The limousine pulled up around the corner after Lucas and Miguel - and a very persistent Daniel - finished with interviews. I noticed flocks of women crowding around the men, waving and cheering at the top of their lungs. Kyle kept teetering into the crowd to retrieve phone numbers, only to be pulled back by the collar of his shirt by Miguel.

We shuffled into the limousine after Daniel and Kyle raised an eyebrow at the teenager, "Look at you!" He boasted proudly at the fact that Daniel had gotten into the vehicle on his own.

Daniel began to blush, "What can I say, I'm an independent man. Other than having a caretaker that is."

Kyle's brown eyes darted to me, "So Emily, I haven't seen you around before. What do you do during your off hours?"

Kyle was objectively very attractive, but he looked almost like a frat boy - too young and clearly not enough into commitment for my taste.

Lucas interrupted our conversation to speak to his friend, "You staying over for dinner?" He asked.

Kyle shook his head, "I have a huge account I'm working on. I could only just make it out for this fight."

"Workaholic," Miguel scoffed.

"Work hard, play hard," Kyle retorted with a smirk.

Daniel fiddled with the music system until a generic pop song blasted through the speakers. Kyle slapped his hand away, "I'm older, I get to choose the music." He proceeded to play a generic dance song.

"Nuh-uh!" Daniel protested, switching the music again.

Miguel slapped Kyle's head, "Oy, you both have shit taste in music."

Kyle rubbed the back of his head and shot Miguel a withering stare, "What was that for, man?" He whined.

"For coming late today." Miguel responded.

"I told you! I had to work!" He complained.

Miguel sighed in exasperation, "I'm too old for this."

"Right, Miguel?" Daniel chimed, "We're too mature to put up with this guy," he jabbed his thumb in Kyle's direction. Kyle reached out and ruffled Daniel's hair as he tried to squirm from under his hand.

"Don't get me started on you, you attention whore." Miguel scolded, referencing Daniel's obsession with getting on TV.

Daniel folded his arms across his chest and huffed in annoyance, "Excuse me for trying to increase my brother's popularity," he muttered.

We pulled up to the condo after a few minutes and we piled out of the limo.

"I gotta head out," Kyle stated leaning in to give Lucas a slap on the back, "Good fight, bro."

Lucas returned the gesture and Kyle ruffled Daniel's hair as he walked off. "I'll see you soon, Emily," he winked in my direction.

"Are we all thinking the same thing right now?" Daniel asked, "That Kyle's abandoned us for a better party?"

"Yes," Lucas and Miguel replied in unison.

The three men began to make their way into the condo, but I hung back. Daniel swivelled around, "Come on, Em!"

"I think I'm going to head out. I'll let you guys celebrate your victory." I replied reaching into my purse for my phone.

"Em," Daniel whined.

"You should come," Lucas stated quietly. "I'm making chicken Parmesan."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You can cook?"

He shrugged, "Not much. It's our tradition after winning a fight."

"It's the best, Em. You won't be sorry you stayed, I promise." Daniel pleaded.

I nodded, "Okay." I had nothing better to do with my time anyway.

We walked inside of apartment 4D and Lucas slipped away to shower and change. Daniel put a movie on TV and Miguel and I made ourselves comfortable on the massive couch.

Lucas emerged after a few minutes, freshly showered, his hair still wet and dangling slightly on his forehead. He wore a snug black t-shirt and loose grey sweatpants that hung from his hips. I could make out everything from his broad chest to his taut abs underneath his t-shirt and I had to force myself to look away from him before he caught me staring like a gaping fish. I tried to focus on the movie Daniel had put on. I thought it had been a comedy but a vampire popped up out of nowhere. What genre was this again?

Lucas stepped into the kitchen and all I could hear were pots clanking and ingredients chopping.

Miguel pulled out his phone and grinned at the screen, "Maria! We won!" He boasted. I assumed it was his wife.

"Hold on, let me FaceTime." He stated as he moved closer to Daniel to show him his newborn, "Say hi, uncle Daniel!"

I stood up and made my way into the kitchen to see Lucas chopping an onion expertly. He smiled at me as I approached the arched entryway tentatively, "Need any help?" I asked as I watched him pluck and chop a handful of parsley.

"Do you mind boiling the spaghetti?" He asked gesturing to an empty pot next to him as he continued to chop tomatoes for his pasta sauce. His skill really was shocking. He looked like he'd had a ton of practice.

