Chapter 18
Sloane
“Ah, fuck,” I whispered, taking a shaky breath when Rhys appeared from his room just a few minutes later.
I had seen Rhys in many different ways. Shirtless, pajamas, swimsuits, actual suits. You name it, I’ve seen it.
Seeing him in the shirt I bought for him should have been a walk in the park—nothing out of the ordinary.
Rhys used to wear freaking cargo shorts.
I basically redid his wardrobe after he was drafted, so I’d bought plenty of things over the years.
But when he walked into the hallway, my knees turned to rubber.
I gripped the counter for support, truly not understanding this sudden effect he had on me. Maybe I didn’t need to understand. I had no clue. But I was all in.
He sauntered out of his room, running a hand through his freshly styled hair, his biceps flexing against the cuffs of his shirt. Rhys oozed confidence. He winked in my direction, and my whole body warmed. Head to toe, I was set aflame by one measly wink.
But he wore the shirt I bought him.
The one I bought specifically with his biceps in mind. Because apparently, I was doing that now.
He wore a thin, white, ribbed tank top underneath, the neck low enough to show off the tops of his tattooed chest, and a pair of hunter green chinos I’d found in his closet.
This was going to kill me.
Once Dom was changed, the four of us headed downstairs to the lobby; the car service that Rhys used already had someone posted out front.
It was hard not to appreciate the beauty of my building whenever I found myself downstairs.
I used to dream of living somewhere with a door attendant and marble floors.
Now, every time I came home from my dream job, I walked into my dream building and was greeted by the sweetest old man named Marvin, who would often share one of his terrible jokes (though I laughed every time).
The gold accents and the slight echo of my heels welcomed me home every night, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I worked so hard for everything I had. Sloane from five years ago would’ve buried any feeling of pride, telling myself that there was still so much more to accomplish, but as I looked around at my friends and my home, I let myself feel it.
“Ms. Taylor?”
Marvin, the doorman of my building, sat behind his desk near the front door, his hands folded on the counter. He smiled softly, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening.
“Hey, Marvin. How are you tonight? Everything okay?”
His smile stiffened. “I’m okay, thank you. Could we speak privately?”
Great. I’d bet my next paycheck it had something to do with Stu. I walked over to where he sat, Rhys following hot on my heels. “What’s wrong?”
“Well,” he started, his eyes flickering from me to Rhys, who stood so close I could feel his breath fanning across the back of my neck. “Mr. Moore is outside. He’s rang the buzzer twice. Might I suggest leaving through the staff exit in the back of the building?”
The now familiar feeling of panic crawled its way up my throat. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? I reached up, scratching softly at my neck like the suffocating feeling was from clothing or a necklace and not simply because Stu couldn’t take no for an answer.
Rhys huffed out something under his breath, something that was drowned out by the roar of my erratic heartbeat in my ears.
Sensing my panic, Rhys’s hand met the small of my back before slowly sliding around, gripping my hip softly. “Pip.” He urged me to look at him, his fingers flexing against my side.
My eyes fell shut for a moment as I took a deep breath, filling my lungs before exhaling slowly. “Can you just have the car brought around?” I turned to face him, tilting my chin to meet his eyes. “Please?”
Rhys’s eyes danced back and forth between mine, trying to get a better read on me.
His hands reached up, gently framing my face, making my breath catch in my throat.
“We don’t have to leave. We can go right back upstairs.
” His head tilted towards Cami and Dom. “They’ll understand.
Even if you don’t want to tell them what’s going on. ”
I sighed, leaning into his embrace.
The hardest part was how natural it all was.
Nothing about standing here with Rhys, his hands on my cheeks and the tender way he comforted me, felt wrong.
I wasn’t sure if I loved or hated it.
I shook my head. “No, we should go. I don’t—I won’t let him take another thing. I want to have a good night.”
Rhys's lips tipped into a smile so incredibly soft that my heart squeezed in my chest, his thumbs stroking lightly against my skin. “Okay. Let’s have a good night, then.”
He stepped away slowly, his hands sliding to my shoulders, then down to my hands, lingering for a moment before he pulled away completely. A shiver moved down my spine in the most addictive little tingles, and Rhys smirked in response.
I. Am. Fucked.
***
We pulled up outside of The Base Lounge, a small sports bar in the heart of Boston.
