Chapter 43
Mari
Kacper the Unfriendly Ghost: Vegas’ Newest Fighter Is a Malevolent Spirit?
I sigh as I sift through the article. It’s the usual drivel being spouted by gossipy media outlets entrenched in the negativity of the fight. At least this journalist has used a clever title and Kas is the topic of conversation instead of me, his “untamable social media manager,” according to one source.
It’s been tough seeing content about me and the team plastered across the internet and even tougher wondering if Auntie has been telling me the truth when she says it doesn’t bother her to see such information.
Paired with the public statement I released addressing everything and the positive comments from Kas’s fans, I’m not too concerned about the public response.
“Check out this one.” I turn the tablet so Violet can read the headline.
She scans it as she sips her matcha drink through a straw. “Creative,” she hums, selecting a new layer on her drawing tablet. “How’s your apartment search going?”
I select the opened tab of a website where people advertise for roommates and groan into my hands. The rental market is hell. It’s like a whole other job trying to find a roof over my head.
“Terrible. Quinn went to check one out for me and there was mold up the walls. Unlivable places are being rented out, Vi!”
She gives me a sad smile. “I was looking to move out of my parents’ before I met Devon, and honestly? Fuck that.” Violet slurps her drink and shivers.
As usual, we’ve both gravitated to a coffee shop to hang out. It’s a nice change to the SFL gym. Media day is in two more days and I’m already panicking because it’s with one of the biggest interviewers in the industry—Benny Moretto.
Today, Violet’s artist hands were tingling with the need to help me create some promotional content for it while Devon, Bill, and Dash are occupied with being Kas’s punching bag for the next few hours.
It’s lonely without Davina, so I’m thankful for the rare moments I get with Violet, even if she is meant to be on vacation. Violet glances up at me suspiciously, the same glance she’s been throwing me when she thinks I’m not looking at her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask. “You’ve been giving me weird looks.”
“I’m not looking at you like anything,” Violet deflects.
Her bare shoulders lift into a shrug in her bandeau top as she fiddles with the thin, silver necklace sitting on her collarbones.
I slap my laptop closed and rest my chin atop my hand. “Are you annoyed at me for the whole bathroom fight thing? I totally get it if you are. If you hadn’t come with me and Davina—”
“I’m not annoyed at you at all!” Violet’s dark eyes are wide and her forehead creases worriedly. “ You should be mad at me , I kneed you in the face.”
I give her a weary smile and straighten in my chair. That fight is something I’ll never forget, it was so Jacqui Briggs of me—she’s quickly become one of my favorite video game characters after that, and I keep playing as her when I join Kas for some gaming in his room.
“Okay, well, I’m glad you’re not annoyed with me. It just doesn’t explain why Devon is looking at me weirdly too. Is he angry at me on your behalf? Something is up.”
Violet nods politely at a passing waitress who removes our empty glasses. “Are you sure it’s not just him looking confused as usual?” she asks as she nervously tears an empty packet of sugar. “How is he looking at you?”
“Like I’ve spat in his face.”
Violet presses her lips together like she’s physically trying to hold her tongue. I watch her expectantly as her face transitions through various emotions before landing on impassiveness.
“We know you’re sleeping with Kas,” she rushes out.
My body goes rigid and I hold my breath for a moment. I was not expecting that at all. That might be the last thing I ever expected her to say. Violet’s statement hangs between us and a strained huff escapes me.
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“You’re sleeping with Kas.” She speaks calmly now, slow and controlled.
“I—”
“And don’t try and deny it because Devon and I know.”
What the fuck? How do they know? Unless Kas has told Devon, which I’m sure he wouldn’t ... would he?
Instead of defending myself, I laugh incredulously. “Stop playing around, Vi.”
Violet nods hastily with underlying disbelief plastered all over her face.
“Oh,” she breathes. “Oh, I see what you’re doing. You’re trying to play it cool.” She chuckles like she’s about to snap. “Riddle me this, Mari. The other day, I was doing my ... business in my bathroom when Devon came knocking.” She does three slow knocks on the table. “With our toilet occupied, he decided that it would be quicker to go down to use Kas’s bathroom.”
