Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After Nico’s farewell party, everyone had ended up exhausted. The guys had gone directly to bed and Simón had done so as well, but he couldn’t sleep. First Gary had kicked them out of the loft, and although the Valentes were as nice as to let them live there for a couple of days, they still needed to find another place to live, which had him worried. Then Nico had chosen to go to New York with Ada, and even though he was happy for him, he was gonna miss him a lot. Also, that left the Roller Band with minus a bass player.

After like an hour of tossing and turning, he decided to go down to the kitchen and serve himself some milk or something. He stood up and closed the door of his bedroom as quietly as he could before making his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. As he came near, he noticed the light was on, which caught his attention, and when he reached the door and looked inside, he was even more surprised.

“Ámbar?”

The blonde, who had been checking one of the cupboards, startled a little and turned around to the sound of his voice.

“Simón, you scared me,” she said, moving a hand to her chest. Which was barely covered because her black nightdress had a big cleavage that the robe hanging open from her shoulders didn’t cover. Not like he noticed. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” he replied. After all, she had gotten there first.  

She gave a small shrug. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came here to grab something.”

“Oh. Same here,” he uttered, amazed by how in synch they were.  

“Really?” She asked, apparently thinking the same thing. A coquettish smile appeared on her face. “Great then. Come on in. I’ll serve us some tea.”

She turned around to grab a tea box from one of the cupboards.

Simón scratched the back of his neck, unsure. “Uh… no.” He cleared his throat. “No, I better go back to bed, it’s late.”  

Ámbar spun around to face him. “Oh, come on. You just said you couldn’t sleep and that’s why you came here,” she argued. When she noticed his stance, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her smile grew a challenging flair. “…Or are you afraid of me?”

He squared his shoulders. “No.”  Not exactly.

“Good. There’s no problem then.” She turned around to fill the kettle with water. “I mean, what could I possibly do?” She half-laughed.

That was the problem— She didn’t need to do anything; her sole presence was tempting. The robe she was wearing was quite transparent, so much so that he actually doubted it even shielded her from the cold at all. He could distinguish every curve under the soft material of her nightdress, which did nothing to cover her long legs, which seemed even softer to the touch…  

Stop staring!

Simón cleared his throat again, wishing he could clear his mind just as easily, and stepped inside the kitchen. He leaned against one of the counters— the one further from her. Better to keep his distance, he thought.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Ámbar after she left the kettle over the stove and saw him on the other side of the room.

“Really? You’re gonna stand all the way over there?”

Fine, maybe he was overdoing it.

Deciding it was better to just act unaffected, he moved closer, now leaning against the middle counter. Ámbar inched closer too, leaning her hip on the counter next to him as she looked at him.

“So. What kept you up?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Just some things.”

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. He guessed there was no point in hiding it.

“I’m just sad about Nico. I mean, not sad. I’m happy for him, really; this is a huge opportunity for him. But after all the time we’ve been together, he was starting to feel like a brother to me. I’m gonna miss him a lot.”

She nodded, humming a little in understanding. “I get it. He was never my friend but, it’s going to be weird not seeing him around anymore. Must be very tough for you.”

He sighed, downhearted. “Yeah. And there’s also the issue of finding a new place to live. We can’t just stay here forever, eventually we have to find another apartment or something we can afford.”

“Well I, for one, would be more than happy to have you live here forever,” she said.

Simón laughed. “Don’t lie, Ámbar. I’m sure you find it annoying to have so many people over.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t talking about everyone, I was talking about you.”

The humor left him. More like it was knocked out of him as his breath momentarily caught. Their eyes locked for some seconds before Simón averted his gaze, looking down to his hands instead. Ámbar used his silence to keep talking.

“You said earlier that you would’ve liked us living together under different circumstances. You never got to explain what you meant by that,” she ventured as she moved a little closer.

“Yeah, because your boyfriend showed up,” he noted out of impulse, and immediately regretted it because her eyes shined with interest. And something else. Something dangerous.  

“Is that one of the things you’d like to be different?” She questioned, her blue eyes looking directly into his. “Me not being with Benicio?”

Simón took a deep breath, trying not to show anything under her piercing stare. He stopped leaning against the counter and instead stood straight, facing her fully. “Ámbar, you can date whoever you want. Really. But Benicio is… he’s not good for you. He’s a bad person, a bad influence, and you need to surround yourself with people that are a positive contribution to your life.”

“Like you?” She guessed as she too moved right in front of him. Their eyes never left each other. He couldn’t look away even if he tried. “…If we were together, would you be happier to be living under the same roof as me?”

“That will never happen—”

“I said if,” she pointed out. She took one more step closer, leaving them standing face to face.  “Let’s fantasize a little, Simón. If we were here, in the middle of the night, without having to care about what anyone else would think… What would you do?”

She was speaking in a low, sultry voice, and the look she was giving him made it hard to think, made it hard to form words.  

“I…” He gulped. His voiced sounded deeper than usual, and his heart was speeding inside his chest. “I wouldn’t do anything. I just… would be here with you.”

“Really?” She muttered, inching her face closer, and suddenly, it was also hard to breathe. “Because I can think of a few things. And I could bet by the look on your face that you’re thinking the same.”

“Ámbar…” He all but whimpered.

“Yes, Simón?” She breathed, just a few centimeters from his lips, and that was when his willpower broke. 

His eyes fell close as he leaned the rest of the way, molding her lips against his own. It had been so long— too long since he last kissed her, but it felt just as good as the first time, maybe even more. His hands automatically came up to drown in her hair and pull her closer, crashing her mouth against his because he had been dying to do this for months.

Ámbar kissed him back with fervor as her hands grabbed handfuls of his hair, using her hold to angle his head as she wished. It wasn’t long before she dragged her tongue over his lower lip, slowly, making him groan. He opened his mouth so their tongues could find each other, and the moment they touched and started tangling together, it was like his whole body set aflame. He had to suppress a moan for how divine it felt, her taste driving him crazy.

With his hands on her hips, he turned them around, pressing her against the counter until her body was flat against his. Her hands were roaming his back and he couldn’t help but touch her too. His hands travelled her sides, from the contour of her breasts to the smooth skin of her legs. He had been right, they were soft under his touch, and as his fingers moved over them, the cold of his rings made her shiver and a moan escaped her lips. The sound went directly to his groin like a shudder of electricity. It made him desperate, almost distressed. A frenzy took over him, so strong that he couldn’t control it.

He needed more.

In one swift move, he grabbed her by the back of her thighs and lifted her up, placing her on top of the counter. Her legs wrapped around his hips automatically as she continued to kiss him hard, her tongue exploring every inch of his mouth as her hands slid under his t-shirt to roam his abs. His own moved even higher up her thighs, dragging the edge of her nightdress to her hips as he grabbed her ass and pulled her against him. Ámbar moaned when she felt him hard between her legs and immediately rolled her hips against his, seeking relief.  

“Ámbar,” he groaned, a low, raspy sound that he almost didn’t recognize as his own voice.  

He felt liquid fire coursing through his veins as he thrusted up, following her movements, a delicious friction forming between their bodies. He was lost, completely lost in her. His hands moved up again towards her waist, slowly making their way to her breasts as her own grabbed the edge of his t-shirt to pull it up.

And then the kettle started beeping.

The sound was so loud in the otherwise silent night that they broke apart at once, both breathless and wide-eyed.

Simón pulled his hands out of her nightdress as quick as if she had burned him and took some steps back, leaning against the kitchen island behind him for support. Ámbar got off the counter and turned off the wheezing kettle next to her as fast as her wobbling legs allowed her.  

All that followed was deafening silence.  

After what felt like a whole minute, Ámbar finally turned around to face him.  

“Simón—”

“Don’t,” he cut her off hastily as she took a step towards him. He moved back, away from her; he didn’t even look up. “Don’t come any closer.”

Ámbar’s dejected voice reached his ears. “Why not?”

His head snapped up at hearing that. “Why not? Why not?!” He yelled in incredulity, but only in whispers because he feared that the kettle had already woken everyone up.

He started pacing, his hands rummaging through his hair furiously as he berated himself. “God, Ámbar what are we doing? You’re dating Benicio!”

Her eyes widened. “No, I’m not! I—”

“What? You’re telling me that he goes around calling himself your boyfriend for nothing?” He said wryly. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Ámbar.”

He may have lost his sanity for a moment there but it was certainly back, and no matter how much he despised Benicio, he was not going to play with his feelings. Or anyone else’s.

She shook her head and moved closer to him once more, earnest. “No, Benicio started calling himself that on his own, I never said anything about dating!”

“But you didn’t stop it,” he pointed out. “You didn’t deny it and for him it’s real, so it’s the same thing, Ámbar!” Simón shook his head, closing his eyes in frustration, and before she could say anything else, he spun around. “I gotta go.”

Ámbar hurried to catch him before he could leave, grabbing him by his upper arm. “Wait, no, Simón—”

He turned to her with a beaten expression, his voice tired. “Ámbar, didn’t you get what you wanted already? Now let me go.”

She shot him a look, offended.

“What I wanted?” She repeated, and this time it was her voice that was drowned in disbelief. “Simón, don’t act like it was all my doing, I didn’t throw myself at you!”

“No, but you get some sick satisfaction out of provoking me!” He countered. “You are taking advantage of what I feel for you, and that’s not okay, Ámbar!” He accused, pointing his finger as he did.

Ámbar watched him for long seconds, the look in her eyes changing.

“…What you feel for me?”

Simón’s head drew back and he gulped, realizing what he had said. He straightened as their eyes danced, and the more they stared into each other, the more he felt his heart speed up.

“What do you feel for me?” She asked in a small voice. Was it fear what he saw in her eyes? Hope? Both?

He tensed his jaw, his traitorous heart screaming at him to say, Everything. I feel everything for you.

But he had done enough stupid things for the night.

He took a step back. “I’m going to bed.”

He turned to leave again, walking towards the kitchen door.

Ámbar followed him. “No, Simón, answer m—”

“Ámbar, I’m serious,” he declared, spinning around and shooting her down with a grave look. “I’m not gonna answer that or anything else because, this?” He gestured between them. “Never should’ve happened. And it’s not gonna happen again.”

He saw her eyes turn sad and he felt a pang in his chest, but his tone was final; he was resolute.

When he moved away this time, she didn’t stop him. 

...

..

.

Chapter Text

He tried to avoid her all day. At morning, he barely ate in order to get out of the house as soon as possible, and once in the Roller, he tried to focus on literally anything else. It was almost working, but then Gary announced he was leaving the Roller and leaving her in charge and it was impossible not to think about her anymore.

So here he was, another day and yet another sleepless night. But the reason this time was entirely different.

He kept turning on his bed, the images he had been trying to escape during the day coming to haunt him at night.

He could see Ámbar standing in the kitchen, her see-through gown alluring. He could see her face getting closer, her eyes looking straight into his, her lips moving so close that he could almost feel them.

And that was the worst part— that he could feel them. A whole day had passed and he could still feel her lips against his own, could still remember the smoothness of her skin under his touch, the soft and yet hard way their bodies pushed together.

And the guilt drowned him, because he had told himself he wouldn't fall for her games, because she had a boyfriend, because he had to listen to his friends worrying about what she'd do to them now that she was the manager and they had reasons to...

And most of all, because against everything, he craved to do it again.

It was so stupid, feeling guilty over not feeling guilty enough. But the thing was, he should regret it all, and he should feel horrible for playing with someone else's feelings (even Benicio's), and he should feel terrible about himself. But the thing he actually regretted the most was making out in Luna's kitchen. That was wrong on so many levels. But it was also Ámbar's kitchen and Ámbar... The more he remembered her taste the more he wanted to taste it again. Deep down, all he wanted was to touch her again, everything else be damned, and that was what he felt the guiltiest about.

But he couldn't allow himself to be that selfish and reckless, so he tried to convince himself that he did regret it, that he was an awful person for having done that, and that he was never going to do it again.

His inner battle wasn't letting him rest. He needed to clear his mind and the only way he knew how was playing music. So, he stood up, put on a pair of sandals and went outside, heading for the storage room. Mónica had told them that day that they could use that space to rehearse freely and without bothering anyone with the loud instruments. He walked inside, grabbed his guitar and sat on one of the sofa beds that apparently Luna’s parents were arranging for them because there were folded blankets around them.

He started by playing some random chords, trying one after the other until the tune sounded right. Then he tried different speeds and strum patterns before changing to fingerpicking. Without realizing, the melody started to sound familiar...

"That's my song."

Simón's head snapped up at the voice and his heart skipped a beat when he realized it was Ámbar. Somehow, she had managed to enter the storage room, close the door behind her and move in front of him without him realizing it.

"What?"

That was all that he could come up with.

"You're playing my song, "¿Cómo me ves?" It's a nice acoustic version. I like it."

So that was why it sounded familiar. He couldn't believe it; he had come here to avoid thinking about her and then his mind had betrayed him by making him play her song. A song that they had sung together once... but that was a long time ago.

Anyway, he wasn't going to dwell on that because it could push him into dangerous territory, so he focused on the other matter at hand.

"What are you doing here, Ámbar?"

"I followed you. But—" She paused, lifting a hand in the air. "—before you call me a stalker, I gotta clarify that it was because you scared me. I was in my room, trying to sleep, when I heard footsteps. And I thought 'who could possibly be roaming about at this hour?' So, I got up, followed the sound and got a glimpse of you walking out the front door. I figured you'd be coming here so I grabbed my robe and went outside as well. I imagined you'd like some company."

She started taking a step closer but he stood up immediately.

"Well, thanks for the thoughtful gesture but I'm done here so I'll return to my room."

"You just got here," she pointed out.

Simón left his guitar on top of the other sofa bed, paying no mind to her tone. "I just wanted to play a little to calm my head. And I did. Now I'm sleepy so I'm gonna go."

He walked past her towards the door, but before he could open it, she spoke up.

"I've been thinking about you too, you know?"

He froze in front of the exit, the hand that had been hanging over the handle coming back to his side.

"What are you talking about?"

"You said you came here to calm your head. I assume what happened last night hasn't let you sleep. It's the same for me."

She was so right that it infuriated him because he didn't want to be thinking about it, he didn't want to be feeling this way, he didn't want his life to get any more complicated and yet she kept pushing.

He turned around, facing her indignantly.

"Ámbar, my life doesn't revolve around you, okay? Maybe I'm still sad about Nico, maybe I'm worried about the future of our skating team, maybe I'm nostalgic about Mexico. There are a thousand other reasons why I could be restless, but of course you assume it's about you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling me self-centered?"

He pursed his lips and shrugged. "You said it, not me."

She scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her. "I can't believe you. I just found you playing one of my songs while looking all melancholic and you're gonna turn this on me?"

"I was just trying random chords, it was a coincidence—"

"Bullshit," she cut him off, not buying his nonchalant attitude.

Simón opened his mouth but then changed his mind and closed it.

"You know what, Ámbar? Think whatever you want.” He turned towards the door once more.

"Sure, go ahead and run like you always do,” he heard her say behind him. “You know what you are? A coward. A sad, sad, spineless guy."

He couldn't help but turn around. "Excuse me?"

Ámbar looked at him straight in the eye. "You heard me. It's clear that you want me but instead of facing it you find excuses to pull away. I don't even know why I bother with you. Just leave. Go on with your boring life."

He gave her a humorless laugh and walked closer, ticking off on his fingers. "Well, if you think that the fact that you're the enemy of the Roller team, the fact that we are very different people, the fact that you refuse to be a better person and the fact that you have a boyfriend are just excuses, then sure, I'm lame for staying away from you. But I actually would call it being smart."

She pointed a finger at him. "See? There you go again with that 'different people' and 'better person' monologue. And you call me self-centered." She rolled her eyes. "Go ahead, keep denying. I have no interest in being with someone as condescending as you."

This time it was her who moved to leave, but he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Are you serious? After complaining about me running away you're gonna do the same thing?"

She yanked her arm free from his hold. "I'm not running away. I'm choosing what's best for me, which is staying away from a guy who patronizes me and won't allow himself to come near me because I'm not enough for him."

His eyes flew open wide. "What?"

"Admit it, Simón!" She was yelling at him now, outraged. "That's the real reason you're always going on and on about me 'changing'. It's not out of any nobility, you think you are too good for me!"

She had finally managed to get on his nerves— He snapped.

"Fine! You wanna go this way? Okay then. You, Ámbar, are too arrogant and blind to realize that all I want is what's best for you! And it's so damn tiring."

She scoffed. "What's best for me? How could you know what's best for me? Simón, please."

"I know! I know because I know you!" He yelled, trying to make her see reason. "I know that, deep down, you have this light—"

"Oh, don't start with that again!" She exclaimed in annoyance. "You make me sick with your life lessons. No one asked for your help, just let me be!"

Oh, to hell with reason!

"I can't let you be when one moment you act like you want me and the next you go after Benicio!" He screamed, giving free reign to his frustrations like a broken dam.

"You act one moment like you care and then you leave me alone!" She screamed back right at his face.

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T LISTEN TO ME!"

"BECAUSE YOU MAKE ME MAD!"

"YOU DRIVE ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!"

Both were left breathing heavily from their screaming, their puffs of air the only sound that could be heard as they stared at each other hard.

Two seconds passed. Three. Four.

At the fifth they couldn't take it anymore.

They collided with a force that was almost bruising but they didn't care. Their mouths devoured each other in a hungry mess of lips, tongues and teeth. Simón's hands grabbed Ámbar face, pulling her as close as possible, and it still didn't feel like it was enough. He brought them to her waist, pulling her flush against him, and Ámbar’s hands rose to his hair, tugging on it and running her nails down his scalp as he walked her backwards.

He pushed her against the first surface he found without even bothering to check what it was. It must have been some kind of shelf or something because he could hear objects falling to the floor when her back hit it, but it only faintly reached his ears because the sound of her moan as he grabbed her leg and hitched it at his hip drowned anything else.

Simón let go of her lips to kiss her neck, enjoying the taste of her skin and her sweet scent as his hand ran up and down her thigh. Ámbar shrugged her robe off her shoulders and slid her hands under his t-shirt urgently, roaming every inch of skin she could find. The feeling of her fingers on his body set him even more on fire and he grabbed her ass, pressing her against him. Ámbar whimpered and ground their hips together, drawing a groan from his throat.   

"I'm so crazy for you," he said desperately against her neck, his warm breath making her shiver.

Ámbar moaned. "Show me." 

Simón claimed her lips again. She only interrupted to pull his t-shirt up, which was already half-off from her hands anyway. Simón discarded it over his head and grabbed Ámbar by the back of her thighs, lifting her up, wrapping her legs around his hips. Ámbar held onto him eagerly, kissing him with fervor. Simón moved them forward, searching blindly with one hand for the edge of the couch until he found it. He placed one knee on top of it and laid Ámbar down underneath him, never breaking the kiss.

Their legs entwined with Simón’s thigh between hers. Ámbar traced his shoulders and roamed his back as their tongues tangled together, and Simón got dizzy, lost in the heat and the overload of sensation. He leaned a forearm on the couch and slid his other hand under her nightdress, feeling her skin. He made his way up her body, following the curve of her side until he reached her breast and gave it a light squeeze.  

Ámbar moaned and arched her back, urging him to touch her more. Simón circled her nipple with his thumb and leaned down to lick her neck, making her whimper. Her hips were twisting underneath him. Simón pinched her nipple and pressed his knee between her thighs. 

"Simón!” Ámbar moaned loudly. She held onto his shoulders, nails digging in feverish skin as he kept licking and sucking on her neck, massaging her breast. The joined stimulation drove her so crazy she started rubbing herself against his thigh, shamelessly, fervently, letting out whines as she sought relief. She needed more.

She slid a hand down her chest, feeling the planes of his abdomen react to her touch, and brought it lower, under his shorts to wrap her palm around him.  

Simón gasped, a choked sound as his muscles went taut. His hands gripped the cushion on either side of her as her hand started caressing him slowly, up and down and back again. He moaned, long and low, sparks of pleasure running all over his body. She ran her thumb through his tip, spreading the drops of desire that had gathered there. His lips parted with a surprised moan. His hips bucked.

Ámbar held him more firmly and stroked him with more purpose, picking up speed. Simón jerked his hips against her hand, chasing the euphoric sensations that drew incoherent sounds from his throat. The fact that it was her doing this to him, Ámbar, his Ámbar, destroyed his last shred of composure, flooded him with a desperation he had never felt. 

He pulled Ámbar's hand away. He wouldn't last if she kept that up and he wanted more, he wanted everything. He held both of her hands on either side of her head and took in the vision of her underneath him. Flushed skin, lips slightly parted, golden hair all over the place, and eyes so dark with desire he could hardly see their blue. They were fixed on his like nothing else existed.

"If you don't want this, tell me now because I can't take it anymore," he said in a rushed, ragged voice. It almost sounded like he was in pain. In some way, he was.

Ámbar wrapped her legs around him.

"Don't stop," she panted, and Simón lunged forward, claiming her lips as if on them depended his survival. 

Their hands pulled at each other's clothing, their desire canceling any sense of self-consciousness they could've had. Simón couldn't help but smother her chest with kisses once it was bare before him. Her breasts were perfect and contoured by freckles he was dying to memorize. Ámbar shivered and whined as his tongue stroked her nipples. She grabbed his ass and pulled him against her, conveying and pleading that she needed him now.

Simón pulled down her underwear and positioned himself at her entrance. Ámbar whimpered as he rubbed his tip over her exposed center, grazing her clit and coating himself with her wetness. She grabbed his shoulders, he held her hips, and then finally, finally, he entered her in one deep thrust.

The pleasure that hit their senses drew a moan from both. 

Simón drowned his face on her neck, breathing hard, taking a moment. He had dreamed of this once or twice but, god, the real thing was better. Pulses of delight spread from his pelvis to the rest of his body. He'd never be the same now that he knew how it was to be inside her.

Ámbar rolled her hips, begging him to move, and Simón complied eagerly. He slid back, almost all the way, and thrust back in, as deep as he could go. The movement pushed a gasp out of Ámbar's mouth. The sound went straight between his legs. He repeated the action, again and again, until he was pounding into her and she was moaning uncontrollably. The pleasure in her voice only made him want to go harder. It was his new favorite sound.

Her nails were digging into his back as he moved, her hips bucking to meet his, thrust by thrust. Simón was gasping, grunting, and her name dropped from his lips too, over and over, because this was madness of the best kind. He could've screamed that he loved her— that was how far gone he was. She felt so incredibly good, melting hot, and their bodies made a wet sound every time they collided that turned him on even more. He could see every single one of Ámbar's expressions, how her face contorted in pleasure every time he hit the right spot. She looked so freaking beautiful. So irresistible. Her body shone with sweat.

Simón kissed her; he couldn't not to. Their lips met open-mouthed and their tongues swallowed each other's sounds as they lost their minds together. He let go of her lips and kissed her ear, her neck, her collarbone. She was arching her back and Simón couldn't stop himself from bringing one of her taut nipples into his mouth and suck. 

Ámbar cried out. It was so loud that if they hadn't been in the storage room they would've woken up everyone, and he loved it. He did it a few more times, and then he replaced his mouth with his hand so he could look at her. Ámbar's breathing was coming out in pants. Simón was meeting more resistance every time he pushed inside her. She was close. He was too. He wanted to see her fall apart. He wanted to feel the moment her body spasmed with pleasure. 

A few more thrusts and a pinch to her nipple and he got his wish. 

Ámbar came with an arch of her back, crying out his name. Her walls pulsed around him and Simón groaned, feeling his release crash into him. He spilled inside her with a loud gasp, and he kept moving his hips erratically, milking as much pleasure as he could get, until he had given her all he had and he collapsed, spent.

They two laid there in a mess of limbs as they came down from their high, breathless and exhausted. Simón only had the strength to grab one of the blankets that were folded beside the couch and cover them from the cold of the night before closing his eyes. He felt Ámbar nestle against his chest, seeking his warmth and he passed his arm around her, needing her close too. They were sated, tired and filled with a peace they hadn't felt in months, so it took no time at all before they were both asleep.

Simón was having a very nice dream.

He felt warm, light, more at peace than in a very long time and—

"WHAT THE FUCK."

Simón jumped awake, sitting in bed and looking around in alarm. "What? What happened?"

He blinked at the sudden light that hit his eyes and saw Pedro standing at the door, gaping at him with his eyes wide open. Simón's groggy brain registered the big amount of furniture that surrounded him and slowly came to the realization that it wasn't, in fact, the door of his bedroom Pedro was standing at but the entrance of the storage room.

He looked down and found he wasn't in his bed either. He was on a couch, covered by a blanket, and by his side was Ámbar, also sitting and looking widely at Pedro as she covered her naked chest.

Ámbar.

Blanket.

Naked.

Storage.

PEDRO!

Simón's eyes flew open. "What are you doing here?!" He exclaimed, finally realizing the position he was in.

"What am I doing here?!" Pedro volleyed back, in utter disbelief that he had just asked that.

Simón stood up quickly. He had to do damage control before things got out of hand. Pedro grimaced instantly and hid his face behind his palms.

"OH MY GOD, COVER YOURSELF!"

"IF YOU DON'T WANNA SEE THEN TURN AROUND!" Simón yelled back as he grabbed his clothes from the floor. "And close the door while you're at it!"

Pedro did just that, turning his back to the couple and pulling the door shut so no one else could see the scene.

Simón put on his shorts and t-shirt in a hurry and frantically searched for his shoes. It wasn't until he slid them on that he turned to Ámbar. He slowed down. Her eyes were fixed on him; probably had been all that time.

He walked towards her and crouched next to the couch.

"Listen, I..." He started in a low voice, but he had to pause when he looked at her up close because she was disheveled and blushing and there were a thousand new images in his brain that hadn't been there before. Everything dawned on him like a ton of bricks and he didn't know what to say or what to do; he didn't know anything. "...I'll take care of him. You stay here and get dressed, okay?"

"Okay. But, Simón..." Her eyes searched his, holding a lot of emotions, asking for him to answer to any of those emotions, but he couldn't, not now.

"Later," he said, wishing that was enough for the time being. He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her forehead before standing, because leaving without any kind of contact seemed wrong somehow.

He ran to the door and pulled Pedro outside with him before closing it, leaving Ámbar behind.

The bright sun rays hurt his eyes at first but he forced himself to keep walking until they were far enough from the storage room and mansion that there'd be no eavesdropping. He stood under the shade of a tree and finally let go of Pedro, turning around to face him.

"You mind explaining what that was?" His friend demanded immediately, pointing to the direction they had come from. Simón opened his mouth but Pedro continued before he could speak. "And if you tell me it's not what it looks like, I'm literally going to beat you with my drumsticks."

Simón dropped his hands at his sides, defeated. "Then there's nothing to explain."

Pedro snorted. "There's a lot to explain. You could start by why the storage room; it could've been literally anyone if it wasn't me."

"Please don't talk about this with anyone, Pedro, please," he hurried to implore. He didn't know what he would do if everyone found out. If the Valente found out...

"Of course not. It'll be safe with me, don't worry," Pedro vowed, with a look that told him that he got his back. Simón was visibly relieved. "But, I mean, I don't get it," he added, furrowing his brows, "wasn't she with Benicio?"

Simón froze. The ton of bricks fell down again, but worse. His very insides turned to concrete, his mouth to sand.

He clenched his fists and forced it to work, to accept, to admit. "She is."

"Then what the hell were you thinking?" 

"I— I don't know," he stammered out. "One thing led to another and it just happened." At least that was how it felt. To be honest, he hadn't thought much. Not logically at least.

"Right, you just happened to fall on top of her naked, that happens a lot," Pedro replied with sarcasm.

Simón groaned in frustration. "No, of course not! It's just..." He closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again. "Okay, you know I like her, right?"

"Obviously," Pedro stated as a matter of fact, even though Simón had never really said the words out loud. "But this much?"

Simón dropped his gaze. "... I only told Luna this," he confessed, "but it's not just that I like her, it's not just some attraction, I'm seriously in love with her, Pedro."

Pedro's eyes widened slightly. For a moment, he only looked at him in silence, surely processing in his mind everything that that implied. "And why only Luna?" He said in the end. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because when I told her she told me exactly what you guys have been telling me," he said dejectedly. "That I need to forget about her, that she's only going to hurt me... And I know you're concerned, but I can't help this, Pedro, I really can't."

Right at that moment, he saw Ámbar walking rapidly towards the mansion, wrapped in her robe. His eyes followed her until she went inside. Pedro turned around to see what he was looking at.

"Well, clearly," he said, having found the object of his attention. He turned back to him, and he must have seen something in his expression because all specks of judgment disappeared from his eyes, replaced by something sad, something too akin to pity. "But Simón... She's with someone else."

The jab Simón felt in his heart was so tangible he almost had the impulse to bring a hand to his chest to cover the wound, try and stop the bleeding.

"I know," he said, and it crossed his mind that he had never seen so much hurt contained in two words. "I know— I didn't plan for this to happen, I swear. Do you think I like the idea that after tonight she's just going to go back to his arms as if nothing happened? Of course not!"

"So you want to be with her?"

For some reason, that question caught him by surprise. It was the logical conclusion one could draw from his situation, wasn't it? Simón didn't want her to be with Benicio, therefore, he wanted her to be with him instead. But just as it was as simple as that, it also wasn't. 

"... I don't know," he said. "I love her. But she hasn't been acting like herself. She's still adamant on acting bad and going against the Roller and... God, this was a mistake," he said distressed. "I shouldn't have done this. Not now, not like this."

He slumped against the tree's bark, suddenly assaulted by an almost claustrophobic feeling even though he was right in the open. What was he going to do now? 

It was almost as if Pedro had heard his thoughts. "Well, I can't tell you what to do, buddy," he said solemnly. "I'm here for you, always, but only you can decide that, and I hope you choose well." 

Simón looked at the grass between his feet. He wished for the same, but considering the last decisions he'd made, he was starting to doubt he was capable of it. Because if 'choosing well' meant being away from Ámbar... a big part of him wanted to choose wrong. 

"And about your timing," Pedro added, "yeah, we just arrived at the mansion. You really waste no time," he pointed out, both amazed and amused.  

Simón gave him a look. "Not funny, Pedro." If anything it came to show just how reliable his self-control was. Meaning, not at all. 

For a moment, neither of them said anything, immersed in their own thoughts. 

"You know what is funny though?" Pedro said suddenly, breaking the silence. "That Ámbar is now the new manager of the Jam & Roller."

Simón blinked at him. "So?"

"So... you slept with your boss." 

Pedro gave him two pity pats on the shoulder before making his way back to the mansion.

Simón stood rooted on the spot.

... Shit. 

...

..

.

Chapter Text

Being the manager of the Roller was way more work than she thought it would be.

Technically she had the directors of Vidia to help her out, but in truth, she had mountains of paperwork to fill out on her own and some of them she didn’t even understand. She got down to it, putting all her effort into doing it perfectly because she needed to prove that she could handle it, but it was turning out to be difficult. 

Which sucked, not only because she was stressed out but because it had prevented her from talking to Simón since that morning.

And they really needed to talk.

Last night had been… something. Sure, it was out of impulse, but it had been great. Best night of her life, probably. The only problem? That they were found out right after, and, as always, Simón freaked out. Well, she freaked out too, it’s not like she enjoyed being found covered only by a sheet and in a compromising position where there was no way to misinterpret the situation. But she knew how she felt, she knew what she wanted and she had gotten it… or so she thought, because he didn’t seem so convinced.

All that time telling Emilia she wasn’t going to fall for Simón… it was so laughable because she never fell out of love with him. And she tried, believe her, she tried. But it was like he could disarm her with just one look. One smile.

Lately, he didn’t smile at her that often.

She knew Emilia thought he was a loser, but she didn’t think so. Half the things she had spat at him the previous day she didn’t mean them. Okay, maybe sometimes she did think he was a coward, but she knew that he didn’t believe he was better than her. Simón wasn’t the kind of person that thought he was better than anyone; Benicio was.

Oh, Benicio.

She did kind of feel bad for him. A little. He acted like he just wanted to be with her to have a partner in crime and because she was beautiful though, so it’d probably only be a blow for his ego, but still. Kissing someone else would’ve been one thing, but having totally mind-blowing sex with said person? That was something else entirely.

But what she had told Simón was true: she never said anything about dating. She liked letting Benicio say that in front of Simón because she expected to get a reaction out of him, but it was never her intention to date him seriously. She even told him plenty of times that he shouldn’t get confused, that she knew what she wanted and it wasn’t him.

She shouldn’t have used him like that, that was her bad.

Anyway, there was no point in crying over something she couldn’t change— what was done was done. What she could change was what would come after… and that was why she needed to talk to Simón. She needed to let him know what it had meant to her, what he meant for her because she didn’t have the strength to deny it anymore.  

And she needed to do something about Benicio because, if she wanted to be with Simón, he was in the way. But she didn’t have time to do that either. She’d break up with him right now over text but she wasn’t that heartless. These were things you’re supposed to do in person. And besides… she didn’t want to end up alone if Simón still didn’t want her.

Which she was starting to think was the case, because every time their eyes had met that day, he had looked away instantly.

God, she wanted to shake him. How could it be possible for him to act so distant after spending the night together? Did it not mean anything at all for him? No, he must have felt something, there was no way he didn't. She could still hear his raspy voice saying that he was crazy for her… but then again, maybe it was a heat of the moment thing. Ugh, how could things be so messed up?

Maybe he thought she didn’t feel anything? After all his monologue of them being different and saying she refuses to be better maybe he was scared of that. How could she prove that this was serious for her? How could she show him that, with him, her walls and defenses didn’t work? That she didn’t want to feel but she couldn’t get him out of her heart? How could she show him that she was willing to do things right for him?

She could tell him but words didn’t seem to work between them. Last night was an example of that.

What about actions then? Was there anything she could do as a gesture of good faith?

As she filled up the papers of the Roller’s inventory and deliveries, she came up with an idea.

It was afternoon when Simón witnessed alongside his friends how Ámbar gathered everyone and announced her idea of making a Flash Open. All day long they had been exchanging looks from afar, but he quickly looked away every time it happened.

He still wasn’t over the fact that he had slept with his boss. No, they hadn’t just ‘slept’ together— They'd had completely screwed each other's brains out, which was a whole different matter and it made his temperature rise only thinking about it. He only wished he had been thinking before any of it happened, or during, instead of just throwing himself at her without a care in the—

Wait.

Simón put down the rental skates he had been fixing in the lockers room and racked his brain for a memory of last night. A memory he didn’t find, because it didn’t happen.

Oh god, he hadn’t worn a condom.

Simón whined and dug his face in his hands. How stupid could he be?!

So not only he had slept with Ámbar, who was in a relationship, and was his boss, but he also hadn’t thought about protecting themselves while at it.

This was just great. 

But she hadn’t said anything either so maybe she had that covered. That was most probably the case now that he thought about it. Ámbar was a smart girl, not like him who was an idiot.

He’d still had to ask her though, he had to make sure. 

Hell, how had he ended up in this mess? …Okay, he knew exactly how, he remembered quite clearly. But the thing now was, how did he get things back to normal? …Did he want them to?

He loved Ámbar, he knew he loved her, but she was dating someone else and she was still adamant on keeping this dark façade. He knew he loved the real Ámbar but… did he love this one as well? If she never changed back to who she used to be, would he be okay with that?

It would get him in trouble with his friends, with his team… Actually, it pretty much would only mean trouble.

But he was still considering it and that said something. Especially when she said she wanted the Open Music to be a boys vs girls so they could all get over their differences and put an end to the war between teams. His heart really soared at hearing that, at seeing her smile at everyone and talk about peace. He caught a glimpse of the Ámbar he knew she could be, and he thought maybe, just maybe, the idea of going back to her wasn't so crazy after all.

… Then he compared Benicio’s handwriting with the number of Felipe Mendevilla and he grabbed all of those previous thoughts and sent them to hell.

Ámbar was taking out the green folder that had the documents she needed from under the bar table when Simón approached her suddenly.

“I need to talk to you."

Ámbar looked at him with surprise. After all his avoiding, she'd thought she would have to be the one to approach him first.

“Me too," she said earnestly, glad that he had come to her. “I’ve been meaning to all day, but I have all this work and—”

“It’ll be quick," he interrupted her, and that was when she noticed he looked serious, almost like he was mad.  

Concerned, she put the folder down on the bar and decided she could spare a few minutes, especially since she'd been wanting to talk to him all day. “Alright."

Simón opened his mouth but then seemed to reconsider and sealed his lips. He started again, seeming more sheepish than grim this time.

“Actually, it’s two things. The first one it's that, um… Well, I realized that we didn’t— I mean, I didn’t…” He looked around like checking no one was near before whispering the next part “…wear any protection last night, which was totally irresponsible of me, so I need to know if you…”

He left the question hanging, but the meaning was clear. Now Ámbar understood why he looked so serious. She hurried to ease his mind.

“I’m on the pill, don’t worry."

Simón relaxed a little at hearing that, but then just as quickly, he tensed back up and a grimace soured his face. “Right. Benicio. How could I forget," he remarked, bringing his gaze elsewhere. 

Ámbar’s eyes widened.

“What? No, no, it’s not because of him. We haven’t— It’s not that," she rushed to explain “I just started taking them with Matteo and never stopped cause it helps with the cramps and regulates your cycle." Aaand in her rush said more than she probably needed to. But whatever, it was common stuff.

Simón nodded as he processed that.

“And now that we’re finally talking about it," she continued, taking advantage of his silence to get all out of her chest, “I want you to know that—”

“Actually, Ámbar…” He interrupted again, looking down as he said the next words. “… I think it’ll be better if we forget about what happened."

Her heart stopped.

“…What?” 

She couldn’t have heard that right.

Simón remained silent. She huffed out a laugh, weak and mirthless. “You’re not serious. Look at you, you can’t even look me in the eyes.”

He looked up then, and she almost wished he hadn't because the brown of his eyes, usually warm like sweet, melted chocolate, looked as cold as ice when they locked with hers.

“I am serious.”

There was no uncertainty she could hold onto anymore— He did mean it. 

Her heart, which had seemed suspended in time since he first suggested it, finally fell. She had hoped it had meant something for him…

How could it not mean something for him? How dare he?

“Oh, I get it. You got what you wanted so now we’re done, is that it?” She said, crossing her arms in front of her, her voice dripping with venom.   

Simón looked scandalized. “Of course not! Ámbar—”

“You’re the worst, I can’t believe you!” She accused with pain. She thought he was different, she thought he was a nice guy, she thought—  

“I’m telling you is not about that!" Simón defended, and he really looked outraged that she thought that.

“Then what is it?” She asked, not knowing what to believe anymore.

“This!”

Ámbar watched as he took out two torn out pages and showed them to her.

“What? Two pieces of paper? Are you kidding me?” She said. offended because it didn’t seem relevant and had nothing to do with anything.

Paying no mind to her tone, he pointed to each one with a grim face.

“This is the list of songs that Benicio said he’d agree to sing with us in the Open. He has been impossible to work with by the way," he noted with frustration. “And this is Felipe Mendevilla’s phone number. Or so we thought because, if you look at the handwriting, they’re pretty similar, and I find it very weird that after asking to see Luna right away he’d just go on a trip and don’t return her calls… So, my question is: Did you guys change Felipe’s number?”

Ámbar felt her heart rate rise as he looked at her. Now it all made sense— His bleak, serious expression, his cold attitude. He knew. He wanted confirmation but he knew.

He wasn’t supposed to find out about that; no one was. It was clear that he was mad, and she couldn’t help but think that this was the worst timing possible for him to find out about this. Why did her past always have to come to bite her when it came to him?

She thought about denying it but there was close to no point. Then she thought about begging him to forgive her but she quickly got rid of that idea. She was Ámbar Smith, she didn’t beg. And also, she could see why this would bother him but it was still not excuse to ignore what happened between them.

He thought he could sleep with her one day and the next jump at the first opportunity to accuse her? That it would somehow erase his actions? That was not how it worked.

She crossed her arms in front of her and looked at him, defiant. “So what if we did? What’s the big deal?”

There. At least she was going to own her doings.   

Simón looked at her with wide eyes.

“What do you mean 'what’s the big deal'? It’s horrible!” He said outraged, which in turn made her outraged.

“What we did is horrible? What about what you did?” She retorted, all the anger from the past days coming back at her.   

“What did we do?” He asked, having the nerve to look clueless.  

“You ruined our festival!” She growled. The memory of that day, of them entering the rink only to find the bleachers empty, was still fresh in her mind. The soul-eating disappointment had left too big an indentation to just forget. “We lost a huge professional opportunity as skaters because of you!”

Simón looked at her disapprovingly. “We didn’t ruin anything, and Luna doesn’t deserve any of this."

He sounded so sorry for Luna that she had to roll her eyes. “Is just a phone number, she won’t die."

Simón didn’t seem to see it that way though.

“It’s not just a phone number because, what if Felipe had an awesome offer for her? She’s very talented and he saw that and maybe now that offer is lost forever because you changed that number."

“I’m very talented as well and I could’ve received a thousand offers, but I didn’t, and you know why? Because of her. So now we’re even."

Simón's eyes looked at her for a long time. The annoyance made way to sympathy, even sadness.

“Ámbar... I understand you’re angry and that you were hurt by what happened with the festival. Sometimes we do things we shouldn’t when we’re angry. But... I mean, open your eyes, Ámbar."

All his body language seemed to be begging for her to understand what he was saying, and she did, deep down she did but—

“In my eyes, she’s at fault. She’s the one that deprived me of this and I- I’m furious with her. I can’t control it, my blood boils and I can’t help it," she confessed.

She was frustrated to no end. It wasn’t fair that her festival was ruined after they worked so hard. It wasn’t fair the audience changed the choreography they rehearsed so much for a spontaneous one on the street. It wasn’t fair that Luna always got what she wanted while she didn’t— None of it was fair.

“I can see that," Simón replied, solemn. "But you can’t just keep doing these things, you’re just sinking yourself lower."

Sinking herself lower?

“You didn’t seem to care about any of that last night," she spat.

She wasn’t going to let him lecture her after what he had done, what they had done together. Maybe he was eager to forget, but she wasn’t going to let him do it so easily.  

Simón’s mouth shut and he looked away, checking once more for any eavesdropping. She was half expecting him to change the subject again, but instead, he closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again and stared into hers, there was no judgment anymore. He didn’t look mad or distant. He was looking at her openly for the first time since everything and it made her slacken her stance. She let her arms fall to her sides, immediately missing their comfort, but willing to brace it as he spoke with honesty for once.

“Ámbar, what happened between us was… intense. And I won’t tell you that I didn’t want it because I’d be lying. But I think we can both agree that we let it get too far. I mean, you have a boyfriend and—"

“I already told you that—”

“—And, even if that wasn’t an issue, I can’t be with someone that wants to hurt my friends."

Ámbar felt a pang in her chest.

“She hurt me first!” She bemoaned, trying to make him see from her point of view. It wasn't like she had done it out of evilness— Luna had taken something from her again, so all she did was get even.  

Simón took a step closer to her and his eyes locked with hers with kindness. 

“Ámbar… I get it. I understand that you can’t control how you feel. But I also know that… the Ámbar I like knows that it was wrong."

His eyes danced between hers and Ámbar felt her anger subdue. How did he do that? How could he ease her with just one look?

“… Maybe, I don’t know," she found herself whispering. Maybe she just wanted to be the Ámbar he could see in her. Or maybe, without the anger, she really did regret it— she didn’t know.

But she liked the little smile that he gave her.

“See? You doubted there. That’s step one. And I’m gonna give you the chance to take the next one."

Ámbar frowned. “What are you talking about?”

His smile turned bigger as he spoke matter-of-factly. “You’re gonna talk to Luna. You’re gonna tell her everything and apologize, sincerely."

Her eyes widened. “What? No, I’m not.” One thing was admitting to him that it was wrong, another very different thing was saying that to Luna.

He looked like he knew she was going to object, but he didn’t recede.

“Ámbar, I could tell her myself. But I wanna give you this chance to fix things. Because I believe that deep down you regret it, and that this isn’t you. I believe that you’re hurt and that’s why you lash out but you don’t really want to be fighting all the time. You just need a chance to do things right, and I trust you will. Because I believe the real Ámbar is still in there…  Please, please don’t prove me wrong."

There were those begging eyes again. They were always begging her for something: to be nicer, to be honest, to feel… But this time they were asking her not to break his trust in her, to not let him down.

And that was the last thing she wanted.

“Okay. I’ll talk to Luna."

A huge weight seemed to lift from his shoulders as he smiled. “Thank you."    

They stared at each other for a moment longer until he seemed to realize what he was doing and he looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Here," he said, grabbing the green folder and handing it to her. “I won’t take away any more of your time, sorry.”

“It’s okay," she said as she received it. Their hands touched when she did, but neither said anything about it.

Muttering he should get back to work, Simón turned around and walked towards the lockers.

Ámbar saw him go as she hugged the folder to her chest.

She hoped she had made the right decision.

Ámbar spent the rest of the day working, convincing Emilia and Benicio that the Open was a good idea for their public image (which wasn’t a lie; it really could work to their advantage) and rehearsing with the rest of the girls for their music number.

She was exhausted, so she climbed to her bedroom right after she ate something and she was about to go in when she heard her name.

Simón had also been working and rehearsing with the guys, so he hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to her again since before. So, he chose to do it before going to sleep because he really needed to settle that issue.

“Ámbar."

She turned towards him with a little smile.

“Why, hello there. Came for your goodnight kiss?” Ámbar purred as she got closer, and even if it was just a second, he couldn’t help his eyes from glancing at her lips. Damn it.

“No. I came to ask if you talked to Luna yet," he said resolutely, because he was resolute. He had decided yesterday that this matter was top priority over anything else. He had decided to forget about what happened, cross it out as a moment of weakness and go back to his old life where he respected boundaries and knew what was best for him. Love had made him blind, but that thing with Felipe’s number was a wake-up call for him.

Kisses weren’t apologies, and not because she wanted him it meant she had returned to the Ámbar he knew. It wasn’t that easy, no matter how much he wished it was.

And it would be hard, because every time he looked at her he had flashbacks of their night together, it was engraved in his mind.

But he was going to be strong. If not for him, for Luna.  

“Why the rush? It’s only been one day," she pointed out, and because she noticed his slip up, she inched even closer, her own eyes staring at his lips before returning to his brown ones. “Or perhaps you’re using this as an excuse to get closer to me?”

No, it is a reason to stay away from you, he thought.

He took a step back. “I’m serious, Ámbar."

She had been trying to lift the mood with some teasing but, apparently, that wasn’t an option.

She sighed. “No, I haven’t—" He opened his mouth to protest so she hurried to continue. “I know, I know, and I will, really. But I’ve been too busy coordinating the Flash Open and taking care of all the legal paperwork of the Roller; I haven’t got the time."

“Well, you’re at home now. Luna literally lives here as well, talk to her," he stated as if it was obvious.

She looked at him like he was crazy. “I can’t just go ahead and do it like that, it has to be in good timing!”

“And what would good timing be?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m waiting for it."

He gave her a look, not amused by that response at all. He shook his head and tried once more to make her see how important this was.

“Ámbar, do you realize that I’m putting my friendship with Luna at risk for you? This is a big deal and I’m keeping quiet because of you, but if you don’t tell Luna soon—”

“Tell me what?”

Both turned at the same time, seeing Luna appear out of nowhere. She was looking at them with a question mark on her face and Ámbar felt her mouth go dry.

She looked at Simón and he looked back at her.

“Ámbar here has something to tell you," he told his best friend as he looked at Ámbar dead in the eye.

“What do you have to tell me?” Luna asked in all innocent curiosity and Ámbar had never felt more on the spot. Simón was urging her to tell her but she couldn’t, not now, she hadn’t even prepared herself.

As fast as she could, she made something up.

“I… was talking to Simón about tomorrow’s Open. I had this new idea of having two solo performances, one for each team, and I was wondering if you’d like to be the representative for the girls."

Simón blinked. What?

“Wow, really? Of course! I’d love to!” Luna exclaimed, looking at Simón all smiley and excited. He couldn’t do anything but smile back, even if it was fake. “Thank you so much," she said to Ámbar, and he seized the opportunity that she wasn’t looking at him to throw daggers at Ámbar with his eyes.

But he didn’t give her away. He was frustrated but he understood that it was hard for her. He still had hope that she’d talk to her on her own, he still wanted to believe that she would.

So he just followed Luna downstairs, hoping he had made the right decision in trusting her.

Ámbar saw them disappear and wiped the fake smile from her face. Trust Luna to appear at the worst timing possible— Did she have a superpower that told her when someone was talking about her? It sure as hell seemed like that sometimes. Or maybe she just loved to interrupt others' conversations in general.

Anyway, that wasn’t the most important part here.

Ámbar walked inside her room and sat on her bed as she recalled the last thing Simón had told her. 

He said he was risking his friendship with Luna because of her. Luna was his best friend, she had seen plenty of times how much he cared about her— He wouldn’t jeopardize that for just anyone. But he was doing it, for her.

That meant that he really cared about her, that had to be the reason.

And she was gonna make him admit it.  

...

..

.

Chapter Text

It was the morning of the Open Music. Or “Flash Open”, as Ámbar had called it, because it had really been planned on record time. She'd announced it one afternoon and two days later here they were. That meant they'd only had one day for rehearsals (more like 3 hours because many of them worked), but Simón was confident that their performance with the guys would be a success. They sounded amazing and the moves they had come up with were great— They were gonna rock it.

He was at the bar while Pedro worked in the lockers when he heard someone call his name.

“Simón!”

He turned to find Ámbar approaching the back of the bar rapidly with a pen and clipboard in hand. She looked pretty with her thin-strap black top over her grey t-shirt (if he was honest, she always did), but she also looked agitated.

“I need you to change the graphics of the screens,” she told him, pointing at the televisions around the cafeteria. “From now on, they should only show the Jam & Roller logo. The Red Shark’s one is outdated and has to go, it’s about time.”

Simón smiled. Finally, things in the Roller were getting back to how they used to be.

“I love that idea, I’ll get to it right now,” he said and turned around, but she called out to him before he could take a step.

“Wait! Did you do the soundcheck?”

“No, but I was going to do it n—”  

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Ámbar started speaking again. Or, more accurately, throwing inquiries at a high speed. 

“Did the delivery guys arrive with the costumes yet? Are were loaded up on food? Big audiences mean more food than usual. The lighting of the stage background is on point? I would hate for one of the light bulbs to go out in the middle of a performance.” Her eyes widened. “Oh god, what if half of them end up going out and the stage just reads ‘Open’? Like, ‘Open nothing’, what would I do?”

He had been right, she was agitated. It got him worried, he didn’t like seeing her like that.

“Hey.” He took a step closer to her, leaning over the bar's counter so she looked at him. “Hey, slow down. Everything’s going to be fine,” he told her in a calming voice, but Ámbar shook her head.

“I can’t slow down. Look at this huge to-do list,” she said, pointing at her clipboard. “There’s still a hundred things that need to get done and time’s flying by."

She left the clipboard on the bar, staring at it in distress. Simón reached over and placed his hand over hers in what he hoped would be a comforting gesture.

“Well, I’m here for you. Whatever you need,” he told her honestly.

Her eyes danced between his, and it was only then that he realized the moment was turning into something deeper than it should. He'd been so focused on making her feel better that he forgot he was meant to keep his distance.

“…Boss,” he added to his sentence, pulling his hand away from hers. It was his job to help her after all, so that made it less personal. Right?

Ámbar didn’t seem to pay any mind to those things though. She just gave him a little smile. “Thank you. And sorry for attacking you with all this but I’m stressed. Like, really stressed out because it’s my first event as manager of the Roller and I want everything to be perfect, you know? Like, not a thing out of place, not a single mistake made and— … Why are you looking at me like that?”

A smile had grown on his face without him being able to help it. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking how much of a perfectionist you always are with everything you do. It’s kinda—” He was gonna say cute, but he managed to stop himself before it slipped out. He really shouldn’t be calling her cute right now. Actually, he shouldn’t be thinking it. Couldn’t he focus for once in his life?

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Go on, boss, tell me what else you need, I’m listening,” he said in business mode. Work. Just work. You’re working.

“Right, um…" Ámbar checked her list again. “…Actually, I think I already told you everythi— Wait, almost forgot. That guy, Michel? He can sing with you guys, no problem.”

Simón nodded, glad to hear it. “Perfect.” After some seconds without new instructions, he asked, “So… would that be all, boss?”

Ámbar rolled her eyes with a smile. “You don’t have to call me boss every single time," she said, amused. But then her smile took a coquettish turn and the look in her eyes grew seductive. “…Unless you have a thing for it?”

Simón raised an eyebrow. Was she insinuating he had a boss kink?

It should've been laughable. He hadn't had many good experiences with previous bosses, la generala being the perfect example of it. But his heart beat faster as he drowned in Ámbar's eyes. She had inched closer, leaning on the counter on her forearms, and he found himself doing the same, as if pulled in by her.

“A thing?” He mused low, as if considering it. “… I don’t know, boss. Should I?”

They kept each other's gaze intensely. Simón could see a fire surge in her ocean blue eyes. He had seen that look before, and his heart accelerated as the images flooded his mind. Her gaze moved down to his lips, and her tongue came out to wet her own. The pure gesture almost made him groan, and that was when alarm bells exploded in his brain. 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP FLIRTING WITH HER!

Rapidly, he took a step back and cleared his throat.

“Well, if you don’t need anything else right now, Ámbar…” He said as he moved random food displays on the bar as if he was arranging them, calming his heart and focusing on what was important before he turned to her once more. “Could we perhaps talk a little about the Felipe Mendevilla thing? Please?” Before I lose my mind. “Because I feel like giving Luna a solo performance at the Open isn’t enough to make up for what you did.” 

The guilt of not telling Luna the truth that night had made it hard to sleep. He had just watched as Ámbar made up something to avoid coming clean. Did that count as lying to Luna? He wasn’t sure. All he knew is that the sooner Ámbar talked to her the better.

For a second, he thought Ámbar looked disappointed at the change of topic, but she schooled her expression quickly to one of detachment.

“I didn’t say it was either,” she said pursing her lips.

Simón nodded. At least she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. “Alright. Then, could you please talk to her?” He asked, sounding like a broken record even to his own ears but he couldn’t keep on hiding this from Luna forever, she needed to know.

Ámbar grimaced. “Oh no, I can’t right now, Simón, I told you. I’m this close to collapsing. I have a ton of things to do, look at this list—”

“Hey, what’s up?” Ringed out a voice suddenly. It was Matteo, who was walking towards them with a smile on his face.

Just as he arrived, Ámbar grabbed her stuff from the bar to leave. Before she did, Simón looked at her once more.

“Everything’s going to be alright," he assured with a smile.

Ámbar smiled back at him and turned, leaving the cafeteria to keep on preparing everything for the Open.

Matteo watched her leave and then turned to face him with a teasing smile. “Anything going on over here?” He asked, pretty much wiggling his eyebrows at him. Simón scoffed internally.

Oh, he had no idea.

