38. Josie

38

JOSIE

" J osie, don't read anymore." Tasha's voice sounded so far away. All I could see were the pictures of Wyatt and me. My eyes darted to the picture of the stranger from earlier. His hands were gripping my waist and from the angle it looked like I was willingly grinding back against him.

Who took this?

The fact that the article was out already, meant someone had to have followed me to the club and taken the picture.

My phone continued to buzz with tweets. I couldn't stop myself from clicking on one, taking me to twitter. It didn't matter that it was 11 at night, people were tweeting. The tweets ranged from people who were angry that Wyatt had a girlfriend, to comments that I was too ugly to be with him, to calling me a gold digger who only wanted to further her career.

I couldn't stop myself from reading one after another. Each one worse than the one before it. In just a matter of minutes, both mine and Wyatt's names were trending. I was about to click on another tweet when my phone was snatched from my hand.

"Stop." Tasha gripped my phone in her hand. I looked at her, not fully comprehending what was happening. "Stay right here."

I just nodded as she quickly stood up and went over to Mila and Lydia. I watched absently as she spoke to them quickly before all three came over to me. Without another word, they pulled me to my feet and towards the exit. Mila and Lydia did a good job at hurtling us through the crowd as Tasha gripped me to her side.

We pushed through the doors only for a flash to blind me. Seconds later the yelling began.

Are you dating Wyatt Boone?

Cheating on your boyfriend already?

How did you meet?

Who were you dancing with?

I completely froze, my eyes darting around.

"Move!" A hand gripped my arm tightly. With the help of the girls, we pushed through the crowd of reporters, towards an Uber idling on the curb. I was shoved inside, pressed between my girls as they ordered the driver to drive. The windows muffled the sound of yelling, but I could still hear the questions being hurled at me.

"It's okay. It's okay," Tasha chanted, rubbing a hand on my arm.

I glanced down and saw hands shaking like leaves. I looked over at Tasha, my breathing heavy and my eyes wide.

What the hell just happened?

I'd known at some point word would get around about Wyatt and me. He was a well-known hockey player, people adored him, so it made sense there'd be interest when he started dating someone. I just hadn't anticipated this would be how people would find out.

The fact it went viral so fast made my stomach roll. Whoever took that picture immediately sent it to some news station that already had the article ready.

How could they do that?

Suddenly, I realized in the shock of it all, I hadn't spoken to the one person I needed to.

Wyatt.

"Where's my phone!" I had to talk to him before he saw the pictures or the article. He had to know it wasn't what it looked like. Tasha looked at me with apprehension, probably thinking I was going to look at the comments, but she must have seen the desperation in my expression, and she handed my phone over.

Ignoring the notifications, I went straight for Wyatt's number. Just as I was about to call him, my phone rang. Wyatt's profile photo flashed across my screen.

"Wyatt," I breathed into the phone.

" Josie," The sound of his voice instantly brought tears to my eyes.

"Wyatt," I said again, my voice came out all shaky and soft as tears rolled down my face. "I…I didn't. I…"

" I know, baby ."

He's seen the pictures.

I started crying harder, everything hitting me all at once.

"I…I promise, I didn't. Wyatt, I didn't cheat."

"Baby, I know you never would."

Relief washed over me, but now that I'd started crying, I couldn't stop. "I'm on my way, okay? I'll be there as soon as I can." I heard him mumble ‘fuck' under his breath followed by honking. "Let me talk to one of the girls."

I wordlessly passed the phone to Tasha. Mila pulled me into her side as I silently cried, Lydia turning in the front to squeeze my knee.

I couldn't hear what Wyatt was saying to Tasha, but she was replying back with ‘yes'. She mumbled something back to him before passing me the phone again.

"I'll be there in a few hours okay baby? Go to the apartment with the girls and ignore your phone. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay."

"I'm on my way, baby. I'm on my way."

"Here, drink this." Lydia handed me a mug filled with warm tea. I wasn't a big tea drinker, but the warm mug felt good in my hands. I'd managed to calm down a bit before we got to my apartment.

Thankfully, the building wasn't swarmed with people, and we were able to get inside easily. The paparazzi hadn't worked out where I lived yet.

"How are you feeling?" Mila asked softly as she rubbed my back. All three of them were lifesavers tonight, the way they got me out of the club and away from the reporters. And now here they were, gathering around and looking after me.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. I wasn't sure how to feel. Everything just happened so quickly, and I was still trying to wrap my head around it.

I wasn't an idiot; I knew people would find out eventually. I was surprised we'd managed to stay under the radar as long as we had. When I became Wyatt's girlfriend, I knew this was the price to be with him. There's always a price when you're with someone as well-known as him.

I just hadn't expected the reporters outside of the club, hadn't expected an article to come out about us, people already questioning my intentions. It was a sore spot for me because I didn't want Wyatt, his family, or anyone to think I was using him. Wyatt knew I wasn't, but that insecure part of me reared its ugly head.

