Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
SILAS
Our way up to Beck’s room is quiet, but I haven’t let go of her yet. Her body is tense, so I rub my thumb along her hand, trying to calm her. I’m not sure if me opening my mouth right now would make her feel better or worse.
The elevator dings, and the doors open. She steps out, and I put my hand on her lower back.
“Maybe I should go in by myself,” she says, looking up at me.
I tilt my head to the side and look at her. “I’m not letting you do this alone. But I kinda need to know how we’re approaching this.”
“I have no idea,” she whisper-yells. “On one hand, if I say it was a mistake and we were just goofing around, they’ll never trust me again and just continue to baby me forever.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” I cut in.
She smiles shyly at me. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry. I just … God, this is all too real now.”
“Brooke, I thought I’d made it clear to you last night and again this morning, but if I need to keep saying it until you believe it, I will.
” I run my hand up her back to her neck.
“This, for me, didn’t just happen overnight.
I’ve had feelings for you for a long time now.
And I abso-fucking-lutely took my shot to spend some time with you, not just last night, but any night before. ”
“Okay, so maybe we don’t say it was a mistake then?” She stops walking and turns to face me.
“I think”—I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into me—“we should be honest. You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about being with me before last night. So, I really don’t think this was random on your part either. Am I wrong?”
“I definitely thought about seeing you naked before. Getting married? Well, that never crossed my mind. This isn’t about us hooking up or even dating. We got married, Silas. They’re going to ask questions we don’t know the answers to yet.” She puts her hands on my biceps.
“Then that’s what we say. We don’t have all the answers yet.”
“I can’t believe you aren’t freaking out about this.” She looks at me, eyes roaming over my face.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m just … fuck.
” I turn my head from side to side, trying to figure out how far I should take this right now.
“I’m happy about it. Is the timing ideal?
Nope, but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve won the whole fucking house.
Any man would be lucky to be with you, but I”—I poke my own chest—“get to call you my wife. So, I don’t see how that would be bad in any scenario. ”
“You’re gonna make me cry before we even get in the room.” She tips her head back.
“I don’t ever want to make you cry, Cupcake.” I brush my thumb under her eye, catching a stray tear.
“You’re right though. I have thought about you for longer than I should admit. If I’m honest, it was never just about how good you’d look naked.”
“I know.” I lean down and kiss her softly.
I can feel her phone buzz between us.
“We’d better get in there, or he might come looking for me.” Brooke pulls away. “Now’s your chance to back out.”
“No way. Let’s do this.” I take her hand and place a kiss on her ring finger.
When we get to the door, Brooke barely knocks before it opens, and her dad, Ryan, is standing on the other side, looking none too happy.
“Brooke Delilah Linson, you’d better have a good explanation for this.” He backs up and holds the door open for us to enter.
“Hi, Dad,” she mutters as she walks by him.
Beck is sitting on the bed, leaning forward, hands on his knees. The look on his face though … if I wasn’t a big guy, I might be shitting my pants about now. I think the only thing keeping him in place is the hand Charlie has on his back.
“Hey, guys,” Charlie says with a cautious smile.
When the door to the room slams, Brooke flinches, and the room feels a bit smaller.
Ryan sits in a chair. He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. “Well, start talking.”
I take Brooke’s hand in mine and squeeze it gently, prepared to step in if she needs me to. If I could feed her the strength to do this, I would.
“Well, Dad, Silas and I got married last night.”
Beck sits up. “No shit. We know that part. We want to know why the fuck you would do this.”
“Beck,” Ryan glares at Beck, then watches us, no doubt studying every move and expression.
“Because we care about each other.” A little sass comes out, and I have to bite back a smile.
“That’s cute, and it would make a great Hallmark card, but that’s not gonna cut it with me,” Beck snaps.
And … I’ve had enough.
I step forward in a protective move on instinct and feel every eye in the room on me. “Let me explain the situation clearly. For starters, in case you forgot, Brooke is an adult.” I let that settle in for a second. “And I know it might look like we did this on a whim—”
“Well, we did do it on a whim,” Brooke interrupts and places a hand on my back.
“Okay, valid. But, sir …” I turn to face Ryan because I don’t owe Beck any explanations.
Yes, he’s my friend, but he knows me, and I’m not some fuckup.
Ryan though? I need him to hear the sincerity of my words.
