Page 157 of Studs Up
“Hey,” I protested, and Nolan turned to me with the most Nolan look. Defy me, go ahead. I locked my mouth.
“How long can you give him?” Nolan asked. I frowned.
Santos gave a noncommittal, somewhat flabbergasted shrug.
“I don’t know.” He rubbed his jaw and assessed me. “I would rather have a fully rested and unprepared Monroe than a half rested half prepared Monroe.”
I was standing right here, right in front of them. But Nolan was in full protective mode, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Before Friday is best,” Santos said. He gave me a sympathetic and understanding look that I needed to see. Everyone was assuming that I hadn’t been fired. Hopefully Sebastian would be able to talk sense into Goldstone.
My Coach wasn’t casting me out. He hadn’t benched me for the game and wasn’t planning to bench me for the final. My team had been defensive of me when they found out about Nolan. I wasn’t entirely sure about how they felt now, but I was too tired to care, which I would have to deal with later.
“I’ll get him back as soon as possible, but I’m not going to rush him.”
Santos nodded in agreement.
“You really gonna make sure he shows up?” Rafa asked.
“For you, fuck no,” Nolan said. “For him, yeah, absolutely.”
“This is so fucking weird,” Diaz muttered.
In conspiring against me, Alex had my carry on withheld from the bus because he knew how this would end. They had joined forces for me, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
When Nolan pulled me out of the room, the Guardians stayed, and I didn’t want to imagine their conversations about us.
“We’re going to need to have a meeting,” Alice practically ran beside us as Nolan took long strides to get us out of there. “And discuss how to handle this.”
“In the off season, Alice,” Nolan grunted.
“The news has already gotten out. If we let this go too long, the problem will get worse.”
“I’m sure you can make a nice little statement and wave a magic wand.”
“I’m not a fucking witch, Nolan,” she snapped.
Nolan stopped, and she skidded to a halt.
“Look, we can't do this right now. You’re the best at your job, and I know you can handle this until we can.”
Her mouth dropped.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you compliment anyone, ever,” she said, stunned.
“And that makes you very special,” he said and started walking, pulling me along, leaving her teary eyed in our wake.
“I still think you’re an ass,” she called after us, and I’m pretty sure I heard her mumbling something about barbed wire.
I was fading fast, and Nolan sensed it as he hustled me into the parking garage. He put me in his car. I felt like a lead weight as I slumped into the seat.
He was right. I was draining fast. He crouched before me with the door open, making sure I was adequately buckled in, and it was a good thing, too. My limbs didn’t work right, and sleep was dragging me down.
“I love you so much,” I said. He smiled and cupped my cheek.
“I love you too,” he pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. I had lived believing I would never have this again, and it was almost too much to keep it together. But I didn’t want to fall apart in the stadium. When I fell apart, I wanted to do it in private.
I barely registered the fans gathered outside the parking garage and the photographers with their fancy cameras.
