Did You Assholes Pay Extra for the Nosebleed? （20）

End of December

"This feels weird," Audrey said to Ryker, pulling off her winter coat and tossing it onto the seat as they both stepped onto the party bus outside of Pegula. "I'm entirely too old for this shit."

"Yeah, well. I'm entirely too gay for this shit, but here we are. You look exceptional, by the way. The white really complements your dark hair." He took off his coat as well, revealing a charcoal gray dress shirt, tucked neatly into black pants with a black belt.

"You look hot, too. I'm used to seeing you in sweatpants and a hoodie."

"Don't get accustomed to it. This is for game days and special occasions only. Where's our boy, anyway?"

She shrugged, as they took a seat toward the rear of the bus and she began to pull down her short dress uncomfortably, as it had ridden up.

Your body is beautiful, she told herself silently. You don't have to hide it. It's OK to show some skin.

She noticed she'd received a text on her phone, checked it quickly, then locked her screen and set it down next to her. She glanced over at Carter and LeFleur, who were scrolling through their phones, checking out the lineup of girls at the club for the evening, and deciding which ones they wanted dances from.

The guys wanted to take JT out for an early 21st birthday celebration, seeing as he'd be home for Christmas break when it was his actual birthday. The gentlemen's club they'd be attending was 18 and over, so it didn't affect Ryker or JT. The fully nude venue didn't serve alcohol and wasn't BYOB, so that's what the 30-minute ride on the party bus was for.

Ryker reached for a bottle of cheap champagne and grabbed two red plastic cups, pouring one for Audrey and handing it to her, then pouring one for himself. He raised his cup to hers. "A toast?"

"Sure," she said, raising her cup to meet his. "To what shall we toast?"

"To our complicated little relationship, and the fact that despite how chaotic and crazy this all has been, you've…become one of my best friends in the world. And I'm really thankful for that."

"Awww," she said, as they both sipped their drinks. At first she was hesitant, but pushed through, remembering that it was OK to indulge in a drink or two every now and then.

Everything in moderation, Aud.

"You're one of my best friends, too, Ryk. And to think it all started with a fucking seagull."

"Do not mention the devil bird ever again. Please. I still have nightmares about that demon." He downed the rest of his drink, poured some more, then tried to top her cup off, but she declined.

"I'm good. Someone's gotta be the adult here tonight," she said, motioning to Carter and LeFleur, who'd been joined by two more rambunctious guys and a girl Audrey didn't recognize and were now ripping shots of vodka.

At that moment, the bus erupted into cheers and shouts as D'Angelo and Macklin entered the bus with JT, who was clearly feeling pretty good. He shook hands and hugged his way through the eight or so guys and girls on his way to the back of the bus, plopping down on the seat between his girlfriend and his boyfriend, careful not to spill his drink. He threw one arm around each of their shoulders and took turns kissing them beginning with Ryker. "I can't get over how hot both of you look tonight. I'm the luckiest motherfucker alive right now."

"You don't look so bad yourself there, stud," Audrey said, running a hand up his thigh. He was dressed in a pair of blue, shiny dress pants and a white polo with a pair of black and white Chucks. "How fucked up are you right now?"

"Um, so…about that," he slurred, tipping his cup back and chugging the rest of it just in time for Macklin to make his way around with a tray of Jello shots. "Oh, yay. I love Jello shots!"

"Don't take them yet. We're gonna toast to Red," he told them, as Audrey, Ryker, and JT each snagged one. When he'd gotten to everyone, D'Angelo whistled loudly to get their attention. "Alright, so, I just wanted to thank everyone for coming. Especially the ladies. Y'all are troopers, for real."

"We like to look at nice tits, too!" one of the girls yelled, prompting several cheers to erupt.

"Hell yes! Anyway, we're here to celebrate Red tonight. JT, our beloved redshirt. I can't say enough good things about this kid right here," he said, motioning to where JT was seated. "When I first met you, I'm not gonna lie. I thought you were a complete douche…"

"Same," both Ryker and Audrey said in unison, causing them to laugh and JT to shoot each of them a look.

"Real nice, guys, " JT said, rolling his eyes. "Thanks."

