Page 7 of Army
Chapter Two
Mia stared afterArmy until he disappeared through the door. He was so much of an arrogant sonofabitch, it didn’t matter that he was such a hunk. Not at all. Who cared that he had blue eyes that pulled her in or that his strong jaw and high cheekbones made him ruggedly handsome. And the last thing she cared about was his sculpted, inked arms and his narrow waist. Nope … she didn’t care at all that he was just her type.The guy’s a fucking jerk.
“Sorry about my brother. He can be … uh … kind of—”
“An asshole?” She smiled at Taylor. “No worries. I’ve dealt with worse. I just can’t believe he’s your brother. You’re so nice and polite.”
Taylor threw his head back. “I’m just better at filtering than Army is. He comes off too strong until you get to know him, and then he’s a pretty cool guy.”
“I guess I’ll never know that since I don’t plan to get to know him.” Mia rubbed the sides of her arms. “I wish they’d turn down the damn AC. It’s freezing around here. By the way, you did awesome out there against Destroyer. If the UMMAC doesn’t pick you up, it’ll be their loss. I saw a couple of recruits out there. Maybe that’s what Goliath wants to talk to you about.”
Taylor’s face flushed. “I don’t want to get my hopes up. He probably wants to chew me out on my weak back kicks. They totally sucked. Are you sticking around?”
“No. I’m meeting up with a few friends I’ve ignored for the last three weeks. I’ll see you at the gym on Monday.”
She stood aside until Taylor walked toward the office, then she went to the door leading out to the arena and slowly cracked it open.
“Coming out?” Rocky asked, his gaze raking over her body.
Folding her arms over her chest, she shook her head. “Just checking out how Perry’s doing.”
“He’s getting his ass kicked by Babyface.”
“That’s too bad.” Stiletto glanced at the ring and saw Perry wrestling with Babyface on the floor, then she scanned the crowd and spotted Army standing up and pumping his fists in the air, which made the muscles in his arms ripple. There was no doubt that he was deliciously buffed, and the way he wore his dark brown hair short on the sides but just full enough on top surely invited women’s fingers to test its softness. Army’s features were chiseled; his straight nose, sensuously full mouth, and the right amount of stubble covering his angular jaw would make most women drool. Then there were his eyes—those incredible blue eyes that resembled the color of stormy skies. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
And that was all above his neck. She groaned.Why the fuck is he so good looking?Her gaze traveled downward; broad shoulders, a tapered, narrow waist, and sculpted arms probably had women sighing with pure desire.I bet he has taut pecs and killer six-pack abs under his shirt. Fuck.She groaned again. “Why do you have to be such a misogynist jackass?” she muttered under her breath.
The bell rang and before she could turn her attention to the ring, steely eyes captured hers. She held her breath.
A couple of seconds passed.
He smirked.
Fuckface.Anger rushed down her spine, and she flipped him off. Right there, in front of everyone, including her trainer, Rick.
Then the rugged bastard had the nerve to laugh and nudge the guy next to him while pointing at her. Mia spun around and slammed the door, but all the cheering for Babyface’s win dulled the dramatic effect she’d wanted. “Grrr …!” She stalked down the hall, went into her room, grabbed her purse and gym bag, and left the building.
On the way over to Cricket on the Hill, Mia cranked the radio at full volume as if that would exorcizehimfrom her mind. She swung into the parking lot and nabbed a space close to the front door. A last minute glance in the mirror told her that she did a killer job concealing the marks Athena had given her during their match. Mia finger-combed her hair then got out of the car.
“Mia! Over here,” Ronica cried out as she entered the popular bar and eatery. Ronica and Mia had clicked when they first met at Salon on the Boulevard a little over a year ago. Ronica rented the booth catty-corner to hers. She had been beyond nervous about going into business for herself and forgoing a guaranteed paycheck each week, but Ronica had been her motivational coach during those few months when the clients were low but the bills were high.
“How’d it go?” Ronica’s dark eyes swept over Mia’s face then body. “No broken bones. Just a bit of swelling on the cheeks. That’s a good sign, right?”
“I ruled tonight,” Mia answered as she pulled the chair out and sat down.
“I still don’t know how you guys can go into a ring and punch the shit out of each other. I could never do it … I’d be scared stiff,” Danielle said. She was another hair stylist at the salon, and Mia had become friendly with her over the past few months.
“You’d be freaked about breaking a nail,” Peyton added, and the other women laughed.
Danielle held up her hands in front of her. “I bet you can’t even have long nails.”
“You’re right, you can’t.” Mia picked up the drink specials menu.
With her hands still up in front of her, Danielle shook her head. “See that just wouldn’t work for me. I’d die without my nail art.”
“Having to keep my nails ultra short has been the hardest part since I began training.” Mia looked up at the waiter and ordered a Mudslide. When the waiter left, guilt pangs stabbed at her. “Maybe I should change my order to a glass of chardonnay.”
Ronica tossed her dark hair over her shoulders. “Don’t you dare. You can afford to have a decadent drink, especially since you won your fight.”
