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“Lauren,” the next blonde says.

“Nicole,” says the girl with striking red hair.

They all seem friendly, which is such a relief. You never know with other girls. Sometimes they hate you just to hate you.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say then giggle again, ugh. I’ve got a bad case of the nervous giggles.

They all smile back at me.

“Nervous?” Sarah asks.

I answer with a nod of my head.

“Don’t worry,” Jill smiles at me. “We got you.”

Lauren digs around in a huge black purse she has resting on the counter. After pulling out a silver flask, she tips it back, taking a deep drink before handing it off to the blonde to her left, Jill. Jill then takes a quick swig and passes it on to Sarah. Sarah just shakes her head before holding it out to me.

“What is it?” I ask, accepting the flask and giving the mouth a little sniff. Whew, whatever it is smells so strong it could strip the red polish off of my nails.

“Raspberry Vodka,” Lauren answers. “Charlie bought it for me. He’s trying to score some points.”

“Ew,” Jill says, wrinkling her nose. I can’t tell if she’s ewing the guy or the booze.

Not wanting to come off as stuck-up or rude, I brace myself then take a quick swig from the flask. The cheap shit burns all the way down. I can feel my eyes watering and I fight back a cough.

Sarah bursts into laughter.

Lauren sighs. “You guys are such pussies. It’s not that bad.” She holds out her hand for the flask and I pass it back to Sarah who passes it over to her.

“We’re not pussies,” Nicole pipes in with a smirk. “You just have no standards when it comes to men or booze.”

Lauren rolls her eyes and slips the flask back into her purse. Then she pulls out some mints and pops one into her mouth. “I have standards.” She passes around the box and we all help ourselves to one. “I’m just willing to accept substitutions if my standards cannot be met.”

Nicole rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

Jill laughs.

&nb

sp; Lauren winks at me as she slips the mints back into her bag. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

“Speaking of which,” Sarah says as she claps her hands together and looks at me with some kind of wicked glee. “You’re fresh meat. All the guys around here are going to want to do you.”

“What?” I blink at her, not sure if I can take her seriously. The booze was cheap but I can already feel a slight buzz warming me.

Nicole nods in agreement. “Yeah, don’t be surprised. The guys are going to be all over you.”

“Why?” I ask, feeling my cheeks warming.

The last thing I need or want is a bunch of MMA guys hitting on me. I mean, I’ve already dated one and looked how that worked out. Ugh. I just want to do my job and make money. I’m not looking to hook up.

“You’re new and you’re hot,” Sarah says swiveling in her chair to check herself out in the mirror. “And they get really worked up after the fight. Even if they lose they want to screw.”

That sounds… kind of horrifying.

“Just don’t screw any of these guys fighting tonight,” Nicole says. “They’re not worth it.”

“Oh?” I ask, half expecting them to tell me something smart like you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. Or you shouldn’t shit where you work.


Tags: Izzy Sweet, Sean Moriarty Pounding Hearts Romance