Page 92 of The Deceptions

He’s the ideal roommate because he’s never here. He can't discover my secret if he's not here to witness it. It gives me slight relief. If I don't have time to unwind and relax in my own skin, I might go stir crazy.

But I still have to be careful. Dane could barge through the door at any given time. Like Simon does without thought. Thankfully, I've been fully clothed both times.

What I wouldn't do for a lock on the door.

“I can’t believe Mack and Wilder are actually fighting!” Simon laughs. “You know they’ve never done this before, right? This fight is going to be epic! Have you seen the SlamApp?” He shoves it in my face as we walk through campus in the dead of night.

“Let me see that,” Jordy quips, plucking it from Simon’s grip.

Oh, yeah. Jordy came for a visit.

“But I’m bored, Liv. Please let me come hang out with you.”AKA he wants to fuck my roommate. He doesn’t have the decency to give me earplugs, either. Asshole.

“So, they’re brothers?” Jordy asks, raising a brow as he looks through the SlamApp. It’s been buzzing with the news of these two fighters for days now. Someone even recorded their bickering on Wednesday and posted it the moment class let out.

Speaking of, since I met Wilder after class, we’ve texted a few times. Nothing serious. But it’s nice to keep tabs on him. He’s not too bad, either. He’s invited me to his gym to spar or work out, which eventually, I’ll take him up on the offer.

“Yup! And they’ve never fought before.” Simon snatches his phone back with a saucy smile.

“So, these fights. They happen often?” Jordy asks.

“Only once or twice a month. They’re the highlight of this establishment. But very hush, hush,” Simon says, putting a finger to his lips.

“I don’t call announcing it on an app hush, hush,” I quip with a snort.

Simon snorts. “Well, call it whatever you like. The school doesn’t break it up. In fact, I think they profit off it.”

“So, the app isn’t made by the school?” Jordy asks, cocking his head.

Simon shrugs. “Nope. It just showed up when I was a freshy and spread like wildfire. It’s almost a rite of passage to get it when you come here. Really informative, too.” He wiggles his brows a little, flipping through the pictures of the fighters and holding them up for Jordy to see.

“Very interesting,” Jordy hums, side-eyeing me with a smirk.

“But there are rules to this fight night,” Simon says, stopping abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Rules?” I ask. “You didn’t mention any sort of rules when we got ready.” No. Simon was too enthralled with Jordy when he suddenly showed up at our dorm room door and burst in with a grin. They’ve been enamored with one another since the moment they set eyes on each other. So, no rules were given.

Simon sighs. “I guess I should have warned you guys from the get-go. The rules are simple. No fighting unless you’re in the ring.” He cringes slightly, running a hand through his hair. “You can only fight once a night. And if you show up to the ring to watch, there’s a possibility you can be called out to fight.”

I blink several times. “Called out to fight? So anyone can…”

“Walk up to the organizers, say your name, and you have to fight? Oh, yup! Exactly. But you don’t have to worry, it’s so rare for that to happen.” He waves a hand.

“Is there a punishment for if you refuse?” Jordy asks.

Simon cringes again, taking a step in toward our destination. “Oh, nothing too bad. Just the wall of shame. Shunning from your classmates for an entire month where they can throwtomatoes at you or whatever tickles their pickles. And um, no parties allowed.”

“Cool. So public enemy number one,” I say, raising a brow.

“But don’t worry, Oli!” he says, tossing an arm over my shoulders. “You haven’t made enemies here. Wait, have you?” He stops dead and looks me in the eyes.

“No. Not yet.” Unless you count Mack and his threat in class. Or when Mack and Brutus waited for me after class to taunt me more, but I don’t divulge that information to Simon. The only person in our circle who knows is Jordy, who is holding back a laugh at my expense.

“Doesn’t matter. If Oli gets called out, he can take anyone.” Jordy shrugs, pushing us along until we’re following a small crowd of students.

“Oh, you’re a fighter?” Simon asks.

A fighter? I can take down a grown man with two fingers to his pulse point. But I don’t say that. It was all in my training. Jordy knows it. I know it. Hell, Veritas knows it, too. I’ve just never had to use it on a job before. And hopefully, I never will.