“Stop! Stop! It’s over!” the referee shouted, waving one arm over his head. Hunter backed off.
A bell chimed three times.
Hunter was declared the winner. The crowd cheered. One girl fainted with her hand over heart and her friend had to fan her with a “Go Hunter!” sign they made with blue glitter.
Hunter paraded around the ring with his fists in the air. When he walked over to my side of the cage, I ducked behind Gary’s wide back to hide from him. The last thing I wanted was for Hunter to acknowledge my presence. It would be completely awkward considering I’d ran off from his place without explanation. He probably still thought I was suicidal. I also still technically had his shirt and jeans. Maybe he’d demand to come over to my place to take his clothes back. Or demand that I’d bring them to his place. Either way, I didn’t want to get involved with him. I had enough shit in my life to deal with already.
After seeing Hunter win, I decided to leave before we ran into each other. I could’ve been mistaken—it very well could’ve been my imagination—but I was almost certain he had recognized me right before he delivered the knockout blow.
“It was nice to meet you Gary,” I said. “Thanks for explaining to me how this all works.”
“Leaving already?” he replied. “A little too violent for your tastes perhaps?”
“Eh . . . I just have to get back to my friends in the bar. They’re probably wondering what I’ve been doing out here for so long.”
He grinned. “It was nice meeting you Lorrie. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I smiled at him then turned to the crowd and began wiggling my way through the sea of excited bodies. Although everyone was packed in tightly beneath the tent, most were gracious enough to make room for me passing through. I had to push a few people aside though. The endeavor was like an obstacle course and I already felt the first signs of sweat prickling my skin despite the cold weather. I finally caught a faint glimpse of the familiar beer-guzzling squirrel sign atop the bar before more energetic bodies piled in and obscured my view. It took a lot longer than I expected to weave through the crowd probably because more people had trickled in when I was watching the match. I was nearly out, when I ran into someone tall wearing a gray, zippered sweater.
“Excuse me,” I said, trying to push my way past him. He wouldn’t move though, not by will and not by force.
Who was this douchebag? I moved to step around him.
A firm hand grasped my arm. “Not so fast.”
The familiar voice halted my footsteps. I looked up and saw beneath the gray hood, those dark eyes I’d seen before both in real life and in my daydreams.
Hunter.
Chapter Five
NEVERLAND
“I thought I saw you.” His presence was powerful and his voice, although no louder than normal, somehow seemed to drown out the raucous around us.
His sudden appearance was alarming. “H-How did you get out here so fast?”
“I saw you run off so I threw on a new sweatshirt and came out here before you could run away again. Gotta be quick to catch a thief.” He winked. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you still have the clothes I lent you.”
Damn it.
He continued, “So you came to cheer for me huh?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I shot back, suddenly unnerved by being so close to him. Not to mention his hand firmly around my shoulder and the warmth from his palm seeping through the thick fabric of my coat. It should’ve been comforting but I found myself becoming edgy and restless.
“You were right in the front. You seemed really concerned about me during Abram’s takedown attempt. I was touched.”
We were surrounded by Hunter’s adoring female fans but he was hooded and in inconspicuous attire so nobody noticed who he was. Except me. Was that his intention?
“What makes you think I was concerned about you? Maybe I was concerned about ‘Mr. Hyde’.”
He grinned. “I doubt that.”
“You’re a little full of yourself, Hunter.”
His grin widened. “You know my name now, that’s not fair. Now you have to tell me yours.”
Realizing I had the upperhand on him, I couldn’t help a small smile from breaking through. “Sorry, that’ll have to remain a secret. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to—”
“My boy!” said a male voice.
“Gary!” Hunter responded. Sensing an opportunity in Gary’s distraction, I tried to make my escape but Hunter’s hand remained firm around my shoulder. I moved but he hugged me closer to him, my face mooshing into the soft cotton covering his chest. I caught a whiff of his just-been-fighting scent and my brain fried for a moment.
Gary appeared by my side, shook Hunter’s hand, and they bumped shoulders.
“Congrats on the win. Didn’t look like you even broke a sweat out there. Looks like all that practice defending takedowns paid off.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you man,” Hunter said.
Gary noticed my presence and eyed Hunter’s arm around my shoulder. “Lorrie! Didn’t expect to see you here. I thought you were going back inside.”
“Lorrie huh?” Hunter looked down at me with a grin that made my heart skip a beat.
Shit. He knew my name now.
“It’s such a pretty name. Here I was referring to you in my mind as Dorothy. Looks like I was somewhat close.”
Double shit. He had a nickname for me as well. Except ‘Tim’ was nowhere close to ‘Hunter’.
“So how do you guys know each other?” Gary asked.
My stomach dropped. Not only did Hunter know my name now, he was going to spill about how he saved me from committing suicide last week. It would draw more attention to me and wreck my attempts at a normal semester.
Hunter looked at me carefully then turned to Gary. “I was out jogging last weekend. I slipped on the ice and fell flat on my ass. She rushed over to see if I was okay and we got to chatting.”
I was shocked that Hunter had just lied to Gary. Why was he covering for me? And at his own expense?
Gary laughed. “I’ve been telling you man. You gotta work on your footwork.” He laughed again and slapped Hunter on the shoulder. “C’mon let’s go inside, I’ll buy you a drink. Although you should really be the one buying with all that prize money you just won.”
We made our way through the crowd. Hunter kept his arm around me, holding me close so I wouldn’t get lost—or run away. When we made it into the clearing, a pair of blonde girls with large br**sts and slim waists approached. Hunter turned away to hide his face.
“Gary? Gary Wilkins? Oh my god we’re like your biggest fans!”
Gary grinned and opened his arms. “Why hello ladies. It’s always great to meet my adoring fans.” He turned to us. “Sorry guys, I’m going to have to catch up with you later. I have some important business to attend to. You understand.” He winked at us.
Hunter and I walked off toward the bar and I looked over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of Gary laughing with his arms around both girls. The two girls had their hands all over his shaved head, relishing the smoothness beneath their fingertips. I had a feeling those girls were going to get a very special “autograph” by the end of the night.