Fighting for Love

The weeks flew by. Royce and I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas together. My family welcomed him with open arms. While I was at fight camp, he snuck off to see his mother and siblings in Los Angeles. I would have liked to have met them but didn’t push the matter. Before I knew it, we were celebrating the new year.

Royce came over to my parents’ house to watch the ball drop. While the family was gathered around the TV, he tugged me to the door leading to the garage.

I flipped on the overhead light and then closed the door behind me. “What’s going on?”

He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I just missed you.”

“Well, if you had taken me to L.A., you wouldn’t have.”

“I know, babe. Trust me, I wanted to, but they’ll meet you soon enough.”

I pushed my finger into his chest. “No excuse. If you’re serious about us—”

“Oh, I’m serious.” He cleared his throat. “Are you?”

“Yes. There’s no one else I want in my life.” I angled my body away as I stared up. “What’s going on?”

“Okay, okay. I’ve been holding out on you.” He lowered his arms, reached into his back pocket, and handed me a wrinkled envelope.

It was from the Albuquerque Police Academy. Could that be the notification I was waiting for?