Dances with Monsters

by D. C. Ruins

  "Hey," the young man had said, grinning. "You're the One-Hitter-Quitter."

  "It's actually just Heath," Heath had replied flatly. "Listen. I'm not tryin' to deal with that bullshit around front, man. Can you let me in through the valet entrance? I just want to go up to my room. I got my family here."

  "Sure," the attendant had said, nodding vigorously. He pointed at the car. "You want me to take care of that?"

  "That'd be great," Heath had answered, and let the attendant park the car. The attendant had reappeared to open the entrance door for him and Heath had slipped him a nice tip before disappearing inside and using the service elevator to get to his floor, managing to bypass all of the nonsense outside completely.

  Now, he was forced to enter the lobby again, noticing that there were a good number of people milling around. A lot of them were young women, more hangers-on, and though they were with some of the other fighters, whom he ignored, they eyed him openly. He scanned the room for his family, looking to find them and get the hell out of there as fast as possible.

  The first thing he saw was Lana's tousled blonde head, where she stood at the bar just in front of his brother. He saw his father drinking what looked to be sparkling water or soda, and then he saw Drew and his eyes widened slightly.

  He didn't know why he'd expected to still see her in her ripped up T-shirt and her Converse, but the first place his eyes went to was her rear end. It was set off to perfection in a pair of tight, ripped skinny jeans. Tucked into the jeans she wore a simple, ribbed black tube top that hugged her trim abdomen. To add a touch of modesty, there was a leopard print scarf draped around her neck, hanging down to the middle of her stomach. As he got closer his eyes slid to her feet, seeing them encased in black, peep-toe pumps decorated with a long gold zipper on the outside edge of each shoe, stretching from toe to heel. Her long dark hair had been coaxed into waves and tumbled down her back. It was a simple ensemble but it set the shape of her body off to perfection and Heath couldn't help thinking she looked good enough to eat.

  Everyone glanced up as he approached, but his eyes were glued to Drew. Her dimples suddenly dug into her cheeks as her brown eyes lit up at the sight of him. It filled him with that strange but pleasant feeling, one that made him feel like she always seemed to be so excited to see him. His hand automatically went to circle her waist as he greeted his family, Connor surprising him with a hug. He returned it awkwardly.

  "You guys ready?" he asked, desperate to get out of the hotel and away from all of the prying eyes. His hand unconsciously tightened on Drew's waist.

  "Yeah, let's get out of here," Connor replied. "I'm starving." They used the hotel transportation to head to an Italian restaurant a few miles away.

  Once they arrived and Heath could see that there were just average people, families, in the restaurant, he relaxed, and they had a good time together, all things considered. Lana and Connor bemoaned how much they were missing the girls, even though they'd been looking forward to getting away. Maggie and Lucy were staying with Lana's family. Connor asked him how the afternoon went, and John wanted to know how he was feeling in terms of the fights the following day. Heath answered their questions but was getting distracted because every so often, under the table, Drew's hand would find his thigh and squeeze. She wouldn't look at him, wouldn't behave any differently, but he had to suppress the urge to jump every time she did.

  Suddenly, he was eager to return to the hotel.

  Unfortunately, Lana and Connor weren't quite ready to call it a night. They didn't get away from the girls very often, they said, and they wanted to have a few drinks before they retired for the night. John bid them a goodnight and retreated up to the suite he was sharing with Heath, leaving the group of four in the now-empty bar.

  "Wonder where everyone went," Lana mused after they got their first round of drinks. Heath opted to drink water, but Drew was having a glass of red wine.

  "Probably out," Heath replied with a shrug. "Wherever the other fighters went."

  They stayed and drank at the small table for a while, talking and laughing quietly amongst themselves. As she had at the restaurant, Drew would run her hand over his leg intermittently. At one point he met her eyes over the rim of her wine glass and felt blood rush through him at the look in her eyes. They were dark with some kind of need, full of promise.

  He wondered if John would end up with the suite to himself tonight.

  Finally, Lana and Connor were ready to call it a night, rising to their feet. Heath and Drew bid them goodbye and watched as they headed to the elevators around the corner. Heath glanced at Drew.

