Sprinters Unite
Dahlia
It’s too quiet in this massive hotel living room. But it’s supposed to be quiet since we’re all sprinting. These events are always fun, yet they can be overwhelming too.
Today has been the best even though it’s been too much. It doesn’t help that I miss Vex as well.
Our little group of misfit writers doesn’t quite fit in the extreme luxury of this place, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it. Especially being able to spread out across the dining room table, couch, and bar to have enough space to word comfortably together. We usually just crowd together on a hotel room floor or in a space that is not currently in use for the convention.
Colin Knight is the enigma of our little group. Not once in the entire day has he by touch or word given the impression that he’s anything more than Daria’s friend. That man is sexy and driven based on the speed at which his fingers are flying across his keyboard. He’s not as broken as I thought before, but there’s definitely something haunting his soul. A wound.
But isn’t everyone wounded? We all hide our wounds in a different way, protecting ourselves. We’ve changed so much since last year. I’ve changed so much.
“And stop.” Dylan ends the sprint. “How did everyone do?”
“I think I’m going to delete everything I wrote today.” Harper glares at her computer screen.
“No rage deleting allowed during sprints,” Junie repeats our motto.
“Who got a check in from Piper?” Garnet asks.
Stella holds up her phone. “I got it. She’s on her way up.”
“I can’t believe she had dinner with him, too.” Keeley flips her screen down.
“Why? If that man asked, I’d not only go to dinner with him, I’d bear his children and help him hide any bodies. That man is delicious.” Savie sighs.
“That would be a lot of bodies to hide.”
Everyone turns to Dylan.
She shrugs, “I might have done a little research on Valen Linckester instead of writing words.”
“Oh? Spill the dirt. What’s his body count?” Stella leans forward.
Daria writes a little note and slides it over to Colin. He scribbles on the paper and slides it back. There should be sly smiles or hidden glances between the two of them.
That’s it. I’m pathetic. I want everyone to be in love because I am.
“We need snacks if we’re going to spill the tea like this.” Junie reaches into her bag for a granola bar.
“How about I order us some room service?” Colin stands up.
The girls stare at each other silently. They want the food, but not at the prices bound to be charged on the room service menu.
“My treat.”
It’s all smiles after that .
Colin walks over to the in-house phone.
“Spill quickly before Piper shows up.” Garnet motions with her hand for Dylan to move it along.
“Valen Linckester is responsible for the death of probably tens of thousands of people.”
Everyone gasps.
“But not directly. His family has been a weapons contractor for the government for generations.”
That’s not quite the same as killing people.
“They’re worth billions, maybe tens of billions. No one knows exactly. The company is controlled by his grandfather and broken up between him and his two cousins.”
So just a little bit rich. That’s got to be weird for Piper.
“Each one of them got a company to run.”
“So what does Valen Linckester do then, make bombs?” Garnet walks over to the bar to pour herself a drink.
“No, that’s his cousin, Joseph. The other one, Arnold, deals with chemical warfare.”
Bombs! Chemical warfare! What did they talk about at the dinner table, how to melt people’s faces off or creating a bomb that can blow up more people?
That’s not really a fair thought, but it just seems wild to grow up thinking about how to kill people.
“Valen’s branch focuses on defense, from body armor to shielding for vehicles. He also expanded out and makes armored personal vehicles, riot gear for police, bulletproof vests, and bunker gear for firefighters.”
That sounds more like saving lives.
“So what you’re saying is he’s sexy, rich, and saves lives every day. How is any of that a bad thing?” Garnet sits back down at the coffee table.
“It’s a problem because one, he’s a billionaire, and two, Colin didn’t mention any of those things. Also, he might not be a billionaire soon. The grandfather owns everything and there are rumors swirling that he plans to give everything to only ‘one’ of his grandsons before he dies.”
Dylan did a deep dive into this guy.
All eyes shift to Colin.
“What?”
“Why didn’t you tell us? That’s a pretty big secret to keep,” Stella asks.
“Did it really matter if he’s a billionaire? Shouldn’t she love him for who he is and not his money?” Colin's lips twist in disgust.
“It matters.”
All eyes shift to Savie.
“There’s a difference between a man that is comfortably off and a man that has his own jet sitting on the runway waiting for him. People dream about being rich, but not that rich. People want what you have when you’re that rich, and they’re willing to use any means to take it from you. So, no. I’ll take a comfortable man. Save the billionaires for a woman that can only see diamonds and private islands.”
What happened? We all know Savie hasn’t had an easy life. Most of it was spent not having enough money to buy a pair of shoes. She’s only now starting to get to the point where she doesn’t count every single penny. We’ve never even heard her talk about a boyfriend.
“What happened honey?” Stella reaches over and sets a hand on Savie’s arm. “Who hurt you? We’ll straighten him out.”
Junie leans forward. “And if we can’t, I have a second cousin who owns some pigs.”
Did sweet little Junie really say that? I make eye contact with Dylan, and she shrugs.
“You women scare me.” Colin sits back down next to Daria.
Daria gives Colin’s arm a pat. But that smirk of hers is anything but comforting.
“He didn’t hurt me. Well, not the way you’re thinking. There was no rich boyfriend. My brother practically owns a whole city. ”
How could her brother be rich enough to own a city and not buy his sister a pair of shoes? Maybe we should have a conversation with this brother of hers.
The hotel room door cracks open.
Piper.
We all turn towards the door, even Colin.
“Have breakfast with me tomorrow?” Valen asks.
Ohhh.
“I can’t… The convention starts tomorrow.”
Piper clearly wants to go.
“Name the time and I’ll make arrangements.”
Valen doesn’t take no for an answer.
