Page 33 of The Stallion (Men Under Revue #2)

Bria

So. Much. Sex.

Look at me; I’ve gone from one extreme to the other, and honestly, I’m not mad about it.

Dallas was like coming up for fresh air—a relationship worth being a part of and contributing to. I had become so wrapped up in my husband and his playfulness that I almost forgot I had a life back in Phoenix—the one I felt I had no choice but to escape.

Asher had recently texted me, asking if I was planning on returning this weekend, considering that Regionals were only a week away.

My stomach sank as I snapped back to reality and remembered how much I missed my best friend and how badly I wanted to tell her everything I had withheld from the start .

I knew it was shitty of me to hold on to the lie for so long, but I wasn’t ready to admit the truth—everything I had done that forced my hand to leave in the first place.

At least this time, I wasn’t leaving to run away from the man who stole me away from my easy life in the first place. But to bridge the gap that had been created between the two and bring them together as one.

Dallas had neglected his duties at Isla, spending every waking hour with me instead.

I had anticipated him requesting to join me on my trip to Phoenix this weekend.

But when he insisted that I go alone so that he could catch up on all the hours he had missed, I couldn’t refuse, even though a small part of me ached to be away from him, even if it were only for a few short days.

While I would have loved for him to come with me, I knew that breaking the news and talking everything through with Asher would be best done on my own—without him there as a distraction—not that she would disapprove. After all, she was the one who told me to go for it.

I had a gut feeling about Dallas from the first time we crossed paths, and her push only reinforced that I should take the full leap.

Just as I approached the front door of our perfect home, my suitcase in hand, Dallas crept up from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close to his chest as he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

“Come back to me…” He murmured into my hair, and I leaned back into his warm em brace.

“Hm… Where else would I go?” I hummed, reaching an arm around to play with his hair as I nuzzled the side of his head.

“Doesn’t matter… There is nowhere you could go that I wouldn’t find you and bring you back home myself.”

“That sounds like a threat.” I giggled playfully as he released his hold, and I turned around in his arms to face him, his soft hands finding their way to caress my cheeks.

“It’s a promise. You’re mine to love and protect, sweet girl. As long as I live and breathe, your home is with me, in my heart and soul, and mine is with yours.”

“I hate when you go all sentimental on me… You make it so hard to leave.” I whined, leaning forward to press my lips against his with a longing sigh.

Another reason why I delayed my inevitable return to Asher and the Sirens…

He made me want to stay.

“You’re not leaving… I’ll see you soon. Drive safe, my darling wifey.”

The nickname gave me butterflies every time he used it.

Every pet name that once angered and irritated me now made my heart swell and beat harder against my chest—all for him.

“I love you, Ponyboy.” I breathed against his lips before stepping away and gripping the handle of my suitcase.

“And I love you, sweet girl.” My cheeky husband huffed a light chuckle before smacking my ass on my way out the door, a smirk plastered across his smug and handsome face.

That man… once a problem, always a problem .

A problem that I loved having to deal with.

Over the time I spent away, I noticed a stark difference in my personality.

There was now the version of me when I was with Dallas—the one who would do anything and break all moral codes to be with him—and the old version that resided here with Asher and the team.

Eventually, I’d have to pick between the two and decide who I truly was once and for all. I couldn’t keep up with the back and forth, not anymore.

Pulling up to the curb of my old apartment, I braced myself for an attention-starved Asher.

While we had a pretty wide social circle, nothing ever compared to the conversations and time spent together. Our talks were sisterly, and our gossip was exactly what you’d expect from two women raised together since diapers—juicy and intense.

I exited my Jeep and approached the back to grab my suitcase just as I heard my best friend from over my shoulder.

“My baby’s home!” Asher screamed, and I rolled my eyes with pursed lips.

I could feel my face flush with embarrassment as I glanced around to see if anyone had heard her outcry. I swear she had to have been just staring out the window like a lurking cat, waiting for me to arrive, given how quickly she got out here .

“Was that necessary?” I hissed through clenched teeth as I crossed my arms over my chest and rested my hip against the liftgate of my SUV.

“Entirely. You abandoned me for weeks —not that I minded it because I knew that whatever you were doing was some form of emotional therapy or trauma healing, however risqué it may have been.”

“ Risqué ? You’re acting as if I were committing adultery.”

“I would never!” Asher placed her palm over her chest, pretending to be offended with a fake, exaggerated gasp.

“After all, we both know a man that looks like that must be exceptional in bed—and let’s be real for a second here; you two are married, so adultery is completely off the table.

” She gestured to the ring on my finger and smirked with a wink.

“Well done, by the way—and can we please talk about your fucking hair?!”

This woman gave me whiplash sometimes with her rapid subject changes…

“I wanted something… different.” I shrugged, pursing my lips and letting my eyes roll to the sky.

“Did your new beau fuck the color right into it? Because that is a bright fucking red.”

“Ash!”

“What? I didn’t say I didn’t love it. But damn it’s intense…”

“You’re not mad?” I bit the side of my lip out of nervous habit.

“Now, why would I be mad at my best friend finding the man of her dreams? ”

“Maybe because it all happened so fast? I mean… do people typically get married within a few weeks of knowing each other?”

I sure as fuck would’ve regretted this marriage if the man were Connor instead of Dallas.

Perhaps those situations varied depending on circumstance?

“Oh, shut up. Stop feeling so self-conscious. No one is judging your actions here, and certainly not me.” Asher waved me off with a flick of her wrist. “If any of those dancers asked me to marry them after the show, I would’ve signed the papers and asked for my ring without a second to spare.

At least you had common sense and waited a couple of weeks before pulling the trigger. ”

Uhh… yeah… let’s go with that assumption for now.

