Page 301 of Blackwood

HALEY:Girl, you STRIPPED YOURSELF on the Pit mat.

ELLIE:Lies.

HALEY:Rez had to cover your ass with a Trifecta fight night banner.

KNOX:Confirmed. I have the video.

ELLIE:You’re all fake as hell for letting me live like this.

LEX:She’s still passed out.

ELLIE:UGH. I miss her chaos.

ELLIE:Also… do we think I’m dating DeShawn now?

HALEY:You literally proposed and kissed his biceps.

ELLIE:SHUT UP

HALEY:It was lowkey romantic.

CADE:CorrectionHales, it was lowkey creepy.

Footsteps thud outside the room. The door creaks open and Lex pokes his head in, smirk locked and loaded. Cade follows, armed with a water bottle and a bag of sour gummy worms.

I groan from the blankets. “No.”

“Dramatic much?” Lex says, strolling in. “You danced for six hours, took who knows how many shots, and rode me like a damn rodeo queen in front of half of New York.”

“You make it sound like a felony,” I croak.

“Oh, it was,” he says, flopping down beside me. “Still recovering. I’m pretty sure I pulled a hip.”

Cade gently pulls the covers down and hands me the water.

“Hydrate or die, bitch,” Lex says in his best Rico impression.

I glare and whisper, “Everything’s too loud. Even your jawline is loud.”

Lex barks a laugh. “You’ll live.”

I sigh, cracking the bottle open. “This is what victory feels like? Bourbon and bruises.”

They settle in beside me, heat radiating on both sides like living heating pads. Lex draws lazy circles on my thigh.

Cade kisses my hairline. “We canceled everything today,” he says softly.

“We leave for Nationals in a couple days,” Lex adds. “Thought we’d hang, pack, maybe watch Ellie spiral about her new fake fiancé.”

“Oh my God,” I groan into Cade’s shoulder. “That’s gonna be a whole-ass telenovela.”

Cade grins. “With fight rings instead of wedding rings.”

Lex deadpans, “Til bruises do us part.”

I laugh, then wince. “Ow. Even my laugh is hungover.”

The door creaks open again, because Knox doesn’t believe in knocking. He just strolls right in, sunglasses already on, backpack slung over one shoulder. “Alright, I’m out,” he announces. “See you degenerates at the airport.” He eyes me sprawled like a corpse. “Bella, sweetie… try not to barf on anything important. Like Cade’s shirts. Or Lex’s ego.”