Chapter Thirty-Three
Fenton
As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, I noticed people looking at my sister. The looks on their faces said they had the exact same thoughts as Jackson just had up in the suite.
"You could have changed clothes up in the suite, Dee," I said. "I didn't mean to rush you out of there."
"I'm perfectly comfortable," Dana Maria said. "Plus, it’s gotta be good for your reputation. Fenton Morris seen in broad daylight with an exotic dancer. Fits right into the image of the party boy fighter, doesn't it?"
"Except for the part where you're my sister," I said.
"Since when do you care what people think?" she asked. "Besides your buttoned-up roommate."
"Her name is Kya." I grabbed Dana Maria's arm and steered her through the gathering sea of interested faces. "Why can't you call her by her name?"
"For the same reason I'm not going to put on a conservative dress to have lunch with you. That's not me. This is what I like to wear and I don't call people by their given names unless they are actually my friends," Dana Maria said.
I yanked open the door of the waiting cab and tucked my sister inside. "You're telling me you wouldn't be more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt? Or a dress with less lace and tight straps?"
My sister shrugged. "Maybe, but I've got a gig right after lunch."
My shoulders tensed. "You need a chaperone?" I asked.
Dana Maria laughed. "No thanks, baby bro. I've got my own muscle. There's nothing for you to worry about."
She changed the subject, and I ended up telling her all about the fight and the after party. I stopped before I confessed anything about Kya, but somehow my sister guessed it.
"You know she'll just drop you as soon as she finds someone better," Dana Maria said. She twisted the wrapper to her straw around her finger and pretended it was an engagement ring. "Oh, you shouldn't have gotten such a big diamond! No, I don't mind that you're a balding lawyer because you are so rich and your family is so well known. We'll get married on the 13th green, and our lives will be just like a cardigan catalog."
I wadded up a paper napkin and threw it at her. "Very funny. But you don't know the first thing about Kya. She's different than she looks."
"I'm sure she is," Dana Maria said. "The only problem is that in the end, she's going to think she should marry someone that looks just as catalog perfect as her. And, when she realizes his surface doesn't match what he's really like underneath, she’ll find out she was dead wrong."
Her dire warning chilled me for a minute before I dismissed it. Kya was different and my sister was right, I shouldn't care what other people think. "You're only saying that because of Mom and Dad."
"What do they have to do with you and your girl from the good side of town?" Dana Maria asked.
"Dad was handsome, charming even, and Mom loved him until she realized all he cared about was himself," I said. "You think she was stupid for falling for him in the first place. Like she could have known he would just walk out on us one day."
"Exactly. Mom thought she’d found someone who liked the same things, came from the same background, and wanted the same things in the future. He made her think that, but it was all just a lie. He just wanted to use her for a while, and when he got bored, he left."
My sister stopped as the waiter brought our burgers. I took my time adding mustard and just the right amount of pickle relish, not willing to say anything. No one had been hurt more by our father leaving or our mother's death than my sister. On top of the pain, she had me to worry about.
"I'm sorry, Fen. This is supposed to be a celebration. You kicked ass last night and you're on your way up. Here's to you, baby brother!" Dana Maria raised her glass of beer and toasted me.
"Thank you," I said.
"Can you believe how far you've come? I remember when your fists were the size of walnuts. You couldn't knock out anything bigger than a squirrel."
"Until grade school," I reminded her.
"Flying Fists Fenton," she laughed. "I wonder what all your grade school teachers think now that you're on your way to the title fight."
"They'd probably still lecture me on staying focused."
"That's all I'm saying. I know you've got your eye on the hot agent, but you've got a title to win. You can't be getting distracted now," Dana Maria said. She punctuated her words with a French fry.
I snapped the fry out of her fingers and popped it in my mouth. "I promise I will stay focused on the title fight, Ms. Morris."
"Good. Now, I hate to cut this short, but I've got that private gig to get to." She had the waitress wrap up her mostly untouched burger so I could take it with me for a snack.
"Still starving to feed me?" I asked.
"I'm not about to dance on a double cheeseburger," Dana Maria said.
"Your last dance?" I asked. "You could retire and let me take care of you for a while, you know."
"Come on, Fen, you know I like my independence. Don't be like everyone else and make the mistake of thinking I'm only dancing because I can't do anything else. I like it and it pays very well. I'm not afraid of liking the attention, I'm not embarrassed at showing off my body, and I'm not about to find something boring to do just because other people think it’s more respectable."
"Yeah, I thought you would say that." I kissed my sister on the forehead. "And, I love you for it."
