Chapter 41 - Reece
The first thing Reece did when he landed was text Nick. Then he got home to his apartment, which still didn’t feel like home to him, and left his bags in the living room. He was exhausted, too tired to eat, but in desperate need of a long, hot shower.
He slept until noon and woke up to texts from Nick—the one notification out of thousands on his phone that Reece cared about.
Nicky: just landed too
Nicky: meeting the team and having dinner
And then a few hours later—
Nicky: night kitten
Reece screamed. Phone clutched in both hands, Reece rolled around on his bed from one side to the other, kicking his feet and hugging his pillows and squealing into them.
It felt like things were back to how they used to be. Because that’s what Nick wanted. He showed Reece that he wasn’t happy with their separation. He held him. Kissed him. Promised him that they’d meet again and they’d have more time.
So Reece couldn’t stop smiling.
Reece: Good morning, Nicky!
Reece: Sleep well ??
It was so much easier to get out of bed today, Reece feeling as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He could breathe. He could laugh. He could cry in the best way.
He even sang as he ordered some breakfast and then sat on the couch with his laptop to check his emails. Checking his emails happened in between perusing his notifications on Instagram and X.
Everything had been so chaotic that Reece hadn’t checked his socials since before the draft. He’d been completely oblivious to how much his name and face had gotten around since then.
Did Nick just kiss that blond guy?
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“That blond guy” is Reece KEYS, a supermodel who must be close friends with him!
Holy shit is it just me or was the number one pick eye fucking the hell out of that model Reece Keys?
Omg the way Reece spoke about Nick in the interview!! ??
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Fuck that. What about the way Nick was looking at Reece the whole time??
Hey @ReeceKeys are you and @NickGray dating?
IT’S CONFIRMED THAT GRAY WAS INVITED TO ATTEND THE D&G SLEEK AND CHIC LINE SHOW AND GUESS WHO IS ONE OF THE MODELS?
I saw Nick drooling over a certain blond at the K-Center.
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It was Reece Keys btw
Reece was so absorbed in reading everything with heated cheeks that when a knock sounded on his door, his phone flung right out of his hand. He cursed and went to open the door, coming face to face with a shorter guy who started bouncing on his feet the instant Reece’s face came into view.
“You really are Reece Keys! Oh my God, you’re that model who’s dating Gray right?”
“What? Who told you that?” Reece frowned, taking his food and closing the door halfway.
“Gray’s character profile says it. And you were kissing him at the draft, so—”
“We didn’t kiss at the draft,” Reece squeaked. “Ah, just forget it.”
“Wait! Can I have your autograph? Or a picture?”
Reece relented, signing the guy’s shirt but refused a picture and closed the door on him as soon as he could, making sure to lock it behind himself.
While he ate, he took some time to text Alex and Declan, and then his sisters to let them know he was home safe. He should’ve known they’d all be talking too.
Everyone was.
Even Harrison, who Reece happened to run into later that day at the grocery store.
“Well, if it ain’t Reecey.”
“Harrison…” Reece gripped the handles of his basket tighter and turned to face him, that sinister grin, the way he slid his hands in his pockets.
“Guess you liked that jacket I gave you, huh?”
“Oh—that… Nicky threw it out.”
“Wha—that mother fucker again. He thinks he’s hot shit just because he got into the NBA. Well, I’m better than he’ll ever be.”
“Where?” Reece asked, giving him a short once-over.
“For one, I’m here and he ain’t,” he said, stepping closer to Reece, who stood his ground but leaned back a bit. “And I got what you need.”
“No thanks,” Reece said. “You’re not my type, and I’m waiting for Nicky.”
Harrison ignored what he said and slipped an arm around him, getting a handful of Reece’s ass before Reece could shove him away with an elbow.
“What the hell! See! You better leave me alone. If Nicky knew—”
“He’s far away from here. Too fucking far to be what you need him to be.”
“I won’t let you walk all over me, Harrison. But thank you for showing your true colors as usual.”
Reece walked off before things could go any further, opting to take a cab to another grocery store so he could shop in peace.
He was just walking into his apartment an hour later when his phone rang.
It was Nick.
Reece wanted to cry just seeing his name.
“Nicky?”
“Hey, Kitten… Mornin’.”
“Morning,” Reece replied with a watery smile.
“What’s wrong?”
How did he know? “N-nothing. Did you sleep well?”
“Enough. What happened?”
“Ugh. It’s nothing, Nicky. I just ran into Harrison a bit ago and he—”
“That bitch keeps getting lucky, huh.”
Reece shuddered, carrying his bags into the kitchen. “Well, it was unexpected. He was just being Harrison.”
“Giving you more of his shitty-ass clothes?”
“No. He was coming onto me this time.” Reece swallowed, placing the phone on the counter after putting the call on speaker so he could put away his groceries.
Nick was silent for more than a minute. Long enough to make Reece begin worrying.
“Don’t worry, Nicky. I told him to leave me alone and even told him I’d tell you… I hope that’s okay, I just—”
“That’s exactly what you needed to tell his ass.”
“He’s just got some issues…”
“Don’t you fuckin’ take up for him. Did he touch you?”
Reece swallowed. He didn’t want to lie to Nick but he didn’t want to answer that truthfully either.
“Reece.”
“D-don’t use my name like that unless you’re mad.”
“No problem because I’m fuckin’ pissed. Tell me what he did right now. Be specific.”
“O-oh, well… Oh no… Um… Oh, these groceries won’t put themselves away…”
“Fine, don’t fuckin’ tell me. I know all I need to know anyway.”
“Stop it, Nicky. You have a reputation to worry about. And a lot of eyes on you. You can’t go getting in trouble over someone like Harrison.”
“Please. We both know who you’re really worried about here.”
“I don’t want you to kill him and get in trouble just because he grabbed my ass.”
Silence again.
“Wait—Nicky, that wasn’t—”
“He’s dead.”
“You can’t… Stop it. It was so quick, and I hit him in the ribs after.”
“You really think that’s gonna cut it right now?”
“What will cut it?”
“Nothing until I get my hands on him, but you can tell me something good for now.”
Something good… “I dreamt of you last night.”
“Yeah? A dirty dream?”
“No! Well…”
“Mmhmm.” Nick chuckled. “I’ll take care of that soon, too. Just wait for me, Kitten.”
“I’ll wait for you, Nicky.”
Even if he had to wait forever.