It had been tough, but Ámbar managed to have everything ready and running smoothly by the time people started to arrive. The place was packed, not only by regulars but also by new faces, which was great because more people equaled more revenue, which equaled she was already doing her job as manager fantastically.

Once everyone was seated and the appointed time arrived, Ámbar stood straight and channeled her characteristic confidence.

Let the show begin.

Ámbar walked up the stage and stood in front of the microphone like she had been born to do so (and she pretty much was). 

“Welcome, everyone, to my first Open,” she greeted the crowd with a proud smile. The audience applauded. She started her opening speech by thanking VIDIA for the opportunity, promising she wouldn’t let them down and that she had many other ideas for the Roller. Now that she was in charge, things were going to change for the better.

“The purpose of this Open is to unite us once and for all. I’m tired of fights.” Especially fights with someone in particular, she thought. “I don’t wanna see any more conflicts, I wanna see close groups and I know you all want that as well, right?”

The crowd clapped and yelled their agreements. The whole point of this Open was to show Simón that she wanted to fix things, that they didn’t need to be enemies just because they were on different teams. It hadn’t exactly worked since he had found out about the Felipe thing, but looking at how happy and excited everyone was, she was sure he’d appreciate this gesture, there was no way he wouldn’t.

She continued her speech, explaining how the performances were divided, two groups and two soloists, before presenting the first one: the boys' team. Asking the crowd for a round of applause, she called all their names before walking down the stage and towards her seat next to Emilia.

The guys appeared on stage with the crowd’s cheer surrounding them. They all looked great in the costumes she had chosen (obviously), but Ámbar couldn’t stop her stare from focusing immediately on Simón. He looked very hot in those clothes. Choosing him a t-shirt one size smaller than usual was the best idea she ever had. The tight black fabric accentuated his chest, shoulders and strong arms just right. Her mouth watered. It was so distracting that she almost didn’t notice how he called Matteo up to join them on stage until she saw him climb up and stand beside Simón.

Once they were all in their positions, the intro of “Nadie como tú” started playing.

Nunca creí en historias del corazón…

Estar enamorado para mí era sólo un juego…

Did he just look at her as he sang that? Yeah, he definitely did.

Ámbar found herself following him with her eyes through all the song even if it was another guy who was front and center.

Tú, me haces sentir

que esto es el cielo y que en la tierra ya no hay como tú

Me tienes así, rogándote please, oh baby

I need nobody but you

God, that choreography was marvelous. Marvelous in the way that had him flexing his arms and showing up his biceps every five seconds. 10/10.

When Benicio came to the front, he pointed at her, calling her attention, and when her eyes landed on him, he winked.

She felt a little bad. Just a little.

When they got to the bridge of the song, Matteo froze, lips parted but no words coming out of them. The change in the air was instantaneous. He forgot the lyrics. 

It was just about five seconds before Simón kept singing the song and encouraged Matteo to continue as well, but everyone noticed. Glances were exchanged. Ámbar couldn’t help but worry a little about him. Sure, they had little to no communication now and their relationship had ended quite badly, but they still had cared for each other once and she didn’t wish him any harm. Not anymore at least, she had moved on. She hoped these after-effects of the fall would only be temporary.

Tú, me tienes así,

rogándote please, oh baby

I need nobody but you.

By the end of the performance, it was like that slip-up had never existed. The energy of everyone on stage was contagious, and when the song ended, the whole audience cheered and applauded, Ámbar included. 

The boys went down the side of the stage, joining their friends on the tables or getting back to work. Ámbar stood and took off her coat.

It was time to shine.

Simón was a little breathless from their performance, but it was a great feeling. It was the kind of tired that brought satisfaction because you knew you had given it your all and it had been fun doing so.  

He joined the bar along with Pedro and Eric, ready to go back to taking orders and serving tables, when the girls started filling the stage. He turned towards them, and that was when he really lost his breath.

Ámbar was in front of a row with all the girls behind her, and she had discarded her long coat. It turned out that underneath it she had a skin-tight black costume; pants that hugged her long legs to perfection and a top that left her shoulders bare. All in all, the clothes accentuated every curve on her body. His brain short-circuited for a moment.

Wow.

“And now, I wanna hear you clap your hands even louder for all of us!”

The crowd acclaimed as Ámbar put the microphone away and all the girls took their places on the stage, pompons in hand. The music started playing, the girls started moving. God, that hip movement was illegal.

Sé quién soy, quiero una tregua, mi cabeza no da más…  

The more the choreography advanced, the more Simón had to fight to not let his jaw drop. He was conscious that he was following Ámbar's every move with his eyes but he couldn’t stop himself. She had always shone on stage, he had noticed since the first moment he saw her, and right now wasn’t an exception. Even the pompons surrounded her in the choreography, as if her presence alone wasn’t enough to center all of the attention.

Mano a mano

¿quién es el villano?

Soy la que te enseña más

She threw a glance at him. Simón's heart jumped. She always sang the parts that talked about being bad, which he usually wouldn't have considered that ironic, but at that moment he did, because she looked good. More than good. Maybe he was biased, but he could swear she looked the prettiest of them all. And the sexiest, because while all the others were wearing floaty dresses, her tight black clothes left little to the imagination.

The urge to press her against his body assaulted him and he had to shake his head to stop those thoughts. Focus on the choreography, he told himself. But she kept looking in his direction with a tiny, bewitching smile and it was hard not to return her gaze.   

Buena o mala, siempre señalada

Mano a mano estamos hoy.

The crowd erupted in applause as the performance ended. Simón couldn't help but clap as well, and with a smile on his face nonetheless. It had been amazing. His competitive side wanted to say that his performance with the guys had been better, but he knew his heart was with the girls.

More like with one in particular.

The girls walked down the stage and Ámbar stayed behind to face the audience. Seeming a little nervous, she announced there would be a little break and asked Eric to put on some music before descending the stage as well. Simón saw her walk towards the dressing room. Just two seconds later, he was following her. He didn’t really know why or for what, just that he needed to.

She was turning around just as he passed through the door and she collided with him, taken by surprise.

“Simón.”

She looked even more beautiful up close (if it was even possible). He thought of maybe saying it, congratulate her on her performance, tell her she had been great. He felt like he was vibrating with energy; the excitement of the spotlights, the music, of having her in front of him with those little, perfectly shaped curls. But just a second after he arrived, she asked him—

“Have you seen Benicio?”

—and his heart fell.

It was stupid, really. She was looking for him for the next performance, so of course it was logical that she needed to find him. But the fact that the first words that came out of her mouth were about him was like a slap to Simón's face.

It stung. But it also made him snap out of whatever stupid spell he had been under, so he guessed he had to be grateful. 

Now the only reasonable reason why he could’ve followed her there was clear.

“No, I haven’t seen him," he replied coldly. "Sorry for not being who you’re looking for, but I need to ask you a question.”

Ámbar blinked at his tone. She could’ve sworn that just a minute ago he was smiling as he watched her on stage, what had happened?  

“What question?” She said.

He looked at her with a serious expression.   

“When are you gonna speak with Luna?”

Ámbar did a double-take. Was he serious right now? 

“I can not believe this. I mean, do you really think that in the middle of an Open that I participate in, host, and organize I can talk to Luna? For real?”

The sole idea was ridiculous— She had enough on her plate as it was, what was up with him?

“No, of course not. I mean, you always find the perfect excuse, don’t you?” He accused sarcastically. It was true that she was busy— He could see that, he understood that. But he also knew that if she really meant to talk to Luna, she could’ve done it by now, it was only a few minutes of her time.

She shook her head. “No, no, it’s not an excuse, Simón, I really can’t right now," she insisted, stress painting her voice. "Look at me. Don’t you see how I am?”

He knew that she meant that she was practically in a Grease costume and in the middle of hosting a show, but Simón couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming her figure from head to toe. Her beautiful blue eyes that never failed to muddle his mind. The line of her neck that she shuddered when he kissed. Her smooth skin that he knew was soft to the touch. Her chest, tightly outlined by the black fabric, that almost made his hands itch because they knew how it fit under them and they wanted to relive it. The thin waist he could grab her by and her long, slender legs that he remembered wrapped around him, holding him as if to never let him go.

“Yeah, I see you,” he breathed, voice husky.

The urge to touch her was back. It was always there on some level, buried, but sometimes it was stronger and fought for control. Simón met her gaze and she noticed; he knew she noticed. He looked away quickly, cursing himself internally as he cleared his throat. He couldn’t let her see that, he needed to stay focused.

“I see it, but you could’ve talked to her yesterday, or today before the Open, and you didn’t," he remarked reproachfully. "You had plenty of chances and you didn’t, so I’m starting to think that you won’t.”

Ámbar took a deep breath. His wasn't the best timing, but what he was saying was fair, so she decided to reassure him.

“Alright. Alright, let’s do the following, Simón," she proposed. "I promise you that the moment the Open is over I’m gonna talk to her. Okay?”

He pursed his lips.

“Right. And why should I trust you?" He said, skeptical. "Why shouldn’t I just tell her myself?”

His words hurt her, in tone and meaning. So that was what it all came down to? He still didn’t trust her? That was why he was always pulling away?

She had suspected that, and she could understand that it was complicated but…

“Simón," she started, "ever since I’ve become the manager of the Roller, all I’ve tried to do is reunify everyone. Haven’t you noticed? I’m really trying here,” she said, and couldn’t avoid a little pain to filter into her voice. “Don’t you think that’s enough reason to trust me again?”

Simón looked at her fixedly, searching for any trace of lies or deception but he found none. All he saw was genuine hurt from his words and he felt bad for it. She really had made an effort. She had made all this Open so everyone could have fun together just like in the old days and it had worked.

“You’re right. Sorry," he said after a moment. She did deserve some credit, and he wanted to trust her, more than anything. “But Luna is my best friend and I have to protect her," he argued. "I can’t keep on hiding this from her—”

“I know, I know, just—” Ámbar interrupted him, knowing where he was going with it. “Wait until after the Open, okay?”

He gave her a grave look, then nodded.

“Okay. I’m gonna give you a second chance. But either you tell her, or I will,” he warned, before turning around towards the door.

No.

No, she couldn’t let him leave.

She had seen the way he looked at her, since the moment that he came into the room. That wasn't the look of someone who just wanted to remind her of a promise. His expression could be cold but his eyes didn't show indifference. He was using the Luna thing as a shield to not let himself get close, again, even when it was clear that he wanted to.

Ámbar was done letting him run, and she was tired of waiting.

“What about us?”

The sound of her voice stopped Simón in his tracks. He turned around to face Ámbar again and found her eyes boring into his.

“Do we get a second chance?” 

Simón's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to get back tog—?

No, don’t even think about it.

“Ámbar…” He uttered in a tired voice.

“What?” She asked defensive against his tone.

He licked his lips, looking away from her. “We talked about this.”

“No, you talked," she retorted. "You said that we should forget about what happened, and I don't know if you'd really be capable of it, but I'm not. I don’t want to forget. It was important for me.”

Simón met her gaze. The emotion in her voice matched her expression. Her eyes seemed to beg for him to listen, and as she took a step closer, he found himself captured by them, unable to move.

“I know that you think we’re too different," she said, "or that I’m only playing with you, but I swear to you I'm not, Simón. If you can trust me on anything, trust me on this; I care about you for real. I like you, not anyone else." She shook her head slightly. "I don’t just like you, I… I’ve never felt anything like this in my life.”

Simón could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage. He could hear the drumming in his ears, and he was tongue-tied. She was looking right into his eyes, telling him how she felt, how deeply her feelings ran towards him. She was speaking from her heart, he could see it in her gaze. She was opening herself up to him, leaving her heart bare, and wasn’t that what he always wanted? For her to be sincere? For her to truly want him? Wasn’t this what he always wanted to hear?

It was. It really was, but…

“And even if you try to deny it,” she continued, taking one more step towards him, making it so their eyes were centimeters apart, as if he weren't drowning in them already, “even if you want with every fiber of your being to believe otherwise, I know you still have feelings for me too. More than just plain lust; I can see it. So I have a question for you too: Are you gonna face them straight on? … Or are you gonna tell me again that we’ll never happen?”

As the words left her mouth, Ámbar focused on Simón. She had tried to pour everything she felt in this moment, show him how important he was to her, even if it terrified her to take that step. Admitting her feelings left her in a vulnerable position, one she had tried to avoid at all costs all this time, but she had reached a point where she knew it was the only way to move forwards.

She couldn’t keep living in this limbo where one moment things were great and the next they were apart again. She couldn’t keep tasting his lips and feeling his embrace only for him to pull away seconds later. She knew he had his reasons, she knew she hadn’t exactly made it easy, but this back and forth wasn’t good for her, nor for him either.

So she gave him a choice: to give her a chance or not, as simple as that. Because she couldn’t stay like this. Because she knew it was eating at him too. And because she was hoping that, now that she'd taken the step, he wouldn't let her fall alone. 

Simón's eyes flickered with many emotions as he stared into hers. Something that looked like longing, something that looked like fear. Hope and hopelessness, over and over.

It was a long moment before took a deep breath, and then, finally, he spoke.

“I should go, it’s the right thing to do.”

Simón saw Ámbar's eyes shine with pain before she lowered them to the floor, but it was the truth. Walking away was the right thing to do, the rational one. She had a boyfriend, had slept with him while still being with said boyfriend, had conspired against his friends, had hurt him deeply before… Everything pointed him to the opposite direction.

His friends had told him countless times to forget about her. To move on, to not trust her.

“But…”

Her stare returned to his. Those beautiful, beautiful blue eyes that haunted his dreams and every waking moment.

Turn around may have been the right thing to do.

But he loved her.

And he really wanted to kiss her right now.

Closing the one step that separated them, he grabbed her waist and leaned into her lips, sealing them against his own as he held her against him. Ámbar moaned against his mouth and held his face as she kissed him back hard. He could understand her relief; he almost felt like crying from it too. He had been dying to do this, he always was.

As his tongue delved inside her mouth and another tiny noise emerged from her, a voice in the back of his mind attempted to tell him that what they were doing was wrong. But how could it be wrong when it felt so right? How could it be bad if both felt the same?

Her hands threaded his hair and her teeth pulled on his lip and he felt fire on his veins. He pushed her against the wall, needing to feel more of her.

How could it be wrong if their bodies fit so perfectly together? If her hands roamed him and held on to him just as desperately as his did her? How could it be wrong if he loved her?

Maybe because it’s selfish, his brain handed to him.

He had never considered himself to be selfish before. He never threw caution to the wind either, had never been this reckless… but as he felt her curves under his hands and her nails digging on his back, not an ounce of him regretted it.  

Maybe she wasn’t the only one who had to change a little.

He parted from her lips and left a trail of kisses down the bare skin of her shoulder, just like he had been wanting to since he first saw her in the costume. It was almost cathartic. The smell of her perfume was intoxicating. Ámbar gasped when he nipped her collarbone, and then moaned as he tasted her neck. 

“Simón,” she breathed, and grabbed his face to pull him back into her lips. He let her, gladly, drowning one hand in her hair and gripping her hip with the other. There was no space left between them. They kissed deeply, her chest flattened against his own, their breaths merged together in fleeting intakes that lived and died between their mouths. 

They were in a world where only they existed. Until a voice erupted with a cry.

“What the fuck is going on here?!”  

Both sprung apart abruptly, and their hearts stopped when they turned to the sound.

Ámbar stood wide-eyed.

“Benicio.”

It was all she managed to say. Her technically boyfriend was standing in front of them, furious, and with good reason because he had found them at the worst possible moment.

“Ámbar, what the hell are you doing with this loser?!” Benicio roared as he advanced, towering over her dangerously. His eyes screamed betrayal and she was frozen.

“Hey, don’t scream at her!” Simón surged by her side, moving in front of her protectively.  

Benicio turned to him with rage. “You don’t have the right to tell me what to do, you son of a bitch!” He shoved him with force, making Simón stumble backward, his back colliding hard against one of the mirrors. “How dare you touch my girl—”

He took a step towards him with all the intent of breaking his face, so before he could, Ámbar stood in his way. She planted herself firmly in front of Benicio, placing her hands on his shoulders to stop him from moving forwards in his act of rage.  

“Stop it, Benicio! Your problem is with me!” She willed him to look at her. “I was the one who sought him out, not the other way around.”  

“Ámbar,” Simón started, not comfortable with her just taking all the blame, but she silenced him with a look. 

Ámbar focused on Benicio, who had finally turned to her, his eyes boring into her own with spite. When she was sure that he wasn’t going to lunch at Simón again, she took her hands off of him and curled them into fists at her sides. This wasn’t how she wanted it to go. This wasn’t how she wanted anything to go. But gotten to this point, she had no other choice.

Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin and spoke with resolution. 

“I’m sorry it had to be this way, but the truth is that I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now. I was never interested in having a serious relationship with you. We had our fun, but that’s it. I don’t wanna be with you anymore. We’re over.”

Simón's eyes widened. Had she really-?

He looked at Benicio, whose face looked like he had been struck. Simón suddenly felt awfully like an intruder, witnessing their breakup like that. Except he wasn't really just an uninvolved third party, was he? He was more like the ‘other man’, who'd come between them and made them break up in the first place. He knew that they weren’t truly romantically involved and so their relationship had close to no meaning, but still he felt the weight of responsibility as he realized that he had, technically, played the role of the illicit lover.

In that moment when he kissed her, he knew she was dating and he didn’t care. He pulled her close, consciously disregarding the fact that she had a boyfriend, because she said she had feelings for him, only him, and he decided that was all that mattered. His heart was screaming at him and for once he just listened.

Even now, feeling guilt over Benicio because he didn't wish this situation on anyone, he couldn’t help but also feel happy because they were done, Ámbar was free.

Did that make him a terrible person? Or was that just how love worked?

Either way, he had done something he couldn’t take back, and the same went for her right at this moment.

Benicio clenched his jaw and glared daggers at Ámbar, every inch of his posture showing how outraged he was by all of this. With tight fists, he moved closer to her face and looked into her eyes menacingly.

“No one plays with me, Ámbar. No one. You’re going to regret this,” he warned, his voice dripping with venom. “…Starting right now. Good luck finding a new soloist for your stupid Open. I’m out.”

As soon as he expelled those words, he turned and stormed out of the dressing room in fast strides. Ámbar’s eyes blew wide with panic.

“What?! No, Benicio, everything’s already set up, you can’t leave now!”

She lurched forward to go after him, but Simón stopped her, grabbing her arm.

“Let him go, he’s not worth it.”

She turned to him, looking desperate. “You don’t understand, this is my first event as manager of the Roller, I need it to be perfect. Everyone’s already waiting outside, what am I gonna do?”

She held her head as she started pacing. God, what had she been thinking? Of course, if she broke up with him he was gonna leave! But what else could she have done? He'd found them red-handed. This was a disaster. What was she supposed—   

“I’ll do it, I’ll sing.”

Ámbar spun around, meeting Simón's earnest gaze.    

“Really?” She breathed with hope. But just as fast, she fell discouraged. “But you didn’t prepare anything,” she noted. She loved that he wanted to help her, but this was very last minute. 

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll make something up," Simón assured her. This was very important to her, he wasn’t going to let it get ruined. He took a step forward and cupped her face, smiling reassuringly. “You just relax. This Flash Open is already a success and it’s all because of you. Be proud, bonita. I am.”

All anxiety and worry quietened as she stared into his eyes. He was right, everything would be okay, she trusted him. Music was his thing; he wouldn't let her down.

And he was proud of her. Those words warmed her heart in a way she couldn't explain. 

Ámbar wished they could stay like that for longer. She wished they could talk about what happened, or kiss some more, or just stare into each other’s eyes for minutes straight.

But the show must go on and they didn’t have the time.

She could feel though that he wasn’t eager to run this time. He hadn’t fled the instant Benicio walked in, nor had he run afterward. He was here, with her, comforting her as his thumbs traced patterns on her cheeks, and that was all she needed for now.

With her conviction restored, she placed her hands on top of his.

“Alright. Let’s do this."

They walked out of the dressing room and Ámbar turned to the stage. She told him that the laptop had the tracks to all the songs they had ever sung in the Roller, so he could choose whichever he wanted as she talked to the audience— She'd buy him some time. He nodded and went for it as she quickly fixed her hair and climbed up the stage.

Simón checked the song list rapidly, debating over which one would be the best right now considering he hadn’t rehearsed.

“Hello, everyone! I hope you’re all having a great time enjoying today’s performances,” he heard Ámbar say in front of the microphone.  

Maybe ‘Yo Quisiera’? No, that one without the guitar wouldn’t have much merit. ‘Tiempo de amor’? But I already sang that one in the last Open, and besides, that song is from the band, I can’t just sing it alone.

… Alone …

An impulse began to rise inside of him. He looked up to see Ámbar, just as she started presenting him.

“For the first solo number, we have the representative for the boys’ team. He’s a very talented person, and someone who I personally appreciate very much...”

As if they were in synch, she brought her gaze to him at that moment and their eyes met.

It was like for that one second everything vanished except for them.  

She gave him a little smile.

And he chose his song. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for: Simón!”

The new faces in the audience clapped vigorously while the regulars of the Roller were slower to react, confused by the turn of events. They exchanged surprised looks but applauded either way, supporting their friend excitedly. Emilia, who had been smiling thinking Ámbar was talking about Benicio, glared at her when she sat back at their table, clearly not happy with the change. Ámbar just ignored her.

Simón climbed up the stage and stood behind the microphone stand, curling his hands around it. His eyes found Ámbar's briefly before he ducked his head, looking down as he waited for the song to start.

As the first chords of the electric guitar filled the place, he swung the mic stand from one side to the other. Diagonal to the right, diagonal to the left. He held it straight once more at the tempo of the music, and only then did he lift his head, facing the audience as the final notes of the intro ringed out.

Ámbar was wide-eyed.

It was “Solos”.

Puedes en mi confiar, puedes dejar que todo fluya…

Ya no hay ingenuidad, no es el momento de que huyas…

Ámbar watched baffled as Simón moved through the stage, singing what she could even call their song. She had almost forgotten that that track was in there. It had been a long time since they sang it together, and she thought they never would again. Now he was singing it on his own in front of all these people. 

Buscas en mi corazón y confundes eso…

Why had he chosen this song? Was it the first one he saw? Was it the easiest to sing?

Ámbar didn't believe he would choose this particular song for a reason as coincidental as that. Then again, she couldn't believe he had chosen it, period. Out of all the things he could’ve done, she wasn’t expecting Simón to do this. She had a mix of emotions and couldn’t pinpoint one.

Juntos solos contra el mundo, una voz por un segundo

En silencio, una mirada, llévame

Juntos sin decirle a nadie, tómame yo soy culpable

Con un beso, una mirada, llévame

He was singing to her.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it. It wasn’t just a hint that only she would understand. At first, she thought that, since only Luna, Benicio and them knew it was their song, it would pass as a simple performance for everyone else. But he was looking at her. Not always, he also looked at the crowd, but when he focused on her, the direction of his gaze was so clear and purposeful that everyone could see to whom it was being dedicated. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed many people glancing at her, probably wondering what was going on, but she didn’t turn in their direction— Her eyes were fixed on him.

En silencio una mirada…

Juntos solos contra el mundo…

Wow... wow...

Juntos solos contra el mundo.

The crowd erupted in applause and whistles as the song came to a close. Seconds passed and Ámbar knew she had to stand to present the next number, but he was still looking at her intensely and she couldn’t move.

Simón finally parted from the mic, but instead of descending by the side of the stage, he moved forward, climbing down the front.

Ámbar heard the pounding of her heart in her ears as he stood in front of her, and before she could say anything, he grabbed her by the hand, pulled her to her feet, and kissed her right there in front of everyone.

...

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar was so surprised that it took her a moment to react, but her lips moved against Simón's. It was more instinctual at first, then wanted, very wanted, because it was him, and his kisses were always something she longed for. This one wasn't deep or particularly hard but it made her head spin, only partly because of its suddenness. It was the intensity of it, the feeling of his hand on her cheek, his arm around her waist keeping her against his body. Her hands, which had landed on his shoulders when he pulled her towards him, slid up to his neck, relishing in this feeling of closeness. Vaguely, the sound of people whistling or yelling teasings things reached her ears, but she ignored them.

It was only seconds before Simón pulled away slowly, but it left her almost breathless, a little untethered. Their eyes opened and found each other at the same time. Her hands slid down to his chest and she could feel the hard beating of his heart, reflecting her own. After some seconds of just staring, Simón smiled, both bashful and amused, and cleared his throat, inching a little close. 

"You gotta go to the stage," he reminded her in a whisper. 

Ámbar blinked and shook her head, coming out of her daze. "Right." She had forgotten about that.

Separating herself from him, Ámbar climbed up the stage and faced the crowd. Immediately, she felt all the stares piercing her. She tried to ignore it and appear as natural as possible in her... just-got-hit-by-a-hurricane-and-I-don't-know-what's-happening state.

"Well, we're on the last presentation of the day, everyone! Representing the girl's team, give a loud round of applause for: Luna!"

The audience cheered as Luna walked onto the stage and Ámbar descended it. She looked at her table and quickly realized she wouldn't be able to go back to it: Emilia was throwing daggers at her with her eyes. Not like she really cared about what she thought— she was allowed to do whatever she wanted— but she really didn't want any confrontations during her Open Music, so she decided to stand by the side of the stage.

Luna moved in front of the mic and said hello to everyone with a cheerful smile on her face, which soon turned a little confused at the weird expressions that her friends had on their faces. Ámbar could guess by her demeanor that she hadn't seen the kiss from backstage, which was why she didn't understand why her friends looked a little disconcerted. They tried to hide it though, smiling at her, probably to not make her worry before the performance. Luna smiled back and, to Ámbar's surprise, she thanked her for making the Open Music and praised her in front of everyone.

Ámbar couldn't help but wonder if she would have done the same if she had seen.

"I hope we can all be friends again," Luna said with emotion in her voice before kneeling on the stage and starting to sing.

No te pido mucho

Te pido bastante

No te pido nada, solamente tu amor...

Ámbar wasn't sure if it was possible for everyone to be friends again. She wasn't sure if that was what she wanted either. But when she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see it was Simón, she found herself wishing it could be true.

Simón gestured with his head before moving behind the bar's wall, where all the couches were, out of sight. Ámbar sent one last glimpse at the crowd before following him. He was standing there waiting for her. They locked eyes when she stood in front of him, Luna's voice filling the air.

No te pido abrazos

No te pido un beso

Solo una mirada, te lo pido por favor...

Without a word, Simón took a step closer and smiled gently, holding out his hand to her. With her heart pounding, Ámbar placed her hand in his and moved closer too, leaving them centimeters apart. He placed his other hand on her waist and, slowly, they started swinging to the melody.

Si te pido un sueño...

Sueño con tu risa...

Sueño que tú seas diferente a los demás...

"What was that?" Ámbar murmured after some seconds of dancing. She was scared to ask, scared to speak louder than a whisper and break whichever spell had fallen upon him that made him look at her like that. But songs always came to an end and she needed to know.

Simón kept the slow dance going as he answered.

"That... was me facing my feelings head-on, as you said," he muttered, and she couldn't help but stare at him in awe.

Y veo pasar los segundos...

Si estás a mi lado enciendes el sol...

"Ámbar, I..." He started, emotion thick in his voice, his eyes staring into hers. "I feel so many things for you that I can't even deny it anymore. And I don't want to. I'm so tired of fighting against this. And I still think that it probably won't be easy but... nothing good ever is."

Ámbar felt like her heart was gonna burst at any minute. "So, you're saying... you want to be together?" She whispered, daring to hope.

His brown eyes danced with hers.

"I do."

Si me quieres quédate conmigo...

Que los sueños se hagan realidad...

Y al fin despertaré, y al fin despertaré...

Simón stood still and held her hands in his. "I want to be with you, Ámbar. I'm done staring at you from afar, I wanna be close to you... If that's what you want as well."

She was surprised he even had to ask.

She squeezed his hands. "I do. Of course, I do," she said, giving him a little smile, and he gifted her with the most beautiful one.

He kissed the back of her hands. "Just, let's take things slow, okay?" He proposed. "I feel like, we kinda rushed into this, and I don't want to make any mistakes. Not this time."

That sounded logical, but she laughed a little because— "How does kissing me in front of everyone count as slow?"

"I—" Simón seemed to realize that right then, making Ámbar giggle. "Okay, yeah, I wasn't exactly thinking when I did that." They both laughed. "But I blame you! You're just too kissable, I couldn't resist."

Ámbar chuckled, feeling her cheeks grow a little warm. Whatever; she didn't care, she was happy.

"And anyway," Simón continued, "it's not like I meant keeping it a secret," he clarified. "Although... I would wait a little before we tell your grandfather. You know how he gets."

She nodded. "Yeah, he'll probably tease us or throw a party. I don't know which one is worse," she said making a face, and Simón laughed once more. God, how she loved his laugh. "And if the Valentes know, they may get strict about us living under the safe roof too," she predicted. "Although, it's a little late for that."

They both blushed and giggled because, yeah, it was definitely too late for that.

No te pido mucho...

Te pido bastante...

Sólo una mirada, te lo pido por favor...

They could hear the applause as Luna finished her performance, bringing them back from their little world.

"Time to finish the show," Simón said with a lopsided smile, letting go of her hands so she could go.

Ámbar nodded, still looking into his eyes, and, just because she could, she pecked his lips before walking away. Simón was left with the biggest grin on his face.

The moment Luna walked down the stage, Nina, Jim, and Yam were there to receive her.

"Luna! You sounded beautiful," Nina praised her. Luna smiled wide at her friends.

"Thank you," she said excitedly, still feeling jittery from the effect of being on stage.

Yam was looking at her weirdly. "Luna, did you see—?"

"—how amazing your performance was? Like, wow!"  Jim interrupted, smiling excitedly. Maybe too excitedly.

Both girls shared a glance. Yam smiled too.

"Yeah, I loved it!" She said.

Luna laughed with furrowed eyebrows. "Your smiles are weird but thank you."

Nina turned to her, her smile replaced by an air of worry. "Luna, there's something you should know."

But Luna was like a hummingbird, emotions and thoughts running at 100km per hour, and she didn't notice. "Sure, just, let me go change and I'll be right back, okay?" She said quickly, pointing behind her.

"Um—" Nina started, but Luna was already gone. 

Ámbar stood in front of the microphone for the last time that day.

"Thank you all so much for being part of my idea of this Flash Open. It was great seeing us all sharing the stage... and I have a feeling that this event marks the beginning of a new story."

She glanced at the bar, where Simón was standing once more beside Pedro, and her heart shuddered when she saw him smile at her.

She looked at the crowd. "Thank you so much for coming and see you at the next event here on the Jam & Roller."

Everyone clapped and a chorus of "Jam & Roller!" resounded over and over in joy. Ámbar walked down the stage and was immediately confronted by Emilia, who was staring her down with her arms crossed in front of her chest. 

"Can you explain to me what the fuck was that?" She demanded, but kept talking before Ámbar could say a word. "I've been trying to believe that this is all part of some plan, but Benicio disappeared out of nowhere, he's not answering my texts, and now you're kissing that loser and talking about 'a new story' or whatever. What is wrong with you?"

Ámbar sighed deeply. She knew this was coming but she was honestly hoping the peace would last a little longer.

"First of all, Emilia, I don't have to explain every single one of my actions to you, okay? It's my life," she said firmly. "Secondly, Simón is not a loser. In fact, he saved me today by singing after your dear Benicio left right before he was supposed to perform."

Emilia frowned, uncrossing her arms. "And why did he leave?"

Because he found me and Simón making out in the dressing room.

"... I broke up with him and he didn't take it well," she said, shrugging.

Emilia looked at her like she was crazy. "You broke up with Benicio to be with that loser? And right in the middle of an Open? I mean, I knew you were into him, it was pretty obvious, but I thought you wanted nothing to do with the Roller guys." Emilia shook her head, looking at her with judgment. "I thought you were one of us, but all you're doing is crawling after some boy."

Ámbar couldn't help but scoff. "Oh, look who's talking! You crawled so hard for Matteo I can still see the mark that your knees left on the floor."

Immediately, Emilia's stare changed into a very serious and dangerous one. She took a step closer to Ámbar, looking her straight in the eye.

"Do not test me, Ámbar. And don't make me your enemy because you know damn well that you don't want that."

Ámbar looked back at her, not backing up but also not joining her in her fighting stance. She didn't want a fight, not because she was scared, but because it wasn't worth it.

"I don't mean to make you my enemy, Emilia. I'm just trying to live my life," she declared honestly. She was just doing what made her happy. "If you don't agree with my choices then just look the other way, but I'm not going to stop seeing Simón because of you."

Emilia relaxed her posture slightly, probably realizing Ámbar wasn't trying to pick a fight. But she still didn't look happy with all of this.

"What about destroying the Roller? Didn't you hate them? Didn't you want revenge for casting you out?" She asked, seemingly confused by her change of attitude.

Ámbar couldn't blame her. After all, the Felipe Mendevilla thing hadn't been so long ago. It hadn't been that long since the last time she cursed them to death. But a lot had happened since then. She had come to realize a lot of things and reflected on what she wanted for her life.

"I think, Emilia, that we wasted too much energy on them instead of focusing on our team, on us. What good does it make to make their lives hell if we don't do anything with our own?" She questioned. That was the core of the matter. At the end of the day, they were so focused on them that they did almost nothing to improve themselves. They had lost their team, and instead of doing something about it, they had screwed with Luna. Ámbar had tried to ruin Luna's life for years now, and for what? What had she achieved? Nothing.

"I'm done," she said, putting all her resolution in her voice for Emilia to hear. "I'm not going to 'plan' anything anymore. And I would truly advise you to do the same, Emilia," she told her honestly. They may not have been true friends, but she didn't wish for her to waste her time like she'd done.

After that, Ámbar left to say goodbye to the leaving crowd, leaving Emilia behind. For her sake, Ámbar hoped she would think about what she told her.

Simón stayed giving bills and receiving money until all the customers were gone, and only then he had the time to change back into his clothes. He left the 80s behind, dotting his shorts, t-shirt, and open shirt combo again, and left his costume in the dressing room, hanging from the clothing rack. He'd come back for it when it was time to leave.

Walking out of the room, he saw all his friends sitting on the couches behind the bar, wearing their normal clothes as well. He moved to join them.

"Hi, guys," he said as he approached them. They turned to look at him.

Yam, who was sitting beside Jim like always, crossed her arms in front of her.

"Well, well, looks who's here. If it isn't the new Red Shark."

Simón furrowed his eyebrows at her tone but sat between Matteo and Ramiro anyway.

"What are you saying, Yam? I haven't left the Roller Team," he said, puzzled by her words.

"But you stab us in the back fraternizing with them, sure," she retorted with sarcasm, her judgment blatant.

"Yam," Jim chided her, throwing her friend a look, but Yam just turned to her without a dash of regret.

"What? You're gonna tell me you're all happy with his new girlfriend?" She asked, looking at everyone around before zeroing back on Simón. "Should I remind you everything she's done to us? What her team has done to ours?"

"I know perfectly well what she's done, but those things are in the past," he said in a serious tone. Yam scoffed instantly. "And I think you're mixing things, Yam. I haven't done anything for you to talk to me like that. I haven't betrayed you— Any of you," he stated, looking at all of them. "I haven't even spoken with the Red Sharks, only Ámbar."

"And that's not betrayal?" Yam asked with her eyebrows raised. 

"No, it's not." Simón looked at everyone, pleading for them to understand him. "Guys... I know there's a lot of history here, but believe me, Ámbar is not a bad person. I know she's done things in the past but that doesn't define who she is; everyone makes mistakes. I promise you she's good. Look at this whole event she just made just so we could all sing together again."

There was a small silence until Delfi spoke.

"So, you're really, like, together now?" She asked, everything in her voice indicating how weird she thought it was. 

Simón responded without hesitation. "Yes."

No matter how weird she or anyone else thought it was, he knew Ámbar, he knew why she wanted to be with her, and he had no real reason to be ashamed of it. 

Yam scoffed. "Unbelievable," she said disapprovingly. "Out of everyone here, I never expected something like this from you, Simón."

"Come on, Yam, don't be like that," Jim reprimanded her. "He didn't switch teams or anything, he's still with us, he's still our friend." She turned to Simón with a smile. "I think it's romantic, like Romeo and Juliet."

Simón wasn't sure he liked that analogy considering it was a tragedy, but he smiled at her anyway, grateful for the support.

Matteo was the next one to speak.

"Listen, man, I agree that her idea of uniting us with this Open was a good one and she seems to be acting nicer, but I think you jumped into this too fast. She's still Ámbar. You can't just let yourself get fooled again."

His voice and the look in his eyes showed how worried he was for him. On normal occasions, Simón would appreciate his friends being worried about him, but in this case, he felt a little offended.

"Wow, thank you for having so much faith in me, Matteo, it really warms my heart," Simón said with obvious sarcasm. Nice to know he thought he was just being fooled by Ámbar. Did he really think that he hadn't thought this through? Hell— All he'd done was think and think for months! He had made his life miserable, constantly berating himself for wanting something he shouldn't want and couldn't have, hurting himself non-stop. Until recently, when he realized that what he felt wasn't some great sin and that he could, in fact, have what he wanted: be with Ámbar.

Matteo gave him a look, indicating he didn't mean it like that. "I trust you, man. It's Ámbar I don't trust," he said gravely.

"Well, I do," Simón retorted, and he looked at everyone again, resolutely. "Ámbar is good at heart, guys. She just... needed a push in the right direction. And I'm gonna be there for her, to help her. And sorry for being so direct, but I'm gonna do it even if you don't like it." They had been through too much for him to give up now because his friends didn't agree with it. "But I would much rather that my friends support me on this," he added, looking at them sincerely. He really didn't want this to create a rift between them. The sole idea made his heart feel heavy in his chest. They were his friends after all, and he cared for them, and he knew they were worried because they cared too.

A silence followed his words, in which everyone shared glances.

Ramiro raised his hand. "I do," he said smiling. "Actually, I think it's great."

Yam rolled her eyes. "Of course, you do." 

At least she didn't sound angry anymore, just tired. 

Ramiro threw a look at her but kept going. "It's about time the division between teams dies once and for all. Especially since The Red Sharks don't even exist anymore. I don't know about you, guys, but I loved singing with all my friends again. I haven't even realized how much I missed you all."

He smiled at everyone, heartfelt, and they returned the gesture because they had missed him too.

All except Yam. But, well, those two had their own can of worms. 

"So now we're all friends after one day? Please, Ramiro, be serious," she said with derision.

Jim just shrugged. "I think Simón has the right to date whoever he wants."

"Yeah, but did it have to be our enemy number 1?" Yam complained. 

Nina, who had remained quiet until then, spoke for the first time. "I think we don't get anything out of thinking that way. I mean, matters of the heart are something you can't control. When love chooses you... " she shrugged, "there's not much to do."

Eric nodded his head. "That's true."

He glanced at Nina, who glanced back at him, and then both looked the other way, blushing.

Everyone else acted like they didn't see that.

"Well, I had my doubts," Delfi said, "lots of doubts, about this Open, but it turned out to be great, and I think Ámbar deserves some credit for that."

Simón smiled at her. He was relieved some of them got to see things his way. 

The only one who hadn't said anything yet was Matteo. Simón turned to him. 

Matteo sighed. "Whatever makes you happy, my friend," he conceded, lifting his hand for a handshake. Simón took his hand and nodded. He didn't need more than him not being actively against it.

He heard some footsteps approaching and turned his head. It was Ámbar, who stood in front of everyone, looking a little nervous. It was understandable considering how everyone's eyes instantly focused on her.

"Hi..." 

"Hi," Simón greeted her with a smile, hoping it helped to ease her tension a little.

Jim was the first to speak. "Ámbar, we wanted to congratulate you on this Open," she said animatedly. 

"Yeah, it was awesome, even if I had my doubts at first," Delfi joined in, also smiling at her. Simón could see the metaphorical weight lift from Ámbar's shoulders. "I can't believe you did it all on your own."

"And on record time," Eric added, clearly impressed.

Ámbar brought her hands to her chest. "Why, thank you. I'm glad you feel that way," she expressed, visibly very happy that they had appreciated her effort. "And this is just the beginning; there will be more surprises along the way," she promised with a confidence that showed she was sure they were going to like her ideas.

"What, you're gonna make out with another guy next time or...?" Yam said.

Simón turned to her in absolute disbelief. Everyone looked at her too. 

"Yam!" Jim exclaimed, but Yam just ignored her and remained impassive, looking straight at Ámbar.

Ámbar, on her part, stared right back.

"No need, I've already got the best," she replied with a hostile smile. She wasn't the kind to back down from a challenge and just stay quiet.

The two girls' stare fight was interrupted by Pedro's arrival. 

"Ámbar," Pedro called out to her, stopping at her side and handing her some papers. "The documents from VIDIA and the bills arrived."

Ámbar blinked at him before taking the papers, unsure.

"Bills?" She looked at the documents in her hand. "And... what am I supposed to do with these?"

Pedro just shrugged, looking as clueless as her. "I don't know. I usually just handed them to Gary and he dealt with it."

Ámbar remained quiet for some more seconds before nodding slowly. "Right. Yeah, sure, I'll handle it," she assured him.

She shot a glance at everyone and then turned to Simón. "Um... I'm gonna head back to the mansion to get this done," she told him, pointing towards the door.

"Yeah, sure, I'll see you there later," he told her with a smile. She smiled back at him and walked away.

After Ámbar had disappeared through the exit, he faced the guys again, who were in the middle of an awkward silence. Simón sighed and stood up.

"Well, I'm going to go back to work," he said. He threw one last severe look at Yam for the unnecessarily rude comment she made and walked away, towards the table on the other extreme of the cafeteria. 

There were a lot of half-finished drinks and food leftovers on the tables after the crowd went away. Simón immediately grabbed a tray and began to retrieve them, taking them to the bar. He was in the middle of one of those trips when, suddenly, a very excited Jazmín approached him at full speed, startling him.

"Simón!!! Here you are, the guy of the hour!" She stood in front of him and planted her tablet on his face. "Give me all the details on this return of Simbar, my followers are gonna go crazy!"

Simón frowned. "'Simbar?'" 

"The ship name the fans gave you and Ámbar, keep up." Jazmín didn't even give him time to digest that, tapping on the screen of her tablet. "Okay, aaand, recording. Simón, what can you tell us about this moment we just witnessed? It's the start of a brand new couple here in the Roller! Are you excited? You look excited!" 

Simón was pretty sure he looked like he'd eaten something bad. 

"Um... I'd really rather not do this, okay, Jazmín?" He pleaded, trying to let her down easy. He knew how she got with this kind of things, but he didn't want to vent his personal life, especially when this thing with Ámbar was so recent. He didn't want to screw things up before they even started.

"Oh, come on!!!" Jazmín pouted pleadingly, not seeming at all deterred. "At least tell me, who asked who out first? Is this recent or has it been going on for a long time now? Wait, if that's the case, was the whole thing with Benicio just a cover or did you two date behind his back?"

He was honestly reeling from the machine gun of questions when Delfi came in suddenly.

"Jazmín!" She chided her friend. "What do you think you're doing asking stuff like that?"

"Getting a scoop," Jazmín stated simply, looking at Delfi with superiority. "Sorry Delfi, but I got to him first, okay? Find your own drama." She turned back to Simón. "So, you were saying?"

Delfi threw Simón an apologetic look and he silently begged her to help him with his eyes. 

Delfi got the message. "Oh, well, that's a shame," she sighed in a feigned resigned tone. "I was right about to head over to this huge 50% off shoes sale they have going on at the mall today, but if you're busy, I guess I'll just go on my own."

Jazmín's attention jumped to Delfi like lightning. 

"Wait, sale? What sale?" She asked rapidly. Simón actually worried she might have hurt her neck by how fast she spun towards her.

"You didn't hear? It was, like, everywhere," Delfi kept going, acting surprised. "But it's very limited time, so if you don't go now, you're going to miss it."

Jazmín bit her lip. She looked at Simón and back at her friend two times before finally dropping her tablet.

"Well, sorry, Simón, we're going to have to leave it for another day, okay? Bye," she said quickly before spinning just as fast, taking Delfi with her towards the Roller's exit. Delfi looked back at Simón as she was being dragged away and gave him a thumbs up in success. Simón had never been more grateful to Delfi in his life.

Letting out a deep breath to calm down after all that, he shook his head and got back to work.

After work, Simón went out to eat with Pedro and Matteo at a nearby place. When they arrived at the mansion later, the first thing he did was climb up to his room. A lot had happened that day and all he wanted was to lie down for a while. He left his backpack by the foot of the bed and took out the shirt he was wearing over his t-shirt before throwing himself on the mattress, sighing in relief. He closed his eyes, and he must have fallen asleep without realizing it because the next time he opened them it was dark outside. He checked his phone. 9 pm. Tonight was the night the Roller Band were to move their music things to the storage room, so he mustered up the strength to get out of bed and left his room. 

After walking down the halls, he was about to go downstairs when he heard a conversation.

"We could all sing together for the first time in, like, forever," Luna was saying. "It was amazing, and it was all Ámbar's idea!"

On the first floor, Ámbar heard this as well. She had been in the dining room, using the wide dinner table to arrange all the documents she had to manage for the Roller. She had taken the chance to get something to eat as well, until, eventually, she decided she could figure out the rest of the work tomorrow and called it a day. She'd been just leaving with her green folder in hand when Luna's excited voice reached her ears. 

Coming into the living room, she saw that Luna was sitting with her parents and Alfredo, telling them all about the Flash Open. They saw her arrive and, instead of stopping, Luna kept talking with a smile on her face.

"She organized all this event by herself, it was incredible," she praised her, and Ámbar couldn't help but smile too. She loved being recognized for her hard work.

"Congratulations, Ámbar," her grandfather told her with a kind smile. "I'm very proud of you, granddaughter."

"Yeah, good job!" Mónica said, also smiling brightly. "Having more responsibilities seems to be very good for you."

Alright, she liked being praised but now they were gonna make her blush.

"Okay okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves, alright? It was just an Open, it's not that big of a deal," she argued. It had been a lot of work, undoubtedly, but moving forward, her responsibilities as manager would only increase most probably. There'd be other Opens, other events. Maybe it was premature to throw so many flowers at her yet. 

"Wait a second, I think I'm not getting something," Miguel said, turning to look at Ámbar with furrowed brows. "Ámbar, are you really taking charge of the Jam & Roller all by yourself?"

She pursed her lips. "Well... no. Technically, VIDIA supervises me, but it's pretty much the same as being alone because they never show their faces around the place, so..." She shrugged.

"Yeah, that's so true," Luna said, turning to her family. "We've never seen them, not even in pictures, not even when Gary left!"

"Yeah, they just called to see how everything was going," Ámbar said. That was all they had given her when she took the manager position: a call. She wondered if they had been as distant when Gary was in charge. Probably yes.

"We can help you if you want," Mónica offered her suddenly.

Everything in Ámbar jumped against it immediately. She was grateful for the consideration, but she didn't need help; she could make it on her own. Reason #1 why she hadn't called VIDIA herself and why she didn't plan on ever doing so.

"Nooo, Mónica, please," Ámbar dismissed her concerns. "I'm splendid doing it by myself, more than fine." After all, if she showed she was troubled, what would that say about her? "Now, if you excuse me, I'm gonna head up to my room. Goodnight, everyone."

She walked away before they could keep asking questions and realize she wasn't sure what she was doing.

Holding her folder close, Ámbar climbed up the stairs and walked towards her room. Before she could reach her door though, something grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a hallway.

Ámbar he yelped at sudden the movement, and probably would've screamed, if it wasn't for the fact that she recognized immediately the person she collided with.

"Simón," she said in a scolding tone for scaring her, but it got mixed with a giggle, so it kind of lost its effect. She made no move to get away from him— Why would she, when she was so comfortable against the firmness of his chest and his nice scent. 

Simón, for his part, had been waiting for her since he heard the conversation, not wanting to interrupt the moment. Now he could finally hug her. 

"They're not the only ones who are proud of you, you know?" He said, wrapping his arms around her waist, smiling sweetly.

"You already told me back at the Roller," she reminded him, playing with his necklaces with her free hand.

"Yeah, but saying it again doesn't hurt," he said. His face turned earnest. "Seriously, Ámbar, I'm very happy that you did that. It was nice seeing everyone singing together for once." 

Ámbar smiled, warmed by his words. Then her eyes turned flirty.

"Mmm, how happy are you?" She asked him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Simón smirked, and without further ado, leaned down into her lips to press them against his own.

It was so nice, being able to hug her and kiss her like this. Simón melted into her, bringing his hands to her back to bring her closer. Their lips moved together slowly, cherishing every sensation and every breath that passed between them. Ámbar's tongue found his own and they explored each other's mouths, pressing a little harder, a little faster. Ámbar's hand delved into his hair, the other on his back, where he could feel her folder getting in the way of her grasp. That was fine; he could reach enough for both. Simón slid his hands up her body and drowned them in her hair, holding her head and drawing her even closer against him, so much so that it got hard to breathe but in the rightest way. 

All of a sudden, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Simón, we're going to the storage—"

The voice stopped just as Ámbar and Simón broke apart and turned to it. Pedro and Matteo were staring at them, Matteo's mouth still half-open from the sentence that died on his lips. It was very obvious they noticed what the couple had been doing. Simón and Ámbar looked away awkwardly, not knowing what to do. 

Matteo raised his eyebrows. "Ah, I see you're busy," he said, his voice coated in teasing. "Well, if you ever feel like, I don't know, rehearsing with your band or something, we'll be outside." 

He resumed his way down the hall, passing by Simón's side and wiggling his eyebrows at him behind Ámbar's back. Pedro followed him, also waiting until he was behind Ámbar to make a circle with his fingers and mouth 'use protection' before leaving with Matteo. Simón blushed. 

After the guys disappeared around the corner, he turned to Ámbar. 

He cleared his throat. "Well, um, I should probably go with them," he said, gesturing with his head towards the hallway. They'd be waiting for him to help install the equipment in the storage room. 

"Mhm," Ámbar agreed softly, moving her hands slowly up his chest. "Or..."

She leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Pedro and Matteo could wait; she wasn't going to let him go now that she was enjoying kissing him so much.

Simón returned the kiss and soon they were moving, Ámbar pulling him by the front of his t-shirt until they were inside her room. 

Once he heard the door close behind him, Simón broke away, opening his eyes, and what he saw caught him by surprise.

"Wow, what happened here?"

Moving further into the room, he looked around. The place had been attacked by black paint; that was the only way to describe it. All the decorations, which had been previously pink or spotless white were now dark, and the furniture, even the walls, had black graffiti on them as if she had sprayed them herself.

"I re-decorated," Ámbar said simply as she left the folder on top of her dressing table. "That old room didn't represent me anymore."

Simón turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "And this does?"

"What? It's cool," she defended, crossing her arms. "Like, punk-rock or something."

He smirked. "Mmm, 'Ámbar: the bad girl that listens to rock'," he said in a teasing tone as he came closer and placed his hands on her waist. 

"Don't laugh, I am bad," she said. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning closer to his mouth. "I'm a very, very bad girl."

The seductive look in her eyes was magnetic. Simón's gaze fell to her lips and then closed the little distance remaining, pressing them to his.

Ámbar loved the way their lips fit together. Every time Simón kissed her it was like something surged inside her, something warm, nice, and addictive that she never wanted to end. Her hands returned to his hair as her tongue caressed his lower lip, asking for an entrance that he gladly granted. Their tongues touched, their lips parted and rejoined, and Simón's hands moved all over her back. He pressed her against his chest. There was no feeling she liked more.

Suddenly, a knock on the door made them separate.

"Ámbar?"

The couple looked at each other with wide eyes. It was Mónica.

"Ámbar, can I go in?"

Ámbar gestured quickly for Simón to hide while she spoke to the door, "One second!"

Simón ran to the closet, knowing it was big enough for him to hide without a problem. He stood next to the drawer and the full-length mirror, which also had an X painted over it in black spray. This place didn't bring back good memories, but whatever. It was the past.

Once Ámbar saw he was out of view, she went to the door and opened it, standing aside so Mónica could walk in. Once she did, Ámbar closed the door and moved to sit on her bed. She looked at Mónica. 

"So? What's the matter?"

Mónica pointed at the spot next to her. "Can I sit?"

Ámbar nodded, wondering what this was all about.

Mónica sat on the bed. "I wanted to talk to you about this new job you got, being the manager of the Roller."

"What about it?" Ámbar said defensively, wishing she could just leave already so she could go back to her boyfriend.

Boyfriend. That sounded so nice.

Mónica smiled with kindness. "I just wanted to say that I'm here in case you need anything. Especially now that you have this huge responsibility on your shoulders."

"Thanks, but I can handle it," Ámbar said with a fake smile. She hated how everyone seemed to think she was gonna fail on her own. Did no one have faith in her?

As if she knew what she was thinking, Mónica placed a hand on top of one of Ámbar's and spoke gently, sincerely. "Ámbar, I know you're a very capable girl, I'm not doubting that. But asking for help is not a bad thing," she told her. "It doesn't say less of you; quite the opposite. Leaning on others can be a great strength."

She squeezed her hand at the end and Ámbar found herself listening to her words, really listening. She remembered how Ana had also offered to help her the other day and she had been quite cold in her refusal just to not appear weak. She wanted to show that she was competent, but Mónica's hand on her own and the gentle look in her eyes made her feel warm, like things could be easier. It wasn't a bad feeling. Maybe it wasn't a bad concept... even if her godmother had taught her exactly the opposite.

Mónica just smiled as she spun things over in her head and let go of her hand.

"Just think about it, okay?" She stood up. "And don't go to sleep too late, it's not good for you."

"Okay," Ámbar said. She watched Mónica move to the door, and as she held it open, she added, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Mónica wished her too with that same kind smile of hers. One movement later, she was gone.

Ámbar stared at the door until she heard the footsteps behind her.

"She's right, you know?" Simón said. Ámbar stood so they could face each other. "I've seen how stressed this job has you. I think you could do a little help." 

He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. She nodded slightly but didn't delve further into the topic. Instead, she took his left hand in hers and entwined their fingers.

"I think I could do some kisses," she replied, moving toward his mouth but he avoided her lips.

"Nice try," he said with smile, holding her shoulders to push her away slightly, "but I'm gonna go with the guys. And you, young lady, are going to sleep. It's been a long day and you deserve some rest."

"Nooo, stay with me," she pouted, and she looked so adorable he let out a light laugh.

"Maybe next time," he conceded. He took her hands in his. "But what do you say I come for you tomorrow morning and we walk together to the Roller?"

She smiled. "That sounds great."

"Perfect then." Simón kissed her shortly one last time. He went to the door, Ámbar trailing behind him.

"Goodnight," he said with a little smile, staring into her eyes.

"Goodnight," she said back, also smiling, and watched as he opened the door and took his leave. 

After he was gone, Ámbar leaned against the door, biting her lip in a lame attempt at keeping her cheesy, overjoyed grin at bay.

Things were finally working out for her.

Luna had stayed for a long time sitting on her desk, staring at the picture of Sharon and wondering what could've gone so wrong for her to end up like that and hate her family so much. She had given up to tiredness after about an hour, and she was about to lie in her bed when she heard her phone ring. Her brows drew together. No one usually called her at this hour.

