After The Snap (33 page)

Chapter Thirty

Colby’s phone rang and he hesitated before answering. It was an unknown number and he worried that it was Neil. He answered anyway.

“Hello.”

“Colby, it’s Justin Kallis, Seth’s agent. I need you to pack a bag and go downstairs. A black car will pick you up in fifteen minutes.”

“What? Why?”

“Please. I need you to just do what I ask.”

“Is Seth okay?”

“He’s fine.”

Worry filled Colby. “Is he hurt?”

“No, but I need you to do this. Bring your license so you can board a plane. I’m getting on a plane in Houston. I’ll meet you in Denver.”

“You’re freaking me out.”

“I’m sorry, but I need you to just do this. Please trust me. I want what is best for Seth and at this moment, I know this is best. Also, please don’t tell Seth. Really, this is the best course of action.”

“Okay. But this had better turn out good.”

“It will. Trust me, I won’t steer you or Seth wrong.”

Colby hung up and realized he had about ten minutes to pull together clothes, his toiletries, and his computer. He looked back over his shoulder, making sure everything in the kitchen was off before leaving.

Justin had sent him instructions and he was downstairs just as the car pulled up. He checked with the driver, making sure he had the correct car. He called Seth on the way to the airport but there was no answer. Colby didn’t want to leave a message so he hung up.

The drive to the airport didn’t take long. They pulled up to a small building that wasn’t the normal terminal and he hesitated at getting out when the driver opened his door.

“Where are we?”

“You’re at the private terminal. I believe your flight leaves in a few minutes. You need to hurry.”

Colby stepped into the building and a woman in a dark suit walked over and stuck out her hand.

“You must be Mr. Larsen. I’ll be flying you to Denver. Mr. Kallis has requested we leave immediately. I believe I can get us out of here in about twenty minutes. So, if you’re ready, let’s go.”

He nodded but felt like he was making a mistake. After loading onto the plane and before they started to taxi down the runway, he called Seth. Still there wasn’t an answer. He turned off his phone for takeoff but worry filled him.

Though he was exhausted, he couldn’t sleep at all. He kept wondering what had gone wrong. When the plane landed, Colby was even more disoriented than ever. It was late in Denver and he knew Seth needed his sleep so he didn’t call him. The pilot led him off the plane to the small private terminal where Justin was waiting for him.

“Thank you,” Colby told the pilot.

“You’re welcome. Have a good evening.”

“Colby, come on. We’re going to head to the hotel for the night. I have a suite where you can sleep.”

“What about Seth?”

“We can’t talk about it right now. When we get to the hotel I’ll explain everything.”

Colby shook his head and didn’t budge. “Tell me something now or I’m not moving.”

Justin glanced around then sighed. “Channing did an interview.”

Colby let the words soak in, then nodded. He followed Justin out the door to the lot where a car with dark windows was waiting for them. Once inside the car, Colby wanted to talk, but the driver was right there. The airport was fairly far out so it took a while before they were at the hotel. They checked into the suite and Justin let him get settled before he knocked on the bedroom door.

“Do you want to come out here to the main room so we can talk?” Justin asked when Colby opened the door.

“Sure.”

“Okay, I know you don’t really know me, but I do care about Seth. He’s one of my favorite clients.”

“Tell me what happened.” Colby’s imagination was running wild. “Is Seth okay?”

“Physically, yes. Earlier in the evening Channing gave an interview and said Seth seduced him and attacked him.”

“What?”

“I want to watch the interview with you right now if that’s okay?”

Colby reached for his phone. “I need to call Seth.”

“You can’t, he’s asleep. Right now, his job is to play a perfect football game tomorrow. He loves you, but he’s working.”

“Fuck, this sucks.” Colby lowered slowly to the couch and put his head in his hands. He heard Justin zip open a bag and saw him pull a laptop computer out. He sat back and waited as Justin hooked the computer to the TV. “Did you talk to Seth?”

“Briefly. He was going into a meeting with his coaches.”

“Fuck. He could be cut from the team.”

“He hasn’t yet. I haven’t received a call from the Chargers’ representative so there’s a good chance they won’t cut him. But he has to focus on the game. After the fourth quarter, he’s all yours.”

