Chapter 14 (Nathaniel's POV)You know that feeling when you got caught as a kid and you got those nervous butterflies while you anxiously awaited the final verdict?Well, that's how I felt right now with Anabelle, Benjamin, and Seth staring at us with those knowing smiles on their faces.They all had their arms crossed over their chest and I just knew they wouldn't let us forget what they saw anytime soon."So, are you love birds ready for breakfast or should we come back a few hours later?" Anabelle asked us with a huge amount of sarcasm in her voice, while both guys tried really hard to stifle their laughs.Honestly, once the first shock went away I was fighting my own fit of laughter as well, especially when I made the mistake of looking at Valentina and saw her mortified face.Judging by her expression you would think she got caught murdering someone, not making out with me.Ouch. It was a bit of a painful comparison for my ego.But in a way, it was also the right one. My brain wo
Chapter 15 (Valentina's POV)Now hold on for a second.How do I manage to end up in this kind of position every few hours?I had no awkward run-ins in so many years, but then this infuriating man comes along and here I am in a compromising position for the third time in a matter of days. Well in a matter of minutes since the last time to be exact.But damn do his lips feel good. And he knows what he is doing as well.Oh, Valentina you stupid girl. Of course, he does. He is a hockey player after all.His hand was tangled in my hair but not in a painful way, and I couldn't help but tangle my hands in his as well. Each time his kisses started to become faint and soft I pulled on his hair so I got more action.This time though I was determined no one would disturb the action.So I pushed off him and if I said he was shocked it would be an understatement. "Get on the bed before I change my mind!" I wasn't even halfway through with my sentence when I was already locking my bedroom door. I
Chapter 16 (Nathaniel's POV)Waking up next to a warm body always scared me. Don't ask me about the reasoning behind this fear because I have no idea. But since I can remember I had this weird fear of commitment. So I never dated any girl. At least not exclusively. There were no sleepovers, either we met at her place, got down to business, and then I left or we met at my place and she left afterward. Either way, like I said no women slept over at my place, and neither did I at theirs.So when I woke up this morning and didn't feel any fear when I realized Valentina was wrapped around me I was shocked, to say the least.But I couldn't really lie. It felt nice. And instead of running away, I wrapped my arm around her a bit tighter and just enjoyed the feeling.As I was listening to the calming bit of Valentina's heart I slowly drifted back into dreamland.Next time though when I woke up, the spot next to me was empty and cold, but nice smells were coming from the kitchen and my stomach
Chapter 17 (Valentina's POV)"Go Hawks! Get them, Nathaniel! No, no Benjamin, catch that one!"Uhm yes. That's the life of a sports reporter. Well, mine and Anabelle's because she is as loud as I am. But she mostly cheers for Seth, where I try to stay neutral. The main word in this sentence is trying.Since I and Nathaniel kind of became a thing I realized his name pops out of my mouth more often than other names.I know it's weird.But somehow I just can't hate him. I can't even pretend to hate him anymore.And he became a pretty important part of my everyday life.What he doesn't know though is that I am secretly putting every detail he tells me and I find interesting into my notes so I can turn it into that one article that would bring me a better job, that job on national television.It is backstabbing and sneaky I know, but I will tell him before I publish it.So far I have a good handle on everything but my boss is kind of pressuring me into submitting some kind of evidence that
Chapter 18 (Nathaniel's POV)As we finished the game we went straight for the locker room. We won this time but our game was still not the best it could be.And the weakest part of our team was definitely Sanches. He was so self-absorbed and arrogant on the ice and of it as well. Claiming yourself to be the hockey god but still not giving any results on the ice was arrogance in my opinion.And of the ice, it only got worse. It was as if he thought he was the only man with a dick between his legs.So of course I was not in any kind of hurry when Sanches got dressed first and left the locker room. I wanted to leave as much space between me and him as possible.He was an enormous pain in our asses, even coach Irving couldn't stand the sight of him.But he said a week or so ago that he can't really get rid of him without good reason. Looks like his daddy was some big shot in hockey. So it seems we just need him to fuck up something. And let's hope that happens sooner rather than later.
Chapter 19 (Valentina's POV)As we approached Nathaniel's apartment started to be more and more nervous with every passing mile.We were silent the whole ride but not once did he let go of my hand which was comforting me at least a little. You probably wonder what I was worried about, but you see I never told anyone about my foster brother. Even Anabelle knew just because she was present when it happened. I never went to the cops to report him or tell my foster parents. As if they would even care. Damon was after all their only child. By blood I mean. They had him and after that, some medical problems occurred, which led to Miss. Johnson being unable to have any more kids. So they took in foster kids. But they were not the best parents, at least not to us. Damon could get away with anything. That's why I never told them about the attempted rape. Would they believe me or their golden son?And since that day I always felt kind of dirty. I thought people would judge me for what I did to
Chapter 20 (Nathaniel's POV)So many things made sense right now.What made the most sense though at the moment was the fact that I was livid. If given a chance I would gladly punch something or someone right now.I know I was not thinking rationally right now but just imagining Valentina in that position was sending fire through my blood.But looking at my girl I could see she was looking at me with caution. Damn it! Did my anger scare her? I took a deep breath and moved closer to her to envelop her in my arms. I needed that comfort as much as she needed it right now."Are you mad at me? Do you find me repulsive now that you know my story?"Wait. What? Is she serious right now?First, it took me a moment to even process her words."Valentina. Why on earth would I be mad at you? I am mad because you went through all this crap and you had absolutely no one except for Anabelle to look after you. I am pissed because you were both left to fend for yourself at such a young age, that is the
Chapter 22 (Valentina's POV)After my little break down it all went back to how it was before. No. Let me rephrase that. It was even better than it was before. Sure I was still sassy and a pain in Nathaniel's ass but he reassured me many times that he loved me just the way I was. With all my smart-ass comments and sassy attitude.So yes. We were as strong as we could be at the moment.Today was my first day of going back to my work office because I needed to put together all the articles for publishing and the boys had a week off so I guess I had a week off as well. But only by following them around, I still had my job that had to be taken care of as well.As I arrived at the office it was empty which was no surprise at all. All my coworkers were probably out chasing their stories. On the bright side, I had the whole office to myself and that meant I would be done with my work sooner than I thought. And because of that I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Nathaniel.Valentin