35. Valencia
35
Valencia
“ V alencia, you've put me in a really tough position,” my boss said, leaning back in his chair. “I called you in to go over a few things and you tell me you’re dating not one, but two hockey players from our team. You were wrongly accused of being a porn star and you got arrested for assaulting a man.”
On the drive here, I figured it would be better if I came clean and told my boss everything. It would be better to get fired now before they read the gossip magazines.
“Greg, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect?—”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know I would fall in love with them.
“How long?” He leaned forward.
“Since November,” I said, my cheeks, heating.
“Jesus Christ, is that the reason they have been playing so well?” He stood up abruptly, running his hand over his face.
“Maybe? I mean, I don’t know if it was me specifically,” I said, biting my lip.
“And why would someone say you are a porn star?” he asked, rubbing his jaw.
“An old boyfriend came to see me, and I think he saw me with the guys. I’m pretty sure that might be where this was all coming from.” I had to lie about my cam girl side. There was no way in hell I was admitting to that when I knew they couldn’t have proof it was me.
“Dammit, you've put me in a hard position and while I would hate for you to go, I’m going to have to talk with my superiors,” he sighed. “You’re a great SM manager; your dedication and your photography are great assets.”
“I’ll resign before it gets picked up by a bigger publication,” I said, biting my lip as I tried to keep my shit together.
It was the right thing to do.
“Are you sure it’s going to get published?” He paced around the room.
“It’s only a matter of time,” I said. “I’m surprised they haven’t published anything yet and said something about my arrest.”
He shook his head. “Valencia you are full of surprises, and I can’t say I would have ever thought you, of all people, would be in my office telling me this.”
“This was not on my Life bingo card either,” I said, picking at my nails.
“Are you up for working tonight?”
I looked up at him in shock, but a part of me thought maybe it was best if I just quit now.
“I think I should resign,” I said, pursing my lips together so they didn’t tremble. “I think it would be best for everyone.”
“Work tonight. I will think about this. I might have to talk to my boss, but I also want to talk to our PR department,” he said, sitting back down behind his desk. “I would really like for you to stay.”
“Ok… but my offer still stands. I set up google alerts and if anything pops up, I will let you know,” I said, standing up.
“Thank you for telling me, Valencia,” he said with a sad smile. “I will truly be sad to see you go, if that's the case.”
“I will too, I have enjoyed working with this team,” I said, taking a deep breath.
I left the room, and headed to my office. A brand-new camera and lenses sat on my desk along with a paper bag.
They didn’t have the lenses that you needed replaced, so you will have to suffer with a better camera and extra lenses. You also need to eat and take some Tylenol – R I think you round them out perfectly and you make them work well together.”
“Mr.—”
“I was upset at first, because well… because this is our first year and I didn’t need any negativity, but as my lovely wife has told me time and time again, love doesn’t come when you want it to or when we plan for it,” he said with a fond smile. “I know that’s presumptuous of me to claim, but I can see the way they look at you. They always search for you and when they finally see you, I see the way you calm them.”
“I didn’t expect this to happen,” I said, looking at my camera. “It was just supposed to be…”
“Just a contract?”
“How?” My eyes grew wide.
“Hunter has been in the community for a while; I've seen him at the Atelier a few times.” He smirked at me.
“Oh, god.” I covered my face in embarrassment.
“It always starts with a contract or at least some form of agreement,” he chuckled. “I took some precautions when I found out what was happening, and you’ll be happy to know that you are a contract worker, not an employee, and our employee manual doesn’t apply to our contract employees.”
I thought I had heard him wrong.
“Did you say… Wait, since when?” I was flabbergasted.
“Since I knew this might not be a fling back in January, when Hunter was following you around like a puppy at the fundraiser.” He turned to me.
“Th-Thank you, I don’t—” My lip trembled as I tried to hold back tears. “I’m sorry we caused you trouble.”
