Free Love On The Ropes (Ringside Romance) by Pat White

man.”
    “Thanks.”
    They all got down to business of
dressing or undressing for matches. Since he had a captive audience he figured
he might as well go for it. “I hate being practically naked out there.” He
slipped off the table and stretched out his neck.
    Floyd chuckled.
    “I mean I’m no Arnold
Schwarzenegger or anything.” Jason dropped the hint, hoping to get a bite.
    “A little self-conscious are ya’?”
Rodger Dodger asked.
    “Wouldn’t you be?”
    “Nope. I’m buff, baby.” Rodger
stuck out his chest and the other guys chuckled.
    “It’s just … when I’m out there,
half-naked in front of thousands of people, I wish I were, I don’t know,
buffer,” Jason said.
    “‘Buffer,’ is that even a word?”
the seven-foot-tall guy asked, slipping on a pink tank top that read Real
Men Wear Pink .
    The door burst open and a security
guard poked his head into the room. “You’re back on in ten, Stripper.”
    “What the—”
    “Since Oscar’s out, we’ve substituted
a rematch between Luscious Lucy and Naughty Nadine. During the fight they’ll
cue your music and you’ll jump into the ring and do your strip routine. Get
your clothes on and meet me out front.” The door slammed shut.
    Damn, was this really happening?
He was going to strip twice in one night?
    “Stripper?” Floyd said.
    Jason glanced at him.
    “You okay?”
    Jason was flailing his arms in the
waters of an alternate universe where people cheered at the sight of men
stripping in public and beating each other to a pulp. No, he was definitely not
okay.
    “I know what he needs.” Rodger
pulled a clear plastic bag from his duffle and waved it in Jason’s face. “You
need a little confidence. Take two of these.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s safe, don’t worry.”
    Rodger dropped two white pills
into Jason’s hand. All three men watched. Ah, the part of undercover work that
never sat well with him.
    “Here, I’ll go first.” Rodger tossed
them back and took a gulp of water. “Magic pills. They make you feel like a
man. What a rush.”
    J didn’t want to ask too many
questions. They probably weren’t steroids—he couldn’t be that lucky—but he was
getting closer.
    “Come on, do it,” the seven-foot
wrestler said. “You’ve got ten minutes before you have to strip again.”
    If the guys suspected he wasn’t
one of them, wasn’t willing to play at drug abuse, this assignment was over. J
looked at the pills in his hand: the very lead he’d been hoping for.
    “I’d hate to use up your supply,
man,” Jason said.
    “No problem. Sandy can always get
us more.”

Chapter Five
     
    Jason closed his fingers around
the white pills.
    Sandy was the supplier? No, she
couldn’t be.
    Fool. You’ve let her get under
your skin .
    The door burst open. “Stripper,
you ready?” asked the security guard.
    “Sure.”
    The seven-foot wrestler nodded at
J to take the pills. Jason palmed the things and pretended to swallow them. He
was good at pretending. Apparently he wasn’t the only one.
    Sandy can always get us more .
    The words haunted him as he
layered on his clothes. That sweet girl with the magic hands was the perp. God,
why hadn’t he seen it?
    He grabbed his jacket and headed
for the door.
    “Good luck,” one of the guys said.
Which one, J didn't know. He didn’t care. He had to bust Sandy for distributing
drugs and put her behind bars. The sudden image of that sweet little thing in
an orange jumpsuit being intimidated by other inmates made his stomach turn.
    “You know what to do?” the
security guard asked as they left the locker room.
    “Yeah, I know.” Get even closer to
Sandy to learn how she thought and what she felt.  Get under her skin so he
could arrest her. Suddenly he wanted a shower.
    “Hey!” the devil herself cried, racing
up to him. “You shouldn’t be going back out there.”
    He clenched his jaw at the sound
of her voice, filled with such concern.
    “What the heck’s going on,