44. Chapter 44
Ames
Those few hours after Saint gets his trophy go by in a blur. We celebrate and party together at the hotel, and I kiss Saint so much I lose count.
We take breaks, of course, but we never stop touching one another. We hold hands. We hug. We stand side by side, me tucked to his shoulder and his arm around me. His team, his family, our friends, and my brother surround us. It's joy all around.
They tease us. We take it in stride. When Evie announces that Saint and I are going viral, we laugh with everyone else.
This is a time when I love notoriety. It's medicine for the last time a video of me got really popular online. All doubts I ever harbored are crushed under the sole of this moment.
Eventually, Saint gets me a driver to take me back to LA, and insists on taking me to the car.
The pilot for my show is still scheduled to be recorded in the morning.
I have to go back to my hotel, but he can't leave with me.
He's still tied to expectations until he can go back home in twelve hours.
We leave the party and walk toward the elevator at the other side of the hall .
"After you come back from LA on Monday night," he says, "we'll have a party of our own."
"Do you think it will be different?" I ask. "Sleeping together now that we're… together?"
We step into an elevator.
He kisses me. "It will be so good we'll never forget."
"Promise?"
A feral smile is the way he answers, before kissing me again. Pushing me against the mirrored wall. If there are cameras in the elevator, a few guards get a bit of a show.
"I had my time tonight," he says when we stand near the car. "You will have yours tomorrow. You will shine."
"I'll take a nap in the car, then sleep some more in the hotel. Traffic shouldn't be as bad on the way back, right?"
"That's what the map says, but text me throughout."
We do just as we planned. I go back to LA and film the pilot with a permanent smile on my face. I'm pretty sure I glow, and true joy fills my voice every second of it. The amount of praise I got after gives me hope. Their questions about production and scheduling even more.
Later in the day, when I'm up in the air, I grin realizing Saint is probably on the way back home at the same time.
He's already there when I make it back. With arms wide open, he welcomes me to the condo. I run to his arms, and we kiss in the middle of the room.
With these two big things behind us, our calendars open up. All I can do is wait for the answer about the TV show, which should take about a week. Until then? Saint makes sure to provide me with a million new memories.
We come back up for air when it's time to visit the Thunderdome. My confirmation email could arrive in my inbox any second now.
I'm waiting in the locker room with Evie. Players are counting betting points to finalize who's taking the Hypersquare crown for the off season .
Saint and Logan's cubbies live side by side.
Evie sits on Logan's chair while I sit on my boyfriend's.
Logan stands with his friends nearby. He frowns while they rib him about losing the crown, after winning it his first year, when he proved Evie wanted to date him and got a few extra points for it.
We're waiting because Dom and Bear are vying for the prize.
Dom won the bet about who makes the board, after the very chatty twins revealed the secret at the after party.
It's not enough to win. But Saint is up with management at the moment, discussing his future with the team.
When he comes back, he'll know if he stays. If he does, Dom will steal the crown.
The gossip mill runs on a healthy current of news and whispered updates among players, their agents, and everyone else.
People have heard rumors about Saint possibly leaving.
The consensus is that now that they won the season, it won't happen.
Still, they won't celebrate until Saint comes back with confirmation.
Besides, fans seem to be enamored with our love story. It made the rounds of social media, where it got picked up by fans and connected to my video throwing a smoothie over Aidan's hair.
"I'm telling you," Evie says. "Strike fans are eating it up. Everyone knew Saint's fame as a playboy. Then he goes and makes his feelings for you public for millions and millions of people. Globally ."
"Not that I'm upset by what you're saying," I reply. "But he must have kissed someone on record before?"
"From what I'm seeing, you're the first."
"Not even when going in and out of the club?"
"Not even. I'm serious. Everyone understands what that kiss really means. The owner and all of the front office would be silly to ignore the power of that kind of PR. Fans would hate to lose Saint. That kiss was too good."
I mellow for the millionth time. That kiss was really, really good. Just thinking about it brings back the roar of ten thousand people into my chest .
