Deception and Desire

Chapter Nine - Exes and Ohs

⟪Kaden⟫

Pushing through the crowd, I led Lizzie to the kitchen where I knew we'd find everyone else. She glanced around, unsure of the many people that were already drunk or on their way to drunk around her.

"Hey, man, you ready for tomorrow night?" Sam asked, his eyes landing on us as we walked in. He leaned against the counter, beer in hand.

"Hell yeah," I scoffed. I had never been more ready to step into that ring in my life. It had been so long since I'd fought. Fighting–I learned–was a need more than anything. An itch I desperately needed to scratch.

"Look who decided to show his face," A very irritating voice asked from behind me.

I fought against the anger that rolled through me as I turned to see his stupid, smug face. "Can I help you, Conner?" I asked, not even bothering to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

Lizzie spun around, eyes going wide. She looked between us as if trying to decide whether we would start throwing punches right here in the kitchen.

"Who is it you're fighting tomorrow night?" Rick Conner asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to get under my skin. He always was horrible at trash talk...Well, besides the one exception of when we fought before. Then he had words that cut like a knife. "Mark? Is that it? The new kid? I mean, I wouldn't give you a match worth watching either seeing as how you dropped the ball last time."

I let his words roll off of me. I will make my way back to the top. I was going to get back to where I was before it was all taken down by one stupid mistake–one stupid distraction. "Well, if you want a fight, just let me know. I'm sure we could pull some strings."

"I don't waste my time on people like you anymore," Rick says. "Sorry."

"Yo! Kade!" Alex's voice made me look away from the asshole in front of me. My glare melted once seeing my drunk brother making his way over. He smiled, pushing past Rick as if he weren't there. "Hey, man," he slurred. "Ready to kick some ass?"

"Yeah, how many drinks have you had?" I asked, watching out of the corner of my eyes as Rick disappeared back into the crowd.

"Lost count." Alex shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, Eliza, how you doing?" He winked at her.

She shifted, folding her hands in front of herself. "I'm okay. And you?"

"Leave her alone, Alex. Go hit on some other chick, okay?" I patted his shoulder.

"Come on, we'll get you a drink." Sam laughed, tapping Lizze's shoulder.

She sent me a smile before following him off into the living room where most of the liquor bottles probably were by now. The party had been going on for about two hours already.

"She's cute. Lot less annoying than the last woman you took out," Alex remarked.

I rolled my eyes. "Dude–"

"I'm serious," Alex says, more serious than he was moments ago. "Lizzie's nice. A good person. She's good for you, man. I'm happy for you. I mean, Mandy was a total bitch. Rose colored lenses worked magic on that one."

I pulled in a breath. "Yeah, you're right."

"I know I am."

+++

Still working on my first beer, I stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing. I heard soft footsteps behind me, moving away from the loud music.

"Hey." Lizzie leaned against the railing beside me, a beer of her own in hand. "You disappeared awfully quick."

"I don't like to drink much before a match," I told her, shrugging my shoulders.