by Luxe, Eva
She turned onto her side, her head on my extended arm. I turned onto my side, too and curled my body around hers like a question mark before I closed my eyes and let sleep drag me under.
When I woke up the next morning, Kina’s face was the first thing I saw. She lay facing me, and she was beautiful when she slept. She looked young and even more innocent than when she was awake. Her lashes made a pattern on her cheeks, her hair was spread out on the pillow, and she breathed evenly through her nose. She was pretty as a picture.
As I stared at her, her eyes opened, and she smiled at me.
“This is nice,” she said.
“What?”
“Waking up next to you.”
I smiled and leaned forward, kissing her.
“It is,” I said.
She cuddled up to me, and we lay in silence for a while.
“Kyle won’t mind this?” I asked.
Kina shook her head. “I don’t really care. This is my house, and I want to be with you.”
I chuckled. It was a very forceful response from someone who had been so unsure for so long.
“I know what to do,” she said after a while.
“About what?” I asked.
“Us. The public.”
She turned her head to me. “You’re going to have to get up and talk to a bunch of reporters in a press release. Are you okay doing that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sure. I’ve had to do that before. I know how to handle it, I think.”
“All right,” she said. “I’m going to write a speech for you and arrange for a few reporters to meet with us outside your training center.”
I agreed with her, and we got up. We showered together because I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. The shower took longer than it could have, with me not being able to keep my hands off her, but eventually, I made it out of her apartment and back home. She would send me the speech I was to make, and I had to get changed into a suit to address the masses.
I wasn’t nervous about the press release. For the first time, I trusted it would work out. Kina had only our best interest at heart, and now that she had accepted me and we were officially together, I could handle anything.
The press release took place in a hall at the Nova Southeastern University, in an auditorium. A bunch of reporters stood in a huddle in front of a podium with mics that I was to speak into.
I walked through them and cameras started flashing, taking photos of me. When I stood in front of them, I cleared my throat.
“Everyone knows I’ve been in the tabloids lately with a Miss Kina Peterson, a woman who acts as my PR Manager. I have an announcement to make. Kina and I are together.”
Cameras flashed and mics were shoved in my direction with questions flying all over the place. I held my hand up so I could continue.
“I’ll answer questions afterward,” I said. “Kina and I were in love before this went public. The time and place were inconvenient as we had hoped not to let anyone know what was happening until we were sure ourselves, but these things happen, and we like to see it as a sneak preview. We would like to extend our apologies to our friends and fans for any misleading images that have made the rounds.”
The questions started up again, and I decided to rather answer them than try to keep reporters quiet.
“How does Kina feel about you going public like this?” a woman asked.
“Kina and I are very happy to go public with the news of our official relationship,” I said.
“How does it affect your career?”
“As with anyone who is in love, I perform better when the people I love support me, and Kina is behind me all the way.”
“And her career?
“Kina will continue to represent me, and she has my best interests at heart, as ever. I don’t need to tell any of you that I think she’s the best PR manager a pro footballer can ask for.”
They chuckled at that, and I smiled at them.
“Do you love her?” someone asked and everyone fell quiet, waiting for my answer.
“I love her very much,” I said, sincerely. I was more than happy for this news to go viral. It would give the tabloids something good to talk about, and I was happy about that.
When the press release was finally over, I met Kina in the back room, waiting for me.
“It went great,” I said and kissed her.
“I heard,” she said, beaming. “Thank you for doing this.”
I pulled her against me.
“One last thing,” she said, looking up at me. “I love you, too.”
I grinned. I couldn’t be happier. It was the first time she’d said those words to me, and it made my heart sing. She was everything I’d ever wanted in a woman, kind and caring and supportive and independent enough that she was her own person even when we were together. We were just setting out and things could change, but I had the feeling she wasn’t one of those things. She would stay the same, and I loved the idea of that.
That night, Kina and I went out with Hanson and Lacey. We went to Zuma, the Japanese restaurant that had become a favorite. Kina looked amazing in a sexy variation of the little black dress and high heels that made her legs look fantastic. I had put on a suit.
Hanson and Lacey had dressed up, too. Lacey wore a red dress that made her look fierce with her short black hair, and Hanson wore a suit like mine.
We sat down at the table we’d booked at the restaurant.
The vibe was cheerful. I was madly in love with Kina and with the way she kept looking at me, she felt the same. Hanson and Lacey were both in a good mood.
“It’s quite a leap to do a press release like that,” Lacey said after we’d ordered wine for the table. “I know how much it takes.”
Hanson nodded. “Being in the public eye like that is always hard.”
“It is,” I said. “But this time, it’s about something good, not bad. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me, and that’s all thanks to Kina.”
I looked at her, taking her hand in mine.
“She knows what she’s doing,” Lacey said. She was a PR manager, too, so she understood what it had taken. It was good to have friends who had been in the same place, to have someone to relate to.