Saint shows up from the side and kisses my cheek. "It's because everyone can see you're my last first kiss."
I turn to gaze at him.
He kisses me again, this time on the lips. "And the first kiss I want to last."
"Oh, okay." I smile. "This is how it feels to melt inside. Once upon a time, I would have thought that line to be cheesy."
"It's cheesy when you're not already in your feelings," Evie says sagely.
"Uhm, excuse you both." Saint raises an eyebrow. "It's not cheesy if it's true—"
"Saint!" I stand. "What are we doing talking about cheese?!"
"Cheese has so much umami—" he keeps going like he needs to defend one of his favorite foods, or let his reputation be ruined.
"How did the meeting go?!" I ask.
He stops. He smiles. He grabs my face and gives me another kiss.
"I'm staying, divina," he says.
I screech and jump into his arms. People around us get what that means.
"Get me that crowwwwwwwwwwn!" Dom roars.
Saint holds me close, not caring about how everyone else has turned their attention to the Hypersquare board. Evie joins the group dealing with the casual crowning ceremony. They give Dom his prize.
Saint only has eyes for me. I grin, thankful he's staying, and that his arms keep me grounded. I might have flown away in elation, otherwise. If he'd had to go, we would have made it work, but this is what we wanted. The life we're ready to have is here with our friends and our careers.
"Did you check your email?" he asks.
His thoughts have followed a similar path to mine. Hearing about my show is the last item in our checklist.
"Not yet," I reply. "What if they haven't responded? What if they did, and I learn they don't want to order the episodes?"
"What if they want ten episodes because they see you as the new face of their food entertainment department? "
I shake my head. "Don't. The disappointment will be too much if I let myself imagine."
"But I must." He kisses me. "Who else but me to put these thoughts in your head? You have a built-in cheerleader at home now."
When he talks about home now, it sounds different than it used to.
He shamelessly snakes a hand to my butt— to steal my phone from my back pocket.
I fake sigh. "We did talk about you wearing a skirt. And now that your sisters are making pompoms for us…"
"Ready?"
I nod. He brings me closer and guides me to tuck my head on his shoulder. He holds out my phone behind me and checks my emails. I take in his smell.
In such a short time, he already feels like home. These three months have changed everything.
I don't need a set of rules anymore. I don't need to prevent things from going awry. I don't need to change myself for the future I want.
He cares about me not for what I do, but because of who I am, and he wants it all.
I close my eyes. For several seconds, all I can hear is his heartbeat and the sounds thirty people make around us. The conversation, the laughter, the promises.
He kisses my temple. "Congratulations, mi bella."
"What?!"
I go rigid in his arms, jumping back enough to study him. I'm breathless.
He kisses me on the lips and grins at me. Dimples pop. Earring shines. Chain peeks.
Why would he be congratulating me, unless… unless he read the email and they did… and I'm going to…
He jumps to a bench in the middle of the room. "Attention, everyone! May I get a big whoop to celebrate Amelia Guerrero, the new host of ‘Food For The Heart’!"
He points at me with a hand, while inviting me over to stand on the bench with him. People around us start clapping and hollering. In a daze, I take his hand and let him bring me up next to him.
He gives me a smacking kiss. "Congrats, Ames. Your ten-episode season is planned to release in early winter."
The next bit of celebration goes by in a blur, too. Saint jumps down the bench and helps me down. Shoulder pats are heavy on me again. Evie grins.
She hugs me. "Congratulations. I'll binge the season and replay it a few times."
"I'll set up a watch party," Saint says.
Logan stands near Evie and puts a hand on her back. "Damián is saying we should go to his house for a barbecue."
Food brings me back to my senses.
"Oh! I have the perfect dessert," I say. "We'll just need to stop by at home for it."
"You do? Have dessert?" Saint looks at me confused. "I didn't see you bake anything."
"That's because I didn't want you to see me baking."
He raises both eyebrows. "Should I be worried?"
"We'll see," I say with a grin.