Dario
The next few months flew by in a blur of excitement. Up until earlier this year, I could probably count the number of times I’d even said the word, ‘excitement’, and it would all be on one hand. There were still moments where I’d stop and reflect on where I was—from being in love for the first time in my life, to finding out that Lucas had a son. Wow, that one alone still gets me. It’s still the one thing that tugs at my emotions on any given day. All of that and more is what continuously forces me to look at just how fortunate I am. Soon I’d be retiring from the only occupation I’ve ever held—a job that saved me from self-destructing. A job that’s gotten me through many of life’s worst moments. Leaving it behind would be bittersweet, but for sure with zero regrets.
The families were good and bonds were being formed—even between Zie Veronika, my mother, and Denise—who had not only started to hang out every so often, but who were also collaborating on an engagement party for me and Chanel.
Wicked was done and business was good. In fact, it was better than good. As I’d always predicted, the location was in a prime spot, and being there had really paid off. Situated adjacent to Raiders training camp, it served to attract the attention of a mixture of clientele—celebrity and not.
Yeah, life was for sure happening . . . in a good way. What took up the bulk of my time lately were the preparations for my last dance in the octagon. I was actually looking forward to being outside of the ring and doing more real world stuff: being a businessman, a husband, and one day, a father. There was an entire life to live that I’d never stopped to investigate. Anger wouldn’t allow it. And a broken heart kept me from caring whether it found its way to me at all. Chanel, in all her essence, came along and changed all of that—just by being her. And Rai . . . he just added the icing on the cake.
“Whoa! Shit!”
When Darrius, my trainer, caught me off guard with a combination of punches to my jaw and upper chest, I had to shake myself from my reverie, and get back in mode to fully mesh with the moment. Either that, or get fucked up, and the latter was not an option.
“Man! What’s up with that?!” Darrius yelled out behind a peek-a-boo guard stance. “Where’s ya head at?! That shit ain’t s’posed to happen, DC!”
“You got lucky!” I laughed, as I took off throwing and landing a few upper-body jabs of my own.
“Alright! Prove that shit, then!”
And that’s what I did as we went back and forth, strike-for-strike. About a half an hour into my training session with Darrius, I noticed Wayne strolling into Wicked. As usual, he was dressed in designer gear: the three-piece tailored suit and tie, along with the shoes. It was like the guy needed those things to feel validated. Above all else, I knew that the way he presented himself was to attract women. Sometimes it was hilarious, and sometimes I just wanted to ask him what the fuck kind of neglect he endured as a child. To top off his ensemble, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses! We were a month away from December—the coldest part of the year—and there he was with sunglasses on when it was overcast enough to produce a goddamn storm!
“What are you laughin’ at?” Darrius asked, looking in Wayne’s direction. “Ohhh, I see,” he acknowledged, coughing out a chuckle. “That dude is so GQ I don’t know what to do, man.”
“Right?”
“You wanna stop for a minute?” Darrius queried.
“Yeah, let me see what he wants. Even though, I’m sure I already know.”
“He still trying to talk you into—”
“Yep,” I responded, cutting Darrius off. Darrius knew the situation. Wayne had been on my nuts for the past few months about reconsidering retirement. I’d repeated to him more times than I owed him, that I was done. Even though I’d made it perfectly clear, he insisted on trying to reverse my decision . . . at least twice a week.
“Hey, Darrius, how’s it going?”
“Going good, Wayne. How’s it going wit’ you?”
“Not too bad. Stopped by to see the outgoing champ. Gotta say, though,” he remarked with a sarcastic huff. “I’m a bit disappointed, DC! Your swing is looking a little weak!” he said to me, with a crooked smile stuck to his face.
I turned to Darrius, who hadn’t yet stepped out of the ring. “Let’s pick this back up in a few, D.”
“Cool.”
“What’s up with those hands, man?” Wayne goaded some more, removing his sunglasses in the process. “Is that what being pussy-whipped does?”
