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 had 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 thirty 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.