Lila’s eyes widened and she felt her face heat. The girls all giggled, but all eyes were on her. She took a very slow sip of her drink before nodding. She was so not used to sharing such personal details with anyone. Ali was who she’d always been closest to, but when she’d been with Marcelo, she’d thought Ali too young to be sharing with her about her trysts with him. And last night the conversation hadn’t even gone there. By the time she’d known Stacia well enough to share anything personal, the only thing she’d told her about her first and only boyfriend was what an asshole he turned out to be. The girl had been so busy lately, getting ready for her big move; she and Lila had barely exchanged a few texts in the past couple of weeks.
“Was it everything you imagined it’d be?” Charlee asked, wide-eyed. Her friend Drew sat next to her, nodding, equally excited.
“Um . . .” Lila licked her lips because she was not expecting to be having this conversation. What happened to the tips they were supposed to be giving her? “It was nice,” she finally offered, knowing that was an understatement of epic proportions.
“You know,” Nellie said, sitting up straighter and dusting off her crossed legs a little too properly. “This is normally where I’d chime in and scold the girls for making you uncomfortable with such a personal question.”
Thank you.
“But I can’t this time.” She leaned over her legs and stared Lila down with a big grin. “Because I’m dying to know too.”
The girls burst into laughter. “Seriously, he’s just been so talked about lately,” Bianca said, bringing her hand to her chest. “And now here we have his first serious girlfriend in years if ever. Which you gotta know will make headlines all over southern California if not the whole country for that reason alone, but then Gio assures me you’re the next big thing in women’s sports. You two will be sports lovers’ royal couple. So, of course, we’d want the exclusive.”
Lila brought her glass to her mouth, taking an even bigger swig of the sweet drink she was holding. Roni assured her she’d gone easy on the tequila. Now Lila wished she’d added an extra shot because this terrified her. Lila hadn’t even thought of it in terms of being the tabloids’ it couple.
“Oh, my God, B, you’re scaring her now,” Ella said, turning to Lila, then reached over and squeezed her knee. “You’ll get used to the media faster than any of us did because you’ll likely be in the spotlight just as much on your own merit. Not just because you’re dating someone famous.”
“But do not read the tabloid crap,” Nellie warned firmly. “It’s all a bunch of bullshit. What they do is they grab a tiny bit of the truth and sensationalize it by adding a whole bunch of lies for the sake of ratings and post hits. Only it’ll drive you nuts because you’ll always be wondering how much of it is true.”
“Nothing will kill the mood and make you argue senselessly more than the stupid gossip shows and articles,” Bianca added. “It’s relationship poison if you let it be. Just do yourself a favor and stay away from them altogether.”
“Okay, I think we’ve covered this enough,” Drew said, holding her hand up. “You’re forbidden to read the tabloids or ever argue with your boyfriend over them. Mmmkay? Now, let’s get back to the important stuff. As fine as that man is, please tell me he delivers in bed.”
Lila had known all these women for years now. She liked and respected every single one of them. But she’d never gotten personal with them about anything, especially about this kind of stuff.
“He does.” She felt her cheeks flush then laughed nervously when they all sat up a bit, and Drew even moved to the edge of her seat.
Without giving away too much detail about her fine man’s private parts, because that was all for her own visuals, she did assure them of one thing. “What you see in those photos he’s modeled for is exactly what you get.”
She indulged them a bit more by giving vague details. As much as Drew hoped he was a beast in bed, Lila only told them about how incredibly sweet and gentle he’d been. Finally, after a while of her very vague answers to their probing and sometimes silly questions, they got to what she’d thought she’d come here for.
“So, Lila here”—Nellie turned to Roni and then in Charlee and Drew’s direction— “feels like maybe she’s not ladylike enough for Sabian’s world.”
She explained about the black-tie affair and Lila’s worries. Roni immediately turned to Lila. “What do you mean not ladylike enough? You’re sexy as hell.”