“I understand that this looks like a rash decision, but I’ve had feelings for Brooke for quite a while now. ”
Charlie pipes in, “That is true. He’s been pining since at least September.”
“Not helping, Boss.” Beck turns his head to look at her.
“Sorry. I was just trying to validate what he’s saying. I saw it.” She shrugs her shoulders.
Ryan stands again, pacing. “Okay, fine, you care about her, but walk me through last night and why you two thought it was a good idea to get married. Liking someone, having feelings, is a stepping stone to developing a relationship, kids.”
“Dad, Silas and I are both intelligent people. We understand all that,” Brooke says.
“So, tell me. Every detail.” He stops pacing and places his hands on his hips.
I grimace, hoping he doesn’t see because I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear about how I gave his daughter multiple orgasms last night and at least two this morning.
Charlie sees it though and smothers a laugh with her hand.
“Seriously?” Beck glares at her, and she glares back.
“Excuse me. Don’t look at me like that.” She nudges him.
“Babe, I’m struggling to sit through this. This is my baby sister.”
“See, that’s the problem. I’m not a baby anymore, and I think you guys forget that sometimes. You can’t always protect me from things that may or may not hurt me.” The sass is back in Brooke’s voice, which is starting to turn me on, and now is not the time for me to get a hard-on.
“Okay, you two. Back to the point. Brooke, start talking.” Ryan waves a hand in the air.
So, Brooke starts talking and lays out the course of our night for him, minus the naughty parts. And by the time she’s done, I can tell by her tone that she’s tired, so I wrap my arm around her waist and tug her to me.
“You’re telling me this was your idea, Brooke? You weren’t pressured? This wasn’t just an extended adrenaline rush from winning the game?” He says the last line, looking at me.
I shake my head. “No, sir.”
“No, Dad. Silas didn’t pressure me. If anything, I pressured him.”
“Well, it didn’t take but a minute to answer you, so trust me, Cupcake, I wasn’t pressured.” I can’t help but place a kiss on her temple.
“Aww,” Charlie sighs.
Silence stretches while Ryan looks between me and Brooke.
His gaze settles on me. “Silas, do you understand what this means for you? I assume you’re entering the draft this year, right?”
“Yes, I am. But I don’t see how any of that will change the way I feel. And if anything, having Brooke by my side will make it easier. She also knows what to expect from this lifestyle, so I feel like we can both make adjustments when we need to.”
“Right, but she just started college. You don’t expect her to leave all of that behind and follow you, do you?” he asks me.
“Dad, he’s not asking me to give anything up.” Brooke twists and takes my arm from her waist and wraps hers around mine, like she’s protecting me or something. It’s so fucking cute.
“Brooke”—Beck drags a hand down his face—“you skipped dating. You skipped the engagement. You skipped every normal fucking step of all of this.”
“Well, I mean, I don’t think anyone can say I’m exactly normal.” I try to make light of the moment.
“Not funny.” Beck rolls his eyes.
“I am pretty funny actually, but this isn’t a joke to me.” I turn to face Ryan, and I reach for Brooke’s hand. “Sir, I’m not asking for your blessing after the fact. I’m asking you to judge me on what I do next, how I treat your daughter.”
“And what is it you plan to do?” He crosses his arms over his chest again.
“I’ll protect her,” I say immediately. No pause. No hesitation. “She will always be my priority.”
Beck’s jaw tightens, but I keep going.
“And as far as my career and hers, that’s between us to figure out, but I will never let the rough parts of mine touch her. Ever. She comes first.”
Beck steps forward, not directly in my face, but close enough that his following question feels like a challenge. “What if she changes her mind?”
The answer is already on the tip of my tongue.
“Then I’ll support her.” My voice stays steady. “In any way she needs. Even if it costs me.” I don’t blink because I mean it—because my loving her doesn’t mean owning her, even if walking away from her would tear me apart. “I’ll fight for her, yes. But I won’t trap her.”
That does it.
Beck exhales a long, tired sound, and his shoulders slump, the fight draining out of him. “You realize if this goes sideways, I’ll never forgive you, right?”
I nod once. Then I hold out my fist, offering it without bravado. “I would never expect you to. But I promise I won’t hurt her.”
He stares at my hand, noticing the ring on my finger, then closes his eyes and shakes his head, but knocks his knuckles to mine.
Ryan watches us and sighs long and hard, in a typical parental way.