Page 55 of Temptation On Ice

Cami: Seriously, Tucker, where the fuck are you? I need you to answer your phone. These reporters are getting pushy and won’t go away. It’s getting scary.

And finally, the most recent message, where she’s basically screaming at me to answer my phone.

“There are posts speculating about us being together on social media after my episode last night, and it’s blown up. There’s been a ton of comments on the Combat Companions socials, and people are at my house trying to get comments or something. Cami’s been dealing with all of it,” I explain to Sebastian, who’s anxiously waiting for me to fill him in.

I hit call and wait for it to connect.

“Tucker, oh thank God, where the hell are you? Why haven't you answered?” Cami asks, sounding harassed.

“No cell reception at Sebastian’s house. It’s worse than out in the country, apparently,” I say, sending him a side-eyed look.

“Are you on your way home?” she asks, her voice tight with frustration.

“Yeah, Sebastian’s driving me out right now. We should be there in about thirty minutes. Are you okay? I want you to stay close to Rowan and Hayden.” I don't want her alone or freaking out any more than she needs to be.

“I’m fine, just pissed as all hell. I can’t get these damn people to leave, and they’re on my last nerve with their questions. I’m about to go country on their asses and pull the shotgun out to ask them to kindly remove themselves from the property,” she snaps.

“If that’s what you gotta do, then you do it, but try not to do anything that’ll get you arrested. I don't need to bail you out of jail today on top of everything else,” I say, rubbing my temples. “What exactly are they asking about?” I’m not sure I actually want the answers, but it’s better to know what we’re walking into.

“You and Sebastian are the talk of the town. Everyone wants to know about the Hydras’ team captain and the dog trainer the team’s partnered with this season, and how this came to be. It’s pretty innocent right now, but I can see this taking a nasty turn if the media decides to spin it negatively.”

“And you think they’ll see me as some opportunist taking advantage of the partnership to get close to a player for personal gain,” I say, filling in where she was being diplomatic.

“What the hell? That’s not at all what’s going on here,” Sebastian says, cutting in after quietly listening to my side of the conversation. “I pursued you!”

I look over at him and wish I had his optimism. Instead, I’m a realist looking at a situation like anyone on the outside would. He’s a multimillionaire professional athlete with an exploding career, a single dad who could be seen as lonely or a target for someone like me, a poor, at least by his standards, blue-collar guy looking for a handout. People don't look past the obvious once they’ve put you in a box, as unfair as that is. No one wants to spend the time getting to know who you are as a person if they can make snap judgments based on what it looks like from the outside.

“Thank you for handling things for me online. Just hang in there. I’ll be home soon to deal with this. Bye, Cam,” I say before ending the call abruptly. She’s used to my obnoxious phone habits. “I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into this mess,” I say immediately, knowing I have to do damage control before Sebastian decides I’m not worth the trouble I’m bringing to his door.

“What? Tucker, no. You didn’t do anything.” He reaches over and grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together on the center console. “You can’t take responsibility for what people decide to post about online. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. They’re only interested in us because I’m a professional athlete, and they think that makes me worth caring about for some reason.”

“Well, shit’s hit the fan and we’re both covered in it, no matter what reason we want to go with for how it got up there in the first place,” I say. “So all we can do is clean it up.”

“That’s the craziest fucking saying I’ve ever heard. Is that something you say out where you’re from, Country Boy?” he teases, squeezing my hand, trying to make the heavy situation a little lighter.

I squeeze back, grateful for his willingness to look for the tiny spot of sunshine in what could otherwise be a monsoon.

When we get to my house, no less than fifteen cars are lining the dirt driveway and parked in front of my house in the makeshift parking area. Sebastian has to park behind my truck, blocking me in since there’s no room otherwise. A few people are standing on my walkway holding cameras, and I don't like the looks of them.

“You should stay here,” I warn as I get out of the car.

I’m walking toward the strangers when I hear a car door open and shut, and I know he’s following me. Fucking hell, he can't even listen to me when I know exactly what his presence is going to do. The people by my house turn and start taking photos immediately.

“You need to leave right now,” I say evenly. “You’re on private property. You’ll have to go back to the main road if you want to loiter on a public roadway. You don’t have permission to take my photo or use it in any way. Now that you know you’ve taken it on private property, please do yourselves a favor and dispose of those images before you find yourselves on the wrong side of a lawsuit.” I have my police officer voice on, speaking with clear authority and a calmness I don't feel.

“Mr. Montenegro, how long have you two been together?” one of the guys calls over my shoulder, ignoring me completely.

“Sebastian, is Tucker your boyfriend, and how have people reacted to the news of you being with a man after being married to a woman?”

“Did you meet through the team, or did he get the partnership because of you?” a woman calls from beside us.

Ouch. That one hurts more than I thought it would.

“Monty, are you going to make a public statement about your sexuality? How did your son take the news?” I hear shouted from behind us, more people having exited the vehicles lining the driveway and rushing over when we arrived.

“How has the Hydras organization reacted to your relationship with someone they’re partnering with?” another calls. My head spins as the questions come from all sides.

I stand rooted in place, a new layer of fear edging into my awareness with this latest query. Fuck, it hadn’t occurred to me that the Hydras might cut off this partnership if they found out about me and Sebastian. This is bad. We’ve just gotten started for the season, and I hired another trainer last week. Now that I’ve gotten on board with the plan, I know I won't be able to afford to keep this place running without the money the partnership is bringing in this year.