cut over her eye, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She was built for this shit.

We were in the final round, and Carsyn had won five of the nine rounds. It was down to the wire, and it was anyone's fight.

"Come on!" I was on my feet when Carsyn hit the other girl, and she stumbled.

Carsyn just needed to hold on for a few more minutes.

"Oh shit."

The entire audience gasped when Carsyn was hit with a hard ass blow that had her staggering. An uncomfortable feeling filled my gut when I looked at my wife.

"Something isn't right," I stated to my father since he was the closest one to me. I could see the look of worry on my in-laws' faces, but I didn't say anything to them.

"She just got thrown off a little," my father tried to reassure me, but I knew something was off.

The ref waved his hands in Carsyn's face, but she seemed dazed. I made my way to the ring because something was wrong with my wife. Before I made it to the ring, Carsyn went down.

My insides vibratedas I made my way inside the arena with my husband and my team behind me. I didn't tell my husband, but I was a little nervous because my opponent was one of the best, and if anyone could beat me, it was her. I didn't let my nerves get the best of me because I was built for this. I'd been training and fighting since I was a little girl.

When I was around five years old, I watched boxing matches with my stepfather, Warren, instead of playing with dolls and other toys like my sister did. Roy Jones Jr. was my favorite fighter, and I watched old tapes of his fights all the time.

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