I swallow hard. I don’t know what she’s getting at or why it even matters. But Brynn isn’t stupid. And she seems to know that implying that Dom and I aren’t in love has hit a nerve. But before I can think about it anymore, Brynn claps her hands.
“Alright girls, it’s showtime,” she says, throwing the door to the locker room open. We follow her out and into the ring room. The energy in there swallows up all my thoughts.
The bell sounds as a match ends, and two sweaty, bloodied boxers leave the ring. It’s hard to tell just looking at them who won, but guessing by the yelling in the crowd, it wasn’t who half the guys were betting on.
“It’s a full house tonight,” I say as we make our way up to the stage.
“Yes, it is,” Brynn says with a smile, her ass already shimmying to get everyone’s minds off boxing and on us for the next eight minutes. It’s only the second time I have performed with them, but I have a photographic memory with dance routines, and I can keep up with every step, every kick and every drop.
The first song isHot in Herreby Nelly, and while it’s not the kind of music I am used to dancing to, it gets the crowd going. And to be honest, it’s pretty fun. While Brynn is front and center for the most part, there is a part of the song where each one of us has about ten seconds of limelight.
As soon as I take my place, the crowd roars, and for a second, I don’t know what’s going on. It suddenly occurs to me that this little solo part of the song is a competition, and the one that getsthe biggest reaction from the crowd takes center stage. So far…it seems that I am winning.
I glance back at Brynn, who dances another routine, and she gets a big reaction. Then she throws me a challenging stare, and I step it up, this time with some improv. I mix the routines she taught me with a little spice of my own, including some modern ballet. I end with splits and the men roar.
“Well look at that!” the ring announcer shouts. “Gentleman for the first time in a long time, I think we have a new Queen of the Ring.”
All of us take a bow and head off the stage. “That was fun,” I say to the others.
Rachel looks back at me, her eyebrows raised. “That was very ballsy,” she says, and my smile dials down a notch.
“What do you mean?” I ask as men tuck money into our shorts as we pass by.
Amanda leans over to me. “She means you showed Brynn up.”
“I thought that was the point,” I say. “It’s a competition.”
“A competition that Brynn is always supposed to win,” Amanda says. My smile is all but gone as I watch Brynn stomp off to the locker room. I’m ready to go after her when someone grabs me by the arm and yanks me back over to them.
“Dom!” I yell before softening against him. “What are you doing?”
“Kissing the sexiest girl in the room, that’s what,” he says before planting his lips on mine. I laugh into the kiss, thrown off by the whole thing.
“You’re insane,” I tell him. My hands are pressed to his bare chest, but I don’t push away. He’s in his boxing shorts, shoes, and an open robe, ready for his match.
“No, that dance was insane. Where did you learn that?” he asks.
“I didn’t,” I tell him, and his jaw actually drops.
“You mean that was improvised?” he asks, and I smile. “Goddamn girl, you really are a dancer,” he says as he pulls me closer again. “My dancer.”
He kisses me again, this time going deeper. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest that I can hear it in my ears.
It’s not real. It’s for show. It’s not real. It’s not…
Real.
As I melt into the kiss, I give up. There is no way, no way that this isn’t real. No one can kiss like this without something being behind it. Then, as if he’s reading my mind, he pulls back and takes my hand and starts weaving through the crowd.
“Where are we going?” I ask. “Don’t you have a match in like, five minutes?”
“Yes, he does,” Rafe says, materializing out of the crowd and stepping in front of Dominic, bringing us to a halt.
“It’s going to have to wait, Shaeffer,” Dominic says, but there’s no hostility in his tone.
Rafe, on the other hand, is livid. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about a rain check,” Dom says.
