I hum under my breath. “Good.” I rub my hand down his chest, softly petting him as we lie together.
The exhaustion of a full day catches up with me, and I nuzzle him.
Troy turns and takes me in his arms. I love the way his strength envelops me, and I lose myself in the comfort.
Happy, safe, and home with my man.
* * *
TROY
Later that fall...
I pull up alongside the river and put my car in park. Rocky cliffs of gray and purple rise up toward the sky, and massive crags rise from the ground. Our media crew is busy, and I see a cameraman and a couple of assistants halfway up a cliff, dangling by rope.
I find Mel at the base of the cliff, talking to a few journalists. We’re in the middle of a two-day media frenzy, all about Zeke, Kevyn, and Orlando after all three were named to the national team. The media department has become a defining aspect of the agency, and multimedia events like this have earned Mel and Frisk Sports national recognition in the PR world.
“Where’s Kevyn?” I ask her.
Mel points straight up without looking. “Having the time of his life with Stace.”
I look up and see the happy couple, hanging in harnesses and chasing each other across the cliffs playfully. Stace’s training platform has caught on, growing at a rapid pace. She and Kevyn are ready to go public with their relationship, and Mel spotted the opportunity to tell a mutually beneficial story, recasting Kevyn’s other hobbies as an interest in wellness while giving Stace’s company a major platform.
The sponsorship offers for Kevyn are already rolling in, and the Force loves the new fans they’re drawing from other sports. The fact that the agency shelled out for extra safety precautions and medical teams at today’s climb helped to seal the deal.
“As long as Kevyn is back to the field by five, we’ll stay on schedule,” I tell her.
“I might have to climb up there myself and pull him down, but we’ll make it happen.” She points behind me. “Your lover boy is looking for you.”
When I turn, I see Orlando coming our way. He’s in athletic pants and a t-shirt, and he’s got his black sunglasses pushed back, up in his curly hair. There’s a warm smile on his face, and something eases in me when I see him, like always.
“You here to give me a ride?” he asks.
I pull him into an embrace, rub the back of his head, and push him away. “I’m here to talk business with Mel,” I tell him. “But if you need me to drive your butt back to the stadium, I’m going that way soon.”
“Cool,” Orlando says and pushes up against me again, brushing his lips against mine in a quick kiss. “I’m going to get some pics of Kevyn and Stace up on the cliff before we go.”
Mel and I turn back to business, talking through a big list of action points. The junior agent handling Orlando’s career is doing a fantastic job, and I’ve behaved appropriately, not sticking my nose even though I have a million damn opinions, and they’re all right.
But I know Orlando is taken care of because I know the agency takes care of our athletes. I put my own reputation through the wringer last year when I fell for him, but we’ve weathered the storm. I show up for our clients every day, and that’s the story people remember.
Once I finish up at the shoot, Orlando and I head back to the stadium. He’s thought ahead and grabbed extra of my sandwiches out of the fridge, and he makes me eat one when we’re at stoplights, aware I’m powering through on coffee.
The fact that the media blitz focuses on all three athletes, and I’m still representing Kevyn and Zeke personally, means that I get to be closer to some of Orlando’s action, too. I get him to tell me about the interviews he just did with Kevyn, and by the time we’re at the field, I’m energized for the rest of the day’s work.
Zeke and a few other players from the team are out on the field, running drills, and photographers from a few prominent magazines circle them. WhenSports Illustratedreached out, they expected to call the shots, but I immediately went into hardball mode. In order to get access, they had to agree to a list of demands. Top of the list was assigning their best sports writer to the story, a woman who always keep her journalism focused on athleticism and the sport itself, but we also insisted the coverage widen to place the star athletes in the context of their team.
All I had to agree to in exchange was to let them take one picture of me and my man together. We’ve managed to keep the attention off of our relationship and on our careers for the most part, but I certainly don’t mind bragging about Orlando when the opportunity arises.
“You’ve got all your talking points?” I ask him.
He nods. “They just want to talk about how great we are. I think I got it covered.”
I snort. “Cocky.” I give him a half-smile. “Good thing you can back it up.”
Orlando leans up and meets me in a kiss. I hitch him close, savoring the warmth until he eases back.
I watch as he jogs onto the field, and pride swells behind my ribs. Orlando meets up with a couple of offensive rookies on the team, two players he’s taken under his wing. They’re both a little loose, but their respect for Orlando is evident, and he’s doing a fantastic job guiding them through the challenging first year.
