Page 85 of Gambler's Fallacy

None of us want to keep him trapped any more than we have to.

“Good, because I want a friendly wager,” I tell Havoc. “For old time’s sake, how about the winner gets the next date with Seven?”

Havoc’s gaze goes to Seven. “Is that okay, Seven? It’s really for fun, but if you don’t want to go out with us…”

Seven huffs, but I can see the wariness in his expression as he says, “Depends on where you want to take me. One of you might have a better idea than the other.”

“Current company gets full control of where we go,” I reassure him.

Whatever else we’re going to say is interrupted because the lights around us dim and the fighters step into the cage.

The two women are both fit, wearing tight leggings and sports bras along with their protective gear. Haley Smokes grins widely and waves to the crowd. Persephone Peterson waits until Haley chills before she does her own intro. Her fans are louder, drowning out everything else.

I know a bunch of losers who think the women’s matches arepointless, but they’re every bit as fit as their male counterparts, and the fight is evenly matched. When the bell rings, the two women begin the dance.

Sure, they aren’t the headliners, but watching two athletic people use their bodies so expertly is always fun.

I glance at Seven, who’s lost interest in me and Havoc in favor of watching the fight. Seven doesn’t usually look this interested in anything that isn’t sex, so it’s nice to see him watching the match with such rapt attention. I catch Havoc looking at him too, and we exchange a look that makes me think we might be on the verge of a tentative truce.

Neither of us wants to risk triggering Seven again.

I might still be pissed off at Havoc for what he’d said, but I hadn’t done much better.

Seven squirms in his seat, and while he’s not actively cheering, he looks like he wants to be.

He catches me looking at him and gives me a quizzical glance. “What?” he asks, barely audible over the crowd.

I shake my head. “Nothing. Just watch the fight.”

He eyes me briefly, then turns back to watching.

The first round goes to Haley, to my chagrin. While the fighters take their break, Seven leans forward, fidgeting with anticipation.

“That was pretty cool,” Seven says, like he wasn’t completely absorbed in the fight for the five minutes it lasted.

Havoc laughs and ruffles his hair. “Yeah, it was. They’re both great fighters.”

Seven nods. He’s trying to play it cool, but he’s positively glowing. “Yeah, they’re okay.”

I glance at Caleb. Maybe it’s not too late to get Seven some classes. It’s something to talk to him about later, though.

Caleb is scowling at his phone, and he gets up without a word to take a call. We watch him walk off.

The second round starts, and I set my attention back to thefight. Unfortunately, it looks like Havoc was right about his bet. Haley’s got better form, and she scores more than Persephone does.

“She could catch up in the third round,” I say to Havoc.

“Keep huffing that copium,” he responds, grinning. “What do you think, Seven? Will Persi catch up?”

“What’s copium?” Seven asks, looking between me and Havoc.

“Lying to yourself,” I say irritably. “He thinks there’s no way Persi can win.”

“From the word ‘coping,’” Havoc explains. “Coping plus opium gets turned into copium, a drug made of false hope.” He smirks at me. “Which is the only way to believe that Persi can still come out on top.”

I’d argue back, but the third round starts. With dismay, I notice that Persi’s energy is flagging a lot more than Haley’s. She’s sloppy in her grapples, and it’s not a surprise when the judges determine Haley as the winner.

“One for me,” Havoc says smugly. “You still have a few matches to catch up on.”

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