Blitzed (Rules of Possession Book 3), page 30
I did, grousing the entire time. My chair wasn't nearly as comfortable. “First order of business when I’m in charge is to create an employee guide on how to speak to each other.”
He waved me out of his office. “And good luck with that.”
33
ANDREW
The flight home was long.
The moment I stretched out my legs next to Everett, he kicked my dress shoes. I kicked him back even as I retreated to my space. My suit was uncomfortable, and I wondered why it was so important that we get dressed to the nines after an away game.
I was ready for sweats and sneakers and depending on how messy my hair got, maybe a ballcap. I was ready for the comfort of my bed. And some food that wasn’t healthy and protein packed. I wanted to eat something so sinfully grease laden, that I wouldn’t be able to look my trainer in the eye ever again.
The good vibes from winning two of our three away games had faded. Like the machine he was, Vaughn had already mentally moved on to the next game. When I walked by his seat, he was watching highlight reels of the Titans and busily taking notes. He waved for me to join him. I pretended not to see as I hustled to the bathroom.
Coach was doing his usual we could’ve done better and on Monday I’ll show you how spiel. No one was paying him or our team captain any mind. The general mood on the plane was “over it and antsy to get back.”
It was hard to believe I’d ever doubted coming back to football. I’d missed so much about the game, both major and minor. The turf under my cleats, the ball secure in my hands, that excitement thrumming in my body before every snap of the ball. I’d missed the camaraderie of my teammates, my brothers. Over these past few weeks, they’d gone out of their way to let me know they were behind me and Jesse a thousand percent.
My mouth quirked as I stared out at the darkening sky. Maybe too behind us in their usual overexuberant, eager puppy way. I could barely keep them from bombarding poor Jesse with their support. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep them off him for long. They were ready to support the fuck out of him.
Everett slid his wireless headphones around his neck and stretched, bumping me a few times. I sighed. From traveling with him on numerous occasions, I knew that he liked to spend the final hour or so complaining. It was his thing. It was also why I usually pretended to be asleep until the seatbelt light went off.
“Thank God we’re almost home,” he groused. “I’m so sick of travel right now.”
I nodded. I hoped we wouldn’t draw the short straw again next season. Away games were rough. You were away from your family and friends, and the travel always took a toll. It also sucked when the crowd hated your guts before you took the field.
I used the hate as fuel. You either give us the win or we can take that shit. No amount of booing or jeering was going to change that. But I couldn’t deny that I fed off the crowd’s energy. And I loved looking up in the stands to a sea of blue and silver.
Next game. I grinned to myself tiredly. Maybe I could even convince Jesse to come. Talk about fuel. That ought to give me enough to light up the whole stadium.
I gave Everett a nudge. “You think I can catch a ride with you? I don’t feel like calling an Uber.”
“Are you seriously asking me that shit?” He snorted. “I’d give you a ride to Jupiter as long as you paid for the rocket fuel.”
I laughed. “And that is why you’re in my will.”
“You’re too damn healthy. I’ll never collect unless I do something unspeakable.” He gave me a look of mock despair and sighed. “Anyway, I already sent a text to Erin. She should be headed this way.”
I swallowed a groan. I liked Everett’s girlfriend, but she was chronically late for everything. When she was in the kitchen, she was a drill sergeant and timing was everything. Outside of her domain, time became a fallacy. Everett had taken to telling her things started thirty minutes before they did, just so they could be on time.
“You told her we’d be early, right?” I asked.
He gave me his best who’re you tellin’ look. “I told her we landed an hour ago.”
I laughed. “And she’s just leaving now?”
“Hey. That’s my girl,” he said, his voice laced with fondness and exasperation. “Time is pretty much the only thing she’s bad at.”
“She also has bad taste,” I said, giving him the once-over, which earned me an elbow to the solar plexus.
I grunted, hoping against hope that the topic was dropped. But Everett butting into my business was death and taxes.
“So Jesse isn’t coming?” He peered at me. “You did tell him you were coming back today, didn’t you?”
I wanted to say yes, just so he wouldn’t give me that knowing look. But I didn’t lie to Everett. I hadn’t told Jesse because I didn’t want to put him on the spot. Things were very delicate right now. He was supposed to call me back after an important meeting with Joshua, and he hadn’t done that either. The way things had been going lately, I suspected bad news.
I risked a glance at Everett. Sure enough, there it was. The pity look. He just couldn’t understand. Things were different with Erin. She’d been a high-profile chef before they even got together, with a couple of restaurants under her belt and a show on Food Network. She was used to the circus that came with fame. She didn’t look at him and see how much simpler her life was before she met him.
I didn’t want to see that realization in Jesse’s eyes.
I rubbed my eyes wearily. He’d said that he loved me. Yes, he’d been so sleepy that he hadn’t even hung up the phone before conking out. But I chose to believe he meant it. And I was going to get him to say it again.
“He’s very busy,” I finally said.
“So were you when he had his bake sale. And field day. And weren’t you busy that day you drove him to the mission to donate all those clothes—”
“Is there a point to this? I’m assuming there’s a point in there somewhere that isn’t going to make me want to pour a drink over your head.”
