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Chapter Forty-Three

AURORA

I t’s later than usual when Theo helps me back to my hotel room. He presses the key into the reader, pushing the door open before stepping aside so I can hobble into the room. It’s going to take a while to get used to using crutches. I’ve never had to do it before, and I keep feeling like I’m going to fall flat on my face.

That’s where Theo comes in.

He closes the door behind us, eying me carefully as I hobble over to the bed and sit down on the edge of it. I wince slightly as I rest my ankle up on the bed. It’s wrapped. A simple sprain. The doctor said it’d be healed in about a month. So, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a setback. It’s an annoyance.

“This has been the shittiest month of my career.”

“The shittiest month of your career yet ,” Theo corrects. He kicks off his shoes and comes over to sit on the other side of the bed, carefully avoiding jostling my ankle. “Look at it this way, baby doll, you have a long career ahead of you. Plenty of time for it to get worse. ”

“Was that supposed to be motivating?”

“Eh.” He shrugs. “Back on the indies, I got kicked so hard I pissed myself during a match. I thought that would be the worst moment of my career. Then I got caught cheating on my fiancée.”

“Sort of your own fault. You didn’t have to cheat,” I point out. Feels like it needs to be said. I sit back against the headboard as Theo grabs the pillows from his side of the bed, stuffing them underneath my ankle to try and prop it up some.

He tilts his head toward me in agreement. “I didn’t.” Silence washes over the two of us before he continues. “On paper, Veronica is perfect for me. Gorgeous, professional cheerleader. Comes from a good family—which is important to my parents,” Theo adds. “But Veronica cared about money. Everyone is my life cares about the damn money.”

He’s doing that thing where he opens up again. It always leaves me with an uneasy feeling. Unsure of exactly how to react. Scared that if I say too much, he’ll shut down or if I say too little, he’ll think that I don’t care.

“Everyone?”

He snorts decisively. “Everyone. My parents. Veronica.” Theo shakes his head. “That’s about all the people in my life. Don’t really have friends or anything. I’m kind of a bastard.”

“I’m your friend. I don’t care about your money.” I slip my hand over the multi-colored duvet on the hotel bed, letting my fingers brush over his.

“Aren’t you a sweet thing?” Theo purrs. He flips his hand over, letting my hand rest in his calloused palm. His thumb glides over my knuckles before a smirk overtakes his full lips. “But we’re not friends, Roo. You know that.”

My stomach flips. I can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing. A few months ago, I never thought that I’d want to be anything to Theo. And now…I don’t want to be his friend. I want to be his everything .

I want to curl into his warm body every night. I want to kiss him. I want to fight with him over the dumbest shit only for the fights to end with him pushing me against the wall and fucking me senseless. Making it so the only thing I can think of is Theo and his cock.

More than anything, I want to take the risk and fall into the spiral of Theo. Get lost in the labyrinth with no chance of finding an exit.

Swallowing, I force the words from my lips. “What are we then?”

His free hand comes up, thumb stroking my jaw. “To be determined.”

My heart drops. That’s not the answer I craved. Fear sinks in, a fear that I’ve been scared to acknowledge for a while now.

What if I was right?

What if Theo doesn’t want me anymore because I’m no longer a conquest? He had me. He fucked me in the locker room after I spent weeks telling him that I wouldn’t. What use does he have for me now? I’m just a notch on his belt. Nothing more.

I press my lips together, so hard that it hurts. “Right,” I say softly, letting the conversation drop before I can say something that makes things worse. Like confessing my feelings and making it so Theo really thinks that I’m an idiot. “I should try and sleep.”

His jaw sets. Theo’s upset about something now, too, but it vanishes just as quickly as it was there. “You should,” he agrees. “I’m going to stay with you until you fall asleep. In case you need something.”

He doesn’t get a verbal response for me. I sink down into the too-soft hotel mattress, burying my head in the over-stuffed pillow. I try to keep my foot resting comfortably as I get settled, turned away from Theo.

I’m overthinking. I’m in my head .

His fingers stroke the hair by my temple as I start to drift off. The simple act makes my heart clench. Makes me crave more.

There has to be more. This can’t be all in my head.