Chapter Six

Holt is Such a Sneaky Little Fuck

Crossbody

We managed to go the rest of the week without interacting at all.

We didn’t speak to each other. We didn’t even look at each other. We both pretended like the other didn’t exist.

I’d thought I would have been pleased. Happier at work. Calmer.

But I wasn’t.

In some ways, I felt even tenser now. And I didn’t know why.

I was restless and edgy. And I was now doubting my decision to demand Holt pair me and Vince up for a match.

I didn’t know what I’d been thinking. Well, I did. I’d been angry and humiliated. I’d wanted to claw back some control. But if Holt did pair us up, I’d have to talk to Vince. Spend hours with him. Touch him.

The problem was, I couldn’t bring myself to go back and tell Holt that I’d changed my mind. I was too proud, and I knew it would just pique his interest even more.

Which would not be good.

When I got into work the following Tuesday, my stomach was churning with dread. I was cursing my rash reaction to what had happened between us. Vince had obviously moved on from it, and I wanted to too, but now there was a chance we’d have to interact. Get close to each other.

I didn’t want to get close to him ever again. It was bad enough that I could still remember how his cock had felt in my mouth. What his cum had tasted like. How rough and deep his voice had grown as he called me a slut.

The memories haunted me every night when I was trying to sleep. They made me twist and turn restlessly in bed, refusing to acknowledge my throbbing cock.

I didn’t want to get hard for him. I hated him.

I hadn’t let myself masturbate since that night, because every time I absently touched my cock while relaxing at home, or washed myself in the shower, my mind would drift back to it. I refused to get myself off to thoughts of him.

At least I still had that over him. He’d come because of me. I hadn’t. If I twisted the situation enough in my mind, I could technically class that as a victory.

Most of the wrestlers were already congregating in the main room when I reached it, everyone eagerly waiting for Holt to announce the match line-ups for the week. Vince was standing by the counter with Dan, eating a bowl of oatmeal. He looked relaxed and like he was in a good mood. He was always excited on the days we found out the new line-ups.

He had no idea that I’d tried to manipulate Holt into pairing us up for a match.

Feeling unsettled, I headed straight for the treadmill. Carl looked up and gave me a brief smile in greeting, but most of the others ignored me. Like usual.

I hated how much it got to me.

When Holt and Taylor walked into the room a short while later, Hogbody just behind them with his clipboard and disgusting cigar in his mouth, I immediately turned off the treadmill as my stomach roiled with dread. Dabbing the sweat from my forehead with my towel, I stepped off the belt but stayed standing beside it, set apart from the rest of them.

“Good morning, everyone,” Holt said as Taylor smiled and gave a little wave.

My eyes swept over him in appreciation. Taylor was fascinating to me. I didn’t mingle with humans much, and down here especially, in this setting, he was like a rare, exotic bird. I coveted rare things—a product of my upbringing, I was sure. My mother’s subjects had gifted us princes with precious and unique items on our birthdays growing up.

All things I’d had to leave behind when I fled Otherworld.

Now the rarest thing I owned was an opalescent fae tea set that I’d bought at the gargoyle-run antique store in town. The lemon fork had been missing—something I was sure most other people would never even have noticed—so I’d refused to pay full price, but it had still cost a very small fortune, and now that I was on my own, I couldn’t spend my money too frivolously.

That had taken some getting used to.

“You look so handsome today, Taylor,” Susan was exclaiming. “Did you get a haircut?”

“Thanks, Susan.” Taylor blushed, running a hand through his neat, dark hair. “I did yesterday, yeah.”

“That tie is a gorgeous colour, darling,” Corey added. I silently agreed as I took in his powder blue tie. “It really brings out your eyes.”

Taylor’s blush grew darker. “Thank you, Corey.”

Holt waited patiently as they all complimented Taylor, yet said nothing about him. I had always thought that Holt was stunning, and he dressed impeccably. Today he was wearing a tight lace shirt with billowing sheer sleeves—I’d overheard him telling Corey a few weeks ago that he was in his ‘billowing sleeves phase’—under a fitted waistcoat and matching trousers.

But I never commented on his outfits, because the other wrestlers seemed to have an inside joke where they showered Taylor in compliments but intentionally didn’t do the same to Holt. I hadn’t been invited to share the joke, obviously. And I didn’t want to speak up and have them all look at me like I was an idiot.

