Of Nathan and I.
On dates.
In his car.
In the stadium locker room—me, smiling up at him with my hands laced around his neck.
He flicks at them.
“Where the fuck did you get these?” My blood runs cold, and I try to snatch the photographs from his hand as sweat trickles down my spine. My words hang heavy in the air, suffocating me.
My thoughts are spiralling. I can’t think straight.
“It doesn’t matter how I got them,” Kevin begins. “What matters is what you do next. My son is a very talented player. Hewilltake his team to the Super Bowl, but he won’t be able to do that with you stuck to him like a leech.”
I recoil.
I’mthe leech? Ha, Kevin should see what he’s saved as on his son’s phone.
“Nathan doesn’t need any distractions, and you, my dear, are a big one that could cost him his title as team captain. I can’t have my son sneaking around with acheerleader, of all people.”
I’m so fucking ready to launch my fist into this man’s nose.
He uses the word 'cheerleader' as an insult.
I know Nathan and I shouldn’t be sneaking around, but this isn’t just a fling. It’s not just sex. “We happen to care about each other.”
Kevin chuckles. “He cares about football, Mae. That’s all he cares about.”
He’s wrong. Because Nathan Slater doesn’tjustcare about football.
He cares about his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches being made with the jelly first because he claims it makes them taste better.
He cares about always having the same lemon-scented laundry detergent stocked in his laundry room because he hates the scent of the flowery ones.
He cares about making sure Radish is fed a high-protein kibble you can only buy from select stores, and he donates money to the shelter so they can provide it for him.
He cares aboutme. I see it in the way he looks at me. The way he traces my scar with the pad of his thumb, asking me about what my father was like. The way he smiles at me, those adorable crinkles appearing beside his eyes. The way he scans the stadium for me, face subtly lighting up when his gaze lands on me.
“And what if I tell you to go fuck yourself?”
He shrugs. “I thought you might say that. Tell me, Mae.” Kevin pauses for dramatic effect. “Do you want paparazzi following you around everywhere? Do you want your name plastered on the cover of every sleazy tabloid, with these pictures printed for everyone to see? I could make that happen. And in the process, I’m sure all hope of reconciling things with your mother would be lost.”
The metallic taste of panic sits on my tongue.
“I assume these veterinary practices research their applicants, correct? Do you really think they’d accept someone connected to such a scandal? With this dragging behind you, I imagine it’ll be incredibly hard to find a job in that field.” The words roll off his tongue with deliberate slowness, the condensation accentuated.
Kevin is right. If these photographs are leaked, I’ll never get accepted by a practice.
Animals. It’s all I’m good at.
“Why would you want to get your own son kicked off the team?”
“Nathan would receive offers to sign with other teams. He’d be snatched up in seconds. You, however, would be named and shamed. Your life will never be the same, Mae. Everything you’ve worked so hard for. Gone.” His fingers snap. “Just like that.”
My body feels numb, and I lean back against the wall and inhale. This isn’t happening right now. There’s no way in hell I’m actually being blackmailed by Kevin Slater.
“Do you seriously have no shame?”
