“Maybe it’s better that way?”
“I think so. I mean, a lot of this is new to me, even without my anxiety issues. New job, a guy ... it’s a lot of change to get used to.”
“Especially since he’s under your skin?” Whitney laughed.
“Yeah. Especially that,” Harmony agreed. A chiming noise sounded from her pocket, and she stopped to slip her cell phone out and check the screen. “It’s a text from the schedule manager,” she said, turning to Whitney, who looked eagerly toward the still-lighted screen in Harmony’s hand. “I’m on in an hour, so I need to suit up. You can hang out in the dressing room if you want though, or I can show you where to go to watch the show from the arena.”
“I can watch it later; I’ve got DVR,” Whitney laughed. “I’ll come hang with you, if you’re sure it’s fine.”
“It’s no problem,” Harmony answered. “Some of the other girls sometimes bring someone backstage too, sisters or whatever. It’s not done often, but I’ve asked around and it’s cool. So you should be fine to sit back there and hang with me.”
“Which is nice, because I can dig for more information on the dating thing,” Whitney teased, following Harmony back the way they had come.
“Well, you know,” Harmony laughed. “Just this once, and all that. Come on, the dressing room’s around this corner.”
“Woah, this room is huge!” Whitney breathed, stepping into the dressing room with Harmony. “Look at all this!”
“It doesn’t seem that big when everyone is in here though, I promise – it even gets kind of crowded sometimes. Come on, I’m over here.” Leading her friend to the other side of the room, Harmony settled on the bench in front of her vanity and took her shoes off, slipping them under the bench before standing to rummage through a locker mounted into the wall.
“Are the bigger companies like this, too?” Whitney asked. “Vanity tables and stuff?”
“Some places have it, some don’t,” Harmony said. “Honestly, I think it depends more on the arena size than the company size. AWG owns this one, so it’s pretty roomy and a lot of the people even have personal dressing rooms. Some other arenas are bigger backstage, some are smaller. Lauren – she’s Minx onscreen – she says that some of the arenas have hardly more than a locker room and they just have to make do.” Turning her back to her friend, Harmony tugged her t-shirt over her head and wriggled into a cropped button-down shirt with cap sleeves. The top was fitted perfectly to her body, the blue and green plaid stopping just below the modest curve of her breasts, with wide elastic to hold it in place. “It just depends on how big the company is and how much they can cater to what the girls want.”
“So sometimes it’s just, like, a guy locker room?”
“Pretty much, from what I hear,” Harmony laughed.
“I see.” Whitney had turned, opening the drawers of Harmony’s vanity and peeking through the assorted body paints and makeup in the drawer. “And you do your makeup yourself?
“Only if you’re an escort. Since all you’re really doing is walking out there and jumping around, you can do your own if you’re good at it. There will be someone to work on me tonight though, since I’m moving onto the active roster. I guess they use different stuff to make sure you don’t smudge if you get slammed on your face,” she finished, grimacing slightly. Shimmying quickly out of her jeans, Harmony kicked them off onto the floor and stepped into the tiny white shorts that formed the lower half of her costume.
“Wow,” Whitney murmured. “I don’t think I’ve seen you that scantily clad even in a bathing suit!”
Harmony laughed, running her fingers along the fitted waist of the shorts before smoothing her hands over the fabric that barely covered her rear. “Yeah, this is the ring gear I told you about. No evening gowns when you’re in the ring, but I’ll survive. It doesn’t really expose much more than my old leotards did in gymnastics, I guess, and it’s easy to move around in. It’s like wearing nothing.”
“Agreed,” Whitney laughed. “Your dad is gonna have an aneurysm when he sees those shorts.”
“I know, and I almost chose long tights just for him.” Harmony sighed, lowering onto a bench to slip her feet into white leather boots that climbed to just above her knee. Working to tighten the corset-like laces that went up the back of each boot, Harmony looked up to Whitney and grinned. “Those pants just don’t move the same way, though, so I went with these. Better to have skimpy shorts on than an injury, I guess. And my mom will talk him out of freaking out too bad.”
