Page 102 of Studs Up
If they knew I slept with a man, what would happen? I didn’t care what they thought of me, but there would be a change, a difference, and an effect on my career.
I understood Holden more and more as the days went on. The more I understood, the more fiercely I wanted to protect him.
There was room for me with Alice, which meant a lot.
“People can’t mind their own fucking business,” she muttered and tapped on my phone. My blood pressure spiked. If she went through my photos, she would find some very suggestive ones of Holden and a few inappropriate ones I’d sent him.
She thrust the phone back at me, and to my relief, she had only sent the video to herself.
“You’re gonna need to do a press conference,” she said.
“Can’t I just put out a statement?” I hated doing that shit.
“No,” she snapped. “We aren’t letting this shit slide.” And then she stomped off, which was a good thing, too. I was feeling this unnatural urge to hug her. But she spun around and pointed a finger at me. “No fucking swearing.” The urge to hug her evaporated.
She released the video, and a few hours later, I was in front of cameras making a statement.
I was cautioned to keep my cussing to a minimum, but when it came to protecting my mother and defending the man I was in love with, I would do the press conference, and I would do it right.
Holden
The package had his name on it. Middle name, making it less obvious. Stamped with ‘fragile’ and ‘live plants’, I handled it with care.
“What?”
“Are you trying to poison me? Because the last time we talked about you sending me a plant, you were pretty clear it would be poisonous.”
“Open it.” His tone softened, making me yearn to close the distance between us. The tape peeled from the seams, and I pulled out handfuls of shredded packing materials.
Little white flowers poked through, and I held my breath.
“Where did you find this?” I asked, carefully peeling away the shredded paper used to pack the little plant. My eyes burned as the scent of jasmine filled the kitchen.
“Cincinnati of all fucking places,” he murmured. His quiet, intimate voice made my chest ache. “We were on a team walk, and I saw it sitting in a window in one of those fancy flower shops. I had it shipped to you. Did it make it okay?”
I caressed the delicate little flowers.
“Yeah,” I said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Anything for you,” he said. “Just don’t name her Jasmine.” I laughed and tried to let his words go, but they stuck with me. Anything for you.
“Maybe,” I said. I walked her into the bedroom and put her on my nightstand next to the list of getting over my bullshit. She would get plenty of morning and early afternoon light.
“Saw the press conference.”
“Yeah? How did I do?”
“Depends. What’s the real story?”
“Fucking asshole was trying to get Ma to sign a petition to repeal gay marriage. She called him a cunt and chased him off her porch with a bat. I was only a supporting character.”
I laughed again, trying to bring to life the image of the woman I’d seen in pictures with a bat chasing a man off the porch. She looked like a sweet, innocent grandmother.
“And how did you get involved?”
“I suggested, vaguely, what would happen if he returned.” I could only imagine the possible threats he had made. “You should watch the video. It was very entertaining.”
“I think I will.” I sat on my bed and stared at the two things Nolan had given to me in love. The statue didn’t count. That was him being a dick.