“I put the blame on the boys,” he smirked. “I do have one request, though.”
“Anything,” I said immediately, and when he raised his brow, “Anything within reason.”
“You’re brilliant with social media and I have a few businesses that I think could benefit from your expertise,” he said, pulling out an envelope. “I would pay you, of course, and I would also appreciate it if you could still work with Easton. So, maybe having you be a contract worker would be for selfish reasons too.”
“Of course! I loved working with Easton and the organization.” This felt like it was too good to be true.
“He has sung your praises and anything that makes Easton and Noemi happy, well, that makes me happy too,” he said with a smile. “So, I’ll let you get back to work and please, no more surprises.”
“Well, there might?—”
“Oh, I know that secret, I just didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss that here,” he chuckled. “I also hear it has been taken care of.”
“What do you mean?” I squeaked, embarrassed.
“My contact at the magazine said statements have been pulled and the story is dying,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. “Have a good evening, Valencia, and work your magic.”
“Thank you!” I yelled, still reeling from our conversation and the fact that nothing was in my way anymore.
This had changed everything. I wanted Romeo and Hunter so badly, a part of me was ready to run downstairs and find them and the other part was screaming at me to let this fizzle out. I had dodged a bullet. Why put myself at more risk?
My head hurt and I went back to my office to take the Tylenol I should have taken when I had eaten. I threw myself into work, scheduling and editing content. My head started to hurt again when I realized I had been at the computer for almost two hours, and I was about to miss the guys out on the ice.
Grabbing a few more Tylenol for later, I grabbed my camera, phone, an extra battery for my camera and a power bank for my phone. The hallway was buzzing with activity, excitement was in the air at the possibility of us going to the playoffs. I passed the hallway that led to the locker room, keeping my attention forward.
As I exited the hallway to the rink, I took a deep breath and felt the excitement of the game as fans sat down. The buzz in the air made me feel alive and tear up a little. I wouldn’t have to give this up, that thought alone made me want to cry as pure elation coursed through me.
“You ok, Florida?”
I looked behind me to see Coach Trevino.
“Yeah, I’m ok,” I said with a big smile. “Just soaking in the excitement.”
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Good luck, today,” I said, before stepping out on the ice.
I slowly made my way to the edge of the rink that would give me the best shots. While I waited for the guys, I took a few pictures of fans for our socials. One pic was of a cute little girl who had a jersey with Hunter's number on it. She was adorable and I wondered for a moment what our future would look like. Kids? Just us? Dogs or cats?
The little girl waved at me as I threw her a few Yeti friendship bracelets I had started carrying around. She yelled excitedly as her mom said thanks. I looked around to see the guys starting to skate out already. I took pictures as I walked back to my spot, kneeling, steading my elbow, taking more pictures. Ro skated out with Hunter right next to him. They were serious when Hunter said something to him, leaning forward to hit his helmet with his own. Ro nodded at whatever he had said, bumping heads with him and skating off. Hunter looked around the rink before his eyes landed on me. I expected him to skate around the rink, not skate straight towards me.
“We've been expecting a phone call,” he said, stopping too close to me.
“I’m sorry, a lot has happened,” I said, feeling eyes on us.
He nodded, “I’m sorry if you've felt overwhelmed, we didn’t think about how you would feel with everything that has been going on. I don’t want to give you time away from us, but if that's what you need, we will respect that, but I’d rather have you with us. We want to be wherever you are and that is home to us.”
Home. My heart clenched at the idea of making a home with them, but I wanted it.
“You know where to find us. Ro is staying with me for a few days,” he said, leaning down, tapping his forehead against my own.
It felt intimate.
“No rush, we will wait however long we need to.” Ro skated next to Hunter. “I’ll score some goals for you, Mamacita.”
He tapped his helmet against my forehead too, lingering a second longer than Hunter. A distant aww made my cheeks grow red from the attention as they skated away. I should have been worried that someone would speculate something, but I found I could care less.