"...but the more I got to know him, and the more time I spent with him? He's anything but. No one on the team works harder than this kid right here. No one. He's faced a shit ton of challenges and he's met each and every one of them head on and kicked their fuckin' asses. Not to mention, someone passed all his classes and can practice with us again next semester!"

Cheers erupted, and he placed his hand on top of Audrey's, which was still on his thigh, in a silent gesture of gratitude.

"Red, you make things interesting, for sure, but I'm so proud to call you my teammate and friend. Can't wait ‘til you can finally play and travel with us next year. To Red!" he shouted, thrusting his shot in the air, as everyone else did the same, then tossed them back.

Audrey squeezed his leg and then patted it a few times, noticing he'd begun to cry a little but was trying to hide it. She leaned into his ear and whispered, "You OK?"

He nodded, setting his empty shot glass down. "Very much so."

Right on cue, his brain wanted to tell him something awful, like, They don't mean it, or, Just wait until they get to know the real you. They'll change their minds.

But, remembering what Dr. Namour had told him about having to actively combat negative self-talk, he took a deep breath, and swore he heard his mom's voice inside his head.

This is what it feels like to be loved and accepted. These are your friends.

You're worthy, JT, and you deserve every moment of this.

As they drove off toward the club and the music started blaring, the guys got progressively drunker and sillier, with one of them grabbing the pole in the middle of the bus and attempting to dance on it, as several of the others stuffed money into his waistband before he tumbled from the pole and landed flat on his back in hysterics.

Ryker shook his head, then looked over at JT and Audrey. "Ten bucks says he gets tossed."

"Twenty bucks says they don't even let his drunk ass in ," Audrey replied. "That place doesn't fuck around. If you appear too wasted, they won't let you in."

"And how would you know this?" JT asked curiously, running his fingers across her bare thigh.

"Because I've, uh…been there before. Jess and I were bored one night and decided to go. Most of the girls were really hot."

"This is certainly news," JT said, wide-eyed.

"Calm down, killer. It's not like that. I can just…appreciate the striking beauty of both the male and the female form."

"As can I," he said, leaning in to kiss her, then turned over to Ryker and kissed him, too. "Obviously."

By that point, everyone knew Ryker and JT were a couple. A few of the guys had gotten Ryker hammered on the road one night and he'd accidentally spilled the beans, to which he was met with absolutely zero shock.

"Thank God you finally said something," one of the junior forwards, Tom Amos, had told him, throwing his hands up and clapping. "You two fucking morons have been making googly eyes at each other for weeks. We were taking bets on how long it'd take you two to admit it."

"Shit," Ryker had responded. "I thought we were keeping it under wraps."

"Yeah, like a bright red thong under a pair of see-through white pants, bud. Seriously, it couldn't be more obvious that you're in love with that boy."

But this was the first night they were introduced to Audrey as someone more than just JT's English tutor.

And, while supportive, they were also drunk, and some of them had a lot of questions.

"Alright, so lemme get this straight," Carter slurred loudly, leaning in toward JT so he could hear him over the music. "So, you're with Nerd…but you're also with her?"

"Correct."

"And Nerd, you're with her, too?"

"Nope," Ryker replied calmly.

They could all see the wheels turning pretty hard in Carter's head as he tried to process this information. "So, like…if she's with you, and you're with him…" He paused, looking like he was attempting to solve a quadratic equation.

"You've been in love?" Audrey jumped in, trying to give him the assist.

"I have. She was a cheating whore, but I have."

"So, JT is in love, but with two different people."

"Got that part. But you guys don't get jealous as hell of each other?"

"OMG, seriously," the girl who was sitting with Carter interjected, leaning into the conversation. "Sorry to, like, interrupt. I'm Vanessa, by the way. But, like, I was just listening to that and…how do you not get jealous when he's with him?"

"It's…something you learn to deal with," Audrey replied. "Do we get jealous sometimes? Of course. It's a normal human emotion. But we're all really good friends and we know how to communicate with each other when we feel certain things. I want JT to be happy, and I know Ryker makes him happy. Being happy for his happiness doesn't mean I don't or can't also make him happy. If that makes any sense."

"That's…fucking crazy ," Vanessa said with a laugh. "But I'm here for it. You guys are the cutest and, like, I'm glad it works for you." She smiled before turning back toward the other guys and promptly exiting the conversation just as quickly as she'd entered it.

