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On my walk to work, I texted Momma to let her know how my day had been so far. She knew my schedule as well as I did, so she wished me good luck on my first day of work, told me how much she loved me, and that she was headed into a meeting with a new client.
I grimaced as I left campus, headed for Cora’s, wondering who Momma’s latest client was. She managed all the biggest names in rock, in the music world in general, but most of the time, it was like they worked for her instead of the other way around. But she was the best there was, and anyone who signed with her as their manager knew they would only move up in their career.
For the next few hours, I turned off my brain to everything but dance and teaching all the giggling little girls in their brand-new leotards and ballet slippers. It was the most fun I’d had since the second tear that had officially stopped my professional dancing career.
By the time the last little girl left, holding her daddy’s hand and waving goodbye to me over her shoulder, I was exhausted and my knee was starting to ache. But I was still smiling, and when I got back to my dorm, I was actually humming to myself.
Loud music was thumping against the walls of our room when I walked in to find Lyla tossing clothes onto her bed. Dressed in only a black bra and matching cheeky panties, her hair and makeup already done, she looked like a knockout.
“Shower and get dressed,” she instructed as she held up a dress in front of her. After a moment of considering it, she made a disgusted face and tossed it onto the growing pile already on her bed. “Wear something sexy.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, limping over to my closet to grab my shower caddy. The only thing I disliked about living in the dorm was the communal shower. I hated having to share a bathroom with thirty other chicks, the majority of whom hadn’t learned to clean up after themselves yet.
She grinned at me in the mirror hanging from the back of her side of the closet. “Somewhere fun.”
Chapter 2
Mia
Somewhere fun, as Lyla said, was actually on the outskirts of town. A black town car picked us up in front of the dorm and drove for twenty-plus minutes. A good half a mile before we reached our destination, however, we started seeing people parking their own vehicles and walking.
It was dark out, and even though it was a Tuesday, I could tell a lot of them were drunk as they laughed obnoxiously loudly and stumbled over the uneven road.
Beside me, Lyla was texting away, paying the driver and the crowd outside her window no attention.
The fact that my roommate had a driver pick us up should have surprised me, but I was so used to having a driver that I didn’t even think about it until we slowly eased toward what looked like a warehouse that was lit up like a beacon in the night and appeared to be everyone’s destination.
“Lyla?”
“Hmm?” she asked distractedly without lifting her gaze from her phone where she was now angrily typing away.
“Do you always have a town car on standby, or did you rent one for the night so we didn’t have to drive?”
She shrugged. “My family lives locally, so I just have to make a call and I can get my brother’s driver whenever I need him. I have a vehicle of my own at his place, but I’m not a fan of driving around town.” Another shrug before she stabbed send for the last time and then turned off her phone with an angry huff. “And I’m actually thinking maybe we should have just gone to a freaking frat party or something. I hate people.”
“Who do we hate?” She looked beyond pissed, but due to the headlights from someone’s car, I saw her eyes clearly for the first time and realized she was hurting.
“Just some guy. He’s a douchebag and totally not worth my time… Or so he keeps telling me.” She pushed her hair back from her face with one hand then reached over to give my hand a firm squeeze. “But whatever. I’m going to introduce you to my people, and we’re going to have some fun. Fuck Howler.”
“Howler?” I laughed. I’d grown up around rockers my entire life, but that name just made me giggle.
Lyla snorted. “It’s his cage name. All my brother’s friends have them, even him. None of them really goes by anything else, except one or two.”
“I get it,” I assured her, glancing out the front window at the warehouse. “What is this place?”
“This is one of many locations of the Underground,” she informed me, a wicked grin replacing her earlier sadness. “Ever been to a fight before?”
“Like MMA or boxing?” She nodded. “No. My brother has, though, but I’ve never tagged along.”
“Well, you’re about to see your first one up close and personal. The Underground is where the party is at. Fights are held on random days of the week, just depends on what is going on. And you have to be in the know to get invited. Tonight was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing from what I’ve heard, but this fight is going to be bloody.”
The driver pulled up in front of the entrance to the Underground, and some guy in jeans and a plain black T-shirt opened Lyla’s door. She took his hand, allowing him to assist her before turning back to offer me her hand.
As I stepped out, I noticed people stopping to stare and instantly felt exposed. I wanted my ball cap back, but my roommate had forbidden me to wear it, complaining it would ruin my hair. But after only a moment, I realized it wasn’t me they were looking at.
It was Lyla.
People stopped what they were doing and instantly started whispering her name. I felt on edge, used to this kind of thing but having hoped not to experience it in my temporary new home. Lyla didn’t even seem fazed by it as she linked her arm through mine and guided me through the crowd into the building. A crowd that literally parted just for her, without the aid of bodyguards or even a hard look from the beautiful chick at my side.
