Chapter 7
Briar
Moore looked at them all and then focused on Dante. “Erm . . .”
“I know, it’s complicated,” Dante said, his voice so low that I could barely hear him. “It’s okay, you can talk freely in front of us.”
I needed to be closer, so I began inching along the floor, aware that I couldn’t make any noise and that at any moment one or more of them might see me.
But I needed to hear this. I knew I did. I’d moved maybe three or four chairs over, and when I peeked through the gap, I could see Dustin’s back. I couldn’t see Dante’s face, but I could see the profiles of Jason and Noah.
Jason looked around, seeing no one else there; he had the look of a man who knew he was cornered and had no way out, unless it was through the six-four linebacker.
Jason may have been slightly taller; he may have been fit in his own right, but Noah just had a presence that said ‘don’t fucking mess with me.’
Noah stepped closer. “You tell us, or we find out ourselves, and trust me, one of those options is easier for you.”
Jesus.
Jason grimaced as he looked away. “I got it, Matthews, you’re the bad guy.” He shook his head, his eyes on the seats very close to where I was hiding. I tried not to breathe.
“Jason?” Dante prompted.
I knew the others were getting impatient, but I saw Noah shake his head slightly and wondered whether he was looking at Dante.
Dante adjusted his body slightly, and I could see him a little clearer. I saw him dip his head slightly, a signal from their playbook or something, because Noah seemed to step back.
Dante Spence, the linebacker whisperer.
“I got a girl,” Jason finally said, his voice lowered. “Laurie-Anne,” he added, even though I would challenge anyone on this field not to know her name — she was in every second post he created on social media.
I glanced at Noah, and I took that back; okay, maybe not everyone on the field would know her name.
“We’ve been together since we were fourteen.” Jason moved his weight from one foot to another as he scratched the back of his head. I saw him check his surroundings to ensure it was only the four of them.
“You cheated on Laurie-Anne?” I heard Dustin ask incredulously. “Really?”
Jason looked like he wanted to run, even if Noah was in his way.
“I’m going to assume that she doesn’t know?” Dante asked Jason coolly.
The look Jason gave him was a mix of ‘are you crazy?’ and ‘what do you think?’
“And you told someone who is holding it over you?” Dustin assumed, and I remembered the picture he’d shown me, and the fact that it had been taken and sent to him.
Jason looked momentarily surprised and then let out a sharp grunt. His gaze was constantly bouncing between them. “I’m assuming—”
“What happened?” Dustin asked Jason, stepping closer and cutting him off, a confidant in a hostile environment.
Jason looked like he was ready to cry. “I’ve been with her for almost seven years,” he said, and he sounded miserable. “We’re, you know . . . waiting.”
Dustin wasn’t going to be supportive. I knew it the moment his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Dante stepped in quickly before they lost the fragile hold they had over the tight end.
“It’s admirable,” he said quickly, assuming the role of leader he wore so well on the field. “It takes a lot to wait so that the first time is your wedding night, especially on the platform you’ve built for yourself.”
As he spoke, I saw Noah hadn’t caught what Jason meant, and while he didn’t look as astounded as Dustin had, he wasn’t hiding his surprise well either.
“It was stupid,” Jason said, dropping into a crouch, his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. “One night, an away game, and I fucked up.”
Oh my God, he sounded like he was going to cry. And I could only see the top of his head now.
Dustin turned, and I saw him look at Dante in what could only be described as panic, so Moore was definitely emotional. I bit back the laugh at the flat glare that Dante gave his wide receiver before he sighed and adopted a similar pose to his tight end.
Why were they crouching? There were seats right there. They could move, sit on the seats, and I could hear better.
“Is Briar likely to come back?” Dante asked Noah, looking up at him.
“Back?” Noah turned to look at the entrance where I was supposed to be hovering. “Huh . . . Didn’t see her leave.” He turned slowly, his gaze scanning the stadium. Once more, I held my breath. This guy could probably hear my pulse racing, and I willed myself to stay calm.
“What?” Dustin looked around, but it was clear he wasn’t really looking. “She won’t be gone long, she needs to take the photos.” He turned to Jason. “Speed it up, man, before you have the social media girl listening to your confession and plastering it everywhere.”
Geez, thanks, Slater.
“Dust has a point. Wherever she is, she won’t be long, and this may be something you don’t want some random to hear,” Noah said firmly. “From the look on your face, Jason, you don’t want us to hear, and we’re on your side.”