  "You ready, too?" he asked, trying hard to keep the note of eagerness out of his voice.

  "Haven't finished my wine yet," she replied, her voice slightly low. "Have a seat."

  Heath sat and watched as she drained the rest of her wine, her hand on his knee. His eyebrows shot up as he wondered what exactly had gotten into her. She couldn't be drunk; she'd had a total of three glasses of wine over the course of several hours and had eaten a full meal as well. He didn't have long to think about anything, though, because as soon as she set her glass down, she was reaching for him, pulling his face toward hers, capturing his lips with hers, pushing and pulling and sweeping over his mouth with hers. Heath wasn't a huge PDA sort of guy, but he very quickly forgot about the fact that they were in public, empty though the lounge was.

  She pulled away ever so slightly. "Take me upstairs," she whispered before she brought her mouth against his again.

  Heath pulled back a little and looked into her eyes, feeling his own narrow involuntarily. He scanned her face, knowing something was up with her. His desire to call her out on her bullshit warred with his desire for her. Silently he rose to his feet, taking her hand and pulling her up after him. He held onto her hand as they waited for the elevator. After an eternity, the light above the elevator lit up and the doors slid open slowly. He stepped inside, pulling her behind him. As soon as the doors slid shut, he decided to simultaneously give into his own urges and also call her bluff. He quickly pressed her against the wall of the elevator and cupped her face in his hands, scooping up her lips with his own as he pushed his body against hers. He pulled the scarf away from her neck and tilted her face up to bury his lips in the flesh of her throat as her hands grabbed at his waist. He returned to her mouth and sucked at her lips, feeling like he just couldn't get enough.

  When they reached the sixth floor she led him out of the elevator, her scarf trailing in her hand. She pulled him past his room and headed down a little further to hers, and then pushed him against the door and captured his lips with hers again as she fumbled in her pocket for her key.

  Finally, he pulled away and gripped her face. He lowered his face to look into her eyes, feeling his narrow with slight suspicion again.

  "Drew, what's goin' on?" he asked. "What's gotten into you?"

  She looked up at him innocently. "What are you talkin' about?"

  "I'm talkin' about you acting all bold right now," he said bluntly. "And please, for the love of God, understand I'm not complaining but I don't think you give me enough credit for bein' able to tell when something isn't quite right."

  "It's a problem?" she asked impatiently, lifting an eyebrow.

  "It is if I feel like you're doin' this to try to prove something."

  "Maybe I just want you," she growled in her throat, pulling herself up toward him again.

  "And if I believed that's all it was I never woulda opened my mouth in the first place," he replied against her lips. "But we both know it's not just that, so what's up?"

  Drew paused near his face and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Finally, she sighed and pulled away slightly.

  "All right," she conceded, a hint of irritation in her voice. "All right. First, just know that I do really want you. But I just…seeing all of those beautiful women out there who seem like they have it all together just made me wonder, why are you wasting your time wit
h me? I work at a café and teach ballet at the Y. I'm more than a little fucked up in the head –"

  "Shut up," Heath said, annoyed. "You're not fucked up in the head. Stop saying that shit. As for all of those other women—Drew, you're talking about women who validate themselves by climbing into bed with any guy they think can be a ticket out for them. Are you fucking serious right now? You call that having it all together?" His hands moved to her shoulders and he gripped down, shaking them just a little. "I'm here with you because I want to be. Period. I don't want anyone else." He shook his head. "Is that why you're trying to have sex with me now?"

  Drew flushed and sighed, looking away. "Partly because I want to. And partly because I feel like if I don't you'll get fed up with me and find someone who doesn't struggle so much with that."

  "I only want you when you only want me, no other reason. I'll wait as long as it takes," he replied simply. "You copy?"

  The corners of her lips tugged into a tiny smile. No dimples, he noticed, but it was better than nothing.

  "So we done with this dumbass shit now?" he went on quietly, smiling a little to take the sting out of his words.

  One side of her mouth stretched a little wider, and he saw a shadow appear in her cheek. "Yes," she answered.

