I finally feel like I can breath now that she's in my arms. It's been one hell of a day.So far, I've been called into a meeting with my coach, HR and the PR department. I've talked to mother twice. I've disabled all of my social media accounts. I've avoided almost all calls to my cell. And I've ignored lots of derogatory remarks about my girlfriend from random people on the street who seem to think this whole thing is funny.But worse than any of it has been my worry over her. I can't even imagine the betrayal she feels right now. Listening to her sobs confirms to me that my girl who is usually so confident and self assured has been broken. It breaks my heart."It's okay," I murmur into her hair as I rub her back and kiss the top of her head. "We're gonna get through this.""I can't believe you're not breaking up with me." She sounds muffled with her face in my chest, but I hear her words loud and clear."Why would I break up with you over this?" I genuinely don't know how she came to

I know I should turn my phone on in case Rowen calls, but I can't. I just can't. The one time I looked at it last night, I had eight-seven missed phone calls, a hundred and four text messages and I don't even know how many voice messages. After the eighth or ninth text saying something derogatory about my breasts, Rowen took the phone away and wouldn't give it back.The only reason he left it with me this morning is in case of an emergency while he's at practice.An emergency. That's a laugh. What kind of an emergency could happen when I've been curled up in this bed all day? I only got up once to use the restroom and I felt too vulnerable without the comfort of the covers on me, so I came right back to bed.I want desperately to fall asleep so I can have a few hours of reprieve from this nightmare. But sleep doesn't help. Instead, I just fall into a never ending cycle of dreams. And in these dreams I see myself naked and touching myself. I'm really into it, into making Rowen hot for m

I keep my head down and hide behind a magazine in the airport terminal. I'm not seeing any of the words, though. Rationally, I know everyone is not looking at me. But it feels like they are. The security agent that checked my ID did. When he looked at my driver's license and snickered, I thought Rowen was going to come unglued. So far, he's the only stranger that has recognized me.Rowen has his hand resting on my knee. He hasn't stopped touching me since we took a bath together. He thinks he's reassuring me, and he is. But I don't think he realizes he's also reassuring himself. I know this has been hard on him. He is a natural protector and it goes against everything in him to not be able to protect me from all of this."Tell me about them." I look up."What?""That couple. Standing by the bathrooms over there." He nods his head their direction. "What's their story?""Are you trying to distract me from my thoughts?" I ask quietly.He smiles like he just got caught. "Just tell me their

Da lets out a deep belly laugh. "Yer mam is right. Yer getting' married."I throw a napkin at him as my mom laughs."What did I miss?" Tiffany asks as she walks back into the room."Nothing. My dad just thinks he's a funny guy." I push back my chair and stand up. "Come on. It's only five thirty our time. Let's go take a nap."We trudge up the stairs and I take her to the guest room because my old room still has a single bed in it and this one has a queen."Your parents are okay with us sharing a room?" she asks."This time, yes." She furrows her brows at me in question. "Normally my mam would object because she wants to make sure we don't 'have any temptations we can't control'." I use my fingers to make the quotations marks and Tiffany begins to giggle. "But they're making an exception under the circumstances. Come here."She steps over to me as I sit on the bed. I put her hands on my shoulders to steady herself while I undo her shoes and take them off. Her socks and pants go next. Fi

"Absolutely not. And neither did Ryan. We would never violate Rowen's trust like that. Or yours. Actually," she says as she throws some butter into the potatoes, "I never look at those pictures when they are leaked. If I'm going to subscribe to the belief that it's a violation of someone's privacy, I need to give anyone in this situation the same kind of respect."I clasp my hands together in my lap and look up at her, tears in my eyes. "Thank you," I say quietly. She smiles.Suddenly the back door opens and the guys walk in, faces flushed from the cold."Hey! Close that door! You're getting my food cold," Denise scolds.Ryan slams the door behind him, stalks over to her and wraps his arms around her. "Bangers and mash," he says as he kisses her on the neck, making her squeal from the chill. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around, Mo grá."She smacks him on the arm. "I didn't do it for you, I did it for your son.""Then he needs to come home more often.""How was your work out?"