Page 103 of Studs Up
“She knows it’s you, by the way.”
My heart stopped.
“Nolan,” I said, panic surfacing.
“She knew before either of us did,” he said softly. “She knew the second I told her there was a man who was driving me insane.”
I released a stuttered breath.
“She knows how important it is to keep this a secret since she already loves you, she’ll take it to her grave.”
“How can she love me if she’s never met me?”
“She knows how important you are to me. That’s all she needs.”
Tears formed on the tips of my lashes. I wish I had that growing up.
“I would love to meet her someday,” I said, wiping them away.
“You will.”
We talked until he declared it was time for me to go to bed. But I couldn’t shut my eyes when I curled up and faced the Jasmine. His mother knew about us. She was the only person in the world who knew we were together and would take it to her grave. He said she loved me even though we’d never met, which was more than I got from my mother.
…
Nolan wasn’t a man of many words, but when I woke up, I had a text that meant the world.
Miss you.I smiled and relaxed back into my pillows. I was stiff and leaking from a night, dreaming about his body, his cock, and how sweetly he held me.
Need you.I sent back with a pic of me in bed. It wasn’t seductive or sexy, just me alone, without him, and that was enough.
Fucking hell. Don’t make me drive down there. Because I fucking will.
My grin stretched so wide it hurt, but I didn’t care.
I tossed my phone and rubbed my eyes. The sun was warm, filtering in through the window. It was late September, but summer still held on.
My phone buzzed again, and I snatched it up.
It wasn’t Nolan. It was the unknown number, and my stomach roiled as I read the text. The other shoe was dropping in slow motion, as heavy as lead, as poisonous as oleander. I didn’t even make it to the bathroom before I vomited.
…
“You look green,” Alex said. Splashing cold water on my face wasn’t working. My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since the text, and my thoughts couldn’t slow down. It was all crashing in on me. I wanted soccer, but Nolan was what I needed, and I would have to choose.
How could I do that? How could I let Nolan go or give up my career?
“Are you okay?”
I braced on the sink and tried to meet my eyes in the mirror, but I couldn’t. I was such a coward. I was a coward because I knew which choice I would make.
“Christ.” Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me around. “What the fuck happened?” It took a long time to focus on him, and when I did, I saw a worried friend who had no fucking clue what was going on with my life. My best friend didn’t know about the man I was sleeping with or the person trying to destroy me.
I could tell him. I could let it all out.
Hey Alex, I probably should have told you, but I’ve been fucking Nolan Reed for months, and by the way, there’s some other shit I’ve been keeping from you for years. Wanna go for a coffee?
No, probably shouldn’t do that right before a game.
