Page 12 of Running Back

He strolled through the store, going aisle by aisle. Despite being on a time crunch, he didn’t want to miss anything. He had a list in his head. Rocky wanted the night to be perfect. His phone buzzed halfway through his shopping with Jakk, letting him know he was on his way home. With a silent curse, he picked up the pace. The last thing he wanted was for Jakk to beat him home. He grabbed the last of what he needed and rushed through the checkout. When he reached the car he borrowed from Jakk, his phone buzzed again.

Rocky jumped behind the wheel before checking his phone. His brain screeched to a halt. His lungs ceased to function. Rocky stared at the first of a stack of images.

Unknown number:He gave up a good man for a whore.

Image after image showed Rocky with someone else. Sometimes they were simply sitting too close. Other pictures were fake. Some were old and of things he was highly ashamed of doing. Strung together, they looked damning as hell.

Unknown number:Yes, I sent these to him.

Rocky blinked. His brain screeched back to life. He didn’t bother responding or blocking the number. Nothing mattered more than getting to Jakk before he got it in his head Rocky would cheat. Fucking Eric. Rocky knew full well that was who sent those pictures. Eric was the one who had given Jakk a deep-seated fear of being with someone unfaithful. He had some fucking nerve. The images from the past and the ones of him getting close to go over contracts weren’t the ones that scared him, even though those were horrible. He didn’t know how to explain the fake pictures of him kissing other men. What the actual fuck? This was a nightmare. His worst fucking nightmare.

He one thousand percent believed he had met the man he was meant to spend the rest of his life with, and now this. Rocky thought he might hyperventilate. He didn’t know what to do. There was a real possibility Jakk would toss him out before he even said a word. He couldn’t survive the humiliation twice in one life. Rocky had spent years working his ass off to get outfrom underneath the stigma of people thinking a player could just fuck him to get a good contract. A free ride through life. Throw on a little charm and Rocky would do anything. Get what they want and then bounce. He was easy to manipulate like that. Goddamn it. Rocky slapped the steering wheel. For once, that wasn’t the case, but it would fucking look that way when Jakk dumped him. He had kissed Jakk publicly last night. By now, everyone knew they were together. He couldn’t do this again.

By the time he reached Jakk’s place, he was in full-blown panic mode. Jakk’s car already sat in the garage. Rocky parked Jakk’s sports car in its usual place in the third bay. Even though he couldn’t breathe, Rocky still grabbed the bags from the store. It was like he went through the motions without any help from his brain. Jakk was in the kitchen as Rocky came through the door. He turned as Rocky stepped into the room.

Rocky didn’t give him a chance to toss him out. “I can explain.” He dropped the bags.

Jakk looked down as they fell. “Okay.”

Rocky pulled out his phone and opened the images as he closed the distance between them. He pointed toward the first one. “This is just me showing a client a contract on my phone. I didn’t see any point in printing it since we met at a bar.” He scrolled to the next one. “This is an old picture. If you look, I’m still wearing my college championship ring.” His breathing got more ragged-sounding as he went. It had been a long time since he had this big of an anxiety attack. “This one, I didn’t think I’d be able to explain, but it’s clearly us kissing, but someone has photoshopped a different face over yours. And this one—”

Jakk pushed the phone away and took Rocky’s face between his hands. “Take a breath. Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

Rocky numbly handed him the phone. He watched as Jakk flipped through every horrible image.

Finally, Jakk handed back the device. “Baby, I never got those. Even if I had, I’m not stupid. I know how manipulative Eric is, and I know you’re not him.”

Rocky’s head swam. He felt unsteady on his feet. He wondered if he would drop. “You believe me?”

A sweet smile touched Jakk’s lips. “I’m completely in love with you. It’ll take a hell of a lot more than some badly photoshopped pictures to make me walk away.”

The complete swerve from thinking he would lose Jakk to hearing Jakk say he loved him was his undoing. Thankfully, a stool at the island was close enough to catch him when his knees failed. He sat down hard. His gaze never wavered from Jakk. He had no idea how he looked, but Jakk shifted from foot to foot nervously.

“You’re kind of making me feel like I should’ve kept that to myself.”

That was enough to rally a few of Rocky’s brain cells. “I hired someone to take over the travel part of my job.”

Jakk blinked at the wild swing of subjects like he didn’t realize they were talking about the same thing. “Okay.” He blinked again, as if not fully recognizing the extent of what Rocky said. “You won’t be traveling anymore?”

Rocky shrugged. “Well, I’ll still have to travel occasionally, but nothing like I have been.”

“We get to have more time together?”

“If you’d like.” He didn’t want to assume anything.

Jakk shuffled closer. “You did that for me?”

Fuck. He felt so goddamn vulnerable. Jakk could crush him now. “Yeah. I also did it for me. I hate being away from you. You make me feel something I never thought I would again, but I’m equally sure I’ve never felt this much. I love you.”

Jakk looked like he might cry as his hands landed on Rocky’s shoulders. His gaze never wavered from holding Rocky’s stare. “Stay here with me.”

Rocky’s brow furrowed. “I am.”

Jakk licked his lips, looking nervous. “I mean permanently.”

The request was a big one. They had just exchanged I love yous. It was a big jump from that to living together. Rocky couldn’t imagine ever sleeping apart.

“You don’t have to answer right now.” He took a step back. His gaze slid away. “What all did you get at the store?” Jakk’s voice was a bit too cheery.

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