“Alright,” Holt said when they finally stopped, trying not to pout as he looked down at his tablet. “Line-ups for the week.”

Everyone settled down and went quiet.

“Thursday we have Dan and Carl to kick the night off, followed by Susan and Val.” Holt glanced up and flicked his gaze briefly over to me. “Then Crossbody and Vince, with Gabe and Biff as the main event to continue their lovers’ tiff storyline.”

I tensed up, and my gaze snapped to Vince by the counter. He’d stiffened, arms folded tightly over his chest. I could see him clenching his jaw to keep quiet as Dan cast him a wary look. Corey was watching me with a brow raised and a knowing look that made me extremely uncomfortable. I wondered if Holt had told him about our conversation.

Some of the other wrestlers looked a little confused about why Holt had paired us up so soon after what had happened at court, but they didn’t speak up. Taylor was shooting anxious glances between me and Vince, and Holt gave me one last meaningful look before continuing.

“Alright, Friday…”

I tuned him out, my stomach churning with nerves and dread and a hint of something that almost felt like excitement. I tried to think of the positives—I’d get to beat Vince in a match. That would make me feel better, even if it was scripted and rehearsed.

This would be fine. Corey would oversee our rehearsals to ensure we remained professional at all times. It wasn’t like we’d ever have to be alone together.

It wasn’t like there was any risk of… that happening again. Neither of us wanted it to happen again. I was still utterly humiliated by it, and Vince had clearly moved on.

It changed nothing. We still despised each other.

But now I’d get to pin his stupid ghoul face to the mat, feel him writhing underneath me in defeat, and beat him. In front of hundreds of people.

Yes, this was good. This would make me feel much better. I should never have doubted myself. I always made excellent decisions.

When Holt finished reading out the line-up, he and Taylor had a quick word with Corey before leaving the room. Coach Boris shuffled forward, puffing on his cigar and snorting to himself as he consulted his clipboard.

“Alright,” he barked. “Burke, Crossbody, in the ring. Let’s go.”

A stab of vicious satisfaction shot through me when I saw Vince stiffen and go a little pale. I made sure to keep my gait calm and measured as I headed for the ring without a word of protest.

If anyone caused a scene here, it would not be me. It never was.

“I haven’t warmed up yet,” Vince said stiffly, fidgeting with his water bottle by the counter.

Hogbody snorted. “Then get in the ring and do some fucking stretches. You should be ready to go, Burke. Hurry the fuck up.”

I couldn’t stop myself from flashing him a tiny smirk as he gritted his teeth and stalked over. When I saw Corey watching me, I quickly smoothed out my expression.

Hogbody gestured to the orc. “Corey is going to stay and watch the rehearsal, seeing as apparently my wrestlers are a bunch of unruly fucking schoolchildren who can’t control themselves in the ring.” He looked up and glared at us with his beady eyes as Vince reluctantly climbed into the ring and stood as far away from me as possible. “If this turns into another goddamn screaming match like before, I’m taking you both out of the line-up.”

“It won’t, Boris,” Corey said as he strolled closer and crossed his arms, eyeing us both sternly. “Will it, you two?”

“Of course it won’t,” I said smoothly. “I would never scream at any of my colleagues. And at no point in the past have I.”

Vince shot me a seething look as he pulled his arm across his chest to stretch it, then shook out his hands.

Hogbody snorted and looked down at his clipboard. “Let’s get on with it, then. Rolling Rimmer wins the match, so I thought we could finish with a—”

“What?” I snarled before I could stop myself, my hands clenching into fists.

Vince huffed in amusement. I could hear the smirk in his voice when he muttered, “Nice.”

“What do you mean he wins?” I snapped at Hogbody. That wasn’t what Holt and I had agreed. This was utter horseshit.

Hogbody shrugged, eyeing me oddly. “That’s what Holt wants.”

I was vibrating with fury. Holt was such a sneaky little fuck. I’d already signed the paperwork for that ridiculous brand deal with FAE BOYZ.

“Is there a problem, High Lord?” Corey asked me pointedly.

I exhaled a hissing breath and forced my hands to unclench.

“No,” I gritted out. “Of course not.”

Hogbody snorted and barked, “So shut the fuck up and let me finish.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw as I crossed my arms, and I couldn’t stop myself from shooting Vince a scowl. He smirked back at me.

“As I was goddamn saying, I thought we could finish with Burke’s Rim Jab, which makes Crossbody stumble—”

“No,” I blurted again, heat crawling up my neck. “No. He’s not doing that move on me.”