She checked the screen and saw that the call was from Nina. That confused her even more. Why would Nina be calling her now?

She picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Luna, hi," came her friend's usual voice. So she hadn't called by accident. "Sorry for calling this late but, you totally disappeared after the Open. I thought you were just gonna change and then you'd be back but you never returned." 

Luna hit her forehead with her hand, remembering. "Oh god, Nina, I'm so sorry! I totally forgot you wanted to talk to me. It's just that this thing happened with Michel and—"

"Wait, what happened with Michel?" Nina interrupted. Luna's eyes widened as she realized she had let it slip out.

"Nothing! Nothing happened with Michel," she said rapidly.

"Then why did you bring him up?"

"I—" Just as she thought of making something up, she gave up on it; Nina would probably know she was lying anyway. "Ugh, I'll explain tomorrow. I just really don't wanna think about it right now."

There was a silence on the other side of the line. "Well, I'm sorry but I'm not sure you're gonna like what I have to say either..."

Luna frowned, worried by her friend's tone. "Why? What happened?"

"Did you by any chance heard Simón's performance while you were backstage?"

Luna frowned even harder if it was possible. "Um... Well, I was focused on rehearsing my song so, at first, I didn't even realize there had been a change in soloist. I pretty much only heard the end of it. I was quite surprised to hear Simón instead of Benicio... especially that song," she murmured the last part, just talking to herself, but Nina heard.

"Did you know that song?"

"I heard him sing it once. I'm not sure where it came from exactly, but I don't think it's from the Roller Band," Luna answered.

Judging by the lyrics, it pretty much looked like Simón had written it together with Ámbar, but she didn't know if she should be telling Nina that. Simón had already gotten mad at her once for speaking too much.

"Well, it seems like he wrote it for Ámbar. Or maybe the other way around, but it definitely looked like it connected them."

Luna's eyes widened. 

"... Nina, are you psychic?" She asked, a little scared.

"What?" Nina said, totally confused.

Luna shook her head. "Never mind. Why do you say that?"

"Well..." She was saying 'well' too much. "Basically, he pretty much sang it to her on stage. Like, his eyes were right on her almost all the time; everyone noticed."

Luna's brows raised. "Oh wow."

"Yeah, no, that's not the 'wow' part."

She frowned again. "What do you mean?"

There was a small silence before Nina started talking again. "Actually, that's the reason why this couldn't wait until tomorrow. I mean, it could if we are strict about it, anything is technically possible even if the success rate is low, except, you know, lighting a fire underwater or something else that defies the laws of physics, but I just really thought you should know before you heard it from Ja-Jazmín or some gossip like that."

Luna blinked. "You lost me on success rate." She brought a hand to her forehead. "Ugh, Nina, you're going in circles, can't you just tell me what is it?" She pleaded.

"Okay. So, Simón sang to Ámbar."

"Okay..." She said, urging her to go on.

"And then he walked down the stage."

"Of course?" He had to go down at some point, he wasn't going to live there.

"But he didn't walk down the side of the stage but directly towards her, right down the front."

Luna closed her eyes and held the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Nina, are you gonna describe me every single step that Simón took? Because I honestly don't get why it's relevant—"

"He kissed Ámbar."

There was silence on both sides of the line. 

"...What?"

"Simón kissed Ámbar. In front of everyone."

...

..

.

Chapter Text

When Luna came to the dining table the next morning for breakfast, only Matteo and Pedro were there.

"Hey, guys," she greeted them, searching the room right after with her eyes. "Where's Simón? Is he still asleep?"

"Totally the opposite, actually," Pedro said.

"Yeah, believe it or not, he woke up early," Matteo followed up and took a sip from his coffee. "He left some minutes ago."

Luna frowned. 

"Simón? Early?"

Simón sighed contently as he walked to the Roller with Ámbar hand in hand. He didn't think anything could erase the big smile on his face right now. It was just one of those moments he wished he could capture forever: the sun shining down nicely, the birds singing, the girl he loved by his side... It was a sense of peace he wished he could feel every day.

Ámbar turned her head toward him.

"Why so smiley?"

Simón could've told her how amazed he was by the mere fact of her existence, but being who he was, he went for teasing her instead.

"Just remembering how I totally won that fight over the toast," he said with a shrug, keeping the goofy smile as he looked ahead.

He could picture the way her jaw dropped even if he didn't see it and it made him smile harder.

"You so did not, I ate it in the end!" She retorted with playful disbelief. 

"Yeah, because I gave it to you, not because you took it from me," he pointed out, looking at her smugly.

She returned the look right back at him with a smirk. "Well, after that kiss I gave you, I didn't see you complaining."

Oh yeah. That had been better than any toast.

"Like I said: totally a win."

Ámbar rolled her eyes with her characteristic 'you're an idiot but I like you' smile.

Soon they arrived at the Roller and Ámbar pulled out the keys to unlock the door. Before she could open it though, Simón stopped her and pulled it open himself, holding it for her to enter first. Ámbar rolled her eyes with a smile again and walked inside, followed by Simón. The two stood by the entrance, seeing the place strangely deserted due to how early it was. 

Simón stood in front of Ámbar and took her hands in his.

"Did I tell you that you look especially beautiful today?" He asked with a smile.

Ámbar's lips curled up, her face feeling a little warm from embarrassment. She had woken up that morning feeling like she didn't want to wear black that day. Maybe it was stupid, but Simón was going to meet her for breakfast, and she was happy— Happier than she'd been in a while. Her usual full-black outfits wouldn't reflect that, so she chose a light grey dress instead. She felt lighter, and it was all because of him.

"Maybe it's because you're good for me," she said, looking into his eyes adoringly, absolutely fascinated by being able to be with him like this.

Simón returned her look, his eyes incredibly tender as he cupped her cheek softly and leaned down to kiss her.

Ámbar slid her hands up his back to his shoulder blades as their lips moved together. Simón hummed and moved his hands down, tracing the curve of her back before positioning them at her hips. His tongue made its way inside her mouth and caressed hers slowly, and Ámbar brought her fingers to his hair, burying them in it. Simón gripped her hips tighter and pulled her closer to his body until there was no space between them. That was when she decided it was time to stop.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," she said, pushing him away a little by the shoulders. "Remember that we came here to work; the Roller won't run itself," she told him with a strict look, or an attempt at one. Simón chuckled. "What?" 

"It's a little funny when you get all 'boss mode'," he said. 

"It's not funny, I am your boss." 

"Okay, boss," he said just as amused, right before pulling her close again and stealing one more kiss from her lips. 

Ámbar spent the next few hours fighting not to break randomly into giggles like a little girl. The day went by smoothly, with her drowned in her usual pile of paperwork, but it was different this time, because now, when she watched Simón working around the cafeteria from her seat, their gazes would meet from time to time, and they would smile at each other. It was cheesy, she never would've pinned herself for being the type to get butterflies in her stomach from something so simple, but it totally made working easier for her, even when she still didn't know what to do with some of the documents in the folder.

Leaning her head on one of her hands, she took a look around as she tried to figure out what to do with said documents and saw Nina talking with Eric. Ámbar looked down at her papers, which looked written in old Greek for all she could gather from them, and then back at Nina. She held back a sigh. She'd have to swallow her pride, wouldn't she?

Ámbar got up and went to stand next to Eric, leaving both in front of Nina, who was sitting at a table. 

"Hey, Nina, could you give me your mom's number?" She asked, interrupting their conversation a little rudely, but if she didn't say it now, she wasn't sure she'd be able to bring herself to do it later.

Nina seemed puzzled by her request, looking at Eric and then back at her. "Um, sure. But, why do you want it?"

Ámbar considered telling her to mind her own business. She didn't want to admit she needed Ana. But she remembered Mónica's words and repeated them in her head like a mantra. 

Asking for help is not a weakness, is a strength.

"She um... She offered to help me with the Roller's legal paperwork and I think I could use some guidance," she finally admitted. She really needed that guidance.

Nina raised her eyebrows. "Oh. I didn't know she talked to you. Okay, I'll email it to you right now," she said, typing on her laptop.

"Thanks."

Ámbar looked to her side then, acknowledging for the first time Eric's presence, who was still standing there, observing the girls' exchange with curiosity.

"Shouldn't you be working, Eric?" She said pointedly. She was pretty sure he was supposed to be at the bar instead of witnessing her asking for help.

"I'm taking a break," he replied simply.

Ámbar looked at Nina and then back at him. "Right... 'a break'," she said sarcastically, knowing perfectly what his real intentions were. "Why don't you and Nina talk at some other time so I don't give you a permanent break? How about that?" She told him with a fake smile.

Eric and Nina shared a look before staring at her in astounded silence.

Ámbar didn't get what was so surprising about this. "I'm sorry, I don't know if you recall, but I'm still the one in charge of this place," she declared. Maybe she was trying to be nicer but that didn't mean she was going to lay back on her duties; they should know that.

Eric nodded to himself and cleared his throat. "I'll talk to you later, Nina," he said before moving back to the bar.

"See you," she replied in a small voice. After an awkward second, Nina grabbed her laptop and stood. "I... I'm going to leave as well," she said before walking away.

Ámbar watched her go and sighed tiredly. Right after, she heard a voice behind her.

"You could've said that in a nicer way, you know?"

Ámbar turned around and found Simón giving her a look with his hands behind his back.

"What? I am the manager. It's my job to make sure everyone follows the schedule around here," she defended herself. Then she took a step closer and placed a hand on Simón's chest. "And it isn't fair that he's leaving you alone with everything."

He smiled tenderly at that.

"It's fine. I gotta go to the lockers now anyway, according to the schedule," he emphasized playfully, making her smile too.

"Mmm, I'm gonna miss not seeing you while I work," she said, playing with his necklaces.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure watching me wait tables is very entertaining," he said sarcastically. She laughed. "I hope this makes up for it."

Simón finally moved his hands from behind his back, revealing a strawberry milkshake. "My treat."

It was a small gesture but Ámbar melted inside. God, she was so weak lately... But seeing his beautiful eyes, staring into hers with fondness, she couldn't bring herself to mind.

"Thank you," she said as she received the milkshake, playing with the straw and smiling warmly at him.

Simón smiled back and then took a quick glance to either side of him, checking for something. Right after, he closed the space between them and held her cheeks as he kissed her. 

It was a short kiss, but sweeter for Ámbar than any milkshake.

"See you," he whispered between them before walking away, leaving Ámbar biting her lower lip to quench a silly grin.

Giving her head a little shake, she went back to her work table.

Once inside the locker room, Simón got right to work, checking the list to see which skates needed maintenance. He turned around, looking for the skates with the specified number on the rack, and just as he pulled them out, he heard a voice behind him.

"I see you're already being all lovey-dovey with the girlfriend that you stole."

Simón spun around with the skates in hand and paused. 

"Benicio."

The guy smiled his usual cocky grin.

"What? Surprised to see me? You didn't seriously believe I wouldn't come back, did you? I mean, I'm still the best skater this place has, and you won't get rid of me that easily." His gaze got sharper. "Especially not after what you did."

Simón recovered from his surprise and left the skates on top of the counter.

"Benicio, I didn't 'steal' anyone, Ámbar is a person capable of making her own decisions," he said assertively. His conscience nagged at him though, as it had ever since that day. He lowered his gaze. "I do admit that we never should've kissed behind your back," he said, ashamed. "That was wrong, and I apologize for it."

It wasn’t even the worse thing they’d done together. Cheating was not something he wanted to justify. Up until that night in the storage room, it wasn't something he believed he'd ever participate in either— He had too strong of a moral compass for it... or so he thought. Now, Benicio wasn't someone he liked very much, in fact, the complete opposite was true, but Simón still felt bad about doing so inconsiderate, so he needed to get it out. It was the right thing to do.

Benicio stared him down for some seconds, impassive. Then he grinned with a malicious air.

"You will be sorry, don't worry. It's just a matter of time before you realize who Ámbar really is," he said confidently. "I know she's acting nice for you now, but deep down, she's just as bad as me; we're the same."

"You're wrong," Simón shot down immediately. "Ámbar is nothing like you." 

"Isn't she?" Benicio said with his eyebrows raised. "It didn't seem that way when we were plotting against you guys. Did she tell you that?" He inched closer, placing his palms on the counter and leaning towards Simón. "Did she tell you that she had the idea of switching Felipe Mendevilla's number to ruin Luna's opportunity?"

He looked like the villain in a movie, darkly towering over his nemesis with the deep-seated confidence that he was going to win, that he was winning, dropping a bomb on the protagonist that he didn't see coming. 

Simón couldn't help but smile.

"Actually, she did."

Benicio's face faltered, his smirk fading from his mouth. 

"I mean, technically, I found out on my own," Simón continued with smug casualness. "I recognized your handwriting. Then I talked to her and she confirmed it."

Benicio took a step back and shook his head. "That's impossible."

"Oh, but it is. She is very brave, you should follow her example. In fact, she's going to talk to Luna and apologize for it."

Benicio was glaring at him now, pissed that his taunting hadn't worked. Simón dropped all pretense of niceness and moved out from behind the counter, standing in front of him and staring him right in the eye.

"Leave Ámbar and me alone," he told him in no uncertain terms. "Whatever you try, it won't amount to anything."

Simón walked past him toward his locker to get the tools he needed for maintenance, not giving him one more second of his attention.

When he turned back around, Benicio was gone.

The pink milkshake sitting now on her worktable might as well have been a bouquet of flowers for how happy it made Ámbar. That small interaction with Simón had renewed her motivation to work, and she got right back to that, making sure to retrieve Ana's number from her email first to send her a message. She didn't get to do that, however, because it was only a few seconds before her calm was interrupted by the arrival of Emilia and Ramiro at her worktable. 

"What's up, Ámbar? Planning what you'll do in your next Open?" Emilia asked ironically as she pulled a nearby chair and sat in front of her. Ramiro did the same, sitting next to her. 

"Hi, Emilia, good day, how are you? All good? Me too, thanks for asking," Ámbar replied just as ironically, wearing her best fake smile. "You know, you should be thanking me, because thanks to my Open people are talking about The Red Sharks again on social media. Want to hear?"

Without waiting for a response, Ámbar unlocked her phone and read a comment out loud from one of the videos. "'I loved seeing The Red Sharks singing with The Roller guys. When is the next Open?' See? You're welcome," she said, putting her phone back down.

"Uh, no, because they're not talking just about us anymore, Ámbar," Emilia pointed out. Clearly she wasn't happy that they were being associated with the other team.

"Then we could ask the Roller guys to skate with us, what do you think?" Ramiro proposed, speaking for the first time since he arrived.

Ámbar wasn't sure it was a good idea.

Emilia visibly hated the idea. 

"I'd rather poke my eyes out, Ramiro, you're not funny," she said with annoyance. "And you don't even think about it," she added, pointing at Ámbar with an accusatory finger.

"I didn't even say anything," Ámbar defended herself.

Ramiro pursed his lips, nodding to himself. "Okay, so, what plans do we have for the team?" He asked, looking at both girls expectantly.

Ámbar looked at Emilia and then back to Ramiro.

"Uh... We're working on it?" She said, not very sure because she'd had too many things on her mind lately to even think about skating.

That answer didn't seem to please Ramiro. Right as he was about to say something, Benicio walked up to the table like a hurricane.

"So you're not only a cheater but also a traitor as well?" He accused Ámbar sharply. Crossing his arms, he stood in front of all of them with a glare full of outrage. "Why didn't you tell me that you told Simón about us switching Felipe's number?"

Ámbar sighed heavily, officially saying goodbye to her drama-free day.

"I didn't tell him, he found out on his own," she clarified in a tired voice. She really didn't need this right now. "Maybe if you had changed your handwriting like you were supposed to, nothing would've happened."

"So Simón knows?" Ramiro said beside her, almost like talking to himself.

Emilia furrowed her brows, switching her gaze from Benicio to Ámbar. "Wait, what do you mean with 'cheater'? You told me you broke up with him."

Benicio snorted. "Yeah, but not before sticking her tongue down that loser's throat," he spat with venom.

Emilia's eyes widened like saucers. "What?!"

"Aaaalright, you know what?" Ámbar grabbed her folder in one hand and her milkshake in the other. "I'm tired of giving explanations, especially about my personal life. I have way too much work to do to be wasting my time. Goodbye." She stood up from her table and walked away from them.

She couldn't have one day without any issues, could she?

Simón was finishing up with a pair of skates when Luna barged into the lockers with her usual colorful excitement.

"Simón! I finally find you!" She stood in front of him on the other side of the counter. "I've been meaning to talk to you since yesterday. I would've come to you sooner but the girls were going on and on about Michel this and Michel that and—"

"Michel?" He asked, confused, trying to follow the quick her rambling. "What happened with Michel?"

"Nothing! Ugh, not you too," Luna lamented, slapping her forehead before shaking her head. "Nothing happened with Michel, forget it. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

Standing here now with his best friend, just the two of them, Simón decided that he couldn't keep on hiding things from her. She wanted to talk, and this seemed the perfect opportunity.

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you too," he admitted.

He hoped Ámbar wouldn't get mad at him for this. But, gotten to this point, he thought it'd be better if he told Luna first. That way he could smooth things over with her so that it would be easier for Ámbar to talk to her later, and he could make sure it wouldn't backfire and turn into a fight between the two girls. He sure as hell knew that was a possibility and the best would be to try to avoid it.

Before he could begin to explain, Luna nodded her head with an air of understanding. "I know what you're gonna say."

Simón's heart stopped.

"You- You do?" His mouth went dry; he couldn't believe it. "What- How did you find out?" Had Ámbar told her already and didn't tell him?

"Are you kidding? Nina told me," Luna said as if it were obvious.

Nina? Simón wrinkled his brows. How did she even know about Felipe's number?

"But, I mean, it could've been anyone," Luna continued. "What did you think? That you could kiss Ámbar in front of everyone and I wouldn't find out?" She said amusedly.

Simón's skyrocketing pulse decreased. Ah. Now he understood everything.

"Oh, you're talking about that."

Luna laughed. "Of course I'm talking about that! I mean, what's going on? You're together now? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"Um..."

Before he could figure out how to explain what had happened, Ramiro barged into the locker room at full speed.

"Luna! I'm so glad I found you," he said, looking agitated.

"Hey, Ramiro, what's up?" Luna greeted him chirpily.

Ramiro didn't look chirpy though.

"I want- No, I need you to know that I never agreed with switching Felipe Mendevilla's number," he told her earnestly. "I told the guys that it was wrong but they didn't listen to me. I should've stopped them but I didn't dare go against my team— I'm so sorry, Luna."

Now Simón's heart really stopped.

In front of Ramiro's worried and regretful gaze, Luna's smile slowly disappeared. 

"....What are you talking about, Ramiro?"

Oh god, no, not like this.

Ramiro frowned. "Benicio, Ámbar, and Emilia switched Felipe's number for a fake so that you wouldn't be able to communicate with him," he said simply. Then he realized from Luna's expression that she hadn't known until now.

Ramiro turned his gaze to Simón, automatically regretful for what he had just done. "I'm sorry, I thought you told her."

"I was going to do it now," Simón said dejectedly.

Luna instantly turned to him.

"Wait. You knew? And you didn't tell me?" She said accusingly, and she had all the right to do so.

Simón felt wave after wave of guilt hit him at once, closing up his throat, making it hard to swallow.

"I'm sorry," he rasped out. "I—"

"Since when do you know this?" She interrupted.

"... Since before the Flash Open," he revealed reluctantly, and watched with pain how his friend's face contorted in outrage. "But—"

"And you didn't tell me all this time?! Why—" Luna stopped short, having answered her own question. "... Ámbar. Oh, I see, you were covering for her."

"No, Luna, it's not like t—"

"Ramiro, thank you for telling me," she interrupted him again, facing the other boy in the room with a fake smile. "And don't worry, I won't hold it against you."

Ramiro looked between the two of them awkwardly before nodding and walking out of the lockers. Luna moved too, seeming like she was going to follow him out, but Simón stopped her by grabbing her upper arm before she could do so.

"Wait, Luna, where are you going?"

She broke free of his hold. "To join my real friends who don't hide things from me."

That felt like a punch in the gut.

"Please don't say that, Luna, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I wanted you to know, I swear. I told Ámbar to tell you over and over again but she—"

"What does Ámbar have to do with this? You're my friend! And you let her lie to my face about this solo thing in the Open! Why didn't you tell me yourself?"

"Because Ámbar promised she would and I was waiting for her to do it," he replied, because that was the reason. He wanted to let her do it, to take that step on her own.

Luna scoffed.

"You have got to be kidding me. What is up with you and Ámbar? Why are you giving her so many opportunities suddenly? Actually, why did you even kiss her yesterday at the Open? Last thing I knew, you didn't want to get swept into her games. Something must've happened, what is it? Is she manipulating you?"

His eyes widened. "No! Of course not, Luna, don't say that. I just... We... I mean..."

"What? Speak clearly for once, Simón!"

"A lot has happened but I- I can't tell you, it's between us, I..." 

Luna's mouth fell open, her face one of complete, utter, hurt disbelief. 

"Ah, I see..." 

She turned to leave again, and Simón desperately got in front of her, blocking the exit. 

"Luna—" 

"Let me through." 

"Luna, please—" 

"You can't even be honest with me, what's the point of keep talking to you?" She accused. 

"It's not about that," he tried.

"Then tell me!" 

Simón struggled for a moment, finally relenting with a lowered gaze. 

"We slept together," he let out in a quiet voice.  

Luna paused for a second. 

Two.

"WHAT?!" She finally exclaimed, so loudly that he grimaced with pain, and also trepidation for what he knew was coming.

Luna's eyes looked like they were going to jump out of their sockets as she tried to process what she had just heard.

"Wha- When- How- Wasn't she with Benicio?" She asked with her eyebrows scrunched up in utter confusion.

"...She was," Simón confirmed, ashamed. Luna scoffed again, which made him jump defensively. "It's not like I planned it, okay?! It just happened!"

Luna shook her head.

"Things didn't just happen to the Simón I knew. Especially this kind of things. Seriously, I can't recognize you anymore— She changed you."

This time, he shook his head.

"No, don't say that. I'm still me, Luna, I'm your best friend," he said with his heart clenching painfully inside his chest. The way she was looking at him made him sick to his stomach, made anxiety rise within him because he could see this was going horribly wrong and he had no idea how to stop it.

"I'm not so sure about that," Luna said gravely. "Because my best friend would've told me the truth instead of sleeping with the person who wronged me."

"I didn't know that at the time!" Simón yelled, the desperation getting the best of him.

"It doesn't matter!" Luna yelled right back. "Do I have to remind you all the times she's conspired against me?"

"She's changed," he said, but seeing the look she gave him, he decided to change his wording. "She's changing. Slowly, but she's going back to her true self, I know it. She's good at heart, Luna."

Her face contorted in frustration. "Ugh, Simón, are you seriously that blind? Did she brainwash you? You sleep with her once and suddenly you think she's changed, don't be naïve! Ámbar's using you and you're just falling for it because, what? Because you're 'in love' with her or whatever?" She alluded to his confession months ago. "Open your eyes, Simón! She's bad for you, she's bad for everyone!"

Simón looked at his friend's face, her pain-filled eyes. He understood where she was coming from and she wasn't the first to tell him this. But there was one thing she clearly wasn't getting— not as she should.

"Luna, I love her."  

Luna stood silent. Probably because she could see how serious he was, the emotion on his face. Simón took a deep breath and decided that, if he was going to get her to understand, it would have to be now. 

"She's not using me, and she didn't brainwash me, and I'm not blind, I just love her. I know she's done bad things but I also know how she truly is, I know she's changing back to the girl she should've always been, and I love that person. So I wanted to give her a chance to do things right with this, I wanted to believe in her, that's why I didn't tell you about the Felipe thing," he explained. "When I told you that I was in love with Ámbar back then, I tried to fight against it, Luna, I swear I did, but I couldn't. That's why what happened with her happened, because it was stronger than me. It is still stronger than me, Luna." 

Luna's expression was solemn, impossible for him to decipher. Simón had put as much emotion behind his voice as he could muster, hoping, begging that it was enough. 

"I love her," he murmured into the silence of the room. "Please, understand."

The ball was on Luna's court. Simón had extended his hand with his feet right on the cliffside, wondering if she'd take it or let him fall. Another heartbeat passed in which neither of them spoke, but his eyes were begging in volumes that words couldn't. 

Luna crossed her arms in front of her.

"And you think she loves you?" She asked, with no shortage of skepticism.

Simón remembered the smiles Ámbar gifted him with, the way she looked at him, how she told him she had never felt this way in her life, the way she kissed him, the way she held him...

Neither of them had ever said the words but...

"...I think she does," he finally answered.

Luna looked at him in silence. Her eyes showed hurt, betrayal, and another thousand things, but as she nodded to herself and spoke again, the rest of her face was the stark image of indifference.

"Well then. I hope you're very happy together. You two deserve each other."

She walked past him quickly, leaving the room.

"Luna!" He tried to call after her. It couldn't end like this, she had to forgive him, he couldn't lose her. But she didn't turn back.

Simón's heart fell at his feet. Right at the bottom of the cliffside, the water was ice cold. 

...

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar checked the time on her cell phone and frowned.

After working in the nearby park for about two hours to avoid her teammates, she chanced to return to the Roller and found that, fortunately, Benicio and Emilia had left. Relieved, she'd taken a seat on one of the wide couches, where she'd been working for a while now, so she couldn't help but wonder where Simón was since she hadn't seen him at all. He was supposed to be on a break now, actually, it had started some time ago, but still nothing. It wasn't like he had to be with her 24/7, of course, but she thought... Well, normally he would've at least gone to Pedro to play some songs, but she could see Pedro and he was by himself. 

After about ten minutes of constantly searching the Roller for his face, Ámbar finally admitted that she simply wanted to see Simón. No, they didn't have to be together 24/7, but if she missed him, she could look for him, right? They were dating— finally, after so long— there was nothing wrong with it. 

She got up from her seat and went to do exactly that. She started by checking the lockers since that was where he had been working earlier but she didn’t find him. She checked the rink next, but he wasn’t there either. She was starting to think that maybe he had gone out when she finally found him inside the dressing room, playing the guitar as he sang.

She smiled to herself, listening from the door. She loved to see him in his element. Once the last chord trailed off, she came closer, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.

"Here you are, I've been looking for you," she told him, leaving a quick kiss on his cheek. Simón tensed up immediately and got off his chair, startling her a little with how quickly he broke free of her hold. She watched bemused as he moved to leave his guitar next to the mirror.  

"What? Oh, come on,” she teased him, “if you tell me I can't even touch you when we're alone then this 'going slow' thing is not going to work, let me tell you—"

"Luna found out,” he said gravely. He turned around but avoided her gaze. “About the switch of Felipe’s number."

Ámbar’s smile disappeared.

"What?” She breathed out, not managing to say much else. That was when she noticed the dejection clinging onto his frame, the slight redness in his eyes, and the tell-tale glint of held-back tears. Suddenly, she understood why he'd been singing 'Eres', and her heart grew heavy with worry. “How?"

"We were in the lockers and I was just about to tell her when Ramiro walked in and spat everything out. He thought I had already told her."

Ámbar blinked, processing what he had just said. "Wait… You were going to give me away?" 

Simón must’ve heard the hurt in her voice because he finally looked at her.

"No. I mean, I was going to tell her but not to accuse you. I thought it would be better if she heard it from me first so she'd be more willing to listen to you after,” he explained. Ámbar supposed it made sense, but she didn't really get a chance to dwell further on how she felt about it because Simón kept talking, pain evident in his voice. “But it doesn’t matter, because she found out by Ramiro and now she’s furious with me. She won’t answer my texts, my calls… Luna doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, and it's all because I didn't tell her sooner because I was waiting for you!" He exclaimed.

Ámbar almost flinched as his words stung. Her heart was racing, flashbacks of a situation very similar to this one flashing through her memory. She tried to focus on what was happening now.

"What do you mean Luna doesn't want anything to do with you? You didn't do anything." She could understand she was angry, but completely ignoring him? 

"Yeah I did something— I trusted you!" Simón shot at her, the words and the pain in them digging into her chest like a knife. "You promised you would talk to her and you didn't, Ámbar!" 

"I was going to!" She exclaimed frantically. The bitter disbelief on Simón's face was obvious. "Truly!" She insisted. "I admit I was putting it off because I had a thousand things on my mind, but I was going to talk to her after the Open. But then I had other things on my mind," she gestured between them, "and that was more important— Are you really going to blame me for forgetting with everything that happened?!" 

Simón averted his gaze again. Ámbar could literally see the guilt devour him alive and she felt like slapping herself. She hadn’t meant to make him feel worse. Damn it, this wasn’t even his fault to begin with! 

Simón sat back down on the chair, dejected, looking down at his hands. "I should've told her the truth," he said quietly. "I found out and I stayed quiet about it and now I fear Luna will never trust me again." 

"She will trust you." 

"How?" 

"Because it wouldn't be fair otherwise!" Ámbar protested. Outrage flared in her gut because she hated seeing him like this, berating himself, when all he'd done was try to do the best for everyone. "Yes, you didn't tell her but, it has been what? Two days? It's not like you've known for months," she defended. "It was just a small secret, she can't be that mad at you for that. I mean, how many other things have you done for her? A thousand. Hell, you came from Mexico just for her! What has she done for you?"

Simón shook his head, looking up at her. "One doesn't do things expecting something in return, Ámbar."

"No, but she could at least appreciate all you've done for her," she retorted. 

He just looked down once more, not saying anything. Clearly, he didn’t see things her way. He wasn’t going to turn this on Luna, he was too good to do that, and felt too guilty. Deep down, she understood. Luna was his best friend and he felt he had let her down by being dishonest, something he hated to do, but he had done it, for her.

After some long seconds, she broke the silence. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm really sorry this happened; I hate seeing you like this." Simón kept his gaze down. She wanted to touch him to offer some comfort but she didn't dare. "I could try to talk to her," she offered. It was the least she could do.

Simón snorted bitterly. "A little late for that, don't you think?" 

Resentment burned in his words and fear jumped at Ámbar's throat again. "Simón..." 

She took a step forward but he stood and grabbed his guitar before she could reach him. He turned.

"I...” Simón trailed off as he looked at her, seeming unsure. He shook his head a bit. “I'm sorry, I... I wanna be alone right now."

He kept his head down as he left the room, not looking at her again.

Ámbar watched, frozen, as the door shut close, putting what felt like a world of distance between them. The room felt cold and unsettlingly quiet. She sat down, on the same chair her… boyfriend? had been sitting just one minute ago.

Could she still call him that?

Ámbar stared at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. Was she just not destined to be happy? She couldn't help but wonder. Every time things seemed to be going fine for her, something happened that made it all go down the drain. She was getting used to seeing this look of defeat on her face. 

No, not everything was lost yet, she told herself. After all, Simón hadn’t said anything about breaking up. He wasn’t happy, that much was clear, so wanted some time on his own— she could give him that. She’d give him all the space he wanted as long as he came back to her.

Ámbar left the dressing room and went to the couch where she'd left her things. She picked up everything, gathering it in her arms, and looked to her left. Simón was taking orders like usual, moving to the bar to prepare them, but his characteristic smile was nowhere to be found. His guitar stood forgotten on the stage.

Ámbar was not going to allow things to go on like this. 

Determined, she hung her purse over her shoulder and walked out of the Roller, no hesitation in her step or doubt in her mind. She was on a mission. She had made a promise, and maybe it was too late now, but she was going to fulfill it.

Luna Valente was going to hear her out.

The mansion was the first place Ámbar thought to check. If Luna was as upset as Simón made it sound, she probably wouldn't want to go out anywhere and prefer to hide herself at home instead. Ámbar had been prepared to go all the way to the other girl's bedroom to confront her, but right as she crossed the mansion’s front door, she realized it wouldn’t be necessary.

"Luna."

The girl had been sitting on the living room couch with her face hidden behind her hands, but she looked up at the sound of her name. A loud groan emerged from her throat when she realized it was Ámbar. She grabbed her purse from the seat next to her and got up at once, walking away from her. 

"I don't wanna talk to you," she declared spitefully.

Ámbar grabbed her arm before she could get very far. "Well, too bad, you're gonna have to listen to me anyway," she told her with a fake smile.

Luna broke free of her hold and glared at her. "I don't have to do anything, this is my house and I can go wherever I want."

She tried to get away once more, only for Ámbar to stand in her way. 

"Are you seriously going to be mad at Simón when it was me who did the wrong thing?" She asked, trying to make her see reason.

"I told you I don't want to hear you," Luna stressed, almost growling, before walking past her.

"Like you didn't want to hear Matteo until he fell off that fence?"

Luna stopped in her tracks.

"Emilia told me how you regretted it,” Ámbar continued, talking to the other girl’s back. “What if something happened to Simón right now? Would you still say the same thing?"

It was around ten seconds of nothing. Then Luna turned around, clearly begrudgingly, and stood with her hands on her hips. Her face still showed anger, but there wasn't any sign that she would walk away again.

Ámbar took it as her cue to speak.

"Listen, Luna...” God, how did she even begin? She hadn’t thought about it before barging in here. “If Simón didn't speak with you, it was so that I could do it first. He told me to talk to you many times, but I was very busy managing the Roller and the Flash Open and I couldn't find the time to do it. ...And I also wasn't very eager to, to be honest," she admitted after a pause. "But here I am."

Luna raised an eyebrow, annoyed, urging her to get to the point.

Ámbar closed her eyes and sighed.

"I know that what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have switched Felipe's number. But you gotta admit that skating outside the Roller during the Red Shark's Festival and stealing all our audience was wrong as well," she told her, pointing a finger at her. 

"We didn't do that on purpose, people came on their own," Luna retorted.

"Yeah, but it still happened and we lost our team because of that," Ámbar pointed out, feeling the resentment resurge inside of her.

"Because Gary didn't let us in!" Luna exclaimed in outrage.

"Well, whatever Gary did isn't our fault either!"

Luna’s mouth closed and she crossed her arms in front of her.

In other circumstances, Ámbar would’ve been proud of how she shut her up— Victorious even. But she wasn’t looking to annoy Luna at this moment. On the contrary, if they ended up fighting, it would only make things worse for Simón.

"The thing is..." Ámbar continued, getting back to the point, “I was angry. I was pissed off at you because I felt like it was your fault that I lost a huge professional opportunity. So I thought it was only fair for me to ruin an opportunity for you."

It sounded so calculated, saying it out loud like that. Cold, as if it were a simple exchange instead of something serious that could affect someone's life. 

Ámbar looked down. “But you didn't do it all on your own," she said, solemn, "and it wasn't your intention. My thing was intentional and it was wrong.”

It was hard, admitting to herself that the conditions of their faults weren’t the same. But there was a difference between accidentally hurting someone and doing it on purpose. She knew that. She had always known that, but she had convinced herself that Luna deserved it.

She didn’t.

Deep down, she had always known that too.

Taking a deep breath, Ámbar said the one thing she never thought she’d ever say to the girl in front of her.

“I'm sorry."

Luna couldn’t hide a hint of surprise. Clearly, she had never thought she'd see the day either.

Slowly, she unwrapped her arms, letting them hang at her sides. A silence stretched between the two as they looked at each other, one of them waiting while the other scrutinized her for any sign of deceit.

She found none.

"Well,” Luna said slowly, “as much as I appreciate the apology, Felipe's number is still lost," she noted a bit resentfully.

"No, it isn't. I still have it."

Luna's eyes widened in surprise. "You do?"

Ámbar reached inside her purse. "Yeah, here."

She pulled out the tiny piece of paper and extended her arm, holding it out for her. Luna reached over to grab it but Ámbar pulled her hand back before she could.

"Please, talk to Simón."

Luna's eyes flashed with irritation. "You're not gonna give it to me unless I do?" She said accusatorily. 

It was very tempting, Ámbar had to admit. If she made it a condition, she could easily ensure she’d give Simón a chance, which was pretty much all she wanted. The old Ámbar wouldn’t have even hesitated. But...

'One doesn’t do things expecting something in return, Ámbar.'

"No. I'm gonna give it to you anyway because it's the right thing to do,” she replied, offering her the piece of paper once again and letting Luna take it this time. “But I still want you to talk to Simón. Please. He feels terrible, Luna, and it wasn't even his fault, it was mine."  

Luna stared at the paper and then folded it, tucking it inside her pocket. "He chose to lie, you didn't force him."

"No, but he did it for me,” she argued, emotion coating her words. “He did it because he sees good in me, even when no one else does. Even when sometimes I don't," she said, with that hint of amazement that always accompanied the realization of how much Simón believed in her. "He sees the good in people, you can't hold that against him, it's who he is. He's great like that." She gave a half-shrug with a smile she couldn’t help. That was Simón, sometimes too good for his own good, sometimes too convinced he was in the right for her own patience, but he was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Luna's eyes searched her face for a moment. "You really care about him?"

Ámbar couldn’t hold back a little laugh. "Would I be telling you all this if I didn't?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you're still trying to manipulate him. Maybe all of this is another one of your plans against the Roller."

Ámbar looked at the girl in front of her with new-found respect.

"...I turned you into a skeptic. I'm kinda proud of that,” she appraised. “But no, this isn't anything like that. I understand if you don't believe me, but I really care about Simón. And that's why, I beg you, please talk to him."

Luna seemed conflicted, looking at everywhere and everything but Ámbar.

“Later,” she finally murmured, and before Ámbar could retort, she added, “Thank you for the number, although a little late."

Ámbar gave her the smallest of smiles. "I'm sure Felipe still wants to meet you, just call him," she said kindly. 

Luna nodded but said nothing else.  

After a moment of just standing there, Ámbar concluded that was the end of their conversation. 

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I, um, I'm gonna head up to my room now, I have tons of work to do," she said, pointing towards the stairs. She took a step in that direction but then reconsidered, looking back at Luna once more.

“Think about what I said,” she asked. Then she took her leave.  

She was halfway up the stairs when Luna’s voice made her stop.  

"Ámbar."

She turned her head toward her.

"Don't hurt him again."

The words took her by surprise. Although, all things considered, they probably shouldn’t have.

Ámbar looked into Luna’s pleading yet piercing eyes.

"I don't want to," she muttered. It was the most honest thing she could say.  

For much as it pained her, she couldn’t promise she wouldn’t hurt Simón. She probably already had by not keeping her previous promise, and she had no confidence that she wouldn’t do it again.

But her words now held a different promise: She would try her very hardest not to.

The girls stared at each for a moment. Then, without further ado, Luna walked away, disappearing on the other side of the house.

Ámbar watched her go and finished her way up to the second floor. Once inside her room, she sighed.

She hoped that what she had just done would help, even if just a little.

Simón didn’t want to think.

He tried to focus on work for the rest of the afternoon, doing the tasks as mechanically as possible— Take the order, make it, deliver it. Don’t think, just execute.

It almost worked. But every time his phone vibrated with a notification and it wasn’t from Luna, it all came crashing down at him: Ramiro spitting out everything, Luna’s betrayed expression on her face, the disgust with which she told him to stay with Ámbar…

Ámbar. Another thing he didn’t want to think about. Because he didn’t know what to think. Or feel, for that matter.

How could you want to yell at someone and at the same time want them to console you?

If only she hadn’t switched that number, he kept thinking. If she hadn’t messed with Luna in the first place, nothing would’ve happened. If only she had talked to her like she promised, nothing would’ve happened. Why did he have to pay for that?

But that wasn’t fair. He was the one who kept quiet, and he kissed her and held her despite all of that.

He felt disgusted with himself.

But he shouldn’t feel disgusted— Didn’t he have a right to love and be happy? Ámbar had done something against Luna, not him.

No, no, it was selfish to see it like that.

But it was just a mistake she made, he still believed she was good.

Well, if she’s so good then why didn’t she just talk to Luna like she promised? Said the little voice inside his head.

'And you think she loves you?' Luna’s voice taunted him right after.

Simón groaned and threw the cloth on top of the bar.

He really, really didn’t want to think.

The moment he arrived at the mansion, Simón went directly to the storage room. He had his guitar on his back. He wasn't sure whether he was in the mood to play or not, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. A part of him thought he was being a coward, because he should be walking into the mansion right now, he should be trying to reach Luna to fix things with her, but her lack of reply to his messages spoke loud and clear— She didn't want to see him. Pushing would only make things worse, and he didn't think he could deal with her rejection twice on the same day. 

Pedro and Matteo were already in the storage room when Simón entered. They stopped their lively chat when they saw him arrive and greeted him.

“Hey, Simón, what’s up?” Matteo said with a smile.

Simón just crossed the room with his head down and left his guitar against the long couch. 

The guys glanced at each other with a frown before looking back at him.

“Did something happen?” Pedro asked, worried.

Simón sighed and tucked his hands inside his pockets. He didn't really want to relive it but a vulnerable part of him needed to get it out of his chest, to have someone listen to his side of things.

Sadly, the one person he wished would hear him out the most wasn’t answering.

“Remember when Felipe Mendevilla came to the Roller and he gave me his phone number?” Simón started, to which his friends answered with a nod. “Well, Luna wasn’t there at that moment, so I left that number on the bar and the Red Sharks grabbed it and switched it for a different one. So when Luna talked to his secretary it wasn’t really his secretary; it was someone else posing as her.”

Both boys stared at him in disbelief.

“What? No, no, this is too much,” Matteo said, shaking his head with indignation. Pedro nodded, his face showing the same.

“How did you find out?” He asked.

Simón recoiled internally. This is the part where they hate me.

“Back before the Flash Open, I noticed Benicio’s handwriting was the same as the supposed number… then Ámbar confirmed it to me.”

The guys frowned as they processed that, once again looking at each other and then back at Simón.

“Wait, before the Flash Open?” Matteo asked, like confirming he hadn’t heard him wrong.

“How long before?” Pedro followed up, giving him a pointed look. Simón immediately understood what he was really asking and he felt a jab, remembering Luna’s words.

'My best friend would’ve told me the truth instead of sleeping with the person who wronged me.'

“Not that long,” he answered. He hoped Pedro would leave it at that because Matteo was present and he didn't want to talk about it with him here. 

The aforementioned was still staring at Simón like he couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing.

“But at the Open you…” He didn't really need to finish the sentence; they all knew what he was talking about.

“I know,” Simón said with a grimace. “I know it looks bad, I know what you're both thinking but, I spoke to Ámbar, okay? It’s not like she did it just for fun, she was hurt and reacted badly to it. Which doesn’t mean it was okay but… Anyway, I told her to tell Luna the truth herself so she would have a chance to fix her wrong, and she said she would, but she didn’t, and today Ramiro told Luna before I could,” he recounted dishearteningly. He moved over to the couch. “Now Luna’s angry at me for not saying anything to her,” he let out, dropping himself on top of the piece of furniture. Just remembering how badly it had all gone down made him want to not stand up ever again.   

“So that’s why Luna was sad today,” Matteo mused, seeming deep in thought.

Simón turned to him.

“You talked to Luna?”

He nodded. “I met her on the way to the Roller… She looked pretty bad.”

Those words made Simón feel even worse.

“I screwed up," he lamented, ducking his head and bringing his hands up to his hair. "I screwed up big time; she’ll never forgive me for this.”

Pedro placed his hand on his left shoulder. “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. You had good intentions,” he said, trying to comfort him.

“That’s the price you pay for trusting Ámbar,” Matteo said to his right.

“Shut up, okay, Matteo?” Simón said curtly. He couldn't deal with that right now and he didn't like his tone. 

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. “Sure. But, I mean, I told you so, you can’t say I didn’t."

Simón snapped his head towards him.

“I said shut up. Ámbar was gonna do it, okay? She just didn’t have the time,” he claimed defensively.

There was a small silence before Pedro spoke up, gently. 

“Didn’t have the time in three days...? Sorry, man, but I gotta agree with Matteo on this one,” he said with a slight grimace, as if it pained him to cause harm but it needed to be said. “If she wanted to, she would’ve had.”

All Simón could do was look down and stay quiet. A part of him thought the same thing, even if he didn’t want to admit it.  

Ámbar’s good, said one side of his heart.

She failed you, said the other. Again.

A nudge on his shoulder brought him back from his drowning thoughts.  

“Wanna play something?” Matteo asked softly, handing him his guitar. Simón knew it was his way to try to cheer him up. He accepted the instrument, placing it on his lap while his friends took their places around the room with their own instruments.

Maybe music wasn't the cure to his problems, but it had never let him down before.

The next morning was just like any other.

Simón woke up around the same time that the guys, they took turns to use the bathroom across the hall from their guest rooms, got dressed, and went down the stairs to grab some breakfast. Through it all, the guys joked and fooled around, never mentioning the topic they had discussed the previous day and Simón was thankful for it.

He felt a spike of nervousness as he neared the dining room, thinking maybe Luna would be there. He was divided between hoping he’d see her so he could try to speak to her and scared that if he did she would just plainly ignore him, or worse, tell him to get the hell out of her house.

Okay, Luna wouldn’t do that, he was exaggerating. But his heart still quickened anxiously as they made their way into the dining room.

She wasn’t there.

Simón's heart fell a little. It was a little relieving, yes, but he couldn't help thinking that maybe she had left early just to avoid him. He forced himself to shake that feeling away. Instead, he helped the guys put on the table and served himself breakfast; his stomach was growling for some much-needed food.

As he ate, he found his eyes straying toward the direction of the stairs. There was no point in it though— Ámbar must have left already, she was always early. After their conversation the previous day, they hadn’t talked again, not even through text, and Simón felt bad about it but he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t feel like acting as if nothing had happened, but even after a whole night of sleep, he still didn’t know how to act around her.

Judging by how his eyes kept glancing at the stairs even when he knew she wouldn’t show up, he still wanted to see her. He would always want to see her, he figured by that point, since no matter how much she hurt him in the past that had never changed.

He didn’t know if he liked that hold she had over him. Sometimes he did, when it was all giddy excitement and happiness and she smiled at him just as happy. But sometimes it was scary. He was too invested in something that could easily crash and break into a million pieces, breaking him in the process. If only he felt like they were both taking that leap. Most of the time, he felt like he was neck-deep in the water while Ámbar was comfortably watching the waves from the shore.

“Alright, Simón, let’s go!” Pedro urged him suddenly with a pat on his shoulder, getting up from the table and walking to the front door. “We’re gonna be late.”

Matteo stood too and followed him out, and that was when Simón realized that between all his thinking his friends had all finished eating. Shit.   

“Coming!” He called back. He shoved the last bite of his toast into his mouth and went for his coffee, drowning it in one gulp.

Right as he got up, his phone vibrated.

Simón almost didn’t check it, deeming it could wait. He had lost count of the number of times he had read a message hoping it was from Luna only to see someone else's name on the screen. He checked the new message anyway, prepared to be disappointed, but as he unlocked his phone, the four letters in bold he'd been waiting for met his eyes, making his heart jump.

He opened the chat quickly and read the text.

Luna: Today after the Blake. I’ll meet you in the park.

Simón felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He was still worried, of course— Luna hadn’t really answered to anything he said in his many texts, but at least she was willing to talk to him. That was all he needed. Now he just had to put all his energy into convincing her to forgive him.

They’d been best friends since they were little. They had gone through a lot together— it couldn’t all just end like this. At least, he wasn’t going to let it.

With that determination in mind, Simón tucked his phone back inside his pants pocket and followed the guys outside.

...

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar wouldn’t admit it, but she had stared at him that day.

That morning, in the storage room, after their night together and before everything else went down, she had woken up before Simón did. She was an early riser after all, so her eyes opened at some point in the early morning and she realized she was in his embrace, with his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close. Not like there was much space to move around in the first place— the couch barely had enough space for both of them. But the way Simón was hugging her almost like a pillow and breathing softly next to her melted something deep inside of Ámbar. 

She took a moment to observe him back then: the fall of his long eyelashes, the shape of his nose, the way his mouth was slightly opened, which made him look a little funny, but adorable nonetheless. She looked at the dimple on his chin, his neck, his jaw... He was beautiful.

Ámbar didn’t dare move in fear of waking him. She knew the moment he woke up they’d have to face what had just happened, and she wasn’t sure what look awaited her when his eyes fell upon her again. So she just snuggled up a little closer, nestling her head in the curve of his neck, and allowed the scent of his body and his calm heartbeats to lull her back to sleep.

Ámbar didn’t know why she remembered that now as she woke up. After all, the cramped and dusty storage room was nothing like her bedroom, but the memory of that place was still the first image that appeared in her mind as she shifted under her covers. Maybe it was because she had fallen asleep thinking about Simón that she was thinking of him again. Maybe she had even dreamed of him and just couldn’t remember it now.

The alarm of her cell phone went off, interrupting her thoughts. Ámbar moved her hand over to her nightstand to turn it off, wondering not for the first time why she even bothered to set an alarm when she usually woke up before it. She sat up in bed and ran her hand through her disheveled hair, feeling rested but not really energized despite that.

Either way, the day wasn’t going to stop just because she didn’t feel up to it, so she slid her legs to the side of her bed and stood, walking to her bathroom for her daily shower.

Once she was out, she blow-dried her hair and went to her closet. While the day before she had taken her time to choose her clothes, this morning she just grabbed the first black garments she found and put them on: a lace-up V neck top and shorts. Black was always flattering anyway— it didn’t matter.

She put on black boots and stared at herself in her closet mirror. She looked good, sure. But inside she felt so… uncertain.

Ámbar grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair up in a ponytail, something she hadn’t done in a while, testing it out. She was testing out a lot of things lately— honesty, kindness, this whole ‘changing her ways’ thing— although, in truth, she didn’t really know what she was doing. She knew it was the right thing, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that, behind her walls and defenses, she had no idea who she was.  

Shaking her head, Ámbar rid her mind of those thoughts and got moving— She was just wasting time. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand, dropped it into her purse, and walked out of her room, closing the door behind her.

Ámbar had only been in the Roller for a couple of minutes when Eric arrived. She may have scolded him the other day for slacking off, but the truth was that he was always right on time for work— early, even. The pale boy greeted her shyly when he saw her sitting on one of the couches by the entrance, with her green folder spread out on her lap. Ámbar returned his greeting with a smile, trying to show him that she was no threat and, therefore, he didn’t need to be so scared. There was a part of her that enjoyed it, she had to admit, how he seemed intimidated by her, but seeing that he had already received enough scoldings from Gary to last him a lifetime, Ámbar decided to go easy on the poor guy. Eric’s stance relaxed, and he showed her a small smile of his own before getting to work.

It was sometime later when the other guys arrived. Ámbar had been focused on her work, but the moment she heard their voices approaching, she tensed up immediately, lowering her pen.

Pedro walked in first, followed by Matteo, who had apparently decided to accompany them that morning. Simón entered last, joking with the boys about something, but the moment his eyes met hers, he fell silent, his smile slowly dropping from his mouth as he came to a halt. Just like that, the guys' conversation ended.

He was also wearing black, Ámbar noticed— A black shirt over some regular denim jeans. Black is definitely flattering, she thought. Too bad she couldn’t truly appreciate it over the utter awkwardness that fell upon them two.

Pedro and Matteo felt it instantly, and with just a shared glance between them, they kept walking, going each to their own. Ámbar didn’t pay much attention to them since she was frozen by Simón's stare.

“Good morning,” he muttered low.

“Good morning,” she said back, unsure if she should add something else and try to make conversation or just follow his lead.

Scared of how the first one would go, Ámbar opted for the second option, even when she was dying to say a lot of things, anything. She was dying to touch him, to hug him— whatever it took to shake that weirdly neutral expression off his face. It wasn’t like him. Simón was meant to smile— Smile and light up everything around him in that way only he could.  

Simón started fidgeting with one of his rings. The silence had stretched for a second too long to be natural— Who were they kidding? It hadn’t been natural from the beginning— and yet, he was still standing there, for reasons that Ámbar gathered, hoped, meant that he wanted to say more.

He took one step forward eventually, looking at her with hesitation.

“Um, could I have a break this afternoon?” He asked, and Ámbar barely had time to look confused before he explained, “Luna texted me to meet her after the Blake.”

Ámbar's eyes widened. In truth, she felt a little sad that he was only talking to her out of duty to his work, but she was relieved and happy for him. It seemed her conversation with Luna had served some purpose, thank god.

“Of course,” she said immediately once she got over her surprise. She knew how important it was for him. “Just, make sure the guys divide the work while you’re out, but other than that, there’s no problem.”

Some of Simón’s tension seemed to leave him, but the uncertainty in the air was still palpable as he nodded.

“I will,” he said, and again she hated how formal it all sounded.

A heartbeat later, a small “thanks” left his lips, the corner of his mouth lifting the slightest bit as he did so. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was something.

Ámbar gave him a small smile in return, hoping it didn't look as awkward and yearning as she was feeling. She really wanted to close the distance between them, but she was afraid that if she pushed him, they’d end up fighting.

With one more nod from Simón's part, the eye contact was broken and he left to start his chores. Ámbar watched him go and let her shoulders fall with a sigh. Patience, Ámbar, you told yourself you were going to give him time.  

Easier said than done, clearly.

With a huff, she shook herself out of it and sat upright once again. She had work to do. She clicked on her pen and continued filling out forms.

Simón berated himself for being taken by surprise. He knew Ámbar would be in the Roller, he knew he had to figure out a plan of action for when he saw her, but Luna’s message had made him momentarily forget all of that, leaving him staring at Ámbar like an idiot when he walked in.

The fact that she had her hair pulled up didn’t help. It was such a small detail, but it made her look endearing somehow, younger, softer, not the kind of girl who would conspire against people and break promises, but alas, she was.

He had managed to survive the awkward exchange, thankfully. He didn’t know what reaction he had been expecting from Ámbar, but seeing her remain so calm somehow disappointed him. She hadn’t even mentioned what had happened between them, hadn’t tried to talk to him, or apologize, and it made him feel a little like she didn’t care enough to try to fix things. Which was totally unfair and ridiculous because he hadn’t tried to talk about it either. But…

'And you think she loves you?'

Simón shook off that feeling again, that image of water up to his neck. He had other things to focus on— making up with Luna being the first one on that list. He had a job, and a life— he wasn’t going to let it be consumed by worrying thoughts.

The day went by quietly in the Roller. There weren’t many customers, but enough to not be considered bad for business. That was why it didn’t surprise him when he saw Pedro and Eric talking with Nina and Matteo in the armchairs, although it did catch his attention how they seemed to be very excited about something.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked them as he approached. “Why so happy?”  

“You didn’t hear Luna’s voice message?” Pedro asked excitedly. The confusion and slight hurt must have been evident on Simón's face because Pedro sobered up instantly, probably feeling bad for forgetting the situation he was currently in. “Luna got in contact with Felipe Mendevilla and she says he has an amazing proposal for the team,” he explained. 

Simón was still confused after hearing that. Not for the not-receiving-the message part— He knew Luna and him hadn’t fixed things yet and that was why she didn’t tell him. He was confused as to how she had contacted Felipe. He thought that number was lost forever. 

He only pondered about that for a second though. It didn’t matter— One didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Everyone seemed very happy about the news and he was as well.