  He smirked at her and slid a hand under her hair, gripping it lightly. He brought his lips to hers. "Just don't make me wait too long," he teased gently. She rolled her eyes but pressed her lips against his, sucking gently at his bottom lip. He had just taken a firmer grip on her to feast on her mouth more deeply when he heard a voice.

  "Yo, Heath. Sorry to interrupt…"

  Heath glanced up, a growl of annoyance in his throat, and saw Carter Steele striding down the hall toward them, a slightly amused and apologetic look on his face.

  "What you want, man?" Heath demanded, his hands slipping down to grip Drew's waist loosely as she stepped away from him slightly.

  "I want you to go get some sleep," Carter replied, folding his arms. "You got a big day tomorrow, man. C'mon. Keep your head in the game."

  Heath sighed. He knew what he was supposed to do as well as anyone; the plan had been to not get caught by his sometimes-trainer-manager.

  Carter turned his slight smile on Drew. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but our boy needs his rest. He's got a lot of fights tomorrow."

  Drew bit her lip, her face flushed from being caught. "Right. I got it."

  Carter lingered until Heath glared at him. "Can I get a minute?" he demanded. Carter rolled his eyes and gave them his back, pacing a few steps down toward Heath's suite. Heath knew that Carter would stay out there all night to make sure that Heath eventually went to his own room. He sighed and glanced down at Drew.

  "Sorry," he murmured. "He'll stay out here all night if I don't –"

  Drew half-smiled and placed a hand on his chest. "It's all right. Go. You need your rest."

  There was not much else to say, nothing that he wanted Carter to hear him say, anyway, so Heath just looked at her and half-smiled, running a hand slowly through her hair.

  "Go," she said, more insistently. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

  He leaned down to give her a final kiss, a goodnight kiss, and then pulled away. His body screamed in annoyance, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice. And, frankly, he did need the rest.

  "Good night," he said softly. She smiled and stepped inside her room, pausing to blow him a kiss before she shut the door.

  Heath turned and walked back toward his room. Carter glanced over his shoulder, grinning.

  "I trust that you can keep yourself inside your room tonight?" he asked, mock-sternly.

  Heath gave him a withering look. "Fuck you, Steele."

  "I'll take that as a yes," Carter said, waiting until Heath had unlocked his door and stepped inside. "Sweet dreams, brother!"

  Heath shut the door in his face and rolled his eyes in irritation as he heard Carter laughing at him all the way down the hall.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  When Drew woke up the next morning, her stomach was a jumble of nerves.

  She wasn't sure why but all morning she felt extremely anxious at the thought of going to the First Niagara Center for day one of the tournament. Heath had allowed John to accompany him to the arena as he prepared for his first round of fights. He had left early that morning to ensure he had plenty of time to stretch, hydrate, eat, and in general "Zen" himself, as he called it, before he took to the ring. He had knocked on her door that morning to let her know he was leaving. Drew had wanted to say something encouraging, give him words of wisdom, something really deep and profound for him to ruminate over while he prepared himself, but all she could manage was a lame, "Good luck."

  Now, later that afternoon, she was showered and dressed and in the lobby of the hotel, too nervous to eat a late lunch in the hotel's on-site restaurant. Lana was eating a chicken Caesar salad and fruit, and Connor was enthusiastically attacking a giant bacon cheeseburger and fries. Drew sipped at a cup of tea and nibbled a little of the fruit salad that she'd ordered.

  "You seem nervous," Lana commented. "He'll be fine."

  Drew wanted to tell her it wasn't just the prospect of witnessing the fights. While she wasn't particularly enthused about Heath going to war with overly aggressive men who wanted to bash his face in to better their chances of winning a couple million dollars, she knew and was confident that Heath could handle himself. She decided she was more bothered by the fact that she just didn't know what to expect or how she would react to it, but she simply didn't feel comfortable expressing that to them.

  "It'll be fine," Connor was saying. "You understand these types of tournaments?"

  Drew shook her head. "Not really. Heath tried explaining it to me once but it sort of went over my head."

