Page 151 of Studs Up
“Reed’s been fucking Monroe.”
Every single pair of eyes turned to us. Nolan was near me. I felt his heat and his presence as he stepped closer. Defensively, protectively. He was still my Nolan, my lover, my fortress, and it didn’t matter that everyone was staring and judging. He was there, with me.
“Are you serious?” Rafa looked at me, then Nolan. “What? You wanted to start some shit before the game?” Rafa stepped up to Nolan, who didn’t move an inch. His eyes were so dark, and his body so rigid that I thought he was going to explode.
There was shouting and shoving again. Rafa lunged for Nolan, and I finally clicked back to life and dove between them, prying Rafa off and shoving him away.
“I started it,” I shouted. “I did it. In January.”
“You did not,” Rafa said in disbelief. I shoved him back.
A hand gripped the back of my jersey, ready to yank me away.
“January,” Marcel sputtered. Two security officers had somehow squeezed themselves into the melee and were now helping Charlemagne hold him back.
“Is it true?” Charlemagne asked.
“Yes.”
His shocked expression dropped to horror as he looked at me, then at Nolan, and back at me.
“Him?” Charlemagne pointed, seeming to channel the stunned mood of the room.
“Yes.”
“Did you release that picture?” Rafa turned back to Nolan. Not a single ounce of fury had drained, and he shoved him. “Were you the one that screwed him over?” Honestly, Rafa’s defensive rage was a welcome surprise.
“Fuck no,” Nolan growled. “I never want to win a game with that bullshit. I’m not a coward. And I will never,” his voice dropped, and his anger spread through the room like a deadly poison. Everyone but Rafa took a step back. “Do a fucking thing to hurt him.”
“You think I’m a coward?” Marcel bellowed. “He doesn’t belong to you.” Cogs were working but not fast enough. I was missing a big piece and felt like it was staring me in the face. But after a brutal ninety minutes of torture and days of heartbreak, my brain wasn’t moving the way I needed it to.
The eyes that scorched my skin had turned to Marcel now. He doesn’t belong to you.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Do you really think I spent all that time making sure you weren’t distracted so that you could fuck him?” He threw an angry finger at Nolan.
“It was you?” I breathed. Now, my brain was firing at top speed. Every text I ever received flew through my brain. Every picture he sent, every intimate video of Nolan and I played. “You?” I roared with rage.
“What the hell is going on?” Santos demanded. But I was already within arms' reach of Marcel and threw a punch so hard I felt the knuckles in my hand crack. That pain was nothing compared to what Marcel had done. The agony he had caused and the near total destruction of my life.
Blood burst from Marcel’s nose, and a chipped tooth dropped to the floor. I wanted to hit him again and again. I wanted to cause him all the pain he caused me.
“You almost took everything from me,” I screamed. I hit him again. I didn’t care about anyone watching, and I didn’t care about the consequences. I had lived my life for seventy-two hours believing I had lost Nolan forever. Seventy-two hours of misery. I was unbelievably grateful that Nolan was stronger than I was and refused to give up on me.
“You put cameras in my bedroom,” I screamed. “You fucking bastard.”
A hand on my arm dragged me back.
“Cameras?” Nolan asked as he turned me around.
“Yes,” my voice shook. “He sent videos threatening to release them if I didn’t end it.”
“What the fuck?” Charlemagne’s angry voice hovered in the background. The sound of flesh and bone meeting flesh and bone had me turning again. Marcel was spewing blood from his nose and mouth, and he had lost another tooth.
That didn’t stop Nolan from lunging at him. Charlemagne threw an arm around Nolan’s chest and hauled him back. Probably the only person in the room big enough to handle Nolan in his anger.
“You put cameras in his bedroom?” Nolan bellowed and tried to get around Charlemagne, who was struggling to contain Nolan. The teams got involved, and everyone pushed Nolan back and dragged Marcel further away.
