MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat

Chapter 309 Under the Stars

"Come on, make a wish, a shooting star," Svetlana said, her voice playful as she lay on the sand beside Damon.

Damon chuckled, shaking his head. "Come on, that's not a real thing. A wish?" He turned his head to look at her, his expression amused.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

She sucked on her teeth, rolling her eyes. "Boring..."

"Okay, okay," Damon relented, closing his eyes for a moment. "Fine, I'll make a wish."

After a moment, he opened his eyes. "Alright, I wished f—"

Before he could finish, Svetlana pressed her hand over his mouth. "You can't tell me," she said, her smirk making her eyes shine.

Damon looked at her, his heart swelling. Man, he was so damn lucky.

It had been a few days since Christmas, and the holiday had been incredible.

Everyone had grown closer during the celebrations, but soon after, they all returned to their routines.

Edward had gone to spend time with his family, and Ty had thrown himself into his training with Victor, fully committed to chasing his new dream of wrestling at the highest levels.

Damon was happy for him. Ty had always been a strong wrestler, but he'd been in a strange limbo in their MMA circle, never quite making moves toward any professional companies.

And for Joey, he hadn't heard much from him since Christmas, where he called later saying the dinner went decent and he wanted Damon to meet his brother.

But enough about that. Right now, Damon's focus was entirely on Svetlana.

"You should probably take your hand off my mouth," he said, his voice muffled beneath her hand.

Svetlana smirked. "And if I don't?"

Damon smiled at her while holding her hand, his lips curving mischievously.

He stuck out his tongue out of the blue, which made her squeal with surprise and pull away right away.

"Ew! Damon!" she laughed, wiping her hand on the sand.

He grinned at her, his laughter joining hers as the cool night air surrounded them.

"Lana..." he began, but his hesitation made her pull back further.

She bit her lip, her eyes darting away. "It's okay if you don't want to," she said quickly, her voice tinged with self-doubt. "I didn't mean to make this weird. Forget I said anything—"

"No, no, it's not that," Damon said, cutting her off, his hands gently holding hers. "It's not that at all." He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts.

"I care about you," he said earnestly, his eyes meeting hers. "And... I do want to. I'm just..."

He hesitated, his words deliberate. "I think we should wait. Not because I don't want to, but because I feel like... it's something that should happen when it's the right time, in the right place."

Svetlana looked at him, searching his face for any sign of insincerity. "You mean that?" she asked softly.

Damon nodded. "Yeah, I do. If you want to try, I'm okay with that. But... maybe we wait until one of us has our own place. Somewhere it feels... right."

She relaxed slightly, her expression shifting to one of quiet relief. "Okay," she whispered, a small smile forming on her lips. "That makes sense."

Damon smiled back, his thumb brushing lightly over her hand. "We've got all the time in the world, Lana. There's no rush."

Find your next adventure on empire

She nodded, leaning forward to rest her head against his shoulder, and they stayed there for a moment.

It was awkward, but it was honest, and that made it perfect.

Damon broke the comfortable silence, leaning in slightly and whispering into her ear as his fingers gently played with strands of her hair.

"So... what did you wish for?"

Svetlana chuckled, the sound soft and warm. Damon could feel her laughter vibrating against him, her head still resting on his shoulder.

"Nope," she said, her voice teasing.

Damon smirked, amused. "Come on, you've got to tell me," he pressed, his tone light and playful.

Svetlana shook her head, her hair brushing against his chin. "Not a chance."

She grinned, enjoying the little game, he shifted slightly, his fingers brushing against her side, causing her to flinch with a laugh.