She didn’t need to know the whole truth behind our marriage—considering she just nailed it right on the fucking head. We had several weeks of catching up with only a few days to get it all in, and some details were better left… unsaid .

Asher was never one to judge, and I loved her so much for that part of her vibrant personality. She was always a woman of acceptance and a breath of fresh air from the rest of the world.

The man who ultimately captured her golden heart would be one lucky son-of-a-bitch, without question.

I had just finished perfecting my basket toss with a double full-down before the team stopped for a brief water break. There was still one more full-out practice before we could call it a day, and I was already beyond exhausted—my body screaming with every abrupt movement.

Asher wandered over and sat beside me while I lay on the cool grass, staring up at the sky as I caught my breath. My chest rose and fell slowly while I held a water bottle against the side of my neck, letting out a shiver from the initial touch.

“Two weeks, and you’re already out of shape. Shame on you.”

“I’m not out of shape, not even close.” The audacity…

The evening performances with my husband were doing wonders for my stamina—that, in addition to the bedroom cardio.

Although, there was that one time where we couldn’t wait for the end of the show and ended up fucking in the pool shortly after it was drawn back up to the ceiling— thank god they shut off the lights.

After the first few performances, I was always left sore the following morning. My muscles constantly ached from how I had to carry and focus my weight differently compared to my cheerleading stunts and moves.

Dallas—ever the doting husband—always took the time to massage my throbbing limbs until I fell asleep, and it absolutely sucked knowing I wouldn’t have that kind of attention and relief while I was here without him.

“Ahh… that look.” Asher teased as she followed my gaze to the sky with a serene smile. “I haven’t seen that look on you in years…” Since before Connor, no doubt.

“Should I feel bad? ”

“Not in the least, and if you ever do, just remember what kind of man he was at the end of the day.”

The fact that Asher didn’t even mention his name at all this time reassured my guilty conscience. The validation from her was all I needed to know that I had made the right decision.

I didn’t ask about the investigation or how it was progressing, and she hadn’t offered any information either.

Truthfully, I didn’t care to know what his parents had discovered—if they had found or caught whoever was responsible for his disappearance—or death.

But my assumption for the lack of news gave me hope that the entire situation was resolved and that I wouldn’t have to hear his name being brought up in casual conversation again.

“Well, that’s our fifteen minutes. Let’s get back to it so we can have our girls’ night with Mick and Natalie before you head out in the morning.

I require all the wine and juicy details of your newly married life—not like you haven’t disclosed enough, but I crave so much more out of you.

” Asher patted my thigh and gave it a light squeeze before pushing herself up to stand and calling out to the rest of the team, “Let’s go, Savage Bitches! Final full-out, and you can go home!”

“I hope you’re not planning on changing the team name once I pass the leadership position to you.” I laughed, getting to my feet and nudging her playfully with my hip.

“Oh, don’t tempt me. That kind of power can go straight to one’s head— a very dangerous thing .” She winked, running the tip of her tongue along her teeth before taking off to her starting position.

“Okay, so wait. Tell us again how this whole thing came to be because if I remember correctly, you fucked him that last night in Vegas, right? The guilt was written all over that pretty little hungover face.” Asher laughed, handing me a glass of red wine before plopping herself next to me on the couch.

Mick and Natalie shared the love seat across from us as we talked, drank, and grazed over a large, half-assed charcuterie board. Everything was deliciously cheap, tying it all together with a generous pile of cheese whiz in the center.

“For the record, I did lose my way to the restroom. That wasn’t a lie—”

“And instead of a toilet, you found Dallas,” Mick interjected.

“You could say that…” I bit my lower lip as the memory of that night came flooding back—the burning heat, desire, and lust that ignited between us so quickly.

A first meeting like that was one I would never forget—not in a million years.

“Okay, but how does that even happen? It was a meet-and-greet, not a meet-and- fuck —or did I get the wrong ticket? Ash?!” Mick shot her an incredulous look as if she had been denied a good time on purpose.

“There were definitely no ‘fuck’ options when I purchased our tickets.” Asher teased before taking a sip of her wine. “Besides, Mick, we both know that if that were an option, you would’ve created your own harem of men in one of the back rooms and refused to leave—or share.”

“You say that like it’s a problem?”

The three of us laughed and shook our heads at her candid response.

I missed these nights—the four of us hanging out together, and even just the nights where it was only Asher and me.

“Anyway, back to Bria… So, is this it? You’re leaving us for good?” Asher’s eyes softened, and her smile dropped at the thought of me never returning—leaving the place I once called home for another.

“I’m afraid so. I can still justify the drive maybe once a month, but I can’t do this every weekend long-term… Which means that after Regionals, I’m officially passing my position on to you.”

“What about nationals?”

“Unless something big comes up, I can finish the season with Nationals, but after that, I will officially retire from the team.” It broke my heart to say those words.

All those long years with the Savage Sirens were coming to an end as I paved the way for a new life with Dallas. “I’m going to miss this… all of it.”

“But you worked so hard…” Natalie chimed in, setting down her glass and coming over to squish herself onto the couch next to me.

“I know, but I can’t do this forever, and as much as I’d love to, eventually, I’d outgrow the team. No one is competing past thirty… ”

We were only in our twenties, but the past month had been an eye-opener as to where I saw myself in the next ten years, and I realized that it wouldn’t be in Phoenix. I no longer belonged here.

“Well, Dallas is one lucky asshole if you ask me. Stealing away my best friend and our fearless leader. What the hell are we going to do without you?” Asher wrapped her arm around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug as she pressed her forehead against the side of mine.

I shrugged in response with a soft sigh, my lips pressed together in thought.

Find your own path to forever, I suppose…