Hi guys! Thank yall so much for liking this story. I never expected this kind of reaction, but I love it, and I love yall!
Hope yall like it!
I also just want to give a shout out to Maddyliza1234 for the idea for this chapter. I really appreciate it!
Lucas wakes up early this morning. He grabs a quick shower and watches a little bit of television before he wakes Sadie up. Lucas has another press conference today to discuss the stipulations of the match against Tony Espinoza, and he needs to look over his notes before he gets up on the podium again.
"Wake up sweetheart. We gotta get you ready for ballet class," Lucas says.
"Five more minutes daddy, please," Sadie says turning away from Lucas. Lucas chuckles. He knows what will get her out of bed.
"Okay. But if you're not ready to get up in five minutes. I'm gonna have to give someone a call," Lucas says with a smile on his face. His daughter ignoring his adorable threats and sleeping away. Lucas doesn't want to wake her up, but today is an important day for him.
While he is giving her five more minutes of sleep, he is packing extra clothes, an extra pair of shoes, and a sweater into Sadie's small backpack. He lays it on the counter where the front door is, and he walks back into Sadie's room. He sits down beside her on her bed and attempts to wake her up again.
"Sadie, you've got to get ready. Get up sweetie," Lucas says.
"Daddy. I know you're a boxer, and you like to wake up early, but does that really mean I have to?" Sadie asks. Lucas loves her questions like that. He loves how the parts of the questions she asks don't make a lick of sense. Like, what does him being a boxer have to do with him waking up early? Not all boxers wake up at 4:30 a.m. Although, Lucas has done that before, he doesn't do it everyday.
"Okay," Lucas begins, "I guess I'm going to have to make that call."
"Go ahead, Daddy," Sadie says. She's sassier than normal this morning.
Lucas holds his hand up to his ear, pretending that he's talking into a phone, and begins talking, "Hello? Hi! This is Sadie Friar's father? Oh yea, she's ready for you this morning. Oh? Okay I'll tell her. Thank you, Mr. Tickle Monster."
Lucas sees Sadie's eyes shoot open, and he can't help but laugh.
"Did you say, tickle monster?" Sadie asks.
"No," Lucas answers, "I said Mr. Tickle Monster!" Lucas yells and begins to tickle Sadie. Her laughter is contagious, and he continues tickling her until she can't help herself anymore.
"You ready to get up? You're gonna be late for ballet, and I was thinking after ballet, you can come with me to my press conference," Lucas says. They hear a knock on Sadie's door, and they both turn their heads at the same time.
"Actually, Lucas. Ballet class is cancelled today," Maya says with a grin.
"Maya? How did you get into our house?" Lucas asks.
"Don't worry Huck. I found your spare key," Maya explains before continuing with, "You might want to change your hiding place."
As Maya and Lucas are waiting for Sadie to get ready, they start talking about the plan for the day.
"I promised Sadie she could come to my press conference after she was done at your ballet class. The press conference starts at noon, and I would appreciate it if both of you could be there," Lucas says.
"Okay. We'll be there. I've got to be there anyway, so I can watch Sadie while you make your announcement," She responds. Lucas nods and then takes note of what she said. 'I've got the be there anyway..." What does she mean by that?
"Wait," Lucas says,"What do you mean, 'you've got to be there anyway'?"
"Oh, well my boyfriend has to be there, so I'm going to be there with him too."
"Boyfriend? Since when does she have a boyfriend?" Lucas asks, talking to himself, "I mean, she's a beautiful woman, so I didn't expect her to be single, but I had hoped that she was single. Who is her boyfriend anyway? Why is here?"
"Lucas. I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you're talking about!" Nick, Lucas's manager says.
Lucas's face turns red as he responds, "Sorry. I'm just thinking about someone important."
"The only important person you need to be thinking about right now, is Tony Espinoza. This guy is pretty tough, so take notice of any weaknesses that he may have while you two are talking about this fight," Nick explains. Lucas nods and puts Maya in the back of his brain.
Nick walks out to the podium to begin the press conference.
"Good evening, and thank you for coming out tonight. I am here to introduce my client who will be boxing the match of his life. Along with Mr. Espinoza, I have no doubt that this will be one of the most memorable matches in all of boxing history. My client has came up with the stipulations of this match and has run them by Mr. Espinoza, which will be discussed by my client right now," Nick finishes.
Lucas walks on stage and shakes Nick's hand before pulling him into a hug.
"You've got this. Go blow their minds," Nick whispers. Lucas nods and takes his place behind the podium.