“That sounds great,” Simón said, smiling. “Do you have any idea of what it is?”

“Not yet," Nina replied. “Luna said he’ll meet her tomorrow to give her details.”

“We were just speculating on what it could be,” added Eric.  

“Being such a remarkable skater, whatever it is, it must be awesome,” Matteo said, his eyes shining with possibilities.

“Yeah, right?” Simón agreed, but found his smile faltering. “I’m glad to hear that he’s still interested, even after everything that happened,” he said a little crestfallen. His eyes wandered towards Ámbar without him being able to help it. She was sitting at one of the tables now, having moved from the armchair at some point during the day, and was currently conversing with Nina’s mom.

The rest of the group seemed to follow his gaze because Matteo asked, “What is your mom doing with Ámbar, Nina?”

Simón turned his head toward her, wondering the same thing.

“My mom offered to help her with the legal business of the Roller,” Nina said, and everyone raised their brows except for Eric. 

Simón remembered something. “Is that why she approached you yesterday?” He asked, thinking of that moment before he had given Ámbar the milkshake.

He felt a slight jab in his chest from that memory. Things had changed so much in just one day.

“Yeah, she was asking for her number,” Nina replied. “It surprised me too but, I guess Ámbar needs all the help she can get now that Gary left her alone with everything.”

Simón looked at Ámbar again. Nina was definitely right, she had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, and it wasn’t fair that VIDIA wasn’t helping her at all.

He felt some guilt creep over him, thinking that instead of helping her he had just put more pressure on her. Of course, it hadn’t been him who made her mess with Luna in the first place. But still, maybe... maybe he had been too harsh.

Luna’s furious at you and you think you’re being too harsh? Scoffed a part of him.

But he chose to hide it from her, he reflected. It was his decision.

Yeah, a decision you made for her sake. How did she repay you? 

Simón realized in that moment that he had lied to Ámbar. People did expect things in return. Although not out of greed or selfishness— There were just some things one simply couldn’t help.

If you trusted someone, you expected that trust to pay off. If you were honest, you expected honesty in return. And if you loved someone, you inevitably wished for that person to love you back.

Simón stared at Ámbar from across the cafeteria. Her head was bowed as she wrote intently, her legs crossed underneath the table. Her left hand came up to tuck a stray strand that was too short to be tied up behind her ear, keeping it away from her eyes. Such a small, insignificant gesture constricted Simón's heart.

Her blue eyes found his, almost as if she'd felt him staring. Simón averted his gaze, leaving the guys— who had continued to talk about who-knows-what; he really had stopped paying attention— and got back to work. Their gazes didn’t meet again, not even at the moment when he left to meet Luna, later in the afternoon. He just notified Pedro that he was going out and walked out of the Roller, nervous, but determined to make things right.  

Ámbar was so grateful to Ana. She didn’t think she could ever repay her for her help. In just a few moments, she had taken care of some legal documents Ámbar didn’t understand, and advised her on how to proceed with the rest of them. She also told Ámbar she was doing a great job by now, which filled her with relief and self-assuring joy.

It didn’t mean she didn't have more work left to do, but Ana definitely alleviated the burden.

Ámbar had stayed working at the table when Ana left, deciding to go through some last things before calling it a day and going home. She was focused on her task, thinking that the sooner she finished the sooner she’d be free, when she heard chairs scraping against the floor, being dragged toward her table.

“Hello, Ámbar.”

Ámbar lifted her head and sighed internally. She should’ve known it would be them.

“Emilia,” she said in answer to her greeting, “Benicio,” she greeted as well. “I’d say it's good to see you but, actually, I’m quite busy at the moment, in case you can’t tell,” she noted before dropping her gaze back to her papers.

“Oh yeah, you’re always busy lately, aren't you?" Emilia said with irony. "Either with your work or betraying us."

Ámbar put her pen down and looked at her.

“Betraying you?” She repeated with irony of her own, raising her eyebrows. “When and how did I betray you guys exactly?”

“You mean other than the fact that now, thanks to you, I’m the biggest cuckold of this place?” Benicio asked, speaking for the first time since he arrived. Ámbar wished he had remained silent.

“Oh, Benicio, tell me this is not another jealous scene, please,” Ámbar whined. She had enough with the one from the previous day.

“Well, as shitty as that was,” Emilia interjected, “I saw it coming, so, under different circumstances, I wouldn’t have given you shit for it. But you also told Simón about us switching Felipe’s number,” she complained, bitter.

“I already told you, he—”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘he found out on his own’. Cut the crap, Ámbar,” Benicio interrupted her, fed up. “You know very well that you could’ve denied it, or made something up, but you didn’t.”

“You chose that loser over us from the beginning,” Emilia accused her with venom, “ever since you came up with your brilliant idea of your Flash Open. And it’s not even just him— You gave me a peace speech about how we should leave the Roller guys alone." She shook her head in disbelief. “I really don’t recognize you anymore, Ámbar.”

“If I told you that, it was for your own good, Emilia," Ámbar said. "And I'm telling you both now: stop it with this nonsense of messing with the Roller guys,” she tried to appeal to them one more time, looking at them with intent. “It takes you nowhere, trust me. You should be focusing on what’s really important, like our team, for example.”

Benicio and Emilia shared a look before focusing on her again.  

“Well, that’s precisely what we wanted to talk to you about,” Emilia said.

Ámbar frowned. “What about it?”

Benicio sat back in his chair, a smug smile curling up his lips.   

“We’re kicking you out of the team,” he declared.   

Ámbar blinked.

Three seconds passed and he still hadn’t said it was a joke.

Ámbar snorted. “I’m sorry. Did I hear that right? You are kicking me out of the team?” She asked, totally amused. 

“That’s right," Benicio said, leaning forward to enunciate his next words darkly. “I told you there would be consequences for messing with me.”

“Right…” Ámbar drawled. “You do realize that, one, I’m the best skater out of all of you, so you’ll only be hurting yourselves, and two, that I’m the one in charge of this whole place, and if I wanted to, I could ban you two forever. You're aware of that, right?”

She wasn’t sure how she’d manage it without hiring security guards, but she could.

Benicio just smiled cockily once more.

“Go ahead and try. I’m sure VIDIA would love to hear all about how you make out with an employee in their facilities.”

The amusement abandoned Ámbar at once. 

She glared at the two in front of her and considered her options. Benicio didn’t have any proof of that, at least she didn’t think so, so it would be his word against hers. There was also no written rule against dating a subordinate, so, technically, she had done nothing wrong.

But if she wanted to keep this job, she couldn’t have her image tainted with something like this— She couldn’t have VIDIA doubting her professionalism. They already doubted she was up for it— They hadn't explicitly said it, but it was obvious— so the last thing she should do was give them reasons to act on their prejudgments. 

She hated letting Benicio and Emilia feel like they were in control, but then again, it wasn't like she’d be really missing something if she let them get away with this.

Coming to that conclusion, Ámbar lifted her chin and shrugged.

“Fine. I don’t care, do whatever you want. I’m too busy to train either way." And it was the truth. “And it’s not like the team even exists anymore, right? You two are more focused on what the Roller guys are doing or what I’m doing than your own lives. I feel sorry for you, truly.”  

Benicio laughed humorlessly. “Funny you say that, you know, considering that just some days ago, you were just like us. In fact,” he leaned closer again, as if his next words were in confidentiality, “I believe you still are. That all this nice girl act you're putting on won’t last for long… I’ve noticed you haven’t been sharing saliva with the guitarist today. Trouble in paradise? Did you mess up again?” He asked with a mocking pout. 

Ámbar stood up so fast that the table shook with the force of her palms hitting it.

“Don’t you dare talk about me as if you know me because, I assure you, you don’t have the slightest idea of what I’m capable of,” she seethed, towering over him threateningly. She only barely stopped herself from choking him right there. 

But Benicio didn’t look affected by it at all. He only leaned calmly back against his chair, resting his arm on the backrest, his smirk perfectly in place. “Well, thank you for proving my point,” he purred.

Ámbar's blood ran cold.

In just a second, the same anger and thirst for revenge that had defined her years had burst to the surface, consuming her every thought. It had been that easy. Would it always be that easy? 

No. Ámbar stomped on that insecurity and pushed it off her mind. It was just Benicio getting on her nerves, nothing more. Anyone would’ve been angry, it didn’t mean anything. She was different. She was changing. She wasn’t that Ámbar anymore.

As if she could read her mind, Emilia’s voice came out to taunt her.

“Admit it, Ámbar. Even if you want to act nice, deep down, you’re as bad as us. You’ll always be just like us.” Her smile was arrogant and confident, and her eyes looked at her as if she were being silly denying these facts, just fooling herself. “And I think your little boyfriend Simón already realized that. Pity.”  

Ámbar didn’t want their words to affect her but they did. When someone voiced your deepest fears, it inevitably struck a chord.

Ámbar wanted to believe that she wasn’t that person anymore, or better yet, that deep down, she never was. But what if that person was who she was? What if, no matter how hard she tried, she would always be swept back into that dark, ugly place she never wanted to return to?

“Leave her alone!”

The strong voice brought Ámbar back from her thoughts. All three heads turned as Ramiro came to stand in front of them, throwing daggers at Benicio and Emilia.

“Do you two really have nothing better to do that you need to be harassing people all the time?” He shot at them.

“Stay out of this Ramiro,” Emilia told him.

“Yeah, I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” Benicio said pointedly.

“I can say whatever the fuck I want,” Ramiro retorted curtly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Seriously, instead of messing with Ámbar or anyone else, why don’t you two get a life?”

Ámbar looked between both parties as they glared at each other, taken aback by the turn of events. Benicio seemed more annoyed by the second.

“Be careful, Ramiro. Don’t speak to us like that,” he warned.

“Or what? What are you gonna do?” Ramiro asked defiantly.  

“Kick you too out of the team.”

Ramiro frowned.

“‘Too'?” He repeated, glancing at Ámbar before staring back at the other two. “Wait- You guys kicked out Ámbar?” He asked incredulously, and then genuinely laughed. “You’re even stupider than I thought.”

Benicio clenched his jaw and stood up from his seat, facing the other boy. “Are you one of us yes or no, buddy? Consider your answer very carefully.”

Ramiro raised his chin. “If Ámbar’s out, then so am I,” he declared. Ámbar was astonished. “And, to be honest, I didn’t want to stay anyway. You like to talk about being the best, but you don’t even care about rollerskating. If I’m going to be the best,” he said, placing his hands on his chest, “I can’t be with assholes like you.”

Benicio’s face contorted in rage and it looked like he was going to throw himself at Ramiro. That was what finally snapped Ámbar into motion, standing between the two of them at the same time as Emilia stood and placed a placating hand on Benicio’s shoulder.

“Alright, that’s enough!” She exclaimed with as much authority as she could. “I don’t want any fighting in this place.”

“Yeah, Benicio, it’s not worth it,” Emilia told him over his shoulder.

Both guys slacked their stance a bit but neither backed away, locked in a glaring contest. Ámbar gathered her folder and pen in one arm and pulled at Ramiro's arm with her free hand.

“Ramiro, let’s just leave,” she told him.

Finally, Ramiro relented, and followed her to the hallway to the rink, the only place where there was no one else around. 

Ámbar stopped there and turned toward him. 

“Why did you do that?”

Ramiro looked at her with his hands in his pockets, looking way too laid-back considering what had just transpired.

“What? Call them assholes or quit the team?” He asked with ease, as if neither was a big deal.

“Defend me,” Ámbar replied.   

It had surprised her, the way he just burst in, barking at Benicio and Emilia for bothering her. It wasn't that she was angry about it, but she was confused, and cautiously suspicious. She and Ramiro weren't that close. And people didn't often stand up in Ámbar's defense. 

Ramiro dropped the nonchalant attitude. His gaze fell to his feet before returning to hers, and Ámbar was surprised once more when she saw sadness in his eyes.

“It was my fault that Luna found out about Felipe before either of you could tell her," he said regretfully. "I imagine that’s why I haven’t seen you with Simón all day and I’m sorry. I gathered the least I could do was help you out.”

Ámbar stayed silent for some seconds, not knowing what to say. It was true that Ramiro had messed up things by revealing everything to Luna, but honestly, she couldn’t find it in her to blame him. He’d always been nice to her— Not like Emilia, who had been her friend in name but jumped at the first opportunity to blame her for everything that went wrong and make her feel worse, and definitely not like Benicio, who so clearly wanted to get into her pants. Looking back, Ramiro may have been more of a friend to her the past few weeks than the other two, if you measured friendship by the level of mutual respect. 

Ámbar crossed her arms.

“Well, I can manage on my own, I didn't need your help,” she asserted. Her first instinct was always to show herself strong. She was strong. She had dealt with worse and would continue to do so. But…

“But, thank you," she said honestly. "For putting them in their place for me. I really appreciate it.”

Ramiro gave her a little smile. “Anytime.”

"And don't worry about the other thing," she added before she lost her nerve. Heartfelt conversations were not her strong suit. "It's fine. I don't blame you."  

Ramiro's face contorted with worry again. "But... You and Simón..." 

"It's my problem, I'll handle it," she cut him off. She didn't need the reminder.  

She was going to say goodbye to leave when Ramiro spoke again. 

"Well, if you ever want to talk... you can talk to me," he said tentatively. "I know a thing or two about... having people you care about angry with you." 

Ámbar looked at him for a moment, once again at a loss for words.

"Thank you," she replied finally. 

She said goodbye to him after that, trying to offer him a little smile as she did so, and then left the Roller to go to her house.

On the way there, Ámbar couldn’t help but think about the past few minutes and wonder if maybe, unexpectedly, she had just made her first real friend.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Roller, another pair of people were not so happy.

“Did you see that? They ran like cowards. Pathetic,” Benicio scoffed as he sat on another chair. There was no point in staying on that table if Ámbar was gone.

Emilia sat beside him, wishing that someday Benicio would start thinking things through before running his mouth. She swore she was the only one with a brain sometimes.

“Benicio, this is serious,” she expressed with worry. “We’re down to two people— We can’t even call ourselves a team anymore.” She hadn’t left México just to lose everything because of some male ego thing. She had only agreed to kick out Ámbar because she clearly had her mind and loyalties elsewhere now, but Ramiro? That hadn’t been part of the plan.  

“Don’t worry, we’re the best skaters out there— the opportunity to show our worth will come,” Benicio assured her. If a famous skater like Felipe Mendevilla had been interested in some little girl like Luna, then they sure as hell were going to get noticed eventually. It was only a matter of time. “In the meantime, I’m going to make sure they pay for everything.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Emilia asked.

Slowly, a cunning smirk grew on Benicio's face. “You’ll see.”

Simón was pretty sure his hands were sweating as he walked through the park, and not because of the afternoon’s sun. Luna had sent him a text when she finished her classes telling him where she’d be waiting for him, so Simón walked directly there, glad that he didn’t have to wander through the whole park looking for her. He would’ve done it, though. He would do anything for Luna.

It was only minutes before he saw her in the distance, sitting on the bench she'd mentioned, under the shade of some trees. Her gaze was down as she fumbled with the bracelets on her wrist. She was wearing regular clothes, which made Simón think she must have texted him after leaving her house and not the Blake, as he'd previously assumed. It didn't matter. Whatever made her feel more comfortable was fine. 

Luna sensed his presence as he came near her— Simón could tell by the tension that appeared on her shoulders. She gave him a brief glance as he reached the bench but that was it, choosing to set her eyes on the horizon instead, staring at the trees, bushes, and grass.

Simón sat next to her, with his hands on his knees and his eyes fixed on her, even if she didn't look back.

“Hey,” he greeted her to break the silence. He got another glance from her. “First of all, thank you for agreeing to talk to me,” he said, and it was both genuine gratefulness and a plea of please talk to me.

Luna let out a little sigh. “Yeah, well. Even my mom was on your side, so I was kinda outnumbered," she said a little bitterly. 

Simón decided not to dwell on that and just say what he so desperately needed to express. He turned his body to face her as fully as he could and started his speech.

“Luna, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know that what I did was wrong and I deeply apologize. You have to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. It’s not like I found out and was like ‘Let’s hide this from Luna so she doesn’t know!’ I would never do something like that— You know me.”  

Luna finally turned to face him, her green eyes meeting his regretful ones. “I know, but you still did. You betrayed my trust, Simón.”

“No." His voice and head shook. It hurt him that she even thought that. “No, don’t say that, I would never do that. It’s just… Okay, I know it sounds like an excuse but, I really felt like Ámbar should be the one to tell you," he said. "I wanted her to tell you. How can she prove that she’s good if we don’t give her a chance to do so? I really wanted to give her that chance.”

“…My mom said the same thing last night.”

“See?!” Simón jumped. Which, okay, was a rather petty move, but he was desperate.   

“But it doesn’t justify lying,” Luna emphasized, giving him a pointed look.

Simón looked down in shame. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Silence stretched between them as Simón stared at his hands, replaying his mistakes in his mind while he played with the rings.

“I can’t even blame Ámbar,” he muttered after some time. He was just saying what went through his head, aware that Ámbar was probably the last thing Luna wanted to talk about, but he couldn’t help it— All he thought about was her. “I mean, she’s just starting to be… herself, the real her, and I asked her to apologize to you when you two have never gotten along.” He gave a disheartened shrug. “Maybe I asked for too much… It wasn’t fair to her.”

In the quiet after his words, he was half-expecting Luna to jump out in outrage and yell at him to just go with Ámbar and leave her alone if he was so set on defending her. In truth, he might even deserve it by this point. Why couldn't he stop looking for excuses for her? Why couldn't he stop seeing things from her point of view and sympathizing with her after all the trouble she caused him?

Well, he knew why, but that reason didn't help Luna. 

Luna, whose voice came out unexpectedly calm when she spoke. 

“And yet she did.”

Simón lifted his gaze towards her with his eyebrows scrunched up.

“What?”

“Ámbar. She apologized to me yesterday,” Luna told him, meeting his gaze so he could see she wasn't lying.

Even then, Simón couldn’t stop himself from staring at her dumbfoundedly. “She did?” 

“Yep,” Luna confirmed, and Simón’s heart leaped inside his chest. “She pretty much cornered me until I listened to her— she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She told me that it was all her fault, that I shouldn’t be mad at you... She pretty much begged me to talk to you and then apologized,” Luna recounted, her eyes rolling a little, but, strangely, not looking that annoyed. “She even gave me Felipe’s number back,” she said.

Simón’s eyes widened.   

“She did? ” He asked again, his heart now pounding incessantly.  

Luna made a sound of confirmation and a smile grew on Simón's face. She had done it. Ámbar had actually done it. And there he was thinking that she didn’t care, that she hadn’t bothered to try. Hell— She had done even more than what he asked her to do!

Simón felt butterflies in his stomach and a sudden urge to jump all over the place. He didn’t, of course, but nothing could’ve stopped him from smiling.  

“You know, I wasn’t even going to listen to her at first,” Luna continued, and Simón was suddenly reminded that he was in the middle of a very serious conversation that he should not be distracted from. “But then she reminded me of how I didn’t listen to Matteo before, and I felt horrible just from picturing anything like that happening to you.”

Luna turned completely toward him and looked into his eyes intently.

“Simón, we’ve been best friends since we were very little, and I adore you," she started. "We’ve always told each other everything, and that’s why it hurt so much that you didn’t tell me." Simón gulped down the sting of pain in his chest. “But it’s precisely because I know you from all those years that I get it," she said. "You did what you thought was best, and I can’t stay mad at you for that.”

Simón felt a surge of relief start to emerge inside of him.  

“Does that mean you forgive me?” He asked tentatively, but a slight hint of excitement at the prospect might have sneaked through.

“Only if you forgive me,” Luna said, making him frown. She lowered her gaze. “I told you some very harsh things. I made fun of your feelings for Ámbar and it wasn’t my place to do so. I just… I was worried about you,” she admitted, bringing her eyes back to his, and Simón could see the pain in them. “And I expressed it in the worst way possible but— Simón, you’re an incredible person. You deserve someone who loves you, who protects you, who makes you as happy as you can possibly be, and more,” she uttered with such emotion behind her voice that Simón’s heart clenched. Of course Luna would think about him even when he had done something wrong, he thought. He didn’t know why he ever expected anything different. “Ámbar already hurt you once and I was worried she’d do it again, taking advantage of your good heart.”

It was a valid concern considering their history. For that same reason, Simón sought to clarify. “You 'were' ? Or...?"  

Luna showed him a smile for the first time since the day before. “Well, I’m always going to worry about you,” she said with warmth in her voice. Simón also smiled at that— He’d always worry about her too. “But,” Luna continued, “after I talked to her yesterday, I think I believe you. Ámbar really is changing. And, unless she’s a very good actress, I think she really does care about you too.”

And just like that, the happiness that had filled Simón before was back in full force.  

It was like adrenaline. Every beat of his heart repeated 'She pretty much begged me to talk to you' and 'She even gave me Felipe’s number back', making him almost vibrate in his seat, hitting him over and over like waves with excitement.

But this time, when Simón pictured himself in the water, he wasn’t alone anymore.

Luna must have noticed that he was half-ready to climb a hill and scream at the top of his lungs because she gave him a funny look.

“Alright, alright, control that smile of yours or you’re gonna hurt your face,” she teased him, and they shared a laugh. A good, carefree laugh that Simón had no idea he had missed this much until now.

“So. Everything okay, best friend?” He asked chirpily once the laughter died down.   

“We’re more than okay, best friend,” Luna replied with cheer of her own. “Just— I want you to take care of yourself, okay? Promise me that,” she said earnestly.  

Simón smiled warmly. “I promise.” 

The two joined in a hug, the kind that melted all the bad things away and filled you with a sense of peace. Simón closed his eyes, enjoying that feeling, the warmth of the sun above them, the rustle of leaves against the breeze, and the certainty that things were going to be alright.

“…And when I say ‘take care’ I mean that in more ways than one, if you catch my drift,” Luna told him as she pulled away, giving him a naughty look.

Simón looked at her astonished. “Luna!” 

She held up her hands in a gesture of innocence. “I’m just saying, I’m too young to be an aunt.”

“Oh my god,” Simón whined, hiding his face in his hands, embarrassed, but still smiling despite that.

Luna’s laugh rang in his ears and a wave of relief hit him once more. Finally, they could share moments like these again. Hopefully, it would stay like this forever.

“Okay, what do you say we head to the Roller now?” Luna proposed, getting up from the bench and standing in front of him.

Simón got up too and entwined his arm with his best friend's.

“Lead the way, Miss Luna.”

The moment Ámbar walked into the mansion, she encountered Mónica. The kind woman had been sitting on one of the couches, calmly drinking tea when she saw her enter, and immediately greeted her with a smile. It had taken Ámbar some time to realize that she really was that nice, not some nice act she put up in front of her out of pity. She had started letting her in a little bit, coaxed by her caring gestures.  

That was why she joined her for tea when Mónica offered, a little worried that she’d talk to her about what she’d done to Luna, which she must have known by that point. But if she did, Mónica didn’t show it. The conversation went in a whole different direction than the one Ámbar had expected: Sharon.

Ámbar had felt so bad then, as Mónica told her a bunch of stuff about Sharon that she had to pretend she didn’t already know. She had gotten very used to lying, but she was being truthful when she said she couldn’t believe all the stuff that her godmother was doing. It was the most honest Ámbar could be about the subject without betraying the woman who had raised her. With each passing day, she was more and more convinced that her godmother’s revenge didn’t make sense, that it wouldn’t do any good to anyone, only cause more harm. And yet, Ámbar didn’t say anything.

She would try to talk some sense into Sharon, she decided. There had to be a way to make her understand— It wasn’t too late yet.

Seeing her troubled face, Mónica reached for Ámbar’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, smiling sadly at her and telling her how sorry she was that she had to suffer through all of this. Ámbar wondered if she’d say the same thing if she knew everything.

Out of the blue, the woman smiled excitedly and told her that pancakes would go excellent with the tea they were having and asked if she’d like some. Ámbar thought that it was clearly Mónica's way to try and cheer her up. She felt bad about it, but she would’ve felt worse denying her kind gesture, so she accepted.

She followed Mónica to the kitchen, both of them carrying their cups in their hands, and watched as she prepared everything she would need. Ámbar offered to help many times, but Mónica insisted that she just sit there and wait. Ámbar did as asked, remaining silent except for some casual exchanges now and then as Mónica prepared the pancakes.

Ámbar found that the silence wasn’t awkward, and she caught herself observing the woman’s steps attentively, wishing to learn by watching her. It seemed simple enough, but she probably wouldn’t remember everything after just one time. Never before had Ámbar been interested in learning how to cook— they had employees for that— but the idea of being able to prepare herself something anytime she wanted to sounded very appealing, and invigorating, thinking it would be something she made with her own hands.  

Once the pancakes were done, they sat at the dinner table to eat them. Mónica doused hers with caramel while Ámbar enjoyed them with chocolate sauce. After such a heavy day, she felt like the sweetness in her mouth was a small piece of heaven. Mónica laughed when she told her as much.

Mónica had just finished eating when Miguel came looking for her, apparently to discuss some important matters. After Ámbar assured her that she didn’t mind being left alone, Mónica gave her one last gentle smile and walked out of the dining room, following her husband.

Ámbar stayed at the dinner table for a while longer, nursing one last cup of tea, embracing its warmth. Once satisfied, she stood from her chair, meaning to go up to her room, but the moment she set foot outside of the dining room she saw Simón, walking through the front door and closing it behind him.

Her heart leaped inside her chest when his brown eyes met her own.

“Simón...”

His expression was unreadable, and Ámbar considered leaving. Just, carry on her way upstairs while silently begging he’d called out to her. But she had been patient all day, and, seeing him now, she found she couldn’t be so any longer.

She needed to talk to him. To make him talk to her— She needed it desperately.

“Did you get to talk to Luna? Did she forgive you?” She asked, and her anxiety only rose when Simón didn’t answer, just kept silently making his way toward her. “Because if she didn't, I could try again,” she offered nervously. “I- I’ll convince her. I’ll talk to her over and over if necessary, I swear, just—”  

The words died on her lips as Simón covered them with his own. 

Ámbar's breath caught in her chest. One moment, he was steps away, and the next, he was grabbing her face and kissing her with a passion she didn’t understand. She was a little slow to return it because of her surprise, but Simón's lips were insistent on hers, needy, and soon she was holding onto him with the same intensity, tilting her head to the side to kiss him deeper. For a moment, she'd thought she'd never get to kiss him again, and that was all she could think about now, burying her hands in his hair, holding it in fists, pressing her lips as fiercely against his as he did with her own. Ámbar was quite sure she wasn't breathing, but somehow, she felt like she was taking her first gulps of air in a very long time.

When Simón pulled away, leaving her lips parted, gasping, his eyes stared at her so hard she thought his look might pierce right through her. Her hands fell to his chest, and she could feel the pounding of his heart when he spoke.

“I love you.”

Her eyes widened and danced between his. She tried to process what was going on, if she was dreaming all of it or if it was actually real. Ámbar expected it to fall away into the fragment of her imagination that it had come from, but with every second, his gaze remained just as intense, staring into her soul with scorching affection.

“You do?”

Simón smiled warmly and nodded, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. That light brush of his fingers thundered through her body as strongly as the current beating of her heart.

Ámbar's eyes burned with inexplicable joy. "Me too. I love you too.”

She was barely done speaking when Simón claimed her mouth again, pulling her against him by the waist. Ámbar wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with all she had, standing on her tiptoes to be as close as possible. Her world was spinning. She'd never felt so much and so strongly and she tried to convey it all through her lips, her tongue, her hands. Simón had her flush against him, with one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back, and she never wanted to leave. It was beautiful and perfect and right. But—

“Wait,” Ámbar gasped, parting slightly. “We’re in the middle of the lobby, anyone could see us.”

“Screw that.” Simón kissed her lips once more, as if parting from them for more than one second physically pained him. “I don’t care who sees. I’ll take the teasing or the scolding or whatever.” His hands reached up to hold her face. “Let’s just be together," he said, with his eyes shining with something she saved in her mind as love— This was what love looked like in him. "Properly this time. With no more secrets, or plans, or anything. Just us, promise me.”

Ámbar nodded along to his words. Her hands were shaking and she tightened her grip on him. Nothing had ever sounded better. “I want that too,” she vowed. “More than anything.”

Simón smiled and it felt like he had given her a gift. She had missed that smile. She would’ve stared at it forever if she didn't need those lips on hers. 

This time, she pulled him in, fusing their mouths with an insatiable hunger and no intention of parting from him anymore. The two kissed with fervor, fueled by the exorbitant bliss of knowing the other felt the same— the same unsettling and intoxicating feeling that never left you once it took root inside you, the feeling that consumed your being until you could no longer recognize yourself without it because it was an inseparable part of you. 

They made their way up to the second floor in between kisses, roaming hands, and staggering feet on stair steps. They had a burning feeling in their chests, spreading to the rest of their bodies, and it begged and rioted to be set loose. 

And so it would be.

...

..

.

Chapter Text

They fell onto the mattress in a mess of kisses and giggles, with Ámbar on top of him after having almost pushed him onto the bed. With their legs entwined, they kissed profoundly, her hands digging into his hair and Simón’s on her waist. She ran her tongue over the roof of his mouth, making him moan, and he responded by catching her bottom lip in his teeth and giving it a little tug.

Ámbar gasped and leaned back slightly, looking at him. His eyes found hers immediately and they stared at each other, both breathing heavily. Ámbar thought about how he said he liked her eyes— But his were beautiful. She adored their deep brown color, especially when they looked at her like this, like she was everything and nothing else mattered.

She dropped a short kiss on his mouth, enthralled by the way his lips followed her when she pulled back.  

“Wait, one second.”

Simón opened his eyes again and watched as she stood from the bed and walked over to her vanity, extracting a key from one of the drawers and then moving to her door.

The sound of the lock turning echoed in a leap of his heart.

Well. That left no question as to what her intentions were. 

Not like he was complaining.

Simón took the opportunity to kick off his shoes and take off his socks. Ámbar mirrored him, taking off her boots before throwing herself on top of him again. Her legs straddled his hips and she kissed the breath out of his lungs. Her tongue slipped back into his mouth and he met it with his own, the velvety warm feeling sending chills of pleasure down his body.

If anyone had told him that morning that he’d be ending up his day like this, Simón would’ve laughed. Back then, he wasn’t even sure Ámbar felt the same way as he did. Now he knew, not just because of her words, but because he had seen it in her eyes, had felt it in the way she kissed him with the same uncontrollable happiness that was overwhelming him. And he could feel it now, as her hands roamed all over him and she kissed him with urgency.

Ámbar lifted his t-shirt and Simón broke the kiss long enough to lift his arms so she could take it off. She immediately leaned into his neck, kissing down to his chest and inhaling his scent. It was manly in the best way, and so Simón it was intoxicating. She could feel the hard beating of his heart reflecting her own, and the way his skin felt hot against her palms. He had his eyes closed, like losing himself to the feeling of her touch and she loved the way his muscles reacted to her explorations. She moved lower, leaving wet kisses down his stomach and he groaned when she licked him right over the thin patch of hair that disappeared under his jeans.

Simón snapped his eyes open and grabbed her by the back of her head, pulling her into another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. He freed her hair so it fell in waves and buried his hands in it as they kissed incessantly. Ámbar grounded her hips against his, delighting in the delicious friction and the needy groan that escaped him. Simón delved his hands desperately under her shirt, needing to feel her more, caress all of her smooth skin. Ámbar felt the same need to be touched, so she sat up and pulled her shirt over her head.

Simón realized then, in the middle of his foggy mind, that he hadn’t seen her with a bra before. The first time they did this, there hadn’t been much clothing to take off, and the ones that were there seemed to disappear in a matter of seconds. Now she was straddling him with her breasts cupped by a lacy black bra and his eyes delighted in the pretty view.

It only lasted a few seconds though, because Ámbar brought her hands to her back immediately to unclasp it, dragging it off her shoulders and throwing it away soon after.

Another pretty view. 

Simón pouted either way.

“I wanted to do that.”

Ámbar smiled teasingly.

“Want me to put it back on?” She asked with a fake innocent look.  

Simón slid his hands up from her hips to her back and pulled her closer to him.

“Hell no.”

He flipped them over, laying between her legs, and looked at her from above. Bare from the waist up with her blonde hair spread over the black pillows she looked like a painting of contrasts, like she was light itself and the freckles on her chest her own constellation of stars. Her blue eyes were dark with equal measures of love and desire, fixed on him. She was so beautiful that it was breathtaking.

Simón leaned to place reverent kisses on her skin, from her neck to the valley between her breasts, and down her stomach. He climbed back up to kiss her lips once more and cupped her breasts in both palms. Ámbar sighed at the contact, arching her back to urge him to touch her more. Simón complied, squeezing them gently, caressing her nipples with his thumbs in small circles, and tasting the moans he elicited with it on his tongue. Ámbar clenched her legs around him, feeling the heat build between them rapidly. She brought her hands down to his jeans, pulling the button open, wanting nothing more than to feel him completely.

“Wait.” Simón stopped her hands before she could undo the zipper.

Ámbar looked at him questioningly, wondering if she had done something wrong.

“Not yet,” he said, and the husky quality of his voice gave away that he really had no intention to stop. “I want to do it right this time.”

Relaxing once again, Ámbar slid her hands up his back. “Last time was far from bad,” she purred, leaning up to leave kisses on his neck and tug on his earlobe.

Simón closed his eyes and he hummed at the sensation.

“Yeah, but it all happened too fast,” he said. Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders and laid her back down. “This time, I want to enjoy you. I want to remember every inch of your skin.”

He ran one of his hands up her stomach and between her breasts, following it with his gaze like a little show of all he meant to explore, and cupped her jaw, tilting her head up with his thumb under her chin. His eyes looked deeply into hers.  

“Would you let me?”  

Ámbar found herself short of breath, captured by the look he was giving her, like he wanted to devour her whole and worship her at the same time. She wasn’t sure she'd ever been looked at like that. The promise in his dark eyes alone was enough to speed her heart wildly.

Words failed her, so she nodded her head in his palm, a mix of nerves and anticipation burning inside her body.

Simón smiled and then kissed her, slow at first, holding her face in his hand and trying to engrave every detail of this moment on his memory: the feeling of her lips on his, the scent of her hair, the softness of her skin, and the taste of her mouth. He wanted to be remembered as well, to print himself on her body with invisible ink so she would never forget him, never question how much he loved her.

That was what he wanted: to have the first time they should’ve had, adore her and show her how much she meant to him.

Ámbar's hands traveled over his back and slid up to his hair as Simón leaned down to kiss her neck. He licked and sucked on her sensitive skin, tracing with his mouth the whole length of her shoulder, and then the other one too. His hand grasped her breast once more, kneading it as he bit on her collarbones. Little sounds came out of her mouth as he painted her skin with his lips as if they were a brush. He licked the tip of one breast as his hand caressed the other, and Ámbar's nails dug on his scalp. He groaned, and she could feel the vibration travel from her nipple to the rest of her body like an electric current. Simón stayed like that for a while, switching sides between his hand and mouth, bringing her arousal higher. Finally, with one last suck, he released her breast and moved lower, kissing down her torso, sliding his hands over her sides. Suddenly, he leaned back, staring at her right side while his thumb traced circles on her hip.  

“This looks like a star.”  

Ámbar’s eyes fluttered open from her kiss-induced trance and looked down to see what he meant.

“Oh, it’s my birthmark,” she said a little short of breath. She was surprised she could even form words at all.

Simón smiled tenderly at the small spot. “It’s just like you.”

Sweetly, he bent down to place a kiss over the mark. A star. He couldn’t have chosen a better mark for her.    

Ámbar’s chest tightened at the gesture. Damn it, this wasn’t fair. He couldn’t be this cute and turn her on so much at the same time— her heart was going to give up at any second.

As if trying to test that theory, Simón knelt on the bed and started to undo her shorts.

“See? Last time I didn’t get to notice that,” he pointed out, pulling her shorts down her legs and discarding them on the floor afterward. “Nor did I get to do this…”

Taking one of her feet in his hand, he took one of her socks off and then started kissing up her leg, right from her ankle. The brushes of his lips and tongue up to her inner thigh had Ámbar squirming and jolting uncontrollably, little gasps tearing from her mouth every time he sucked or nibbled on the sensitive skin. He repeated the same thing with her other leg, kissing and drawing circles with his tongue, and by the time he reached her inner thigh again, Ámbar was panting.

“Simón, please,” she whimpered, her knuckles white from her tight grip on the bed covers. 

She didn't know what exactly she was asking for— Anything. Anything would do, she just needed him to stop this torture no matter how sweet it was— She couldn’t take it anymore.

Simón left one last kiss on her thigh and pulled away. He could never deny Ámbar anything she asked, especially if she did it in such a sweet, needy voice.

(And he was getting impatient too, being able to smell how much she wanted him.)

He hooked his fingers on the sides of her black panties and pulled them swiftly down her legs. With that done, he spread her legs once more, staring for a second at all the liquid that had already gathered there. Maybe he did tease her too much. 

Without further ado, he laid down on his stomach, putting her legs on his shoulders, and gave her a long lick, from bottom to top.

Ámbar threw her head back with a cry. After being pent up to the point of desperation, having a hot, wet tongue right where she needed it overwhelmed all of her senses, like a shock to her system in the best of ways. 

Simón, much to her disappointment, pulled away slightly.

“Sshhh,” he muttered against her thigh. His breath right next to her center made her shiver. “They could hear us.”

Oh.

It took Ámbar— understandably, if you asked her— a hot second to process that. She had been so immersed in the heat that she had totally forgotten where they were. This wasn’t the storage room where they could be truly alone— this was her bedroom, and her walls weren’t soundproof if all the complaints about her loud music were any indication. She knew the mansion more than anyone, so she knew that, yes, it was pretty wide, but also usually very quiet, so any noise above a certain volume could attract attention. Even if she wasn't trying to hide the fact that they were together, she definitely didn’t want to broadcast it to the world this way.

She gave an internal thanks to Simón for thinking logically (although— how could he still be so calm? It was so annoying) and looked down to meet his gaze. Just the sight of him between her legs like this almost made her moan, but she nodded. She could be quiet.

Simón dipped his head down again.  

To tell the truth, he had only done this a couple of times, so he probably had less experience than she thought he did. But, if there was one thing he did have, it was the utter determination to do everything in his power to make her feel good. So, with that goal in mind, he started to explore her with his tongue, paying attention to every reaction of her body, to every move that made her legs twitch around him or had her stifling a moan.

As the swirls of his tongue got more and more maddening, Ámbar dug her hands in Simón's hair, needing to hold on to him— The bed covers weren't enough anymore. Simón sucked on her clit and her hands gave a strong tug as a noise escaped from her throat, which elicited a groan from him that she felt all over. Faintly, Ámbar wondered if maybe she was holding on too hard, but then a finger entered her, followed by another, and she was too busy trying to control her sounds to think about anything else.

The wet noises were obscene. Ámbar's legs shook as the sensations became stronger and stronger, her body winding up tighter with every lick, every suck, every intrusion from his fingers, until she finally came, wave after wave of hot pleasure overtaking her, making her roll her hips against his face.

Simón eased down slowly, letting her ride it out. Then, when her orgasm seemed to subside, he pushed himself up, leaving little kisses up her stomach and on her chest, heaving from her high. After a few moments, Ámbar grabbed his head and pulled him down into a hungry kiss.

“I love you,” she said after breaking the contact.  

“That good, huh?” He joked with a smirk, but all humor left him as Ámbar’s hands gripped his jeans and pulled down his zipper.

Simón helped her eagerly to take them off his legs, his boxers going down with them. Her melted little sounds and the feeling of her coming apart under his hands had left him almost unbearably hard, so much so that he'd had to rut against the mattress a couple of times just to not go insane, and now he didn’t think he could wait any longer. He needed to be inside her, so deeply that neither of them knew where one ended and the other began.

Once he'd gotten rid of his last layers of clothing, Simón crawled up on top of Ámbar, and she spread her legs so he could nestle between them. She ran her hands up his back and cupped his nape, catching his eyes with her own, and Simón took a moment to memorize her like this, gazing up at him like nothing else existed.

Ámbar tugged him down for a kiss and he went willingly, sliding his lips over her addicting ones. He brought one hand down and positioned himself at her entrance while they kissed, enjoying the way her fingers gripped him tighter when she felt him rub against her. They broke apart only when their need for air and for each other became too strong.

Still with their eyes closed, Simón touched their foreheads together. 

“I love you too,” he told her, a little breathless. Then he pushed inside slowly.

Even if they were trying to keep quiet, the moan that came out of both of them was unavoidable. Being inside of Ámbar was absolute bliss for Simón, like he was always meant to be there and he had been missing her all this time. Ámbar hummed underneath him, almost like in relief, and he wondered if she felt the same way, if she could possibly feel as good as he did.  

Simón leaned back slightly and their eyes found each other. He started moving without breaking her gaze, sliding in and out of her at a slow pace but with deep thrusts. Ámbar dug her nails on his back. It felt so good— his firm body against her own, his hips rubbing against her clit with every downward move, his whole length sliding deliciously inside of her, grazing all of her spots over and over again. That alone was hard to handle, but the way he was looking at her made everything unbelievably more potent.

His eyes roamed her body and watched every expression on her face, and Ámbar felt a weird surge of shyness at how intimate that was. She didn’t think she had ever done it like this, with her eyes wide open and looking at the other person. It was intense, but she didn’t want to close her eyes because she could see him too: every change in Simón's eyes as he buried himself inside her, every contort of his face when he moaned, every press of his lips as he tried to quiet a sound or the way they flew open when he gasped, whether for air or from sensation. Every time Ámbar found herself moaning from a particular movement, she could see him do it too. She had never felt so connected to another person in her life.

She ran one hand over the faint sign of stubble in his jaw, wiped the sweat on his forehead, and brushed his hair back. Simón smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead, her cheek, the tip of her nose, and finally, her lips.

Ámbar had always thought that ‘making love’ was just a cheesy expression, but now she understood it.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Simón slid his own under her body to sit them both up and place her on his lap. The prettiest little sound came out of Ámbar's mouth, gravity doing its thing and pushing him even deeper, and Simón made use of her gasp to deepen the kiss, invade her mouth once more. Sounds of pleasure escaped his throat as she started to move on top of him, rolling her hips so deliciously he thought he might die.

Their chests molded together as they held each other tight. They moved in perfect sync— Each time he rose, Ámbar pressed down to meet him, making sure they were as close as they could be, and each time they did, it was so electrifying they felt the currents of pleasure down to their toes. His hands drowned in her hair and hers ran all over his wide back. It was like hugging in body and soul, the closest they could be to being one, and it felt so devastatingly good that they just had to step up the tempo, had to have more of that, lose themselves in the other.

As Ámbar felt the pressure build more and more inside her, begging to snap, her movements turned erratic, her breathing rasped. Simón took over, holding her hips and pounding into her deeply from beneath, loving the way her face scrunched up and her mouth fell open in pleasure, how she threw her head back with abandon. He could do that to her, he thought with amazement— make her lose herself in the ecstasy he provided. It hit him with a wave of pride, as some old, primitive instinct told him that, at that moment, she was his. Completely and utterly his.

A couple more thrusts and Ámbar came with a moan of release. Her arms held him tightly as her body convulsed, her walls clenching rhythmically around his cock, sending Simón barreling toward his own peak. He hurried to kiss her to muffle both of their sounds as the pressure snapped inside of him, setting off an explosion of sparks that coursed through his body as he spilled inside of Ámbar with a grunt.

Mine.

The two of them collapsed against each other, shaking and holding the other as they tried to get back from the stratosphere, to teach their bodies how to breathe again.

They could feel the pounding of each other's hearts with how close their chests were. Their skin was covered in a layer of sweat and Simón didn't want Ámbar to get cold from it, so with heavy movements, he reached behind her and pulled back the bed covers for them to lay underneath. Ámbar didn’t really want to move yet. She wanted to stay in his arms for a moment longer, with him inside her where he belonged, but the chill air was starting to affect her, so she figured the sooner they got under the covers, the sooner she could relax in his warmth again. She stayed close to his body as much as she could while they got between the bed sheets, and once there, Ámbar immediately curled up at his side, wrapping one arm around him and laying her head on his shoulder. Simón pulled the covers over them, and snuggled with her too.

He looked at the small girl in his arms and got struck by the need to give her everything, everything she desired, lay the world at her feet. If she was his, then she was his to serve and to love. He'd been hers from a long time ago.

He was playing with the ends of her hair when Ámbar’s voice rose from the comfortable silence.  

“So… I’m assuming your talk with Luna went well?”

Simón laughed and Ámbar lifted her head to see him, happy that her statement had the desired effect. His voice was still kinda hoarse from their previous activities and hearing that sent a pleasant shudder through her.  

“Yeah, quite,” he said, and propped his head in one hand to look at her. “She told me how you talked to her for me. I was so excited when I found out that I had to restrain myself from running to find you right there and then.”

Ámbar smiled at the mental image of him buzzing with excitement. “I told you I would talk to her,” she said lightly. “The least I could do was keep my word.”

Simón shook his head a little, looking deeply into her eyes. His hand tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and stayed on her cheek. “It was more than that.”

Before she could ask what he meant, he pecked her lips softly. “Sorry for doubting you would.”

“Well, to be fair, it’s not like I was very ecstatic to do it,” she said, making him giggle. Her eyes focused on Simón’s smiley face. God, how she loved to see him like this. “But let’s say I'll forgive you if you give me another kiss. Or— No. You know what?" She corrected quickly, bringing a hand up to his cheek. “I’ll just steal it.”  

Simón couldn’t help but laugh again, but it soon turned into a sigh as her lips touched his. The one kiss was followed by a peck, and then another, and two more because Ámbar seriously loved kissing him.

Simón grabbed her hand from his face and placed a kiss on her palm.

“I saw you with Nina’s mom today,” he told her as he entwined their fingers. “I didn’t know she was helping you.”

“Today was the first time, actually. You have no idea how grateful I am towards her. You may want to start worrying because I think I love her.”

He laughed and raised his eyebrows. “To that extent?”

“Totally. She helped me figure out so many things that I had been struggling with for days that I didn’t even think about Emilia and Benicio anymore.”

Simón frowned. “Emilia and Benicio? Did something happen with them?”

She shrugged. “They kicked me out of the team.”

Simón’s eyes widened and he sat up a little. “What?! Your skating team? Why?”

“Well, Emilia said that it was because I betrayed them by fraternizing with the enemy, but it was mostly just Benicio’s way to get back at me for what happened.” She rolled her eyes at that with disdain, seemingly more interested in the circles she was tracing on his chest than what she was recounting. “Honestly, joke’s on them. They’ll never find another skater as good as me. Or Ramiro,” she added, glancing up to look at Simón. “He quit the team as soon as he found out they were kicking me out.”

“…Wow.”

Simón remained quiet for a moment, staring at nothing with an unfocused gaze, running his thumb absentmindedly up and down Ámbar's back.

Ámbar sat up a little.

“Hey,” she said, grabbing his face between her hands so he looked at her. “Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Blaming yourself,” she stated, and if she hadn’t been sure already, the way his eyes flicked would’ve finished convincing her that she was right.

“It’s not your fault,” she said with as much conviction as she could, wanting him to believe her. “And I honestly don’t mind being out of the team. If they had given me enough time, I probably would’ve left them.”

“But they kicked you out because of me. Because of us,” Simón remarked, lowering her hands from his face. “And Benicio doesn’t even know we did it while you two were together— imagine if he knew. And, by the way, that was wrong." He saw her open her mouth, so he hurried to speak again. "No, don’t try to tell me it wasn’t. I don’t regret it, truly, but I admit it was wrong. You should have seen Luna’s face when I told her," he said, feeling a little ill just from remembering. "I felt like I was the worst kind of—"

“Wait,” Ámbar held up a hand. “You told Luna?”

Simón froze.

Oops.

“Um. Yeah, the day we fought. Sorry.” He grimaced a little. “It’s just— She asked about us and I couldn’t lie to her any more than I already had.”  

Ámbar looked at him for a while before sighing.

“It’s fine,” she let it slide. Luna was his best friend, she guessed she could understand why he did it. And it wasn't like he had told her in full detail or anything. She couldn't imagine Simón doing that or boasting about it— He wasn’t like that. “I’m actually surprised the whole Roller isn’t talking about it by now, considering how they love to talk about other people’s lives,” she said. “We should buy Pedro a pizza or something as a thanks for keeping it secret.”

Seeing he wasn't in trouble, Simón relaxed once more and laughed.

“I think as long as he doesn’t find us like that again, that’d be enough for him.”

Something switched in Ámbar after hearing that. The look that showed up in her eyes was one that Simón knew very well by then, after all the encounters they’d had this year.

Very deliberately, she pressed her body against his own and rolled slightly so she was half on top of him, slowly sliding one of her legs between his.

“You’re saying there’s a chance he’d find us like that again?” She asked him with dark eyes and a flirty smirk, thinking of more nights in the storage room, with no clothes and without having to be quiet.

Simón ran his hands down her back as a smirk of his own grew on his face.

“Well, I don’t know,” he answered in that same cheeky lilt, grabbing Ámbar's butt and making her giggle. “Anything’s possible, right?”

Their lips met with ease, sliding against the other’s with complete familiarity. Ámbar captured his bottom lip and then he captured hers, and so they went over and over, in sync, exchanging caresses, nibbles, and warmth.

The pressure of their lips grew as it did the depth of their kiss. Soon, it wasn’t enough to just be laying down, so they adjusted, with Ámbar climbing on top of him with her legs around him and Simón sitting against the headboard, holding her tightly on his lap. It seemed like it was always like that for them. One touch turned into hundreds and a spark turned into fire. Inevitable. It had to be. Just as Ámbar rising on top of him and Simón tightening his grasp on her hips as he felt her descend, joining their bodies once more. It was a fleeting second of relief for both of them, because it was quickly followed by the desire for more, one that the swaying of their hips tried to fulfill.  

It was late into the night when they finally succumbed to exhaustion, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

…

..

.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a long while, Ámbar woke up with her alarm.

The high-pitched screech erupted in her ears and brought her roughly from the depths of her nice sleep. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes a little, blinking many times to adjust to the light. Was the sound of her alarm always that irksome? First hour of the day and she was already annoyed.

That, until she heard a low groan behind her, followed by an arm wrapping around her middle and holding her close.

“Turn that off…”

Just like that, the bad mood was gone, replaced by pure endearment.

Ámbar let out a giggle and stretched her hand to get the phone, but she couldn’t reach it because of his arm holding her against him.

“I can’t turn it off if you don’t let go of me,” she pointed out with humor.   

Simón let out another groan and reluctantly took his arm away. Ámbar moved closer to her nightstand and turned off the alarm.

Just as it stopped ringing, Simón’s arms caught her and brought her back against him. Ámbar giggled again and turned around to face him.

Just like that time at the storage room, Simón laid next to her with his eyes closed, breathing gently. His soft features were the same, but this time they were lighted by the sun rays that snuck through her curtains, giving him an almost angelic look. Also, this time, she didn’t dread the moment he’d open his eyes.

Ámbar found that any doubt she could’ve had that things were meant to go wrong had disappeared after last night. Simón had kissed her and treated her with a warmth so special that it had melted away any fear up to her bones. She could still feel that warmth now, lying between his arms. Ámbar had never felt so calm, safe and protected in her whole life. How could anything not be alright if he was with her?

She took a hand out from between them and ran her knuckles down his face. She had never loved anyone so much. No one had ever loved her either, or at least she didn’t think so. It was a very nice feeling; one she could get used to.

Ámbar brought her hand back to his chest and let herself enjoy that feeling for a moment longer. Also, she was tired as well after the events of the previous night, so a little more rest didn’t sound bad.

After a while, though, she started pulling away. Or at least tried to. 

“Simón,” she said, pushing his chest softly.

He shut his eyes tighter and mumbled.  

“I’m sleeping…”

Ámbar couldn’t help but smile. Sleepy Simón was probably the cutest thing she had ever seen.

“You can rest for a little longer if you want, but I have to get up to go to the Roller,” she said gently.  

“No, you don’t have to. Just stay with me.”

She chuckled. “And who’s gonna open the Roller?”

“Pedro, Eric, I don’t care…” He mumbled, and snuggled even closer against her, drowning his face in her neck. Apparently, he was determined to not let her go.

Ámbar rolled her eyes with a smile. It was like a little kid throwing a tantrum. Oh, well. She guessed she’d have to convince him.

She slid a hand to his back and her other to his shoulder and moved closer, like hugging him, making sure to deliberately press her breasts against his chest in the process. They were bare since she’d only put on panties before falling asleep, and he as well had no more than boxers on, so they were skin to skin.

Simón’s fingers clenched on her lower back so she knew he felt it. Good.

Since his head was on her neck, it left his neck exposed in front of her, so Ámbar started leaving little kisses over it. Simón sighed, melting into her affections, but it soon turned into a moan when her kisses turned wet. She took her time savoring his skin, going down to his collarbone and back up. Her hand on his back moved down, running her nails softly down his spine. He trembled. Right after, she slowly ran the tip of her tongue from the base of his neck up to his jaw. He groaned.

“Ámbar,” Simón gasped hoarsely.

Delicately, she slid her leg between his and raised her knee up to his thighs.

That did him in.

In a flash, Simón had her on her back and was kissing her mouth passionately. His hands roamed her sides, from her thighs up to the outlines of her breasts. Ámbar moved hers to the mess that was his hair, loving that it had been her and not the pillow that had left it like that.

Just a moment. She allowed herself to kiss him back for just one moment and then flipped them with a shove to his chest, sitting on top of him.

Simón looked up at her with eyes as wild as the beating of his heart.

Ámbar smirked.

“Good, you’re awake.”

Swiftly, she got off him and stood up from the bed, holding a sheet around her chest.

“Huh?”

Ámbar bent over, grabbed Simón’s discarded jeans and threw them at the boy who was still reclining in bed, supported by his elbows, looking utterly confused.  

“Dress up,” she told him. “You gotta go change before anyone sees you wearing the same clothes as yesterday.”

“But— So, you mean—” Finally, he seemed to catch up with what had happened and he deflated. “Ugh, really?”

“Yes, really,” she repeated with humor and moved to retrieve his t-shirt as well from the floor. “We need to go to the Roller, I told you. Now get up,” she told him, throwing him the clothing.   

Simón pouted and let himself drop face down on the bed. “I hate you,” he whined, muffled by the pillows.

Ámbar laughed. “You’ll survive.”

The girl turned to her closet and grabbed a robe so she didn’t have to be holding the sheet around herself. She put it on and, once it was tied around her waist, she started checking her clothes to see what she was going to wear that day.

In the meantime, she stole glances back at Simón. He was sitting on the bed, running a hand through his disheveled hair lazily, like getting in the mood to get up. He looked so out of place, Ámbar thought, surrounded by black scratches, stains, and graffitied walls; like innocence surrounded by chaos. And yet, she loved seeing him there, doing something as mundane as putting a t-shirt on. There was no other place she’d rather him be.

Once she was done looking through her clothes, she turned and found him moving around, his eyes looking at the floor. 

