Wrestling with My Truth

Malachi Jace Rivers-Montgomery has spent his entire life being the man of the house. With no father and a mother working double shifts, the quiet, light-skinned kid from Cleveland learned early how to keep his head down, take care of his younger siblings, and stay out of trouble. Wrestling became his escape—and his armor. Now, as a freshman on the Ohio State University wrestling team, Malachi is finally on his own for the first time. New city. New freedom. And a brand-new form-fitting gray-and-red singlet that shows far more of him than he’s comfortable with. Then Kai Mendoza walks into his dorm room. Light-skinned, cornrowed, and built like a problem, the transfer from Chicago is everything Malachi didn’t know he was waiting for. What starts as an easy roommate connection quickly turns into late-night tension, stolen glances in the locker room, and a drunken collision that neither of them can stop thinking about. For the first time in his life, Malachi is forced to confront the quiet curiosity he’s spent years burying under responsibility and discipline. But while Malachi is learning how to want something just for himself, the streets of Cleveland aren’t ready to let him go. His older cousin Darnell—jealous, volatile, and still tangled in the life Malachi escaped—keeps showing up with threats, fists, and a dangerous need to prove that Malachi hasn’t really changed. As the wrestling season heats up and the bond between Malachi and Kai deepens into something neither of them can deny, the pressure builds on every side. Nationals are approaching. Old wounds are reopening. And the truth Malachi has been wrestling with his entire life is about to demand to be seen. Wrestling with My Truth is a raw, emotional sports romance about first love, found family, and the courage it takes to stop fighting who you are.