“But you must be prepared for a lot of public scrutiny,” Lacey said. “Even if you’re together now and the big drama is over. Your fans will always look out for something to go wrong. The world thrives on drama, and I’m sad to say that it’s too easy to give them something to gossip about.”
“What do you mean?” Kina asked.
Hanson sighed. “Your public face should be something that you keep away from your private life and vice versa. Whatever happens behind closed doors, if you can smile and look happy and in love in front of the cameras, you should be okay.”
Kina glanced at me. I knew that we would fight. Kina and I seemed to do that a lot. But if we could keep it at home, like Hanson said, it made sense that it would work.
“That’s good advice,” Kina said.
Lacey nodded. “It’s good to know what to expect. At first, all the fame and no secrets got to me. You really must try to keep things under wraps. Try to go public with something as late as possible, give yourself time to emotionally adjust to something.”
I watched Kina as Lacey told her what to expect. I knew that it would be hard, but I was used to being in the public eye by now. Kina was only being introduced to this world.
“If it’s anything like what happened with our photos going viral, I think we can handle it,” she said. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back at her. She was optimistic, she was willing to make it work, and that was all that mattered. We could handle whatever came our way.
The night with our friends was amazing. I felt at home in Miami, playing for the Sharks. It had been a rocky road, but I had good friends now and a woman who meant a hell of a lot to me. Whatever came our way, I knew we could deal with it together. We had each other, our careers, and our friends to get us through
it all.
When we finally left the restaurant, it was quite late. We drove back to my place. I was planning on asking Kina to move in with me, let her brother live in her apartment, but not yet. For now, I was just happy we were together.
Kina’s phone beeped.
“What is it?” I asked. The last few times her phone had gone off, it was with scandals. I didn’t want drama so soon into the game, even if we’d be able to deal with it together.
“The article about your press release,” Kina said. She scrolled through it and I watched her with one eye on the road. “It’s good.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
She nodded and smiled at me, putting her hand on my leg. “Very good.”
As we drove home, her phone lit up with articles, tweets, messages, and comments about us. Kina read them out to me as they came in. There were so many of them that, after a while, she only picked out the good ones and let most of them slide. The consensus seemed to be that the fans were happy for us.
They had been following my journey through hardship and pain, and they were happy that I was with someone now. They liked Kina. People commented on how hot I was, how beautiful she was, and how good we were together. Some people congratulated us on keeping our heads held high. Others said they looked forward to seeing Kina at the games, where we knew the cameras would flash on her from time to time.
By the time we got home, we had the whole world behind us.
“I can’t believe the positive response,” Kina said when we got into bed together. “It’s more than I could ever have expected.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s overwhelming. I’m so used to everyone hating me or commenting on my life choices that this is almost a foreign feeling.”
Kina leaned against me. “Well, you better get used to it. I’m sure things are turning around for us. This just shows how happy they are for us.”
“The climate can change very easily,” I said.
Kina nodded. “I know. But no matter what, we’ll still have each other.”
That was true, and that was all I was prepared to say on the topic. I started tugging at Kina’s clothes, eager to get her out of them. I had another topic in mind, and it involved her and me naked in bed together.
Epilogue
Kina
One year later
The first game of the season was always deafening with fans inviting the teams back. The Florida Sharks were playing at home against the Colorado Stallions. I sat in a VIP box with Kyle, ready to watch the game.
This game was very nostalgic to me. Last year, when they played the Stallions, everything had gone up in the air, and it was there that our journey to being together had started. It wasn’t the same now, of course. We weren’t in Denver, and Jacob and I had been together for a year. But it was still a prolific game to me.
“The atmosphere is insane,” Kyle said next to me. I nodded, glancing at him. He looked good, neatly dressed in jeans and a collared shirt. He’d gotten a haircut earlier, and he was clean-shaven.
About two months after Jacob and I had started dating officially, Jacob had asked me to move in with him. We had come to an agreement that Kyle would stay in my apartment, looking after the place at a very low price, provided he tried to pick himself up. I had expected him to get a minimum wage job somewhere and help a bit with rent.
Instead, he’d outdone himself. He’d gone back to college and studied a management degree part-time while he worked as a busboy. As soon as he qualified, he applied for the management position where he’d been working for the time he’d been studying, and they’d hired him because they’d seen his dedication. Kyle ran the restaurant now while the owner traveled, and he was in the process of leasing my apartment over from me.
I couldn’t be happier. He’d really picked himself up, and he didn’t turn to alcohol or drugs at all now. He had a purpose. He had created a life for himself in the wake of his destruction, and I didn’t worry about him anymore.
I turned my attention back to the field where the teams were running out. Jacob was third from the front, and he looked good. He was in peak condition, and the team relied on him now for the wins. In the past year, he had become a true Shark, and he was loved and adored by fans and players alike.