“I got this,” Drew said, holding up her hand again. “Once upon a time my best friend here had to be convinced that she already had the attention of a certain boxing stud in her chess club. You, my friend, have already landed your stud. You just told us about how sweet and gentle he was with you. A guy like him knows full well most girls would bend over literally in either direction and let him have his way then thank him when it’s over.”
The girls all laughed as Roni stood and filled their margarita glasses all around. Lila gulped anxiously, not just about Drew stating what she thought were just her own insecurities as the obvious, but about Roni refilling her glass again. She made a mental note to sip her drink slowly and waited for Drew to continue.
“Yet, he was sweet and gentle, and you said it was the first time since you met him over a month ago? That’s unheard of in his world!” All the girls nodded in unison, adding to Lila’s already tightening stomach muscles. “Clearly, you’ve made a different impression on him than most of the easy lays he’s so used to. You’re already up, Lila. So, you’d like to be more ladylike to prove that, on top of being a badass athlete, you can purr like a kitten.”
“I already have,” Lila finally said, not sure if it was the tequila talking, but she giggled along with the girls. “I’d just like to not come across so hard. I realize it’s probably good for my image as a boxer, since my career will be going in that direction, but I’d like to come across a little more . . .” She shook her head. “I don’t know, approachable? Softer maybe?” Her mouth kept going, and she knew now the tequila was kicking in. “It’s like I already know if I get any endorsement deals they’ll all be for sports drinks, shoes, anything to do with being fast, athletic, tough. For the sake of him knowing his girl isn’t just a badass, it’d be nice if I got approached to endorse something soft, ladylike. Some kind of cosmetic product or girlie shit.”
Lila brought her hand to her mouth and frowned. “That’s another thing. I don’t want my first impression on his friends and family to be that of the foul-mouthed fighter girl from the projects.”
“You’re so much more than that,” Ella said, smiling genuinely. “Don’t sell yourself short, sweetie.”
“And as hard as you think you come across to everyone,” Bianca added, “I’ve seen you firsthand with those kids down at the youth center, Lila. There’s no hiding what a softy you really are.”
With that said, the rest of them stepped up with their similar opinions and the tips rang in left and right. They all agreed she had nothing to work on, on the sensual side. They said she oozed natural sensuality, and surprisingly, every one of them had a story to tell about when they’d seen one of the meatheads at the gym, sizing Lila up or literally eating her up with their eyes.
An hour later, she was practicing walking in Roni’s super high heels. “I haven’t worn those in a while,” Roni said, sipping her margarita, then giggled. “Well, publicly that is.”
The girls all giggled. “Yeah, I have my private stash too,” Ella said, “for Felix’s eyes only.”
“Who in the world would wear anything this high in public unless they have a death wish?” Lila asked, struggling to look graceful in the dangerously high heels.
“I almost never stand in mine,” Charlee said, bringing her hand to her mouth with an evil grin. “They’re usually up in the air.”
The girls all shrieked in laughter. Even Lila smirked, remembering a pair of shoes she’d bought a while back similar to the ones she wore now and wondering when she’d be wearing t
hem for Sonny.
“We all have our private stash,” Bianca admitted with a coy smile. “They may be for our personal fun only, but they’re good to practice in. If you can perfect or come close to walking in these, then you’ll have walking in the less lethal, but equally sexy, heels you’ll wear in public down to an art.”
Because Marcelo liked seeing Lila in big heels, she had walking in heels down. But these were ridiculous. Still, Bianca was right. She’d gotten kind of rusty since she hadn’t worn any big heels in a while. If she could perfect these, then anything less would be a cinch.
“Now,” Nellie said, reaching over for one of the puff pastry appetizers Roni had put out. “Personally, I think a foul mouth on a woman who’s not afraid to say it as she sees it is perfectly fine. And most men love girls who talk dirty in bed. But maybe it is a good idea to start working on cleaning up the language, and not just for the sake of making a better impression on Sly’s friends and family members.” She waved her hand in front of her with a roll of her eyes. “We’ve all heard the song. ‘When a man loves a woman, she can do no wrong. He’ll turn his back on his best friend if he puts her down.’”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Roni said, raising her glass.
