10
VALENTINA
Lucy: OMGOSH!! Val! Last night was amazing. Let’s brunch so I can tell you.
Lucy: Valentina! It’s been three minutes since my last text. Text me back.
Lucy: VAL! Do you not love me anymore? Did I do something to upset you? Are you dead? Whatever it is, will you please just text me back?
Lucy: Fifteen minutes, no response. Something is wrong. Don’t worry bestie. I’m coming to save you.
I barely open my eyes when I hear an anxious and loud pounding at my door. I look at the clock that reads nine a.m. and quickly climb out of bed. I never sleep this late. No matter what day of the week it is. Like clockwork, six a.m. hits and I’m out of bed and running.
Six a.m., wake up. Six fifteen, walk down to the gym.
Six twenty, get on treadmill. Six fifty, light stretch.
Six fifty-five, weight training. Seven twenty-five, leave gym and go back home to shower for the day.
Out the door and on my way to my office by eight fifty or, as I usually do on Saturday and Sunday’s, work from my home office.
That’s it. That’s my life. And very rarely do I deviate from my schedule.
This weekend has been the exception since the late night black tie event for the Drillers threw me off on Saturday morning.
And now, after what I assume was a late night of drinking, I’m still laying in bed at nine a.m. with someone banging on my door.
I swing my feet over the side of my bed and notice my legs are still covered in my jeans.
Looking down at my chest, I see I also wear the shirt from last night.
My brain works to recall how I got home because I honestly do not remember.
I remember starting the evening with Lucy, then Nico and his friend barged in and interrupted what should have been a girl’s night.
I recall many peach margaritas but then things get a little fuzzy.
Stumbling from bed, I walk through my apartment and peek through the peephole and spot a wide-eyed Lucy so close that I can practically see every detail of her bright blue eyes.
The locks click and I pull the door wide.
Lucy leaps forward and throws her arms around my neck, squeezing as if I may disappear.
“Oh my god. You’re okay.” She pants, sounding like she ran up the stairs, and I hug her back.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” My brows furrow, confused why she would be so concerned.
She releases me from her anaconda grip and looks at me with worry in her eyes.
“I’ve been texting you all morning and you didn’t answer. I thought Nico kidnapped you and locked you in his dungeon, or something.”
She barges past me and straight to my kitchen where she begins making coffee.
“Nico? Kidnap me? What are you talking about?” She spins and yanks open the door of the fridge. She rummages inside and produces eggs, spinach, tomatoes, cheese and turkey bacon. No time is wasted as she begins sorting and preparing ingredients.
“Because he brought you home last night. At first I thought that maybe you finally let him slide into your love canal, but then I saw the pictures of him leaving your place while it was still dark and knew that he had left you. So automatically my brain goes to dark places. Maybe someone broke in and took you, or perhaps Nico snuck you out somehow and–”
“Wait. Slow down. Jesus, you’re making my head pound.” I sit on a barstool and hold my head in my hands. “What do you mean, saw pictures of him leaving my place?”
Her eyes grow large and her hands freeze, the eggs only partially mixed in the glass bowl.
“Uh. Well.” Her face scrunches and she begins trying to look into her brain.
When she avoids making eye contact and those eyes try to hide in the empty places in her mind, I know something is up.
“So let me start at the beginning, because that’s important.
” She takes a deep breath and goes back to mixing the eggs.
“When we split at the restaurant –Nico bringing you home and Chase taking me to mine– the night got really interesting. Chase walked me to my door and leaned in to kiss my cheek. Well I wasn’t about to miss my chance, so I grabbed him and laid a big one on him.
He responded by grabbing my ass and before I knew it, we were fumbling into my place.
We made out pretty hot and heavy until Nico called him.
He asked Chase to go pick him up at your place and Chase kinda said no.
I don’t really know what the rest of their conversation was because the moment they hung up, Chase lunged for me and suctioned to my mouth like I was an oxygen tank.
One thing led to another, and in no time he was ripping off my onion ring and flinging our clothes across the room. I–”
“What’s an onion ring? And will you please get to the picture part already?”
“Oh. Sorry. An onion ring is what the supportive underwear looks like after rolling it off your body. It’s kind of funny, actually.
If you–” I deadpan her with a fiery look and she clears her throat.
“So after Chase had me climbing the walls until sunrise, he decided he better get Nico’s car back to him.
He left and when I finally went to sleep for a few hours, I woke to a ton of notifications on my phone.
You know how I like to be up to speed on all of the celebrity gossip.
Bonbons and Tea is my favorite, so I allow notifications. ”
“Aye dios mio. Will you just get to it already?” She nods and turns her back to me, pulling out a small pan and plopping butter inside.