“Okay? Devon peed in Kas’s bathroom. Congratulations to Devon on being potty-trained.”
I give a light round of applause, much to Violet’s dismay.
“Devon said you were both wet when you answered your doors,” Violet says.
My hands freeze mid-clap. “Wet?”
The pitch of my voice enters close to an ultrasonic range.
“Wet,” she confirms.
What type of wet is she talking about? Because I was definitely both.
“People bathe, Vi. We both showered, it was a long night.” My face burns as I talk, and my words tangle in a net of white lies.
Violet sighs impatiently and rolls her neck with a loud crack. “Yeah, you both showered.” She raises a thin, penciled-in brow and points a manicured nail at me. “Together, in the same one. Case closed.”
Violet smacks the table like a judge with a gavel.
“What are you? The Sex Supremo?”
Violet nails me with a determined look—narrowed eyes and pouted lips. “If you had both showered, why was Kas’s bathroom bone-fucking-dry when Devon went to pee? And why were you damp?” She motions to her neck. “Devon said your neck was wet.”
I nod with a tight smile. The jig is up, and it lasted less than a week since Kas and I spoke about how fun it would be to try and keep our relationship on the low after Dash’s little speech.
To be honest, I didn’t even consider that Kas’s bathroom would show no evidence of him showering.
“Kas takes cold showers, his bathroom just doesn’t really steam up like that. We probably showered at the same time and his bathroom dried a lot quicker than mine,” I say in a last-ditch attempt at throwing Violet a bone in the other direction of her accusations.
“Lies.” She smirks while twirling the pen she uses on her tablet between her fingers. I try and fail to copy her with a sugar packet from the holder on our table. “You’re fucking him. Give it up, Mari. Plus, Kas also always looks at you like this.”
Violet drops her chin and her face goes slack. Then she looks up lazily from beneath her eyelids.
I fix Violet with my most intimidating glare. “Yeah? What look is that?”
“The look of someone who has fucked the life out of—”
“Okay, fine. We’ve slept together. So what?” I interrupt with a hiss. Violet hmphs in silent victory. “You made me admit it so you could sit and look smug? You couldn’t just pretend Devon never saw us and Kas and I were just friendly coworkers?”
“Pretend? Yeah, I’d pretend if it was easy to ignore you guys. I feel like I’m intruding any time I’m alone with you two. And the eye contact you give each other? Lethal. Devon and I have to make up excuses just so we don’t have to ride up in the elevator with you both because, whew .”
My cheeks heat and I press my palms against the sides of my face. Every time I’m in the same room as Kas I look at him only to find that he’s already staring at me. It’s not in a creepy way either, because I like it. He makes me warm like summer and I always feel the migration of butterflies swarming in my stomach when he’s around.
“Don’t tell the team, okay? It’s fun to hide this from everyone. Plus, Dash would be insufferable if he knew,” I say.
“I won’t tell anyone, neither will Devon.” Violet sketches another line on her drawing tablet. “It’d make the fans happy, though. Have you seen the edits they make of you two?”
“Of course I’ve seen the edits, I watch them all the damn time. What do you think of them?”
Violet unlocks her phone and shows me a folder in her gallery titled CUTE3. Inside are around twenty edits all of Kas and me.
“Oh, you weirdo,” I say, laughing.
“Weird or genius? Freya and I are archiving each one we see to make a compilation for your wedding. Also, check this out.” Violet opens another folder containing one edit of her and Devon from a vlog I uploaded to Kas’s socials. “Can you start including us in more vlogs, please? My one-person fanbase is waiting.” Violet purses her lips. “Actually, if me and Devon keep our mouths shut about you and Kas, could you include us in vlogs until after the fight?”
I doodle on the corner of her tablet with my finger in thoughtful consideration. Me and Kas don’t really need to be kept a secret, but sure.
“Deal.”