Page 46 of Stetson
Our options were limited but thankfully, my phone rang.Thank fuck. “Baby, are you okay?”
There was a nervous chuckle on the other end of the line. “Wrong person.” The guy cleared his throat. “It’s Maverick.”
I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. Why the hell didn’t I think of that? Of course he’d want to run to his best friend. “I’m going to assume he’s with you.”
The bed dipped behind me and Barrett’s hard body molded to my back. His hands landed on my shoulders, and I relaxed into his touch. Maverick confirmed that Stetson was there, and the tension in my body melted away—somewhat. “Is he okay?”
There was a muffled commotion in the background, and a conversation that I couldn’t make out. “He’s uh…”
I sighed. “Is he sober?”
“Far from it. He asked me not to call you, but I don’t know what to do. I’ve never seen him like this.”
My heart twisted so violently that I felt sick. “I’m on my way.” My throat was so tight that I doubted Maverick heard me, but he ended the call. I let my phone fall to the floor and found Barrett’s hand on my shoulder. “I need to go get him.”
“I’ll come with you.” Barrett scrambled off the bed after me, stifling another yawn.
“You’re exhausted. Stay here and get some sleep.”
“You’re just as sleep deprived as I am. Stetson isourresponsibility now. You might be his Daddy, but he’s acting out right now because of me. We do this together.”
Had the situation been any different, I would have kissed Barrett silly for saying something like that. When we set out to find a boy for me, Barrett was happy to sit on the sidelines. Watching him fall for Stetson as fast as I did had been a bonus.
I didn’t argue further as we dressed and climbed into the car. Judging by the timing, Stetson slipped out minutes before Barrett walked through the door. If he’d gotten pass-out wasted in that short amount of time, I knew we were in for one hell of a ride. Drunk Stetson was rowdy on the best of days. Drunk,angryStetson was a different story entirely. Something needed to be done about this kind of behavior, but I couldn’t worry about punishing a boy tonight. Tonight, Barrett and I would have to work hard to comfort our partner.
We drove into the heart of the GSU campus, and Barrett put his hand on my thigh. “Will you let me handle this one tomorrow?”
“What do you mean?” The car came to a stop outside of Stetson’s old apartment building.
“I’m not trying to step on your toes but if this is all a way for him to get my attention, it can’t keep happening. I want to see him thrive as much as you do, even if it means the death of my career. You do your Daddy thing tonight. Tomorrow, when he sobers up, let me handle it. I’m the one that can show him what’ll happen if he doesn’t clean his act up.”
I brought my hand down to cover his, twisting our fingers together. “Are you sure? He might not take to it very well.”
“I know. I’ll tag you in if I need you, but at least let me try. If we’re in this together, we need to be all in.”
The decision was easy. I nodded. Barrett was right: another athlete might be able to get through to Stetson better than I could. Iwashis Daddy, but we were both his partners. “Come on,” I said, brushing a kiss across Barrett’s fingertips and unclicking my seatbelt. “Let’s go see what the damage is.”
We could hear the music the second the car door opened. Granted it was a college town, but even the students were fast asleep. Barrett and I shared a look, bracing ourselves. We were immediately buzzed through and the music grew louder. Maverick must have been waiting nearby, because he stood in the doorway as we approached. We’d briefly met him when we helped Stetson move, but it was without the fatigue painting his features. Despite being the middle of the night, he was dressed for an occasion.
“I’m really sorry,” I told him once I realized it was game day.
He responded by shaking his head. “There’s no need for that.” He allowed us to enter the apartment while he moved to cut the offending music. My ears almost hurt from theabsenceof noise.
I looked past Maverick to the shape on the couch. Stetson laid on his side, fully dressed and softly snoring. The dim light from the TV illuminated his booze-flushed cheeks. An empty bottle of vodka laid on the floor next to him. As if on autopilot, my legs carried me across the room. I knelt next to the couch, hearing soft voices behind me.
“Do you want us to lock up for you?” Barrett asked. “You shouldn’t miss your shuttle time.”
Maverick let out an audible sigh of relief. “Are you sure?” I was sure Barrett nodded. No matter the sport, athletes understood a schedule like no other. “Stetson’s got a key if you can work them out of his pocket. Good luck. He’s dead weight when he’s this drunk.”
“Trust me; I know,” I said with a chuckle. “Thanks for calling me, Maverick.”
A few more hushed words, and the front door clicked shut. Only then did I stroke my fingers along Stetson’s cheek. He whimpered, knocking my hand away and curling further in on himself. A universal sign that meant, “Leave me alone and let me sleep.” I tried again, this time giving his arm a squeeze. “Baby, it’s time to wake up.”
The sound of my voice seemed to do the trick. Those beautiful blue eyes fluttered open, shining when they landed on me. Had I not been so damn scared, it would have made my heart burst. “Daddy?”
“The one and only.” He let me take his hand and help him sit up. “Barrett’s here too.”
Stetson swayed, dropping his head into his hands. “I don’t feel so good.”