I knew they rented out the whole bar, and there shouldn’t be anything to worry about with Stu, but I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that settled deep in my stomach.
I didn’t want him to haunt me. I knew that was exactly what his intentions were, but I needed it to stop.
I wanted to be present, to enjoy the night.
Reading my mind, Rhys’s hand landed on my knee, squeezing softly. “It’s okay. He’s not here. Even if he were, I wouldn’t let him get near you.”
I smiled appreciatively, nodding my head. “Thank you.”
“And it’s private security. No cops,” Dom chimed in.
“Even better,” I exhaled.
Dom and Cami climbed out of the car, but Rhys’s finger slipped through one of my belt loops, pulling me to a stop. “We’ll be just a sec,” he called out, gesturing for them to go on. Dom pushed the door shut and led Cami towards the bar door.
I turned to face Rhys again, the softness in his eyes setting the sweetest little flutter to life in my stomach.
What is happening to me?
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded, grateful he was checking up on me, but frustrated that he even had to. “I’m okay, really. I just want to have a good night and forget all about it.”
Rhys smiled again. “You will forever be the strongest person I know, Pip.”
I exhaled sharply; every little moment I shared with him carried so many confusing questions and feelings.
I knew everything was fake for appearances' sake. But all of a sudden, there was a large part of my heart that desperately wanted it to be true and real, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that.
Everything was happening at a pace that made my head spin, and it was terrifying. At the same time, I also wondered if this was just twenty-nine years in the making, and whatever pace I might be developing feelings for Rhys at was just long overdue.
“I couldn’t do it without you,” I told him honestly.
He winked, reaching across to push the door open again.
I started to get out of the SUV but stopped, turning back to Rhys. “You know we’re gonna have to be joined at the hip tonight. Right?”
His soft smile melted into a smirk. “For appearances?”
I took a shaky breath at the knowing look on his face. But I wasn’t going to admit to myself, let alone Rhys, that I was curious about the developing feelings I had.
“For appearances,” I confirmed weakly, my eyes dipping to his mouth as his tongue swiped out against his lips.
“We should go inside, Pip.” Rhys’s voice was low and husky, with a challenging tone, making me think there was a deeper meaning behind his words than just being afraid we were missing the party.
“Agreed.”
I climbed out of the car, standing off to the side and shielding my face, the bright flashes from the paparazzi making my eyes hurt.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t used to them. Rhys was constantly photographed when we were together, even before our ‘relationship’ was outed.
Everyone wanted a picture of the ‘storybook fairytale romance’ we had together.
My mom had also been sending us plenty of articles since we told her the rumors were true.
Rhys’s hand met the small of my back, gently urging me toward the door. It took an embarrassing amount of concentration to walk up the steps with the heat of Rhys’s hand searing against the exposed skin on my back.
I walked into the small bar; the lights so dim they might as well have been turned off completely.
The only real light was coming from the neon signs scattered throughout the room.
There were framed jerseys and autographed pictures lining the brick walls, with several TVs playing different ball games.
It’d been a minute since I tagged along with the team for a night out and ended up at the Lounge, but absolutely nothing had changed. The air conditioner was still set about ten degrees too high, and the hot, humid air still smelled of hops and peanuts.
And the bar owner, Cal, still laughed impossibly loudly from his stool at the end of the wooden bar. His grey eyes found mine the second we stepped through the door. “No fuckin’ way!” he called out, standing to his feet with a wide grin plastered on his face.
He walked over to Rhys and me, squeezing my face between his palms and kissing both of my cheeks. “About fuckin’ time you showed up around here! It’s been months of dealing with these jerkoffs by myself. Give a guy some warning before you pull your next disappearing act!
I smiled, unsure of how to respond. I couldn’t exactly tell him my asshole, police chief boyfriend forbade me from going to bars and hanging out with men that weren’t him.
Rhys stepped in, saving me from coming up with an explanation I didn’t have. “Aw, don’t worry, Cal. She’s back, and stayin’ put.” His Boston accent was always thick and vibrant when he talked to someone local, and it made my smile widen even more.
Cal wiggled a finger between the two of us. “You know, I always called this. Ask Timmy! I always asked when you guys were gonna get together. You’re all over the papers, ya know?”
Boy, do I ever.