“What are you doing?” She asked him, leaving her closet and walking toward him.   

“Looking for— Ah, there it is.”

Simón crouched down in front of her end of bed bench and retrieved a sock from under it. He then sat on the bench to put it on.   

“Is there any use in putting your socks back on if you’re just going to change clothes anyway?”

He turned his head to her as he put on his shoe. “Would you rather I leave you a dirty sock as a souvenir?”

She laughed. “No, thanks.”

Now fully clothed, Simón stood up again. Not being able to resist, Ámbar approached him and brought her hands to his face, kissing him sweetly. His arms wrapped around her as he returned the caress of her lips.  

“Do we meet downstairs for breakfast?” He asked her when they pulled apart and she dropped her hands.   

“Of course. Just, let me shower and everything and I’ll meet you there.”

“Wait a minute…” Simón’s hands left her back and went to his chest instead, in an offended gesture, although his voice showed it was a jest. “Are you telling me that being able to save water by showering together you’re throwing me out of your bedroom? That’s not very eco-friendly of you, Ámbar. It’s very, very inconsiderate towards the environment. I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed in you.”

Her hands went to her hips and she shook her head in disbelief, biting her lip. “Seriously? Eco-friendly? That’s what you’re going with?”  

“Didn’t work?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not giving you the chance to make us late. Now, go,” she told him, pushing him by the chest toward the door.

He grabbed her hands in his. “A kiss goodbye?”

“We’re gonna see each other in 30 minutes, there is no ‘goodbye’!” She laughed.

“30 minutes is a long time,” Simón countered.

Ámbar made a show of sighing dramatically but her smile betrayed her. “Alright…”

Between smiles and giggles, their lips met over and over, her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her. With each kiss, she slowly walked him backward, moving him to the door, but even when they reached it and she unwrapped her arms, she had to blindly reach for the handle since his mouth refused to let her go.  

With one last kiss and smile, she separated and pulled the door open, peeking her head out to check if there was anyone around. Seeing no one, she opened it wider and Simón walked out.

Just as he took two steps outside though, Ámbar stopped him.

“Wait, where are you going? The stairs are this way,” she said in a low voice as to not call attention, pointing in the other direction of the hallway.

“I’m going to my guest room,” he answered simply, pointing behind him.   

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Aren’t your clothes in the storage room? I thought you slept there with the guys.”

“Sometimes we do, especially if we play until late, but not every night,” he explained, also speaking low, and gazed to the side to make sure no one was coming. “I have a couple stuff over there for when I stay but, as much as we enjoy hanging out together, a bed is way better than a couch, and some peace and quiet after a tiring day doesn’t hurt.”

“Huh...” Ámbar processed the new information and took a step closer to him, running her hands from his chest to his neck. “So… We’re gonna have to christianize your bedroom then.”

Simón showed a playful smile. “Excellent idea. Let’s go right now.”  

She giggled but then a sudden noise coming from the direction of the stairs made them jump. Ámbar silently hurried Simón to go while he fought against the shoves of her hands to steal a few last kisses from her lips before speeding down the hall and disappearing around the corner. Ámbar rushed inside her bedroom and closed the door before anyone saw her, smiling with her heart racing, feeling like a little girl doing mischiefs.

She hadn’t felt so alive for a long time. And Simón was right; she had just parted from him and she already missed him.

Eagerly, she hurried to her bathroom so she could soon see him again.

When Simón saw Ámbar enter the dining room exactly 30 minutes later, he almost dropped the tray of cookies he had been putting on top of the table and had to stop his jaw from touching the floor.

She was wearing a white top that left her shoulders bare and a tight black miniskirt that showed her long legs. She looked absolutely stunning. Was she trying to make his heart fail looking like that?  Was she doing it on purpose? Well, it’s not like she could stop being beautiful even if she tried. God, he loved her so much.

“You look beautiful,” he told her as she approached him next to the dinner table, not being able to help himself.  

A slight pink tinted her cheeks and she gave him a little smile. “Thank you.” She gave him a once over and looked at him with humor. “It seems to me like we match, no?”

Simón followed her gaze and looked down to his clothes. Indeed, over his blue jeans, he had a t-shirt that was half black, half white, the same colors she was using.

“Oh. I didn’t even think about it.” He had pretty much thrown on the first t-shirt on his drawer in his haste to see her again. “Guess we’re connected,” he said with a flirt and took one step closer to her.

With her high heel black ankle boots, Ámbar was almost his high, so her sweet lips were almost at level with his own. Right as he leaned to kiss them though, she placed a finger over his mouth, stopping him.   

“Breakfast first,” she said, and then laughed at how he deflated. She moved over to take sit on the table and, respecting her wishes, Simón sat as well, next to her.

To his credit, he did behave for most of their breakfast. After all, they both hadn’t eaten since the day before, Simón was quite hungry and he imagined that she must have been as well.

That didn’t stop him forever though.

“Simón, I’m gonna spill my tea!” Ámbar exclaimed as she tried to keep the cup steady in her hands while he smothered her cheek with kisses.

“Then put it down,” he replied simply as he continued down her neck.

Ámbar did put her cup down onto the table, but with the other hand, she pushed him back into his chair. She gave him what he guessed was supposed to be a stern look, but it totally failed considering the smile on her face and the sparkle of glee in her eyes. 

“We’re supposed to be finishing so we can go to work.”

The last thing Simón could think about was working though. And could anyone blame him? His girlfriend (GIRLFRIEND!) was sitting right at his reach, looking extremely beautiful. Who could resist that?

He put his arms around her waist and brought her closer. Despite her earlier protest, she put up no resistance.

“Can you leave your boss role for one second and kiss me?”   

“I’ve kissed you all morning and you still want more?” She laughed in disbelief.

“Of course. Didn’t I tell you? One of the side effects of being my girlfriend is having to kiss me all,” he gave her a brief kiss, “day,” another peck, “long.” He kissed her again.

She smiled against his mouth before leaning back.  

“Would you look at that, you are a needy one.” She took his necklaces in her hands and started playing with them, something he had noticed she liked to do. “If I had known what I was getting into, maybe I wouldn’t have accepted.”

“Oh, really?” He raised his eyebrows, not being able to erase the big grin from his face.

“Yeah,” she replied and immediately giggled, not being able to keep the serious act.

He had just leaned in to taste her lips once more when a clearing of a throat made him pull away and brought his attention to the entrance of the dining room.

Pedro and Matteo where there and, judging by their faces, maybe they had been there for a while.

“Good morning…” Pedro greeted awkwardly, walking to sit at the table along with Matteo.

“Good morning,” Ámbar said, parting from Simón and sitting straighter on her seat. Simón greeted them as well, allowing his arms to let her go, but not wanting to move away that much, he kept an arm over the back of her chair.

Pedro and Matteo started serving themselves breakfast, looking divided between wanting to throw curious glances at Simón or avoiding their eyes completely from the awkwardness of the situation.

Simón glanced at Ámbar and noticed her cheeks were pink again, probably due to having been caught so cozy. His heart melted in affection and he couldn’t help himself from kissing her blushed cheek.

Ámbar jerked and turned to him with an expression half disapproving, half amused. Seriously? Her eyes seemed to say.

Simón pretended to ignore that and drank his juice nonchalantly. “Sorry. Side effect.”

He didn’t need to look at her to know she had rolled her eyes. He smiled behind his glass.

Suddenly, Ámbar’s phone started ringing. She grabbed the purse she had hanging on the back of her chair and took it out, checking the caller ID.

“Shoot, it’s from the suppliers.” She lifted her gaze from her phone and turned to Simón, speaking quickly. “Side effect of being my boyfriend: Having to deal with the fact that I’m a busy woman.” She excused herself from the table, rising to her feet, and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello, Jam & Roller manager…”

Simón watched her go with a smile as she moved to the living room, continuing the phone conversation. Once again, a clearing of a throat made him turn his attention back to the table.

“I see you two are back to being cheesily in love,” Matteo noted in a tone that Simón couldn’t decide if it was curiosity or apprehension. “Luna told us not to worry about you yesterday, but I couldn’t help but wonder where you were. I gather this is why we didn’t see you at the storage room?”

Simón beamed at them. 

“Ámbar talked to Luna. She apologized to her, and thanks to her Luna forgave me, can you believe it?” He said, totally marveled and full of utter happiness.

Both guys raised their eyebrows.

“Really? That’s great, I’m happy for you, man,” Pedro told him with a smile.

“Wow, she actually did it…” Matteo mused, looking really surprised. “…I guess she really is changing.”

“I told you so,” said Simón, repeating the words that Matteo had told him just a day ago with a smug smile on his face.

The Italian rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Fine, I deserve that. I’m still wary,” he clarified, giving his friend a pointed look. “And I honestly think that you should be too. But… I promise to trust your judgment from now on.”

Simón’s smile turned warm. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad things worked out for you two,” Pedro told him. “After so many ups and downs and problems, it’s good to see you happy.”   

Simón’s smile seemed to double his size and his eyes shone with glee. “I honestly didn’t know I could be this thrilled. It’s like a new level of elated! I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to—” 

“Yeah, yeah, we got it. Don’t you have to work?” Prompted Matteo.

Simón tilted his head to one side.

“Aww. Don’t worry, Matteo. You’ll get back together with Luna. Have faith.” Simón stood from his chair and patted his friend on the shoulder on his way to the living room. He only turned long enough to raise his arms and say, “Love is in the air, bro!” before he disappeared in direction to where Ámbar had gone, a big smile on his face.

Now alone, Matteo looked at Pedro.

“Simón in love is a stuck-up asshole,” he said annoyed.  

Pedro shrugged and took a sip from his coffee. “We put up with you when you were a stuck-up asshole. Get used to it.”    

Matteo seemed to decide to ignore that and just stared back at the table.  He stirred his tea with his spoon for some seconds, in silence.

“… Do you really think this thing with Ámbar is going to go well?”

Pedro finished chewing the sandwich in his mouth and swallowed slowly. Finally, he sighed.  

“I hope it does,” he expressed with utter honesty. “Because I don’t know how Simón is going to end up if it doesn’t.”

Luna was walking to school along with her friends just like every morning, engaged in cheerful conversation under the nice sun.

“So, to boost his confidence, I’m making Matteo a music video and I wanted to ask you for your help,” she told them.  

“Of course, Luna! We’d love to.” Chirped up Yam.

“What did you have in mind?” Asked Jim by her side.  

“Well, because of the song’s lyrics I was thinking we should film at night, and I thought it’d be very cool if we used flashlights and different kinds and colors of spotlights to give it a touch,” the girl talked, gesturing enthusiastically with her hands. “I’m still not sure about the location but, I was wondering if you girls could help me with the choreography, clothes and stuff?” Luna asked Jim and Yam.

The girls looked at each other fast and then spun her heads to the brunette with excited smiles. 

“We’re on it!”

“I could help you figure out filming stops,” Nina offered on her other side. “I have many pictures of the areas around, I’m sure we could find good places.”

“Thank you so much to all of you,” Luna smiled, looking at her friends. “I’ll ask the rest of the guys if they’d like to help. I’m sure if we all work together, this will be the best music video in the history of music videos. Matteo is gonna be so happy!” The brunette exclaimed excitedly.

Jim’s smile turned mischievous and her eyes stared at Luna with playful suspicion.  

“Mmm you seem to be very keen on cheering up Matteo…”

Yam immediately joined in.  

“Yeah, I’ve never seen you so hyped before, and that’s saying a lot.”

“Oh, come on, don’t start,” Luna whined, knowing how her friends got. “You know it’s not like that. I just want him to get over this little rough patch that he’s going through and recover his confidence.”

She didn’t like seeing him down, that was why she had proposed it the night before. Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but recall another part of their conversation, and it left her lips before she could think better of it.

“He asked me about Michel yesterday.”

“What?!” Jim and Yam exclaimed at the same time. They really acted like twins sometimes even though they looked so different. Now they were both looking at her with shiny eyes.

Luna thought she maybe shouldn’t have mentioned it, but it was already too late. And also… well, it just puzzled her.   

“We were rehearsing, and he just asked me completely out of nowhere if I have feelings for Michel,” she retold, thinking of how her heart had picked up speed against her will at the question.

“And what did you tell him?” Nina asked her.

“That he needed to stop trying to interrupt the rehearsal,” Luna said nonchalantly.  

“Okay but, now between us, what do you feel for Michel?” inquired Yam.   

“Nothing. We’re just friends, I don’t have feelings for Michel.”

“Mmm are you sure about that?” Jim teased her. “Because you really get along, don’t you? Whenever I see you with him or we name him, you can’t stop smiling.”

“And you two look like you could be soulmates with all you have in common,” Yam added.

“Now, don’t exaggerate,” Luna laughed. “Yeah, we get along great and I like Michel a lot, but as a friend. I think he’s a great guy, I do, but…” She shrugged. “I just don’t see him that way.”

“… Maybe you can’t fall in love with someone else because you still can’t forget about Matteo?” Nina questioned her gently, softly, like she didn’t want to reopen old wounds but felt like Luna needed to hear it.

All the girls stopped their walking. Luna felt the small ache in her chest she felt every time she remembered her story with Matteo. She didn’t know why it hurt exactly; was it because of how things had ended? Because of a low trick played on them? Was it because she still felt guilty for not believing him when he tried to explain? Or was it because she wished things were different? Because she still…?

She gave herself an inner shake. Her feelings were a mess, like hundreds of threads entangled together that she couldn’t set free, couldn’t figure out which one was which, and she didn’t know how to handle any of it.    

What’s the point of thinking about it? It’s over.

“…You know what I can’t forget?” Luna asked Nina. “That I have the meeting with Felipe Mendevilla today. I’m gonna put an alarm on my phone and everything because this is a huge deal for the team, and I can not be late.”

The brunette took out her phone and typed in it, resuming her walk and considering the conversation over.

The girls looked at each other, knowing she had once again changed the subject, but decided to drop it and kept moving ahead.

Indeed, some hours later, everyone was sitting in the Roller, waiting for news from Luna about Felipe Mendevilla’s proposal.

At first, it was just Simón, who convinced Ámbar to sit next to him and accompany him for a while, and Matteo, who sat some seats away. Soon after that, Jazmín and Delfi arrived. Jazmín once again squealed excitedly when she saw them sitting together, begging for the scoop of Simbar. To be fair, they were sitting quite close, with Simón’s arm over her shoulders and Ámbar’s chair so close that she might as well had been sitting on his lap.

They weren’t planning on hiding they were together, but still the idea of making an interview about it was a little bizarre for Simón. He guessed Ámbar was more used to those things than him. Thankfully though, Delfi managed to control Jazmín claiming that if she got Simbar’s scoop then she was gonna have full coverage rights on Felipe Mendevilla’s proposal when they knew what it was. Jazmín immediately rejected that, claiming that she already had a title for that video and everything: “Amazing proposal changes Jazmín’s life.” It was only after she saw everyone’s stares that she added the rest of them into the title.

Anyway, after that, the conversation focused completely on Luna’s meeting with Felipe. Ramiro joined in, leaning against the back wall of the bar. Pedro took a break and sat next to Delfi, asking if there were any news yet. There was none, so Simón started checking social media, looking for memes to show to Ámbar and make her smile. Sometimes, he kissed her cheek when he succeeded.

Jim and Yam arrived not long after. Ámbar noticed that the blonde deliberately sat as far from her and Simón as possible. They also got curious stares every now and then from the rest. She guessed it made sense, after all, she was an outsider and Luna’s news didn’t even concern her. No one said anything out loud though.  

“Well,” she said after some minutes, “I gotta get back to work.”

Simón dropped his arm as she stood from her chair. She looked at him and pointed at the table where she usually worked on the other side of the cafeteria. “I’ll be over there in case of anything.”

She hardly got to the side of the bar when Simón stood.

“Ámbar, wait! I need something.”

Ámbar turned to him and frowned in confusion as he moved in front of her.  

“What?”

Simón held her face and kissed her lips.

“That.” He smiled. “You can go now.”

Ámbar blinked and then broke into a giggle. She shook her head. “You’re a dork.”

With a playful shove to his chest, she turned around and walked to her table. Simón moved back to his chair and sat again. 

Around him, everyone was looking at him with their eyebrows up to their hairline.

Simón’s smile diminished under the silent observation.  

“What?”

Everyone shared a glance and then just got back to what they were doing. Which was basically looking at their phones waiting for a message from Luna.

Finally, when everyone was getting anxious, Luna herself arrived.

Everyone immediately stood from their seats and went to her, surrounding her and asking her question left and right. Luna told them that the proposal was to make a publicity campaign for a very prestigious brand. Simón felt over the moon after hearing that, it was an amazing opportunity!

Truth be told, he should’ve known by Luna’s face that something was wrong. Maybe, if he hadn’t been so excited, he would’ve noticed the way his friend kept looking at the floor, avoiding everyone’s shiny gazes; how she spoke like she didn’t really want to speak.

Indeed, it was her face that told everyone that she had said no.

“I’m sorry,” she told them with grief. “But the proposal was for me only.”

Simón’s heart fell.

His first reaction was denial. Luna had said that the proposal was for all of them, but she apologized and said that it was a mistake, that she had misunderstood.

Everyone was wearing the same disappointed face. After all, they had all been looking forward to a huge opportunity that would change everything for them, make it all better. But soon their expressions changed, realizing that their friend had chosen them over a good deal for her. Simón almost couldn’t believe she had done it, but if there was one person who would do something like that, it was Luna. It was so very like her.

At the end, it was a bittersweet moment for all. Luna went home and everyone re-took their seats on the cafeteria, the mood way glummer than it had been just minutes before. Everyone was disappointed after all.

“I was so excited about Felipe’s proposal…” Jim sighed.

That was something they could all agree on.

“What are we gonna do now?” Delfi asked.

Simón was wondering the same thing.

“I can’t understand how Felipe was only interested in Luna. And even less that she said no,” Jazmín was saying the moment Benicio and Emilia appeared in the Roller.

They must have heard what Jazmín said because they looked down on them with superior smiles as they walked to stand by the bar. Although, it wasn’t much different from their usual disdainful stares.

Simón wanted to say something, cheer everyone up, but the words simply didn’t come to him.

“Guys, don’t worry.”

Simón lifted his gaze. Ramiro had taken a step forward and now had everyone’s eyes on him. He looked at them with a hesitant smile.

“Sorry, I know it’s probably not my place but, I think as long as you stick together as a team, everything is going to be fine.”

Simón found himself forming a small smile at his reassuring words.

“Thank you, Ramiro,” Pedro expressed, showing that he wasn’t the only one who felt better after listening to him.  

Yam leaned back on her chair with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“I find it funny that you, of all people, are talking about sticking together when it was you who let us all down,” resonated her bitter words.  

Ramiro’s gaze fell to the floor for a second, a shadow of sadness going over his face before he lifted his chin again and looked at Yam with determination in his eyes.

“Yeah, Yam, you’re right. You’re right. But I’ve been thinking about it since then and, I realized that I was wrong.”

He looked at everyone then, going through all of their faces, one by one, showing his regret and the honesty behind his words.

“What I did was a mistake. I should’ve stayed with you guys, with my friends. …Actually, nothing would make me happier than being able to skate with you all once again.”

Simón realized just one second before it happened what Ramiro was about to do.

Indeed, with a small, nervous yet hopeful smile on his face, the boy looked at everyone who used to be his friends and asked:

“What do you say? Do you take me back on the Roller team?”

…

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar had been pretending to work.

Only pretending, because the truth was that no matter how many times she tried to read the form in front of her, her brain didn’t process any of it. She was too focused on what was going on the other side of the cafeteria. She couldn’t help herself from listening to Luna’s every word when she arrived, and she felt her own heart fall when she saw Simón’s disappointment wipe out the smile that she loved so much.

She desperately wanted to go to him once Luna left and they all pretty much dropped back on their seats, defeated. She could see his hunched shoulders from where she was sitting. She wanted to kiss his cheek like he had done her, hug him and make him feel better, but it felt rude to intrude in his team’s moment, and she felt she might not be too welcomed by some of them.

Emilia and Benicio arrived and Ámbar glared at how they seemed to laugh at the guys. Did they had nothing else to do? Get a life maybe?

You used to enjoy seeing them sad too, her conscience reminded her.

She felt a jab of shame and guilt go through her chest and she held her pen tighter.

Maybe that was another reason why she didn’t dare walk up to them and say something, she didn’t feel she had the right.

When Ramiro spoke up though, she dropped all pretense of having been working.

“What do you say? Do you take me back in the Roller team?”

Ámbar found her eyes fixed on the scene unfolding in front of her. For a second, the whole place seemed to fill with stunned silence.

The one who broke said silence was Emilia.

“Are you serious, Ramiro?” She spat outraged. “Are you really asking them that so cheekily in front of us?”

Ramiro seemed unfazed, offering no more than a small shrug.

“Why not? I no longer have anything to do with you guys and I think it’s better to always be upfront instead of going behind people’s backs.”

“Let him be, Emilia,” Benicio said next to her. “He’s just a loser like the rest of them.”

“Loser?” Ramiro let out a laugh. “Please. The only losers here are yourselves. You two alone managed to destroy your team and your image, I had nothing to do with it.”

Ámbar couldn’t see Benicio’s expression, but she could tell by the way his shoulders tensed that he was irritated by the other boy’s mocking tone. For a second, she thought she’d have to break a fight between them again, but thankfully, it didn’t get to that.

“Laugh all you want, Ramiro,” Benicio said, his voice low and menacing. “Let’s see who laughs last.”

With those words, Benicio left in direction to the rink with Emilia in tow, both glaring one last time at Ramiro as they passed by his side before they disappeared from view.

Another small silence followed their departure, probably out of surprise at how Ramiro had totally shrugged off his ex-teammates without the barest concern.

“Ramiro, are you serious about going back with us?” Simón asked him.

“Yes, more than ever,” he replied resolutely. “I want to be part of you again. My friends.”

It was clear in his demeanor that he was eager to get things back at how they used to, but no one around him seemed very convinced. Bitter reminders of how he changed them for another team were thrown his way, followed by questions about lost trust that the boy could only respond with promises of never letting them down again. Simón was the only one to propose they give him another chance, and Ámbar loved him even more for it. She shouldn’t have expected any less; he was Simón after all.  

“Alright, this is what we’re going to do,” Matteo announced, taking charge of the discussion. People may not call him the king of the rink anymore, but he apparently had an ease for leadership. “This is a decision that we gotta take as a group, so we’re going to discuss it as a group and then we’ll get back to you with our answer. Is that okay?”

Ramiro nodded solemnly, unwavering under the other’s serious gaze.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting for it.” He turned to everyone. “Thank you.”  

Ámbar watched him leave in direction to the rink. Right at the same time, a very upset Nina seemed to be dashing away from there, but she didn’t pay that much attention to that, more worried about Ramiro’s situation.  She was sure it must have taken a good deal of bravery to do what he did; apologize and ask for a second chance. God knew those were things Ámbar had always struggled with.

He had stood up for her the previous day and Ámbar felt a little bad that she hadn’t tried to speak up for him now. But what could she have said? And it’s not as if the others would’ve listened to her anyway.

What would a friend do in this case?

Because they were friends, Ámbar thought. Even if not close ones, Ámbar appreciated her friends… or at least, she wanted to be the kind of person who did. She remembered with pain how she used to mock Delfi and Jazmín, using them for her own goals more often than not. She glanced at them, both looking disappointed and wary as they discussed Ramiro’s request with the others. It hadn’t always been like that, they had had good moments, but in the last few years, everything had gone south...

Alone. Ámbar had been totally alone. Except for Simón. He had truly been her saving grace. She wondered if he even realized that.

Now Ramiro was probably all alone too. He was out of the Red Sharks and his previous friends were giving him the cold shoulder. 

'If you ever want to talk...'

Company. That was what he could use right now.

Ámbar left her papers and pen on the table and stood, walking in the direction Ramiro had gone to.    

She found him sitting on the bench in front of the locker’s counter, his gaze focused on his hands as he fumbled with them.

She decided to go about it casually.

“So,” she said to catch his attention. Ramiro raised his head at her on cue and she leaned her back against the skates’ rack. “That was tense.”

Ramiro stood up with his hands in the pockets of his pants and shrugged.

“Yeah but, I get it, it’s not something they can decide just like that. I’m hopeful though, that they’ll let me come back.”

“They should, you did nothing wrong,” she affirmed with an obvious tone.  

Ramiro looked at her with a frown. “I betrayed my friends.”

She left the rack and approached him. “You sought out a professional opportunity because you’re truly passionate about skating. They will understand that, don’t worry.”

Ramiro didn’t look as sure of that as she did, but he nodded slowly, trying to believe those words.

“Thank you,” he said with a little smile. Ámbar offered a little smile of her own in return.

“What about you?”

She looked at him with confusion.

“Now that things are good with Simón, wouldn’t you like to go back to the team too?”

Ámbar watched him for one second and then snorted. “Okay, Ramiro, you’re comparing two completely different situations. They may be mad at you, but you were never their enemy, not really. Me, on the other hand… let’s just say I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about them, and I’m sure they’re only putting up with me because of Simón.”

“But don’t you regret them? The mistakes you made.”

That gave Ámbar pause.

Trying to look as nonchalant as she could, she crossed her arms and shrugged.  

“Well… I guess, but I don’t think you can compare switching teams to accidentally setting the rink on fire…”

“Accidentally, you said it yourself. Maybe if you just apologize, they would understand you too.”

There were also the things she didn’t do on accident, though. And they were a lot. Would they forgive those too? Did she want their forgiveness?    

“…To be honest, there’s still a part of me that wants them to apologize to me for kicking me out,” she admitted, looking at anything but Ramiro. It was her darkest side, the corner inside her in which resentment still held root.

Yes, she hadn’t been very good with Delfi and Jazmín, she could see that now, but they had abandoned her when she needed them most. Everyone had turned their backs on her mostly because of something she hadn’t meant to do. Nobody seemed to miss the cameras in the Roller, but they reproached her for getting them gone. Juliana had been a hag to everyone, they all had resented her at some point, and yet they had all taken her side as if she was a martyr. She still wanted to resent and blame Luna for everything.

But every time she had a thought like that, she heard a voice inside her head.  

The Ámbar I like knows that it was wrong.

She knew. Deep down she had always known. And she was so tired of holding grudges.

“But… yeah, I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing to try and make amends…” She finally told Ramiro. She could see now that she had earned everyone’s treatment with her actions. It was always easier to blame someone else instead of looking at herself, but it was time to take responsibility.

She wanted to be different, although she didn’t know what that ‘being different’ would entail. Deprive her of her queenly demeanor and fake sense of superiority and Ámbar suddenly didn’t know who she was.

I’ll have to discover it.

Ramiro was looking at her expectantly. She snapped out of her thoughts and relaxed her stance, letting her arms fall at her sides again.

“Not now though, I have way too much work,” she dismissed. It’s not like it was a lie after all.  “Actually, I should return to that...” She trailed off hesitantly, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. She felt a little awkward, wondering if she should say more or if she shouldn’t have said anything at all or if leaving so soon would give him the impression that she didn’t care and was trying to escape him.

All that worry soon disappeared though, as Ramiro’s face showed nothing but warmth and understanding.  

“Yeah, of course. Thank you for coming to support me,” he smiled.

Ámbar realized then that she wasn’t used to receiving such honest gratitude. It felt very good, although she didn’t feel like she had done much.  

“You have nothing to thank,” she said with a smile. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Ramiro’s face lit up. “Of course.”  

Ámbar turned to leave, but just as she reached the exit, an idea struck her.  

“Oh— and, Ramiro.” The boy turned to her. “Really, don’t worry. It’s gonna be fine. But if it’s not, you and I can make our own team and kick everyone’s asses.”

Ramiro chuckled, and even if it wasn’t a full-on laugh, Ámbar counted that as a win.

“I’ll take that into consideration. Good luck with your papers, Ámbar.”

As a rare, rare occurrence in her life, Ámbar walked away feeling like she had done something right.

Back in the cafeteria, the Roller team had dispersed. Matteo, Jim, and Yam had left. Delfi and Jazmín were still seated with Pedro on Delfi’s side. He seemed to be talking something serious with them judging by their faces, but if it was about what had just happened or something else, Ámbar didn’t know.

Who she really wanted to see was Simón. Now that he wasn’t surrounded by his friends it’d be easier to talk to him. She found him behind the bar, making something on a blender. He had his eyes focused on the mix, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else because he didn’t feel her come near.

Ámbar put on a smile and cleared her throat. His eyes snapped to her then and he released the button of the blender.

“Ámbar. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Yeah, you seemed kinda out of it. I mean, I’m quite sure whatever you’re doing in there is already blended enough,” she said, pointing at the abandoned machine.

He smiled a little at her jest and wiped his hands with a cloth before walking around the bar to stand in front of her. “Yeah, got a lot in my mind.”

“I imagine. I… I heard everything from where I was sitting. I’m so sorry that Felipe’s proposal wasn’t for everyone.”

His eyes fell to the floor for a second, a shadow of sadness covering his features.

“Me too. It’s… well, it’s very disappointing to us all, you know? I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little sad about it. This could’ve really changed things for us, we needed it now that Juliana is gone.”

“I’m sure you’ll have other opportunities. You’re all great skaters, many people know you already from the Fab and Chic and Ja Jazmín. Someone has to notice talent like that and give you a chance, and anyone who doesn’t is a blind idiot.”

He smiled. “Thank you.” He took one of her hands in his and she entwined their fingers, trying to transmit in that small gesture that he had her support and everything was going to be fine.

“The thing with Ramiro also surprised me,” he said then. “Did you know he was gonna ask us to come back?”

“No, he didn’t mention it. But I guess it was obvious that it was going to happen eventually. To him, you guys have always been his true friends, even if he trained with us and you were mad at him.”

“I saw you following him after he left,” he commented. Not quite a question but she could see he was curious about it.  

“Yeah, I just… I just wanted to support him a little, I guess. After what he did for me, it was the least I could do. He seemed fine though. Nervous that you might say no but, he understands.” More than I do, she added in her mind. She strongly believed he shouldn’t be judged so harshly for thinking about his professional future, but maybe that was something that only ambitious people could understand.  

Simón remained quiet for a while, his low gaze focused on their joined hands as his face took a melancholic look.

“… I wish things could just be as before. I have no problem with Ramiro coming back, but everyone else still doubts him. I mean, I get it, I get where they’re coming from but, I feel like this is not the time to be divided over past stuff, you know? Especially now that the whole Felipe Mendevilla thing turned out to be a misunderstanding. We need to strengthen our team, stick together like Ramiro said.”

Ámbar grabbed his other hand as well and took one step closer to him, looking directly into his eyes

“And you will. This is not the end, just a little patch in the road like many you’ve had to face before, and you guys have always pulled through. I’m sure that with your talent and your passion you’re going to make it very far. So far, in fact, that you’re going to look back one day and think, Felipe who?”

That made him laugh and it brought a wide smile to her face. Would it ever come a day where his laugh didn’t make her feel all warm and happy inside? She doubted it.

Simón smiled and stared silently at her as his thumbs grazed the back of her hands.  

“What?” She asked, feeling butterflies on her stomach from the way he was looking at her.

His smile and eyes turned even more tender if it was possible. “I love seeing you like this.”

Feeling nervous, she instinctively answered with humor. “Like what? Struggling to give pep talk? To be honest, I never thought I’d be expelling motivational words twice on the same day, but here I am.”  

He chuckled. “Well, there’s that too but… I just, I don’t know, you look more… relaxed, more sweet.”

“Oh, so I wasn’t sweet before.” She said with feigned indignance, taking her hands out of his and placing them on her hips.

Simón brought his hands to her waist and placed a kiss on her lips. Her hands moved to his arms. “You’ve always been sweet,” he said. Ámbar briefly wondered if he was talking about her or the taste of her lips. “You just… You see these chocolates that are like bitter on the outside but have a caramel filling? That was you.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I was a chocolate?”

“Yes. How did that song go again? ‘Tengo un escudo aquí en el corazón…’” He sang a piece of ‘Mano a mano’. “You had a chocolate shield.”

“A shield made of chocolate doesn’t sound very reliable if you ask me,” she replied amused. “So, what are you saying that happened with my bitter coverage?” She played along.

“Maybe I ate it all,” Simón joked, giving a playful nip to her lips that made Ámbar laugh.

“Or maybe it melted from how hot and fabulous I am,” she boasted exaggeratedly, flipping her hair.

“I won’t fight you on that.”

Ámbar chuckled and both kissed again. This one was a little longer, their lips sliding over the other’s with a little more pressure before they pulled away. One of Simón’s hands rose to her face, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear tenderly before slowly dragging it down her cheek and neck.

Suddenly, Ámbar caught a movement from over his shoulder and glanced behind him. Her eyes met Benicio’s.

The boy was leaning against the side of the stage just one meter away, smirking with an evil, calculating look in his eyes.  

That face struck Ámbar like lightning.

‘I’m sure VIDIA would love to hear all about how you make out with an employee in their facilities.’

Right as Simón was leaning in to kiss her again, Ámbar’s hands snapped up to his shoulders and stopped him.  

“Wait! Um, a little too much PDA, don’t you think?”

Simón blinked, taken aback by her sudden change. “Does it bother you?” He asked unsure, taking both his hands off her and moving slightly back.

Ámbar felt a pang in her chest.

“No,” she quickly replied. Not at all. “No, no, no, it’s just… There’re so many eyes here all the time. It seems to me like it’s better if we leave it for when we’re alone, don’t you think?”

The way the lie came out so naturally from her lips made her feel sick. She almost wished he would notice only so he’d know that she loved his touch, that the last thing she wanted was to make him feel rejected.  

He didn’t notice though. He just seemed to consider her words, pursing his lips.

“Um, yeah, sure. If it makes you feel more comfortable,” he said, ever the polite. Of course, he would respect what he thought she wanted; he was too sweet to do otherwise.

Ámbar felt just a tiny bit sicker.  

“I mean, it’s going to be hard to resist you seeing you all day but, as you said, I’ll survive,” he joked. She managed a smile at that.  

Suddenly, Simón’s eyes perked up with an idea.

“What do you think if we go out then? Later. Just the two of us.”

Ámbar felt her tension disappear looking at his sweet smile and sparkling eyes. Her smile this time was completely genuine.  

“I love that idea.”  

Simón inched closer as if sharing a secret. “Not as much as I love you.”

Ámbar felt herself blush. Damn him, how could he be so cute? He didn’t even need to touch her to make her heart skip a beat. She didn’t know if he was an innate flirt or if his honest nature just made him say whatever was on his mind.

No, he knows what he’s doing, I’m sure of it.

“Simón!” Delfi’s voice rung suddenly from the other side of the cafeteria. “What happened with our juices?”

“Right,” Simón winced before calling back. “Be right there!” He turned to Ámbar again. “Duty calls.”  

Rapidly, he took one of her hands and kissed it in farewell before moving behind her. Instead of going behind the bar, he just stretched his arms over it to take the blender, filled two large glasses with the mix and walked away with them.

The sound of footsteps made Ámbar turn around.

“Why so cold with your new boyfriend, Ámbar? Are you regretting your decision of dumping me already?”

Ámbar glared at Benicio’s stupid taunting face. Any warmth she had felt because of Simón completely vanished in his presence.  

“You know perfectly well why,” she spat. “And I swear, Benicio, if you dare do anything, you’re going to regret it.”

Just with that, the blonde spun on her heels, not gifting him with a second glance as she made her way back to her worktable.  

Her stride reflected the same fire with which her eyes had glared at him, but the boy was not intimidated. He had always loved her strength and confidence, ever since he first saw her. It was what made her interesting, and what would make it all even more satisfying when she crawled back to him asking for forgiveness.

Just the thought of it brought a smirk to Benicio’s face.

Soon, he foreshadowed. Very soon.

It was time to set his plan in motion.  

Some hours later, Simón left Pedro in charge of closing the Jam & Roller and left with Ámbar. He had wanted to ask Eric at first to do it, but the boy looked down for some reason, so he desisted. He would’ve asked what was wrong, but Eric was so shy sometimes that he feared he would make him even more uncomfortable.

Anyway, Pedro didn’t mind, and Delfi even said she would stay with him, so everything was alright.  

Now, Ámbar and he were entering the mansion, having made a stop there before going on their date.

“Simón, I can’t walk like this!” Rose the amused voice of his girlfriend.  

Indeed, the boy was so glued to her back, keeping his arms around her, that Ámbar was forced to coordinate her steps with his to try to advance, but the walking was clumsy at best.    

If there was something Simón loved, it was the sound of his name on her lips. He didn’t know why it was, but it sounded special whenever she pronounced it, and it filled him with a pleasant warmth. He wouldn’t say it, but big part of the reason why he liked bothering her was the way she said his name.

“Good, that way you can never leave my arms,” he replied contently. That he definitely loved a lot.

Leaning his head down, he smothered her cheek with little kisses as they kept waddling down the lobby. A playful bite made her laugh harder.

“Well, would you look at that!”

The couple snapped out of their own world and spun their heads toward the voice, stopping on their tracks.

Mr. Alfredo was standing by the living room, staring at them with sparkling eyes and his usual grin.

Simón immediately unwrapped his arms from around Ámbar and stood beside her, suddenly nervous of the man seeing him so cuddly with his granddaughter.

And now that he thought about it, did the ‘no PDA’ rule include family or just strangers? Damn it, he should’ve asked. Now he was nervous on both fronts.

“Do my old eyes betray me or are you two dating?”

Both exchanged a glance and shyly nodded.

The silent tension was broken when Mr. Alfredo expelled a happy laugh.

“How wonderful!” He exclaimed, joining his hands. “Ámbar, why didn’t you tell me anything? Wait, wasn’t there this other guy before? Oh, what does it matter, you’re young. How long has this been going on?”

Ámbar spluttered at the rapid-fire of questions.

“Uh… well, it’s kinda recent really. Well, not exactly. I mean, yes, but no. I mean— Um…”  

Ámbar turned to him with her eyes screaming HELP ME.

“Um, let’s just say it was a little tough for a while, but we managed to understand each other in the end,” Simón finally supplied.

Mr. Alfredo gave Ámbar look. “Ah, I knew there was something different about you lately, it was the sorrows of love!”

“Grandpa!” Ámbar exclaimed embarrassed.

“Anyway, everything turned out well from what I’m seeing, that’s all that matters,” said Mr. Alfredo before looking at Simón. “This young man is a good lad. But don’t even think about hurting my granddaughter, alright?” He pointed with his finger.

Simón tried to stand straight and convey as much honesty as possible. It felt like the ‘meet the parents’ moment, although he already knew everyone.  “Of course not, Mr. Alfredo. That’s the last thing that I want, I promise.”

Briefly, Simón wondered if some version of this conversation would occur when Ámbar met his family. He doubted anyone would give her a hard time, but it sure would be funny to see her dealing with all his four siblings and parents all trying to smoother her with top-notch Mexican hospitality at the same time. And that was without counting his cousins.

You’re getting a tiny bit ahead of yourself, Álvarez, you haven’t even been together for a week.  

“Good, good.” Mr. Alfredo’s content voice brought him back from his daydreaming. The old man smiled widely and let out a joyful sigh. “Oh, I’m so happy that love and peace are finally returning to this house. Well, I’m gonna go have some tea outside in the garden, I won’t interrupt you any longer. In fact! Act like I’m not even here,” he told them with a wink before walking away merrily.  

Once he disappeared from sight, the couple looked at each other and broke into a giggle.

“Well, that wasn’t so terrible,” Simón commented.

“Yeah, at least he didn’t propose a party,” Ámbar said. “…Or should I be offended that he didn’t propose a party? Hmm…”

Simón laughed. A party for a new relationship would’ve been too much. If Mr. Alfredo threw one for them now, he didn’t even want to imagine what he’d do if they got engaged.

Wow, wait, what?

Okay, he needed to stop thinking right now.

“Anyway, let’s get going?” He told Ámbar, hoping his stupid ideas weren’t showing in his face.  

“Oh, yeah, let me just grab my jacket.”

Ámbar dropped a quick kiss on his lips before running up the stairs to her bedroom. Her jacket had been the sole reason why they had made a stop at the mansion in the first place since the evenings were getting colder every day, but with Mr. Alfredo’s interrogation they had forgotten for a second.

Ámbar had told him that maybe he should go up to grab a jacket too, but he answered that he wasn’t as sensitive to the cold as she was so he doubted he’d need one, and in case he did get cold he could always just hug her for warmth.

That was when all the rest had occurred.

Two minutes later and with the black jacket on its place, Simón and Ámbar went out the door once again, hand in hand.

They didn’t get very far though before a voice stopped them.

“Guys! Wait!”

The couple turned to see Mónica making her way to them.

“Is something wrong?” Simón asked her when she reached them.  

“No, not at all,” she replied with a gentle smile. Her gaze traveled over them and then her eyes narrowed mischievously. “The total opposite it seems, hmm?” She said with a cheeky smile. Both shared a glance and giggled. She had caught them hand in hand, there was no point denying it.

“Sorry for stopping you two, I just wanted to give you this before you left, Ámbar.”

Mónica extended her hand to her, from which hanged a small gift bag.

Ámbar’s eyes drifted from the bag back to Mónica with utter puzzlement.

“For me?” She let go of Simón to take the bag in her hands and looked down at it. “What is it?”

“You’ll have to open it to find out,” prompted Mónica smiling.

Ámbar looked at Simón and then pulled out the content of the bag. Inside there was a pair of black sunglasses.

Ámbar looked pleased but not less confused.

“I don’t understand…” She said unsure, looking from the sunglasses to Mónica. “This is a gift for me? Why?”

“Why not? I saw them, I thought of you… Since you seem to like black a lot lately, I thought you could like them,” Mónica said simply. Then, as Ámbar remained quiet, she added, “I mean, I know you already have a whole bunch of pretty things…”

“No, no, no!” The blonde immediately jumped. “I mean, yes, I have hundreds of things, but I’ll find the occasion to use these, definitely,” she vowed, holding the sunglasses near. “Um, thank you. That’s what one says, right?” She laughed.

Mónica smiled. “You’re completely welcome.” Taking one step back, she once again gave the couple a cheeky look. “Have fun at your… outing,” she told them and then walked back into the mansion.

Even after she was gone, Ámbar stayed silent, looking at the sunglasses with a faraway look on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

Ámbar shook her head weakly. “Nothing.”

Simón stood in front of her and gave her a look. “Ámbar, I know you. What is it?” 

Ámbar shook her head again, still not looking at him. “Nothing, it’s just…” She put the glasses back into the box and gave a small shrug. “I’m not used to people thinking of me, I guess.”

Those words broke Simón’s heart.  

Finally, her eyes looked up at him. “Do you remember the birthday party I threw the year that you arrived? You sang to me and gave me flowers.” He nodded. There’s no way he would forget. “I wish I had cared about them more back then. It was the first thing you gave me.”

“I’ll give you more flowers, don’t worry.”  

She gave him a small smile and continued.

“Sharon gave me a necklace that day, as a present. It was a rose gold necklace. I’ve never liked rose gold. I had to stand there and pretend in front of my friends and guests that I was delighted with the gift even though it hurt me. It hurt me that she didn’t know I didn’t like rose gold, even after seventeen years. I confronted her about it, after she quite rudely made everyone leave. I asked her how it was possible that she didn’t know what I liked… You know what she told me?”

She carried on before he could answer, but he doubted he would’ve been able to anyway from the pain that he felt on his chest hearing her story.

“To stop complaining.” Ámbar laughed but there was no humor behind it. “And to say goodbye to everyone. I mean, I guess I shouldn’t have expected more from her. It’s not like she ever showed any interest in me or my life. … And yet, I still always wished that someday she would.”

If she looked back at it, that had been Ámbar’s whole purpose in life: to make Sharon acknowledge her. It was pathetic now that she thought about it.

The same feeling of being nothing crept up on her, the dark feeling that she had fought her whole life, struggling with claws and teeth to make everyone notice her, admire her, acknowledge her existence.

If the one person that mattered wouldn’t, then she was going to make sure that everybody else did.

It was never enough.  

Suddenly, Ámbar snapped out of her reminiscing and realized all she had thrown at Simón in a moment that was supposed to be happy. Cursing herself internally, she put on the sunglasses and turned to him with a smile and pose, meaning to lift the dampened mood.

“How do I look?”

He just looked at her in silence.

The solemn expression on his face made her drop her smile, stop pretending.

Slowly, Simón reached for the sunglasses and took them off her head, and it felt as if he was taking off her armor, leaving her heart bare, all of her. He found her gaze, and she felt like he was looking into her soul, looking right at the small, lonely Ámbar that only ever wanted to be loved.

Gently, Simón cupped the sides of her face as if it was the most precious thing he’d ever held, that he’d ever hold, and leaned in, taking her lips in a soft kiss. A warm caress, so inexplicably tender that she almost sobbed.  

“Thank you for telling me,” he whispered pulling back, his thumb caressing her cheek softly. “But, you know what? I think there are a lot more people that care about you than you think.”

Ámbar felt tears come to her eyes and she fought to keep them at bay. She didn’t know what to say, she didn’t know how to express all that she felt with just those words that were as perfect as him.  

He didn’t ask for a reply. He just left a kiss on her forehead and smiled, that bright smile that could light up the whole world as it had done with hers.

“Now come on,” he grabbed her hand, pulling her along. “Let’s go get you a delicious chocolate ice cream with some orange juice and when we get back, we can watch an Anne Hathaway movie.”

Ámbar laughed as he intentionally mentioned things she liked and happily followed him to the gate. As they walked, she entwined their fingers for the second time that day and squeezed his hand tight.

All at once, she didn’t curse her past and all the unfairness she’d had to live. All of it had led her here, to this moment, to Simón, her Simón, and she wouldn’t change him for anything.

Chapter Text

As they enjoyed their drinks, Simón told her a bunch of stories about him.

Ámbar was amused by the idea that any outsider would probably look at her and think ‘poor girl, stuck with that guy that won’t stop talking about himself.’ In truth, she knew he was doing it for her. After what she had told him just before leaving the mansion, Simón probably felt like she had shared a lot and needed to take her mind out of it; hence the enthusiastic chatter from his part, working as a distraction.

What anyone would’ve interpreted as selfishness, she knew it was a gesture of kindness.

She could’ve told him that it wasn’t necessary, that she was fine and he didn’t need to go out of his way to make her feel better, but she really loved learning more about him.

She loved to hear about his family (which was huge), about where he grew up (just a regular house near the beach of Cancún), how he did at school (not so good, but also not bad), and every other little thing. Maybe it was too much, but she felt like she wanted to know everything about him. The smallest of things marveled her, like how he had tried skateboarding before rollerskates when he was twelve because he thought it’d make him look cool (turns out it only got him a concussion), or how he used to make homemade ice creams putting juice in the icemaker of the freezer during the summer.

She said she’d like to try one of those sometime. He smiled widely and said ‘deal’ with a wink.

They ordered real ice cream cones to go and enjoyed them as they walked. Since Ámbar was holding her gift in one hand and the cone in the other, she reached for Simón’s arm instead, and he gladly moved it to link their arms together.

While they walked, Ámbar started to share little memories with him too. She didn’t have as many crazy or funny stories as he did but, just as she wanted to know more about him, she wanted Simón to know more about her too. She never thought she’d be willing to share memories of her life that weren’t about her excelling at something, but unlike how she used to do before with everyone, she didn’t want to impress him. She just wanted him to know her. Not Ámbar Smith the Queen of the Roller; just Ámbar. And it was such a freeing thought.

That was how she felt with Simón: freer than she’d ever been.

From his part, Simón was fascinated listening to her.  

He heard raptly as Ámbar told him about how she had started rollerskating at seven, determined to be as good as an older girl she had seen training in a park (and better), about how excited she had been the first time she had ordered something online and the package had arrived (something he could relate with, although in his case it had been at sixteen with his first pay-check; she had done it at eleven with a credit card), about how she had started writing songs when she was thirteen but her first pieces were so ridiculously bad she cringed thinking about them.

He asked if he could read one of those lyrics someday. She said she had thrown them all away so they could never embarrass her. He pouted and she laughed.

Through it all, Simón tried not to get distracted staring at her lips. It felt like a disrespect when she was willingly sharing bits of her life with him, and he really loved to hear her talk about her childhood and joke around, don’t take him wrong, but the way her tongue came out to lick her ice cream and wipe her lips from time to time was… very distracting.

At one point, she asked for a taste of his ice cream cone, looked him in the eye as she took a mouthful of it, and then smiled.

Was she aware of what she was doing to his poor, stupid heart?

She’d probably laugh if she knew.  

Anyway, seeing her happy made him feel lighter inside than anything else did. He swore not even playing music felt as good as being with her and hearing her laugh; that was his favorite sound in the world, especially when he was the reason behind it.  

It was crazy, but he really could’ve stayed forever just hearing her talk. And she seemed to feel the same way because, even after they finished their cones, they did just that: sat in a bench in the park and talked. Simón sighed internally as their hands naturally found each other. He couldn’t stop moving his thumb over her hand, tracing different patterns, and she answered in kind— taking his hand in both of hers at one point and entertaining herself spinning and sliding his rings. It was almost absurd how incredible it felt just to do that, how much he felt just by her touching his hand.     

By the time they realized it, the sun had almost completely settled down. As if on cue, Simón got a message from Luna saying that Mónica had said that they shouldn’t stay outside until very late. Agreeing with her, both decided to head back to the mansion. Simón sent a text to Luna telling her so.   

“Are you sure you aren’t cold?” Ámbar asked him. The temperature had definitely dropped some degrees and she almost grew cold herself looking at him in just a t-shirt.   

He shrugged. “Maybe a little. But we’re gonna be there soon so, no biggie.”

Ámbar considered that. It was true, there wasn’t much left to walk. The hand that was holding hers didn’t feel cold, either, but maybe it was because it was holding hers. She wished she could share her jacket with him, but it wasn’t big enough.

She imagined them both trying to snuggle under it and snorted. Knowing Simón, he’d probably say that it should be him offering her his jacket and not the other way around.

“What?” He smiled at her.

Ámbar shook her head, smiling as well. Now that she thought about it, she had the impression that she had been smiling the whole evening. “Nothing.”

“What do you mean ‘nothing’? You’re laughing, what is it?” He chirped.

Ámbar stopped walking and looked at him, meaning to make some kind of joke or something, but when she saw his beautiful smile and his eyes looking at her with affection, her heart constricted. She had truly been happy that day, very, and all because of him. Simón made her feel so many things that she had never felt before. Feelings that, before him, she had never even known existed.

Sometimes, like right then, it was so much that she felt like she might burst.

“What?” He asked her again, softer this time, his eyes searching her face.     

She answered him covering his lips with hers.

Ámbar’s hands flew to his neck, to his hair, to his shoulders, unable to stand still as she kissed him with the strength of all the wonderful feelings she couldn’t explain with words.

But what she could, she told him caressing his face. 

“I love you.”

Simón looked at her with his eyes still half-closed and his lips still pursed from the memory of hers.

Then the smile slowly grew back on his face, wide and dazzling, and his eyes shined with adoration.

“I love you too.”   

With her heart singing, Ámbar wrapped her arms around his neck and joined their lips once more.

Simón melted against her, enveloping her waist and pulling her closer to him. He had been wanting to kiss her all afternoon –all day, and he probably would all his life— but had refrained, remembering what she had said about people watching. He guessed it was dark enough now that she didn’t care, but that was honestly just a fleeting thought in his mind; he was more preoccupied in drinking the taste of her mouth, as if it was the last thing he’d ever taste.

They kept doing that along the way, making stops to kiss behind a nearby tree or just straight up kissed while they advanced.  (Stumbled was more like it.)

Even when they reached the front door of the mansion, Ámbar turned around smiling wickedly and pulled him down into another kiss instead of entering the house.

“Aren’t there security cameras here?” Simón mumbled against her lips, worried about some guy seeing them make out. 

“There are at the entrance but not right here at the door,” Ámbar breathed back, brushing his lips with her eyes closed.

“Good.”  

Simón kissed her harder, pressing her against the door at the same time. Ámbar’s arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer still as her tongue consumed his mouth. Simón delved his hands under her shirt over the smooth skin of her back and he felt her hum appreciatively.

For a moment, he considered dropping the idea of a movie altogether and take her straight to the storage room instead, just so she could make some real sounds, so he could draw them out of her. After what she had done to him that morning, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel like making some noise himself. Some part of him hadn’t stop thinking about it all day.

“You’re not cold anymore?”

Ámbar’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. Simón let out a breathless chuckle. Was he that obvious?

“No,” he answered anyway and moved his mouth down to kiss her neck. “Thanks to you.”

He pulled aside the neck of her jacket to reach more skin while Ámbar’s hands drowned in his hair.

“Well, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I let my boyfriend freeze to death? An awful one, don’t you think?”

Simón paused. He abandoned her neck and raised his head to look at her.

Ámbar opened her eyes and stared back. She had been expecting to see lust in his gaze -and there was- but there was much more. He was giving her that look again.

“What?”

The awe in his eyes transmitted through his voice. “It sounds so wonderful to hear you call me that.”

Ámbar smiled. “What? ‘Boyfriend’?” Simón’s eyes sparkled again, full of love. Ámbar felt like she may die from cuteness overload, but she controlled herself. Instead of screeching like a schoolgirl, she put on her cool act and placed her hands on his chest. “Well, get used to it. In fact, if you play your cards right, I may even call you ‘my love’.”

She turned around right after, opening the door to walk inside the mansion. She didn’t need to look to know that a huge ass smile adorned his face, just as she could walk knowing he was right behind her.

“Hey, guys, you’re back!”

The voice who received them came from Pedro, who was sitting on one of the couches of the living room, his arm leaned on its backrest as he looked at them. “Just in time. Wanna watch this horror movie with us?”  

“We’ve got pizza,” said Michel, who was sitting on a chair on Pedro’s left. He was lifting a slice of pizza to show them in one of his hands while the other held a glass of juice.

“Yeah, the rest already had dinner,” explained Matteo, who was on Pedro’s right on the couch.  

Ámbar walked closer to them and checked the title on the TV screen.

“Oh, I haven’t seen that one yet. They say it’s not bad.”  

Simón’s temperature suddenly dropped again.

“Um… We already had plans of watching something else,” he said, trying to advocate for the original plan.

But Ámbar just shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” she said, moving toward the couches. Simón just kind of stood there, shuffling on his feet. Noticing he wasn’t following her, Ámbar turned to him. “You don’t want to?”

Before Simón could answer, Pedro spoke up.

“Your boyfriend is terrible with this stuff; he shivers like a chihuahua.”

“I do not!” Simón retorted instantly.

His friends gave him a pointed look. It was true, he was terrible with horror movies and they all knew it. Usually, he would just admit it, but he didn’t want to appear like a complete coward in front of Ámbar. He knew that was silly but, well, he couldn’t help it.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he gave a timid shrug. “I mean, sure, I get scared but, the normal amount.” 

Ámbar turned to him with understanding. “We don’t have to watch it,” she said appeasingly.

But, of course, that only irked Simón. If it had been an impulse before, now he had a need to prove something.