Darrius turned around, his brow furrowed, as he made his way out of the area. “Damn, dude, that shit is hella disrespectful,” he called out in response to Wayne.
I waited for Darrius to get out of earshot, and then slipped through the ropes. I made my way over to a still-smiling Wayne. Without warning, I tapped him with a swift punch that was just enough to stun him, and cause him to stumble back a few feet.
“Shit! Fuck!” he hollered, rapidly twitching his head side to side to shake off the consequences of his mouth. He laid a consoling hand over his reddening jaw. “What the fuck was that for?!”
“Don’t ask stupid-ass questions, Wayne,” I spat, grabbing my towel from the side of the ring, and wiping away the sweat from my face and neck with it.
“What’s stupid about it?!” he asked, angrily. “Fuuuck!” He shook his head, dropped his hand from his jaw, and stepped forward into my space.
I tossed the towel over my shoulder. “Be bold if you want to,” I warned.
He quickly rethought his position and cleared my space. “I didn’t come here to fight with you, man. I’m sorry. I came in all wrong.”
“Yeah, you did. You’ve been doing that shit a lot, and you’ve gotten passes. I’m telling you today to let that shit go.”
“We’re friends, DC. I figured . . . you know . . . that we could kid like that.”
“We’re friends, yeah. But kidding like that . . . nah, not at all. And I shouldn’t have to tell you that shit, either.”
“Okay. So, now I know.”
“Now you know? Yeah, okay.”
“Hey, in my defense I never saw you in a relationship before, so I didn’t—”
“Wayne, cut the bullshit. What are you here for?” I asked walking away from him. The urge to hit his ass again was too strong, so turning my back on him was best.
“Well, it sure in the hell wasn’t to be fucking assaulted,” he charged, from behind me. “I was coming to see if you gave any more thought to our conversation the other day.”
“Trust me, you didn’t get assaulted,” I advised, while leading the way to my office. Once we were inside, Wayne closed the door and took a seat while I chose to remain standing. “You’re lucky it was just a tap. It could’ve been worse.”
“Listen man . . .”
“Listen to what, Wayne? My last fight is next month and that’s it. I’m done. I did what I needed to do with boxing and now I’m off to the next phase of my life. You need to be okay with that, or I can look for new management.”
Wayne rose from his seat and stood with his hands in his pockets. He walked closer to where I was. “Now, now, it doesn’t need to come to that, DC. If that’s how you took it, then I apologize. Not my intent. I’m just looking out for my friend and my favorite client. I just want you to be absolutely sure that it’s what you wanna do. As your friend and your manager . . . for all these years . . . I’d be less than loyal if I didn’t do that.”
“Or is it that you didn’t plan for your future the way that you should’ve? You’re afraid that you can’t keep your closet full of Armani and your designer sunglasses collection? Your house? Your cars? You were riding the money train, but not managing your own money. Is that it? Because if it is, that’s not my problem. I’m not your daddy, Wayne. I’m not responsible for keeping you in the lifestyle that you’ve grown accustomed to. That’s not my fucking job.”
Wayne threw his palms up in defeat. “DC, it’s just me looking out. Nothing more and nothing less. Like I said, I just wanted to make sure with us being in the eleventh hour that you’re absolutely sure that this is what you want to do. It’s my job, man.” He smirked slightly. “The extra shit, not so much. It was all in fun. You know that you and Chanel have my best wishes. I plan to be at the engagement party, the wedding, and everything else I’m lucky enough to be invited to. I think she’s an amazing woman and that you guys are good for each other.”
I didn’t know if I was being too hard on his ass or not, if I was under the stress of the fight or what, so I decided to lay off and leave things as they were. Take him at his word that he was just looking out. I guess I could see things from his standpoint, being that he had been there for the duration. However, it didn’t stop me from glaring at him for a few more moments.
“I’m not your enemy, DC. Never have been, and never will be.” He extended his hand to me. “Are we good?”
I gave him a crooked smile, reached out to enter a handshake, and then responded, “Yeah, fancy lad, we’re good.”