Page 29 of False Comeback

“No,” everyone chorused. Kit was still pointing a threatening finger between me and Crossbody, mouthing, Don’t fuck with my candy supply, assholes.

“God, I need a massage,” Holt muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose as he reached for Taylor’s hand. “Babe, let’s go home and get in the hot tub.”

“Sure.” Taylor still sounded a little nervous over what had just happened. He gave us all a hesitant smile. “Aside from… Uh, great night, everyone.”

“Yes.” Holt cast Crossbody and me one last unimpressed look. “Aside from that little surprise, a fantastic night. Well done, everyone. Except Crossbody and Vince,” he added snarkily, turning and dragging Taylor from the room.

I blew out a terse breath and crossed my arms, wondering if I’d fucked up there. I’d still kind of got in trouble, even though I’d done literally nothing wrong.

Crossbody fucking owed me big time. He better be damn grateful.

I looked over to see him still standing in the same place, stiff and silent. Our eyes met. We stared at each other for a few long seconds before he turned and left the room.

Without saying a word. Without even a nod of acknowledgement or thanks.

Are you fucking kidding me?

I gritted my teeth. Part of me wanted to stride after him and demand he acknowledge that I’d just saved his stupid ass, but there was no fucking way I was going to risk being alone with him again.

I scrubbed my face, my shoulders slumping in resignation.

I mean, what had I expected? It was Crossbody. He was an arrogant asshole. He would never willingly thank me for anything.

Not unless I made him. In the right setting. When he was desperate and submissive and would do anything I wanted.

My cock twitched, so I quickly shut that train of thought down. No. Having to touch him again wasn’t worth it just for a bit of gratitude. Definitely not. Gross.

No way. Never again.

Chapter Ten

Left on Read

Crossbody

“Now, darling.” Corey took a delicate sip of his pink martini and set his glass down, leaning back in his seat. “Tell me what happened.”

It was the following Tuesday evening, and we were in Dusk, the elegant cocktail bar we usually favoured when we went out for drinks together. It was owned by shadowpeople, so the lighting was low and moody, the atmosphere was hushed and the drinks were strong.

“With what?” I asked before sipping my gin and tonic, even though I knew what he was referring to.

Corey rolled his eyes. “With your match against Vince, obviously. Was that switch-up at the end really planned?”

“Of course it was,” I said smoothly, making sure to keep my expression calm and bored as I glanced around the bar.

I could relax here, because none of the other wrestlers had any interest in coming to a place like this. They preferred Gargy’s, the loud and run-down dive bar on the next street, where the tables were always sticky and the seat cushions were stained and ripped.

“Because it really seemed like you caught Vince off guard,” Corey continued, eyeing me with a hint of suspicion. “It looked like he was saying something to you while you were pinning him. And he looked positively livid.”

“He’s a good actor,” I said with a stiff shrug, my lip curling from giving Burke a compliment.

I still had absolutely no idea why he’d helped me in that situation. Holt could have fired me. He’d had reason to. Vince had been right—what I’d done was dangerous and foolish.

I’d just been… not desperate, but close to it. Unable to accept that he would humiliate me—again—and beat me. I hadn’t been thinking all that clearly. I hadn’t even planned to do it. Not until the few seconds before I actually did.

But I’d still made sure to be careful, to not actually injure him. I hated Vince, but that didn’t mean I wanted to hurt him. I wasn’t a monster.

“So you two actually managed to have a conversation without it devolving into a bickering match?” Corey asked, raising a brow. “Technically, you shouldn’t have even spoken to each other. You’re not to interact outside of rehearsals, when I’m present.”