Because now he certainly could.
Now, he couldn’t seem to get far enough away from me.
At first, he’d been angry, screaming mad.
That had morphed into me no longer existing to him.
Even when I walked right in front of him, it was like he saw right through me.
“Lola, no spoilers—” Marco began saying, “but Gigi’s apartment is about to get even busier.” His eyebrows raised up as he waggled them.
The next shot showed Sienna in her bright, white, expensive pant suit. She glided through the courtyard, then up my steps. Beau emerged from my apartment in only his dress pants, carrying his shirt with him.
“Holy cow,” Nicki said, her eyes going wide, “Beau looks mad.”
I’d say furious was a better word, but I wasn’t going to add any fuel to the fire.
Having your relationship implode was not fun.
Having your relationship implode on television was even worse.
“Well, well, well, Marco,” Lola said as she turned to him. “You were right! Gigi’s apartment is the busiest place I’ve seen in a while.”
Marco nodded, almost sympathetically. “The show isn’t over yet. We’ve had a lot of emails regarding the Beau Moreau vs. Smythe fights. People are dying to know what those two have against each other.”
“They sure do seem to battle it out on the ice every time their teams meet up,” Lola said, punching the air with her fists.
“That they do! And tonight, I’m excited to show you why.” Marco nodded at Lola and she covered her mouth. “It’s true. Let’s watch now,” he said, his arm swooping toward the screen.
“But she’s probably a big, dirty slut. That’s who you always go for, right Moreau? Hot, easy, sluts,” Smythe said right to Beau, then an instant later, Beau was on top of him. He punched Smythe’s bloodied face until Trey ripped him away.
Another clip played right after that one. “I’m sure she’ll find someone to warm her bed, soon. I know how much time she spends with your bestie over there,” he jerked his head toward Trey. “Maybe he’s getting her ready for a threesome of their own.”
Yikes.
One more short montage of Smythe blasting various, sexual insults about me played.
It ended with Beau punching the crap out of Smythe.
“Oh my gosh, he was defending your honor,” Jillian reached for my arm and held on. “That’s so romantic.” Her eyes were glassy as she looked over at me.
“I’ve never had a guy fight for my honor before. I can fight my own battles. But G? That was damn hot,” Gianna said, crunching down more popcorn.
The show had never played conversations on the ice during games before. Only from our home ice, during practices and training. So, this surprised me.
I stood up and looked out Jillian’s window.
An adult would go over to Trey’s and thank Beau for what he’d done.
The question was—could I be that kind of adult? I had no idea how he’d react, even if I did somehow gather the courage to walk across the courtyard.
Jillian was right, though. Beau had defended me.
The least I could do was thank him.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, striding to Jillian’s door. I swung it open, then marched toward Trey’s apartment.
I had zero idea what I was going to say to Beau. I couldn’t recall anyone ever standing up for me like he’d done.