Chapter 53

He walked and walked and walked. -He could not figure out what he was feeling. He had a whirlwind of feelings in his chest, he was about to cry. Not there, in the middle of the street.

People came and went, they didn't even look, albeit his fancy clothes, the same outfit he wore last night for his dinner with Karol.

How could he be feeling so bad?

How could he tell Samanta about his phobia towards people who used narcotics or drugs, without hurting her feelings?

What should he do to deal with the internal struggle he had going on, jeopardizing his morals and his feelings for Samanta?

He sat on a bench to think.

No one seemed to realize he was there. For the first time in his life, he felt invisible and it was very refreshing although, weird.

He put his hands on his head in frustration.

Was he going to let go of the woman he had experienced love for the first time ever, who gave him all those great feelings? A woman who made him reach Nirvana between moans and sweet kisses. Was he going to leave all that behind because of his silly prejudice?

He shook his head hard and stood up.

No.

He would not allow it.

He would go right back to that hotel room, make love to her once again and forget everything about this “dark past.” Anyway, he didn't care about her mistakes, he wanted to love each and every one of her virtues.

He slammed the suite door open and entered the room, with a broad smile. He looked around and noticed the silence.

“Samanta?” He called. “Samanta?”

Nothing. No answer.

He went in the room, but there was nobody in it. He went into the fancy living room and took his phone from the coffee table, dialed Sam's number, but it went straight to voice mail. He was about to call her again, when his phone buzzed. Dominik rolled his eyes when he read his manager's name on the screen.

The last person he wanted to talk to right now, was Friedrich Treadaway, but he decided to be a little considerate and answered the phone anyway, he already had 15 missed calls from him.

“Before you start with your verbiage, I'll be honest, I don’t care what the media is saying about me, or whatever it is they are saying about Samanta. Also, yes, I did punch a jerk who tried to cross the line with her and, I am very proud of it. Now, go ahead, what do you want to say.”

“Where the hell are you?” Was all Friedrich said, upset.

“Come on! You know that.”

“Have you gone crazy?”

“Here comes the verbiage” Dominik teased.

“Do you not realize the consequences of your actions?”

“What actions, Friedrich? You sound like I killed somebody. I only took a flight to Los Angeles. I'll be back in a couple hours.”

“You must be here now!” Treadaway stated.

“I will take the noon flight” responded Weigand.

“Fuck, Dominik! You must be here before noon.”

“What for? You have no one to have lunch with?” He was not being sarcastic, it was an honest question.

“I have been in meetings since six am with the federation's committee. They are fining you 250.000 Euros for your constant absence in practice.”

“Fine. I will pay it” said Dominik. “Something else?”

“Dominik, this is serious. During the period of a championship, the champion team must be focused one hundred percent, when I mean the champion team I mean, the whole team.”

“I am focused. I always give my all during every practice and every game.”

“Since we came to America you have surrounded yourself with trouble, conflict and gossip. That does not help you focus.”

“I am fine, Friedrich” he responded nonchalantly.

“Something else” said Friedrich before Dominik hung up.

Weigand rolled his eyes.

“Say it already” he huffed.

“Whatever transpired in Los Angeles, has come to the ears of the executives of the federation, and there is word you possibly getting suspended for the rest of the World Cup…”

“What? That is absurd. They would not make it to quarter finals without me.”

“Dom. Being the star of the team does not make you irreplaceable. One more strike and you'll be out. You cannot be late for today's practice.”

Dominik felt his blood pressure drop. Hearing these things affected him.

“Bu-but” he mumbled. “Ewald. He has always kept the federation at bay.”

“Ewald did not have a say in this. You got this out of our hands. Now get your ass on that plane, right now, or you can kiss your dream of holding the World Cup goodbye.”

Dominik gulped and rushed to take his things out of the room.

There was nothing more right now.

He had to go back stat.

He called his sister and asked her to meet him at the airport. She would bring the bag he left at her hotel.

The first thing he did when he came to the LAX was buying his ticket back to Santa Clara. Luckily, the flight was taking off twenty minutes later. He would have the chance to stop by the coffee shop and tell Samanta he did not care about her past, all he cared about was planning their future.

He didn't have to go near the coffee shop, he could tell from far away, Sam was not there. IT didn't take him long to think she'd be at home. After what happened, who would want to go to work?

Some people stopped and stared and Dominik knew why. They recognized him.

As soon as his sister came, he rushed to put on his gray hoodie and his shades. HE said goodbye to Karol with a tight hug.

On his way to boarding, Dominik tried calling Samanta, once again, but to no avail.

HE gave up, for the time being, and decided he would “focus” on how he would sort out whatever issue he was into with the federation, all just because he decided to listen to his heart for once.