The other girls lifted theirs, nodding in agreement. “Don’t get me started on the bitches that take advantage of that,” Nellie said with a huff. “We’ll save that conversation for another day. My point is I seriously doubt you have anything to worry about when it comes to the impression you make on his friends and family. Only impression you need to worry about is the one you make on him, and it seems he’s already smitten. But working on making a good impression on his friends makes for good practice. Abel mentioned they were going to talk to you about getting you signed with an agent and a publicist. First thing they’ll discuss with you, aside from their fees, is your public image. You’ll be interviewed a lot. With the Internet and YouTube nowadays, all these interviews are forever. So, cutting back on the F-bombs might be a good idea.”
“It’s just so automatic most of the time,” Lila said, chewing the corner of her lip. “I don’t even realize until it’s already out there.”
She hadn’t even thought about all the interviews she’d be expected to make.
“Hector can be really bad,” Charlee said with a wince, “especially when he’s fired up. Most of the time you won’t know what you’ll be asked in advance, but you’ll have an idea of the kinds of questions that might come up. So, if you prepare a few answers in advance, minus the F-bombs and other colorful language, you can just go with that.”
They all offered more advice as Lila continued to practice walking around in the heels. She’d long ago switched to drinking water because she knew walking in those shoes and drinking alcohol wouldn’t end well.
As much fun as she’d surprisingly had, Lila cut her evening with the girls short because she was anxious to get home in time for Sonny’s call. She’d since texted him to let him know she was having a girls’ night with the 5th Street wives but would try and get home early so they could FaceTime. As usual, he said he’d wait up for it and for her to call no matter how late she got home.
Fortunately, most of them were antsy about getting home to their kids and babies too, so Lila didn’t have to feel like the lone party poop. By the time she got home, Ali was asleep behind the closed door of what was now her own private bedroom—Stacia’s former bedroom.
Sunday night they’d talked about Ali taking Stacia’s room now that Stacia wouldn’t be staying there anymore. Yesterday, when Lila had gotten home, it’d been bittersweet to see Ali happily moving things around in her first ever own bedroom. Now Lila was grateful for her privacy because she felt beyond anxious to see and hear from Sonny.
The moment she saw Sonny’s gorgeous smile on her laptop screen, her insides went wild as was the norm now. “Hey, beautiful,” he said with that twinkle in his eyes that made her breathe in deeply.
“Hey, Sonny. It’s not too late for you?”
“Nope. I’m wide awake and wanna hear all about my baby’s margarita night with the girls.” His lips curved into a playful yet delicious grin. “Did you talk about your boyfriend?”
Lila laughed nervously as her insides fluttered wildly just from hearing that last word. No way was she telling him he was pretty much the focus of the entire night’s conversation.
“Maybe a little,” she admitted, chewing her lower lip and making herself comfortable against her headboard.
“Well, my flight isn’t ’til noon tomorrow, so I have all night. Let’s have it.”
Lila could hardly believe this was what her life would be like from here on: thinking of her amazing boyfriend every moment she wasn’t around him then ending the day staring at that breathtaking smile and him being the last person she spoke to every night. Best thing about it was that, after tonight, she was finally feeling a little more confident that she just might have a shot at not blowing this.
“Let’s see. Where to start?”
Chapter 17
Sonny
Turned out the idea to unveil Lila to all the athletes attending the charity briefing had been genius. Some of those athletes had been so eager to share what they’d seen to everyone who’d listen, including some of the sponsors they had endorsement deals with. It was rumored that several had shown some interest. One had already contacted her. The guys down at the gym had scrambled to get Lila an emergency meeting with a publicist/manager that could represent her in such deals.
