Page 168 of Studs Up
“Hi, sweetheart,” he mumbled when I stopped before him. “How was your day?”
“Not as weird as I thought.”
His eyes softened for me. He wanted me to lose, for sure, but he wanted me to be okay and for my career to stay intact.
“Good,” he smiled, just for me. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my temple. “I have something for you.”
A few teammates made very inappropriate kissing noises as they passed. Nolan flipped them off, too and they laughed. This would be my life now, and it wasn’t so bad. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his shirt so his attention was back on me. I was feeling very needy for my man.
“What did you bring me?”
He jerked his head to the back seat, and I ducked to look through the window. Strapped in like they were our beloved children, Tilly was on one side and Jazzy was on the other.
“I’ve got your clothes in the trunk too,” he said when I straightened up. I dreaded going back to the house and packing up. “I even grabbed all of your little potions and shit.”
But Nolan had done it for me. The ever-present tears were threatening to spill over again. Why he loved me so fucking much was a mystery, but he did, and I almost couldn’t bare it.
“I can get the more with some movers, and when you’re ready, we can talk about what to do with the rest of it.”
I leaned against his body and slid my arms around his neck.
“I love you,” I said. He grinned, and his hands tugged my hips closer.
“That’s because I’m amazing.”
Feeling very brave, I kissed him. He didn’t overdo it, but I felt his fingers twitch, like they were looking for something to fill, like my ass.
“Let’s go home,” I said. “I need to do some very naughty things to you.” He groaned, and I felt a twitch in his groin.
“No,” he said and sounded utterly devastated.
“Why not?” I frowned.
“Because,” he held my face in his hands and smiled. “We’re going on a date.”
“We are?”
He nodded. A small surge of panic invaded my blood. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. That kind of public display so soon might be asking for disaster.
“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “It’s a double date with Alex and Charlemagne.”
Buffers. Alex and Charlemagne were going to be buffers in case something went wrong.
“Where are we going?”
“Juanitas,” Alex announced from behind me. “And if you two can control your disgusting mushy shit, that would be great.”
“Oh Alex,” Charlemagne chided. “It is wonderful. Love is wonderful. Don’t be such an asshole.”
“Yeah, Alex,” Nolan grinned. “Don’t be such an asshole.”
“Fuck you,” Alex muttered, holding back his own grin. “And I told you not to do that.” Nolan broadened his smile.
“Alex doesn’t like it when I smile,” he informed me before I could ask.
Dinner out in public with my fiancé was wonderful and uncomfortable. There were stares, and someone was taking pictures with their phone. News of what happened didn’t stay in the soccer sphere. It had gone mainstream.
Nolan had been insistent that I stay off the internet until after the final. So, I didn’t know what the temperature of the fanbase and the world at large was. I didn’t know if the people were filming because they supported us.
