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said. “She’s from New York. I just met her.”
    Mohawk and Pierced Eyebrow joined Marcus and Blaze in their scrutiny, making Ronnie feel distinctly uncomfortable.
    “New York, huh?” Marcus asked, pulling a lighter from his pocket and igniting one of the fireballs. He held the flaming orb
     motionless between his thumb and forefinger, making Ronnie wonder again how he could do that without getting burned.
    “Do you like fire?” he called out.
    Without waiting for an answer, he threw the fireball in her direction. Ronnie jumped out of the way, too startled to respond.
     The ball landed behind her just as a police officer rushed forward, stamping out the flame.
    “You three,” he called out, pointing. “Out. Now. I’ve told you before that you can’t do your little show on the pier, and
     next time, I swear I’m gonna bring you in.”
    Marcus held up his hands and took a step backward. “We were just leaving.”
    The boys grabbed their coats and began moving up the pier, toward the carnival rides. Blaze followed, leaving Ronnie alone.
     Ronnie felt the officer’s gaze on her, but she ignored him. Instead, she hesitated only briefly before going after them.

4

    M arcus
    H e’d known she would follow them. They always did. Especially the new girls in town. That was the thing with girls: The worse
     he treated them, the more they wanted him. They were stupid like that. Predictable, but stupid.
    He leaned against the planter that fronted the hotel, Blaze wrapping her arms around him. Ronnie was sitting across from them
     on one of the benches; off to the side, Teddy and Lance were slurring their words as they tried to get the attention of the
     girls who walked past them. They were already tanked—hell, they were a little tanked even before the show—and as usual, all
     but the ugliest of girls ignored them. Half the time, even he ignored them.
    Blaze, meanwhile, was nibbling on his neck, but he ignored that, too. He was sick of the way she always hung on him whenever
     they were out in public. Sick of her in general. If she weren’t so good in bed, if she didn’t know the things that really
     turned him on, he would have dumped her a month ago for one of the three or four or five other girls he regularly slept with.
     But right now he wasn’t interested in them, either. Instead, he stared at Ronnie, liking the purple streak in her hair and
     her tight little body, the glittery effect of her eye shadow. It was sort of an upscale, trampy style, despite the stupid
     shirt she was wearing. He liked that. He liked that a lot.
    He pushed against Blaze’s hips, wishing she weren’t here. “Go get me some fries,” he said. “I’m kind of hungry.”
    Blaze pulled back. “I only have a couple of dollars left.”
    He could hear the whine in her voice. “So? That should cover it. And make sure you don’t eat any of them, either.”
    He meant it. Blaze was getting a little soft in the belly, a little puffy in the face. No surprise considering that lately
     she’d been drinking almost as much as Teddy and Lance.
    Blaze made a show of pouting, but Marcus gave her a little shove and she headed to one of the food booths. The line was at
     least six or seven deep, and as she reached the end of it, Marcus sauntered toward Ronnie and took a seat beside her. Close,
     but not too close. Blaze was the jealous type, and he didn’t want her running Ronnie off before he had a chance to get to
     know her.
    “What did you think?” he asked.
    “About what?”
    “The show. Have you ever seen anything like it in New York?”
    “No,” she admitted, “I haven’t.”
    “Where are you staying?”
    “Just down the beach a little way.” He could tell by her answer that she was uncomfortable, probably because Blaze wasn’t
     there.
    “Blaze said you ditched your dad.”
    In response, she simply shrugged.
    “What? You don’t want to talk about it?”
    “There’s nothing to say.”
    He leaned back. “Maybe you just