30. Romeo
30
Romeo
H unter and I had surprisingly been playing well together even if there was tension between us. Thankfully, no one said anything. I was grateful that everyone turned a blind eye, especially Cap, who looked at us with curiosity most of the time.
Our away games were the hardest to endure. We still roomed together except it was so different. There were no longer blow jobs, or quick hand jobs to relax us. We no longer watched TV together as we ate our dinner. Hunter was barely in the room, always taking his meals with the team downstairs and doing god knows what else. He would come in late and leave early.
I hated it, but I did nothing to fix it because I was scared to say what needed to be said out loud. Once it was said, I would stop living in denial and have to face reality. I wasn’t ready, and if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t want to lose them. I cared for them so much; some nights I wondered if this was what love felt like. It got so bad, I googled, “What does love feel like?”.
I was a fucking mess on the inside, but years of living with my father had taught me to put on a happy exterior, even if I was dying on the inside. It was up for debate if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
It was good to be back home after a grueling two games on the road. The game we had yesterday was a damn good game, and I was so close to getting another hat trick and so was Hunter. I saw glimpses of the man who suggested we start a contract emerge when he almost made his third shot. He scowled when he missed, but the mirth in his eyes told me he was happy. I had missed seeing him happy and relaxed.
We had two home games the next few days and I had been itching to see Valencia. She wasn’t at the game yesterday, and I was disappointed since I hadn’t seen her since the week before. I messaged her back after she wished us good luck and surprisingly, so did Hunter. She didn’t respond and that bothered me. It wasn’t like her to not respond even if it was with just an emoji.
We had a short and easy practice today, mostly to go over plays and to skate around a bit as each coach gave us advice. Bennett, Hunter and I skated together, playing against our goalie. We had started to play well together; he was intuitive and always ready for us. He was a damn good player.
After practice, all the guys went to shower, but I changed into my running clothes. I lived close enough to the practice rink to get in a few miles and I felt like I needed to clear my thoughts. It had helped that it was starting to get warm. The days were growing longer, and I desperately needed some sun.
“Want me to take your bag?” Hunter asked behind me.
I looked over my shoulder, a little surprised he was talking to me. He still hadn’t showered, his cheeks were rosy and his compression shirt was so tight I could see his nipples. My mouth dried as my brain short-circuited.
“You ok?” he smirked.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, as a little sadness came through his voice. “I could drop off your bag, if you like.”
Hunter was always so put together and confident, but right now he looked vulnerable. It pulled at my heartstrings and I immediately wanted to say yes. I missed him. I missed Valencia. I missed us.
“Ok, that would be great,” I said, pulling on my shoes.
“I’m meeting my mom for lunch, and I’ll swing by afterwards?” he looked hopeful.
“Sure,” I said, feeling that familiar flutter in my chest. “It should take me a minute to get back home.”
“You could always come to lunch instead,” he said softly.
I opened my mouth to say yes, but I held back.
“Nah, have fun with your mom and tell her I said hi.” I smiled, feeling shy.
“Ok, is it ok if I call Lenny?” He looked unsure.
“Of course, I miss her,” I said truthfully.
“Me too.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Ok,” I said, trying not to get hopeful, this could be bad or this could be good.
I grabbed my water bottle, packed up my bag, and made sure I didn’t leave anything behind.
“Don’t wear yourself out, Gomez!” Coach yelled at me, as I opened the door to leave.
I held up my hand acknowledging him.
The weather was great today. It was in the high fifties with the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky. It felt great to be out. I put in my ear buds and played some music. I stretched as I walked and started running when I got to the street.
The EDM music I was playing kept me motivated. It was distracting enough that I didn’t even think about Hunter or Valencia too much. My phone rang while I was running, it was my brother. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the call because more than likely, he was just calling to tell me to speak to our father.
Not talking to him in the last few weeks had done wonders for me and my mental health. Even when I wasn’t with him, I felt like I was walking on eggshells. It was like I was constantly in flight or fight mode, preparing for the next issue he had with me or my choice of career.