Moving to stand in front of a full-length mirror that was mounted near the door, Harmony turned her body this way and that, inspecting her costume. “I’m supposed to look like a good girl going bad,” she muttered. “Like, kind of innocent but also kind of –“
“Hootchie?” Whitney supplied.
“Pretty much. Am I pulling it off?”
“Short of changing into a schoolgirl skirt, you’ve got it,” Whitney laughed, turning to watch as the door to the dressing room slowly opened.
“Hey, you ready for makeup?” Lauren asked, the inky black of her hair spilling over her shoulder as she stepped into the room, the ends dipped in shocking red.
“Just about,” Harmony answered. “Hey, Whit, this is –“
“Minx. You’re Minx,” Whitney breathed, watching as Lauren stalked over to her locker.
“Well, when I’m out there, I am,” Lauren laughed. “Rough and rude and bossy. Possibly an even bigger bitch than Vixen. But in here, I’m just Lauren.” Pulling her fuzzy leopard-print hoodie from her locker, she slipped it on, working the hidden Velcro strips that fastened the front.
“Oh, I always wondered how you got that thing off so fast,” Whitney said.
“Tricks of the trade,” Lauren laughed, bending down to check the lacings on her calf-length black boots. Reassured that everything was fine, she stood and marched over to Harmony, the leopard print tattoo dancing down her arm as she moved. “So how do we look? Life-long enemies, right?” she asked Whitney, turning as she slipped an arm around Harmony’s waist.
Leaning back against the edge of Harmony’s vanity table, Whitney shook her head and contemplated the two women in front of her. One tall, one tiny, both slender and fit. One dark as night and as tough as lead, the other soft and sweet. “Yeah you look like enemies, alright. Like good and evil – uh, no offense.”
Lauren tipped her head back, laughing heartily. “That’s exactly what we’re going for. The ultimate battle, hmm?”
“And if it’s the battle between good and evil, who gets to win tonight’s little run-in?” Whitney asked, grinning.
“Oh, we can’t tell you,” Lauren teased. “Because if we tell you, then we have to kill you. It’s in the contract.”
“Alright, no killing in the dressing room,” Harmony laughed. “But come on, we need to get moving. If we miss the cue to get out there, I’m pretty sure Diane will kill us both.”
By the time both women had finished with makeup, Lauren was even more terrifying as Minx, the coloring making her face look more chiseled and somehow harder, colder. On the other hand, Harmony’s petite innocence had been emphasized; she’d been given very minimal makeup – a dusting of waterproof green eye shadow, a smudge of chocolate eyeliner, and glossy, nude lipstick. With her petite build, she looked like nothing more than a rebellious teenager.
“You look like you’re gonna get creamed,” Whitney whispered to Harmony as they moved toward the stage curtain that led to the wrestling ring.
“I know,” Harmony answered, the innocent look emphasized even more by the nervous fear in her eyes.
Lauren laughed, adjusting the fit of her hood as they stopped by the curtain, making sure her hair was perfectly arranged as it fell over her shoulder and down one side of her chest. Hopping lightly from one foot to the other, she shook her arms out, warming her muscles, preparing her body for the match.
Harmony mirrored Lauren’s movements, bouncing lightly on her toes for a while, mo
ving her arms lightly at her sides.
“Jumping jacks are faster, you know,” Xander said smoothly, wandering into the holding room from the hallway that led to the locker room for the men. Joining the women near the stage curtain, he jumped lightly, moving his arms above his head.
“What are you doing out here?” Whitney asked, him, grinning as she watched him hop back and forth on his toes. “You going out there to watch the catfight between these two? Gloat over your manly ability to stir up the womenfolk?”
Xander laughed. “No, I’m Harmony’s escort. What do you girls call it? ‘Arm-candy’?”