Colby nodded, wishing things were different but knowing Seth would respect him more if he could handle this and not freak out. “Okay, let’s watch.”

Justin sat on the couch beside him as the video started. Colby recognized Channing and stiffened. Justin reached out and took his hand. They both watched in stunned silence as Channing began speaking. When he told the lie about Seth going into his office, Colby wanted to throw up. Then he realized he was clenching Justin’s hand and loosened his hold. It was painful to watch. When the video ended, Colby slumped in defeat. How would Seth recover from this? He glanced up and found Justin unplugging the computer from the TV.

“Are you sure he still has a job?”

“Yes.”

Justin’s phone rang and he answered. “This is Justin Kalis.” Justin’s cheeks grew pink and his lips turned down as he listened. “It would have been nice if you would have called for a statement before you ran that piece of junk.” Colby wanted to jump up and wrench the phone from Justin’s hands, but that would probably only make things worse. “Yes, well, of course. No, you’re not going to get a chance to speak to Mr. Mercer before the game tomorrow.” Again, Justin was quiet for a few seconds. “This is the statement from someone inside Seth’s camp. Mr. Mercer’s main focus is to play football against the Denver Broncos in the morning. After the game, Seth Mercer will provide a statement responding to these false allegations.” Justin hung up and threw his hands up in the air. “Fuck!”

Colby wished he could talk to Seth, but like Justin had said, Seth had a game to win. After it was over, he and Seth would have time to work through everything.

Chapter Thirty-One

Seth woke late and jumped up as Maddox pounded on his door. “I’m up,” he called out as he raced to the bathroom. How had he overslept? He had about thirty minutes to shower and eat breakfast. After washing quickly, he headed downstairs to the private room where they had breakfast set up. He ate his usual pregame meal, just much faster than he normally did.

“Hey, I was worried, you didn’t show up when you usually do.” Maddox took the seat beside him.

“I don’t know why I overslept. I usually wake easily. I guess it was the stress.”

“We really do support you. Talk amongst the guys is good. They support you, really. It’s not just lip service. A couple of guys told their stories of friends who were at Florida. The man took advantage of his position.”

Seth nodded and took another bite of eggs. “I can’t really think too much about it now.”

“Play ball. That’s all you have to do. We’re sending Louis out front to give a statement when we load into the busses out back. We’re not tossing you to the sharks. You’ll be protected and taken care of. Don’t worry, none of us want you distracted before the game.”

“We make the playoffs no matter what, right?”

“Yes, but if we win and the Texans lose, then we get a bye week.”

“I like playing,” Seth said.

“I know. But with a bye next week, we can allow some of the banged up players to heal and you can deal with this.”

Seth nodded and took another bite. “I’ll be good for today’s game. I haven’t talked to Colby yet, but he loves me and that’s all I need to remember.”

“When you have something to play for, someone to take care of at home, it makes it easier to stay focused.”

Seth nodded. “He helps me.”

“Next week, I want to meet him. He’s important to you so he’s important to me.”

“Okay, I’ll remember that.”

Seth finished his breakfast and had enough time to use the restroom and grab his things, but not enough time to call Colby. He was happy to see a text from his man. That Colby supported him made all the difference in the world. From Colby’s text, he could tell that he hadn’t heard about the interview. Colby would be too angry not to throw a fit.

They loaded onto the bus while Louis did a little bait and distract action, revealing absolutely nothing about Seth or what the team was planning. Louis hopped into a taxi and drove to the stadium on his own.

Every man on the team said good morning to him, some giving him handshakes or fist bumps with a few hugging him. Wayne was right beside him. When they rolled into the stadium lot, another group of reporters was there to ambush them. But the team built a wall around him, not allowing anyone to get close.

They were locked down and even during warmups he wasn’t bothered by anyone. He could only imagine what was being said about him, but he decided not to pay attention to the chatter and instead he thought about Colby and how sweet he was. They were out now and he guessed they could do things like go to dinner and maybe head to a few gay clubs and have fun.

The coaches called them into the locker room about thirty minutes before the game was set to begin. He wanted to talk to Colby, but he knew any discussion he had with his man would take longer than the time he had. He did check his phone and saw one text from Colby. The rest of the messages he ignored and only opened the one from his lover.

Colby: I love you. Play hard and kick some ass.