"So, like," Carter continued, raising an eyebrow, "do the three of you ever…you know?"

They all shook their heads.

"Yeah, but, like, would you?"

They all bit back smiles.

"I try to never say never," Audrey finally responded, after neither of the boys said a word. "But it's not like that. There's a lot of love here and a ton of respect for each other. It's not all about sex. Everyone thinks it is, but it's not."

"That's cool, that's cool," Carter said, grabbing his phone and scrolling around a bit. "I have one more really important question for JT though, then I'll leave you alone, I promise."

"And what question would that be?" JT asked.

"Who gets to pick the girl you get a dance from tonight?"

???

"Alright, so we've narrowed it down to…" Audrey checked her phone again, ignored the message, then turned to Ryker. "Bunny and Destiny, right?"

"I…kinda don't really care. This is more your wheelhouse, so I'll let you pick. I'm not sure he's even gonna know he's getting a dance, to be honest."

"Yeah, he's pretty wasted. Where'd he go, anyway?" Audrey asked, sitting back next to Ryker on the couch they were sharing in the back of the club, their shoulders touching.

They'd been there for about an hour and a handful of guys got tossed for being way too drunk, including the amateur bus pole dancer. JT had tried to plead with the bouncers, insisting that they be given another chance since it was his birthday, an effort that proved to be futile.

"Went to play pool with Macklin and LaFleur. I just hope they stay away from the darts or someone's losing a fucking eye." Ryker sighed, looking over at Audrey. "This sucks, by the way. I could be back at the dorm in my sweatpants eating peanut butter crackers and watching Nova right now."

"Alrighty then, Grandpappy. Are you sure you're 18? That's literally the oldest fucking thing I've ever heard anyone say."

"I'm an old soul, babe. Anyway, here comes Drunky McDrunkerson now." They both looked up as JT stumbled a little on his way back to where they were sitting, Carter and Macklin in tow.

"So, who's it gonna be?" Carter asked.

"Think we're gonna go with Destiny," Audrey replied, as JT plopped down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Great tits, blonde, and ass for days."

"Excellent choice. I'm gonna go set that up right now."

"I just want you to know," JT leaned into Audrey's ear as Carter walked away, inadvertently spitting all over the side of her face. "I love you and you're definitely the most beautiful woman in here and none of these girls have shit on you and…you know I love you, right?"

"Yes, I know, JT. But thank you for telling me for the 85th time. I love you, too."

"I don't want you to think that, like, I'm…trying to, you know…"

"JT, I'm not jealous of the dancers, OK? This is literally their job, and they're just doing it. Quite well, might I add."

"So, you won't care if I get a dance?"

"Who do you think picked the girl, stud?" she asked, running a hand slowly up his leg and stopping just shy of his dick. "Besides, I think it might be kinda hot to watch another girl grind all over you knowing I'm the lucky one who gets to take you home and ride that beautiful cock."

"Help my fuck," JT moaned, his dick thickening at the very thought of it. He reached across her lap to tap Ryker, who was deep in thought about why some quasars give off radio waves. "You good, Nerd?"

"I'm already at home watching my pot pie rotate in the microwave," he responded with a wink. "But I'm glad you're having fun."

At that moment, Carter returned with Destiny and pointed to JT. "That's the birthday boy, right there."

She flipped her long, blonde extensions over her right shoulder and strolled to JT, having a seat on the opposite side of him from Audrey. Her heavy makeup and exaggerated eyelashes made it difficult to tell her age, but JT pegged her to be in her late 20's or early 30's at most.

Her body was beautiful; a natural C cup with plenty of bounce, an ample, round ass, and toned obliques all sparkling with glitter. Even though it was obvious she'd been pregnant by stretch marks and the bit of loose skin on her lower belly, the realness made her that much more attractive in JT's eyes.

She struck up a conversation with him, asking if Audrey was his girlfriend and raving about how gorgeous she was, then asking if she wanted to join in or watch. He thought her mind was going to explode when he informed her that Ryker was also his boyfriend and that he'd be joining them in the private room as well .