“Well I clicked on one of the links when I saw Nico’s name. And well…maybe I should show you.” She pours the egg mixture into the sizzling pan then reaches in her back pocket, pulling out her phone.
Lucy quickly slides her phone over to me, and returns to fixing our breakfast. I unlock her phone and find that the page she wants me to see is already open.
Who is the new woman in Nico “Love Man” Loving’s life?
I scan the short article and literally want to crawl into a deep, dark hole.
Nico Loving has had quite the adventure since moving to Houston after being drafted by the Drillers. He wasted no time in sampling the plethora of ladies. Let’s not overlook the fact that he has so graciously shared all of his exploits for the world to see, making him the fodder of much gossip.
But now it seems that he may be trading in those supporting actresses for a leading lady.
Over the last few weeks, Nico has been spotted around Houston with a mysterious, and smoking hot, woman.
Pictures of me standing at the Drillers practice field, talking to Nico and Coach Wagner is placed next to another of him and as we walked out of my office building on the day he came to select a faux-girlfriend that was supposed to clean up his playboy reputation.
Thanks to my sources, we have been able to identify this spicy Latina.
Valentina San Ramón, a PR Crisis Manager, has stolen the attention of the philandering NFL star. They’ve been seen around town multiple times. The two of them attended the Drillers black tie event just two nights ago, looking like the It couple of the decade.
Photos of him and I posing for the cameras as we walked into Drillers stadium are plastered on the site. Me with my hand gripped to his bicep, and another of us walking in, hand in hand.
They spent the night dancing and laughing amongst guests.
More pictures accompany the statement of the two of us dancing.
Others of us standing with the Amato’s and West’s are also there, pictures we took later into the evening.
Later when we both had a few drinks in us and were feeling much more relaxed.
His hand is around my waist and the six of us look like happy couples enjoying the night. She goes on to say;
The late night turned into a Saturday morning workout and breakfast for the pair. Or as Miguel may say “Coffee in the morning”.
The photos are never ending because shots of us in the gym, him hovering over me as I lifted weights, and walking to the diner where we had breakfast are embedded into the article. How the hell did someone get a picture of us in the gym?
But the fun didn’t stop there, tea drinkers.
The pair had a fun night out, sipping margaritas with Loving’s teammate, Chase Kennedy, and an unidentified woman.
Fast forward to witnesses seeing Loving escorting San Ramón up to her condo in downtown Houston and later emerging, and you have a budding romance with a tamed womanizer.
Stay tuned for all the latest on these two. We think things are going to be muy caliente.
“Oh dear god.” My heart sinks into my gurgling stomach and I hope that it melts into the acid and takes me with it.
“Right? Unidentified woman. They couldn’t even take the time to find out who I am. It’s a little rude if you ask me.” Lucy sprinkles in vegetables to the egg mixture and flips it over, making a fluffy omelet.
“Can we not be concerned over the lack of your name on a gossip site, and turn the attention to the fact that the media is painting him and I as a couple? Jesus, Luce. I’m supposed to be cleaning up his reputation before the season starts, and now I’m part of the problem. Oh god…Monty.”
Dread floods as I realize there is no chance that Monty hasn’t seen this article. This is big news in Houston, and I am 99.99% certain he has already seen it. He’s watching Nico like an alligator eyeing his prey.
A plate slides in front of me as Lucy takes a seat beside me. “Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”
Her fork stabs at the pillowy omelet and she shovels a heaping amount into her mouth. I feel sicker now than when I woke up this morning. Eating is the last thing I want to be doing right now. I should be packing my bags and high tailing it back to California.
“I’ve got to get on top of this and call him. He’s going to be so angry, and then there goes my career. He’ll surely tell everyone he knows that I’m a hussy who seduced his young and rich player. And Nico! I doubt he wants his name attached to mine.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Lucy mumbles, little bits of egg flying out of her mouth. “He’ll probably be as happy as a pig in shit. Not that you’re shit. Or a pig! Just…you know. It’s a saying.”
“I’ll be right back. I need to make a phone call.” I jump from my chair and run to my bedroom where I hope my phone is.
“Don’t let this omelet get cold. You’re going to need some food in your stomach to throw up later. Bile burns.”
I rush around my room, looking for my phone, but it’s nowhere in sight. I spot my purse on my dresser and open it, finding it still tucked inside.
The screen shows that the battery life is red and I plug it into the charger. It lights up and notifications flood the screen. But the one that makes me want to change my name is the one from Monty himself.
Monty: I’d like to see you two in my office at eleven. Don’t be late .
I see that the text is not only to me, but Nico as well. And he’s already responded.
Pain in my ass: Yes sir.
I quickly add to that and fall back on my bed.
Lucy’s right. I’m definitely going to be throwing up later. Right after Monty fires me.