I was still chewing over everything my sister said when I got to the gym. Kev seemed to appear out of nowhere. He was lucky I didn't knock his teeth out. Even crazy fans knew better than to surprise me by now.
"Whoa, you've gotta be hungover if I'm able to get the drop on you," Kev said. "I mean, I know I'm hungover from last night's festivities, but I'm not the one that has to get back in the ring."
"I'm not hungover, I'll be fine," I said.
"Yeah, I wondered if you were just playing it up for the cameras last night," Kev said. "Gotta say I was jealous of you and that Sienna. God, she is hot, and she was all over you."
I headed to the locker room, but Kev followed me. "It was all for the cameras. None of it was real."
"Real, fake, I wouldn't care if she was made entirely of plastic," Kev said. "She's hot, you're hot, and the publicity from her reality show is red hot. You should invite her to be your date to the fight promotion party. Think of all the free publicity that would buy you. Plus, her sexy friends."
"I didn't really think she was that hot," I said.
"Seriously? But she was still there when I left." Kev waggled his eyebrows at me.
"I sent her home. Nothing happened."
Kev jumped in front of me again. "Nothing happened with her, but something did happen, didn't it? Oh, I knew it! That's great, man, that is so great."
I wiped his hands off the front of my shirt. "What is great? What are you talking about?"
"You can't lie to me, man, I know you. You were with Kya last night. I love it! I love you two together. I mean, you and Sienna made for a hot reality show couple, but you and Kya, that's for real. I saw you two looking at each other from across the party."
"You have no idea what you're talking about. You were wasted last night," I said.
"Wasted or not, I recognize a connection when I see it," he said. "And you two connected that first night in the club."
"You were wasted then, too," I reminded him.
"Come on, now. You were matching me drink for drink until you met Kya," he said.
"Can you please let me get ready? Aldous is not going to let me slack off, even the day after a win. I've got to stay focused if I want to win the title fight, and the last thing I need is you thinking you're a better matchmaker than a manager."
"I agree," Aldous said. He held open the locker room door. "Especially about the not letting you slack off part. You've got 30 seconds to change and get to work."
It was a relief to work my sore muscles, stretch them out again, and get out of my own head. The harder I worked out, the more the world retreated and I did not need to worry about focusing. There was nothing else. Just me doing what I was born to do.
"Looking good there, Morris," a voice interrupted.
I spun around and came face to face with Mario Peretti again. He was dressed for the sparring ring with a towel around his neck and a smirk on his face.
"Congratulations on last night," my rival said.
"Thanks. I hear I'll be seeing you in the ring for the title fight."
Mario nodded. "Speaking of seeing people; I met a woman named Kya Allen the other night. If you see her would you let her know I'd love to take her out for dinner? She's just the kind of trophy I'd like to take home on top of the title."
Both Aldous and Kev had to hold me back. Mario threw his head back and laughed as he left.
"Don't let him get to you," Kev said. "Remember the part about staying focused?"
"Sure, yeah, I'm fine," I said. I blinked back the red haze. I could not wait to face Peretti in the ring again. I would show him who I was. And, I'd make sure he knew Kya belonged to me.
After the work out and the run-in with Peretti, Kya was all I could think about. I headed back to the Tropicana and punched the elevator button. If she wasn't back from her dinner with the golfer, it would be hard not to go after her. What was one more scene in a restaurant besides extra publicity?
"Oooh, there you are, honey bunny!" a woman shrieked.
I stepped back as Sienna and her onslaught of bright lights and cameras cornered me at the elevator bank.
"Just the man, the sexy, sexy man I was looking for," Sienna said. She kissed my cheek and tried to plant one on my lips.
I pulled my head back. "Heading over to the Tropicana's new night club?" I asked.
"Not unless you're coming," Sienna purred. "I bet you've got killer moves."
I shook my head and hit the elevator button again.
"No, silly, I came to find you. I hear the big party promoting your fight is tomorrow night," Sienna said. She leaned against me and toyed with the collar of my shirt. "It is tomorrow night, isn't it?"
I knew she was fishing for an invitation. She was already on the list, but she wanted to be my date. I just nodded and got into the elevator. "Yeah, maybe I'll see you there."
"Maybe? He's so superstitious," Sienna said to her nearest friend. "Can't get involved before a big fight, otherwise he'll get distracted."
I was glad when the doors closed and I was alone. Sienna was just trying to explain away my disinterest. But she was right. It was not necessarily bad luck to get involved right before a big fight, but it was definitely distraction.
Still, all I could think about was Kya.