“You finished your drink.”
“I’ll order another. Something cheap and hissy-fit worthy.”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to butt into your business.” He glared at my snort. “I’m just worried. I can see how much you care about his guy, and I hope he can handle the pressure. That’s it.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Then consider the topic squashed.”
I went back to staring out the window, pretending I didn’t see Everett’s reflection. He rolled his shoulders a few times and cleared his throat. He looked like he was about to burst from holding in more sage advice no one had asked for. Amused despite my irritation, I started a mental countdown for Everett Buttinsky James to get back to doing what he did best.
And three, two—
“He isn’t thinking about jumping ship, is he?” He blurted. “The media has been kind of rough on him lately.”
Rough? 80 grit sandpaper was jealous of how the media had been treating him. They were treating me more carefully because we were winning. The moment that changed, so would they.
“All the more reason for me to get back and add more things to his ‘keep Andrew’ list. He won’t know what hit him.” I sent him a look full of levity I didn’t feel. “You know how I love a good blitz.”
He didn’t take the bait. “And the next time? We both know this is beyond the usual media attention. You guys are always going to be a public interest story and they’ve just gotten started.”
“I can handle it.”
“You were never the question.”
I bit back words better left unsaid. He was just trying to help. And he wasn’t wrong. But I was willing to take whatever parts of Jesse he’d give me. That was all there was to it.
We didn’t speak much as we disembarked, but neither did anyone else. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see fuck, lemme out of here graffitied across our plane.
I was low-key annoyed as I grabbed my single duffle and filed off the plane with the rest. Some of that was due to all the travel. Some of it was because Everett didn’t know how to lie to people to make them feel better.
We left the cool airport and stepped out into the hot, muggy sunshine. I immediately scanned the line of cars for Erin, even though I knew I wouldn’t see her little blue Porsche. My intuition was correct. I scanned the row of cars again, just to be sure. An hour head start, and she was still late.
“I thought you texted her from the plane,” I said, working my tie one-handed. “Maybe I’ll just call an Uber after all.”
“I…don’t think you’re going to have to worry about that.”
Everett’s voice sounded a little funny, and I glanced over at him with a little frown. He nodded his head at something and I turned, only to see Jesse standing there. I stared at him for a few seconds, wondering how I’d wished him here and if I could do that shit again.
He was wearing ripped dark jeans that hugged his…well, everything just right, and a pale green vee neck shirt that matched his eyes exactly. Ever since I’d told him that green was my favorite color on him, the amount of green in his wardrobe had gone up exponentially. While he looked amazing like he usually did, my favorite part was the sign he gripped in his fingers.
It just read, Baby.
Sometimes you blitz and sometimes you get blitzed. I knew I was smiling like a goofy idiot and I couldn’t give a fuck.
Everett confirmed it. “There’s a difference between a big smile and looking like you’ve been lobotomized.” He walked over to Jesse and held out his fist. After a few awkward fumbles with his sign, Jesse cautiously bumped his fist against Ev’s. “How are you, Jess?”
He bobbed his head. “Good. Great.”
Luckily for us, a blue Porsche pulled up to the curb just then. I could see Erin’s wild curls even before she honked the horn and gave us a merry little wave.
“I’d better get her out of here before she sees Jesse,” Everett said with a grin. “But you two aren’t getting out of dinner.”
“Dinner?” I asked, still a little poleaxed.
“I’ll call you and set it up,” he said walking backward. “And don’t even think about bringing anything. You know how Erin is.”
I watched as he crammed his bag in the backseat of the Cayenne and they tooled off a moment later. “Later,” I said to no one at all.
I walked toward Jesse, who looked a little nervous as he clutched his little sign. I’d fully expected to find him holed up in his house, the shades drawn and the door locked up tight. This version of Jesse standing in front of the airport threw me for a loop. He was a little pink and flustered, but there was a confidence in his eyes that hastened my stride.
I didn’t stop until we were close enough for me to see the light green of his irises. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
He reached up and put a hand on my scruffy jaw right before he kissed the living daylights out of me. Right there on the sidewalk. My tongue tangled with his as I let out a helpless groan. My heart was beating a rhythm of Jesse, Jesse, Jesse and I should probably get that shit checked out.
“What was that for?” I managed when he finally pulled back.
“For being so damned tempting all the time.” At my startled laugh, he sent me a rueful look. “I mean really, McAdams, give it a rest already.”
I laughed and hugged him, damn near lifting him off his feet. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Of course,” he said promptly. “Why didn’t you tell me when you were landing? I had to hear it from Everett.”
That bastard. My lips quirked with a reluctant smile. I knew he hadn’t wanted Jesse’s number for a guacamole recipe.
“I don’t know. I went away at the worst possible time and even though we’ve talked on the phone….” I sighed, raking my hands through my hair. “I’m just glad you’re here.”
He looked at me for a few moments before he reached up and pressed a kiss on my cheek. “No place I’d rather be,” he said simply. “Let’s go.”
I only stopped to pick up his sign. I wasn’t a sentimental kind of guy, but I was saving it. That was the kind of shit that got you laid on your twentieth anniversary.