Some random? Did he mean me? Asshole.
He also made the same point as Dustin, only he said it better. And I resented that I noticed.
As Jason stood, almost leaning on his quarterback for support. The three of them walked him to the seats nearest them, and they all sat down about three rows in front of me.
Now I could hear everything better, but I had one hundred million percent more chance of being caught.
And how the fuck was I going to ‘walk’ back into the stadium when I never left and was lying on the ground, only a few rows above them?
Shit. I really didn’t think this through.
“You need to tell us,” Dante reminded Jason.
I watched Dustin fidget in his seat. Noah was impassive and didn’t fidget, and didn’t shuffle his feet, or look away.
His focus was solely on Jason, and I had the feeling that if Jason was going to lie, Noah would know before the sentence was finished.
I wondered idly if that’s what made Moore start talking, the threat that Matthews would know he wasn’t telling them everything.
“You don’t need to tell the whole story, just the abridged version,” Dante murmured to his teammate.
Jason lifted his head, blowing his cheeks out. “Yeah . . . Just . . . Ah, fuck it, you’re going to hate me as much as Laurie-Anne will.”
“I don’t think we will.” Dustin tried and failed to sound sympathetic, and maybe they were all thinking the same thing I was, namely, I wasn’t the one you cheated on.
Jason rolled his head from side to side and then gave Dante his full attention. “I got caught with someone other than my girlfriend.” He sighed loudly. “My very public, well-known girlfriend.”
“How did they catch you?” Dante asked carefully. “Were you out in public?” Which I knew even as he asked, would never happen. Jason Moore was image-conscious.
“Party,” Jason mumbled. “Private. It was an away game. I used to go to school with some of the team. They invited me back to their hotel to catch up.”
“You knew her?” Noah asked him. Jason shook his head, not looking at any of them. “Did your old teammates know her?”
Jason stood and started pacing in front of them. Perfect for me to see and hear, not-so-perfect for my chances of being caught.
He threw his hands in the air. “I dunno. She was just there, and we got to talking,” he said briskly. “She suggested somewhere more private.” He was striving for impersonal and detached, but he looked ready to break down at any time.
“Why?” Dustin shrugged when they all looked at him, probably thinking it was pretty obvious why.
“I know you were going to hook up with her,” he explained quickly.
“But you were already caught, weren’t you?
I’ve seen your social media, Jason. Laurie-Anne is very prominent.
You’re sitting at a party ‘bonding’ with some girl, you’ve already been tagged, man.
The college gossip mill is just as bad as the high-school hate campaigns, only with more alcohol and less morals. ”
Noah whistled lightly under his breath. “Jaded,” he murmured.
Dustin ignored him, and so did Jason.
“Walk us through it,” Dante encouraged him.
“I was with a group of people,” Jason explained. “It wasn’t a one-on-one situation. We were in a group.” He still wouldn’t look at them. “It didn’t look suspicious at all.”
I heard one of them snort. “Then how did it get . . . intimate?” Dustin asked bluntly.
I didn’t bother to hide my grin. This was genuinely one of the most entertaining things that had happened since I came here. I only wished I could share the tea with Diana.
“Do I need to draw you a picture?” Jason asked so flippantly that I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.
“I don’t understand. How does standing in a group, talking among yourselves, become a ‘do you want to go somewhere quieter?’ How does that happen? How were signals even sent?” Dante wasn’t hiding his impatience any longer. “What am I missing?”
Jason cleared his throat. “I knew some of the guys,” he said gruffly. “They offered a . . . group experience.”
Whoa. Was he serious?
“Are you serious?” Noah asked him flatly.
“I’m serious,” he admitted with a loud sigh.
I wish I could have seen Noah’s face, but I was too worried about being caught. His tone said everything. “You decided your first time would be at a party with old high-school buddies, some girls you didn’t know, and have an—”
“Orgy.” Jason sounded like what the word misery described.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to laugh or not.
“Are you stupid?” Dante asked bluntly. “That is . . . That is such a fucking stupid idea.”
“Is the media girl coming back?” Jason asked, and I almost giggled at his obvious attempt to shift focus.
“Soon,” Noah grunted, and I almost, almost, wanted to pop up and yell ‘surprise’ just to see the fuckers’ reactions. “When did you find out your private party wasn’t exactly private?” Noah asked Jason.