Seth smiled and decided not to text back until after the game was over. Any reply he sent would be laced with his worry. Coach Louis gave his pregame speech and they were lining up to head out. He wouldn’t fall victim to the taunts yelled at him. He had a game to play and no words could stop him.

They won the coin toss and he took the field after the initial kickoff. Words were flung his way but he ignored them. Will snapped the ball to him and he stepped back two steps before spying Wayne in the open. Just before he let the ball loose he was sacked from the left side.

“That’s right you fucking faggot, stay down,” the guy who hit him yelled in his face.

Seth stood and brushed off his pants. His offensive lineman, Gus, came over, his eyes wide.

“Fuck, I swear I tried to stop him.”

“Don’t worry about it, Gus. It’s okay. Really.”

Will approached and grabbed his shoulder. “Say something.”

Seth knew just what to say. He moved to stand right behind Will, placing his hand on Will’s back. Seth sucked in a breath and called out, “Let’s kick some ass. Fifty-nine bolt.”

Will snapped the ball to him and Seth ran back three steps before finding Wayne just where he was supposed to be. He threw the ball in a perfect arc. Wayne didn’t disappoint either. He watched the referees throw up their hands a second after Wayne cross the line, waltzing into the end zone. They’d scored right after a devastating sack. He felt that he’d proved he could play.

Once the special team took the field and he was on the sideline drinking some water, Gus, Thomas, and Edmond came over.

“I’m sorry about that,” Gus said.

“We really didn’t mean to let that guy through. I swear we’ll take care of them next time.” Thomas tapped him on the shoulder as he spoke.

His anger dissipated. They hadn’t turned on him. “It’s okay guys. Really, it’s good.”

“Next play, we’re not letting anything through,” Edmond said.

Seth laughed and stuck out his fist for bumps. “Guys, it happens. We’ll all play harder next go round.”

He had about five minutes on the sidelines before he was called back in. The ball was deep in the other territory and he had a long way to go to score. First, Pete carried the ball forty yards. It was an amazing play and they gained a lot of the field back. Then he passed the ball to Ben. Finally, when they were only thirty-seven yards from scoring he passed the ball to Wayne. It went sailing over the heads of the other team straight into Wayne’s arms. They scored again.

Seth noticed that the boos that were yelled when he’d first come onto the field were absent, instead people were cheering. Wayne ran up to him and hugged him close, slapping his butt as he yelled something unintelligible.

The rest of the game continued almost the same way. The Broncos caught on that Wayne was his go to guy, but that didn’t stop his team from scoring. At the end of the fourth, they were ahead by fifty-one points and the Broncos had the ball. He would be lying to say he wasn’t praying for a shutout. It looked close for a little while. He thought for sure Denver was going to score, but they couldn’t connect and ended up dumping the ball one too many times.

He had possession again with only fifty seconds left on the clock. Safe and steady was the key. He almost ran out the play clock but did a hand off to Adrian. The next play, he ran the clock down, then Will snapped the ball and he passed to Wayne who ran to the sidelines to avoid being hit.

The third play Will snapped quickly and he just took a knee and the game was over. The Chargers had won. He hadn’t let the rumors distract him.

The head coach for the Broncos came and found him. “Mr. Mercer, good game.”

Seth shook his hand then found that many of the players from the other team were there to shake his hand. The outpouring of support was amazing. He wondered what was going on until one of the guys from Denver pulled him close.

“Channing took advantage of me when I was in Florida. We don’t believe his lies. There’s enough of us who will spread the truth. You don’t have to worry about trying to defend yourself, there’s enough of us to help you tell the real truth.”

After that player left his side, Seth was pulled along to the tunnel exiting the stadium. He was almost at the locker room when he saw two men standing in the hall. One was Justin the other he swore was Colby, but how the hell did Colby get here? Then Colby smiled and Seth knew he wasn’t imagining things.

Tears burned the back of his eyes and he moved straight to Colby and pulled him into a hug. He didn’t care that the rest of the team saw, he was going to hug and kiss his man. Somehow, the team manager had kept the reporters away but that wouldn’t last. Seth ended the kiss and stepped back, his eyes searching Colby’s.

“You played great.”

“Why are you here?” Seth asked.

“Justin called me.”

“I thought it would be best if he was here, but it looks like you’re handling this very well.”

