Page 2 of Resist

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I’d mademy way tothe bathroom after leaving Lucas in the stairwell, my heartbeat and nerves desperate for a moment of calm after our altercation. Seeing him like that definitely wasn’t what I’d expected for our first meeting.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I murmured as thebathroom door swung open and two young women entered, giggling as they danced their way to the basin beside me.

I gave the bubbly girls an acknowledging smile then went back to reapplying my sin red lipstick. Red was the colour of fire and blood. It symbolised power and danger as well aspassion,desire, andlove. But I didn’t wear it for love. I wore it to intimidate.

Pressing my lips together before releasing them with a pop, I fixed my long, dark brown hair into a clip and made eye contact with the two girls in the reflection of the mirror.

“Having fun?” I asked.

“OMG! Yes!” One of the girls straightened the plastic tiara on her head, the numbers one and eight bold with glitter.

I nodded toward it. “Happy eighteenth birthday.”

“Thank you! It’s the best birthday ever: alcohol, dancing, and hot naked men.”

I chuckled. “So is this your first time seeing the revue?”

“It’s her first time and my second,” the other girl answered. “I saw them last week when they were at the Gold Coast, but Chrissy wasn’t eighteen then.” She pointed to herself and then to Chrissy. “We’re sisters. I bought her a ticket for her birthday and we drove to Brisbane so she could see them, too.”

“Wow! That’s dedication. You must really like the show.”

The older sister rearranged her boobtube. “Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t like the show?”

Smiling, I placed my lipstick inside my clutch, turned my back to the mirror, and leaned against the basin. These girls were just one demographic of customer we targeted. Young. Fun. Flirtatious. Impressionable. They saw my boys on stage and longed to be their fairy tale romance.

These girls helped pay the bills.

“So who’s your favourite Wild Nights member?” I asked, waggling my eyebrows with a devious grin.

“Josh,” they blurted out simultaneously, giggling their agreement.

“So you both like the bad boy, huh?”

“Who doesn’t?” The older sister assessed her reflection in the mirror, the insides of her cheeks vacuumed into her mouth. “Bad boys are hot.”

“Amanda thinks the badder, the better,” Chrissy replied.

She pulled a powdered compact from her clutch and dabbed the sponge on her nose. Amanda winked in response then pulled the hair of her brunette ponytail taut. I smiled. Their confidence was refreshing.

“I kinda like the cute, baby-looking one as well,” Chrissy added.

“Baby-looking?” I knew whom she was referring to but wanted to hear her say it.

“Yeah. I think he’s new.” She turned to her sister. “What’s the new guy’s name?”

“Lucas,” Amanda replied.

“Yeah. Lucas. He’s cute.” Chrissy hugged her arms around her petite body then spoke with a baby coo. “I just want to hug him and squeeze him and kiss his huge dimples.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “He’s too cute and sweet for me.”

Curious, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Too cute and sweet? How so?”

“I don’t know, he just reminds me of a ‘boy next door’.”

“Really?” I smiled at the association. “And that’s a bad thing?”