“Oh no, I’m doing it, I don’t mind at all,” he affirmed, moving to the couches with a determined look on his face. “And I do not shiver.”

“Ssshh, come on, it’s starting,” said Matteo. Next to him, Pedro turned off the table lamp.

Ámbar left her gift on top of the center furniture and sat next to Simón on the couch to the right. Simón passed her a slice of pizza with one hand as he held one for him on the other and both settled against the cushions to watch the movie. Eating pizza with her bare hands was a new experience for her, and when that thought registered in her mind, she found it a little amazing. What girl her age had never eaten pizza with her hands?

She was probably missing out on a lot of things that other people her age considered ordinary. She had never wanted to be ordinary; Ámbar Smith was supposed to be fabulous, excelling, graceful— everything everyone thrived to be.

Getting her fingers full of oil and tomato sauce wasn’t graceful at all.

She found that she didn’t care.

Many minutes passed and Simón found out that, indeed, Ámbar handled horror movies better than him. Which was a little embarrasing, but it was nice to be able to hold her hand as the creepy music unnerved him and made him wish the horrible thing that was coming just happened already so he could be freed from the tension. Last time he had been able to hold on to someone while watching a horror movie had been with his sisters some years ago, but at least then he could act as if he was comforting them and not the other way around.

“How are you not scared? It’s not fair,” Simón whispered to her, not wanting to bother the other guys.  

His eyes were fixed on the screen –seriously, that music was making his skin crawl— but he could hear the mirth in Ámbar’s voice when she replied.

 “I am scared, but your reactions are so funny that I can’t take it seriously.”

Right on cue, a grotesque figure pounced at the screen right that second making Simón jump.

“Pinche—”

Ámbar giggled beside him.  

“It’s not funny.” Simón huffed, his heart rate slowly descending as the nightmare once again disappeared into the shadows. He turned to reproach her –the other guys were scared shitless too and yet she only laughed at him—but when he saw her trying and failing to suppress a smile, all indignation flew from his body.

God, she was so adorable.  

Ámbar looked at him and Simón was amazed at how she could look beautiful even in the dark, illuminated only by the grotesque pictures of the TV.

Unable not to, he leaned to kiss her, short and sweet. The kiss was followed by another, then another, and another, and then somehow both forgot about the massacre occurring on screen, lost in each other’s lips.

Maybe they wouldn’t have even noticed the TV turning off if it hadn’t been for Pedro’s and Michel’s protests.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”  

Ámbar and Simón turned to see Matteo dropping the remote back into the center furniture and turning the table lamp on.

“We all know Simón gets nightmares with these things—”  

“Hey!”

“—and if we don’t stop now, I’m going to get nightmares from all the shameless cuddling of the little couple.”

Simón averted his gaze, visibly embarrassed. Ámbar just rolled her eyes.

“You’re so dramatic,” she mocked. “Spare me the jealous scene, Matteo. I know I’m quite unforgettable but, it’s been years, you need to move on.”

Matteo rolled his eyes. “I give her to you with ribbon and all, Simón.”

Ámbar scoffed.

“I wanted to see how the movie ended…” Michel uttered.   

“Better not,” Pedro snorted, “I saw you jump up to the sky like four times.” 

“That’s because there were weird noises outside. You guys didn’t hear them?”

“I heard some weird noises, but they were coming from them,” Matteo pointed his thumb to Ámbar and Simón.  

“Oh, come on, stop,” Simón whined.

Pedro stood up, grabbing the pitcher. “I’m gonna fetch more juice.”

He turned on the lights on his way to the kitchen, making them all blink a couple of times to adjust to the change.  

“No, but really, there were weird noises,” Michel insisted, looking at them in earnest.   

“Weird like what?” Matteo asked.

“I don’t know, as if there was… something outside…”

Simón tensed up next to Ámbar. “Can we talk about something else?” He pleaded nervously. Ámbar placed a hand on his shoulder soothingly.

Pedro came back with the juice.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s cold in here?”

Matteo agreed, rubbing his arms up and down. “Yeah, close the window please, I don’t wanna get sick.”

Ámbar rolled her eyes. “Always so delicate.”

“You were the one who was always complaining about the cold,” he retorted, receiving the pitcher from Pedro’s hands and placing it on the center furniture.  

“Wait, you guys used to date?” Michel asked with a frown, apparently only then processing that information.

Ámbar opened her mouth to explain that yes, sadly they had—

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

A loud scream broke the calm in the room. Everyone jumped, startled, and their heads snapped instinctively toward the origin of the sound. Pedro had fallen to the floor and his head was raised to the open window in front of him. Ámbar’s eyes settled on it… and what she saw shocked her more than any horror movie ever could.

A lump automatically formed in her throat and her heart jumped inside her chest. Her hair was different, her clothes were different, but Ámbar could’ve recognized that face anywhere.    

The figure seemed to vanish as fast as it had come, disappearing into the dark of the night like a ghost. And Ámbar realized that that was exactly what it was— her own personal ghost, coming to remind her that she wasn’t free, coming to haunt her with the past that she couldn’t leave behind.  

All the guys had jumped to their feet and were wildly staring at the window. Matteo pointed at it, deeply alarmed.  

“What the fuck was that?!”

“Sharon.”

The whispered name left Ámbar’s lips before she was even conscious of it, still in shock of having seen her godmother after all that time.

She realized too late of her mistake.

“What?”

Simón had turned to her, just as the rest of the guys who were now staring at her in surprise and confusion. Ámbar just stared back, speechless and paralyzed by the consequence of what she had just done, of what she had just seen.

“What the hell is going on?” Miguel’s voice resounded suddenly. “Why did you scream like that?”

Pedro came close to him, pointing to the window. “I went to close the window and there was a woman out there!”

“Ámbar says it was Sharon,” Matteo informed.  

Miguel’s eyes widened and he ran to the window. “What?!”

Mónica had appeared as well, followed by Luna. The woman turned to Ámbar.

“Sharon? Are you sure, Ámbar?”

Ámbar felt a constricting fear inside of her. She wanted to backtrack, she wanted to deny, she wanted to run and hide, but all she could manage was to mumble, “I- I don’t know…”

She could hear more conversation, questions and answers thrown left and right, but she couldn’t distinguish it because louder than anything else was the painful voice in her head.

I can’t tell them. I can’t tell them. I can’t tell them.  

Probably sensing her distress, Simón sat next to her on the couch –god, she really hadn’t moved a muscle since the commotion— and placed an arm around her, rubbing her arm softly up and down.

It was supposed to be soothing, it should’ve been soothing, but it only enhanced the fear that was taking over her.

Just hours prior, Simón had told her how happy he was for getting to know her more, ‘the real Ámbar’ as he called it. But was it truly real?

He didn’t know that she knew Sharon’s plans. He didn’t know that she had helped Sharon keep Luna from the truth. He didn’t know that she was still in contact with her— No one knew.

Feeling Simón so close, a horrible, excruciating fear took hold of Ámbar.

If he finds out I’m covering Sharon, he’ll leave me.

“Miguel, I swear to you, there was a red-haired woman out there!”

“Wait, red-haired?” Luna interjected. “It must be the same woman I saw in the yard! Remember that I told you? I told you I had seen her!”

Ámbar’s heart was pounding furiously. So much so that she could hear it in her ears.

Breathe. Breathe, she told herself. But the air refused to enter her lungs. She was terrified.

Just the fact that they could catch Sharon any minute was enough to scare her. But she found there was something worse.

Ámbar realized at that moment that there was nothing more terrifying than knowing happiness and discovering it could be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. All of it— just gone.

“But if she has red hair then she can’t be Sharon,” Mónica reasoned.

“She could be wearing a disguise,” Miguel retorted, his voice dawning with realization. “It’d make sense that she would change her appearance to come here. Damn it, we got to talk to security right now!”

“What’s going on here?” Rey’s strong voice resounded. Just hearing it almost made Ámbar flinch. He was the key in all of it, the principal mole of Sharon inside the house— yet no one knew it.

“Rey, a red-haired woman has been walking around the house. We suspect it may be Sharon under disguise. I need you to speak to all our security and get them on high alert, that woman can’t take a step inside this house, is that clear?” Miguel commanded.  

“Yes, of course. I’ll take care of it.”  

Ámbar dared a glimpse at Rey. As he turned to leave, he caught her gaze, a quick, dark look sent her way that only reminded her what she already knew.

I can’t tell them.

She felt Simón kiss the side of her head and she closed her eyes with pain and guilt. She couldn’t tell him. She had just gotten him, they were finally happy. She finally had someone who saw her for who she was, and for some miracle of the universe, he liked what the saw. Ámbar didn’t want to lose that, she couldn’t lose that.

He won’t leave you. He loves you. He’ll understand.

Ámbar wanted to believe that so much. But in her eighteen years of life, no one had cared enough to stay.

Matteo chose Luna.

Jazmín and Delfi turned their backs on her.

The woman who gave birth to her gave her away.

The woman who raised her abandoned her.

Simón…

How can you talk about love when you’re full of hate?  

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

“Alright, everyone up to your rooms. It isn’t safe for any of you to sleep in the storage room tonight, and it’ll probably be safer if you don’t for a couple more days as well.”

Miguel’s commanding voice snapped Ámbar out of her trance and soon enough Simón was holding her hand and guiding her up. They made their way to the stairs in silence along with the rest of the guys. Ámbar was surprised when Simón handed her the gift bag. She had totally forgotten about it.  A new jab of guilt hit her as she held it in her free hand. Mónica had been nothing but kind to her while she…

As they climbed upstairs, the Valente had stayed behind, talking and comforting each other as only a family could.

A family her godmother wanted to destroy.

Reaching the hallway, Simón bid the guys goodnight instead of following them to the guest rooms. Still holding her hand, he went the opposite way, accompanying Ámbar to her bedroom.  

“Wow, I can’t believe Sharon is prowling around the house,” he said once they were alone.

Ámbar gulped, her mouth feeling like sand. “Neither can I.”

“I mean, she got this close to Luna, who knows what would’ve happened? What if—”

Taking a look at her, he stopped himself short. Reaching her door, Simón stopped in front of it and gave her a sympathetic look.

“Sorry. This must be very hard for you, right? I mean, you always had a complicated relationship with her, then she lied to you about being Sol Benson, and then she disappeared for months only to come back now and do all these horrible things…” He grabbed her other hand as well, softly caressing both with his thumbs. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Ámbar shook her head weakly. “No…”

“Hey.” Simón’s hands rose to cup her face gently, making her look at him. “Everything’s gonna be alright, don’t worry.”

Ámbar nodded and did her best to show him a smile. Simón kissed her tenderly and took a step back, letting his hands fall. He stood in front of her, unsure.

“Do you want me to stay here tonight?” He asked her hesitantly. “Just in case she tries something else. Or would you rather be alone? It’s fine either way, I completely understand.”

Alone.

Ámbar fisted the material of his t-shirt.

“Stay with me,” she whispered.

Now. Always. Even if I forever keep this secret from you. Even if you find out someday. Please don’t hate me.

Simón smiled softly. “Okay.”

He opened the door and moved to get inside, but Ámbar’s hands jumped to his chest to stop him.

“Um— You should go to your room first though.”

Simón looked at her confused. Ámbar forced her voice to sound even, casual. “To get clothes.” She explained. “You know, that way I don’t have to kick you out first thing in the morning.”

Simón’s smile grew at that. “That sounds good. I’ll be right back then.”

“Sure,” she smiled.  

Ámbar watched him go until he turned the corner and let her smile fall. Rapidly, she entered her room, left her gift on top of the dressing table and made a beeline to the bathroom, locking herself inside. She pulled her phone out of her jacket and marked with haste the infamous number that she had tried reaching so many times before.

As always, it went to voicemail.

“Hello, Sharon, it’s me. Can you please explain to me what the hell you think you’re doing coming here to the house? You are aware that it’s dangerous, right? You can’t do that, they could catch you… Call me, please, I need to talk to you.”

Ámbar hanged up and lowered her phone, clenching it hard, wanting to throw it against the wall.

She had been so happy lately, so elated with how things were working out for her that for a moment, just a moment, she forgot. She forgot she was Ámbar Smith, adopted and raised by a woman hell-bent on revenge. Oh, how stupid she had been.

She turned to the sink and washed her hands, as if with that she could wash away all the mistakes, deceits and secrets she wanted to get rid of. She turned the water off and tilted her head up, looking at herself in the wall mirror. The hopeless look on her face that greeted her in the reflection was too familiar to bear.  

Even if she wanted to stay away from it all, to disentangle herself from Sharon’s mess, she couldn’t. She had tried, only for her to appear in the house and remind her that she was still pretty much her accomplice. She would always be so unless she spoke up, but that would mean betray her.

Not for the first time, Ámbar blamed and cursed her stupid heart for caring about that woman when she clearly didn’t care about her. But she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t stop worrying about what would happen if she got caught. And she couldn’t just let her be either, not when she could try to help her change her mind, help her do things right.

But why did that have to be her job? Why did she have to be in the middle of it? Why—

“Ámbar?”

Simón’s voice jolted her from her thoughts. Grabbing her phone on instinct as if he would somehow know who she had called and why, she moved closer to the door and responded through it.  

“I’m in the bathroom, I’ll be out in a minute.” 

“Okay. I’ll make the bed in the meantime,” he answered in a gentle voice.  

Ámbar leaned her forehead against the door and closed her eyes tightly. She hated this. She hated having to hide things from him. They were supposed to not do that anymore; she was supposed to not do that anymore. ‘No secrets, no plans': that was what Simón had told her the day before and that was what she wanted too. She hated this.

She had to do something about Sharon, make her see reason, because if not…

She didn’t want to think about the consequences.

Chapter Text

Simón was slowly woken by small things. The first was heat; a warmth that seemed to surround him from head to toe. The second were slight shifts on the bed, but he wasn’t the one moving. The third was a soft caress in the back of his head, close to his nape. That was what lured him back to consciousness, made him notice the sunlight behind his eyelids, know it was a new day.  

With all of his senses back, he connected the three things. It all came from the person huddled between his arms; the heat, the shifting, the fingers playing with his hair. 

“Mmm… that feels nice.” 

The hand stood still in his hair.  

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”  

Simón opened his eyes, blinking to adjust to the light and push away the tiredness. The first thing he saw were Ámbar’s ocean blue eyes looking at him, a little regretful. Some streams of daylight shone through between the curtains in the windows and lighted her hair messy from sleep, making it look almost golden. Her face was free of makeup, a look he doubted she had let many see before him.

She looked so beautiful he almost believed he was still dreaming.

“It’s ‘kay, I don’t mind,” he mumbled, to wipe the worry out of her eyes, but mostly because it was true.    

He closed his eyes again and focused on the feeling of her body molded against his. He could pinpoint each rise and fall of her breathing as clearly as his own. The touch of her hand was smooth as it slid from his neck to his covered chest, but he could still feel the warmth through the fabric of his t-shirt. He opened his eyes again, observed the curve of her cheeks, the freckles in her nose. He gazed down to her rosy lips, which always called out to him without need of emitting a word.

He reached up to slide a lock of her hair behind her ear, marveled that he could.

“If I could always wake up like this, I think I’d be the happiest guy in the world.” 

Ámbar’s eyes softened and she smiled with a mix of tenderness and mischief that was so her Simón doubted anyone else could achieve it as perfectly.  

“Even if it’s early?”

“Even if it’s early,” he affirmed. “Although, please tell me it’s not five am or something,” he added with a small wince.  

She chuckled. “No, it’s around seven-thirty. I turned off my alarm before it sounded so it wouldn’t wake you, but it seems I failed.” 

He chuckled this time and propped his head on one hand. With the other, he reached for one of her pink strands and started playing softly with it. 

“You know, for the first time in my life, I slept soundlessly after a horror movie.” 

Ámbar placed an elbow on the pillow and copied his pose.  “Oh, really?” 

“Yeah. And I have a theory. I think it was because a certain señorita was with me,” he said, poking the point of her nose.

She let out a giggle that filled his stomach with butterflies. “Well then, you’re welcome.” 

“Don’t just ‘you’re welcome’ me, what if I get used to it?” He said with feigned alarm. “What if from now on I want to sleep with you every night? What are you gonna do?” 

He was only playing—well, half playing, there was a lot of truth in that. But Ámbar’s face turned serious. 

“…Do you promise?” 

He blinked. “Promise what?” 

“To always be with me,” she replied. 

Simón felt his heart clench, the kind of sweet ache that only Ámbar managed to evoke in him, sometimes just by looking at him. 

He smiled and rolled slightly on top of her, bringing a hand up to cup her face. “You want me to?” He asked her, his voice as soft as the caresses of his thumb over her skin. 

Ámbar’s hand found her way back to his hair and nodded, her eyes looking deeply into his. Simón leaned in and laid a light kiss on her lips.   

“Then I’ll be with you," he told her, smiling. "For as long as you’ll have me.” 

Ámbar's eyes stared at him a little longer before her lips curled into a small smile. The temptation of kissing her again was too strong, so he covered her mouth with his, enjoying the way her hands held onto his back to pull him closer.  

Gently, he rolled her onto her back as their lips moved in synch. The silk of her pajama top was smooth under his fingers, just like the skin it hid underneath. Again, Simón wished he could start his days like that forever, sharing languid and unhurried kisses with the girl between his arms. 

“I love you,” he told her between kisses, forming the words against her mouth. He felt like he didn’t say it near enough, not with the way his heart screamed it with every beat it gave.  

To his puzzlement, Ámbar’s body tensed up. She didn’t move away from him, but her kiss became hesitating. 

Simón frowned and pulled away to look at her. She had a strange expression on her face, one he couldn’t quite decipher. She was looking at him but it was like her mind was somewhere else, very far away. 

“What’s the matter?” He asked her.  

Ámbar blinked and her eyes finally connected with his. In an instant, her expression changed and she shook her head, filled with determination.  

Grabbing his face, she yanked him to her and kissed him hard. The lips that had been brushing his tenderly before were now hungry, desperate, so much so that he struggled to keep up. A sound of surprise escaped his throat, but then her tongue slid inside his mouth and his gasp turned into a moan.   

Next thing he knew, Ámbar had flipped them and was straddling his stomach. How she managed to do so without releasing his lips was a mystery. His hands grabbed her hips by reflex to steady her and his fingers dug into her skin when she moved lower, settling on his crotch. 

The sudden overload of sensation had Simón reeling. Soon, Ámbar was pulling his t-shirt over his head and he couldn’t do more than groan as she began sucking and nibbling on his neck. Her hands roamed his body, mapping his chest, arms, shoulders and back down, leaving fire on their wake. Each slight shift of her body rubbed him between his legs, sending shivers down his spine.

“Ámbar,” he whined hoarsely, throwing his head back. Her mouth had started traveling down his chest, kissing her way down his abdomen. He was rapidly growing hard, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. “If this is another tactic to get me to get up, please have mercy on me,” he begged. If she was going to stop, he really preferred she did it now. 

Ámbar moved up from where she had been licking under his navel and found his eyes. 

“No trick,” she murmured, and she leaned back to take off her black top over her head. 

His gaze automatically dropped to her naked breasts, perfect and enticing. Ámbar cupped his face and he looked up to her eyes. 

“I just love you," she said, staring at him with intensity. " So much. So very much, Simón, you have no idea.”

She crashed her lips to his fiercely again before Simón could say anything back. Normally, such pretty declarations would have him ecstatic, and he kinda was but… why couldn’t he shake the feeling that there was something off? 

Ámbar’s passionate kiss and roaming hands were too distracting for him to hold on to any thought, and the more he felt her skin against his, the less he wanted to think. His hips rolled up, seeking her warmth, and when she threw her head back and moaned, he found he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

Rolling them over, Simón nestled between her legs and ground against her, earning another sweet sound from her lips. His mouth moved to her breasts, sucking and nibbling like she had done him, stroking with his tongue in just the right way to make her legs twitch around him. 

The sound of Ámbar’s quiet moans had him crazy with desire. Eager, his hands grabbed the band of her white shorts, and she raised her hips to help him pull them down along with her underwear. He followed the movement, leaving kisses down her chest, abdomen, and lower still, meaning to wake her like its due. After all, she was letting him make them late, it was only fair he showed his appreciation. Before he could reach his destination though, Ámbar grabbed him by the hair and guided him back up, claiming his lips. Simón frowned, wondering why she had stopped him, but then she rubbed herself against him, making him groan.

If that was what she wanted, she would have it. 

He slid his sleeping shorts down and aligned himself between her thighs. A whimper crossed her lips when she felt him, and he vowed there and then that he’d always give her anything she desired, especially if it was something as easy to give as himself.  

A mutual sigh escaped them both when he was fully inside, as if he had finally returned where he belonged. Simón lifted his head from her neck and looked into her eyes, dark from desire and something else. Ámbar wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, stopping his try to search her gaze. 

Simón started moving in slow sways that shot sparks through all his body. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to it, how it felt to be with her in this way. The most minimum friction felt good, like all his nerve-ends called out for her and rejoiced each time she touched him. He would’ve kept the pace to draw it out, but Ámbar urged him to go faster, rising her hips desperately at every movement of his. He moaned against her mouth and complied, placing his forearms on the bed to gain more traction. 

Soon the heat grew stronger and the air grew scarce, forcing them to break the kiss to come up for breath. Not wanting to part from her, Simón left kisses down her neck, her chest, every inch of her he could reach. 

Ámbar’s hands were gripping him tightly. Her legs were locked behind his back, securely keeping him against her. It was like she feared if she didn’t hold onto him he was going to disappear. 

Simón grabbed her hands from his back and held them on each side of her head, intertwining their fingers. Ámbar opened her eyes and looked at him. He squeezed her hands and leaned their foreheads together. 

I’m here. 

Ámbar squeezed his hands back. She didn’t close her eyes again.  

It wasn’t much longer before their movements turned erratic, moans and groans rising in intensity until he feared someone would hear them, but he couldn’t stop. 

More. More. There. Just like that. 

When Ámbar’s body bowed off the mattress, he hurried to kiss her and drown her cry of pleasure. Her walls gripped him hard, asking for all he had, and he gave it up with one last thrust and a sound almost sob like.

Both were left gasping, their bodies glowing with sweat. Simón rolled onto his back and Ámbar snuggled up against him, leaning her head on his chest. It was wonderful to be able to be so close. Although, if he thought about it, it wasn’t like there was much more space. Ámbar’s bed was pretty small, clearly only meant for one. That had been something that called his attention the first time he was in her room. Considering what he knew about her and that she lived in a mansion, he had been half expecting her bed to be a huge four-poster bed with curtains around it, worthy of a princess. Or a queen, as she used to call herself. 

But no, her bed was just big enough for herself, which, he had found out, meant it was near impossible for them not to touch during the night. He liked that, even if it got too warm at times.  

The rest of her bedroom was huge though. With a walk-in closet, her own bathroom (which he knew was there but had never seen), and a big TV screen hidden behind a painting that moved by remote to either reveal or conceal it. It was something Simón could only dream of. 

He didn’t know if the big enough bed showed a practical side of her or if it somehow had a deeper meaning, as if having a big bed just for herself felt as lonely as living in a huge house with no one to talk to. She had said so once, that she had no one to talk to at her house, last year when she went through a tough patch. He never really knew what was it that made her so sad, that made her feel so alone. He was starting to think that the ‘feeling alone’ part hadn’t been new at all. 

Simón ran his fingers through Ámbar’s hair while she traced soft patterns on his skin. He felt such calm and peace that he could’ve easily fallen back asleep. The idea was tempting, but he knew Ámbar would never let him. 

In fact, it was weird that she had let them laze around for so long already. The day before, she had been up and moving around by this hour, pretty much pushing him out of her bedroom so he got ready for work as well. 

Simón couldn’t help but think that something was up; from the way she acted before to the way she seemed reluctant to part from him now. It wasn’t that it was a bad thing, but she was being too quiet. 

“Ámbar, is something—?” 

The beeping sound of a phone interrupted him. 

Ámbar sat up holding the sheet to her chest and reached for her phone on the nightstand. Her face remained impassive as she checked the screen, but some of the calmness that covered her seemed to disappear. 

"Who is it?" He asked, sitting up against the pillows as well. 

Ámbar turned off the screen and put her phone down over the covers. "It was from Vidia. They were reminding me that there are some errands I have to run personally." She gave him a sorry look. "I won't be able to walk to the Roller with you today, I hope you don't mind." 

He kissed the side of her head. "Of course not. You do what you have to do and I'll see you when you're finished." 

She smiled and kissed his lips. "It could take a while, but I'll see you in the Roller."

"Alright, but why are we talking like we're parting already?" He asked with amusement. Slowly, his hand slid down from her neck down her body, following her curves over the sheets. "I, personally, think that as we've made ourselves a little late, we could save some time and water by taking a shower together. What do you say?" 

Ámbar returned his coquettish look with a smirk, but then her phone beeped again with another message. She sighed and, much to Simón’s chagrin, took his hand away from her hip, laying a kiss on it. 

"I think we better leave it for another day,” she said before releasing it. “You go ahead first since you take less time than me while I deal with this." She waved her phone. 

Simón pouted. "Can't Vidia wait?"

Another beep answered his question. 

Simón let out a groan of defeat and dropped his head on top of the pillow. Ámbar brought a hand to his face and caressed his cheek, giving him a consoling look. 

"I don't think it'll be nearly as romantic as you think anyway. You do realize that one of us will have to freeze to death while the other is under the spray, right?"  

He blinked. "I hadn't thought about that,” he admitted. To be honest, he hadn’t thought much about the actual showering part. On that note, he inched closer to her and talked against her lips. “But I think I could manage to keep you warm.” 

Ámbar gave him a playful smack. "Just go, you, before we get even more delayed."

He chuckled. “Fine.” He dropped one last peck on her lips and stayed looking at her, hesitating before saying, “I love you.” 

Whatever passed through Ámbar’s face before didn’t appear this time. She just smiled warmly at him and replied, “I love you too,” with nothing but affection in her eyes. 

Simón returned her smile and stood up, feeling calmer. He probably had just been seeing things.

Ámbar waited until she heard the bathroom door close to drop her smile. The bittersweet sensation in her chest turned purely sour the moment Simón walked away from her. He made everything seem easy, and at the same time, reminded her that it was not. He made her happy and filled her with guilt.

She picked up her phone and read again the message she had received, along with the two new ones. 

S.: I can meet you now in the morning, later I have important matters to attend to. I'll send you the address. 

S.: Costa Rica 5901, C1414BTK CABA

S.: Confirm that you're going in the next five minutes or I won't bother showing up.

Ámbar resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Of course. She had been begging Sharon to give some sign of life for weeks , but when she finally agreed to see her, Ámbar was expected to answer fast or forget about it. The hypocrisy was astounding, but her outrage wasn’t strong enough for her to ignore her. 

I’m never strong enough to ignore her . 

Ámbar searched the address and found it was a Café a little far from the mansion. That was logical, but she kind of wished it was even further— that Sharon stayed further from all of them. She was testing her luck coming to the house, and sooner or later, she was going to run out of it. 

Not for the first time, she wished she didn’t care. 

She had just sent her reply of ‘I’ll be there’ when the bathroom door opened suddenly and Simón peeked out, startling her. 

“Hey! You have a bathtub! We could fill it and that way neither of us gets cold.” 

Ámbar turned to him with wide eyes, her phone hidden under her hands. “Don’t raise your voice so much, someone could hear us!” She yelled in a whisper. 

Simón gave her a look, leaning against the door frame. 

“Bonita, if they didn’t hear what we just did, I doubt they’re going to hear anything else.”   

She felt her cheeks grow hot, part from the images he evoked and part from the fact that he was still very naked, making those images twice as vivid. 

“Just hurry up and shower,” she told him, holding onto her self-control. 

He rolled his eyes with a smile. “Yes, ma’am.” And went back into the bathroom. 

Ámbar relaxed when she heard the shower turn on, but it was short-lived. Everything in her life seemed to be like that. 

She only hoped her meeting with Sharon made her lies worth it. But she really didn’t think so. 

Simón walked into the lockers and opened his to pull out his rollerskates. It was a slow day at the Jam & Roller, and so he had the off chance take a while to use the rink. That was one of the perks of working there, that whenever there weren’t many customers, he could skate or use the stage. 

He would’ve loved to skate with Ámbar but she hadn’t returned yet. He thought about waiting for her but, he really wanted a little peace after what had happened during his team’s meeting. 

They had reunited earlier that day to talk about whether they would accept Ramiro back in the team or not. Everything had gone on normally until Simón spoke up for Ramiro.  

“But we all make mistakes at one point or another, guys,” he had said, trying to get them to put themselves in his shoes. “I think Ramiro deserves another chance, don’t you?” 

Immediately, Yam scoffed. “Right, the King of second chances has spoken! I don’t think your vote counts for much, Simón, considering your history.” 

Simón blinked and frowned at the sudden attack. “Sorry, what are you trying to say by that?”

Yam only shrugged, sneeringly. “Oh, nothing. Just that you started dating Ámbar knowing what she had done to Luna. So, I’m sorry if I don’t find your judgment very reliable.” 

There was a beat of silence in which Simón felt like shrinking away from everyone’s gazes. He lowered his own, thinking of what he could say to defend himself.

“Yam.” 

Everyone looked at Luna, who was looking at her friend with a solemn face. 

“I appreciate you wanting to defend me, but I already told you that we both talked things through and made up, don’t you remember?”

“But Luna—” 

“But nothing. I already forgave him, and if I forgave him, I think it’s not your place to judge— or anyone else’s, okay?” 

Luna made a pause, looking at each of them to make sure they understood. Neither her voice nor expression were aggressive but they were firm, showing she was not going to agree to anything else. Simón was left surprised that she defended him so fervently. He would’ve thanked her, but Luna immediately continued.  

“And anyway, we were talking about something completely different, which is Ramiro,” she said with a shake. “He was the one who told me everything in the end, remember? He even went against his team to do so.”  

“Yeah, but because he thought you already knew,” Jazmín pointed out. 

“Well, Ramiro loves rollerskating. It’s his life,” Matteo said. “He acted for what he thought was best for his career when he joined the Red Sharks and I get it. I think it’s respectable to worry about your professional future.” 

While some people seemed to agree, others still didn’t seem very convinced. Simón got it; it wasn’t so much about the fact that Ramiro had left them but which team he had done so for. 

Jazmín perked up, joining her hands together in front of her chest. “Guys, what if we take a vote? I could cover it for Ja-Jazmín!”

Everyone seemed opposed to that idea. 

In the end, since there were some who still didn’t know how they felt about it, they agreed to make the final decision the next day.

Yam’s words have hurt, especially because he also felt a little like a traitor for going behind Luna’s back. Of course, they had resolved things and he felt less guilty now, but looking at his friends’ faces, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe they thought the same about him as did Yam.  

Needless to say, Simón could use a break. 

Once his skates were on, he moved to the rink and started doing some laps to warm up. He loved the feeling he got when he skated. In wheels, he just slid away and all bad things seemed to slide away as well. He spun a little and then jumped, feeling freedom swept into his body and good memories of skating with Luna in Cancún fill his mind. 

His happiness only lasted about ten minutes though, because then Benicio appeared on his path, deliberately blocking it. 

“What, Benicio?” Simón told him after trying to advance for the second time to no avail. “You’re not going to let me through?” 

Benicio smirked. “What, Simón? You scared?” 

Simón almost rolled his eyes. This guy really had nothing better to do, did he? 

Sadly, ignoring him didn’t seem to be an option, so he played along. Because that was all it was; a game. And Simón wasn’t going to let him win.  

“Mmm, you know what? Yeah, I’m very scared,” he replied ironically. “I’m scared of hurting you.”

Benicio didn’t seem intimidated, but he didn’t expect him to. He only smiled wider, all his expression looking venomous.  

“Always so considered, aren’t you? Like when you stole my girlfriend.”

“I already told you that I didn’t—”

“Oh, that’s right, that’s right. You’re the good guy, no?” He chuckled humorlessly. “ Stop acting . I know deep down you envy us.” He looked at him from head to toe with disdain and scoffed. “You’re a loser. You don’t have a house, or a band, nor a rink for your team— Nothing,” he mocked. “And you think Ámbar is going to stay with you?”

Simón’s smile wiped from his face. His stomach dropped against his will. He didn’t want to be affected, he wasn’t meant to be affected, but suddenly, nothing was a game anymore and he felt defenseless in front of heavy artillery. He had been thrown into a war with toy guns without him being the wiser. 

He could ignore sarcastic comments, laugh at empty threats, but nothing he had said was untrue. He had no roof of his own under which to fall dead, Nico was gone maybe forever, and without a trainer or a place to practice, did they even have a team? 

Almost three years after leaving his country and he had lost everything he had obtained. 

Simón wasn’t ready to deal with that. And he wasn’t ready to the notion that Ámbar might join the list. 

“Actually, where is she now?” Benicio asked, looking around. “She got tired of you already?”

“She’s running errands for Vidia,” Simón answered. There wasn’t any inflection in his voice or come back to his mockery, he felt in auto-pilot.  

“That’s what she told you?” Benicio scoffed. “And you believe her?” 

“Of course I do, why wouldn’t I?” 

Benicio showed a fake sweet smile and leaned a little closer, as if he was a friend giving him a piece of advice. 

“Because, my innocent Simón, I’d worry if I were you. You see, Ámbar only wanted what she couldn’t get. Now that she’s got you, well…” He shrugged. “Let’s see how long it lasts.” 

With a smirk, Benicio skated away. Simón hated his smirk, he hated his skating almost looked like a victory dance, but he just stayed there, standing in the middle of the rink, watching all the people sliding around him. He didn’t feel like joining them anymore. 

Simón skated toward the lockers and took off his skates. He stayed sitting on the bench in the far back. He looked at the locker that used to be Nico’s. He looked at his teammate’s lockers that were almost never opened now. He thought of the record deal Vidia had offered only for nothing to come out of it. He thought of the suitcase with all the stuff he owned, thrown in the corner of some cold guest room. 

He hadn’t been ready to face all of that. Now he didn’t have a choice.    

Ámbar took off her sunglasses when she entered the Café. She had grabbed them that morning and put them on in hope that they would somehow guide her in the best way to proceed with Sharon. It was ironic, really, to expect sunglasses to make things clearer when usually their job was to do the opposite. But it wasn’t the sunglasses; it was what they represented. 

She walked inside, and while her first instinct was to search for a blonde head with a tight bun, her eyes settled on a redhead instead and she knew that was where she had to go. 

Steeling herself, she walked to the far corner of the place and took a seat in front of the woman. 

“Never thought red was your color.” 

Sharon ignored her comment and just placed her cup down. 

“I ordered you tea, I expect you don’t mind,” she said, signaling to the cup in front of Ámbar. 

No ‘good morning’ or ‘how have you been’. Ámbar expected as much. 

She took a sip of the tea and found it bitter. Just like this reunion , she thought with irony. 

She put sugar on her cup and stirred it with her spoon before going to the point.  

“Thanks for taking a piece of your precious time to meet with me. Although, maybe I should expect a home visit now? I mean, since you’re crazy enough now to go to the mansion.”

“Mind your tongue,” Sharon spat, but Ámbar continued.

“Seriously, what were you thinking? You’re going too far. They’re going to catch you if you keep going to the house like that.”  

“The last thing I need are lectures from you. I know very well how to handle myself.” 

“Oh, really?” She replied with irony. “That’s why everyone found out you were Victoria Sureda?”  

Sharon surprised her by not looking worried in the slightest about her recent failure. Along with her change in looks, she seemed assured, confident. Too confident.

“I already solved that,” she said simply, as if it had been nothing but dirt on her shoe. “I changed my identity, I’m Vanessa Fürst now. I have everything under control, see? My vengeance is near.”

She looked almost happy, more carefree and laid-back than Ámbar had ever seen her. Once upon a time, she would’ve been happy to see her like that. Now, it worried her. No— it saddened her.

“Control… Vengeance… I really can’t believe how you still think like this.” She shook her head. “What’s the use of all that?”

Sharon huffed and looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “I don’t recognize you, Ámbar. Have the Valente affected you? Are you just as naive as them now?”

“I don’t have a single naive hair on my body, and you know that very well,” she replied firmly.  

“Really? It doesn’t look like it.” Sharon took a sip from her tea and placed it back on the plate. “Although, I suppose you’re right. It wasn’t the Valente.” She looked up at her. “It was that good-for-nothing friend of Luna.”

Ámbar’s heart stopped.

“… I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, hiding her hands under the table so she wouldn’t see them shaking. 

She had regained her composure as fast as she could, but just one look from Sharon and she knew she hadn’t been fast enough. 

“Do not lie to me, Ámbar. Rey already told me everything. Did you know my father is stupid enough to trust him as if he was his friend? He tells Rey everything, so I already know you’re in a relationship with this… Simón ,” she spat his name as if it disgusted her.

Ámbar’s whole body had turned rigid as a stone. Her heart raced while anxiety grew inside her chest. She wasn’t expecting her to talk about Simón. In fact, she wasn’t expecting her to know about it in the first place. She should’ve known nothing stays out of her watchful eye for long. 

I’m so stupid. She should’ve planned for this case, she should’ve prepared herself for it.  

But there was no point in lamenting now, and denying wouldn’t do any good either, it would only make things worse. With no other options, Ámbar forced herself to maintain a calm exterior.        

“Simón has nothing to do with this, this is about—” 

“It’s got everything to do with it!” Sharon interrupted. Suddenly, all her cheery facade was gone and back on its place was the usual, strict her, the one Ámbar had known all her life. “What the hell is wrong with you, Ámbar? Dating the friend of the help? The friend of the little brat who stole everything from us? I wanted to believe that it was some kind of plan from your part, but your reaction tells me otherwise.” 

The utter disappointment and disapproval in her voice made Ámbar crawl inside. It angered her that she could still make her feel like that, like a worthless little girl. It angered her that there was still a part of her that wanted to win her approval. 

She reveled against that instinct and lifted her chin, holding her gaze. She was not worthless and she had no right to make her feel so. 

“You don’t care about what’s going on with me, what does it matter to you who I date?” She defied. 

“It matters that he is associated with those people,” Sharon replied firmly. She stood straighter on her seat, raising her chin and placing her hands together in a full posture of authority. “I want you to terminate that charade immediately,” she dictated. 

Ámbar did a double-take, looking at her with wide eyes.  

“Wh-what? No!”

Sharon didn’t like that answer.  

“He is way below your level, Ámbar. I expected more from you, I thought you were more intelligent than that. No wonder you’re questioning me, he has probably been putting stupid ideas in your head and you’ve listened to him like an idiot.”  

“I will not allow you to talk to me like that—”

“And I will not allow you to speak back to me!” Sharon exclaimed, making Ámbar cower against her will. “You are an idiot if you think he actually cares about you. He’s only after your status, trying to climb up life like a cockroach.” 

“What status?!” Ámbar said, stupefied. She would have laughed if she wasn’t so on edge. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have nothing, godmother. The fortune, the house— the Valente have it all now.” 

“Yes, and I intend to make them pay for it while you’re there playing house with them!” 

“Don’t you dare insinuate that I’m a traitor because I’m not. I haven’t once stepped in your way, I even kept pretending I was Sol Benson after I found out you lied to me, all just to help you.”

“And yet you refuse to help me now to get revenge on those who took everything from us.” 

“Because you won’t gain anything from it!” She exclaimed in frustration. “Don’t you see? It’s not worth it , godmother. All the time and energy you’re spending on your revenge… Wouldn’t you like to use it in something else? Something better? Aren’t you tired of living with so much resentment? You can still turn back, you can still put a stop to what you’re doing.” 

“Or what?” She defied. “You’re going to rat me out? Assuming you haven’t told your little boyfriend yet, that is.”

Ámbar felt a pang in her heart and clenched her fists under the table. She remembered Simón’s smiles and caresses. She remembered how he had yelled at her with tears in his eyes that he had trusted her and she had lied to him.     

“I haven’t told him anything,” she replied. She swallowed the knot in her throat.  “And I won’t. The decision is yours to make, but I really think you should consider finding a better solution. Please, leave all of this behind. I don’t think the Valente deserve this.” 

“The Valente deserve this and more!” Sharon retorted. There was a fire of fury in her eyes, deep and burning, and for the first time, Ámbar really feared that it could never be put out. 

In face of her silence, Sharon shook her head at her. “But of course you don’t think so. They have turned you against me.” 

“That’s not true—” She started, but Sharon was already standing from her seat. 

She stood beside her and looked down at her gravely. 

“You just remember this. If I go down, you go down with me. If you tell Simón or anyone else what you know, do you think they will thank you? That they’ll welcome you with open arms and you’ll be one big happy family?” She sneered. “You just told me you’re not naïve, Ámbar. Use your head. They will never forgive you for helping me.” 

She recovered some bills from her wallet and dropped them on top of the table before holding her handbag under her arm. 

“You better listen to me, Ámbar,” she warned. “It’s for your own good.” 

And then she was gone. 

Chapter Text

Simón wasn’t sure where the urge had come from, but he didn’t question it as he made the short walk to the mansion to get his guitar.

Part of him hoped he’d find Ámbar there or in the way there. He wanted to feel her close. He wanted to bury his face in her neck and breathe in the smell of her hair. It was a scent he could recognize now; even carried it with him after that morning, although he couldn’t smell it in himself. He still didn’t know exactly what it was 'cause the bottle didn’t show it, but it was nice, and most importantly, his memory associated it with sweet moments with Ámbar. Maybe if he smelled it, he’d feel better. Maybe if she just smiled at him, he’d feel better.

He didn’t find her.

Simón almost stayed in the storage room. Not because he wanted to hide from Benicio but because the calmness of the empty room was inviting. He could just stay for a while, play a couple songs without anyone bothering him…

You wanna lose your job too?

With a sigh, Simón placed the guitar inside its gig bag and made his return to the Roller alone.

Once inside, Simón walked to the stage and sat on its edge, bringing his guitar close and playing with the strings. Soon, a melody came about, a nostalgic one, and his voice came out to join it.

Te vas amor,

si así lo quieres qué le voy a hacer

Tu vanidad no te deja entender

Que en la pobreza se sabe querer…

Right as he began the next verse, another voice started singing, taking him by surprise. Simón snapped his head to the side and saw Luna, smiling widely as she walked closer to sit at his left. Seeing her smile brought a smile to him as well, and he strummed the guitar harder, with more vivacity, singing the chorus with her.

For two minutes, Simón forgot about everything. He felt back in Cancún, under the sun he had grown up with. He could almost hear the waves and their laughs with Luna and the voice of her mom begging him to stop playing that song.

Then the song was over, the strings rigid and static once again, just like his life. He felt stuck, as if, at some point, the solid ground under his feet had been replaced by a treadmill, and no matter how hard he ran, he didn’t arrive anywhere.

Simón didn’t have many moments like these; he didn’t allow himself to. He had learned— internalized from a very young age that a positive attitude was the key to achieve everything in life. And it wasn’t a karma thing where you expected the world to return your good deeds back to you one day, it was about how you chose to see things. Whenever something dragged you down or didn’t go as you wanted it to, you had two options: let it get you down or keep going. Simón kept going. He kept advancing and advancing, but there would always come a point where the big boulder he was pushing up the hill would roll back down and try to crush him.

This was one of those moments.

It was stupid, really. Benicio thrived on making other people’s lives miserable, for all intents and purposes he shouldn’t have listened to him. But he couldn’t un-listen to him, so now he had a cacophony of voices in his head calling him a failure. Telling him to go back to his country. Telling him that he wasn’t good enough.

“This song talks about love,” Luna told him hesitatingly, her green eyes showing worry. “Is there anyone that you think doesn’t deserve a love that’s sincere?”

It was funny. Some months ago, drowned in bitterness and hurt feelings, he would’ve answered ‘Ámbar’. Now though, it was like the lyrics he had sung a thousand times over had transformed into something else while remaining the same. It was like looking at something that could be written by a future version of himself. A version of himself abandoned with nothing left but a song.

“I wasn’t thinking about the lyrics,” he replied. It was both true and a lie. He was thinking about everything and nothing at once. A part of him was screaming at him to stop making up scenarios in his head while another kept answering ‘but what if they come true?’

Keep going.

Suddenly, Luna said she had to go, so Simón put on a smile to make it easier for her to do so.

Once again, it was just him and his guitar.

Five times. Sharon had left five times enough money to pay for the tea and coffee they had consumed. She probably hadn’t even bothered to look at the prices and hadn’t taken the time to count in her haste to leave Ámbar alone once again. How long had they been together? Ten minutes? Five?

I failed.

Ámbar stayed in her seat, finishing her tea as she wallowed in everything that had gone wrong. Not only was Sharon not stopping but now she was mad about Simón. Oh, Simón; she had lied to him telling him she was going to see Vidia, all for what? She had told Sharon that she wasn’t going to tell him anything, and for what?

She didn’t know if what she was feeling was fear, frustration or anguish. Maybe all three. What was she gonna do? What could she do? She was trapped.

A sudden wave of anger hit her. This was all Sharon’s fault. All of it. She wouldn’t be in any mess if it wasn’t for her. Had Sharon ever even thanked her for all she had done for her? No, of course not, it’s just what was expected of her. And now she had the audacity to tell her who she should and shouldn’t be with? She wanted her to renounce something that made her happy just because of a whim of hers? She knew Sharon was selfish, but this was something else.

Ámbar reached for the bills Sharon had left. She didn’t want anything from her, she’d pay the drinks herself. She almost wanted to tear the money apart. She almost did. But then she got an idea.

No; she was going to spend it. And she was gonna spend it on something for Simón. It was the biggest ‘fuck you’ move she could manage at the moment and she was gonna do it.

With her mind made, she asked for the check, paid, and left the Café to go visit some stores.

---------------------

The plan had been to just buy him something and go back to the Roller quickly, but once she started looking through different things, Ámbar lost sense of time.

It occurred to her that it was the first time she was shopping for Simón. What could he like? What would be useful? Those questions repeated on her mind. She got a little over-excited going through the stores, seeing everything on a new light because she wasn’t thinking about her tastes but about his.

Of course, she had bought stuff for Matteo when they were dating, but that had been different. Back then, she had done it almost with professionalism, going for the prestigious brands first, thinking about which accessory would fit more with his style or which item of clothes would go better with his skin color.

Clothes. Clothes are useful, he could like that.

As Ámbar went through different male sections, she confirmed how different it was to shop for Simón. She didn’t think about brands; she knew he didn’t care about that. Instead, she looked at different items and imagined how they would look on him. She thought about which one would make Simón happier, or which one would make her want to take it off him the most.

Not everything was fun though. Against her will, her conversation with Sharon continued to play on her mind. Her blind rage against the Valente, her accusation that Ámbar had switched sides, her ice-cold voice telling her to break up with Simón... 

It was the first time that Sharon ordered her something and Ámbar straight out refused. The fact made her proud as much as it scared her. What if Sharon was serious about wanting her away from Simón? What if there was retaliation? What if she did something?

Don’t be ridiculous, Ámbar, this is not a soap opera.

Sharon wasn’t going to hire assassins or something. Ironically, she would have to actually care to do anything about it, and all her life experiences had shown her that she did not.

‘You better listen to me, Ámbar, it’s for your own good.’

Ámbar put the hook she had been holding back into its rack with a little more force than necessary. ‘For your own good’; she was so sick of hearing that phrase from her mouth. To tell her that she would go down with her, that no one would forgive her…

She doesn’t need to tell me that, I know it already.

Ámbar shoved all of that out of her mind and re-focused on the clothes. She was gonna give Simón something, he was gonna be happy, and he wasn’t going to leave her.

The low budget made things difficult. Of course, she could use her credit card and not just Sharon’s money but, one, that would defeat the purpose, and two, she felt if she pulled her card out, she was going to end up buying half the mall and then Simón would feel bad and scold her for spending so much on him.

Well, he better be prepared for his birthday. There was no way she wouldn’t fill him with presents then.

If we’re still together, her mind retorted immediately. She focused all her will into ignoring that.

By the time she finally made it out of the mall, it had been hours. She felt irresponsible for leaving her work on the side for so long, but it was time well spent. She wanted to get to the Roller quickly and see Simón’s face.

But when she arrived, he wasn’t there. Confused, she turned to Pedro who was retrieving empty plates from a recently vacant table and asked him about Simón.

“He said he was going to the mansion and coming right back.”

Ámbar frowned. That was unusual. Maybe he had forgotten something that morning?

Anyway, he thanked Pedro and was making her way through the cafeteria to wait for Simón when she heard voices coming from the dressing room. The door was ajar, so she stopped right before it to avoid being seen and concentrated on listening. Normally, she wouldn’t have eavesdropped —the days where she focused on what everyone else was doing were behind her— but she immediately recognized the voices inside, and it did not sound good.

“...the Red Sharks no longer exist,” Ramiro was saying, his voiced clipped.

“Maybe it would still exist if its teammates weren’t traitors,” Benicio spat resentfully.

“The reason it doesn’t exist anymore is that you don’t even care about skating, all you two care about is ruining everyone else's lives! Just leave Delfi and Jazmín alone,” Ramiro exclaimed forcefully.

Ámbar’s attention peaked at hearing her ex-best friends’ names. Why was Benicio going against Jazmín and Delfi?

“We are not going to do anything; they did it to themselves all on their own. And I don’t remember asking for your opinion, traitor. Benicio, did you ask for his opinion?”

Oh, so Emilia was also there. It didn’t surprise her. Ever since Benicio arrived, she hanged to his every word. Ámbar had noticed some jealousy coming from her when Benicio and her had been… together. (God, how she hated to remember that.) Now that she was out of the way, Emilia had clearly stepped up to take the role of his right-hand woman. Or, more exactly, the same pitiful role she had played with Matteo.

“No, I didn’t,” Benicio answered, and Ámbar could perfectly imagine the cocky face he was making. “It seems to me like you’re just desperate for someone to talk to, Ramiro, interrupting conversations like that. But you made your choice. We don’t want you anywhere near us.”

“And if your besties from the Roller don’t want you near either, then… I’m sorry, honey. But you’re going to be very, very alone.”

Emilia’s mocking tone made Ámbar want to slap her. They had been something like friends once, but the more time passed, her attitude became worse. Ámbar had had the hope that Emilia would come to her senses since she was not stupid, but with Benicio’s influence and her trying to win his attention… It was a bad mix.

If the pair had been trying to intimidate Ramiro, it didn’t work. His voice sounded firm and decided when he replied, “I prefer it that way.”

“Leave Delfi and Jazmín alone, I mean it,” he said with a warning tone, and next thing Ámbar knew, he was walking out the door, almost colliding with her.

Ramiro’s eyes widened when they focused on her.

“Á—”

Quickly, Ámbar rose her hands in a gesture for him to remain quiet and dragged him away by the arm. She stopped inside the lockers and turned to Ramiro.

“What was that about?” She asked in some of a quiet voice in case Emilia or Benicio walked by. “I heard Delfi and Jazmín being mentioned, what are Benicio and Emilia planning?”

Ramiro let out a deep sigh. “Sadly, I have to admit that Delfi and Jazmín were the ones who got themselves in this situation.”

“What situation?”

“Did you watch their last videos?”

Ámbar blinked. “No? I have more important things to do.”

“Like going shopping?” He asked sardonically, giving a look to the bag she had left behind her on top of the bench.

“Oh. No, that was just an improvised gift for Simón,” she dismissed.

Ramiro gave her the cheekiest smile and look on the planet. “Awww, the little princess is in love.”

Ámbar rolled her eyes.

“Don’t tease me, Ramiro, just tell me what’s up.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Fine,” he sighed. “So, basically, Delfi’s and Jazmín’s last videos were almost identical. Everyone assumed one had copied the other and each of them claimed the other was the copycat, which generated a fight.”

“Okay…”

“But, the truth is that they planned it all. They made the whole scandal to gain views and subscribers.”

Ámbar raised her eyebrows. “Really…”

And then they complained that it was she who pushed them to do these kinds of things. Look at them now. She didn’t even talk to them and they had planned a scam all on their own!

They could not blame her influence for this one, and Ámbar felt a little happy about that. It was almost vindication. Also, it served as proof that even ‘the good ones’ made bad deeds sometimes.

Contrary to her silent joy, Ramiro looked troubled.

“It was wrong what they did, I know that. But now that Benicio and Emilia know about it, they’re going to tell the whole world and I’m worried about what’ll happen to the girls.”

If Ámbar knew the internet at all, they were going to get a lot of hate once the news broke out. Backlash from a failed plan was something she was definitely familiar with.

“Well... you’re right,” she told Ramiro. “They did get themselves in this situation.” Just as she’d had to deal with the consequences of her actions, Delfi and Jazmín would have to deal with theirs.

“Yeah, but Benicio and Emilia shouldn’t get to enjoy it,” Ramiro retorted with frustration.

It was a good point. Yes, the girls had made a mistake, but Benicio and Emilia turning it into a victory of sorts for them didn’t sit well with her at all. It could be that all Delfi and Jazmín would have to face would be some angry comments, but to Delfi, and especially Jazmín, their followers’ opinions were important. It was going to be a hard blow.

“Although, maybe nothing will happen,” Ramiro continued on a hopeful note. “Even if Benicio and Emilia expose them, who will believe them? It’s not like they have a good reputation in the Fab & Chic or Ja Jazmín.”

“That’s a good point,” Ámbar agreed.

Ramiro looked pensive. “I think I’ll tell the girls anyway. Just in case.”

She nodded. “Yeah, better. I’ll be here all day so, if I see them, I’ll give them a heads up too.”

Ramiro smiled and gave a playful shove to her shoulder. “Look at you, being all nice. What happened to the ‘I don’t care about anyone or anything’ attitude?”

Ámbar shrugged with pursed lips. “I just think they have the right to know. Maybe if they have time to prepare themselves it won’t be so bad…” she averted her gaze. “I surely would’ve liked some heads ups.” About a lot of things. 

She could feel his eyes on her in the silence that followed, but she wasn’t expecting what he said next.

“I know you didn’t mean to burn the rink.”

Surprised, Ámbar turned to see him. His gaze was kind as he showed her a sad smile.

“You do?” She asked hesitatingly.

“Yeah,” he confirmed assuredly. “You’re like me; skating is a part of us. To think that you’d intentionally destroy this place is absurd.”

Ámbar’s whole body reacted with energy and her hands rose to the sky. “Why, thank you! Finally someone uses some common sense!”

He laughed at her utter elation and she laughed in utter relief. Finally, finally someone believed her. Well, she assumed Simón believed her too since she doubted he would’ve gotten back together with her otherwise, but he hadn’t believed it at first, and it was nice to actually hear the words for once.

It gave Ámbar just a little hope. Maybe with time, more people would believe her too.

“Well, since I’m here, I think I’m gonna skate for a while,” Ramiro said, walking to his locker and opening it. He spun to look at her. “Wanna join me?”

She gave him a sorry smile. “Thanks but I have to work. I ignored my responsibilities for too long already.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then,” he said with a smile, pulling out his skates.

“Okay.”

Ámbar walked out of the lockers and headed back to the cafeteria. The moment she stepped foot in there, the first thing she saw as if pulled in by a magnet, was Simón scrunched back as he talked with Luna, sat on the edge of the stage. He had his guitar over his legs, but even without it, she knew she would’ve recognized him. Just as her eyes always found him.

