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But then he’d done the unforgivable. He’d stolen the pre-law fellowship Gracie had rightfully earned sophomore year.

It was easy to see how it had happened. A quick word in someone’s ear, a special request from the McNeely family, and just like that, an award that would have paid Gracie’s tuition and given her a bunch of prestigious internship opportunities had been handed to a kid who already had a fucking scholarship. The rich getting richer, as usual.

But for once, the universe was offering me an opportunity to even the score. And I was going to take it.

I was going to make his life hell.

I wouldn’t do it with my fists—though I imagined it in graphic detail every time I hit the speed bag. There’d be consequences if I put a mark on the golden boy’s pretty, pretty face.

Psychological warfare, on the other hand, was harder to prove but just as satisfying.

Starting with tonight’s performance.

I’d sensed McNeely’s disapproval when I’d brought the girl back to the room. Though he’d pretended to be asleep, I’d noticed him listening. I’d felt the force of his stare in the darkness.

So I’d made it a game. Teased him. Made it impossible for him to tune me out.

I figured if I taunted him to the point where he wanted me to fuck him, great. Bonus. The man had blowjob lips, and the long, curved line of his thighs did things to me. And if he didn’t, he’d at least find somewhere else to live.

Okay, sex was unlikely. I knew that. The asshole had a girlfriend. Not a single rumor had ever surfaced that he was as… open-minded about his bed partners as I was.

But whether this ended with me destroying his throat or destroying his peace of mind, either way, I’d win.

“… told me you fixed her dad’s Harley. That’s sick. So, do you, like… ride a motorcycle, too?”

I blinked at Maybe-Sarah. “Uh, yeah.”

Her eyebrows lifted in excitement. “Think you might give me a ride on it sometime?”

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Give you a ride where?” The answer was probably no, but I felt a little bad for ignoring her.

“No, like, just anywhere, you know? Motorcycles are so hot. Courtney said she thought she saw you on a bike. Plus, your tattoos and stuff… It’s a whole vibe.”

“A vibe,” I repeated. I glanced down at my hands, though the letters there were mostly obscured in the dark, and barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Sure.”

She rubbed her lips together and lowered her voice to an excited whisper. “Is it true you fight?”

“Yeah.” This time, I didn’t hold back the eye roll.

I had to hand it to my uncle. When he came up with the idea for the fight club, Dalton had said the only thing rich folks would love more than watching other people bleed and sweat in the cage was keeping it a secret.

He’d been right.

By now, the fights were widely known on campus and drew a decent crowd of non-students, too. While Dalton never confirmed or denied calling in favors with his cop friends to make sure we didn’t get shut down, I figured he had to be. It was the only reason we’d never gotten busted. Either that or it was because of his buddy Avila, who had family connections I didn’t ask too many questions about. That part was none of my business, so I stayed out of it.

I tuned Maybe-Sarah out again as I wondered which of these buildings she lived in. I’d been around Demere my whole life while my mom had worked her way up from an overnight janitorial worker to an assistant facilities manager, and I knew it had to be Blaine Hall or Collier. She was too naive to belong in an upper-class dorm.

It was ironic. I’d spent years secretly hating these rich assholes, and now I was one of them. Minus the rich part, anyway.

“… Come up for round two?” the girl teased with another hair flip.

I stared past her shoulder to the front doors of Blaine before blinking at her. “No. But thanks.”

She shrugged, accepting. I’d made it clear before inviting her to my room that it was a onetime thing. I sure as shit didn’t have time in my life to date someone, even if I wanted to. And I didn’t.

As I made my way back to Whitman between the blue safety lights dotted along the campus walkways, I thought back to the annoyed sounds coming out of my dick of a roommate.

I wondered if maybe getting into his head wouldn’t be as easy as I’d hoped.