“Yeah, I remember seeing you on TV during that whole trial thing going on. Man, that’s crazy. I can’t imagine having my mom being killed by my stepdad. That must really suck.”

I looked at Daniela and she looked back at me with wide, concerned eyes. I coughed. “Um . . . yeah. It does suck,” I said, suddenly making a one-eighty on my decision that I was glad to come out on this double-date. I took his hand off my shoulder and set it in his lap.

“What’s the matter?” Justin asked.

“It’s a bit warm in here. Your hand is making my shoulder sweat,” I said sarcastically.

Justin grinned. He apparently didn’t take the cue. “There’s a lot of heat between us I know. But it’s only going to get hotter, I assure you.”

“Well.” Daniela clapped her hands together. “Let’s order some drinks shall we?

I was considering calling Ryan and having him take me back to the dorms, but I didn’t want to leave after just arriving. I hoped to god that Justin only made bad first impressions and that the rest of the night would be better.

We ordered drinks. Daniela got a margarita, Cody got a mug of Miller Lite, Justin got a Coors Light, and I had a mojito.

“This is a cool place,” Cody said taking a sip of amber liquid from his mug. “I’ve been here once before but it was never this packed. I think they opened like a year or so ago.”

“Yeah,” Daniela said. “I heard this place is pretty hype. A lot more exciting than the bars around campus.”

“No doubt. This place is ill,” said Justin. “Check out this moose head.” He pointed to the large pink tongue hanging out. “Doesn’t he look like he’s thirsty?” Justin poured a little bit of his beer on the tongue and it sat there while he and Cody laughed. Daniela and I laughed as well but we weren’t laughing with them. We were laughing at them.

“So are you guys seniors?” I asked, hoping to divert their attention so that they wouldn’t get our asses kicked out of the bar for messing up the decor. I’m all for having fun, but Cody and Justin were just being dumb.

“I’m a senior econ major,” Cody said. “Justin’s a junior. Anthropology major.” He snickered at Justin.

Justin snickered back and brushed his bangs away from his eyes before turning toward me. “I study people. That makes me specially attuned to people’s needs and desires. You might say I’m a sensitive guy.” He grinned mischievously. “You want to hear my insights on you?”

I really didn’t want to hear anything more from Justin’s mouth after what he’d already said about me but decided against being rude. It would make things more awkward than they already were and it would ruin Daniela’s date with Cody as well. Considering Daniela invited me out, it would be a pretty bitchy move for me to do that to her. “Uh . . . okay,” I said then took a big gulp of my drink to prepare myself for his response.

“You’re a smart girl, but lack direction in life.” He took my hand in his. “You’re kind of down a lot, especially after what you’ve been through. You need a strong man to care for you, to take care of you.” He wiggled his brows then pointed his thumb to his chest.

Wow, just when I thought he couldn’t get any worse. This guy was a real catch all right . . . a real catch right out of Lake Peepee. I wasn’t sure if that was the most insulted I ever felt in my life, but it was definitely up there. I clutched my drink in my hand and lifted it off the table. A vision of throwing the contents into Justin’s grinning face flashed through my mind. Just as I was about to make that vision a reality, someone nearby slapped a nearby lounge seat in exclamation.

I turned to see a group of guys and girls standing near us talking excitedly.

“No way. It’s starting? Now?” one guy said.

“Yeah, let’s go. I don’t want to miss it. I don’t want to miss seeing him,” a girl replied.

They filed out the back door. Soon, another group hurried after them, followed by another group. People were streaming out the back door like squirrels rushing after a pile of acorns. Some stayed, but nearly half the bar cleared out.

“What do you think they’re all excited about?” Cody asked.

Sensing this was the perfect getaway excuse, I said, “I’m going to go check it out. I’ll join back up with you guys in a bit.”

I glanced at Daniela and she flashed me an apologetic expression for Justin’s behavior. “Okay, I’ll keep these guys entertained while we finish our drinks,” Daniela said. “Let us know what you see.”

I snatched up my jacket then grabbed my clutch that had been strategically placed between Justin and me to act as a barrier. I stood and hurried out the back door, eager to escape from my “date”.

I didn’t know what I expected to see, but this certainly wasn’t it. There was a large tent set up outside that looked like it came straight from a carnival. People were huddled around an elevated octagon stage surrounded by metal fencing. The whole area was lit by bright spotlights. What was all of this?

Attracted by curiosity as well as the energy of the crowd, I found myself wiggling through a sea of bodies to get a closer look at the stage. Inside the octagon was a mat that had a large logo of a squirrel wearing fighter gloves that said “The Bearded Brawl”. After noticing faint blood stains on the mat, it became clear to me that this was some kind of fighting arena.

A suave man in a white suit entered the cage with a microphone. “Ladies and gentleman,” he announced with dramatic flare. “We just had an exciting opening match but we’ve got something even more exciting in store for you. The match you’ve all been waiting for. Our main event.”

The crowd cheered and whistled. Some rattled their beer mugs against the fence.

Two men stepped up onto the stage and entered the cage. One was wearing a red hoodie with matching trunks and the other was wearing a dark blue version of the same outfit. They both had their hoods over their heads so I couldn’t see their faces, but their sweaters were partially open and I could snag a peek at their torsos. And what a peek it was. From the teasingly little I could see, it was clear each had ripped abs and sculpted pecs like they were carved by a sculptor. The one in blue particularly caught my attention. He was bouncing on his toes and shaking his arms to stay loose and to keep himself warmed up for the fight. Each bounce sent ripples through his hard muscles, which in turn made my own heart bounce. A surge of desire through my body made me realize how affected I was just by the sight of him. I was unwittingly reminded of Tattoos and Muscles, except I couldn’t tell if this guy had any tattoos underneath his hoodie. Tim had a gorgeous bod but I don’t think he could compete with blue trunks.

“On my left, standing at six feet, two inches and weighing in at two hundred pounds of pure, raw muscle. Don’t let his friendly face fool you, he’ll squeeze the life out of you if he gets you in his hold. We’ve got Abram ‘Mr. Hyde’ Wallace!”

The crowd cheered for the man in red trunks. Abram hopped around, shadow-boxing the air, displaying his quick fists and dexterous footwork. I squinted, trying to get a view of his face but I couldn’t see much beneath the hood. I could see his smile though; it was wide and showcased neat rows of white teeth, which made it seem like he was just happy to be here.