"I called another press conference to discuss the stipulation of my match against Tony Espinoza. I have run my ideas passed him, and we have both agreed to the conditions of the match," Lucas explains. He looks out into the crowd of reporters and paparazzi to see Maya and Sadie. Maya is holding Sadie's hand, and Sadie smiles and waves at her daddy.
Lucas smiles back at her before continuing, "The stipulations for the match are drastically changed, but Mr. Espinoza and I have agreed to sign on to this match. We will have three rounds lasting three minutes each with a three minute break in between. All jabs are legal. We will have paramedics at the ringside if one of us ends up seriously injured. The winner will be determined like one is during a normal match. I will now take any questions."
The reporters raise their hands, and Lucas picks one out of the crowd.
"During the last press conference, you said that you were donating all of the proceeds from this match to a variety of charities. Have you decided which charities you are going to donate to?" The woman asked.
"Yes, I have. I have decided to donate an equal portion of the proceeds to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Room to Grow, the Cancer Research Society, Make-A-Wish, and The Dream Foundation," Lucas replies before he points to a man on the other side of the room.
"Mr. Friar, are you not nervous about Mr. Espinoza's anger issues? He fights violently and uses his anger issues as a weapon in the ring." The man asked.
Lucas smirks because the media doesn't know a thing about "Texas Lucas". Lucas has never brought him out during a match because he never had to. He doesn't think he'll have to during his match with Tony either.
"No. I am not worried at all. Sorry if I come off as rude, but I don't think Mr. Espinoza's anger issues are any of our business anyway," Lucas responds. He looks around the crowd for another hand, but no one has their hand up.
"I have a question," The voice of his opponent surprises him.
"Yes?" Lucas says, ready to answer.
"You have a daughter right?" Tony asks.
Lucas nods and looks at Sadie and Maya, "Yes. I do. She's here with me today, and I couldn't be any happier that she is."
"How is she going to feel seeing her pathetic father laying in the middle of the ring, beaten to a pulp? Aren't you worried about her?"
Tony is trying to get under Lucas's skin. Lucas bites his tongue before he says something on live television that wouldn't be appropriate for the viewers or his daughter.
"My daughter knows how dangerous my job can be, but she is supportive of me like I am of her. I love my daughter, and she knows that," Lucas answers. He didn't realize that Sadie had run up on stage until after she tugged on his jeans. Lucas picks her up in his arms, and she cuddles her head in his neck.
"Aww, that's sweet. You have a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if she had to grow up without her father," Tony starts, "Watch your back."
At this point, Nick rushes up to podium as Lucas and Sadie make their way to the back away from the reporters and paparazzi. He hugs her tightly and rubs her back.
"Daddy? Are you going to be okay?" Sadie asks.
Lucas sighs, "I'm going to be fine, princess. That man is just saying mean things like that for entertainment purposes," He lied. He didn't like lying to his daughter, but when it comes to this, he doesn't want her to worry about him.
"Don't ever do what that man just did okay? Never mistake kindness for weakness. There is nothing wrong with being kind, as long as no one ever tries to use it against you," Lucas explains to his daughter. She nods and hugs him again before waving at Maya.
"Hey, are you guys okay? I'm so sorry about what Tony said to you. He can be a little hot-headed," Maya says.
Lucas is confused but nods in response.
"So," Lucas begins awkwardly. He looks at Sadie, "Are you hungry?" He asks. Sadie nods, and Lucas looks at Maya, "Wanna join us?"
"I would but I-" Maya begins before she is interrupted by the voice of Lucas's opponent.
"Maya!" Tony calls for her. He walks up to the three of them and smirks, "Well well. Look at you. Making friends with my competition huh?"
"Tony, it's not what it looks like. Lucas and I have been friends since middle school. That's all we are."
Lucas is surprised that Maya is explaining herself to a man. He's never known Maya to explain herself to anybody let alone a man. She also seemed really nervous and stiff when he called her name. It makes sense to Lucas as to how she knows a lot about Tony.
"Let's go Maya," Tony demands. Maya nods and secretly waves goodbye to Lucas and Sadie. It all makes sense now.
Tony is Maya's boyfriend.
Lucas didn't like how he acted during the press conference towards him, and he certainly doesn't like how Tony treated Maya just now. And he really doesn't like how Maya responded.
He's got to keep an eye out for her.
Sorry this chapter took me so long to post. My laptop is broken, and I am swamped with school work. I hope to update faster than this and as soon as I can.
I hope this was a good chapter!