AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her lips purse into a thoughtful pout. “Maybe that’s the role the show ‘assigned’ them?”
I consider that for a second. She’s sweet for suggesting it as a possibility. “Nah, it’s probably why the show recruited them. Trust me, none of them were good enough actors.”
She chuckles. “Well, I only watched until…you know, the episode?—”
“Baby, I am so?—”
“Do not apologize again.” Her fierce, scolding tone is way hotter than it should be.
“Yes, ma’am,” I tease.
“I’m serious.” Her expression turns thoughtful. “But they really did want to stick everyone in a certain box.” She holds her hands up and forms a square with her fingers. “Even the ring girls.” She wrinkles her nose as if it bothers her to defend any of them. “Since they were filming, what, twenty-four hours a day, I guess they had lots of time to cherry-pick their footage.”
“They definitely orchestrated certain events. There was no script or anything, but they’d set things up and sort of push us into situations, then run in with the cameras to catch the reactions. They’d even arrange us a certain way to make it look real.” Finally, I’m able share all of my experiences from the show with someone.
The last someone I thought would ever want to hear these stories.
But Molly listens intently to every word. I haven’t felt comfortable talking about this stuff with anyone else. The show is such a sore subject with Remy and the guys, I’ve rarely mentioned it. I didn’t realize how much I’d stored away until everything starts pouring out of me like a faucet I can’t turn off. Molly’s right here with me. She laughs, sympathizes, or offers her thoughtful commentary but mostly she lets me purge it all from my system.
When I finally wind down, she rests her hand on my chest. “And they said you were the taciturn, shy fighter.”
I lift a questioning eyebrow. “Taciturn?”
“Someone who’s reserved and doesn’t say a lot.”
“I guess that’s better than the belligerent blockhead they used to describe that guy Bull.” I tilt my head. “Although, honestly, that one was true.”
She laughs softly. “Yeah, Darcy mentioned you knocked him out once.”
“I’m sorry you still had people telling you about it.” I swallow hard. “I’m sorry I just dumped all of that on you.”
A little furrow forms between her brows. “I want to hear everything from you. Every story you want to share.” She flicks her gaze down. “I’m sorry I stopped being your weekly phone call.”
I brush my finger under her chin, tipping her head back. “Uh, under the circumstances, I don’t blame you one bit.” I narrow my eyes, thinking it over. “I still really don’t understand why they did it. We weren’t supposed to talk about the show on our calls. Would they really expect you to keep calling if you thought I cheated?”
“Sounds like maybe they should have had a script.”
I huff a sound of agreement. “I think they lost the plot when they added the girls into the mix.”
“I like how you, Venom, and Woolly seemed to stick together. At least that was real.” She lifts her eyebrows as if she’s asking for confirmation.
“I think it was. I feel shitty saying this, but I could never fully trust them. A lot of times Venom was probably trying to give me helpful advice. But in the back of my mind I was always wondering if he was sharpening a knife to jab between my shoulder blades.”
“Because they wanted you to turn on each other.” She rolls her eyes. “Better ratings.”
“Probably.”
“I hope I’ll get to meet them at the reunion. And Bear Trap. He seemed funny.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and rumble with laughter. “Jesus Christ, you know what helpful advice he gave me before getting in the cage for the last fight? To keep my fingers out of Naptime’s butt hole.” I pull a disgusted face.
She bursts into giggles. “That’s priceless.”
“It certainly gave me something else to think about besides how nervous I was.” Maybe that had been his intention. “I kinda miss those guys.”
“Well, have you tried reaching out?”
“Yeah, Woolly started this group text for four or five of us from the show. We’ve been going back and forth about the reunion and what to expect. I talked to Venom once. Talked to Woolly too. Bear Trap texts me outside of the group chat.”
