Tommy lifted a brow. “Okay.”
Ethan shifted in his seat. The muscular older man with graying brown hair made a sucking sound with his teeth. “Before we get to that, I guess we need to discuss the most pressing issue.”
Tommy swallowed. Was his past going to ruin things for him again? Of all the people who had reason to hate him, this man had the most.
“I owe you an apology.”
That was the last thing Tommy had expected. “An apology?”
“On behalf of my son.” He leaned back, and Tommy noticed that the man looked ten years older than his fifty-four years. “As a father, you try the best you can to instill morals into your children. I guess I did an okay job with two of mine, since they are functioning adults contributing to society. But my youngest…”
He tsked. “I was always making excuses for that boy, since he was the one most affected during the divorce. I let him run wild, feeling like he was entitled to some rebellion, seeing the way his mother and I had fought over him. I didn’t know how out of control he’d gotten, though.
“I should have come to you earlier,” Ethan continued, “but honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how to handle the situation.” He made a noise of self-derision. “I’m the man who brought MMA into the mainstream, made it popular. I’m able to see a potential star in one fight, but I couldn’t see that my own son needed help. Did you know he was doing drugs?”
“No. I knew he was drinking a lot. Not drugs, though.”
“Heroin. He’s in rehab right now.” Ethan shook his head. “Still hard to believe. Signs were all there, though. I just refused to see them, even after you hit him. I know I was pissed about the fight before that, but I am sorry for how I treated you, especially after I learned he threatened to hurt Julie.”
Angry bile rose in Tommy’s throat at the remembered threats. “No one threatens to touch her, Ethan.”
He raised his hand. “I get it. You’ve always been protective of that woman. And the connection you two have is special. I would have flipped, too, in your shoes. Can we put this shit behind us and move on?”
A huge weight lifted from Tommy’s shoulders. “I’d like nothing more.”
Ethan nodded. “All right, then, I have a proposition for you. Chris Dolven is the number one contender for the belt. He was slotted to fight Ricky Moon in four weeks. Unfortunately, he injured his shoulder during training, and the doctors won’t give him clearance to fight. So we need a substitute. My intention was to give the fight to Tate, but you can thank your coach here for suggesting I watch you before making the decision—”
“That’s not exactly what I said,” Mike interrupted. He looked at Tommy. “You know I don’t take sides with my guys, Tommy, but when Ethan called last week, I saw an opportunity to get you back in the cage.
If Tate would’ve won, he’d be the one we’d be talking to right now.”
Ringing sounded in Tommy’s ears as the coach’s words slowly sank in. He held up his hands. “Wait.
Are you saying you’re giving me a chance to win back my title?”
“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Mike confirmed.
He frowned. “You mean I just stole Tate’s chance at the title?”
“You didn’t steal anything. You won it. Tate knew the score.”
You’re going to fuck Ricky Moon up bad.
Tate must have been aware of what was going on and didn’t hold any grudges at the loss.
It still didn’t sit well with Tommy. “You should’ve told me.”
“I thought about it, honestly. Tate was the one who suggested I didn’t. He wanted a fair fight, and he didn’t think it would be if half your concentration was on Ethan. In the end, I agreed with his reasoning.
You needed to be completely focused.”
“So what do you say?” Ethan asked him. “Can you be ready to fight for the belt in four weeks?”
Say? He couldn’t even process it. A fight for the belt in four short weeks?
Not that something like this was unheard of. Injuries did happen in training, and fighters were asked to fill in on very short notice. But was he ready for a fight that big? So soon?
“Tommy?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry. Just trying to wrap my mind around it.”
“I know it’s short notice,” Mike said. “But you’ll be ready.”
“Yeah, of course, I’d be stupid to pass it up.”
And he would be. But this meant his available time was about to tighten up even more. How was he supposed to be good boyfriend material if he was training all day and never around? He’d have to get creative. Make every moment he spent with Julie count.
Make sure she knew she was just as important to him as his career.
…
Tommy had made love to her last night. Not sex. Love.