It hadn’t even dawned on Sonny at first who she might be meeting with when she’d texted him to tell him about it and said she’d call him after. But he should’ve known. Since all the owners from 5th Street were represented by the same guy and this was so last minute, understandably they’d recommend the same guy they’d been working with for years.
Preston Styles was a powerhouse in the industry. He managed some of the biggest names in sports, but boxing was his MO. Sonny had met him a few times, and he wouldn’t rain on Lila’s parade because her text came across as excited, but his impression of the guy each time he’d met him was an arrogant prick. Even the guys admitted he could be, but said he was that good and had every right to be arrogant.
Sonny would give them that the arrogance came with the territory. Maybe the guy did have the right to brag. But this guy pushed the envelope. His own agent had gotten Sonny an unprecedented record-breaking deal with the Dodgers, and the guy was as down-to-earth and likeable as they came. Just because you were good in your field, didn’t mean you had to be a prick. Abel, Felix, and so many of the guys Sonny had worked with for years were prime examples.
Still, he’d already decided he’d hold his tongue and not mention that because, for someone so new in the biz to be signing with such a powerhouse, this was awesome for Lila.
“He came in and watched for a little while I trained,” Lila said, and her excitement about this was undeniable. “They showed him some footage of my sparring, including the one you saw in person, and he signed me on the spot.”
“Of course he did.” Sonny smiled big, genuinely happy for her. “He’d be an idiot not to, and the guy knows his stuff. If he saw the same sparring session I did and they told him it was only your third time in the ring, he’d know if he doesn’t nab you someone else will.”
“I’m his first female client ever too.”
That surprised Sonny. “Are you?”
“Yeah,” she said with a huff, and if he wasn’t mistaken, her excitement was mixed with a little annoyance. “He actually said he’d never signed a woman as a client because ‘he didn’t mix business with pleasure.’”
Stopping in his tracks, Sonny squeezed the phone. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“Exactly.” She sounded annoyed now too. “I guess he was trying to be funny, but you know me. When I didn’t so much as crack a smile, because I sure as shit ain’t encouraging that kind of talk or behavior, he apologized and assured me he was a professional. Though the
sort of creepy way he eyed me the whole time wasn’t missed.”
This was not what Sonny had wanted to hear about the guy she’d just sign to work so closely with. Though the good thing about Lila was that he absolutely trusted she wouldn’t be putting up with this guy’s bullshit. But if the guy was already on Sonny’s prick list, he’d just jumped to the very top.
Getting past that part of the meeting, she explained how he was in no way a fan of friendly fights as Gio had previously suggested. “Preston Styles doesn’t do friendlies,” she said in a lowered voice mimicking the guy. “He said, newbie or not, I was better than any female fighter he’d ever watched and why he’d never felt inclined to sign one on. He let a few comments slip about how he’d honestly thought he’d never be impressed by a woman in this sport. He didn’t say it, but clearly, he thinks women have no place in boxing. But he did admit to having his doubts about me, even after everything the guys had told him. Then he adds . . .” she said, pausing, and it sounded like she was drinking something.
As if Sonny wasn’t already beyond annoyed with this guy, there was more?
“Then he adds,” she went on, “that I impressed him in more than one way, whatever that means. Sonny, I don’t know the first thing about finding a manager. If it weren’t for the guys assuring me he was eccentric and a little full of himself but otherwise one of the most sought-after managers in the industry, I might’ve passed on signing with him. But also, I have these Under Armour people very interested, offering what Noah called a lucrative deal. Twenty thousand,” she said as if that were the biggest number in the world. “I don’t think I’ve ever had even a thousand all at once sitting in my bank account for long, and Preston assured me he can get me fifty. Can you imagine?”
Sonny was about to offer her a million if she didn’t sign with this asshole, when she chuckled. “I know for you that’s chump change, but for me, Sonny, it’s more than I ever dreamed of making in an entire year!”