Free My Heart's Blood (Hard Love & Dark Rock #1) by Ashley Grace Page A

before—Kevin—rolled his eyes and started coming our way.
    "BELLETRISTS!" Becca screamed again.  "BELLETRISTS!"
    A half a dozen voices cheered, a few of them yelling "Belletrists" too.
    Kevin was almost on us, his hands reaching up to catch hold of Becca.  She glanced back at him, and then she leapt forward onto the crowd.  Her crotch caught me in the face, the impact nearly knocking me over, but the Amazons were pressed so tightly around me that I didn't have the space to fall.
    "BELL-LUH-TRISTS!" Becca screamed, crawling over people's heads and shoulders, moving away from Kevin and trying to stay up above the crowd.  "BELL-LUH-TRISTS!  BELL-LUH-TRISTS!  BELL-LUH-TRISTS!"
    Except for me and the women who were supporting the bulk of her squirming body, plenty of other people nearby took up the chant, joining their voices to hers.
    "BELL-LUH-TRISTS!  BELL-LUH-TRISTS!  BELL-LUH-TRISTS!"
    A couple of seconds later, the crowd parted and Becca plunged down through the gap, disappearing from sight.  But even after she'd disappeared, the chant continued, growing louder as more people took it up.
    Kevin shook his head.  He turned and walk back to his previous position, directly in front of Trace's mike stand.
    And the crowd kept getting louder.
    And louder.
    And louder.
    It's like it was feeding on its own energy, growing stronger with every repetition of the chant.  All around me, people started going crazy.  They held their arms overhead, their fists pumping the air.  Within minutes, hundreds of voices had taken up the chant, shouting in unison until the very air seemed to pulse.
    "BELL-LUH-TRISTS!  BELL-LUH-TRISTS!  BELL-LUH-TRISTS!"
    One of the Amazons yelped and jumped sideways, and then Becca popped up next to me, like a groundhog jumping out of its burrow.
    "Check it out!" she said, holding her hands in front of her, palms up.  "I found a half a pack of gum, an unopened condom, and like three dollars in change."  She picked up the foil packet, scrutinizing it.  "Look, it doesn't expire for two more years.  Still good!"
    All around us, the crowd was reaching fever pitch, louder than a hurricane.  I looked at Becca, feeling almost speechless.
    "What?" she said.
    "This is incredible.  You got the whole crowd going, just like you said you would."
    "Well, yeah.  I told you they were all hot and bothered, didn't I."
    "You did, but I guess I didn't really believe you."
    "Well you oughta start believing me, Anne!"  She punched my shoulder.  "Hey, listen.  When the band asks us to come back to the hotel with them, you can have Trace, but I got dibs on the drummer.  Okay?  The guy's a total beast!  Like, manimal style, am-I-right!  You know he's gonna be wild in the sack."
    For a moment the thought of Ronnie flashed into my head, and how upset he might be if he found out that Becca went home with the band after he'd been the one to get her in the show.  But, honestly, the thought only lasted a second, and then it was swept away by the excitement I felt at the prospect of Becca's newest prediction coming true.
    "You really think they're gonna ask us?  Really?"
    "What did I just tell you!"  She punched me again.  "Everybody knows all these rock bands are into groupies.  It's, like, the main reason people get into bands in the first place."  Her face went thoughtful again.  "Speaking of which, here, take this."  She stuffed the condom down the front of my top, the foil cold against the side of my boob.  "You can have that one.  I've already got a couple."
    "Eww, gross!"  My hands went to my bra, trying to pull the condom out.
    "Relax!  It's brand new, not dirty or anything.  I checked it out."
    I had the condom pinched in my fingers, trying to touch it as little as possible.
    "You don't know who's it is!  You don't know where it's been!"
    "Relax!  Relax already!  Here, if you don't want it I'll trade you."  She pulled a few foil packets out of her own bra, looking at them under the dim