I kept on my toes. My heart was beating fast, pumping adrenaline all throughout my body. I could feel the heat radiating through my chest and searing my mind.

Instead of being angry, I was oddly calm, despite the fact Anya stood right across from me in the ring. The ref was out, and the bell had dinged, but neither of us really moved.

Anya smirked so I could see her red mouthguard. She advanced towards me with a short step and a jab with her right arm.

Man, she really was slow, but I knew that I couldn't take very many of her hits. I had dodged the first one, but I caught the other one in my ribs.

I had tensed up in time so that it did little more than knock the wind out of me. She wasn't serious yet. She was waiting.

I had to get moving. I narrowly sidestepped her next strike. As a last minute movement, one of my fists snapped into her stomach.

From the corner of my eye, I saw her smile. But behind that smile, I saw her wince. I knew what that wince meant. Opportunity.

I sent several more sharp jabs to her gut. I didn't care if it was a ruse. She made a mistake by giving me any room to attack. I could feel her try to punch me. Try. Her padded fists were nothing more than annoying bee stings. She was running out of air. She let me get too close.

Anya moved her hands from protecting her face to push me away. A split second was all it took. I threw my upper body weight as far down as I could. Anything to add more power to my kick.

I felt a sense of elation as I felt my shin connect with her face. I whipped back up to follow through, but there was no need. She staggered on her feet. She couldn't even keep her fists up. She fell backward, letting her head hang freely.

The audience roared as the refs and coaches rushed to the ring. She had blacked out for only a little more than a couple of seconds, but that was all it took.

It didn't register for me at first. I had won the fight, yes, but it was more than that. I had beat Anya. This was a championship match. I was the female MMA champion.

I lifted my gloves in the air, relishing my victory, soaking in the cheers of my fans. The ref grabbed my wrist, raising my hand higher, declaring me the winner. They got out the belt and put it in my arms. All I could see was its shine. My eyes were tearing up from the awesome cool feeling of relief.

"You did it!" I heard through the tears. My brother had made his way into the ring and hugged me tight. "You finally did it!"

I shook my head. "We did it, bro. We both did it."

"Thank you," he sobbed into my shoulder. "Thank you so much. I love you, Jules."

I wiped at my face and then patted his head with my gloved hand. "Save the tears until after you propose. That's something you should be much happier about."

He lifted his head then, eyes wide. His mouth dropped open as if he just realized that he had the means to propose to his girlfriend now.

It brought a fresh smile to my face. "Go call her. Let her know I want a sister ASAP."

As soon as I left the locker room I was met by a sea of reporters. I had my belt securely fashioned around my hips and a grin permanently plastered to my face. Westley had left long ago to meet up with his girlfriend.

"Jules! Jules! Some are calling this a major upset. Any comments?"

"How does it feel to have finally beaten your rival?"

"What are your plans now that you're the champion?"

I decided to answer them all in one shot. "Really, the feeling is awesome. I don't think there's anything like knowing you're the best in the world. Anya just couldn't cut it this time. As for my plans, I'm going to try to defend my title for as long as I can."

"Is there any message you would like to give to your fans?" One reporter asked.

"Oh right. Gotta give a big shoutout to all my fans for sticking with me and cheering me on. Of coarse, my brother, too. It takes a really awesome person to manage me. Oh, and I'd like to thank my sponsors, all the medical personal who patched me up after fights..."

I don't know why I looked over there. All of the ambulances should have been gone by now. But I was wrong. There was one more left up there. I felt my heart beat faster than it ever did at the match.

"Jules! Jules!" They insisted as I started to move.

"That'll be all," I said quickly and broke out in a run. That hill felt like nothing. I couldn't shake the hope that if I just ran fast enough, I might be able to see him.

There were two people on the hill. Only one turned my way as I reached the summit. He handed off a clipboard to the other with wide eyes behind his glasses. It was him. It was definitely him.

"Jules!" he greeted me hopefully.

I ran into him, locking my arms around his body. A bit too roughly, I smashed my lips against Mattie's.

I caught him a little off guard, of coarse, but his lips softened and moved to accept mine. His hands grabbed my exposed waist and pulled me closer.

I broke the kiss with a gigantic inhale. "God, I missed you!"

Mattie still seemed flabbergasted. "I...I... I guess this means you still like me. Thank God. Congratulations on your match."

"Of coarse I still like you. You are absolutely the cutest, sweetest, most caring person in the world," I gushed.

He kissed me in a way that wasn't entirely cute, sending my heart into a frenzy.

"You have no idea how much I missed you. I think about you every moment that you're gone. I'm crazy about you. And I feel like an idiot for not letting you know sooner. And for the way I must have acted when I got drunk..."

"Mattie, I love you," I blurted out. I couldn't help it. I was exhilarated.

He was speechless. But he looked mostly happy, so I took that as a good sign.

"Hey, what are you doing later?" I asked, still talking about a mile a minute.

"We-I've got to take the ambulance back, but... Wait, didn't you say that you love me?"

I nodded. "I want to celebrate. Let's go get a drink!"

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said cautiously. "Not the loving me part!" he quickly ammended. "That sounds great, if slightly surprising..."

"You don't have to drink if you don't want to," I compromised. "Think of it as payback. Buy me a drink, and if you're lucky, we could still go back to your place..."

The ambulance turned on its siren for an unexpected second. "Mattie, hurry up! Quit stalling. We're already running late!" the driver yelled through the window.

"Um..." Mattie turned his face back towards me. "I've got to go..."

I felt my heart drop slightly. Well, it's not like it was the end of the world. I mean, maybe it was still too early in our relationship for that.

"So, I guess I'll meet you at the bar. The one from before, I mean. If you still want to back to my place...well..." He laughed nervously and produced the cutest smirk. "If that's how you want to celebrate being the MMA champion, there's no way I'm gonna pass on that opportunity."

An embarrassing squeal escaped from my grin. Matthew grabbed my hips by my belt and pulled me into another kiss.

He ran back to the ambulance and hopped in the back. "See you soon," he called out breathlessly.

At that moment, I knew this feeling of euphoria was not from being the best in the world. This elation was knowing I have the best in the world and the possibility that I would still be with him tomorrow. Damn, what a knockout.