Page 23 of The Stallion (Men Under Revue #2)

Bria

The first night was long, filled with a lot of wine, gossip about the team, and all the ‘I miss yous’ I could handle, until I finally passed out.

Asher and I had been inseparable for as long as I could remember, and now I felt as if I was being pulled in an entirely different direction—my world tilting on its axis from the moment Dallas had entered it.

After a full day of exhausting practice, Asher and I went out for dinner with Mick and Natalie, savoring cocktails and carbs as if there was no tomorrow—until they had to leave, and it was just the two of us once again.

“Look, I’ve been waiting to bring this up because I know it’s a sensitive topic for you, but we need to discuss him before this weekend is over.” Asher sighed, placing a gentle hand on mine from across the table .

I curled my fingers into a fist under hers, bracing myself for who she was about to mention, not fully ready to discuss anything with his name attached to it.

“Ash, do we really need to ruin what limited time we have left together by talking about… Connor ?” I groaned my disapproval, sucking on my front teeth as Asher continued to look at me with pressing, pleading eyes.

There was no escaping her request for conversation, and I was only delaying the inevitable in my feeble attempts to do so.

I’m sure his parents had updated her frequently with whatever information they’d gathered over this past week. I didn’t know how much they knew about our relationship or what had occurred behind closed doors between us—but I guess I was soon to find out.

“Look, his parents are opening a full police investigation into his disappearance... They don’t believe that he just up and left without so much as saying goodbye—not when he had his whole life ahead of him and his expanding career.

” His fucking football career. The one thing that mattered more to him than his long-term girlfriend.

“Bria…” Asher breathed, tightening her grip on my already tensed fist and chewing her lip with a look of worry. “They’re suspecting foul play—”

My heart stopped. The rest of what she said was nothing more than a subtle hum past the last two words that had entered my mind— foul play . Connor’s parents believe that he was murdered—his leaving without a trace being overtly out of character. Fuck .

“Bria, did you hear what I just said? They believe that he’s dead… say something—anything.”

I lifted my clouded gaze from the table to meet hers, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the words to speak—my jaw hanging open in complete shock at the news.

“I… Who do they think is—was involved? Y-You don’t believe that he’s actually dead, do you?” I swallowed the ball of bile that had built in the back of my throat, trying my hardest to keep my breathing under control. “Are they looking at me?”

Asher furrowed her brows at me, twisting and pursing her lips as if she were offended at what I had just said—accusing her of trusting rumor and suspicion instead of hard facts.

“Do I believe that my best friend—cradle-to-fucking-grave—is a murderer?” Her sardonic huff was answer enough.

“If you think that I’d side with his parents’ accusations over our long, drawn-out history, then you’ve already forgotten the strength of the bond you and I have built over the years.

” Asher’s eyes drifted to the floor as she shook her head before huffing again, a sinister smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

“They don’t understand you like I do…” She murmured with a glance from the corner of her eye.

The look she had given me was all but condemning.

I pressed my lips together as I stared at Asher, questioning whether this was the right time to open up about Dallas—to reveal the real reason why I was no longer living with her and why I had no choice but to leave.

And then, I started thinking about my last conversation with Dallas.

I hadn’t thought about him once since arriving—Asher and the team had kept me more than occupied, with little to no time to myself. And now I was running out of time to decide on the matter at hand.

Was I going to go through with the test for him—for us?

Was there an us now?

“Well, would you look at the time…” Asher quickly changed the subject, peering down at her phone before standing from the table and picking it up. “We’ve got one more long day of practice before you head back to the City of Sin. We’d best get some sleep, yeah?”

“Umm… yeah…” I spoke under my breath, feeling entirely confused, as I followed Asher’s lead and headed out of the restaurant.

What did she mean by ‘ they don’t understand you like I do ’?…

What wasn’t Asher telling me…

Our final full day of practice was bittersweet as I, once again, prepared for the long haul back to my new home—back to the man with whom I still hadn’t decided whether I would stay with or find some sad excuse to go into witness protection and change my identity.

I couldn’t do this long-term—the driving back and forth between cities and states.

At some point, I would need to make a choice—either find a way out of this marriage or quit the team entirely—the latter option seeming far less complicated .

“I’ll take good care of the team until next weekend.

It won’t be much longer now. Regional qualifiers are almost here, and then all that’s left is nationals to wrap up our most brutal year to date.

” Asher helped me load my suitcase into the back of my Jeep and gave me another sisterly hug, just as comforting as the one she had given me when I arrived.

This weekend had flown by, and between coaching the team and figuring out where I stood with Dallas, I had only achieved half of what I had initially planned.

Even though I was leaving in a better mood than when I’d arrived, the new information from Asher surrounding Connor and his parents had left me with even more questions than before.

“Ash, look… I—” I sighed, knowing deep down what the right decision would be at this juncture.

“Not another word out of you. I know what you’re about to say, and I’ll respond in counter.

Take the team to Regionals. Win us that first-place ticket to nationals, and only then will we discuss your position as Cheer Captain.

Until then, you are exactly what this team needs in a leader—not me.

” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I squeezed my hold even tighter.

“And just so you’re aware. I’m not stupid.

I know who that man was on the field a week ago— who you left with… ”

My shoulders tensed as Asher continued, her voice lowering to a whisper in my ear so no one around us could hear.

“Whatever you’ve done— good for fucking you . It’s about damn time you stripped yourself of that good girl demeanor and lived a little.” Asher’s tone was all praise and compassion. There wasn’t a single hint of the disappointment or hate I had initially expected from her after finding out.

Before we broke away from our last moment together, she pressed her forehead against mine with a smile that beamed from ear to ear.

“You relax and focus on yourself; I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Ash, I—”

“Ah, ah, ah. You’ve got a long drive ahead of you. Now get that perky little ass in that Jeep and go home to that smokeshow of a man—What was his name again? Dallas ?” Asher winked as she sucked on her teeth, her cheeky grin widening.

I sighed heavily, chewing on my lower lip and nodding silently. I didn’t bother questioning how she knew.

Oftentimes, I think Asher knew me better than I even knew myself.

“I’m going to miss you…”

“I love you, Bri. Always have and always will—regardless of where you go and who you fuck.” She smirked before smacking my ass and stepping back from where I stood. “Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind and force my bestie to stay.”

“Bye, babe.” I laughed, already missing her even more, as I shut my door, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot.

I spent most of the drive thinking about what Asher had said over the weekend—about Connor and his parents—circulating back to Dallas and wondering what the fuck I would say to him when I walked through that front door in a few short hours.

My entire life had always been spent playing it safe—never taking a risk.

Dating the varsity jock.

Living in the same city where I was born and raised.

And never straying too far from the crowd that was my team.

What if everything that had recently happened was for a reason other than to just piss me off and deal me a shitty hand at life?

What if this was my wake-up call that something needed to change?

That I needed to change…

Nearly six years spent in a loveless relationship, unable to leave—too scared to face the truth and start anew.

What if Dallas was the piece I had been missing?

The light at the end of this bleak and boring tunnel.

Safe to say that his life was far more entertaining than my own.

A sudden realization struck me like a bolt of white lightning. I immediately pulled over onto the side of the road and reached for my phone, typing an address into the GPS.

It was time for me to take a new lease on life—to finally stop accepting everything for what it was and make it into what I wanted.

It was my turn to say, fuck it.