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The right hook comes out of nowhere, sending me stumbling back a couple steps before I realize what’s happened.
“Motherfucker,” I growl, regaining my footing and coming back at him, fists swinging.
I get in a couple good ones, clocking him in the temple and in the side, but he’s lean and lithe, and he gets just as many in on me. We’re pretty evenly matched, but if he wants to do this, I’m game.
“Bring it, asshole.”
I block his next jab and knock his head back with a blow to the chin, then he’s sweeping his foot under my legs and we both go down, fists flying.
It doesn’t last much longer before Maya and a few other crew members come storming into the gym, breaking it up.
It takes several people to hold us back from each other, and we stare each other down, eyes blazing with anger.
Fuck. What is this house doing to us? Tristan may be my biggest competitor, my quasi-enemy of sorts in business and in life, but he’s also pretty much my best friend. We’ve known each other forever. Been through it all.
Except for this. Is this how it’s going to end? Over a girl?
But even as I wonder over it, I can’t help thinking that when it comes to Megan, she’d be worth it.
Tristan
Sitting at the island in the kitchen, I readjust the ice pack on my knuckles. I didn’t even have my gloves completely on when I lunged. I tossed them aside, going at Madden with my bare fists.
I may regret that because they hurt like a bitch.
Maya strides in, hands on her hips. “What happened?”
I just stare at her. I’m really not in the mood for her shit right now. At this point, I wouldn’t mind if she took her happy little ass out of this apartment and never came back. That’s how sick I am of all the meddling going on in this game. That tablet video shit being the final straw.
I almost snort. Because to think, I signed up for this voluntarily. Despite everything that’s happened, though, I’d do it all again just to meet Megan.
“Say something, Tristan,” Maya pushes. “I know something had to have happened to start this fight. You’ve had all day to cool off, and now all of a sudden you and Madden are duking it out in the gym?”
I continue staring daggers at her. She has some nerve wanting me to get into this with her. Especially when this is all their fault with sending that fucking tablet to my room.
“What aren’t you telling me?” she says, her eyebrows furrowing.
Next thing I know, she’s walking up to me and snatching off my mic pack.
“What are you doing?” That’s breaking a huge rule. One of the biggest offenses a contestant can commit is removing the mic. “Are you trying to get me kicked out?”
“Shh.” Maya screws up her face and glances surreptitiously at the cameras placed around the room, making some weird shape with her fingers that looks like she’s throwing gang signs. “Okay, we’re clear. We have five minutes. No mics. No cameras. Now get talking.”
I stare. What the fuck is she talking about? “Maya, there are cameras everywhere. Now give me my mic back before you get me evicted.”
“The head camera guy has a crush on me. It’s fine.”
“And… you’re coming to me for dating advice? Sorry, Maya, but you aren’t making any sense. And honestly, I’m really not in the mood for this right now. So, if you’ll leave me alone now, I’d like to get back to my pity party for one.”
She grunts and rolls her eyes. “I mean that I bought us five minutes of time off-camera. They guy with the crush? He’s shutting them off. Well, he already did. And now we’re down to four minutes because of your idiotic commentary. So I’ll ask you one more time. What happened that started that fight?”
I can feel the muscle in my jaw jumping, and my fists clench again, almost of their own volition.
“That bad?” she asks, frowning.
I nod, thinking about the everything-but-actual-sex sex I witnessed between Megan and Madden, and I almost want to hunt him down again and finish what I started.
“About an hour ago, some assistant came to my room and brought me that tablet. I wasn’t going to watch it at first.” Ha, who am I kidding? There’s no way I could have ignored that tablet—it was practically begging to be viewed. “But obviously I did watch it.”
