Page 26 of Necessary Roughness

“Luke,” I said, my eyes nervously darting to the bubbles near my chest. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

Claire gasped. “Oh my god—you guys fucked?”

“Claire!” I shouted, my words quickly floating away on the ocean air.

“I’msosorry,” she said with feigned guilt. “What I meant to say was… you guys consummated your relationship?”

For a moment, thoughts of that exact scenario flashed through my mind.

I could picture Luke stopping by late at night. Knocking on my door, inviting himself in. There was something commanding about him.

Claire giggled. “How was it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Claire, stop it. We didn’t have sex.”

She pouted before taking another sip. “So, what’s the problem?”

I knew I needed to share what happened with her. If I could count on Claire for anything, I knew I could trust her to be on my side and help lift my spirits.

“My commentary cost Luke a ten-million-dollar sponsorship with Monarch Watches.”

She paused, her expression blank.

I had no clue what she was thinking.

“Jesus, Brett,” she said with a frown. “You’re an asshole.”

“Claire!” I shouted, stunned. “You’re my best friend, you’re supposed to be onmyside. Not Luke’s. Besides, you said it yourself the other day; he’s worth over two hundred million. It’s like losing pocket change for him.”

She studied me closely. “Tell me something, Brett…”

Oh, no. Here comes the lecture.

“How would you feel if you spent a decade of your life building a career and legacy, only to have it constantly publicly ridiculed?”

“It’s part of the?—”

She lifted one finger and shook it at me. “Look… there’s a legitimate need for sports journalism. But can you honestly sit here and say that you’ve been fair to Luke Dalton?”

She had a point. It was as if, for the past few months, I had been almost fixated on him. My personal life had become dull and listless. As a matter of fact, I didn’t have much of one to speak of. Not a single date in over a year.

So, I had thrown myself into my work. And in my field, the more outlandish you were, the more scandalous your comments, the further your career potential.

I was only trying to build something enormous for myself. A future I could bank on. But in the process, I had hurt another real person.

Luke.

“Think about it,” Claire added. “Pretend you’re a famous actor, working years at low-paying jobs and taking auditions. Then, you land a big role. Then another. Now you’re making millions. But suddenly, a movie critic has their sights set on you. And they’re tearing you down. Relentlessly.”

“I wasn’t relentless!” I said, trying to defend my podcast.

“How would you feel?” she asked. “Tell me honestly, Brett, how would you feel?”

I sighed, the weight of my words dawning on me. “You’re right.”

She nodded her head as if she already knew she was right. “And that doesn’t even touch on your fixation with Luke. You’ve only now considered the consequences of your words. I think you should spend some time considering why you care so much.”

“Care about what?”

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