Inferno Part 2

~57~ Upper Hand

Ellie's POV

I sit down next to Taylor and he kisses my cheek.

"What happened, Ellie?" He asks me seriously.

I just shake my head. "Later" I whisper.

"Did he touch you?" He asks in a terrifyingly low voice.

"No"

Taylor sighs and brings me into him. He's my rock. I don't need anybody else to believe me. He does. He's my soulmate.

He holds me as we watch Josie perform. She does fantastic. I've never seen her dance before. She isn't quite as good as Sasha, but she is still one of the best ones on her team. I thought that when Sasha graduated, this was over for me. I'm thankful it isn't. Just because she isn't "mine" doesn't diminish how much I love her. She's starting to feel like a daughter to me.

When her team is done with their routine, Taylor squeezes my hand. It definitely isn't the same, but it was still nice. I look at Mason and give him a smile.

"She did fantastic"

He beams and nods his head. "Yeah, she did." He's so proud of her. I love that he's proud.

Ben comes up behind me, but looks at Mason.

"You two ready to keep chaperoning?" He asks in a breezy tone.

Taylor can feel me stiffen, and he kisses my head. "I'll come with. I want to save some good seats for the game." He says as he grabs my hand and walks with me.

Ben is pissed. Looking at him, he looks totally cool. But he's not cool, he's heated. His eyes are an inferno of anger. They're blazing.

Mason and Ben talk behind us, and Taylor and I silently walk ahead.

"Do I need to beat his ass, yet?" He whispers once we're a little further away and out of earshot.

I just shake my head.

"You give the word, and I'll find a good excuse. I'll have Alex get me out of it."

I say nothing as I wipe my eyes. I just want to go home.

The basketball game goes smoothly. Nick keeps his temper in check and the other coach doesn't smash his face with a basketball. Lance tries to talk to me some, but I just give him brief answers. He finally gives up.

By the end of the day, I'm worn out. Luke, Emma, Trace, and Liam's family all head back home. Nora and Liam didn't want to stay the night. Once the competition and tournament are over, I stay in the room with Taylor.

"Tell me what happened" he says darkly.

I tell him the story, and he's starting to fume.

"Oh yeah. He's getting more daring now. Lance won't do anything?"

I shrug. "What is he going to do? He has never threatened me. He has never touched me. He always smiles at me. There is literally nothing that he can do."

Taylor shakes his head in disgust.

We decide to go out to dinner. We pick a restaurant in the hotel, since I'm still technically chaperoning. When we get seated, we see Lance, Nick, and Ben. Mason stayed behind with Sasha and Drew and the kids in their room.

"Hey guys, sit with us" Lance says with a grin.

"No thanks" I say in a hard tone.

We get seated, and once we order our food, I'm feeling funny. I look around, and I see that Ben has positioned himself so he is able to stare right at me. He is staring at me so hard, I can't concentrate on anything else.