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My point was, it seemed to have affected him. He’d had a stiffie when he got up and stormed into his house in the middle of our conversation. Now, I wasn’t ever one to presume, but I’d been mighty intrigued by that.

And turned on.

But then, Rafe Hare turned me on a lot. Especially when he got all snarly and pissy and glared at me. A tiny little kitten unsheathing its tiny, cute little claws.

I didn’t think he’d appreciate the comparison all that much though, so I kept it to myself.

Shame he hated me, really. Although if I was being honest, that probably turned me on more. But I’d never seen any hint of him being interested in men, so I’d left it well alone.

I genuinely hadn’t realised I was that bad of a neighbour, not until our conversation on his deck. I mean, sure, I knew I probably could’ve been a bit quieter at night, but I was a night owl. Sue me. And I liked having friends over. So sue me again.

Life was too short and flighty and full of unknowns to not enjoy it to its fullest, in my opinion. Intellectually, I knew not everyone enjoyed life the same way. Rafe seemed content with his small friend group and quiet lifestyle, and that was fine. But that didn’t mean I had to change to suit him just because he lived next door, did it?

I should probably get that fence fixed though. It just kept slipping my mind. And I’d also been kinda hoping it would make him keep coming over and demand I fix it.

But he’d given up doing that after the first few weeks. That was Rafe. Not that I knew him very well at all, but still. I’d picked up enough as his neighbour for the last few years. He liked to quietly seethe. He liked having something to grumble about.

Cute little growly kitten.

I’d been surprised when he’d shown up at Goliaths as the new IT guy. I hadn’t known what he did for work—he wasn’t one to offer any details about himself—but that kind of job, one in the background, suited him. He was quiet and kept to himself, but he wasn’t meek or shy. He seemed like the type to get shit done, and to do it well without expecting any fanfare.

Which I found hot as hell, even though I was the opposite. I loved the fanfare. I loved everyone knowing I’d done a good job, and I loved everyone telling me. I loved the fans who came to watch the shows and held up posters with my name on. I loved it when people recognised me on the street. I loved being a Goliath.

When I got into work Thursday morning, I saw Rafe’s car in the parking lot. I’d considered asking him if he wanted to carpool—better for the environment and all that—but I knew he’d say no.

Besides, none of our colleagues knew we were neighbours. I’d had several of them over at my place multiple times, but they’d never seen Rafe. Wasn’t like he left his house much. I’d pretended not to already know him on his first day for the hell of it, and because I’d found it funny to see if I could make him squirm a bit. I just liked making my prickly neighbour squirm sometimes.

He never came up in conversation with the other wrestlers, anyway. Not even now he was working here. After his first day, he’d pretty much vanished and I hadn’t seen him at work again.

He must have been hiding in his office like a surly cat who didn’t want to be disturbed. Cute.

I was wrestling tonight, so the first thing I did was go into my dressing room and get changed into some workout clothes to rehearse. When I pushed open the doors to the backstage area, I saw Mads and Heidi rehearsing for their match in the training ring. Vince was by the counters making himself a protein shake, so I moseyed over to join him.

“Mornin’.”

“Morning. Hey.” He turned to face me, leaning his hip on the counter and shaking the beaker in his hand to mix his drink. “I was thinking, when you throw your head at me in the match tonight and I pretend to fuck it for a second, you could bite my dick.” He snickered.

My mouth quirked up. When Vince and I fought, the crowd went freaking wild if he grabbed my head and thrust his hips toward it. And my whole shtick was being the wildcard among the wrestlers—I was known for my dirty and illegal moves.

“Sounds fun.” I smirked at him. “You gonna be wearing a cup?”

He made a face. “Nah, just a jock. Just make it look like you’re biting harder than you really are.”

I burst out laughing as I dumped protein powder into a blender cup. “You want me to actually bite it?”

He grinned at me. “Just a nibble. To make it look believable. Only if you’re up for it.”

I shrugged. “Sure. And then what?”

“Then we end the match as planned. Just figured it might be a fun, dramatic way to end it. I’ll curl up into a ball and you can pin me while I’m pretending to whimper in pain.”

“Sounds hot.” I smirked and turned for the fridge, spotting Crossbody sweeping into the room with his standard ‘my shit don’t stink’ expression on his haughty face.

I jerked my chin at him in greeting to be polite. His response was a clipped nod back, coupled with a swift and disdainful glance down both mine and Vince’s frames before he tossed back his long golden ponytail and continued striding over to the treadmills without sparing us a second look.

“Pompous jackass,” Vince muttered into his protein shake.

I grunted in agreement, turning back to the counter to pour almond milk into my beaker. “Crowd loves him, though.”