Maybe I hadn’t thought this all the way through.

I refused to allow Vince’s hideously long tongue anywhere near my… near me there. Absolutely not.

“It’s his signature move,” Hogbody snapped impatiently. “The crowd expects it.”

“No.” I shook my head jerkily. “It’s so undignified. It’s not happening.”

“Aw, come on, Crossbody,” Vince drawled, clearly loving this. The prick. “You’re being a little difficult.”

“The crowd can handle one match without it,” I told Hogbody, ignoring him.

The pig shifter yanked his cigar out of his mouth and pointed at me with it. “You’re the wrestler, I’m the fucking coach. If I say it’s going to happen, it’s going to fucking happen. Pull that stick out of your ass, Crossbody. Do your fucking job.”

“I am doing my job,” I snarled. “I’m just politely asking we take out the one move I’m not comfortable with.”

“You’re not being all that polite.” Vince smirked.

Hogbody shifted his cigar over to point at him. “Stop trying to fucking rile him up, Burke. Jesus, you two. Why the fuck did Holt pair you up? This is going to age me fifty fucking years and we haven’t even fucking started yet.”

“Crossbody, a word?” Corey jerked his chin at me.

Breathing faster, I stalked across the ring and climbed out, refusing to look at Vince as I made my way over to Corey.

When I reached him, he glanced behind me at the ring and lowered his voice. “Holt told me you asked for this specifically.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. My voice stiff, I lied, “I thought it could help. Make us work together.”

“Mmm.” Corey raised his brow. I couldn’t tell whether he believed me or not. “And what are your qualms about the move?”

My nostrils flared. I lifted my chin. “It’s beyond undignified. Surely you must agree, Corey.”

He shrugged lightly. “It’s not real. And it’s entertaining. That’s what we’re here to do. To entertain. To perform .”

My fingers flexed. “I know, but—”

“This has to go well, Crossbody.” He reached out and lightly touched my shoulder, gazing down at me with a sad frown. “I didn’t like telling either of you off in court, but I can’t let this behaviour continue. Something has to be done.”

“It’s not me. It’s him . He’s the one who makes things difficult.”

“He’s not the one making things difficult right now,” Corey said pointedly.

I gritted my teeth. “Because he gets to win. It’s not fair.”

Corey’s brows shot up. “It’s not fair ?”

I flushed, feeling like a spoiled child. “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean he—Nothing I do in the ring would embarrass him, so he gets to make a fool out of me and then he gets to win.”

Corey frowned. “He wouldn’t make a fool out of you. It’s just wrestling, Crossbody. It’s just one move, one match, and I’m sure if Holt pairs you up again he will ensure you win next time. You could have a grand comeback and defeat him. The audience would adore it.”

I hesitated, shifting on my feet. “I suppose.”

“And if you want that to happen, if you want that chance, then you can’t make waves this time.”

“I suppose,” I muttered again.

“It’s really not a big deal, Crossbody.” Corey squeezed my shoulder and coughed delicately. “It’s not like his tongue actually… goes anywhere. He knows how to give the illusion while remaining respectful. He’s a professional.”

Heat rushed back to my cheeks. I didn’t want his tongue there. I didn’t want any part of him near me there.

I didn’t.

“Fine,” I ground out.

Corey’s face broke into a big, beaming smile, his tusks gleaming as they jutted from his lower lip. “Wonderful. And darling, let’s go out for a drink next week and catch up. Maybe decompress and talk about how it went.”

“Alright,” I said quickly, because I liked Corey. He was one of the very, very few friends I had, and he was always so busy that it was rare we got a chance to spend time together outside of work. “Yes, I’m sure I have an evening free next week.”

I had every evening free.

“Lovely.” Corey squeezed my shoulder again before letting go. “Now, let’s put on a show for them, shall we?”

I nodded in determination. “Yes.”

I couldn’t let Vince distract me, make me sloppy. I was damn good at my job, and I refused to let anything or anyone take that away from me. I’d earned my place here, damn it. Even if I still felt like an outsider most of the time.

After taking a deep breath, I turned and walked back to the ring. Instantly, my frustration rose again when I saw Vince waiting for me. He was suddenly full of energy, eager and grinning as he shook out his hands and bounced on the balls of his feet. Because he knew he would soon be humiliating me again. This time in front of an audience.

I hated him so much.