Her chest instantly filled with glee. It had only been a couple hours but, she realized that she had missed him.

Over his shoulder, Luna saw her and their gazes met. Quickly, she said something to Simón and stood, leaving him alone. She gave Ámbar a little smile as she walked to the other side of the bar and then sat in one of the couches.

Ámbar understood the gesture and returned the smile, albeit feeling a little weird. She still wasn’t used to being amicable toward Luna. She suspected it would take a while considering how long she had spent hating her guts. But she didn’t hate her anymore, and she was an important part of Simón’s life; that was a big reason for them to get along.

Luna must have come to the same conclusion, and Ámbar wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

Fingerpicking was something Simón had struggled with when he first started playing guitar. Now it was something he did without thinking, or rather, it was something he could do automatically while thinking of something else entirely.

If he hadn’t been distracted, he probably would’ve heard the footsteps behind him. But he was and he didn’t, so when a pair of hands touched his shoulders and he felt a kiss on his cheek, he nearly jumped.

Simón spun in a flash and his heart skipped another beat when he saw that smile.

“Ámbar,” he said surprised as she happily took sit beside him. He left his guitar aside. “You arrived.”

He had wanted to see her all day but, now that she was there in front of him, he wasn’t sure what he felt. His head was a mess at the moment, too many worries and situations that may or may not happen fluttered around.

But seeing her smiling at him, looking at him with nothing but affection… it eased the knot of anxiety in his chest a little bit.

“Actually, you arrived. I’ve been here for some minutes now,” she informed him.

He was surprised once again. “What? Really? I didn’t see you.”

“Ah, I was in the lockers with Ramiro until now, that’s probably why. And you weren’t here when I arrived,” she explained. “Now I see why you went out. Did you get a strike of inspiration or something?” She asked, signaling to his guitar.

Simón brought his gaze to the instrument. “Something like that.”

He didn’t want to talk about his worries now that she was finally with him. Especially what had to do with her. She’d probably just scold him anyway for listening to Benicio in the first place. It was silly. It wasn’t worth it.

“Everything okay with Vidia?” he said instead, to avoid the topic. “You were out for a while.”

Ámbar blinked, and for one second, he thought he saw a change in her expression, but it was gone very quick.

“Yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine, everything went well,” she replied smiling and held one of his hands.

Suddenly, he was reminded of how much he had wanted to hold her before. The feeling of her hand against his may have not been much, even friends held hands sometimes and it didn’t mean anything deep, but right now, it was reassuring. She was there, with him, sweet and tangible.

A shout came from afar.

“Ámbar!”

She turned around and Simón tilted his head to the left to look behind her. Ramiro was skating toward them, which was weird because that usually wasn’t allowed in the cafeteria. He was holding a white paper bag in one of his hands.

“You forgot your present.”

Ámbar let go of Simón’s hand and stood rapidly.

“Oh my god, thank you,” she said, and received the bag when Ramiro reached them. “How silly of me.”

Simón stood up as well and watched them. A bad feeling settled on the pit of his stomach; one he didn’t like but also couldn’t help. Why is Ramiro giving gifts to Ámbar? He thought. And, of course, the immediate reason was because they’re friends, but were they really that close already? Since when? And how close?

There was nothing wrong in Ramiro giving her something, he knew that, but Simón felt defeated all the same. He hadn’t even given Ámbar a gift yet and he was her boyfriend. Wasn’t he supposed to do those things?

Completely unaware of Simón’s discomfort, Ramiro smiled at Ámbar.

“You’re welcome, little princess,” he told her. With a wink. Then he looked at both of them and said, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Just like that, he turned on his skates and began sliding back to where he came from. On the way, he was approached by Luna, who started following him. “Ramiro! Hi! How would you feel about being a background dancer?”

Simón barely registered all of that because his mind was still on the wink, on the gift, and on the ‘Little princess’.

Since when did they treat each other like that? Since when did they have pet names? 

They’re just friends, he repeated to himself. But at the same time, he was hearing—

‘Now that she has you, let’s see how long it lasts.’

“Simón?”

His gaze snapped back to Ámbar.

“Yes?”

“You seemed kind of out of it for a second,” she told him.

He shook his head and tried to smile. “It’s nothing.” They’re just friends, they’re just friends.

Ámbar held the gift bag with both hands and Simón hated the way she seemed to handle it with care. Right as she started saying something, another voice called out for him.

“Simón!”

Simón turned to his left as Pedro rapidly came to his side, holding a tray with drinks on one hand and a note on the other. He had a rug on top of one of his shoulders and he seemed a little agitated.

“I’m sorry, could you make the orders for table three?” He asked. “I have my hands full.”

Simón felt a jab of guilt. Of course; it was probably lunchtime by now. Customers always went up at that time of the day, it was the reason why they usually took breaks after those hours. Simón should’ve been minding the clock, he should’ve been tuned in to that, Pedro shouldn’t have even had to ask.

“Yes, of course,” he replied immediately, receiving the piece of paper from him with the orders written down.

Pedro turned back to deliver the drinks while Simón quickly left the guitar in the stand on top of the stage and went behind the bar. He didn’t even look at Ámbar, feeling ashamed. The first thing she had seen after hours of being gone was him playing the guitar while he was supposed to be working and Pedro practically begging him to help out.

So he was not only a lousy boyfriend but a lousy employee as well. Great. Just great.

“Wait, could you take five minutes?” Ámbar told him. “I wanted to—”

“No, I’m sorry, I took enough minutes already,” he told her as his hands moved through ingredients. “I gotta help Pedro.”

To be honest, he feared whatever she might say at that moment. He didn’t want to hear it. The one thing he wanted right then was to stop feeling like a complete failure.

“Okay…” Ámbar said slowly. “Okay, sure. I’ll just grab my folder and I’ll let you work.”

She walked behind the bar and ducked to pull out her big green folder from under it. As she turned to leave, Simón felt the urge to grab her and tell her he’d give her as many minutes as she wanted. As many gifts as she could ever wish for.

He didn’t.

As he continued working, the voice inside his head calling him ‘loser’ didn’t even sound like Benicio anymore. It sounded like himself.  

...

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar’s usual table was occupied, so she walked to the one in the far-left corner and sat.

She preferred the other table because it was closer to the bar and thus closer to Simón most times, but she was the one who got there late, so she wasn’t about to tell some customers to get out. Also, what would she say? “Hi, I’m sorry, I usually work there, could you move?” It’d just sound very OCD from her part considering there were other tables available. The most honest would be to say “Sorry, would you mind changing seats? I wanna be closer to my boyfriend” but… yeah, she definitely wasn’t going to say that.

Ámbar placed her document’s folder on top of the table and left the gift bag next to her on her right. Her boyfriend seemed to want to focus on work today anyway, so she suspected there weren’t going to be many exchanges of words. As manager of the Roller, she couldn’t discourage that behavior; committed workers were exactly what the business needed. But as a person, she felt a little left out. Something in Simón felt weird today. Like distant. Maybe whatever he had been trying on the guitar didn’t work out the way he wanted it to. Or maybe she was overthinking things.  

She looked at the gift bag and sighed. She had wanted to give it to him right away, but she guessed it could wait. It’s not like it was a ‘wow’ present anyway, it was just a small gesture.

A gesture that wouldn’t have even come to be if it wasn’t for Sharon.

Enough. She wasn’t going to think about that anymore.

Ámbar opened her folder and started sorting through the different documents, mostly listings of expenses, earnings and bills. Running a business was more work than she initially thought, but she was getting the hang of it, falling into a rhythm. To have organized a whole event and pulled it off against the clock right after getting the job had definitely not been a sane decision on her part. She had always been an overachiever, but that had been too much. How she survived it, she still didn’t know.

She didn’t regret her decision though. Something very good had come out of it. Her lips curled at the memory. 

Compared to those days of stress, regular paperwork was almost easy. It wasn’t, not really. But thankfully, unlike when she began, now she had help.

About two hours later, exactly at the time she said she’d come, Ana arrived and greeted Ámbar with a kind smile. That she took time off her own work to help her every now and then didn’t cease to amaze Ámbar. It filled her with gratitude, maybe even affection. It just seemed surreal, that she had offered to help her in the first place when she wasn't even Nina’s friend and that she had continued to do so afterward with the best of dispositions.

Thank god they had arranged Ana would come in the afternoon. She would’ve hated to cancel for that other woman that never could give her five minutes of her attention, even when she was free.

Ana stayed for an hour, more or less, before calling it a day. She congratulated Ámbar on her work, reminded her to keep the employee’s payments in check (the notion that she’d be paying Simón was a little weird, but technically the money came from VIDIA) and warned her that ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’   

Ámbar laughed and said goodbye to Ana after promising that she’d talk to her before making any great decisions.

As she left, Ámbar wondered for a second how it was for Nina. To grow up with a mother that made pop culture references and listened when you talked.

By that point, the Jam & Roller was quieter. Most people had gone, including the ones that had been occupying her table, but Ámbar stood where she was. Simón had also gone away, probably to the lockers or to the rink to cover for Eric as he took his break.

The ones who were still there were precisely those she didn’t want to see: Benicio and Emilia. They were seated to her left, right behind the bar, Benicio on the blue couch and Emilia on the chair in front of him. Ámbar wondered if in Emilia’s mind that counted as a date; drinking juices together while they built up schemes. Most surely yes.

There were just a few details left to go over on her paperwork, so Ámbar set on that. She could’ve left it for the next day but, she’d always liked to have things done as quickly as possible. Some people would call that being impatient; she’d rather say she was efficient. Well, she did admit patience had never been her strong suit.

Her gaze kept going up every now and then, hoping to see Simón back. He didn’t show, but Delfi and Jazmín did.

Ámbar saw them appear from behind the bar, circling it as they followed Pedro who stood behind it. The three of them were talking, but it was so quiet Ámbar couldn’t hear what they were saying. 

She figured she’d wait until their conversation was over to tell them that Benicio and Emilia had found them out. She didn’t want to interrupt them only to deliver bad news. She kept her attention on them, waiting for her chance, and in doing so, she noticed how tense the three were. Pedro looked very annoyed, Delfi looked worried, and Jazmín for some reason was wearing sunglasses inside and looking around as if some paparazzi were going to jump at her at any moment. 

Now, from Jazmín she expected anything by this point, but Delfi was acting weird too. Movement on the edge of her vision made Ámbar look to her left. Benicio and Emilia were looking at the bar and snickering. 

A bad feeling gripped her.

It can’t be. 

Quickly, Ámbar took out her phone and searched for the Fab & Chic. Immediately, a bunch of hateful comments displayed along the screen. ‘Liars!’ ‘Fakes!’ ‘Say goodbye to your subscribers.’ ‘I feel sorry for you, clowns.’ ‘I always knew these two were attention whores.”  

In between, she found a link for a video titled “FAB & CHIC & JA JAZMÍN #EXPOSED! IT WAS ALL A LIE!” The preview showed Delfi and Jazmín talking in the lockers, filmed from above their heads. Ámbar didn’t need to watch it to know just what they were talking about in it. Damn.

She sent it to Ramiro via Whatsapp and called him for two seconds before hanging up just to make sure he’d see it. 

Ámbar:  They got ahead of us. Did you know they had a video? 

Seconds later, Ramiro replied. 

Ramiro:  You have got to be fucking kidding me. 

Ramiro:  No, I didn’t. 

Ámbar looked up at the trio again and typed.  

Ámbar: Delfi and Jazmín are here in the cafeteria. They already know. 

Ámbar sighed. So much for warning them. 

Her message appeared as ‘read’ but Ramiro didn’t reply. Ámbar put her phone down and looked at how Delfi and Jazmín kept talking to Pedro as he tried to work. What was his part in all of this? Like, Ámbar could understand Delfi wanting some comfort or support after being found out; she would do the same thing. But then, why did Pedro seem so annoyed? Was he mad at her for lying too? But the videos had nothing to do with him...

Suddenly, Pedro snapped so loud that she could hear him. 

“It was not me, Delfi!” 

Oh no. 

Ramiro shoved his phone inside his pocket and left the rink quickly. Thankfully, he had been done skating for a while now and had already changed back to his regular shoes. He had been hanging out with Eric when he felt Ámbar’s call and message. 

Turning left at the end of the hallway, he rapidly searched for the pair of girls. His gaze found a different pair instead. 

He stomped his way to them and roughly put his hands on their table.  

“I told you to leave the girls alone.” 

Emilia rolled her eyes at him.

“Ugh, Ramiro, don’t play the vigilante. All we did was tell the truth to all those poor followers who had been deceived. Honestly? I think we deserve a ‘thank you’.” 

Emilia and Benicio shared a sneer. Jazmín and Delfi appeared by the edge of the bar, talking to Pedro. Ramiro tried to go to them, but Benicio stood and blocked his way.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked. Emilia stood next to him. 

Ramiro gave them an exasperated look. “To apologize to the girls for not stopping you two, jerks.” 

“You’re going to give us away?” Emilia asked him with incredulity. 

“I don’t think it’s in your best interests to cross us, Ramiro," Benicio said. "Think it through.” 

“I have nothing to think," Ramiro retorted flatly.

An outburst suddenly cut through the place.

“It was not me, Delfi!”

All their heads turned to Pedro. Ramiro immediately understood what was going on and stepped toward them, but Benicio stood in his way again. 

“Are you really going to let a couple break up because of you?” Ramiro asked in furious incredulity.

“Stay out of it,” was Benicio’s short answer.

Ramiro clenched his fits. He was out of fucking patience, he was gonna move Benicio by force.

But then something caught his eye. A movement behind the annoying boy’s head.

Ramiro’s thirst for blood changed into delicious satisfaction. A smile grew on his lips.

“Looks like you don’t have to worry about me after all.”

Benicio and Emilia turned their heads, disconcerted by his victorious stance. It was too late though; Ámbar was already by the bar.  

“Guys, enough, stop fighting,” she told the trio, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. “It wasn’t Pedro who gave you away, it was Emilia and Benicio.” 

Delfi and Jazmín went from apprehensive at Ámbar’s arrival to perplexed.

“What?” They both said in unison.   

Ramiro took advantage of everyone’s momentary surprise to go around Benicio and finally reach the girls.

“It’s true. They were the ones who uploaded your video to the web. We were going to tell you but they were faster than us. I’m sorry.”  

“I told you,” Pedro spat, shoving his dishcloth over the bar and walking away.  

Delfi went after him. “Wait, Pedro—” 

“Don’t follow me, Delfi,” he told her firmly. “You did it enough already, now leave me alone.” 

“But I—” Delfi started, but Pedro didn’t stay to hear it. It wasn’t long before he disappeared out of view.

Delfi looked absolutely crestfallen. “Oh no, I screwed up bad…” 

Jazmín moved to stand next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Ámbar couldn’t help but empathize with Delfi. Circumstances were very different but, she had been in a position like that once.

Shyly, she walked up to the two.

“I can ask Simón to talk to him if you want.”

Delfi and Jazmín looked at her with surprise; understandably. Delfi watched Ámbar for a long second, her expression unsure. Ámbar’s probably looked the same.   

“…That would help,” Delfi said finally, showing a tiny sad smile. “I’d rather he talked to me but, with how mad he is…” She shook her head, her expression pained. “I just need him to know I didn’t mean to accuse him.” 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ramiro told her, “don’t worry.” 

Delfi looked at him doubtfully but didn’t correct him, for she surely hoped he was right. Her gaze moved behind him then, falling over Benicio and Emilia who stood on the other side of the bar. 

“You,” Delfi growled with a glare. “You two caused this!” 

Delfi stomped toward them with Jazmín right next to her. Both stood in front of the other two with the same fury pouring out of them.

“How could you do that to us?” Jazmín snarled. “You destroyed our images, you’re the worst!”

Emilia and Benicio glared at Ramiro. He smiled.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I forget to tell you that I told Ámbar everything?” He said ironically. “Ups.”

Not being the type to back down, Benicio crossed his arms and confronted the girls. “If you lied to your followers it’s not our fault.”

Emilia backed him with a hand on her hip. “Yeah, don’t blame us for your lies, cheaters.” 

Delfi and Jazmín couldn’t do more than bite their tongues. They couldn’t correct them; deep down they were right.

Seeing he’d get no more comebacks from them, Benicio changed target. His gaze set on Ámbar, full of disapproval. 

“Are you really on the losers’ side now, Ámbar?” He asked, almost sounding betrayed.

Ámbar blinked innocently and looked at him with confusion. “What? You two are allowed to tell the truth and not me?” She pursed her lips. “That seems like a double-standard. Not cool, guys.” 

Benicio looked at her gravely, clearly not amused by her mock. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said. He turned to Ramiro. “Either of you. We will not forgive this.” 

With the threat of his words hanging in the air, Benicio spun around and walked away, followed by Emilia.

‘Oh, I’m quaking in my boots’ Ámbar wanted to say, but there was no reason to rile them up further. To be honest, if there could be no more fights in the Roller, she’d be more than happy.  

Delfi huffed, whether in frustration or despair, Ámbar didn’t know. Probably a mix of both. She looked at Ámbar and Ramiro and thanked them for their support, to which Jazmín joined in as well. It was clear they still didn’t know how to act around them; they weren’t friends after all, for different reasons. But their thanks were honest, and not at any point did they accuse them of having helped Benicio and Emilia so, that had to be a good thing.

The girls left, probably to lick their wounds and figure out what they were going to do to fix their mistake. Ámbar and Ramiro looked at each other. He leaned against the bar with his arms crossed and shrugged half-heartedly with a brow lift.

Yeah. There wasn’t much left to say. 

“Ámbar?”

Ámbar turned around and found Simón there. He looked at Ramiro before returning his gaze to her. “Can I talk to you?” He asked. 

Ámbar thought it a little weird but answered, nonetheless. “Yes, of course.” She turned to Ramiro. “Um…”  

Ramiro moved away from the bar. “I think I’m gonna go too. I already did what I had to do.” He smiled at both of them and made a two-finger salute. “See you tomorrow, guys.” 

Both said goodbye to Ramiro and then Ámbar looked at Simón again. He kept his eyes on Ramiro for a moment longer before stepping closer to her, looking confused. “Can you tell me what happened? Pedro just stormed into the lockers, told me to switch duties with him, and when I tried to get him to tell me why, he said ‘ask Ámbar, I’m done talking about it’.”

Ah, so that’s what it was. Ámbar sighed.

“It was all a misunderstanding,” she said. “Well— No, Pedro’s part was a misunderstanding,” she corrected, “the rest was sadly deserved.” 

Now Simón seemed even more confused. Holding back another sigh, Ámbar told him about Delfi’s and Jazmín’s scheme, how the whole internet had found out about it, how they apparently thought Pedro had run his mouth because he was the only one who knew, but actually it had been Benicio and Emilia from the start. 

Simón was perplexed. 

“What? And how did you find out about all that?”

Ámbar placed her elbow on top of the bar, leaning slightly against it. “Ramiro told me everything when I arrived. I found him fighting with Benicio and Emilia about it. We didn’t know that they had filmed them confessing everything, otherwise, we would’ve called them or something. But it is what it is now.”

Simón remained silent for some seconds.    

“So that’s why you were with him…” he said slowly.

“Yeah. I got here, you weren’t there, I met him and ended up in the middle of this mess,” she retold, gesticulating with her hand.

Simón frowned. “I don’t get it. Then why the gift? He had it from before or…?”

Ámbar looked at him in confusion and detached herself from the bar. “What?”

Why was he even bringing that up? It had nothing to do with what they were talking about.

…Unless…

Ámbar’s eyes widened. “Oooh, you thought—” A light laugh left her lips and she shook her head, looking at him tenderly. “No, my love, the gift’s for you.”

It was his turn to be baffled. “What?”

Ámbar took him by the hand and guided him to her table. “By this point, I was just gonna give it to you in our way back to the mansion, but since you’re here…” She let him go and leaned over the table to grab the gift bag. She turned and handed it to him with a smile. “All yours.”   

Simón held the bag and looked from it to Ámbar, clearly surprised.

“Come on, open it,” she encouraged him.

Simón peeled off the sticky tape that held the top together and looked inside the bag. He reached in with one hand and pulled out the shirt that Ámbar had bought for him. He left the empty bag on top of the table and held the shirt up between his hands to look at it fully.

The shirt was olive green with long sleeves, made of cotton or a similar soft fabric like that. It had a pretty simple design, with just a couple of buttons down the round neckline.

“Do you like it?” She asked. “It’s long-sleeved because it’s been getting colder lately, but the fabric seems breezy enough that you shouldn’t get too hot.”

Ámbar observed him and waited in anticipation, but many seconds ticked by and Simón didn’t say anything.

Now, she hadn’t been expecting him to, like, jump with joy or scream at the top of his lungs that she was the best girlfriend ever. But she had expected something. Some kind of reaction.

She didn’t expect Simón to just stare at the shirt. He wasn’t even smiling or anything, he was just staring at it. 

It didn’t take a genius to realize what that meant.

“...You didn’t like it,” she said dejectedly. “I thought about going for the blue one, but you already own a lot of blue, so I thought I should mix it up a little. Then I thought about a color that would bring out your eyes, but I couldn’t really decide. In the end, I went for this olive green because I thought it would look great on you, especially with black pants—” She stopped her rambling. None of that mattered now. “But we can change it. I’ll change it. Or you could—” 

Simón hugged her. One second he was looking at her, and the next he had wrapped her in his arms, nestling his head in the curve of her neck. Instinctively, Ámbar did the same, placing her hands on his back.

“Thank you,” she heard him say over her shoulder. One of his hands curled in her hair while the other held the shirt against her back. He squeezed her ever so slightly. “Truly, thank you.” 

Ámbar felt herself deflate and melt into the embrace. She couldn’t quite describe the feeling she got just by him holding her like this, to be enveloped in his warmth and the firmness of his body. She guessed it was the closest thing to peace she had ever known.

“It was nothing,” she replied, and enjoyed the feeling for a little longer before pulling back. “You sure you like it?” She asked, staring at him intently. She didn’t want him to pretend for her sake.

Simón smiled at her; the kind of smile that made his eyes turn impossibly soft and made butterflies wake in her stomach. It was still surreal for her to have someone that looked at her like that. 

“I love it,” he said fondly. “But, I mean, why? My birthday was in February.”

She shrugged lightly and smiled. “Just because I love you and I wanted to give you something,” she replied. It was 90% true. The other ten, she would ignore.

Simón’s face filled with tenderness and he hugged her again, tightening his arms around her waist.

“You’re so cute,” he said, and then finally voiced what his eyes had already told her. “I love you. So, so, so much.”

Ámbar crossed her arms behind his neck and pressed her face against his shoulder. She let her eyes fall close and breathed him in. He smelled a little like her shampoo which made her smile. The rest was just him, his intrinsic scent. She could never tire of it.

“Me too,” she told him.

And that was 100% true.

Simón was ashamed.

And not just because of the fact that he had been jealous of Ramiro and worrying over Ámbar leaving him for being a loser while she had gotten him a gift and was waiting to give it to him all along. If it had only been that, it would’ve been easier to push it aside. He was embarrassed of course, especially for the jealousy, but all of it palled in comparison to the pure happiness and love that filled him when he discovered how much she had thought of him, the care she had put in picking something out for him.

What really made his heart ache when she gave him the shirt was something else. Something worse. When Pedro had entered the lockers looking positively distressed and had told him to ask Ámbar what had happened, the first thing Simón had done, his first instinct had been to ask— “Did she do something?”

For one second, a strong feeling of dread had overcome him. He felt a jab in his chest and a chill ran through him until Pedro assured him that Ámbar had done nothing wrong. Simón felt bad instantly, and when he talked to her, it got ten times worse.

They had both agreed on starting again with a clean slate, and his first instinct had been to think she had done something bad? All while she actually had a present for him that she had chosen with lots of love?

He was an idiot. He was the world’s worst boyfriend. Ámbar was being sweet, honest and considered; she didn't deserve to be mistrusted by him.

He had let his dark mood affect his perception. Not because some things—okay, most things were going wrong in his life it meant that everything would. Ámbar had proved him that, without knowing it. And maybe that was precisely why it meant so much to him; because she gave him something just because. Because she had shown him love right when he needed it without knowing he needed it.

Ámbar wouldn’t know it, but he hadn’t just thanked her for the shirt but for everything. For being there. For caring. For loving him.

Maybe Simón didn’t have much, but he had her. If nothing else, he had her. That was enough.

He was literally unable to wipe the grin off his face for the rest of the afternoon. He pretty much counted down the seconds for closing hour and then he was the happiest guy in the world on the way back home, one hand holding his gift, the other intertwined with Ámbar’s.

Later, at night, they all had dinner together in the dining room.

After Simón had modeled his new shirt for Ámbar, of course.

Simón shoved the shirt down his head, mindful of the tag still hanging by the neck from a short metal chain.

“How does it feel?” Ámbar asked him.

Simón tugged on the sleeves to accommodate them right and looked down at himself.

“Good. The length is great and everything.” It shouldn’t come as a surprise though; after all, she had asked for everyone’s measurements to get the outfits for the Flash Open.   

He ducked in front of her vanity to try and see how it looked, but the angle was complicated and he couldn’t see much with the mirrors sprayed with black paint. He straightened up and turned to Ámbar instead. 

“How does it look?”

Ámbar pursed her lips, giving him an appreciative glance. 

“Mmm… we may have a problem.”

Simón glanced down, searching the fabric for any kind of stain or tear he hadn’t noticed before. “What? What’s wrong with it?”   

Ámbar stepped close to him, sliding her hands over his shoulders and his chest.

“That seeing you wearing it makes me wanna take it off.”

The heated look in her eyes captured Simón with the speed and force of a storm. It was amazing, the things she could do with just a look, and if she added that tiny flirty smile of hers, Simón could do nothing but be at her mercy.

“Well… you bought it,” he said, curling his lips as he raised his arms. “I think you earned that right.”

Taking the invitation, Ámbar grabbed the shirt and pulled it over his head. The garment, so precious one second ago, ended up discarded somewhere in the bed behind her, forgotten. Her hands fell on top of him again, this time directly over his warm skin.   

“Better?” He asked.

“Much better,” she replied, and with a look almost predatory, she pushed him against the vanity table.

The piece of furniture shook, along with all the things on top of it, but Simón didn’t dwell on any of that— not with the way Ámbar kissed him right after, taking over all of his senses.

The kiss deepened in seconds, turning into a mix of tongues and teeth that was intoxicating. Simón’s heart started pounding hard, so much so that he was sure Ámbar could feel it. She pressed herself closer to him, winding her fingers in his hair. Simón slipped his hands under her t-shirt, spreading them over the low of her back and bringing her closer still.

The need for air made them pulled apart, the hot puffs of their panting mixing between them. Ámbar’s eyes were almost black, only a fine line of blue around her pupils. She bowed her head and began an assault on his neck, one hand tugging hard on his necklaces as if to keep him where she wanted him.

Simón moaned. “They’re gonna call us down for dinner any minute...”

Ámbar shifted her hips against his, making him gasp. She pulled back and looked at him with a wicked smirk.

“We’ll have to be quick then,” she said, and pulled her top over her head, throwing it aside.

Simón felt warmth at the memory and wondered for the twentieth time in the last ten minutes if everyone could somehow tell what they’ve been up to. A knock had sounded on Ámbar’s door barely minutes into the afterglow, with the announcement that dinner was ready. They both had cleaned up and fixed themselves in the bathroom before walking out so it wouldn’t be obvious, but he was still paranoid that the rest could somehow see it in his face, or even worse, smell it.

It was hard to look Alfredo in the eye knowing just minutes ago he had been taking his granddaughter against a wall.   

Besides that, dinner was a very nice time. It was incredible, looking back, how much things had changed. From a narrow dinner with Luna and her parents on the kitchen’s small table, to a diner table filled to the brim with family and friends.

It was great to be able to spend time with everyone. Simón was happy to able to share moments like these, even if the conditions that had pushed him and the guys to live there hadn’t been at all pleasant. In some way, it made him feel like, even though he missed his family, he had something akin to another one right there in Buenos Aires.

Matteo was the first to finish and excuse himself from the table, suspiciously followed by Luna one minute later. Michel stood up not long after, and Pedro, who had been talking to him, turned to Simón.

“Let’s go?”

Simón nodded and parted from Ámbar with a kiss on her hand. Both guys walked out of the house and headed to the storage room. They had arranged previously to play some songs that night. They couldn’t stay very late due to security reasons, so they agreed to meet as soon as they finished dinner.

Luna was on her way out when they entered the storage room, just as Simón had suspected. She excitedly asked them both if they would be dancers in Matteo’s video, and then, lower so Matteo wouldn’t hear, asked them to assure him that everything would turn out alright and the video would be amazing. The guys agreed to help with both.

After Luna was gone, Simón and Pedro soon realized that the idea of playing together had been Matteo’s way to try and get them to help him rehearse his song. They quickly shot that idea down, arguing that he already knew the song; there was no reason to keep doubting himself.  

“I just don’t wanna let Luna down with this whole music video thing,” Matteo explained with worry. “She trusts me.”

“Well, you’re lucky,” Pedro remarked bitterly. “Because my own girlfriend doesn’t trust me. It’s horrible.”

Simón thought back to the time where everything with Ámbar had gone down the drain. He knew how much it hurt to trust someone completely and not have that trust returned. Thank god they had left those days behind. 

Thinking about Ámbar, Simón remembered that Matteo wasn’t the only one who had a secret agenda for that gathering. She had asked him a favor as they walked back to mansion and now this was his cue to fulfill it.

“I don’t think Delfi really distrusts you,” Simón began once Pedro had finished explaining the whole thing to Matteo. “Things just… fit in a way for her to think that. You were the only one who knew according to her, wouldn’t you have been suspicious too if it had been the other way around?”

Pedro looked down, pensive. “…Maybe. But if she told me she didn’t, then that would be it, I would’ve believed her,” he said with indignation. “She treated me like I was stupid and had somehow forgotten I told someone.”

Simón winced. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to,” he offered. “It was the heat of the moment. Everything had exploded one minute to the other, everyone was hating on them; she wasn’t thinking clearly. If you talk now, calmly, I’m sure you’ll figure things out.” 

Pedro sighed heavily. “I don’t know…” 

“I’m with Simón,” Matteo said. “You guys just need to talk things through. But you’re right in being angry,” he pointed out. “What she did was pretty bad. If I were you, I’d make her work for it.” 

Pedro laughed faintly at that. “Maybe I will.” 

Matteo looked at Simón. “You certainly could’ve made Ámbar work more for it,” he said. “But you always were the helpless romantic one. In fact, I’m surprised you guys aren’t making us all vomit with cheesy amorous displays all day— Not complaining though!” He immediately clarified with his hands up. “Keep at it.” 

Simón shook his head at his antics and moved to connect the cables to the amplifier. “Well, Ámbar told me to keep the PDA to a minimum, so you can thank her for that.”

Matteo frowned. “Really? Weird. Ámbar didn’t really care if anyone saw us when we were dating… Although, maybe that was the point,” he amended as he fixed his mic on the tripod stand. “You know, since our relationship was pretty based on appearances.” 

Simón hadn’t really thought about that; mainly because he didn’t like to think about Ámbar’s previous relationships at all. He remembered his very first day in Buenos Aires, when he saw Ámbar and Matteo kissing on stage. They were usually affectionate in front of everyone, but from what he had heard from Matteo and Ámbar, it was more for show than real deep feelings. Maybe, after that experience, Ámbar had decided she’d like to have a less public relationship.

But she never hid Benicio.   

They had had a thing quite recently and it hadn’t been very discreet. They kissed in the park, he serenaded her in the Roller, he used to wrap his arm around her waist all the time and Ámbar never once complained.

But, then again, Simón was pretty sure the point of it was to make him jealous so… 

“Right. Must’ve been because of that,” Simón said, nodding to himself as if to add firmness to his words. “And it’s not like she told me we had to keep a distance. It’s just, you know, not so much affection in front of people,” he shrugged. “I get it.” 

“You wish you could smooch her every five seconds though,” Pedro declared.

Simón sighed, sagging onto the couch. “Yeah…” There was nothing he wanted more.

His melancholic mood only lasted about three seconds though, because then he remembered what had happened and he leaned forward excitedly. “Did I tell you she gave me a shirt today? She’s so sweet,” he said melted. In was in moments like that when he really wished the PDA rule didn’t exist. He would’ve eaten her up in kisses.

Matteo grabbed his guitar. “When we were dating, she gave me a Rolex.” 

Simón blinked. Pedro nudged Matteo not so discreetly on the ribs. Matteo looked at him confused until his gaze fell on Simón and his mouth formed an ‘o’.

“I’m sure yours had a lot more sentiment,” he offered.   

Simón’s mouth twitched. He had scratches on his back that showed just how much sentiment it had.

“Alright, alright, are we gonna talk all night or are we gonna play?” Pedro said, sitting behind the drums and grabbing the sticks. “Because you two may be perfectly well, but I could really use some music right now. To distract myself.”

Simón stood and grabbed his guitar. “Yeah, sure. Sorry.”

Matteo hung his guitar strap on his shoulder and stood in front of Pedro. Simón did the same and took his place on the right.

“So,” Matteo said, “do we play my song?”

The other two laughed.

“No.” 

Ámbar was in her pajamas and ready for bed by the time Simón came into her room. She was just pulling back the covers when she heard the door open behind her and it startled her for a second, but she immediately relaxed when she saw him. She guessed she wasn’t used to people coming in without knocking. With time she’d get used to him being the exception. 

Simón closed the door carefully behind him and turned to her.

“Hi,” he said with a smile, walking up to her. 

“Hi,” she greeted back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her waist. She gave him a short kiss. “I was starting to think you’d made me sleep by myself.”

“Of course not,” he said, but then immediately leaned back. “Unless you wanted to. You can tell me, you know? Like, if you want space, if you want me to sleep in my room— I’ll do it. I have no problem.”

She wrinkled her eyebrows and laughed. “Why would I want that? I love sleeping with you.” It was probably the best sleep she’d ever had.

She unwrapped her arms, sliding her hands down to his chest. “Do you want that? Space?”

“No, no, I love sleeping with you too,” he assured her, cupping one of her cheeks. “It’s just…” He dropped his hand and shrugged slightly. “It’d be understandable. If you felt that way. We just started this and we’re already living together, sharing the same space all the time… Also, well, your family’s already letting me live here for free. If they knew how much I’m overstaying my welcome, I…” He averted his gaze. “I don’t know.”  

Ámbar looked at him and brought her hands to his face.

“Hey…” She moved his head gently so he was looking at her and brushed his cheek with her thumb. “What’s this all of a sudden? You’re not overstaying.” She smiled up at him. “I told you before; I’d have you living here permanently in a heartbeat. And in my room, obviously,” she chuckled. “Should I re-decorate? I could paint the walls blue if you want.”

Simón laughed softly but shook his head. With a smile, he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Thank you, but it’s not right. I gotta get my own place. Me and the guys. We can’t depend on you all forever. We’ll leave the moment we find an affordable place.” 

Ámbar’s shoulders sagged. “Mmm… I still think you could save yourselves all that trouble, the mansion is quite big enough.” He opened his mouth but she continued before he could object again. “Buuut, I know you’re not gonna change your mind. You’re very stubborn when it comes to doing the right thing. It’s a little annoying, to be honest, but oh well, that's the way I love you.”

Simón smiled and Ámbar took him by the hand to sit on the bed.

“And speaking about doing the right thing…” she started, folding her legs under her and facing him. Her other hand found his other as well naturally. “Well, I don’t know if it’s the right thing exactly but, did you talk to Pedro? How is he?”

Simón sighed. “Hurt. Upset. And understandably so,” he said, caressing Ámbar’s hands with his. “Delfi really hurt him accusing him like that. I told him that surely it wasn’t her intention, that she just got overwhelmed by the situation and she wasn’t thinking clearly with everything that was going on, but he’s still hurt that she didn’t trust him.”

Simón’s words were starting to sound too familiar for Ámbar’s liking. It wasn’t only that it reminded her of the incident with the handkerchief last year, but it also resonated with her current dilemma where she was overwhelmed by the situation and, even though she didn’t want to hurt Simón, she didn’t know if he would forgive her.

Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her face because Simón squeezed her hands.

“But it’ll be fine,” he told her reassuringly with an optimistic smile. “Anyone who looks at them can see how much they love each other. They just need to talk and I’m sure they’ll work things out.” 

Ámbar could only smile and expel a little “Mhhm.” It wasn’t like she could tell him that Delfi and Pedro weren’t what really worried her.  

“Oh! I didn’t tell you the most important thing!” Simón perked up suddenly, settling more on top of the bed. “We video-chatted Nico.”

Ámbar’s eyes widened. “You did? How is he?” She asked excitedly, knowing how much it must’ve meant for Simón.

He grinned brightly. “He’s good. Great, actually. He told us a little about New York; what’s the atmosphere like, what’s the people like, the huge buildings and Central Park… He said everything is a little crazy over there but he’s loving it so far. Well, whenever he’s not crying over how much he misses us, of course.”

Ámbar smiled and laced their fingers together. “You’ll see each other eventually,” she assured him, knowing he needed to hear it. “He’s gotta come visit at some point.”  

He showed a little smile. “Yeah, I know…” He sighed. “For now, I’m happy to know that he’s doing well. Pedro and I miss him a lot but… he’s making his own way and we gotta support him.”

Ámbar gave him a little sad smile. She looked down and brushed her thumbs over the back of his hands before speaking again. “Do you guys know what’s going to happen now with the band?”

The question affected Simón exactly as she suspected it would, filling his expression with uncertainty and sadness. She didn’t want to make him feel bad, that was why she had hesitated in asking, but it was a question that eventually had to be made.

“Not yet. Everything kind of happened too fast,” he said. “Matteo is like an honorary member and when we play with him it’s awesome, I mean, we sound very good and we have a great time, but Matteo is more interested in a solo career and now, after his fall, he’s scared of playing at all. So, we don’t know if we should ask him to join the band officially. It doesn’t seem like a good time.”

Ámbar adjusted her position, sitting crossed-legged. “Is he still having trouble remembering stuff?”

“Not really. Actually, we played without problem tonight— It’s him who’s not confident at all. Which is why Luna is organizing a music video for his song. She’s trying to boost his self-confidence again.”

Ámbar nodded to herself. “Sounds like something she’d do, definitely.” If she knew Luna at all, she’d bet that she had the brilliant idea and pretty much forced Matteo into it. But, oh well. As long as it worked.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” he said. “Luna asked me and Pedro to be backup dancers in the video, so we’re gonna be rehearsing that these days. But,” he raised his hands, “don’t worry, because she said we’ll be filming it during the evening and night, so it won’t affect our job at the Roller at all.”

Ámbar smiled and moved closer to kiss him sweetly.  

“I love that you thought about that,” she said tenderly. “You’ll have to show it to me when it’s done.”

“Of course,” he smiled excitedly. “It’s gonna be amazing. Apparently, there’s gonna be flashlights and colored lights and like a street vibe… It’s…”

Simón grew quiet suddenly and it only took a second for Ámbar to figure out why. A cacophony of noises rumbled outside her room, loud, then fainter, then loud again. It sounded like footsteps. And moving very fast. 

“Dad! Mom!” Resounded some screams. It was Luna’s voice. 

Ámbar and Simón looked at each other, instantly on alert. 

“Sharon!”

Hearing that name, Ámbar’s body moved automatically, reaching for the black robe she had hanging on the back of her vanity’s chair and dashing out the door. She ran in direction of the stairs where she could hear the shouting coming from, Simón right on her heels. 

When they got to the top of the staircase, Luna was on the hall, frantically talking to Mónica and Miguel. 

“Sharon— Sharon was here— The room— She just ran outside, she’s outside!” 

Ámbar went cold. She watched with a tight grip on her chest as Miguel ran out the door, chasing after her godmother. She felt Simón leave her side and then he was downstairs with Luna, soothing her along with Mónica as she told them what had happened. 

Miguel returned a moment later. 

“Sharon escaped,” he announced with frustration.  

Ámbar’s body sagged with relief. She felt like she could breathe again; Sharon was safe.   

But it didn’t last long, because she quickly realized three things. 

One, she was the only one relieved. 

Two, everyone was right in being worried and distressed. Sharon had been close to attacking Luna, all for a stupid key. She had been inside the house after Ámbar had specifically told her to stay away; she had completely ignored everything she said. Ámbar couldn’t understand how her godmother could be acting that way, how could nothing matter to her. 

And three, the worst of them: 

This is how it’s gonna be. 

When the moment came and all was said and done, the family would stick together, Simón would side with Luna, and Ámbar would be left watching from afar. Alone, because she couldn’t betray the woman who raised her, no matter how much she deserved it. Alone, because, even if she did, it was already too late.   

Ámbar turned around, unable to keep watching the united family, and walked back to her room. Alone. 

Maybe it would be good to start getting used to it again.  

…

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar was sitting at the dining table, sharing a dinner with everyone after another long day at the Jam & Roller. She couldn’t remember exactly what she had done during the day. Probably the usual.

Her grandpa was telling a story about one of his golf games, something about how they couldn’t find the ball. Everyone was listening with amusement and cackled up when he revealed its whereabouts. Ámbar looked to her left, smiling, but the seat next to her was empty. For some reason, Simón was the only one that wasn’t there. 

Ámbar excused herself from the table and stood to go look for him. She climbed upstairs and walked to her room, thinking he could be there. Indeed, she found him on her bed, sitting with his back to her.

“Here you are,” she told him with a smile. “We missed you at dinner.” 

Simón stood and Ámbar walked to him, but she stopped in her tracks when he turned. 

His eyes were red. Not only that, but his lashes were wet. Ámbar’s smile vanished before his gaze, full of pain and ire. He looked… he looked just like that day. 

“How could you?” He asked in a somber voice. 

In his hand, he had Ámbar’s phone. Some app was open but she couldn’t see which one. All she knew was that he was clutching it so hard his knuckles were white.   

Ámbar felt cold— the kind you could only feel when fear froze your veins and squeezed your lungs.

“What…” She expelled out in a brittle voice. “What did you see?” 

“Everything,” he spat, and his eyes blazed with contempt. “I was right. You’re full of hate, you don’t have a heart!”   

Ámbar felt herself die.

“No, please, let me explain!” She begged, moving toward him. 

Simón took a step back. “Explain?” He said in disbelief. “How could you possibly explain this?! You lied to me, Ámbar! Again! I gave you a chance and you lied to me again!” 

She was shaking her head. Her hands trembled. “It wasn’t like that! Please, listen to me, I didn’t—!"

The door opened behind her. Ámbar turned and her eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she saw Sharon and Rey entering her room. The latter turned the key on the lock and put it in his suit’s pocket. 

“Wha— What are you doing here?!” Ámbar exclaimed with horror.  

“You forced my hand, Ámbar,” Sharon stated with severity, coming near in firm, measured steps. “I couldn’t let you ruin all my plans.”  

“You were the one who let Sharon into the mansion?” Simón uttered in disbelief, bringing her attention back to him. “Ámbar, how could you?”

“I didn’t!” She exclaimed desperately. “I told her to stay away!” 

“And I told you not to tell him anything,” Sharon said pointedly. “Now I have no choice.” She looked over her shoulder. “Rey.” 

At her signal, Rey advanced toward Ámbar at the same time as she asked, “What do you mean?” 

Rey’s arms grasped her firmly, immobilizing her. Ámbar immediately thrashed, fighting against his hold, demanding he let her go, but all of it came to a stop when Sharon reached pulled a gun from inside her purse and aimed it straight at Simón’s head. 

Ámbar’s heart crashed into her sternum. 

“What are you doing?!” 

Sharon’s calm was eerie as she stared into Simón’s panicked eyes. “I can’t let him tell anyone what he knows,” she sentenced. “I’ll have to shut him up forever.”

She unlocked the pistol.

“NO!” 

Ámbar tried to go to them with desperation. She pushed, kicked and clawed with all her strength— more animal than human, more pounding in the ears than logic. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t reach them. 

Simón’s terrified eyes looked at her, and there wasn’t just fear in his gaze—there was betrayal. 

“Ámbar…” How could you do this to me?  

She was screaming at the top of her lugs, but it was like Sharon couldn’t hear her. Her gaze remained set on Simón, her finger firmly on the trigger. 

“Ámbar,” Simón said in a trembling voice, staring at the gun in front of him, looking at death in the eye and begging for her to do something. 

“NO! DON’T HURT HIM! PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING!” Ámbar kept yelling, tears streaming down her face. She kept struggling, fighting to break free from Rey, but his hold was too strong. 

Just let me go to his side, she sobbed, let me take his place.

“Ámbar,” Simón pronounced once more, her name a whimper on his lips. 

“STOP!” She cried. 

The gun went off. 

Beneath Simón’s hand, Ámbar’s body jumped and her eyes opened with a start. Simón hurried to calm her down, rubbing her arm with one hand as he cupped her cheek with the other.

“Sssh, easy, bonita, easy,” he murmured as she gasped, as if she had run a marathon. “It was just a nightmare, you’re okay now.”   

Ámbar’s tear-filled eyes focused on him and Simón’s heart broke seeing her like that. Her whimpers and tossing had brought him back from sleep a moment ago. He had tried calling her name, and when that didn’t work, he turned on the nightstand lamp on his right and gently shook her awake. He didn’t know if it was, like, medically okay to wake up someone in the middle of a nightmare, but he couldn’t bear knowing she was hurting and do nothing. 

He wasn’t even sure how he had woken up. He was usually a heavy sleeper. Perhaps it came with the newness of sleeping with someone else— Subconsciously, he was aware of Ámbar’s presence and thus any change in her alerted his brain. He was glad of it; if anything was wrong with her, he’d always choose to know so he could help her out. 

When Ámbar seemed to finally take in the fact that he was there and whatever she’d seen was gone, instead of being comforted, her face contorted in anguish. She threw her arms around him and held him tight. Her body trembled and shook. She was crying.

Simón held her back and caressed her hair. “Sssh… Easy, bonita,” he whispered, and dropped a kiss on the side of her head. “Everything’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here.” 

He didn’t know what she had dreamed so he didn’t know if his words were soothing or not, but he kept repeating them like a lullaby. It’s okay, it’s over, I’m here. I’m here. 

Ámbar’s tiny sobs gradually subdued under the gentle strokes of his hands. Her shaky breath fell into a calm pattern and the tension abandoned her, leaving only the softness of her body. She pulled back after a short while, sniffing and wiping away the residues of her tears. 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, not meeting his eyes. “I woke you.” 

Simón couldn’t believe those were the first words out of her mouth. He shook his head and cupped her face, beseeching her gaze. “Don’t apologize, I don’t care about that, I care about you.”

The sadness swept back into Ámbar’s eyes and Simón felt useless. He slid his left hand to her waist and smoothed her hair with the other, tucking some behind her ear. “Do you want to talk about what you dreamed? Maybe it’ll help.” 

Ámbar placed her hand on top of his on her cheek and shook her head. She took his hand and kissed it, and stretched her other arm to switch off the light behind him. She laid down, leading him to do the same, and turned around, snuggling between his arms. She held his hand between hers and nestled it against her chest. 

“Just hold me,” she muttered, “please.” 

Simón molded his body with hers so they were spooning, trying to cover her with his warmth from head to toe so hopefully she’d feel safe. He wished he could hold her like this always and protect her from everything.  

He kissed the top of her head. “Sleep, beautiful. I got you.”  

Simón didn’t let himself fall asleep until Ámbar’s breathing evened out. Only then he let the dreams take him away again, thinking he would gladly take all the bad ones if it meant hers were sweet.

Ámbar turned on the faucet and placed her hand under the rushing water. Once it was hot enough, she let it run and put the rubber plug on the bottom of the tub so it’d start to fill up.        

She went back to her room and looked at Simón’s sleeping figure on the bed. He was still in the same position as she had left him; lying on his belly with his right arm extended to where she used to be.

Ámbar came closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. Simón,” she said gently, shaking him slightly. “Wake up.”

Simón groaned and slowly came awake. He turned his head and his heavy, sleepy eyes set on her. She smiled.

“Good morning.”

“Hi,” he said back with his voice hoarse from sleep. He rolled in bed and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and frowned, looking from her empty side of her bed to where she was kneeling next to him. “Did I oversleep?”

He looked so adorably confused Ámbar couldn’t stop her smile from widening. “No, but you gotta get up.”

Simón moaned and closed his eyes, sinking back onto the mattress. “You’re kicking me out already?” He quipped. “At least let me stretch first,” he said and lifted his arms over his head to do just that.

She chuckled. “No, I’m not kicking you out. I’m inviting you to take a bath with me.”

Simón exhaled post-stretch and looked at her.

“Really?”

“I already started filling the bathtub,” she replied, sitting on the bed next to him. “I just figured you would like to use the bathroom alone first before we both go in.”

“Oh.” He sat up again. “Yeah, sure.”

Ámbar skid over to the side so he could get up, but after throwing back the covers, Simón didn’t stand up immediately. He sat at her side on the edge of the bed and looked at her, like searching her face with his gaze. He ran a hand through her hair and cradled her cheek.

“Could you sleep well?”

She smiled. “Yeah, all good. You can be at ease.” She gave him a short kiss. “Go.”

He smiled. “Okay.”

Simón gave her another peck and got up to go to the bathroom. Ámbar stayed there, waiting.  

In truth, even with her eyes tired from crying, she had struggled to fall asleep. Normally, it wasn’t particularly hard for her to fall asleep again after a nightmare. The few times she had gone, as a child, to Sharon’s room because she couldn’t sleep, her godmother had told her that fearing something that was just in her imagination was silly. The mansion was a safe place, and if something ever happened, the employees would notify them right away. She had nothing to worry about.

Ámbar would’ve preferred to hear that if something ever happened, she would be by her side. But the notion was soothing anyway.

What kept her up wasn’t fear— it was guilt. Guilt because Simón had been so sweet with her, not knowing she was crying because she was lying to him. While he hugged her and reassured her telling her he was with her, she couldn’t even be happy about it because all her mind kept repeating was, Yeah, but I don’t deserve it. Yeah, but for how long?

“All done!” Simón called out, appearing at her closet’s entrance.  

Ámbar smiled and followed him to the bathroom.

The night before had made her realize just how precious time was. Sometimes dreams did that—made you see things in a different light. She didn’t want to spend her time with Simón worrying over what would happen in the future. She wanted to enjoy the now, make memories with him, make him happy.

And since he’d mentioned before he’d like them to bath together, she had decided that morning that she could start with that.

“You know, I’m still amazed by how big your bathroom is,” Simón commented as he sat on the lid of the toilet.

“Really?” Ámbar asked as she checked the water level in the tub. It still needed a bit more. She looked around. “I wouldn’t call it big.”

Her bathroom was pretty normal if they asked her. Entering, covering most of the left wall, was the vanity, made of white wood with a white marble countertop. Behind it was the typical mirror, filling the wall up to the ceiling. Next to the vanity was the toilet, where Simón was sitting now, and along the back wall was the drop-in bathtub, which worked as a shower too. Its skirt was just regular acrylic while the deck’s surface was of the same marble as the vanity. On the right wall there were just some hanging racks and a laundry basket. There used to be two small paintings of pink flowers as well but she had taken them down during her room’s makeover.

“Any bathroom that requires more than one ceiling light to fully illuminate itself is a big bathroom,” Simón stated like reciting a universal rule.

Ámbar blinked and looked at the ceiling. “Oh.”

She had never even thought about the two lamps. And there were two sconces mounted on the mirror, but those didn’t count, right?

“Well, if you say so.” She pointed at the tub as she went to the vanity. “Could you check the water level? I’m gonna brush my teeth.”

Simón moved to the tub and sat on the ledge. “What’s the point of brushing your teeth if we’re gonna have breakfast in like half an hour?” 

Toothbrush and paste in hand, Ámbar gave him a look. “By that logic then there’s no point brushing them at all.” 

“I only do it at night.” 

Ámbar grimaced and chuckled. “Ew. Have some consideration for the person who kisses you,” she teased, and brought the toothbrush to her mouth.   

“Hey, I’ve kissed you when you’ve just woken up, and let me tell you, you don’t taste like candy,” Simón teased back. “But I love you, so I don’t care.” 

“How very sweet of you,” she mumbled with her mouth full of toothpaste.  

“Also, I left my toothbrush in my room.” 

Ámbar switched the toothbrush to her left hand and opened the top drawer on the right side of the vanity. She pulled out a bottle of mouthwash and wiggled it her hand. 

Simón chuckled and got up. “Alright, no excuses, I get it.”

He received the bottle and stood next to her as Ámbar continued to brush her teeth. Simón poured some mouthwash into his mouth and began to swish it. Their eyes met in the mirror then, and neither could help but smile at the silly faces they were making.

Ámbar finished first and Simón spat not long after.

“Hey?” He said as she rinsed her mouth with some water. “So, what was your nightmare about?” 

Ámbar’s heart jumped up to her neck.

She reached for the hand towel hanging next to the vanity and wiped her mouth just to make a little time. She doubted he’d believe her if she said she didn’t remember. She couldn’t tell him the truth, but she also didn’t want to lie.

“… I dreamed you died,” she said finally. It was in essence the truth.   

Simón’s face wrinkled with sympathy. “Aw. So that’s why you were so— Aw, bonita…” He wrapped her in a short hug, dropping a kiss on her head before pulling away. He rubbed her upper arms. “What an awful dream. How did I die?” 

She had been hoping he wouldn’t ask that.

“Um… I don’t remember exactly,” she replied. “Everything was very weird and confusing. It made sense at the time, but now I don’t know.” 

He made a humming sound and nodded like he understood what she meant. “Well… Good. Better that way,” he said, and went back to the tub to check the water.

Ámbar gathered the towels they would need from the vanity’s cabinets and went to hang them in the heated rack on the bathtub’s right. There, she paused, running her fingers over the towel’s seams with her back to him.

“All I know is that it was my fault,” she admitted. She felt like she had to say it.

Simón sounded pretty weirded-out. “You killed me in your dream?”

Ámbar snapped her head toward him. “What? No. Of course not,” she said baffled.

“Then it wasn’t your fault,” he stated with a shrug, as if it was the simplest of facts, and returned his eyes to the water.

Ámbar stood staring at him, not knowing what to say. A part of her wanted to contradict him, but the other wanted to believe that it really was that simple.

Maybe… Maybe when he found out he wouldn’t completely blame her as he had done in her dream. 

“Oookay, I think that’s enough,” Simón said suddenly, shaking her out of her thoughts. He turned off the faucet and turned to her. “That’s enough, right? I mean, with both of us in I assume it’s gonna rise a lot. It wouldn’t be good if it spilled over the side.” 

Suddenly, the image of them both sitting naked on the bathtub in front of each other appeared on her mind and Ámbar was hit by an unexpected wave of nerves.

“Uh… Yeah, it’s fine,” she said, looking at the water. She tried to ignore her inner fretting, but it only got worse as Simón took off his socks and stood to take off his t-shirt.