"Wow, this is like Christmas," she joked, grabbing JT by the hand and pulling him up off the couch. "Follow me, beautiful," she crooned, then motioned to Ryker and Audrey to join. They walked behind as she led JT to the private dance room and past the cheers and whistles of several of JT and Ryker's teammates.

"I sincerely hope they wash these couches. They've seen so much flappage," Ryker said to Audrey, who laughed so hard she snorted.

" Flappage . You fucking kill me, Ryk."

Once inside the dark room, which was heavily guarded by bouncers, Destiny led them over to an unoccupied stall which was partially curtained off from the rest of the room and had JT take a seat on the U-shaped leather sofa, while Audrey and Ryker sat on either side of him. "So, your boys paid for an eight-minute dance for you, which will be three songs. And, kid: it's just a dance. I don't offer any ‘extras', but you can touch me if you want, just keep it above the waist. I mean, if it's OK with them, of course."

Ryker shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

JT looked at Audrey, who was already turned on at the thought of watching this beautiful woman make her man squirm. She gulped. "It's…fine."

The music for the first song began playing, which was some sort of unintelligible mumble rap with a slow, sensual beat, and she started on the floor on her knees. She ran her hands up JT's shins, over his knees, then to his thighs, pushing his legs apart and placing her face right in his crotch.

"Wow, OK, just…going right up in there ," Ryker commented quietly, watching as the dancer slid herself up off the floor, pressed her body against his boyfriend's, and climbed into his lap. With a knee planted on either side of his thighs, she reached both hands around the back of his neck and began grinding herself all over his dick. She threw her head back, her tits bouncing directly in his face as she rolled her hips slowly into his over and over again, causing him to moan.

He peeked over at Audrey, whose mouth hung slightly open as she watched the fully naked dancer dry hump her boyfriend. "Touch her," she mouthed to him, shifting in her seat, uncrossing and recrossing her legs as she noticed the sudden, warm wetness between them.

"I love you," he mouthed to her before sliding his hands up the side of Destiny's ribcage, then bringing them tentatively to her breasts. He began by just rubbing and cupping them gently, but the more he touched her, the harder she humped him. And the harder she humped him, the harder his dick got, and the harder he squeezed them.

She brought her hands to his head, running her long fingernails through his hair and massaging his scalp while she continued to grind all over him. Leaning into his ear, she whispered, "You can kiss them if you want, gorgeous."

As much as he wanted to, it wasn't something he felt comfortable doing. "Nah, I'm good. Turn around, though. Work that ass on me."

"You got it, baby." She stood up and flipped herself around, Ryker and Audrey both gawking at the gigantic tent their boyfriend was pitching and the wet spots on his pants, unsure as to who'd left which.

"We're just gonna…burn those pants," Ryker muttered, adjusting his own hard-on and realizing he was bricked the fuck up from watching JT being teased.

JT reached around to her tits and gripped them while she ground her ass against his dick, starting to lose himself a little to the feeling and lifting his hips slightly to meet her ass. Knowing he was going to have a giant mess in his pants if he let this continue, he pulled his hands away from her body and reached one over to Audrey and one over to Ryker. Each of them held onto his hand, both panting as they watched her move in his lap.

The first song ended, and she got up, turning around to face him again as the second song began. She stood before him for a bit, writhing and running her hands up and down her body before leaning into him. She placed a hand on either side of his hips, bent down into his chest, and at the exact moment she went to dramatically flip her hair, JT tilted his head down and the top of her head cracked him directly in the nose.

"Fuck!" he yelled, as she immediately jumped off his lap just in time to see blood gushing down his face and running onto his white polo shirt.

"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!" she cried, covering her mouth as two of the bouncers made their way over to see what was going on.

"That is…unfortunate," Ryker observed, as Audrey reached into her purse and pulled out a wad of napkins, jamming them under JT's nose to try to stop the bleeding. The sc ene was devolving into absolute chaos, as patrons and other dancers came to see what the hell was happening. Soon after, a bartender rushed over to their booth with an ice pack and handed it to Audrey, who brought it to JT's face.

"Ah, shit, that's cold!" JT complained, trying to push her hand away.

"It's ice , JT. Of course it's cold. You need to keep it there, baby. It'll keep the swelling down."

"I'm really sorry," Destiny said, mortified and shaking her head. "I'm so sorry."