  "Okay." Connor pushed his plate aside. "So you have sixteen guys, right? So the first bout today will be the first round of eliminations, essentially. Each of the sixteen guys will be paired up with another fighter. Eight of the guys will advance, eight of the guys will have to pack their bags and drag their sorry asses back home." He smiled when Drew dimpled a little at that. "Then tomorrow, the second bout will be the eight guys from the day before; they will battle each other—four proceed, four go home. Then, those four will be matched up. The rounds are going to be longer. The final two, then, will face off and then whoever wins, takes all."

  Drew nodded. "So how long is each round? There's going to be so many fights today."

  Connor nodded. "Right. So in the first bout, meaning the first set of fights today, the eight fights are going to be three five-minute rounds. Then tomorrow, the first bout of fights, the four matches, are going to be three five-minute rounds. Later, the second bout will consist of five three-minute rounds and the very last bout that determines the winner will be five five-minute rounds."

  Drew's eyes had started to glaze over but she shook her head. "Right. Got it. Lots of fights."

  Connor grinned at her. "Lots of fights, Heath wins all. That's all you need to worry about."

  Lana glanced at her watch. "We should probably start heading over. We don't know which card Heath's going to be put in so we don't want to miss anything."

  Drew nodded and reached for her purse, intending to pay for her mostly untouched lunch. Connor stopped her with an outstretched hand and a wry look, shaking his head. He dropped some cash on the table for all of their meals and rose.

  "Thanks," Drew said with a smile. "I owe you a beer or something."

  "Make it two," he replied. "Let's go, ladies."

  Drew noticed that Connor drew almost as much attention as Heath had the day before; occasionally people would call out to him or stop him for an autograph, which he graciously always acquiesced. Drew also noticed that the groupies, those of whom had elected not to join the other flocks and head to the First Niagara Center early, eyed him flirtatiously. Drew sighed as she took them in; even at three in the afternoon, they were in tight and/or short cocktail dresse
s and heels.

  Drew had pored over her own outfit for the day, finally deciding on fuchsia denim skinny jeans, rolled at the ankle, a plain, scoop-neck cropped white camisole and a heather gray lightweight knit blazer. She'd been torn between flats and heels, and finally opted for the gray and silver subtle snake print peep-toe heels that would give her a little lift; at five-foot-four, she often easily got lost in the crowd.

  "Hey, sweetie," one of the girls called to Connor as they passed. Lana just shook her head and laughed, but Drew stopped in her tracks.

  "Really?" she demanded, glaring down to where the speaker was seated with a couple of her friends. "Do you not see him here with his wife? Really?"

  "And that makes you, what?" she replied, smirking. "The baby-sitter?"

  "That's that girl that was with Heath Riley yesterday," another girl spoke up, giving Drew a pointed head-to-toe. "Glad you put the ratty T-shirt and dirty sneaks away, honey."

  "Hope you don't mind sharing," the third girl at the table spoke up. She was the prettiest of the three, and she smiled condescendingly at Drew. "'Cause I'm about to snatch that boy right from under you."

  "Drew, let's go," Lana interrupted loudly, noticing the way Drew's eyes darkened with anger and her face began to flush. "You ladies have a nice day."

  "Tell him hi for me," the third girl called after Drew as Lana pulled her away.

  "Ugh!" Drew growled as she and Lana caught up to Connor. "How do you stand that?"

  Lana shrugged. "It was really hard at first. But you just get used to it. Honestly. If you just ignore them, they'll stop."

  "Thanks for the third-grade lesson," Drew said sarcastically. "Somehow I doubt that works with them. I think knocking their teeth down their throats would be more effective."

  Lana smiled and gave her a little squeeze. "Jealous, much?"

  Drew scoffed but didn't otherwise reply. Her blood boiled and she was annoyed she hadn't had the opportunity to let the young ladies know precisely what she thought of them. But she didn't want Heath to make the news because his girlfriend was starting fights over essentially meaningless insults. She was an adult, after all, and she was Heath's girlfriend. She smiled at the thought, and felt considerably calmer.