Page 139 of Challenge Me

“Ah, the things I do for the people I love.”

He bit his lip. Not wanting to pressure him, I pulled him out of the room. Burritos were on my mind, and after all the back-to-back games, I was convinced that if I didn’t have them, I would die of starvation.

Chapter 37

Remi

If love is mercy, I have found it not;

If love is ruin, then let ruin last.

I woke to ripples behind my eyes, the same ones that had haunted me since coming back from Florida. Silence was the ruinous herald; ink, the victor of what was to come.

Turning over, I found the bed empty. Amir didn’t have a game today, so his absence made me frown.

Even though I’d have rather stayed in bed, I swung my legs over the side, then sat there for a minute. After the night we had, it would’ve been nice to wake up still being held, but I couldn’t complain about everything.

Well, I could, but I’d done enough of that over the past couple of days.

I pulled a pair of Amir’s sweats from his drawer. He’d told me I could take his clothes, after all. In only the pants, I wandered out of the room as I ran my fingers through the knots in my hair. Amir’s voice came from the kitchen, but when another one followed, I adjusted my steps to make them silent.

Putting my hand on the edge of the doorway, I peered inside.

“Did he say anything about it?” Renshu asked. He held a mug with two hands and blew on the surface.

Amir had a cup of his own, probably coffee. “I didn’t ask.”

Renshu let out a huff of air. “And why not?”

“Because it doesn’t matter to me.”

“This isn’t just about you, Amir. People have questions—”

“Fuck people.”

“Management has questions.”

“And why is it their business?”

“Your boyfriend threatened someone’s life,” Renshu replied firmly. “He assaulted a man.”

“That man is an abusive piece of shit.”

“Clearly, there are two stories here.”

Amir’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you don’t believe him?”

“I’m saying that it doesn’t matter what I believe. The two of you have garnered attention beyond baseball. Your relationship is in the public eye, as is everything you do and everything you have done.”

“Then we ignore it, wait for it to blow over. Giving it attention will only make it worse.”

Renshu sighed and took a long sip from his mug. “Normally, I would agree with you.”

“But?”

“It’s not simple drama anymore. There are allegations, and silence can be interpreted as guilt.”

“So can relentlessly defending ourselves.”