"It's all good," JT said, muffled from behind the ice pack. "I'm a hockey player. Been hit in the nose more times than I can count. Never…quite like this, though."

"I mean, I can keep going if you want," Destiny offered, as JT hemorrhaged all over his shirt.

"I think we're done here," Audrey said, as they all stood up. "You did a phenomenal job, though. Seriously. That was really hot, until…you know."

The three exited the private dance room and did the walk of shame back through the main club, where everyone's eyes were glued to JT, covered in blood and holding an ice pack to his face.

"This isn't embarrassing at all," he muttered, making his way through the lounge and passing by D'Angelo and Macklin, who were both getting cozy with a couple of the girls on a couch.

"Holy shit. He really is a redshirt now!" Macklin yelled, pointing at JT and standing. "What the fuck happened, Red?"

"Did you assholes pay extra for the nosebleed?"

"Definitely not. I mean, I tried to pay for a handy or a hot dog, but she wasn't having any of it. Yo, seriously, are you good?"

"I think we're gonna head out," Ryker chimed in, slipping an arm around JT's waist. "Any chance you guys are ready to roll, or should we call an Uber?"

"Um, I mean…I was gonna get a dance real quick, but…whatever. Half the guys got booted already, anyway. We can bounce if you want."

He went to retrieve D'Angelo, who proceeded to argue with him about how Bunny was the "love of his life" and that he needed to stay for her. Eventually, he was able to pry the inebriated captain away from the dancer and they all made their way outside to board the party bus back to Pegula.

As they got on, tiptoeing past the group of guys who were passed out drunk on top of each other and snoring, they made their way to the back of the bus and sat where they'd sat on the ride there. "Here, lemme see, Jacob," Audrey said, removing the ice pack. JT winced as she examined him. "It doesn't look broken, but both of your eyes are already starting to swell. You need to keep ice on it for the ride home."

Ryker reached into the cooler, scooping up a fresh batch of ice cubes and, looking around, found a plastic shopping bag in which to put them. He tied it off and handed it to JT, who replaced the ice pack with it, then lay down with his head on Audrey's lap and his legs up on Ryker's. "Hell of a night, huh, Banner?"

"You're not kidding," he replied, his voice muffled from the ice pressed against his face as Audrey played with his hair and Ryker rubbed his shins. "I've never gone from being so horny to being in so much pain in such a short amount of time. My adrenal glands don't know what the fuck to do right now."

"Well, you handled it like a trooper, baby," Ryker told him, as Audrey's text notification went off again. She checked it quickly, turned her phone off, then went back to running her fingers through JT's hair.

"Who's texting you? Everything OK?" JT asked, looking up at her.

She gave him half a smile. "Everything's fine, Jacob."

"Anyway," Ryker continued. "That girl was working hard as hell for you. I'm not even gonna lie. It was…kinda hot."

‘Yeah?" JT asked.

"Yeah, I mean, up until the part where you bled all over yourself. That wasn't hot. But watching you get teased and turned on like that?" Ryker nodded, licking his lips. " That I'm down with."

"I wanted you both there," he asserted, looking back and forth between them. "I wouldn't have done it if you both weren't there. For me, that's the part that made it so hot, knowing you were both watching me. It had very little to do with her and everything to do with you guys. And, like, it got me thinking…"

"Uh oh. That's usually dangerous," Ryker teased.

"Stop," JT said, sitting up and removing the ice from his nose and turning toward Audrey. "I'm serious. Remember when you asked me what I wanted for my birthday?"

She nodded, glancing at Ryker, pretty sure of where this was going. "I do."

"Well, I know what I want."

"And what's that?" Ryker asked.

"Both of you, tonight. Together."

Ryker and Audrey looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever you want, birthday boy," Audrey finally replied.

"Yeah?" JT asked, excitedly, looking over at Ryker, who had poured himself the rest of the cheap champagne and was throwing it back. "Nerd?"

He nodded. "I'm drunk enough, I think. As long as that shirt and those pants never see the light of day again, we can do whatever the fuck you want to, baby."

JT couldn't help the excitement that was rising within him, as what he'd been fantasizing about for months was potentially about to become a reality.

Don't fuck this up, DiMara.