I leaned against the mirrored walls of the elevator and closed my eyes. My stomach stayed on the penthouse for a few floors before lurching sickly down to join the rest of me.
"Want some coffee?" Kya asked.
I opened one eye. She held out a paper cup from the fancy kiosk in the main lobby. I took it and sipped gratefully.
"About the strip club," I began.
"I know, I know, I had no business showing up there. I don't know what I was thinking," she said.
The doors opened on the basement floor. I had no idea what to say, but I grabbed her arm, anyway. "It wasn't what it looked like."
"It looked like none of my business."
She dragged me out of the elevator and along a wide corridor. Maids pushing their heavy room cleaning carts were not surprised as we went by – though a few gave my t-shirt an extra glance. I flexed my muscles and got appreciative smiles in return.
I stopped when a lovely, black-haired maid asked to take a picture with me. I put my arm around her and smiled as she held up her camera phone. She squeezed my ass as the camera flashed. Despite the hollow ache of the hangover, the TKO, party, and tossing out had raised my notoriety to a new level.
Kya came back to shepherd me along. "You got kicked out of here, remember? The manager is about to call the police?"
I slipped both hands around her waist and pulled her close. "I remember dancing with you last night."
She slapped my hands and twisted away. I pulled her back flush against my body. The curves of her backside pressed against my jeans and a blast of heat burned off the rest of the hangover. I held Kya's waist and slipped my other hand down the front of her thigh.
"You left too soon."
"Right after you told me you're better off alone," she said. "Now, I'm thinking you were right."
"Well, there is something I can't do alone." I nuzzled my stubbly cheek along her neck and whispered in her ear. "If you really want to help me…"
I thought about begging. In fact, I would have begged. I needed Kya, wanted her more than anything. She burned in me like a fever and my lips against the soft skin of her neck were only a small part of the cure. If I had any hope of getting her out of my system, I needed all of her.
Kya pried my hands off and held me at arm's length. "I do want to help you, Fenton. The vitamin supplements people are still interested. I can use my expense account, get you a new room, a suite even."
Better than a cold shower, I thought. "Thanks for the coffee and the detour, Ms. Allen. Now, if you don't mind, I need to face my public – adoring or not. You know what they say about publicity."
#
"Yeah, I didn't think you'd thank me. All I did was drag you out of a reporter's riot and find you a new gym to train in. Gonna get you ready for your next fight and get you back on track to the title, too. Yeah, no need to thank me," Aldous said.
I ignored my coach and pummeled the punching bag he held. It was Peretti, over and over again, and what I should have done to him.
"Oh, so now you're focused," Aldous said.
"Yeah, now I'm focused," I said. "You know I'm thankful for everything you do. Best way to show it is to get that title."
"Best way to do that is to get your life in balance," he said. He let go of the punching bag and crossed his arms over his chest. "And, the first step is to realize you can't keep everything separate and in tight little boxes. That's not how life works."
"What am I keeping separate?" I asked. "This is all I've got."
"This and whatever is all over your face when that little blonde spitfire is around," Aldous told me.
"I don't need endorsements to succeed. You've always agreed with me on that." I ripped off my gloves and headed to the weight machines.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." He followed me and corrected the weight I chose on the lat pull-down machine. "You get the same expression I wore when I first met my Tia."
"It's not like that. She's only after me for an endorsement deal." I pulled hard against the heavy weight. "And, I'm not ready for anyone right now. No love until the title is mine."
"I'd say Peretti knocked you pretty good, but you've had this crazy notion in your head for years now," Aldous said. "Life is not going to wait for you to have everything lined up all neat. And, love certainly doesn't work that way. Let me tell you about love. If you don't open the door when it comes knocking, it’s just going to come crashing through anyway."