Dances with Monsters(130)

Drew shook her head. "Not really. Heath tried explaining it to me once but it sort of went over my head."

"Okay." Connor pushed his plate aside. "So you have sixteen guys, right? So the first bout today will be the first round of eliminations, essentially. Each of the sixteen guys will be paired up with another fighter. Eight of the guys will advance, eight of the guys will have to pack their bags and drag their sorry asses back home." He smiled when Drew dimpled a little at that. "Then tomorrow, the second bout will be the eight guys from the day before; they will battle each other—four proceed, four go home. Then, those four will be matched up. The rounds are going to be longer. The final two, then, will face off and then whoever wins, takes all."

Drew nodded. "So how long is each round? There's going to be so many fights today."

Connor nodded. "Right. So in the first bout, meaning the first set of fights today, the eight fights are going to be three five-minute rounds. Then tomorrow, the first bout of fights, the four matches, are going to be three five-minute rounds. Later, the second bout will consist of five three-minute rounds and the very last bout that determines the winner will be five five-minute rounds."

Drew's eyes had started to glaze over but she shook her head. "Right. Got it. Lots of fights."

Connor grinned at her. "Lots of fights, Heath wins all. That's all you need to worry about."

Lana glanced at her watch. "We should probably start heading over. We don't know which card Heath's going to be put in so we don't want to miss anything."

Drew nodded and reached for her purse, intending to pay for her mostly untouched lunch. Connor stopped her with an outstretched hand and a wry look, shaking his head. He dropped some cash on the table for all of their meals and rose.

"Thanks," Drew said with a smile. "I owe you a beer or something."

"Make it two," he replied. "Let's go, ladies."

Drew noticed that Connor drew almost as much attention as Heath had the day before; occasionally people would call out to him or stop him for an autograph, which he graciously always acquiesced. Drew also noticed that the groupies, those of whom had elected not to join the other flocks and head to the First Niagara Center early, eyed him flirtatiously. Drew sighed as she took them in; even at three in the afternoon, they were in tight and/or short cocktail dresses and heels.

Drew had pored over her own outfit for the day, finally deciding on fuchsia denim skinny jeans, rolled at the ankle, a plain, scoop-neck cropped white camisole and a heather gray lightweight knit blazer. She'd been torn between flats and heels, and finally opted for the gray and silver subtle snake print peep-toe heels that would give her a little lift; at five-foot-four, she often easily got lost in the crowd.

"Hey, sweetie," one of the girls called to Connor as they passed. Lana just shook her head and laughed, but Drew stopped in her tracks.

"Really?" she demanded, glaring down to where the speaker was seated with a couple of her friends. "Do you not see him here with his wife? Really?"

"And that makes you, what?" she replied, smirking. "The baby-sitter?"

"That's that girl that was with Heath Riley yesterday," another girl spoke up, giving Drew a pointed head-to-toe. "Glad you put the ratty T-shirt and dirty sneaks away, honey."

"Hope you don't mind sharing," the third girl at the table spoke up. She was the prettiest of the three, and she smiled condescendingly at Drew. "'Cause I'm about to snatch that boy right from under you."

"Drew, let's go," Lana interrupted loudly, noticing the way Drew's eyes darkened with anger and her face began to flush. "You ladies have a nice day."

"Tell him hi for me," the third girl called after Drew as Lana pulled her away.

"Ugh!" Drew growled as she and Lana caught up to Connor. "How do you stand that?"

Lana shrugged. "It was really hard at first. But you just get used to it. Honestly. If you just ignore them, they'll stop."

"Thanks for the third-grade lesson," Drew said sarcastically. "Somehow I doubt that works with them. I think knocking their teeth down their throats would be more effective."

Lana smiled and gave her a little squeeze. "Jealous, much?"

Drew scoffed but didn't otherwise reply. Her blood boiled and she was annoyed she hadn't had the opportunity to let the young ladies know precisely what she thought of them. But she didn't want Heath to make the news because his girlfriend was starting fights over essentially meaningless insults. She was an adult, after all, and she was Heath's girlfriend. She smiled at the thought, and felt considerably calmer.