I just needed to see Wyatt. Needed to hear that we were okay and that we would get through this together.

"The same thing happened when I started dating Bryton," Mila said after a moment.

"It did?" Out of everyone Mila was the one who would get this. I briefly remembered reading stuff about a Knights player dating someone. It was a few months before I met Wyatt, and at the time I hadn't paid much attention.

"When word got out that Bryton was dating a girl of color, some people didn't like it. Got spammed with hate comments and DM's." I reached out and squeezed her hand, my heart breaking at her words. I couldn't imagine how that was for her. It must have been a hundred times worse than this.

"There's still a lot of people who don't like a white guy dating a girl of color."

"That's so messed up," Lydia said, shaking her head.

"But I got through it…it still happens, but with Bryton by my side nothing else matters. You learn to ignore the hateful comments and messages you get. You ignore the articles that come out about your relationship." Her words eased the tight band around my chest. She'd been there and she got it. "These people don't know you or Wyatt."

She was right. No one knew me or Wyatt. They were just people on the outside having stupid opinions on things they knew nothing about.

"Thank you." I looked at each of them. "Sorry for ruining girl's night." I felt bad the night got cut short because of me.

"Don't be sorry," Tasha shook her head."We had fun, plus…my feet are killing me," she groaned, kicking her heels off.

"Thank God. Mine started hurting hours ago." Lydia toed hers off as well. I laughed as all of us took off our heels, groaning. Dancing and heels don't mix.

"Thank you, guys." I laid my head on Tasha's shoulders as we all scooted together on the couch.

"That's what friends are for."

"Where is she?"

It was almost 3 o'clock in the morning when I heard Wyatt's voice at my door. Just the sound of his voice made my chest ache. Slowly, I untangled myself from Lydia and Mila, passed out on my couch.

"She's—" Tasha started to say but stopped, catching sight of me. The moment Wyatt's eyes landed on me he all but pushed Tasha out of the way, his long legs eating up the distance between us.

My lips trembled as he scooped me up into his arms, lifting me off the ground and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I held onto the back of his head as he placed his face in the crook of my neck.

My whole body shuddered as I breathed him in. Just the smell of him made me feel better. He was still clad in his dress clothes from the game, and the collar dug into my cheek, but I didn't care.

"I'm going to take her to my place. You guys stay." He didn't give Tasha time to say anything back before he turned, with me in his arms, and headed for the elevator.

Wyatt carried me like I weighed nothing, easily hitting the elevator button and wrapping his arm back under my thighs. I clung to him like a baby, my grip only tightening when we got inside. He held me up with one hand and the other rubbed my back, little kisses peppered my head.

Neither of us said a word the entire ride up to his apartment. I was more than fine to soak him in than talk right now. Especially since he'd driven God knows how long in the middle of the night to be there.

I still didn't let go as he shifted me in his arms to unlock the door and re-lock it behind us. Not a single part of me wanted to let go of him. I kept my face buried in his neck as I felt him move around his apartment before he sat down on his couch. In this new position I wiggled into his lap, still wrapped around him like a koala bear.

"Baby." His hands gripped my waist gently. "Are you okay?"

I reluctantly pulled away, slowly meeting his beautiful blue eyes that brimmed with concern. He cupped my cheek, his thumb softly brushing across my skin.

"I'm okay." And I was. After talking to Mila and being with the girls I felt better. More so now that he was here.

"I should have been here. I'm sorry." I shook my head at his forlorn expression.

"You couldn't have known that would happen."

"I could have stopped it though. I?—"

I cupped his face this time, silencing him. "It was bound to happen. I knew people would find out about us; it was just a matter of when. It all just took me by surprise." My thumbs rubbed the slight scruff on his face.

My heart ached at the tired, stressed look on his face. His hair was mused like he'd run his fingers through it the entire drive here. I felt guilty that he'd played hockey, then drove all the way back just to be with me.

I would think more about what that meant tomorrow. Wyatt needed to sleep. All of this could. Not like it was going anywhere.

"Let's get some sleep, okay?" Sliding off his lap I held my hand out to him. Wyatt's expression was hard to read as he placed his hand in mine, letting me pull him up off the couch. He stayed quiet as we trudged up the stairs to his room. It'd been a long day, so I tried not to read into the silence as he changed his clothes and climbed into bed.

When he opened his arms, I quickly climbed in beside him, tucking my body into his side. Having him close eased the tension from my body. Despite what happened tonight, I was more certain than ever that I wanted to be with Wyatt. Even if that meant dealing with the paparazzi.

"Thank you for driving all the way here," I spoke softly.

"Always."

Yet, I could feel the distance between us suddenly grow, as though there was a wall closing around him.