I drop a kiss on her cheek. “Because I’m a grown man. I look after myself.”
She shakes her head wistfully. “Mothers should always look after their sons.”
“IsPapahere?” I ask, not having seen him.
“In the living room.” She waves a hand in that direction. “Watching the fight from this weekend.” Her brow furrows. “What happened out there?”
I wince. Of course she’s seen it. While she often opts not to watch in person, claiming it’s too difficult to refrain from getting in the ring to defend me any time I take a hit, I forget that she watches every time without fail. Being married to Dad throughout his career, she knows MMA almost as well as he does. She knows I fucked up.
“I let something get into my head,” I admit, shifting restlessly from one foot to the other. “It messed with me, and I was distracted.”
“What?” she asks, eyeing me expectantly.
“Uh…” Time to admit the truth. “Sydney was there with a guy.”
“Oh.” There’s a wealth of meaning in the word. “A date?”
“Yeah.” I squirm, wishing more than anything that I didn’t have to have this talk.
“And that upset you because you have feelings for her.” It’s a statement, not a question. Mama’s always been uncannily good at reading between the lines. Her expression softens. “Oh, Gabriel. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I just want this over. “We’re actually, uh, giving it a shot. Sydney and me. We’re together now.”
A thousand-watt smile lights her face. “Felicidades!Congratulations. That’s the best news you could have given me. I’m so happy for you.”
Huh. I scan her delicate features. Where’s the shock? The concern? She knows this isn’t a good time for me to be beginning a relationship.
“You aren’t… surprised?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “Children think their parents see nothing, but we see it all. I knew you and Sydney would come together eventually. You’ve been circling each other for years.”
“Oh.” I deflate a little. All this time I thought I’d hidden my feelings, but it seems everyone knew all along. Jase did. Mama, too. Does Dad?
At the thought of confessing what’s going on to him, a sliver of doubt penetrates the back of my mind. He’s not going to take this as well as Mama, that’s for sure.
“I guess it just took time for us to realize it.”
She nods, and slips an arm around me. “Come on, let’s go break the news to yourpapa.”
As expected, Dad’s mood becomes grim as soon as I manage to get the words out.
“What are you thinking?” He stands and paces the room like a caged tiger. “Couldn’t you wait just a few weeks until after the Ruby Knuckles? There’s so much at stake. Your dreams are finally within reach, and you’re risking it by making a play for a girl who’ll still be around afterward?” He fists his hands and throws a shadow punch, then another—a common tactic of his when he’s trying to rein in his temper. “If this ends badly, you might have ruined your only chance.” He drops his fists and turns toward me, face flushed. “Why now? Are you trying to self-sabotage?”
“No.” I do my best not to take his reaction personally. It’s a less than ideal situation, and I can acknowledge that. “I just couldn’t handle seeing Sydney with someone else. I know the timing is off, but if I’d waited, I might have missed out.”
“Young people,” he mutters. “So overdramatic.”
“Now, now, Tomas,” Mama says. “Everything in life can’t be MMA.”
Dad sighs. “Be more simple if it was.” He runs a hand through hair that used to be the same shade as mine but is now salt and pepper. “Just remember your priorities. You’re with Sydney. You’ve got her. She’s not going to meet another man before the Ruby Knuckles, so keep your eye on the prize. If your attention is off her for a little while, she’ll understand. She’s a good kid.”
I’m not sure if she’ll be as forgiving as he believes, but I’m grateful he hasn’t flipped his lid, so I don’t argue. I sink into an armchair. “Let’s talk about the fight.”
We debrief on the one with Taz Montgomery—although there isn’t a lot to say other than that I fucked up, allowed myself to become distracted, and I won’t let it happen again. After that, we switch to tactics for the upcoming fight. My opponent, Leo Delaney, is a solid fighter and I respect him. He has the misfortune of training out of the same gym as Karson Hayes, Lena’s ex, but none of us hold Hayes’s behavior against him.
We spitball ideas. Delaney is aggressive. He moves forward relentlessly. His style is the opposite of mine, but in this case, I think it’ll work in my favor. So does Dad. He trained me to be a counter-fighter, and to use my brain, because he was a straight-up brawler and blames that for the head injury that ended his career. He taught me to be different so I’d have more longevity. Right now, I’m thankful for it.
“You’ve got this,” he says before I go, slinging an arm around me. “I know you’ll do me proud,mijo. I’ll see you later in the week.”