“Yep, I think that’s what we call it,” Harmony answered, grinning at him as he moved closer to her.
Taking her hand through the curve of his elbow and smoothing it over the muscle of his forearm, Xander brought Harmony close to his side. “If you want to watch from back here instead of trying to run out and sit somewhere,” he said to Whitney, “There’s a common room down that hall, and there’s monitors in there that’ll show the match.”
Whitney nodded just as J.J. shouted Lauren’s cue into her microphone from ringside. “—and now, Minx!” As the vicious screaming snarl of a leopard vibrated through the arena’s sound system, Lauren marched through the curtain and down the ramp, in character and looking angry.
“Ready for this?” Xander whispered, once they were alone.
“No backing out now,” Harmony whispered back. “Here comes my cue.”
The dance club beat of Harmony’s entrance music flowed through the arena for the first time, and she took one last deep breath before J.J.’s introduction began. “And her opponent, the fresh meat Minx has been hunting for weeks, the girl who just may be able to tame AWG’s Dragon, Harmony!”
“Here we go,” Xander murmured, sweeping the curtain aside and leading Harmony through. Stepping through the curtain, Harmony was shocked to realize that the crowd was screaming her name. At the bottom of the ramp, Xander pulled her hand and she twirled on her toes, smiling up at him adoringly as he tipped her over his arm and kissed her forehead.
The crowd went wild and in the ring, Minx was enraged. Her black hair flew as she stomped threateningly toward the edge of the ring, gesturing angrily. Grinning broadly, Harmony stood looking up at the terror awaiting her in the ring before turning back to Xander. As rehearsed, she blew a flirtatious kiss at him before whirling and leaping into the ring, rolling to her feet in front of a surprised Minx.
Minx didn’t waste any time, lunging forward with a vicious-looking slap. Screaming dramatically, Harmony clutched her face, the theatrical slap leaving a very real sting along the curve of her cheek. Stepping close, Minx buried her fingers in Harmony’s hair, twisting her body so that her head was locked in the circle of Minx’s arm.
Harmony braced herself as Minx kicked her feet out, gravity dragging both of them to the mat with a crash, and as Minx leaned back on the mat, Harmony crawled up her body, shrieking manically. Locked in the terrifying fight pose, the women rolled once around the ring before Harmony pulled back her arm and slammed her elbow into Minx’s stomach.
Listening to the excited shouts of the announcers and the crazed reactions of the crowd, Harmony was in her element. She was performing again; she was excelling again. Leaving Minx writhing on the mat, Harmony took a triumphant walk around the ring, waving her arms to encourage the wild energy of the crowd.
Following the plan they’d practiced in training, Harmony showed off just a moment too long; when she turned, Minx leapt at her, driving the full speed of her body and the force of her shoulder into the sensitive tissue of Harmony’s side. Her feet left the mat, and as they crashed back down, Harmony closed her eyes, allowing her hair to fall in a messy spread over her face. Lying motionless, she waited as Minx sprawled over her stomach, pressing her shoulders into the mat. The referee fell to the mat beside them, his hand beating out the count to Minx’s victory.
As Minx stood to celebrate her win, Harmony kept her body still, forcing herself to breath slowly. The springy mat bounced beneath her body as Minx stood triumphant in the center of the ring, the leopard roar of her entrance music playing as her fans screamed wildly. Finally, she dropped to her knees, rolled out of the ring, and headed up the ramp.
“That was awesome,” the referee murmured, palming Harmony’s face as he pretended to check on her. Brushing the hair away from her face, he made room for Xander to slip into the ring beside her.
Bending down, Xander was the very picture of loving concern as he gently nudged Harmony’s shoulder as if to wake her. She allowed her eyes to flutter open, sitting up and brushing her hair away from her face. Looking to the referee, she heard the announcers chatting with each other, following their own script, asking if she even knew that she’d lost yet.