Markus Spears had been traded to the New York Tiger, and we hadn’t heard from him again unless it was about game stats. Jacob’s past had been buried under his successes and our relationship. Sure, there would be days when it resurfaced again. Your past was never just in your past when you were famous. But, it didn’t haunt him anymore, and it didn’t affect his present. What more could a man ask for?
The game went well and by halftime, the score was forty-seven to fifteen. They were going to steamroll these Stallions right back to Denver.
Jacob walked onto the field before the halftime entertainment started and a spotlight zeroed in on him.
“What’s happening?” I asked Kyle.
He only shrugged at me, but he was smiling.
“Kina and Kyle Peterson, please come down to the field,” Jacob said, his voice booming over the loudspeakers.
“What is this?” I asked.
Kyle shrugged. “I don’t know, but I guess we better get going. The world is watching.”
I swallowed hard and followed Kyle through the corridors that eventually led us to the tunnel that opened onto the field. When Jacob saw me, he grinned. I thought being in front of all these people would be intimidating, but the lights were so bright, I hardly saw them. I could only hear their roar when we walked out onto the field.
“First,” Jacob said. “I want to award Kyle with this team jersey.”
He held up a team jersey with his name and number on it and the crowd when while. Kyle clapped Jacob on the back and accepted the jersey, pulling it on. He turned around and pointed at the number and the crowds went wild.
“Why did you keep this secret from me?” I asked Jacob.
He grinned at me. “You’ll see, babe.”
He pressed the mic to his lips again and music started playing over the sound system. For a moment, I thought he was going to start singing, but then he dropped to one knee.
“Oh, my God,” I said, clapping my hands to my mouth. The crowds roared.
“Kina Peterson, love of my life,” Jacob said into the mic. “Will you marry me?” He held out a velvet box.
The whole world was watching. The stadium was full and cameras all over the world were trained on my face. This was the most elaborate proposal I had ever heard of. And I knew exactly what to say.
I grabbed the mic from Jacob. “Yes!”
The crowd exploded, and it was like thunder. Jacob took the ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger. The diamond was so big, it was almost overkill. Almost, but not quite. I was laughing and crying at the same time, and Jacob got to his feet to pull me against him. He spun me around, dipped me, and kissed me.
When he planted me back on my feet, I was giddy with happiness, dizzy with the dip. Kyle looked at me, grinning from ear to ear.
“You knew about this,” I said.
Kyle laughed and nodded. “And I’m more than happy to have gained a brother,” he said.
He gave Jacob a man hug, the two men clapping each other on the backs.
“My sweetheart, I have to get back to winning this game,” Jacob said, pulling me against him again. “But I will see you afterward, and we will seal the deal.”
He winked at me.
When we left the field, the crowd was still going mad. I made my way to our seats, feeling like I was walking on air.
Brian and Sadie, and Hanson and Lacey, came over to congratulate us. Liam was with them, babbling up a storm.
“I can tell you’re so happy,” Lacey said, as she hugged me.
“Yes!” I told her. “I never knew falling in love could be so great.”
“See?” she asked. “I told you so. You should listen to your best friend more often.”
“Yes, I really sh
ould,” I agreed.
The Sharks won. The score was ridiculous, they were so far ahead. They could have called the game halfway through; it was pointless for the Stallions to even try to catch up.
“I’m going home,” Kyle said. “I have work in the morning, and I’m tired.”
I nodded and hugged my brother.
“Congratulations, sis,” Kyle said. “I’m so happy for you. Jacob’s a great guy.”
I smiled and thanked him. Jacob really was the best guy.
I made my way down to the locker room where the boys were getting showered and dressed after their game. I waited outside. One by one, the men came out. They all congratulated me, hugging me, kissing me on the cheek. It felt like we were one big family.
When Jacob didn’t show, I knocked on the locker room door and opened it.
“There you are,” I said and stepped in. Jacob was the only one left. I reached for the door and locked it.
Jacob grinned at me, noticing what I’d did.
“I was looking for you,” I said.
I walked to him and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a deep kiss. He was freshly showered and smelled like soap and clean clothes. I felt his erection against my hip. I reached between our bodies and stroked him, rubbing my hand up and down his shaft.
Jacob made a growling noise at the back of his throat. And pulled my shirt up roughly, pulling down the cup of my bra and exposing my breast. He took my nipple into his mouth and sucked on it, grazing me lightly with his teeth. I gasped and tipped my head back.
While he sucked on me, his fingers pushed into my pants, and he started working them over my hips. He was getting me naked, and I liked it. Jacob had to step back to finish the job. My pants were on my knees, and I pulled his down in front, pulling out his dick.
I ran my hand up and down it a few times, jacking him off. He groaned, his pupils dilated.
When he reached between my legs, we could both tell how wet I was. Lust overtook him, and Jacob guided me backward until my back hit the wall. I kicked off my shoes while he put on a condom.