I scanned the cars at the curb but I didn’t see any of mine. Or the Plymouth. “Where’s your car?”
“Oh! I sold that old thing and bought a new one. Well, she’s new to me anyway. Isn’t she a beauty?” He pointed at an older Mustang that could use a good paint job and had a dent on the back fender. “She needs a bit of work, but—”
“A bit of work?” I shook my head with a smile. “Good Lord, Fox, you shouldn’t be left alone when buying cars.”
“It’s a fucking classic. Wait until I fix her up. You’ll be jonesing to drive her.” He gave me a starchy look. “Which I will allow after a proper apology.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.” I followed him over to the faded blue sports car, giving him a sidelong look. “Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”
He peered up at me for a few seconds, mental wheels turning. Then he brightened. “I have some pictures of Moon Pie using the activity center I built. I think she likes it better than Shortcake.”
“That’s fantastic,” I said dryly even though yeah, I did want to see those pictures. My rabbit was a fucking genius. “Nothing else?”
More thinking as he frowned at me. I barely kept from tapping my foot impatiently.
“I made dinner. Mac and cheese, your favorite.” He tugged on my arm. “C’mon. I called your mom and everything to find out how you like it. I’m not sure about this breadcrumbs on top instead of more cheese business, but whatever.”
Amused, I just shook my head. Leave it to Jesse to hold back the critical I love you and I’m lost without you part of the airport pickup. And I loved him down to his bones. I’d wait for him to tell me in his own time.
As long as “his own time” coincided with today.
By nightfall, he still hadn’t told me. Not even after we’d nearly fucked each other into a coma. We’d made it as far as the kitchen floor, which was too bad because there was no lube nearby. We decided to make do rather than bother to get supplies. It was glorious. I would die on the hill that frotting deserved its own holiday. Then we lay on the kitchen floor like the heathens we were.
“We need a shower,” Jesse said into the silence.
“No point,” I said frankly. “I’m going to want you again.”
He looked at me with an arched brow. “You say that like you’re expecting an argument. I’m just saying I’m not getting in bed like this. We’ve been rolling around on the dirty kitchen floor like animals.”
“Dirty? Stacia will wash your mouth out with Fabuloso. My floor is so clean you can eat off it.” I squinted at a shadow under the stove. “Is that an old grape?”
He chuckled softly. He sounded exhausted. And no wonder, with everything going on. And instead of offering him comfort, I’d mauled and mounted him on the kitchen floor. Although…he didn’t seem to mind all that much.
I reached over and swept back his tangle of messy hair from his face. “How’d your meeting with Joshua go?”
“Okay, I guess. He wants to promote me to the director position.”
“That’s amazing!” My enthusiasm dimmed as I took in his expression, so granite-like that it could’ve been chiseled out of a quarry. “Can I ask why?”
“Yeah,” he said after a moment. “When it comes to you, apparently I’m an open book.”
I snorted. “You’re Pandora’s box inside a Rubik’s cube locked inside Genghis Khan’s tomb.”
“No one knows where that is.”
“Precisely,” I said. “Now what’s the bad news?”
“He’s moving away to be with Dale and the grandkids in Delaware.”
I winced at the dejected slump of his shoulders. I’d been low-key jealous of his relationship with Joshua, but I knew how close they were. “I know you’re going to miss him, but that’s a good thing, isn’t it? He’s wanted a do-over with Dale for a long time.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “It’s just going to take some time to wrap my mind around it.”
“That’s fair. And it’s not like he’s leaving tomorrow.”
He sighed. “We also lost our biggest donor. Schwartz. Joshua wouldn’t give me many details, but I could read the writing on the wall.”
“That fucking—"
“It’s okay,” he said, bumping my shoulder. “With all the negative press, I almost don’t blame him. We’ll get better donors.”
He damn sure would. I was going to make sure of that. He already had put the kibosh on me donating much, but I had friends who were more than eager to jump in feet first. But there would be other people like Schwartz in the coming days. There wasn’t a thing I could do to protect Jesse from the scrutiny or the consequences. Except for one thing. Even if it went against every instinct I had about hanging on to the best thing in my life.
I swallowed. “Say the word, and I can have Ari start operation damage control.”
His brows furrowed together. “Which is what, exactly?”
“He can do his level best to put the genie back in the bottle. We can’t do anything about the past, but we can minimize what happens from now on. If we’re not together, they don’t have a reason to hound you anymore.”
“You haven’t talked to Ari yet, have you?”
“Not since Thursday, no.” I narrowed my eyes. “What has he done now? Did he offer you a fitness model contract to make you go away?”
“What?” He looked startled. “Of course not.”
“Oh.”
“He was quite helpful. He gave me a long speech about taking control of the narrative and not just bobbing along in an ocean of criticism. I swear that fucker has a plan two seconds after something happens.” Jesse shook his head in wonder. “He wants me to do a personal interest piece in a queer magazine. He suggested that I tell them my story. Not just hide behind a new persona. I can be Jesse Fox all I want, but Jamison Foxhill is still in there, too. People deserve to know his story. He went through a lot. He doesn’t deserve to be buried.”
