1. Valencia
1
Valencia
W hen I accepted the social media position for the new Colorado Yetis, I was excited at the prospect of building their social media from the ground up. Everything was new and I was doing things differently. They gave me carte blanche. The offer was so enticing that I moved from my old position with the Tampa Bobcats.
Dammit, just thinking about the team had me missing them. I would stalk their socials later, hoping their new social media manager was taking care of them. It had been a while since I had checked their socials. I always got a little emotional.
I climbed the stairs to the owner’s box, wanting to snap a photo of the owners and post it on social media before our first game of the season. It still blew my mind that these men just decided to buy a hockey team and revamp the entire team like money wasn’t an issue.
The security guy allowed me in while I looked for the men I needed. I saw one of the owner's wives, Lola, sitting on the sofa passing her newborn off to a beautiful woman. Their baby girl was so freaking cute and I almost got sidetracked from the task at hand when Mr. Barros went up to the gorgeous woman, kissing her on the cheek.
The way he looked at her had me sweating from arousal and I realized why she had looked so familiar. She was at the event at the Atelier a few weeks ago with Mr. Barros. God, why did I think about that as I walked up to Mr. Valbuena and Mr. Barros who had no right to be as good looking as they were.
“Uh, excuse me, Mr. Valbuena and Mr. Barros, would you mind taking a photo? I was thinking we should introduce our owners on social media,” I said, trying not to stare and embarrass myself.
“Of course, Valencia,” Mr. Valbuena said with a smile.
“Great, if we could get it with the rink in the background that would be great,” I said, as they got into position, placing a hand over their shoulders.
I took a few practice shots and adjusted some settings on my camera. The shutter fluttered as I took several photos of them, all the while they needed no direction at all. Yeah, this was definitely a good idea. The owners were hot and if I knew social media, these ladies would be foaming at the mouth for our owners.
I thanked them as I finished looking at the pictures, trying to decide which one I was going to post.
“Valencia?” Lola called out to me.
“Yes?” I turned around, wondering if she’d noticed the way I had been looking at her husband.
I couldn’t help myself, she had to know how hot her husband was.
“You think you can email us those photos?” Lola smiled.
I relaxed.
“Oh yes, of course, Mrs. Valbuena,” I said quickly.
“Hi, I’m Noemi.” The gorgeous woman said.
“Valencia, I’m the team's social media manager,” I said proudly. “It was nice to meet you, but I have to get down before the team gets on the ice.”
“That's awesome, Valencia; it was nice to meet you,” she said, before I walked away glancing at my watch, seeing I only had a few minutes to book it to the ice.
I got to an employee door, used my pass to get in, as I ran down the stairs turning a corner to get to the rink, running into one of the guys on the team. It was like running into a brick wall with how big these guys were. They caught me before I fell, and I looked up to see Romeo Gomez holding me up.
This boy was fine with a capital F and yes, he was a boy, the youngest player at twenty-two. Everyone teased him, even though most of us were only a little older than him by a few years. He had tanned skin, dark brown hair, with the most beautiful emerald eyes I had ever seen, and his smile made you feel all gooey inside. The ladies loved him and so did the men.
“Watch out, Florida,” he smirked. “I don’t think the team can afford it if you hurt yourself and we miss out on all the good media.”
“That’s right, I’m here to make you all look good,” I said reluctantly, pulling away. “Even you, Thomson!”
I laughed when he groaned, saying something snarky. Thomson was the klutziest player I had ever met. I don’t know how he was alive, but this guy ran into everything and fell at least a few times a day. It was a miracle he played hockey so well.
The guys were getting ready to head out to the ice as I jogged to the entrance, smiling and saying hello to most of them. Our captain was talking to our resident grump, Hunter Riggs.
“Hey, Florida!” Cap held his hand up and we high-fived.
“Cap.” I hit his hand, taking a picture of it. “Riggs.”
I gave him a nod not wanting to be rude. Hunter was also another sexy man here. He always had some kind of facial hair with hazel eyes that looked much different from my own light brown eyes but he had a glare that could melt the panties off anyone.
“Valencia.” His deep voice gave me goosebumps.
He was the only one who called me Valencia, and the way he said it, I was totally ok with it. I tilted my head down to hide the blush on my face and walked out of the tunnel. People began to cheer until they realized it was just me. A little girl waved at me and I appreciated her excitement. I pulled out a few stickers and temporary tattoos to give to her. She squealed and said thank you several times.
I made my way onto the ice, being careful with it being freshly Zambonied. It was extremely slick, taking me a little longer to get across, but I made it to the wall as the lights went out and the announcer started speaking. Pulling what I needed from my tech bag, I quickly set up a camera to record the tunnel and placed my phone on the other side of me against the plexiglass.
The announcer started announcing the guys one by one, as I squatted down to take pictures. The guys whooped and hollered as they skated around a few of them passing me and giving some great shots. Once the opposing team started getting called out, I packed up my bag and walked around the edge as discreetly as I could. I made it to the opening only to slip, when I felt strong arms hold me up.
Hunter Riggs had caught me, steadying me before I face planted into the ice. I laughed nervously as he gave me a nod before skating off the ice. My heart was racing at our proximity and the sheer fact that this man was gorgeous. I took a photo of the first face-off and Webber's determined expression was perfect for a post.
The first period went by without anyone scoring, each team playing hard, but I saw the shortcomings in our team. I had seen our team struggle to mesh with each other, but they were doing what they could with a whole new set of teammates. I got some footage during the first intermission, took a bathroom break and pulled my phone out before the guys lined up to go back in.
As they walked back from intermission, they all looked determined. Cap gave me a fist bump as did a few others and at the end, Gomez came up to me with a shy smile on his face. He knew what he was doing and yes, I fucking fell for it. We fist bumped and I watched the team hit the ice.
The second period was bad, with two goals from the opposing team within forty-five seconds. Clark, our goalie, looked frustrated. Our defense players looked frustrated too, but every time Riggs came on the ice, he looked murderous. I caught him snarling at his own teammates, especially Gomez.
Our rookie was having a hard time getting used to the professional leagues after doing well in the minors. I could see the frustration on Rigg’s face when Gomez flubbed or didn’t catch the puck, but just as the second period was about to end, Gomez got a goal with a killer backhand shot.
I took a few photos as the guys congratulated him and a few of them knocked his helmet. It was one of my favorite moments in hockey, seeing them get so excited, and the head taps just melted my heart. I pulled up Instagram to post a picture of Gomez surrounded by his teammates and there in the background was a small smile on Rigg’s face. I did a double take, what a fucking miracle.
That one goal wasn’t enough though, and we lost four to one. The team quietly walked back to the lockers; they looked exhausted. Losing sucked and seeing your team so down about it made it worse. I packed up my things, and saw Riggs speaking to a reporter. He looked intense as he spoke, his scowl deepening with every question that was asked.
The reporter looked enamored with Riggs and I couldn’t blame her, but the moment she put her hand on his shoulder more than once, I got a little annoyed. Puck bunnies came in all forms and it looked like this reporter was one, as she flicked her hair back.
I rolled my eyes, picked up my camera, and looked up to see him looking at me. A crimson flush came to my cheeks, and I hoped he hadn’t noticed me rolling my eyes.
“Good game,” I said, to cut the awkwardness.
He shrugged, walking away towards the locker room before he glanced back one more time. We locked eyes again, my body growing hot before I broke the stare. No good would come out of me pining for one of the players. It was like I was begging life to fuck me in the ass and not in a good way.