Chapter 2
Standing like an idiot outside those double doors, I took a subtle look around. Through the shadows, I saw long legs, high heels, exposed shoulders, and a whole lot of cleavage. I counted nine girls, including Miss Bustier.
Counting me, it was ten.
Talk about humiliating.
I felt a poke in my side and turned to look. It was Bustier, who asked, "Which one doyouwant?"
"What?"
"Which fighter?"
I didn't want to tell her, mostly because she was giving me the crazy-eye again. "I'm just waiting for a friend. That's all."
Her gaze narrowed. "A guy or a girl?"
I gave a noncommittal shrug and turned away, hoping she'd take the hint.
No such luck. She gave me another poke. "You don't mean Joel Bishop, do you? Because I already called him. Remember?"
Oh yeah. I'd called him, too, at least a hundred times. He never answered, not even once. Yesterday, I'd gotten so desperate that I'd even called one of his brothers, for all the goodthatdid.
Next to me, the girl spoke again, louder now. "You heard me, right? Isaid, I called him."
Obviously, she didn't mean on the phone. "Yeah," I snapped. "I heard you."Cripes, everyone heard you.
"So remember," she warned, "he's mine. Got it?"
No. Ididn'tget it. And I wasn't going to get it. I'd moved heaven and earth to get here, and I wasn't about to give up, just because a stranger called dibs in a warehouse parking lot.
Behind us, a different girl said, "You're so full of it."
Bustier turned to look. "What?"
"He's not 'yours'," the girl said. "That's forhimto decide. And besides, I was here way beforeyou."
"Hey!" Bustier said, "I was here. I was just standing in a different spot, that's all."
"Sorry," the girl said, "you snooze, you lose."
Bustier glared at the girl. "I wasn't snoozing. I was waiting. Just like you are."
"Oh sure." The girl gave a snort of derision. "In the wrong place."
"Oh, whatever," Bustier muttered, turning away. She leaned closer to me and said, "Can you believe that chick?"
I gave another shrug. In truth, I couldn't believe any of this. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why a bunch of girls would be standing outside some warehouse, waiting for guys they didn't even know. What they wanted was obvious, but it still defied all logic.
Joel was amazing. He was hot as sin and tough as nails. But the thought of him having groupies had never occurred to me. Unable to stop myself, I turned to Bustier and asked, "Is it always like this?"
She looked around. "Sort of, but notthisbad." She lowered her voice. "But you know that Joel Bishop guy I was telling you about?"
My stomach clenched. I didn't justknowhim. Ilovedhim. Trying hard not to show it, I gave a casual nod.
"Well," she said, "a few months ago, he like totally disappeared. And we all thought, 'Shit, he's gone for good.'" She gave me a wolfish grin. "But now he's back, and I'm gonna welcome him home, if you know what I mean."
My gaze drifted to the photo. Ididknow. And I didn't like it.