The team won four to two and they were so close to nabbing that wild card. I took too many videos and photos, mostly of Hunter and Ro. I posted some of the best on social media while I walked to my office, ready to sit for a minute. I opened the door to my office to find three bags on my desk. “Open me first” was written on the far left one. I opened the bag to see a small card and keys fall out.
Please don’t go home. Here is a room at a hotel for a few nights. Rest, relax and unwind. Here are the keys to the Jeep. If you need anything, call us. - R&H
P.S. Open the bag in the middle.
I picked up the card with the Four Seasons logo on it with the room number. My lip trembled at their thoughtfulness. I picked up the bag in the middle that was a lot heavier. I opened it and all my favorite snacks were in it with a note on the top.
Hi, it's us again. Just in case you are feeling snacky when you're there, here are some snacks you've gotten us hooked on. We miss you already. - R&H
P.S. The last bag is the best one.
A tear slid down my cheek as I grabbed the last bag. I opened it to see a frame with a photo in it. It was a photo I took when we were dancing at the club a month ago. I’m in the middle smiling, Ro is laughing and Hunter is looking at us with a big smile.
We don’t make sense without you. We want a thousand more pictures of us together, an entire album filled with memories of our life, with this one right at the beginning.
We love you, Valencia. - R&H
I held the photo to my chest as I cried for a moment. It wasn’t sad tears, but tears that cleansed my soul. Hunter and Ro were everything I had ever wanted and more. I needed to let go of my past and move forward. They loved me and I wasn’t about to let my fear dictate what I did with my future. I didn’t know what would happen tomorrow but as long as I had them I knew we could get through anything.
I took a deep breath, packing up all my things, rushing out because I couldn’t wait any longer. The hallways were empty as I rushed out to the Jeep. I couldn’t drive fast enough to Hunter’s and they had even left a card to park in the garage.
The elevator ride took the longest and when I knocked on the door, I felt nothing but urgency. Hunter opened the door shirtless, his eyes wide as he looked at me as Ro also walked up to the door. I reached for Hunter, pulling him down for a kiss. He wrapped an arm around my waist as I reached for Ro, sucking hard on Hunter's bottom lip before pulling away and kissing Ro. He groaned in my mouth, swirling his tongue against my own.
“I love you.”
They stilled against me.
“I’m sorry I ran away,” I said, taking another deep breath. “I was so overwhelmed with everything, and I let my fear of my past and the unknown scare me into pushing you away, but I’m not running anymore. I want whatever this is and more. You have branded me as yours. Will you be mine?”
“I want more, too,” Ro said immediately, with a huge grin on his face. “I want everything.”
He kissed me softly, pulling Hunter to us. “I want you and Hunter. I know hockey is busy, the schedule sucks and it’s hard to be together, but I want to always come home to both of you.”
He kissed me before kissing Hunter, who was awfully quiet.
“I pulled away because I was scared and I regret it,” Hunter said softly. “I won’t make that mistake again, I’m yours. I’ll always belong to you and Ro, just like you will always be mine.”
“I love you,” Hunter said, kissing me as tears started to flow freely. “And I love you.” He kissed Ro.
“I’m so fucking in love with you both,” Ro kissed us. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
I sighed as they held me, feeling content, warm and loved. We stayed like that for a moment, completely unaware that we were still in the doorway until someone walked by us.
“Can we all go stay at the hotel?” I asked, as they brought me into the apartment.
“Hell, yeah,” Ro grinned. “We are already packed.”
“Wow, you guys are confident,” I chuckled.
“A little, but I hoped that you would come back to us tonight because I didn’t want to stay the night away from you,” Hunter said, pulling us close.
“Unless it’s for hockey, I don’t want to stay away from you guys either,” I said, kissing them softly.
“To a thousand more pictures,” Ro leaned his forehead against ours.
“A thousand more,” I said softly.
“Our whole lives,” Hunter sighed.