Chapter Nine
Ian
I stood there with my arm in the air and the heavy belt draped across my shoulder, trying to catch my breath and trying to believe this moment was really happening. I’d won. I’d spent the last three years eating right, taking care of my body, studying champion fighters and practicing until I nearly passed out. Part of me always knew that I could do this. The other part…the one in the recesses of my brain that only came out to play when it was least welcome…knew that it never would. Take that, asshole voice! I said.
After the ref congratulated me, the promoter came out and did the same. He whispered in my ear for me to wait for him in the locker room, he had “a few” guys he wanted to introduce me to. He put the microphone in my face and asked me how it felt to be the champion. My head was buzzing…I think I was overdosed on adrenaline. The only word I could think of was “Good.” It wasn’t brilliant, but hey, I’m a fighter not a scholar. I was a champion!
The doors to the octagon were opened and I was all at once flanked by the over-sized security guards. I went along with them like a good boy until we got right next to where my mom, dad and Alexa were sitting. I broke free and grabbed hold of the first one I could reach…my dad. He was startled at first, but suddenly smiled broadly and wrapped me up in a tight hug. Then he held me back to look at my face and said, “I’m so damned proud of you, son. You’ve come such a long way.” I felt myself choking up. My mom was staring at the cut over my eye.
“It’s okay, Mom. Just a flesh wound,” I told her.
She tried to smile, bless her heart. Then, she wrapped me in a hug too. I could see Alexa’s face over my mother’s shoulder and I was aching to touch her. My mother held me for what seemed like forever and before she finally released me she whispered, “I love you, Ian.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I looked up at Alexa then and she glanced nervously at my parents. With a grin I said, “By the way, Alexa and I are dating.” She smiled broadly then and jumped into my arms. I held her tightly until I felt Dean’s giant, calloused hand on my shoulder.
“We have to go, Buddy. Lots of people waiting to talk to you.”
“You guys will wait for me?” I asked them.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag us away,” Alexa said with a grin.
Dean ushered me into the back where there was a conference room filled with reporters waiting. I was a little overwhelmed with all of the cameras flashing and microphones in my face, but it was a good overwhelmed.
The reporters asked a lot of questions about my fighting career…where I started, where I hoped to go. They asked me how it felt to win the championship and who I thought I owed my success to. I answered the questions as well as I could, giving Dean all the props he deserved for all of the help he’d given me over the years. After about fifteen minutes, Dean told them that was it for now. A few of them asked about private interviews and who my agent was. I looked at Dean and he said, “Any of you that want a private interview wait for me outside the door and I’ll get you a number.”
After they all left I told him, “I don’t have an agent.”
“I know, kid. I’ll give the my number and finding one will be our first priority on Monday morning if you don’t have five of them knocking on your door before then…as I suspect you will.”
“Thanks Dean, for everything.”
“I just pointed you in the right direction. You did all the work. You did good, kid.”
He pointed me out a different door so I could make it to the locker room without going through the sea of reporters again. I showered and realized that I was so amped up from the adrenaline still that I was shaking all over. I felt like I’d just sucked down several energy drinks. After my shower the medic tended to my eye. He had to put in a few stitches and then he covered it with a bandage and said I was good to go. By the time I emerged back into the hallway, the reporters were gone and Dean was waiting for me. He handed me several pieces of paper with names and numbers on them.
“What are these for?”
“Agents, promoters, managers, sponsors…you name it kid. It’s all on for you now.”
“You too, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re still going to train me?”
“You have a lot more options now than a dried up old ex-con Buddy.”
I shrugged. “You kind of grew on me,” I told him. For a flash of a second I thought I saw tears in his eyes.
“Yeah, of course I’ll still be your trainer. You’re gonna be famous, kid. Are you ready for that.”
“I think I am,” I said with a smile.
“Alright then, keep your nose clean and I see you Monday morning.”
I left Dean there, looking like he was going to bust with happiness and went to find my family. That thought gave me another surge of energy. They were here, all of them. Even Emma was here. I could feel her, especially when I walked out that door and looked into Alexa’s eyes. Emma would always be here.