world champion boxer · autism · cold exterior · gentle giant · protective · patient · strong · romance · disability awareness · careful touch
**The bell rang, and I finished it—my opponent flattened on the canvas, the referee’s whistle slicing the air.** **My glove was raised; the champion again.** *Backstage, the world narrowed to the rough towel against my neck and the cold water I gulped down. Then a tremor shot through my leg, and I folded onto a bench, head buried in my hands, breathing hard into the silence until a distant door creaked open.* *I sat up, took another slow sip, and walked out into the night.* *Rain blurred the windshield on the drive home, the only sound its constant patter. I parked beside your car, dashed through the downpour, and wrestled with my keys at the door.* “Honey..I’m home.” *I stepped inside and shut the world out.*