“Colby, God, I love you.”

The first of the reporters were rushing down the hall and Seth grabbed Colby and pulled him into the locker room. “I don’t really want them photographing you yet.”

“Seth, I’m here to give you support. I’ll help with whatever you need however you need it. Shower, get dressed, talk to whoever you need to and then we’ll talk.”

“I’m scared,” Seth whispered.

“Babe, I’ll be here for you if you need me. I don’t want you to be afraid. We’ll take care of this. Trust me, everything will be fine.”

Seth nodded and stripped before heading to the showers. He washed quickly and was back at his locker, pulling on his underwear when he saw Wayne chatting with Colby.

“Wayne, what are you telling him?”

“All of your dirty little secrets,” Wayne shot back.

“I’m an open book. Colby knows everything there is to know about me.”

Colby chuckled and shot him a heated glance. He was getting hot but there wasn’t anything he could do about it here. They were flying back to San Diego tonight and he freaking hoped Colby would be able to make it back to California.

“Colby, how are you getting home?”

“Justin has a flight scheduled for us.”

“Oh, do you need—”

“It’s private. We’re fine on time,” Colby said.

Seth glanced around, seeing a few sideways looks being shot his way. The guys were curious about Colby. Hell, he would be too. The man was very sexy and cute. Maddox came over and shook Colby’s hand.

“I’m Jeffery Maddox, Seth’s offensive coach. I’ve been working with him since the day he arrived. I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t tell us about you.”

Colby shot Seth a quick glance. “Hi Jeffery, it’s nice to meet you. We have been taking things slowly. His parents didn’t even know about me until Christmas.”

“Okay, then he gets a pass. My wife and I would like to have you two over for dinner one night soon,” Maddox said.

“Thank you, sir. We would love to have dinner with you and your wife,” Colby replied. Seth was surprised that Maddox was inviting him and Colby to dine with his family.

“You have a few reporters that want to talk to you, Mercer,” Maddox said.

Seth sighed. “I’m not ready.”

“Come on, I’ll go over there with you,” Colby said.

Seth’s gaze met Colby’s and he nodded. “Okay, as long as you stay in the back. I don’t want them attacking you.”

“Seth, you’re the best man I’ve ever known. You haven’t done anything wrong and I would be happy to stand by your side, but I understand. Not yet, eventually we’ll make a united front, but this is about football tonight, not us.”

Seth calmed and wished they were alone. Colby was the best man he’d ever met and this just proved it once again. He wished he could pull Colby in for a quick kiss, instead he gulped in a huge breath and approached the area where the reporters were doing interviews. They abandoned their current task and clamored to get his attention. Seth lifted his hands and didn’t say a word. He saw Blaine in the group, which meant Channing was probably close by, or Blaine had taken a very late flight and was operating on almost zero sleep.

Colby had stepped around behind the reporters and gave him a wink. He relaxed a bit. Colby supported him and that was all that mattered.

“Quiet,” Coach Louis called out. “If you want to hear what Mr. Mercer has to say you’ll shut it. Seth, it’s yours.”

“I will talk about tonight’s game, that’s all. If you have any questions about football, the game, or our next game, feel free to ask.”

“Is it true, did you take advantage of your old coach, Channing Harris?” Blaine asked.

Seth narrowed his eyes and squeezed his lips. He wasn’t going to talk about Channing. No way.

“Come on, man, give us something,” Blaine whined. “You screwed him over, just admit it. You are one of those spoiled brats who thinks you should get everything handed to you.”

“Excuse me?” Colby said and Seth froze. A few of the reporters turned around but quickly dismissed Colby because he wasn’t a player or coach. They must have thought he was a nobody by the attitude they threw at him.

Seth was relieved that they weren’t going after Colby. He didn’t want his lover caught in the middle of this. But Colby wasn’t finished with them yet.

Colby stepped closer to the reporters, his mouth twisted in a menacing scowl. “Mr. Mercer will give a full statement tomorrow and not before. So back off. We’re done.”

Seth followed Colby around the corner and into the area that held the toilet stalls. “Holy shit, that was ballsy,” Seth said.

Wayne stepped into the area and wrapped his arm around Colby’s shoulder. “Damn, you are feisty. That was awesome.”