I reached for the pot and began to fill it up with water before placing it on the stovetop and igniting the flame.

"You need salt in the water," he said softly as he handed me the jar.

I grabbed it from his massive hands, our fingers brushing ever so slightly and I poured in a few teaspoons before covering the lid. "Where did you learn to cook like this?" I asked incredulously.

"My dad loved to cook. She showed me a few of her recipes before he passed away." He threw a pan on the stovetop with a dollop of olive oil and threw his onions in. "We started the chicken Parmesan tradition with my dad after he'd win a fight. It was one of the few things he knew how to make well." His eyes twinkled as he talked about his dad. I felt the familiar pang of loss when I thought about my mom.

Lucas picked up a towel and wiped his hands with it, the memory bringing me back to the first time I had entered this apartment. I had thought he was such a brute at the time. It was heartwarming to see this softer side to him.

Lucas stirred the onions before tossing in the tomatoes. I glanced across the room at Daniel who was currently making silly faces at the phone to try and get the baby to laugh.

"Are you close with your mom?" Lucas asked tossing in the parsley and adding spices.

I grabbed the package of spaghetti and opened it, "I used to be. She died a few years ago from lung cancer." There was a reason I had a personal angst against smoking. Smoking doesn't only affect the smoker, it can affect every person around them. It's a selfish habit.

"I'm sorry," Lucas stated, his usually stoic face was soft with sorrow, as though he knew the pain firsthand - and he did, two times over.

"I'm sorry as well. It's not easy to lose a parent." I stepped closer to the pot on the stovetop so I was standing right next to Lucas and poured the package of spaghetti into the boiling water, giving it a stir. Lucas's figure towered over my mine, my head barely reaching his shoulder, but somehow his hulking figure fit so well in the kitchen.

"Say hi, uncle Lucas," Miguel cooed as he pointed the phone in front of Lucas's face.

Lucas smiled, "Hey Maria," he greeted.

"Congratulations, Lucas!" The image switched from a newborn to a beautiful woman with curly black hair and tanned skin, contrasting against her bright green eyes. She was gorgeous.

"Thanks," Lucas stated quietly stirring the pasta sauce as he spoke.

"And this is Emily," Miguel introduced moving the phone in front of my face. I absolutely hated video calls. I sucked at them.

I waved awkwardly, "Nice to meet you."

"It's so nice to meet you!" Maria chirped and her green eyes danced excitedly. "It would have been so nice to meet you in person if I wasn't on newborn hours."

"Next time, hopefully," I gave her a small smile.

"Next time for sure," she confirmed.

Miguel turned the phone back to face himself, which I was eternally grateful for.

I turned to look at Lucas to see him looking at me in amusement. "What?" I laughed. He shook his head at me without replying but I could see the tug of his lips curving upwards though he faced away from me.

"I've never seen you awkward before," he laughed finally.

"Shut up," I responded, grinning.

"I couldn't be any hungrier," Daniel whined from the living room.

Everyone ignored Daniel, including Lucas who proceeded to bread and shallow fry the chicken while I set food on the table. Daniel wheeled himself to the table and sat there, whining about how hungry he was, but refusing to help set the table.

Finally, Lucas brought the steaming pan of pasta sauce and chicken Parmesan to the table and set it down. Miguel said goodbye to his family and sat at the table rubbing his hands together.

"It hasn't been long, Lucas, but I still miss your chicken Parmesan in between wins."

Daniel cheered, "Here here. Let's eat!"

We piled our plates with the mouth watering, steaming hot pasta and chicken. I took my fork and twirled the pasta along with a piece of the crunchy, cheesy chicken and took a tentative bite. It was the most delicious food I'd ever tasted. "Oh my God," I declared in a dreamy state, "This is the best food I've ever had in my life."

Daniel grinned at me with a mouthful of food, "isn't it?" He asked.

I twirled another forkful, "What would you make if you ever lost a match?"

Lucas and Daniel looked at each other with amusement before answering together, "Chilli."

Daniel grinned, "Dad had a 50/50 success rate."

"You didn't have to eat the stuff," Lucas wrinkled his nose in disgust. The expression made his usually menacing features seem so childlike that I burst out laughing. The more I saw of him, the more I was convinced that he was the most attractive man I'd ever encountered, making it very difficult for me to stop staring at his every movement.