5
Lonnie enjoyed his cupcake on his walk to The Watchtower. He was planning to run some tactical drills with a few of the guys. He considered what Melissa had told him about the club. There weren’t any events he was expected to help with prior to the ball, so he thought he’d see if a few of the guys would want to come out with him.
He arrived at the gym to find several of them already working out. A man he recognized from the last time he was in Cupid City was seated on the floor stretching his legs. Lonnie headed in his direction.
“Clint, it’s great to see you.”
Clint looked up and smiled, bumping fists with him. “Hey, man. I heard you decided to join in on the chaos.”
“I did. It’s good to be back.”
“You’re such a workaholic. Can’t even take a break after your little tour.”
Lonnie raised an eyebrow. “Littletour? I dare you to come with us sometime and see what we deal with.”
Clint gave a low chuckle. “I don’t think I’d be treating the fans as well as you do.”
Lonnie laughed. “Ain’t that the truth. So what are we working on today?”
Clint stood. “First, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. She’s sharp and a lot stronger than you think. Trust me when I say she can handle her own, and she’ll prove it to you if you make any comments about her size.”
Lonnie raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
Clint laughed. “Perhaps I am.”
They walked over to a petite woman standing near a rack of dumbbells. She was tying her hair in a knot on the top of her head.
“Amy, I’d like you to meet Lonnie. He’s going to be helping us out a bit while he’s on break from his boy band,” Clint said.
Lonnie rolled his eyes. “Thatboy bandis the most popular band in the country right now. Plus, they’re good friends of mine.” He shook Amy’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Amy smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard a lot of good things from Cass.”
After meeting a few other people, they went through several situations. This session was primarily for Lonnie to see how the team operated together, and how to respond to situations without bringing too much attention to himself.
Lonnie rubbed a spot on his arm where Amy had kicked him. “I thought we were pulling our hits?”
Amy smirked. “I did.”
Clint snorted. “She’s asserting her dominance.”
That earned him a swift kick to the legs that landed him on his back. Lonnie barked out a laugh, but Clint didn’t look surprised. It was almost as if he expected it.
“No.Thatwould be asserting my dominance,” Amy said. She smiled playfully and then held a hand down for Clint to take and pulled him to his feet.
“Point taken.”
Lonnie picked up his water bottle and took a long drink from it. “Any of you interested in hitting the Red Cupid with me tonight?”
“Clubbing, huh?” Clint asked. “I could be up for that. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out to a club when it wasn’t work-related.”
“Amy?” Lonnie asked.
“Sure. That sounds like fun,” she said.
Lonnie said his goodbyes before heading back to the hotel. He needed a long shower and a good meal before he went out.
Alexis followedMelissa into Red Cupid, wondering what she had gotten herself into. She was out of practice with hanging out with anyone outside of the shop, and certainly out of practice being in a club. It took a long time for her to stop watching her back everywhere she went when she first arrived in Cupid City, so going out into a crowded club like this never would have happened. But now that she was comfortable, this didn’t feel too bad.