“It’s going to be a really busy day.”
“There’s a rooftop restaurant. We could have breakfast and watch the sunrise.”
Go, Valen. That was a good one.
“Okay.”
The breathy whisper can barely be heard back where I’m sitting.
“I’ll be right here at six am to pick you up.”
“Okay.”
Did I sound that nervous and timid when I first met Vex? Probably.
“And Piper.”
“Yeah.”
“Dream about me tonight, because I’ll be dreaming of you.”
Wow! Now that was a line. If only I wrote romance novels.
Like the completely mature woman I am, I pull my phone out and message Vex.
Me: Do you dream about me?
Vex: Dahl?
Just answer the question.
Me: Do you dream about me?
Vex: That’s not a question you ask a man when you’re states away .
Me: Is that like your rules about no kissing on the stairs or more like the no kissing in bed thing?
Vex: Dahl
I barely hold in a giggle.
Vex: Are you alone?
Me: Nope. Everyone is in my suite doing sprints.
Except for Piper, who is currently probably staring at Valen as he walks away. That’s what I’d be doing.
Vex: Are you ever going to bed tonight?
Me: Nope. Colin just ordered us a midnight snack from room service.
Vex: Colin!?!
Vex: Why is there a man in your room after midnight?
Me: LOL. Colin is officially unofficially one of the girls. He had no choice. The girls and I talked about you for two hours this evening.
Piper walks in and closes the door behind her.
And now we’re going to dissect every part of Piper’s date for the rest of the evening.
Me: Gotta go, Darling. Piper just got back. Love you.
Vex: Love you, Dahl. The answer is yes.
Vex dreams about me! EEEEEEEE
“Well? Tell us everything?” Junie pats the couch seat next to her.
Piper starts to pace around the bar. “It was amazing. We spent hours talking about everything and nothing. He asked about my books and actually listened to me talk about them. Valen is thoughtful, intelligent, sexy, and scary.”
“Scary?” Dylan hones in on the word that echoed through all of our minds.
“Scary men aren’t all that bad.” Maybe I shouldn’t have phrased it quite like that since everyone is now gaping at me. “Vex only looks scary to everyone else, but he’s the sweetest man ever.”
“Your boyfriend’s name is Vex?” Colin’s voice has this weird tone to it.
“Um… Yeah. Didn’t I mention that before?”
Everyone shakes their head .
“What kind of name is Vex?” Stella asks no one.
“Dahlia, can I speak to you privately?” Colin stands up.
Um… Has Colin heard about Vex? Vex knew about Colin.
Colin better not try to say something bad about my man. “We can talk in the bedroom.”
He follows me in and closes the door behind him.
“You know, every single one of them has their ear pressed to the door listening in.”
Colin seemingly ignores what I said as he stares at me.
Fine. I can deal with whatever he might say about Vex.
“How long have you known Vex?”
It feels like forever sometimes. “A few weeks.”
“You’re serious about him?”
“Yes.” Even though it feels like I should add a million caveats to that answer.
“And he’s serious about you?”
Whatever it is we have doesn’t feel like his standard operating procedure when it comes to women. “Yes.”
“Then you know about him?”
Mostly. Sort of. “The important things.” Though there are still holes. To ask these questions, Colin must know Vex. “Why do you ask?”
Colin’s whole demeanor changes. “Because Vex has a certain reputation.”
As a crime lord or killer. “Yeah, I’ve heard about his reputation.”
“But you don’t believe it.”
The question isn’t if I believe it. “I’m in love with Vex, and I won’t allow you to speak badly of him in my presence.”
“That’s something I would never do. I brought you in here to reassure you that Vex isn’t the man the world believes him to be.”
The shift in conversation is hard to follow. “How do you know that?”
“I ran The Nest, a shelter, in Urbium for years.”
He ran a shelter? Colin Knight, sexy author and angsty man, ran a shelter? There’s a story there.
“Vex would bring us women that needed help.”
“Women that he rescued,” the words just slip out.
“They never gave us details except to say Vex saved their lives.”
I knew it. I knew he was a hero and not a villain. No man could be as gentle and kind as he is and be the monster people think he is.
***
The apartment is finally quiet, but it won’t be for long since Piper is going to be here early for her date. I should go to sleep, but my body won’t settle in this giant empty bed. I should have brought Vex.
So the girls could dissect him?
Next year they can do all of that.
This is ridiculous. I push up in the bed and flick the bedside light on. It shines right on the teddy bear Vex sent. Why not hug it?
Maneuvering the massive stuffed animal into the bed is no small feat. If Vex could see me now—
Why can’t Vex see me? I pull out my phone.
Am I really doing this? Taking a picture while I’m in my pajamas like a wanton woman.
Really, why am I psyching myself out? Vex won’t see anything but the teddy bear's arms and my head. It’s not like I’m even immodest. These pajamas cover me from my neck to my ankles.
Don’t let what happened years ago make you get stuck all in your head. This picture is completely innocuous.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I snap a picture of myself in the bear’s arms and send it to Vex
Me: Miss your arms around me. But the bear is super cuddly.
Vex: He’s bigger than you are.
See, Vex didn’t say anything weird .
Me: LOL. You had to see me wrestling him into the bed. But I won.
Vex: I’m pretty sure the bear won. He has you wrapped in his arms. Right where I wish I was.
Not crying. Totally not crying.
Me: How was your day?
Vex: Terrible without you.
Me: The girls would have tormented you endlessly.
Vex: LOL. I could have handled them.
Me: Is there anything you can’t handle?
Vex: Missing you.
Vex: We aren’t doing this ever again.
Me: Is that a rule?
A smile spreads across my face.
Vex: It’s a promise.