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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Cassius

I’ve never woken up like this.

Completely satisfied. Unbelievably happy. Incredibly relieved. It’s like every one of my limbs is a delicious liquid, melting into the bed, a harmony I’ve never known coursing through me. I don’t think anything could ever ruin this mood. The universe could shit on me for the rest of my life, but I’d still have last night.

The night I realized that my best friend is just as in love with me as I am him.

That’s what it had to be. There’s no possible explanation for what we shared. He didn’t say it, but he didn’t have to. It was laced in the tender way he touched me, the sensual roll of his hips, and every sweet tear he shed.

I smile to myself, ready to wake up and greet the day—and him—with everything I have to offer. As I roll over to Skylar, I’m already looking forward to opening my eyes and embracing my new reality.

But he’s not there.

I sit up quickly. My heart stutters as I stare at the empty spot beside me. Touching the sheets, I note how cool they are, and start to panic. Skylar never gets up before me. If you let him, he’ll happily sleep in forever and not crawl out from the bed. Thoughts I’d rather not think cross my mind. Now, I begin to doubt myself.

What if he regrets it?

What if it was just something I made up in my mind to be more than it was?

It can’t be. I refuse to believe it. Skylar is many things, but a liar isn’t one of them. He can’t hide his emotions for shit, and I saw them bleeding out of him in relentless and unmistakable waves.

On a hunch, I reach for my phone and am a mixture of relieved and wary when I see I have a missed message from him. Steeling myself, I open the message and relax a bit.

Sunshine: The prom squad and I have a meeting today!!!! I’ll be home soon!!! I love you!!!

The first thing that calms my racing heart is his excessive use of exclamation points. It’s not sarcastic or suspicious at all. You know Skylar is upset when he uses very pointed periods. I go to call him to make sure things really are okay because, while I understand he has plans, I am a little hurt he left without saying anything. My phone rings instead, Knox’s name lighting up the screen. Reluctantly, I answer. “Hey, man. What’s up? You know it’s, like, seven a.m., right?”

He grunts on the other end of the line. “My husband ditched me for Rhys. I’m bored as fuck. You wanna hang out today?”

I snort at that. For all that Knox wants to swear he doesn’t need anyone, he’s surprisingly needy. “Sure. You gotta give me some time to get alive, though. It’s early as fuck.”

“No problem. But I want to go to that Venezuelan place for breakfast, so hurry up.”

I roll my eyes. “Fine.”

He pauses. “What’s up with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sound unusually…happy.”

While I don’t want to justify my happiness with a response, and part of me wants to keep last night to myself, Knox and I are kind of good friends now. So, I lean against the headboard with a wide smile. “Skylar and I had a good night.”

“I see.” He chuckles. “You’ve been having good nights for weeks. Did he suck your dick extra hard?”

“Nah, man.” I shake my head, even though he can’t see me. “Last night was…different.”

I can’t see if understanding strikes him, but Knox isn’t an idiot. There’s silence for a beat before he speaks. “I’ll need details. Over breakfast.”

Again, Knox wants to think he’s not like the rest of us, but he’s a gossip to his core. “Yeah, just— Fuck. What the hell?”

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just my phone is blowing up.” I swipe up to look at the fact that I have ten new messages. All from the commissioner. “He’s really on something today.”

“Who?”

“The commissioner,” I tell him, quickly reading through the texts. “Says tonight is the championship fight. Says the cash money is huge.”

“Are you considering it?”

Truthfully, I haven’t had the itch for a good fight lately. I have no idea why, but it just hasn’t crossed my mind, and the commissioner hasn’t reached out until now. I shrug. “I don’t see why not.”

He scoffs. “Because your need for violence was tied to your incredible pining for your best friend, and now that you two apparently made great strides last night, there’s no point.”

Damn. That got deep real quick. “That’s not entirely true.”

“I only speak the truth. ” I can’t tell if he’s shaking his head or rolling his eyes. “So, you’re fighting tonight?”

I think about it, and there is something appealing about one last fight. Plus, more money couldn’t hurt. Not that Skylar and I are struggling, but there’s nothing wrong with adding cash to our safety net. It’s practical, even.

Well, that’s what I tell myself. The truth?

My blood starts pumping. That familiar need for blood and violence courses through me. I feel on top of the world today. Proud, untouchable, so fucking happy, and the adrenaline boost a fight would give me would be the cherry on top.

“Yeah,” I finally decide. “Why not?”

Knox sighs on the other end. “Guess I’ll round up the guys. You’ll tell me the details over breakfast…which you’re supposed to be getting ready for.”

I snort and throw my legs over the bed. “Getting up. Now fuck off so I can get ready.”

“Gladly.”

He hangs up without another word, and I toss my phone onto the bed. Yeah, today’s going to be a great day. I woke up happy, I’m going to be fed, and I’ll end the day with a nice victory. I don’t know if I’ll fight anymore after tonight, but I can’t waste this high lounging around and waiting for Skylar to come home.

And when he does come home, I’ll be a champion.

Life couldn’t get any better.