Page 48 of Studs Up
Just before he reached for the door, I stopped him.
“Um, so, about…” I looked at the door, not entirely sure how to say it.
“Out there, you can fuck right off,” he said in that gruff way everyone had come to love or hate. “But here you are mine.” The possessive use of ‘mine’ had me hot and sweating. He grabbed me and pressed a crushing kiss to my mouth. I was going to happily suffocate and die under those lips.
Then he left me standing there gasping for air and fighting for my life.
…
Nolan kept his promise. He ignored me when we were out. He snapped at me at practice and grunted as he passed me in the gym.
It should have irritated me. But the secret pleasure of knowing that as soon as we were alone, I would be on my knees and sucking his cock, was darkly satisfying.
It wasn’t just that either. I had discovered a side of him no one knew about. If I were out, if a relationship was an accepted and normal thing, and I told people how sweet and tenderly he kissed me, they would laugh me out of the room.
I got a part of him that was as much of a secret as my sexuality.
Nolan
Stepping outside the room in the morning the world looked different. Holden was taking his time doing whatever the fuck he did with all that shit in the bathroom. It was important to him that nothing changed, and I was determined to make sure nothing fucking changed.
Except it had, the colors were different. The air was fresher. I was relaxed and content, two very new things for me.
When Holden came down for breakfast, I ignored him. But I was aware of him every moment. I knew where he was and what he was doing even if I wasn’t watching him.
There was a scrum of reporters with cameras doing interviews and taking footage, and Holden was doing a pretty good job of absorbing the attention. Something he enjoyed was the most irritating part of my job. And Alice would ride my ass if I cussed in another interview.
I did my best to stick to the scrimmage and avoid eye contact with reporters.
When Holden finally rejoined us, I let him know how annoying he was being about the cameras.
“Track the fucking ball, Monroe,” I shouted. “Not the cameras.”
He jogged backward with the most beautiful smile, even if it was supposed to mock me.
“You’re just mad I’m prettier than you are.”
“Fuck you,” I called. He flipped me off and sprinted away for another run.
“Still with this shit?” Morales asked.
I didn’t answer as I stalked off to get back in position.
There were plenty of opportunities to give him a piece of my mind, and he was very Holden about it. Snarky and irritating, and I realized I loved it. The thing was, we started connecting more on the field. I could launch the ball, and he would be ready for the run. It worked enough that Coach noticed.
“Seems my plan is working,” he smirked at me as he called us in for a cool down.
Oh, it was working all right. He had no fucking clue what he had started. I would never thank him for it, but I wasn’t going to refuse the benefits. When we got back to the hotel, I would make Holden cum, and it would be the best part of my day.
Despite trading orgasms, Holden still didn’t sleep. I desperately wanted to know how to fix it, but I didn’t know how. All I could do was be there, so I gave him an hour to himself before I joined him.
The first game against Jamaica went fine. We tied one one, and Holden got an assist. He was looking and playing better, but it wasn’t enough.
We had a flight to fucking Miami, of all places, for a game against Canada. Why we couldn’t play on the northern border was a question I wanted answered.
I dozed on the flight and pretended that my world hadn’t been turned upside down. There was a game in two days that I needed to study for.
I had spent so much time in his throat that I hadn’t prepared, and somehow, I needed to carve that time in.
