Page 63 of Botched

“The plan is for Theo to get DQed,” Micah chimes in. “He had the idea to play up the relationship between the two of you.”

My cheeks flush when he refers to ourrelationship. Relationship can mean a lot of things. We’re partners. We’re co-workers. We’re…whatever we are. He makes butterflies flutter in the pit of my stomach.

There’s a smirk on Theo’s face when he catches my blush. “The thought is, you hop on the apron, try to distract Micah. He ends up throwing me into the ropes, you take a bump, and I get pissed off. Hit him with brass knuckles. You good with that?”

It’s one of the most common and repeatedly done valet spots. I get knocked off the ring apron because my distraction attempt gets thrown in my face. Easy enough. I shrug. “Doable, yeah.”

“Perfect,” Micah says, but his voice comes out as a purr. Theo’s grip on my waist tightens.

Silly boy—does he not know that, while Micah isgorgeous, he’s the one that’s stolen my attention? Of course not. I haven’t toldhim, and everyone knows that he can’t take a damn hint about anything.

Feeling the need to make sure that Theo feels secure, I lean my head against the side of his chest. “Anything else?” I ask the two of them. “I gotta get into hair and makeup. Shayna may murder me if I’m late again.”

“I like keeping you alive, baby doll. Go to Shayna. I’ll see you in a bit.”

So, if I knew I’d be taking a bump tonight, I probably would’ve packed different shoes. These strappy heels aren’t the most secure, but I’m making it work. At least I feel like a goddamn goddess in my dress tonight. It’s a white halter dress with crisscross cutouts and split thighs. Shayna killed it on the hair and makeup, like usual.

Standing on the outside of the ring, I pay close attention to everything going on within it. Micah has Theo in a headlock before flinging him into the ropes. Theo uses the momentum to bounce off of the ropes, rushing back toward him, but Micah drops down, avoiding the incoming hit.

He kips back up, landing perfectly on his feet as the crowd cheers him on. Basking in the attention, he turns to gloat, and Theo hits him from behind as the cheers shift into boos. I take the opportunity to play it up, clapping my hands as I pace ringside.

I don’t feel panicked being out here. Eyes are on me, but not because they’ve seen my naked body, but because I get their attention. I haven’t heard a single asshole in the crowd yell something negative.

Maybe Theo’s distraction method, although slightly insane, did work.

His brown eyes flick to mine and he winks at me, making heat swirl in the pit of my stomach. You can’t fake that.

The match continues, neither man getting the upper hand in this situation. Waiting for my cue. Once I notice Theo tossing Micah into the ropes, I climb up onto the apron. I give Micah my best bedroom eyes, trailing a finger from my collarbone down, trying to get his gaze to follow. An obvious attempt at seduction that’ll be easy to pick up on TV.

It looks like Micah’s falling for it. Theo goes to grab him from behind, but Micah uses his momentum to push Theo into the ropes. When his body hits, I go to fall off, but I land wrong. There’s a softsnap,and pain radiates from my right ankle up my shin.

Theo’s eyes drift down to look at me, and he can see that something’s wrong.

The show must go on.

Suddenly, he looks enraged, and I can’t tell if he’s acting or if it’s legit. Either way, he doesn’t care that the ref sees him reach into his trunks and grab the knuckles. Without hesitation, they crack across Micah’s jaw.

And he sells it like death, dropping back to the mat, his head lulling to the side. Boos rain out. “Bullshit!” The crowd chants in unison. The referee looks shocked, eyes wide as he gestures for the bell to be rung.

“Winner of his match due to disqualification, Micah Duvall!”

Not waiting around for the referee to ream him out, Theo climbs out of the ring. He drops down to where I’m still on the ground. “Your ankle?” he asks, as if he automatically knew.

“Yeah,” I whisper back to him. The camera isn’t focused on us. It’s focused on Micah, who still lays in the center of the ring, the ringside doctor checking him over.

Panic swells in my stomach. I don’t want to be hurt. I’ve never gotten legitimately injured from wrestling so far. It was only a matter of time, I knew that. Injuries are common when what you do is dangerous. Butfuck.

What if this costs me? Nathan’s going to be pissed. I know it’sall on a thin rope lately. I’m becoming too much of a problem. My contract, my hopes and dreams. All of it is sliding out of my hands. I’ve had a really shitty streak of luck lately.

“Let me help you up. We’ll get to the back and look at it.” Theo wraps my left arm around his neck, helping me stand up on my left leg. I try to put weight on my right leg and immediately wince in pain. Okay, not happening.

With him supporting most of my weight, I hobble backstage and through the curtain. We get to Theo’s locker room and he drops me down on the couch.

His skin is flushed from his match. Sweaty. I’m sure he’s sore and tired, yet he kneels down in front of me. His fingers delicately undo the straps of my heel, pulling them from my foot. A callused finger runs over the swelling. “I’m going to go get you ice, Aurora. It doesn’t look broken. Can you move it? Is it just sore or…” He trails off, leaving the sentence open to me.

I move my ankle from side to side, wincing the entire time. It’s killing me, but it’s possible. My ankle is swollen, so ice is probably a good idea. “I think it’s just sprained.”

“Probably,” he agrees. “We’ll ice it and get you in to see the trainer. You’re probably going to have to go to the hospital though.”

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