I was almost home when Tomás called again. He didn’t call me back-to-back unless he needed something or maybe father was pressuring him to call me again. Uneasiness hit me, by the time I told myself to answer the call, it went to voicemail.
Relief hit me and I told myself to call him later after I hung out with Hunter and Valencia. By then, I would be in a better state of mind and whatever bullshit he needed to say I would be able to handle it.
A good beat started, pushing me to go a little faster. I let the monotony of the run hit me and I made it home in good time. I stretched as the music stayed upbeat. My body felt tired in the best way, now all I needed was to get my mind there.
Leaving my shoes by the door, I took off my headphones leaving my phone with them on the counter. I stripped as I went to my bedroom to take a cool shower. Not even the temperature could keep my cock in check as I thought about what could happen when they got here. Running my hand down my cock, I debated if I wanted to stroke myself before they got here to help myself relax.
No, I would make myself wait, hoping for the best, but only if we all wanted it. Ignoring my cock, I washed myself quickly, getting hungrier by the minute. After drying off and getting into some sweats, I went out to my kitchen to make myself a protein shake.
My phone rang as I shook my shake. and it was a call I had been waiting for weeks. I couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling I had about Valencia’s encounter with the fucker from her past. So, I had a buddy of mine, who was damn good with computers, gathered everything he could about him.
“Hey man,” I answered.
“Hey, sorry it took me so long to do this for you,” my friend said.
“It’s fine, I know you are a busy man,” I said, anxious to hear what he had to say.
“I got everything I could find on him, even his real name,” he said, as I heard his keyboard clicking with his typing. “His name is Joshua Nott, and he is a fucking sleazy bastard. He is still in Denver. He has a few properties he owns there, just bought up within the last six months.”
“Shit, is that how long he has been here?” I said, sitting at my bar.
“Yeah, looks like it,” he grumbled. “That’s the least of your problems. He has a mile long sheet full of sexual assault allegations against him, but nothing ever sticks in court.”
“Fuck,” I growled.
My mind propelled me into worse-case scenarios since she didn’t answer our last text. What if he had gotten to her and hurt her?
“Did you find an address?” I asked. keeping my voice steady even though I was freaking out.
“Yeah, a few,” he said, as typing stopped. “I’ll give them to you, but don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t,” I lied.
“Gomez, don’t be stupid,” he sighed.
“Did you do the other thing I asked for?” I ignored him.
I was met with silence when I looked at the phone, wondering if he had hung up.
“Yeah, I did,” he finally said. “She had decent security, but I made it better, and I did a few things that would protect her.”
“Great, send me a bill,” I said, getting up, grabbing my laptop. “Also send me everything you have on him.”
“Don’t do anything rash, Gomez, no pussy is worth sitting in jail for,” he clipped, ending the call.
Valencia’s was.
I set my phone down, opened my email to see his email waiting for me. I clicked on it, not knowing what I was gonna find. It was over fifty pages that I skimmed searching for his address. My phone lit up and I realized I had just missed another call from Tomás. Shit, this wasn’t good. Opening my phone, I was about to call him when I hesitated. This could be nothing, just my father being an asshole and trying to get his way because I wasn’t giving him what he wanted.
I couldn’t deal with this right now, he would have to wait till I made sure Valencia was ok. A text message immediately popped up from Tomás.
Brown nose: Answer your fucking phone, dude.
Me: Can this wait? I just got out of practice.
Brown nose: Are you ok?
Me: I’m fine.
Brown nose: Call me immediately after you get out of practice, dad is going to have a shit when he finds out.
What the fuck was he talking about? Another text came through.
Hunt: Have you heard from Valencia? And what is her apartment number again?
Me: No, her apartment number is 34b.
Me: What happened? Is she ok?”
I called him because I couldn’t wait. No answer. I called Valencia and it went straight to voicemail.
Me: Answer your goddamn phone.
I didn’t know what to do. Should I head to her apartment now? What if nothing was wrong? I slammed my laptop shut, trying to reign in my panic by taking a deep breath. She was ok, everything was fine. It had to be.