"Alright, who else is in?" Montez asked. "Show me the money!"

A lot of the men in the locker room got their money out to join in on the bet. Montez Ford collected them all. It was his idea. He'd keep the money safe until they had a winner. There were some refusing to join in with such a bet. It was simply too cruel and below their standards.

"Alright, game on," Montez said. "Let's see who the happy hunter taking down the prey will be."

AJ went searching for Lyla right after he left the locker room. When he finally spotted her, he walked up to her and looked around. He didn't want anyone to hear him. He knew he was gonna piss a lot of people off by revealing it to her.

"Hi, Lyla," he said. "Can I get a word with you?"
"Sure," she said.
"In private," he said.
"Okay," she said. "What's it about?"
"Follow me," he said.

She followed him to catering. Only Seth was in there, and he was caught up in his own world listening to music. It didn't matter. Seth wasn't in on the bet so he wouldn't care that AJ spilled the beans.

"Okay, you didn't get this from me but there's a bet going around," AJ said.
"About what?" Lyla asked.
"About you," he answered.
"I don't understand," she said.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Of course she didn't. This was WWE. Nothing like this should ever take place behind the scenes. Montez had come up with the crazy idea and other men had jumped on it. For some reason the newcomer Lyla with the beautiful, bottle green eyes and the wavy, brown-black hair had crept into a lot of men's fantasies. Not only was she hot but she was also incredibly sweet. Everyone liked her.

"About you," he said. "Everyone who joined in put down 100 dollars. Winner takes all."
"And how do you win?" She asked.
"Come on, you're not that stupid," he said. "You're fresh meat around here. Still untouched by anyone working here. Whoever manages to fuck you first gets all the money."

Her eyes widened at that information.

"You're fucking betting on women in the locker room?" She hissed.
"Not me. I'm here telling you about it," he said.
"Who's in on it?" She asked.
"A lot of people. I'm sorry that I didn't take down their names for you. I turned my back because I don't want anything to do with this," he said.
"Is this something they always do?" She asked.
"No, as far as I know, you're the first. I don't know what it is about you but there's a lot of guys wanting you. Consider yourself warned," he said.
"Thank you," she said lowly.

He turned around in the chair as if he was about to stand up and leave. She grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"What am I gonna do about it?" She asked.
"Shit, how would I know? You can try telling someone higher up but I don't think they can get anyone to admit to it. And the rest of us can't really break locker room code either. No one will trust us and work with us afterwards. It'll damage our careers too," he said.
"I appreciate the honesty," she said.
"I just don't like seeing people take advantage of others like that," he sighed. "Look, don't tell anyone I told you. They're gonna get so mad at me if they find out. I'm at the end of my career. I'd like to finish it here in good standing."

A bunch of men suddenly came into catering. They all looked at AJ and Lyla and smirked. All of them were in on the bet, and they had just been lucky to stumble across them in catering. Suddenly the table was full of other men trying to butt into the conversation.

"What's going on here?" Randy asked.
"Nothing. We're just talking," AJ answered.
"Lyla, you're new here. Has anyone invited you out to drink with the rest of the crew yet? Because we're all going tonight. Men and women. You should come along. I'll even escort you there if you like," Aleister said.
"AJ already offered and I told him yes," Lyla said.

She was thinking fast on her feet. She side glanced AJ to see if he felt awkward about her claiming something like that. She got a smile and a little nod back in return. He had her back.

"It's all good," Randy winked at Aleister. "We're all going. I want the first dance."
"You don't dance," Humberto laughed.
"For her I do," Randy said.
"I don't dance," Lyla said. "It's not my thing. I'm gonna sit on my ass and enjoy a drink. That's about as wild as I get."
"We'll see about that," Montez smirked.

AJ leaned in closer to her. He knew the others heard him but he didn't care. He needed her to know they were on the same page.

"Meet me here after the show," he said.

Lyla was well aware of all the hungry eyes staring at her in the club. If AJ hadn't let her in on the bet, she wasn't sure she would have caught up with the predatory looks on so many of the men's faces. She knew some of them weren't part of the bet but it was hard to tell them apart.

"What can I get you, sweetheart?" The bartender asked.

Normally she didn't care about being called sweetheart from a stranger but tonight it felt wrong on so many levels. She didn't like being singled out.

"Can I give you a word of advice?" Someone asked.

She turned her head to see Luke and Karl standing there. Luke had been the one talking. She knew they were AJ's friends so it made sense if AJ had somehow let these two in on telling her.

"Drink water," Luke continued. "Don't let anyone in here buy you anything. Stay sober. Don't go back with anyone. Look out for yourself."

She gave the two men a smile and looked at the bartender.

"Water," she said. "Bottled."
"Coming right up," the bartender said.

She was handed a bottle of water seconds later. She looked at Luke and Karl again.

"Thanks," Lyla said.
"No problem," Luke said.
"I see AJ," Karl pointed towards the table. "Let's go sit down. Are you coming too, Lyla?"
"In a second," Lyla answered.
"I'll save you a seat," Luke said. "Oh, and don't trust anyone, okay? A lot of the guys seem nice on the outside but they're some real pieces of shit on the inside. Follow your guts. I know it's tough being new around here. You'll quickly learn who you can trust."

She watched as the two men made their way to the table. They positioned themselves so an empty chair was waiting for her between Luke and AJ. She figured that was the safest place to be in that moment. She grabbed her bottle of water and headed for the bathroom. So far she chose to trust the OC. They seemed to be looking out for her. She was gonna follow Luke's advice. Drink water and stay sober.