The referee shook his head; Harmony held her stomach and pretended to cry. Lowering her face, she let her hair fall again, hiding the smile that she couldn’t let the audience see …
She might have lost her first match, but she’d loved every second of it. And the look of naked pride she’d seen on Xander’s face just made it that much better.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“That was amazing!” Whitney squealed, throwing her arms around Harmony’s shoulders as she and Xander walked into the common room. “I am so proud of you!”
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Harmony giggled. “But damn, taking a spear from Minx really hurts! I’m pretty sure I’m still gonna be feeling it tomorrow!”
“I remember my first spear,” Lauren said, offering Harmony an icy water bottle. “Hurts like hell, but it looks so good. You did a good job out there.”
“Thanks,” Harmony said, rolling the cold bottle along the length of her side. “I was nervous, so I’m glad we didn’t have to be out there for a long time. Just kick my ass and call it a night,” she laughed. Turning, she took a paper plate from a stack on the end of the buffet. “I’m starving, but I think I’m too wired to eat!”
“Well, grab a plate and fill it up anyway, it’ll give you something to do with your hands,” Lauren laughed. Nudging Xander with an elbow, she looked up at him. “Wasn’t she great out there?”
“Like she was born for it,” he answered proudly, watching as Harmony turned away to fill her plate with club sandwiches and stuffed cherry tomatoes.
Later, the crowd had gone and Harmony found herself alone with Xander. Whitney had taken her own car, Lauren was gone, and the arena had mostly cleared out. Standing outside, Harmony looked up as Xander slipped an arm around her shoulders.
“So, how’d I do out there tonight? Like for real?” she asked him.
“You were great,” he answered, tugging her closer as they walked toward the garage. “You looked like you’ve been doing this for years; I was impressed. A lot of newbies take a while to get used to being out there, but you looked completely natural and in your element.”
“Really?” Stopping, Harmony turned to face him, doubt shadowing her eyes as the excitement of the evening finally faded away. “I have to say, I felt good and I had a blast, but I walked out there feeling really awkward. Like, I was doing the moves and following what we rehearsed, but there were a few times where I just felt so weird. It didn’t show?”
Shaking his head, Xander stepped closer, taking Harmony’s chin in his hand and lifting her face. “I didn’t see it, and any nerves that anyone else might have noticed would likely have come off as part of the act. You did great.”
“If you’re sure,” Harmony said softly, looking up into his eyes.
“I’m sure. So can we stop with the work talk now?” Moving his other hand to her face, Xander slipped his fingers around, letting them tangle in her hair. “I want to talk about when I can take you out again.”
Lowering her face to hide the sudden flush sweeping over her cheeks, Harmony pressed her forehead to his chest. “Xander … you know I haven’t dated a lot,” she said.
With a sigh, he rested his chin on top of her head, allowin
g his hands to fall from her hair. He held her lightly, his hands resting along the slight curvature of her tiny waist. She waited there, pressed lightly against the hard planes of his body as they each waited for the other to speak. Finally, he sighed again, stepping back and setting Harmony away from him. “If you don’t see me like that, you can just tell me, and then I can –“
“Xander, wait.” Pressing the tips of her fingers to his lips, Harmony took a breath. She didn’t want to give up on romance, didn’t want to let Cameron’s past haunt her life anymore.
He was a big man, strong and powerful – she knew that there would be no fighting him, if he should ever decide to take advantage of her. In that way, he was perhaps the biggest risk she’d ever taken in her life. But on the other hand? She’d been in his arms before, and his touch was never anything but gentle and tender. She’d seen him with his niece, Laney, who loved and adored him. She’d seen him at work, where he was paid to be violent, and yet he was well-liked by everyone in the company. Could he be a safe haven, as much as he was a risk? Could he understand her anxieties? Would he have enough patience to see them through?
Wrestling Harmony (The Kingsley Series) Page 16