What was wrong with her? The plan had always been for both of them to get in, that was what ‘bathing together’ meant. But with the bathtub filled and both of them there, it wasn’t just a plan anymore; it was real, it was happening. 

Simón noticed she wasn’t moving and looked at her in confusion. “Is something wrong?”

Ámbar lifted her gaze to him immediately and smiled. “No, not at all.” 

Simón’s eyes studied her for two seconds. Then he moved to stand in front of her and brought a hand to her cheek. “Ámbar, I may not know you completely yet, but I do know the face you make when you’re trying to act strong. What’s the matter?”  

Ámbar really didn’t want to say. She was warmed by the conviction with which he’d spoken though. It was new to her to have someone that knew her like that. That feeling of closeness reluctantly cajoled her.

“… It’s stupid.”

He gave her a look, prompting her to elaborate.

“It’s just, um… I guess I hadn’t really thought this through, and now that I realize it, it’s a little…” Just spit it out already. “It’s a little embarrassing, that’s all.”  

Simón looked at her. He frowned. “You know I’ve seen you, right?” 

She slapped him in the arm.

“Of course I know that!” She spat. “But that’s different! It’s not like we’re paying attention when we’re at that. I mean— yes, we are, but we’re not thinking about— We’re not really—” Her tongue got stuck trying to explain. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. “Forget it. You’re right, it’s stupid. Let’s just get in already before the water gets cold.”

She grabbed the end of her pajama top and pulled it up but Simón stopped her hands.

“Wait.” He grabbed her hands, making her let go of her clothes. He glanced at the tub, pensive. “Here’s an idea,” he said, holding her hands between their chests. “You grab whatever bottle in here that produces the most bubbles, you get in, I don’t look, and once you’re in, I help you wash your hair.” 

She frowned. “‘Wash my hair’? What, are we in some medieval movie or something?” 

He smiled and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Well, it’s about time I started treating you like the queen you are, right?” 

Ámbar could not believe how spectacularly she had messed things up. The idea had been to pamper him and now Simón was lowering himself to hairstylist just to accommodate her. God, could she never do anything right?

“Simón, really, it was just a stupid comment,” she appealed, feeling terrible. “You don’t need to worry about it.” 

“It’s not stupid,” he asserted with a shake of his head. “If you don’t feel comfortable then you don’t, it doesn’t have to be logical to be valid.” He cupped her face and looked into her eyes. “I love you. And I want you to know that whatever little detail you’re worried about won’t make me love you any less. But I’m willing to wait until you get used to me and believe me.” 

‘Get used to’. His words brought her back to what she had thought the night before, about getting used to his presence in her life. She thought she was doing that—in fact, she reproached herself for getting used to something that wasn’t going to last. But, apparently, she hadn’t gotten as comfortable as she thought.

She really felt stupid for this. She had never felt insecure about her appearance. But feeling confident with clothes on was different than feeling confident without them. It wasn’t that she was worried about looking ugly, exactly, it was that… the idea of being naked in front of someone else without the intent of looking sexy made her feel… naked. Yes, it sounded obvious, but she didn’t mean it in the obvious sense, she meant it like… like weak. No, weak wasn’t the right word either. It made her feel… Defenseless. And she knew it was stupid because- what did she need a defense for? She wasn’t in a battle, she was with Simón.

… But, apparently, she did need the defense.

‘It doesn’t have to be logical to be valid.’

That kind of went against everything she had ever been taught.

She wanted to refuse, she wanted to insist that it was okay, swallow down the idiotic nervousness and carry on with the plan. But Simón would notice and he wouldn’t want that. Above all else, Ámbar didn’t want to make him feel bad.

Simón must have interpreted her silence as an affirmative because he smiled and let go of her hands.

“Now, you should really choose a bottle,” he said, pointing at the products on the tub’s deck with a tilt of his head. “The water won’t be hot forever.” 

“…The blue one on the far right with the turquoise label,” she pointed. 

Simón grabbed the bubble bath. Ámbar turned on the faucet, explaining that it would dissolve better that way. Simón poured it carefully under the running water until Ámbar deemed it was enough suds and turned the water off.

Unprompted, Simón picked his discarded t-shirt from the floor and put it back on. He turned his back to her and told her to let him know when she was settled. Ámbar almost told him to just turn around since she felt ridiculous undressing behind him when he had undressed her more than once, but then she thought that maybe the ‘not looking’ part was for more for his benefit than hers— it’d be easier to keep a distance.

Ámbar threw her clothes into the laundry basket and climbed into the tub. The water was just at the right temperature and she couldn’t help but sigh as she submerged in it. She let her head fall back a little, wetting the ends of her hair. The smell of eucalyptus and arnica filled her nostrils. It wasn’t the typical scent that people would find delightful, like a flowery or fruity one, but to her it brought back memories of long baths after exhausting but satisfying skating practices.

Ámbar breathed it in and leaned forward again, getting into a more sitting position. The foam settled back on the surface once she stilled, covering her body. She looked down. Indeed, you couldn’t see anything.

She turned her head to the side. “Done.”

Simón spun around, and for just a second, she felt the heat of his gaze on her wet skin, on the damp strands of hair over her bare shoulders. But then he just smiled, said “cool”, and moved to sit next to her.  

It kind of confirmed her theory that it had been for his benefit.

Simón reached for the pink curtain and pulled it close, separating them from the rest of the room. He settled behind Ámbar on the tub’s deck, sitting with his legs to the side.

“That’s not really necessary,” she pointed out. “It’s not like someone will come in.” She only used it when she showered so the water wouldn’t ricochet over the floor.

“Yeah but, don’t you feel like we’re in our own little world like this?” He said, like speaking of something magical. He reached for the bathroom mug on the corner to wet the top of her hair. “It gives me the feeling of, like, sleeping in a tent or when I used to make blanket forts with my friends when I was little.” 

She frowned, tilting her head back so he could pour the water higher without it falling into her eyes. “Forts with blankets? How does that work?” 

Simón leaned over and looked at her with his jaw dropped. 

“Are you saying you never hung blankets or bed sheets –or towels, I don’t know— on top of chairs and stuff to build a fort when you were small?” 

“Uh… no? I played with barbies,” she responded, like, evidently. “I hardly ever had friends over, and if I did, we were restricted to my room; Sharon didn’t like the noise. I can’t imagine pulling out a bunch of blankets and hanging them around; she would’ve grounded me for like ten years.” She didn’t know if to laugh at the ridiculousness of even thinking about it or if to cringe at the huge scolding she definitely would’ve gotten.

She couldn’t see him, but she practically felt him deflate as he sighed. “I guess she would’ve…”

Simón grabbed the shampoo and began applying it on her hair. His fingers massaged her scalp and Ámbar giggled a little at the sensation.

“It’s kind of weird but it feels nice,” she confessed.  

“Yeah? Good,” he said as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. After a pause, his voice came out again, a mix of curious and uncertain. “Was Sharon ever… nice? Was she good to you?”

Ámbar contemplated it for a while, revisiting memories she hadn’t thought about in years.  

“… There were moments,” she started. “She was more attentive when I was very small. The more independent I got, the more detached she became, and, at the same time, she constantly pushed me to figure things out on my own, so I couldn’t just act childish so she’d hold me… She was never affectionate really, but she would smile proudly at me sometimes, put her hand on my shoulder and say, ‘Good job, Ámbar.’ … I lived for those moments.”

She realized as she said it that her voice had the same dreamy tint as Simón’s had before when he talked about tents and forts. It was a good kind of nostalgia, but nostalgia nonetheless because it was long gone. “As I grew up, they became fewer and fewer… Me being excellent was just a given then, not something to be praised anymore.” 

The spark of magic died out in her voice like a worn-out match. She had done so much, changed so much, tried every single waking moment to please Sharon and get that heartwarming feeling back… But it just got further and further from reach, and by the time she thought to go back, she realized she didn’t know the way, and many of the maze’s roads led to dead ends.  

Simón’s hands had left her hair. There was a beat of silence before his voice came out again.

“Tilt your head, I’m gonna rinse this.” 

Ámbar did as told, closing her eyes just in case. Water ran down her head, one of Simón’s hands acting as a barrier so it wouldn’t go forward. The cup emptied. He combed her hair back and then his hand was gone.  

She was about to open her eyes, thinking it was done, when she felt a familiar, tender touch on her forehead. A kiss.

Simón pulled away and her eyes opened, finding his.

“It’s not fair you had to grow up like that,” he said softly.

“It was okay,” she hedged. 

“No, it wasn’t,” he countered with an edge to his voice, but she knew somehow that it wasn’t directed at her.

Simón filled the cup again and repeated the process, this time running his hand down her hair to help get rid of the shampoo. “I wish I had arrived sooner,” she heard him murmur, almost as if to himself.  

Ámbar’s heart tightened.  

He wished he had been there for her; that was what he meant.

It moved her deeply that he thought like that, that he wanted to go back in time to save her from wounds that had long ago scarred. But it also made her feel bad that he had saddened because of her. No matter how much it warmed her, she’d choose him being carefree and happy over worried about her a thousand times.

Ámbar thought about what to respond. She didn’t want to say that what he imagined most probably wouldn’t have made any difference. Her old self wouldn’t have given him a second glance no matter when he arrived. She had always had a knack for pushing away anything good and clinging to the bad.

Ámbar had long gotten rid of ideas of what-ifs or the illusion that things could’ve been better. They were useless and probably untrue. But she would always protect him from coming to the same dark conclusions as her. Simón was the kind of person that believed in good and hope, and she never wanted that to change.

She also didn’t want to continue down that topic. Things had gotten too deep and too serious and it wasn’t what she had intended at all.

“… Yeah, I guess I could’ve used a servant,” she said finally. “Amanda wasn’t very able.”

Simón exhaled a laugh and reached for the conditioner. He probably knew what she was doing, deflecting with a joke, but he didn’t call her out on it.

“Well, I don’t know how ‘able’ I am at this, really,” he said, applying the conditioner. “Please tell me it’s normal that the water is coming out pink and that I’m not murdering your pink strands.”

Ámbar chuckled. “It’s normal, don’t worry,” she replied. “And you’re doing an excellent job. In fact, I think you would’ve hated me if you got here sooner because I would’ve made you wash my hair like this every day.”

“You know, I’m probably happier with this arrangement than you think I am,” he said. “Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?” 

“No, I don’t believe you have,” she answered with amusement, and made herself more comfortable in the tub, raising her knees and leaning her head more toward him. 

“I love your legs too,” he said then, and his voice sounded just a little husky.  

Ámbar felt goosebumps rise on the back of her neck, right next to where his hands were still caressing her hair. She was sure he was staring at them now; she could almost feel his gaze like a real physical caress. A part of her wanted to hide them under the water. Another wanted to tease him.

The latter won.

“Really?” She said, lifting one of them a little over the surface. “You don’t think they’re too skinny?” 

She practically saw his frown. “What?” 

“When I was small, a couple of kids in school called me chicken legs,” she told him. It had actually bothered her for some years. “Of course, I’ve grown since then, but my hips could be wider I guess—”

Simón scooted over to the side of the bathtub so he could face her and looked at her seriously. “They are the most gorgeous legs to ever walk this Earth, I’ll beat anyone who says otherwise.”  

Ámbar blinked at him. He looked so personally offended that she couldn’t help it and broke out laughing.

“Don’t laugh, I’m serious!” 

“Yeah, I can see that. But are such lengths necessary, my love?” She chuckled.   

“Of course,” he snorted.  

“I can’t really imagine you beating anyone up, to be honest.” 

Simón lifted an arm and made a show of flexing his muscles. “I could take two or three. No one insults my girlfriend and goes unpunished.” 

Ámbar giggled and rose on her knees to grab his face and kiss him. Simón brought his hands to her back and kissed her between smiles.

Ámbar broke away. “Thank you,” she told him, happy. There was no other way to describe it.

“There’s nothing to thank,” he replied, and she noticed how he made a point of keeping his eyes on her face instead of dropping them to her breasts that were now exposed.

She almost laughed. It was ridiculous. For god’s sake, he had seen her many times before. But here he was, holding her, with Ámbar’s hands on his shoulders, and he was refraining from so much as taking his eyes off hers just because she had a fit of embarrassment. Just to not make her feel uncomfortable.

It was unbelievable. And silly. And so, so sweet.

Her chest constricted again, and with it, a thought came to the forefront of her mind. 

I can trust this person.

Of course, it’s not like she didn’t trust Simón until that point. But something clicked right then. Something changed that she couldn’t really explain, but she felt it deep.  

If she needed something, he’d do everything he could to help. If she felt awkward, he’d laugh with her, not at her. If she were embarrassed, he’d reassure her. If she were scared, he’d hold her. If she felt she had something ugly or unaesthetic, he’d defend that something ferociously.  

She couldn’t be defense-less with him, because he was one.

A smile tugged on Simón’s lips. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” He whispered.

Ámbar hadn’t realized she was looking at him in any special way. She wondered what was it that he saw in her eyes. Maybe he could see how much she loved him.

But just in case he couldn’t, she’d have to show him.

Ámbar curled a hand around Simón’s nape and kissed him soundly. She tasted his lips, not with fierceness but with intensity— slow and warm. Simón was quick to respond, chasing her mouth, drowning his fingers in her hair. His lips parted for her and Ámbar deepened the kiss, devouring the sound that came out of him.

She felt him shift and then his knees were on either side of her. Ámbar took advantage of this to move closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. Simón’s hands glided over her back. They were so wide they seemed to span her whole width. Ámbar arched under his touch, pressing her breasts against the firmness of his chest.

Simón groaned and drew back.  

“Um— Oof.” He shook his head a little as if to clear it. “I think we better finish with your bath before the water turns cold, no?” He said, a little breathless.

She didn’t wanna part from him though. She took notice of the position they were in, he curved over the tub as she hung from his neck. She kept her expression casual as her mind schemed. 

“You’re right… Better enjoy it while you can,” she said, and pulled him into the water, PJs and all. 

“Woah—!"

Water and foam splashed everywhere.

Simón looked at her with wide eyes. “Hey!”

Ámbar was laughing hysterically. 

“Good grief,” Simón huffed. He sat back and pulled his now soaked t-shirt over his head, dropping it over the side of the tub. “Laugh all you want but you’ll dry this out later, okay?” He said in false indignation. 

“Sure, why not,” she replied, and stood on her knees to place bubbles on top of his head. She started giving shape to the foam and giggling at her creation. 

“What are you doing?” He chuckled. 

“I’m crowning you King.”

“Oh. Why, thank you, your highness,” he said and made a small bow of his head.  

“Or maybe it’s just a buffoon’s hat, I don’t know.” 

Simón made an offended sound and threw water at her. Ámbar shrieked, eyes closing and hands coming up on instinct. She looked at him, jaw-dropped, and splashed water right back at him. In a second, they were in a war— water flying in every direction, their hands swinging blindly as they squealed with laughter. Simón jumped the trench, pouncing on her with an attack of tickles. Ámbar jerked under his hands and tried to tickle him back but he overpowered her, towering above her as he reduced her into a bundle of laughs.  

Ámbar begged him to stop when she couldn’t breathe anymore. Simón showed mercy and let her go. She was left panting. Her stomach hurt from so much laughter.

She opened her eyes and they found his. The sudden stillness and silence after so much craziness was a palpable shift in atmosphere. Simón leaned back and she could see the hesitation appear on his face. Now that the playful moment was over, he was probably wondering if she’d want him to stay or not.

She eased him with a kiss.

“Turn around and I’ll wash your hair,” she told him with a smile.

Seeming relieved, Simón did as she said and sat cross-legged with his back to her. Ámbar’s eyes immediately marveled at the sight of his back, broad and bare. She bit her lip and couldn’t resist the urge to touch it, to trace the drops on his skin with her fingers.

Simón’s muscles jumped under her hands.

“That’s not my hair,” he pointed out.  

She smirked. “Sorry, got a little distracted.” 

She reached for the shampoo bottle, poured some into her palm and began spreading it on the crown of his head.

“Mmm…”

“Feels nice?” She said.

“Yeah, you were right,” he sighed in delight, tilting his head back like seeking more of her touch. She granted it, applying a little more pressure with her fingers.  

“You can take the shorts off by the way,” she said. She could feel the fabric against her knees. “There’s no point keeping them anymore.”

He reached under the water to take his remaining clothes off and threw them on the floor next to the tub. Ámbar filled the mug with water.

“Alright, lean back.”

Simón tilted his head with his eyes closed and Ámbar rinsed him out. The whole process was so much easier when your hair was that short, she thought. No wonder it took him so little time to shower.

His hair was like silk under her hand. The dark locks stuck to his head as Simón straightened again. It always lost its volume when it got wet; it was like a magic trick. It had been a little weird the first time she saw it like that. She was so used to his little, wild waves that seeing them deflated was somewhere between sad and amusing.

Now though, in this context, it was enticing.

She grabbed the bottle of conditioner and put some in her hand.

“Just so you know… I love your hair too.”

Simón once again leaned against her fingers’ touch.

“Yeah?”

He hadn’t said much since she had started washing his hair, she noted. She wondered if it was because the massages in his head made him sleepy, or for another reason.

“I love running my fingers through it, just like this,” she said. “Or run my nails… Pull on it, sometimes.”

She grabbed some hair between her fingers and pulled at it slightly.

Simón’s body tensed.

“I’ve noticed,” he said after a beat. It brought Ámbar unbelievable satisfaction that his voice sounded tight.  

Once she’d rinsed the conditioner out of his hair, she put the mug back on its place. She grabbed the washcloth next to it and submerged it under the water. She squeezed it a little in her hand and began gliding it over Simón’s back. He jolted.  

“This is not always a step in a bubble bath but, never hurts to exfoliate, right?” She said as a form of justification. In truth, she just wanted to touch him.

Simón cleared his throat. “Guess not.”     

One of her hands held his shoulder while the other traced his back and the curve of his shoulder blades. Ámbar ran the cloth up and down his biceps, one and then the other. She could feel him trying to keep his breathing even and his muscles relaxed. He still shuddered when she leaned closer to reach his forearms, his wrists.

She drew back.

“Turn around.”

He hesitated for a moment but he did it. His knees touched hers. Simón’s eyes were dark and his gaze was intense.

She had to fight not to shiver under it.

Ámbar put one hand on his collarbone while the other passed the washcloth over one side of his neck. She kept her gaze fixed on the path of her hands, running over the other side and then his chest. His heart was beating fast. She laid a hand over his side and the other started going lower, down his stomach… and lower still…  

“Um—”

Simón rapidly grabbed her hand and pulled it out the water.

“I think it’s your turn,” he said, taking the washcloth from her.

Ámbar kept his gaze for a moment before obediently turning around. She moved her hair to the side to bare her back to him and threw him a glance over her shoulder.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. She turned her head and closed her eyes.

Simón placed a hand on her back. She waited for the contact of the washcloth but it didn’t come immediately. Instead, he just felt her skin with his hand, similar to what she’d done before washing his hair. The idea of him using that same hand to bend her over and take her flashed through her mind and she had to press her thighs together to soothe the ache it provoked.

Finally, his other hand joined the first and Simón started the same process she’d done before, running the cloth over her back from one side to the other, from her nape to the base of her spine. Then, he hovered even closer and slid the cloth down the length of her arm. Ámbar could feel the heat radiating from his body as clearly as the water steam that filled their confined space. The temptation of falling back and lean against him was very strong, but she resisted. She couldn’t stop the goosebumps though, as he rubbed her other arm and his face came so close she could feel his breath.

Simón’s lips left the shadow of a kiss on her shoulder. Then he moved apart.  

“Turn.”

She did, pulling her hair back.

He wasn’t refraining anymore, allowing his eyes to roam freely over her shape. He followed the rise and fall of her breathing, of her breasts over the water and foam.

Simón inched closer and curled one hand gently on her shoulder. The other ran the cloth down her neck, just as she’d done to him. She wondered if he could feel the haste of her pulse in the vein of her throat.

Simón passed the cloth over her collarbones and went down the valley between her breasts. His expression was impassive, that of one focused on his task, but he couldn’t hide the want in his gaze. His body was thrumming with tension, or maybe it was hers. He rubbed circles on her stomach and slid the cloth over her side, tracing the curve of her waist a couple times, as if fascinated. The fabric, so thin that it molded to the shape of his fingers, touched her ribs, and then, slowly, moved down to the underside of her breast.  

Ámbar’s breathing staggered. Her blood raced as Simón followed the outline of her breast, below and on each side, deliberately avoiding going over it. He slid the washcloth up the center of her chest. Over the hammering of her heart. And right above her breast. He rubbed a little there, softly, on the very beginning of the slope but without going any further. 

Ámbar couldn’t take it anymore.

In one jerky motion, she grabbed his hand, pressed it firmly on her breast and yanked him by the nape to crash her mouth against his.

Simón groaned, a sound of relief and desperation at the same time, and threw the damn cloth away to palm her. His other hand flew to her lower back and pulled her towards him, making their thighs align. He squeezed her breast, kneaded it, pinched her nipple between the length of two fingers.

Ámbar moaned loudly against his mouth, arching her back towards him to spur him on. The heat and fierceness of their kiss were all-consuming, and yet it seemed to not be enough. Her right hand slid from his neck down his body, reaching under the water. Simón moaned. Just as she’d suspected; he was already hard.

Ámbar gripped him and began stroking him up and down, making Simón’s breath catch. She was always so surprised, aroused, and pleased to no end by how hard she could make him with just the slightest provocations. It stoked her pride. It made her feel sexy.

With the way he was kissing her right now, it was impossible not to feel desired. The hot water around them seemed to be nothing next to the hotness of his mouth, of his tongue, of his skin.

Ámbar swept her thumb over the tip of him, drawing circles. Simón gasped and broke the kiss. She was a little thankful for it, because he was still pinching and rubbing her nipple and it made it hard to breathe.

Simón reached under the water and took her hand away from him. His other hand abandoned her breast and Ámbar whined, but the sound caught in her throat as Simón grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her flush against his hips.

Ámbar’s eyes fell close and she moaned, digging her nails into his skin. If his hardness felt great against her palm, it was pure bliss down where she needed it most. Simón started kissing her neck, enhancing the sensations as she ground herself against him. The water rocked along with their hips. Ámbar was clinging to his shoulders, the sparks of melted pleasure making her tingle all over.   

Simón moaned. “Ámbar.”

He put his hands underneath her and pushed her upwards a little, pointing at how he needed her closer. Ámbar rose on her knees, eager to comply, but then she thought better of it.

“Wait.”

She reached behind him and shoved the bunch of products on the end of the tub aside. Simón read her mind and lifted himself up with his arms, sitting on the marble deck in one quick movement. Ámbar climbed onto his lap, her knees on either side of him, and Simón circled her with his arms, making sure she was secure.    

Their eyes met.

Drops were falling down their bodies. Some foam was sticking to their skin. The air was cold in comparison to the water, but in their embrace, they were alright.

Simón seemed to take her all in, as if memorizing every detail of that moment and burning that image of her in his mind. Ámbar understood then what he had meant when he told her that she had the prettier eyes he had ever seen. His were gorgeous, deep, rich, and with the way they looked at her, they had to be the eighth wonder of the world.

Both leaned in and fused their lips again, but the urgency of before had left them. This kiss was slow, passionate, like a fireplace instead of a blaze. The smell of the shampoo and the bubble bath surrounded them and it was nice, but his was better. Their hips undulated rhythmically and naturally, like waves meeting the shore again and again, until Ámbar finally rose and sank down on him, ending the sweet torture for both.

Simón moaned and Ámbar closed her eyes, shivering. He was hot and throbbing inside of her. She had always thought that it was like she could feel his pulse from two places at the same time— from her hands on his chest and between her legs. Right then, it was the biggest proof that he was alive, that her dream hadn’t been more than that. His hands slid down her sides and gripped her hips. She opened her eyes and found his hooded gaze. He was with her.

Ámbar held onto his shoulders and began moving— small sways at first, just to enjoy the feeling of being full. Then her hips rose and fell, ground and rocked. Simón kissed her lips, consumed her mouth and left a wet trail of fire from her jaw to her collarbone. Each centimeter he had stroked with the cloth, he drew it with his lips. His mouth closed around her breast and sucked the sensitive tip. Ámbar gasped, rocked harder. Simón thrust up, met her movements, over and over.

It was weird because, right the time when they could be the loudest, it was quiet. Even when the pleasure overwhelmed her and she came, it was with a sigh. Simón’s low groan seemed meant only for her ear when he followed, filling her with each last, weak buck of his hips until he finally relaxed. Her body clenched him instinctively and it stole one last moan from his throat. Then the only sound left was that of their ragged breathing.  

They all but slid back down into the tub, sated and boneless. Ámbar felt like she might dissolve into the water. She said as much to Simón and he laughed tiredly. Then they were both laughing. She didn’t really know why, but she didn’t care.

Simón let out a sigh, happy and lethargic. “I love you.”

Ámbar smiled and turned her head an inch to leave a kiss on his chest. "Me too."

The water was starting to feel cold, but she would’ve remained there for hours on end, just wrapped in his arms.

At least, she thought, closing her eyes and listening to the tune of his heartbeat under her cheek, even if it didn’t last forever, she’d always have these moments. 

…

..

.

Chapter Text

Simón was very surprised by the fact that towel warmers existed. 

It turned out that what he thought was just a regular towel hanger was actually a radiator. He was fascinated when he brought the towel to his body and felt it deliciously warm. This invention had to be one of the most useful things he had ever seen in his life.  

Ámbar, of course, acted as if it was a typical thing. 

“It is a towel hanger, but it’s heated so the towels remain warm and dry,” she explained. “Actually, it’s more a towel warmer than a radiator. If I had a full radiator, the whole bathroom would be warm right now,” she half stated half complained. “I have one in my bathroom in Cancún.” 

Simón decided not to mention that in his house in Cancún, if they wanted warm towels, they had to warm them with the hair-drier or put them in front of the heater. And his bathroom was like a third of hers. Actually, he suspected that his room in Cancún was the size of her bathroom. Ámbar really was from a different world than him. 

Before walking out of the bathroom, Ámbar grabbed a small plastic box from the countertop of the sink. Inside there was an arrangement of small pills, most of them white, some in color. She took one and swallowed it with some water. 

Oh. It was those pills.

Simón recognized them because his older sisters had them too— clearly not from the one sex-ed class he’d had in high school. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Ámbar take one even though he spent most of the day and all nights with her. He should’ve been more attentive to that. But it made sense now. They usually took turns to use the bathroom in the morning so, that was why he hadn’t seen it. 

He felt a little bad. Ámbar was the only one worrying about them not becoming parents. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be a dad someday, but now was definitely not the time. Should he buy condoms? They weren’t exactly necessary since he was sure neither of them had anything transmissible and the pills had them covered, but he felt like it’d be the fair thing to do. 

He asked Ámbar as he finished drying himself off in her bed bench. She had just put on a robe and smiled sweetly at him. 

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” She took off the towel wrapped around her head and pulled out her hairdryer. “I really don’t mind. And you want to get a new place with the guys, right? Save your money, it’s not necessary.” 

She began blow-drying her hair so he assumed that was the end of the conversation. Well, as long as she was comfortable with it, he guessed it was okay. 

Simón rubbed a towel on his hair to dry it a little and started dressing up. He had to put on the same clothes as the day before –minus his underwear which was still on a wet heap on the bathroom floor— because, with the whole Sharon and Luna thing, he had forgotten to fetch new ones and just gone directly to Ámbar’s room to sleep. She was already under the covers with her eyes closed when he walked in, so they hadn’t talked about Sharon’s appearance. From their conversation in the tub, Simón had confirmed once again that Ámbar’s relationship with Sharon hadn’t been a good one. He decided not to ask about the topic unless she brought it up. It was probably hard to speak about. 

Ámbar was done with her hair by the time he finished tying his shoes. Or, well, done drying it, because it certainly looked like a lion’s mane. He stayed sitting on the bed, looking at her with a smile. She looked beautiful anyway.  

Once she had tamed her hair with a brush, she turned to him and smiled. Simón stood up and she walked to him. Ámbar stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, holding his face. “Go ahead and have breakfast, I’ll see you downstairs.” 

He circled her waist. “What if I wanna stay here watching how you embellish yourself?” 

“It’s a slow and long process and you gotta go change your clothes,” she pointed out and kissed him once more. “Go. Save me some toasts. Or anything sweet Monica has made.” 

He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Roger that.”  

Ámbar grabbed some products from her dressing table and disappeared inside the bathroom. Simón grabbed the shirt she had gifted him and walked to the door. He put his ear against it first to check if anyone was out there. Not hearing any footsteps, he opened it slightly, searching for prying eyes before he walked out and closed the door behind him. 

He didn’t take one step before stopping cold in his tracks. 

Maggie was there, holding a basket with laundry, staring right at him.  

Simón failed to say something or act casual fast enough. He stood frozen as Maggie looked at him up and down, surely taking notice of his still-somewhat-damp hair, the same clothes from yesterday he was wearing, and the fact she had just caught him trying and failing to leave Ámbar’s room without being seen. 

Maggie made a face of indignation.

“That’s it.” She walked up to him. “From now on, you two are washing your own sheets,” she spat and continued down the hall, muttering about how she didn’t get paid enough for this. 

Simón stood there frozen for a little while longer. 

So much for no one finding out. 

He hoped Maggie didn’t tell anyone. And he hoped Ámbar didn’t kill him when she found out. 

Ámbar slid the dress down her head and pulled up the zipper on the side. She fixed her hair and turned to look at herself in her closet’s full-length mirror. 

The dress was pretty— Black with a fitted waist, a skirt just above her knees and some details in lace. But the instant she saw her reflection, she got a sickening feeling. 

It looked like a funeral dress. 

Ámbar took it off and dropped it on the floor. She knew the dream would fade and she’d forget about it, but right then the gun, the screams, the dark splashes of blood… they were still too fresh in her mind.

Pants were a better idea anyway. Now that she paid attention, her knees were still slightly reddened from pressing them against the tub. 

She stood in front of her open closet. All around there was black. Some grey. Minimum hints of white. 

She turned to the dresser on her right side, which she hadn’t opened in a while. Her old clothes were in there— or half of them. She had thrown away everything in her closet to make room for her new black clothes, but she hadn’t taken the time to throw all the other clothes away. Both her dressers still had them. 

Ámbar kneeled on the floor and opened the second to last drawer. Immediately she was met with color. So much color. 

She went through some clothes. Some of them she still liked; some she never wanted to wear again. They looked too much like… like a young version of clothes her godmother would wear. 

She ignored the collared blouses and flared skirts and opened the last drawer. More color and sparkle. She explored the garments with her hands. Her fingers slid over something very smooth and her eyes focused on a silver fabric. She paused. Was that…? 

She pulled the top out and spread it between her hands. Yes, it was. 

She was momentarily surprised that she hadn’t thrown it away. Then she scoffed. Of course she hadn’t. 

She looked at the blouse, running her thumb up and down the silk as memories flashed through her mind. 

Perhaps she had been wrong in rejecting all of her past. She was a different person now, but not everything had been awful. Maybe what she had to do was take who she had been, take who she was now, and mix. 

Simón turned around in his seat the moment he heard heels on the ceramic floor. Indeed, there was Ámbar, approaching the dining room in all her heart-stopping glory. Her hair was up in the low bun he loved so much. Her pants were black but her sleeveless top and shoes were light silver. She smiled at him and finished melting him into a puddle of lovesick goo.  

“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted. 

Pedro and Matteo greeted her back. Simón stood quickly and pulled out her chair for her. “There you go, miss.” 

“Why thank you,” she said with a smile and took her seat. She stayed looking at him as Simón sat down next to her. “Nice shirt.” 

Simón smiled internally and played along. “Oh, you like it? It’s new,” he said casually, leaning an arm on the backrest of her chair. He was wearing the shirt she gave him over a pair of black pants. He’d added a black & white flannel shirt around his hips and a black beanie too, just for style. “I thought it’d look good with black pants.” 

Ámbar smirked, knowing perfectly well from where he’d gotten that idea. “Good choice.”

Their complicit looks were interrupted by Matteo. 

“This is honestly painful to watch knowing you got it for him.” 

Ámbar turned toward the guys, a mild embarrassed flush on her cheeks. “Oh, he told you?” 

Pedro snorted. “Of course he told us; he never shuts up about you.” 

Ámbar looked at Simón with a teasing smile. “Does he now?”     

“They’re exaggerating,” he said quickly. “Here, I saved you muffins.” 

Everyone shook their heads with amusement at his obvious dodge, but carried on with their breakfast. Ámbar served herself tea, the guys finished their toasts and fruit and Simón drank his juice. 

His eyes kept going back to Ámbar, not just because she looked pretty but because something had been tugging at the edge of his mind since he saw her arrive. 

“Is it just my idea or have I seen that blouse before?” 

Ámbar put down her cup and turned to him. Just like that, the memory finally fell into place. “Wait— Is that the one…?” 

She looked down and smoothed out the fabric with her fingers. She smiled shyly. “Yeah, it’s from when we went to the movies.” 

Simón melted inside. 

He stared at the blouse and memories of that day flooded his mind. She had looked so breathtaking he had been worried about making a fool of himself. Just walking by her side felt unreal. Then she kissed him and it was like all the stars in the universe aligned and exploded inside of him. He had felt like screaming with excitement, squeeze her in his arms and spin her around just like his heart was doing a happy dance in his chest. That last impulse he couldn’t completely quench, so he invented the simónmobile and ran away with her. 

He only let her down because she got embarrassed. Simón was more than happy to have people staring and knowing the prettiest girl on the planet was by his side. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Matteo said. “If you’re just gonna sit there staring at her chest, please get a room.”

Simón jerked so fast he almost sprained his neck. 

“I WAS STARING AT THE BLOUSE!” 

Everyone burst out laughing. 

Some upbeat pop music played through the speakers of the Roller. It mixed with slight hints of conversations and laughs around the cafeteria. Sometimes it was hard to tune it out, but Ámbar liked the familiarity of it. She was with her pen in hand, revising sales figures when, suddenly, Simón’s voice rang.

“Deeeelivery for Ámbar Smith.” 

He placed a plate on her table with a sandwich and a tall glass of juice. “Your order, miss.” 

Ámbar furrowed her brows and chuckled. “I didn’t order anything.”

“Exactly. You did not, and it’s been lunchtime for a long while now, so I took it upon myself to make sure you’re fed,” he declared a smile, tucking the tray under his arm.   

She was touched. “Thanks, you didn’t have to bother.” 

“It’s no bother,” he replied. “I like looking after my girlfriend.” 

Ámbar got filled with happy butterflies. 

“I’ll leave you back to work,” he said, drumming his hands on the table before moving back to the bar.  

“Actually…” Ámbar called out. He spun to look at her. “Did you eat already?” 

Simón held the tray between his hands. “Um, no, not yet.” 

“Wanna eat together?” She invited. The idea had just entered her mind but she loved it more each second. “We could go outside, enjoy how nice it is today. There won’t be many more days like these as winter arrives.” 

His face lighted up brighter than the sun outside. “I’d love to.” 

Ámbar organized her papers and put them back on her folder while he wrapped her food to go and made another lunch for himself. She left the folder in its place under the bar and they walked out together. 

They went to the park close to the Roller. On the way, Simón leaned down to cut a daisy and gave it to her. 

“I told you I’d give you more flowers.” 

Ámbar smiled and the two of them sat on an empty bench. She tucked the daisy behind her ear and turned to him. 

“How does it look?”

“Beautiful,” he said. “And the flower is pretty too.” 

She gave him a look. “You don’t have to compliment me so much; I’m already dating you.” 

“I say it because it’s true,” he defended and opened his paper bag. “So get used to it because you’re gonna hear them a lot.” 

Ámbar shook her head smiling and pulled out her lunch too. She moaned at how good her sandwich was and thanked him. Simón just chuckled and said, “You’re welcome.” 

They both ate in silence for a little while until he laughed to himself. 

“Yesterday I was so paranoid at dinner,” he told her. “I thought they could tell what we had done.” 

“You were worried?” She said incredulously. “My legs were shaking so hard I thought I was gonna fall down the stairs.” 

He laughed and almost choked on his milkshake. “That would’ve been ugly.” 

She shrugged. “Meh. Still worth it,” she deemed and continued eating her sandwich. 

Simón finished his before her and crumpled up the wrapping to put it in the bag. She felt his gaze on her as she drank from her juice. Finally, his voice came out.

 “… Love?” 

Ámbar’s heart skipped a beat. 

She put her juice down and turned to him. Surely her eyes were sparkling because all her insides felt like glitter. “Yes?” 

He gave a shy half-shrug. “Nothing, I just wanted to say it. I’ve noticed you called me that before and I wanted to try it too.” 

“You don’t have to say it just because I say it though.” 

“No, no, I want to, really,” he assured her. “I love it, actually.” He chuckled, a little embarrassed. “I’d have a thousand cute names for you, like sweetheart, darling, princess…”

“Ah ah. Queen,” she corrected. 

“Right,” he chuckled and she did as well. 

“Well, my love, handsome, babe,” she said with a smile, holding his face. “Call me whatever you want to.”   

He smiled. “Okay.” 

She dropped her hands and reached for her juice. 

“My love?” 

She stilled. “Yes?” 

“My love.” 

She chuckled. “What?” 

“My love, my love, my love, my love—” 

Ámbar laughed and hid her face in his chest. 

“Stop! I’m blushing!” She begged. 

She lifted her head and put a hand over his mouth to shut him. Simón bit her palm playfully. Ámbar squealed and pulled her hand away, breaking into a fit of giggles along with him. Simón leaned in to kiss her and she cupped his face to pull him closer. 

The rest of their lunch was a mix of sips from their cups, laughs and kisses. Ámbar proposed they took selfies and they spent the rest of their lunch hour at that, trying different filters and cracking up. Needless to say, it took them way longer than it normally would to finish their drinks.

Simón stared at his phone, leaning on his elbows against the lockers’ bar. 

He had put one of the pics they had taken earlier with Ámbar as wallpaper. She was smiling adorably at the camera while he kissed her cheek. Surely it wasn't normal to be grinning like a goof because of a photo, but he couldn't help it. 

Someone walked into the lockers and he put down his phone. It was the same mom with her daughter that had been there about five minutes ago. The little girl, probably around eight or ten, carefully sat on the bench next to the entrance as the woman stood in front of him with an apologetic smile.  

“Hi, I’m sorry, could you change these for a pair in size 32?” She asked, pointing at the skates her daughter was currently taking off. “She says the 31 fit her too tight.” 

“Yes, of course,” Simón replied and ducked to retrieve the number she needed.  

“I swear the number 31 fit her just fine last month,” the mom said as she placed the 31 skates on the bar and received the 32. She sighed deeply. “They grow up so fast.” 

Simón smiled tenderly, looking as the girl received the new skates and began putting them on. “They sure do. I have a little brother and I feel like he’ll get taller than me any minute.” 

The woman chuckled. She turned to her daughter and asked her how these skates felt once she finished tying them up. The little girl moved her feet a little, said they felt alright and stood.

“Have a nice time,” Simón told them. “Let me know if you need anything else.” 

“Thank you,” the mom smiled and disappeared with her daughter in the direction of the rink.  

Simón liked the interactions he had with people at the lockers. The regulars knew him by now and sometimes asked about his life or if there was any new music coming out by The Roller Band. Of course there were others who just kept to themselves; grabbed their skates and left, like most occasional clients. That was okay too. Simón didn’t mind. 

Once he’d sanitized the small skates, he put them back in their place and leaned forward once again over the bar. There were days when the lockers were very busy and filled with friends talking, but most days were quiet, like this one, where nothing much happened at all. Simón was left alone with his thoughts and his phone until one of his friends came to talk to him or one of the guys took over and he went to wait tables. 

Simón thought of Nico and the video call they’d had the night before. It had been so nice to be able to talk face to face, even if it wasn’t exactly the same as having him there. It had made him think that it had been a while since he’d last had a video call with his family. They texted pretty much every day, of course, and they had talked on the phone every now and then, but he missed seeing his family. All he saw lately were Instagram pictures and stories his sisters posted. Sometimes there came a point where those posts made him feel lonelier instead of better. 

He looked at his phone. He could make a video call now. Not for a long time because he was working and it wouldn’t be right, but a few minutes shouldn’t hurt. If anyone came in, he’d just put the phone down, do what he had to do, and then go back to the call. 

His mind set, Simón grabbed his phone and opened the app. In the worst-case scenario, if no one answered, he’d just keep working. 

Ámbar closed her folder and left it momentarily on her seat, under her purse, to go to the dressing room. 

She closed the door behind her, feeling how the music of the cafeteria quietened by doing so, and pulled out her phone. The image of her and Simón smiling at the camera greeted her. It seemed to judge her.

She really hated doing this after having such a nice day, but she had to. She couldn’t postpone it anymore, although she really wished she could. 

She didn’t dare call in case out of some miracle of the universe she answered, so Ámbar opened Whatsapp instead, went to the chat she usually kept archived and began recording a voice note. 

“I heard what you did, Sharon. I don’t understand- Didn’t you hear anything I said to you? I’m worried about you for real; you can’t keep doing this, just how far are you going to take this plan? I don’t—”

She heard the door open behind her and she jumped, ending the voice note and lowering her phone. 

“Oh, did I scare you?” Benicio said with lifted eyebrows and an ironic smile. “Who were you talking to?” 

Ámbar glared. “What do you want, Benicio?” 

“And you’re not answering me,” he noted with suspicious eyes. “Interesting.” 

Ámbar tucked her phone into her back pocket. “I have no reason to tell you anything or even speak with you.” 

She moved to the door but he blocked her way.  

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he retorted, and the amusement left his face, replaced by accusation. “What were you thinking telling Delfi and Jazmín that it was us who posted the video?” 

Ámbar rolled her eyes. “It’s the truth, isn’t it? If you don’t have the balls to face the consequences of your actions, then don’t do them,” she told him with her own ironic smile.  

Benicio’s eyes narrowed with annoyance for an instant, but then they changed. It was a look that fazed her, because it wasn’t just his typical arrogant one, it was knowing. 

“Did you confess to everyone already that you were the one who broke Juliana’s glass skate?”

Ámbar lost her smile. 

So that was what the look meant; he was calling her a hypocrite. 

Anger rose inside of her. One, because he was acting as if that made them equals when it had been a year ago. And two, because no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t shut him up. She had denied breaking the skate until the very end. 

Not like that had been of any use. 

“They already know,” she answered simply. The subject hadn’t been broached since then, but she strongly doubted anyone had believed her claims of innocence. Even if someone had, her later actions finished dooming her.

‘You lost me. You lost your friends.’ 

Benicio smiled smugly, reading in her answer what she didn’t want to say. “That’s not the same thing.” He crossed his arms and leaned casually against the pillar next to the door. “I never told anyone either, you know? Even when Juliana banned me from the Roller. I placed aaall the blame on myself to protect you. Would Simón have done the same?” 

No. “Yes.” 

Benicio laughed and straightened. “You know that’s not true. He would’ve run to tell Juliana— In fact…” He lifted a finger, like recalling a memory. “I’ve heard the reason you two fought last year was something along those lines.” He tilted his head to the side. “Am I wrong?” 

Ámbar felt a jab at the reminder, but she refused to react to his mockery. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. 

She kept her face impassive and a casual tone. 

“Juliana is not even here anymore so I don’t know why you’re even speaking about this, Benicio,” she pointed out. “If you wanted to have something over my head to threaten me, I’m so sorry, but that’s old news.” 

“No, no, it was just an observation,” he said just as casually. Thinly veiled poison was a language they both spoke well. She had liked that once. But she’d lost interest in snakes. 

Benicio stood in front of her and looked at her. His eyes were brown like Simón’s, but what she saw in them was so different that she couldn’t believe she’d once kissed him out of her own volition. 

“Look, Ámbar, I know that you put up all this act of the good girl just for Simón. And you know what? It’s pitying,” he said sadly. “I am very sorry that you have to do all of this just for him to accept you. Don’t you get tired of pretending all the time?” 

“I am not pretending.” When her godmother had abandoned her and she’d seen her reflection on the broken dressing room mirror, she’d decided not to act anymore. And maybe at first, when she’d just started letting Simón in again, she’d wondered if she just wanted him or if she truly wanted to do things right. But now she knew the answer. “I changed, Benicio. I’m not the same person who did that stuff anymore, can’t you see that?” 

“I see that deep down you’re still the same bad girl,” he said. “What’s more, I bet the real reason you told Delfi and Jazmín wasn’t to help them out but to take revenge on us for kicking you out of the team.” 

Ámbar snorted. “Oh god, you are completely insane,” she said, incredulous. “I couldn’t care less about the Red Sharks, Benicio. I have things much more important to think about than you, or Emilia, or a lame-ass team that doesn’t even exist anymore. So, if you excuse me, I’m gonna get back to work.” 

She went to the door again and he didn’t stop her, but he did speak. 

“You never told me who you were talking to on the phone.” 

Ámbar turned with her hand on the doorknob to meet his sardonic gaze. She shot him an irritated look and walked out of the dressing room, without replying and without looking back.  

Simón didn’t think he’d fully realized how much he missed his mom until her bright smile filled his screen. 

Ever since he was a little boy, his mom had had a way of making him feel like everything would be alright. (When she wasn’t scolding him for something, of course; moms will be moms.) She had supported his dream from day one, no matter how unlikely or unprofitable it seemed, and she’d believed in him enough to let him take the plane to Buenos Aires and then stay with The Roller Band. 

Simón knew he’d broken her heart a little when he’d left. He’d saddened everyone, including himself, but through it all, his family had been supporting him, even from a hemisphere away. They were his number one fans, and he’d never stop being grateful for it. 

Out of all his family, his mom was usually the easiest to reach. She was a pastry cook at request, so she was usually at the house either baking an order or doing regular house chores. His dad worked full-time, so he had to call him late or very early to catch him. His oldest sister, Gabriela, had been living with her boyfriend for a couple of years now. He kept up with her through social media along with his second older sister, Josefina, who was probably also working. 

He had hoped that his little brother, Dieguito, would be back from middle school by then, but sadly, he wasn’t. His mom kept him very entertained though, telling him some anecdotes that had happened over there, asking about his life, and half-laughing, half-complaining about the 16th Frozen-themed cake they had asked her to make for a birthday. 

It was the typical catching up, until his mom started asking to see Ámbar. 

“Mom, I don’t know…” 

“Isn’t she there working too?” 

“Yeah, but I’m not sure it’d be a good idea to put her on the phone with you so out of the blue. Isn’t meeting the parents a big step?” He didn’t want to make Ámbar uncomfortable. Although, technically, she had already seen his parents and they had seen her in the skating competitions, but they had never talked. 

“Oh, come on, it wouldn’t be a formal introduction, I just wanna say hi,” his mom eased him. Her expression showed nothing but innocent curiosity. 

Simón sighed. “Fine, but very quick, okay? She’s still my boss and could perfectly reprimand me for leaving the lockers alone.” 

He lowered his phone to his chest and walked to the cafeteria. He saw Ámbar right as he turned the corner, leaving the dressing room. He moved towards her, but then someone else walked out of the dressing room. 

Simón stopped as to not collide and his gaze locked with Benicio’s. He seemed momentarily surprised to see him too, but then he smiled— a satisfied smile that only said one thing. 

I won.

He closed the door of the dressing room behind him and walked past him to the tables. 

A beat passed.

Simón turned around. 

“Um, mom, you know what? I think we better schedule it in advance.” 

Her mom whined disillusioned as he returned to the lockers.  

“It’s just- If it was me, I would like to have time to prepare myself instead of being ambushed like that,” he argued, focusing on the screen. Only on the screen. 

Her mom sighed. “Alright, alright. But soon, honey, okay? I really want to talk with this girl who’s managed to enchant my son not once but twice already,” she said with a teasing look. “Oh, and you should definitely bring her next winter! Well, summer for you. She could stay with us! But in separate rooms, mijo; I will not encourage you to make me a grandmother when I’m still so young.” 

“Mom, she has a mansion next to the sea, why would she stay with us?” He dismissed. “And I don’t think you should be worried about me in that regard. Did Gabriela set up a date for her wedding yet?” 

“Oh, she was thinking of doing it during the winter so you could come without problem.”

Simón’s heart ached. “She doesn’t need to do that, I’ll fly whenever she wants me to.” 

“Oh, it’s okay, honey, there were other reasons,” she assured him. “Number one being she doesn’t want her guests to have heat strokes.” 

He chuckled. 

“Alright, darling, I’ll let you keep on working.” 

“I called you, it’s not like you interrupted me,” he pointed out, amused.

“Well now I’m saying your break is over. Go back to work!” She ushered him playfully with her hand. 

“Alright, alright,” he relented. “Talk to you tomorrow.” 

“Okay, sweetie.” She sent him a big kiss. “I love you.” 

“Me too.” 

The call disconnected. 

Instead of his mom’s smiley face, Simón was left staring at his list of contacts. His smile faded. He turned off the screen and put his phone down.   

He looked at the empty room. He breathed deeply, slowly, not like his heart.  

He wished someone walked in. 

There was too much silence. 

…

..

.

Chapter Text

The Roller lights turned on as the natural light began to fade away.

Closing time was nearing and the cafeteria was looking emptier. Only some customers remained, lost in animated conversation with their friends, sipping half-finished drinks in between anecdotes.  The rink always closed before the cafeteria, so Eric would show up soon to help to serve the last customers.

Ámbar stretched in her seat. The Roller’s banquettes were comfortable but sitting in the same position all day took its toll anyway. She grabbed her phone and began to check Instagram to rest her mind for a while. She only had one more document to revise for the day so she was in no hurry. 

“Hey.”

Ámbar looked up from the memes and the rollerskating videos she'd been watching to meet Simón’s gaze. “Hi, my love.”

He stood in front of her table. “Just wanted to remind you that I’m gonna go with the guys to rehearse for Matteo’s video. Eric is gonna stay to close up. We are gonna go directly from here so, I probably won’t see you until we come back for dinner or somewhere around that time.”

She smiled tenderly. He was so attentive. “Okay, sure, have fun.”  

“Thanks.”

He stayed there for a moment, kinda just nodding to himself.

“Oh, and, um…” Simón grabbed a chair from the next table and sat in front of her. Ámbar furrowed her brows a little bit, curious at his behavior. “I saw you earlier, by chance, walking out of the dressing room with Benicio,” he told her conversationally. “What…” He shrugged. “What did he want?”

‘Who were you talking to?’

She quickly pushed that thought away. That had been just a coincidence; Benicio didn’t know anything.

“What did he want…” She thought out loud. “To be honest, not even I know. To bother me, I guess. As always.” She rolled her eyes. “He just can’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that I chose you and I’m happy,” she complained and scoffed at her own statement. “Not like it was even a difficult choice to make.”

Simón’s posture seemed to soften. His gaze filled with warmth and a little smile curved his lips. “I see.”

After a second, he dropped the dreamy look and straightened in his seat. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” he decided, a serious determination falling over his face. “Tell him to leave you alone.”

‘You never told me who you were talking to on the phone.’

“No, don’t bother,” she told him with a dismissive hand gesture. “I can handle him. It’s more boring than troublesome, really.”

He looked at her, uncertain. “You sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” she eased him. It wasn’t a lie; Benicio was more bark than bite. He had nothing over her, nothing concrete. As long as she kept him at a distance and didn’t fall into his games, everything would be alright.  

Simón must have seen that she meant it because he conceded. “Okay. But if he keeps messing with you, tell me right away, okay? Whoever messes with you, messes with me; I won’t let him do whatever he wants.”

Her heart swelled with fondness. “Thank you.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s nothing.”

It was not nothing though. He probably didn’t realize it, but not everyone was willing to treat another person’s problems as if they were their own, and much less offered to do so. A voice inside of her screamed that she needed no one to defend her, that she could deal with everything by herself. Maybe that voice would never go away; part of her didn’t want it to. But she was working on quietening it down, because it was nice having someone like him, it was nice knowing she could not take care of everything alone. She didn’t want to lose that.

Ámbar thought Simón was gonna go back to work— It certainly looked like it for a second. But then he settled back into the chair and looked at her, tentative. 

“Oh, um, I forgot to tell you. I video-called my mom today and she said she wants to talk to you.”

Ámbar went cold. “Oh no.”

Of all the things in the world, she did not expect him to say that. She hardly believed herself that she deserved to be with Simón and now she had to convince the woman who had raised him of it? She had no idea how to pull that off.

Simón chuckled at the dread that was most surely showing on her face. “Calm down, she really means just talk, she’s not gonna intimidate you or anything like that.”

His smile was calm and he seemed pretty convinced of his statement, but Ámbar didn’t believe it much.

She averted her gaze, dropping it to the table.

“After all that happened, I can’t imagine that she likes me,” she said detrimentally. If she were that woman, she wouldn’t want someone like her anywhere near her son.

Simón’s hands reached to hold her own. She lifted her gaze and watched as he brought them to his lips, kissing the back of them. His eyes held hers, conveying kindness.

“She knows what I’ve told her,” he explained softly, “which is that we are, or were, very different. That… you were going through a tough time this year, and you didn’t want to accept anyone’s help. But that things changed, and we managed to understand each other, and now we’re together and you make me very happy.”

Ámbar’s chest tightened. “I do?”

His heartfelt smile grew, turning his face into one of disbelieving amusement. “Of course you do,” he laughed, squeezing her hands to add emphasis to his words. “Can’t you tell by the face of lovesick fool I make whenever I’m near you?”

Ámbar was left speechless staring at his expression. When he was so openly affective, she often didn’t know what to do. He’d look at her like loving her was the simplest, most obvious thing; like he couldn’t help himself because she was that great. Ámbar was used to admiration, but when she did something worthy of it, when she struggled to get it. Simón spoke as if she made him happy just by existing, and she didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Well, the fool’s face has always been there so it’s a little hard to tell the difference,” she joked light-heartedly. Humor was a good out when she felt overwhelmed. Hopefully, she’d soon be able to return his openness without needing it.

Simón huffed a laugh. “Jeez, thank you, love, I love you too,” he replied sarcastically.

They both chuckled and a comfortable silence fell between them.  

“So…” Ámbar started, going back to the conversation. “Your mom doesn’t hate me?”

He smiled reassuringly. “She doesn’t hate you. She just wants to know you a little bit. You know, because you’re dating me and she’s curious.”

She nodded to herself. “Right.”

“I can totally tell her no if you don’t want to yet,” he offered, probably seeing her nervousness in her face. “I mean, we could wait until we go to Cancún in the summer. There’s no rush.”

She lifted a brow. “We’re going to Cancún in the summer?”

Simón froze.

“Oh.” His gaze wandered and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh, I kind of assumed…”

Ámbar couldn’t keep the straight face anymore and broke into giggles. “I’m messing with you!” She told him and laced her fingers with his over the table. “I would love to go to Cancún with you.”

His shoulders sagged and he smiled. “Great.”

“And, if you really want me to… I’ll talk with your mom.”

He perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah, sure. I mean, I’m gonna have to eventually, and she’s less likely to murder me through the phone than in person so it’s actually a good plan,” she reasoned. “I just have a couple questions first though.”

“Sure, what questions?”

She shrugged, acting nonchalant. “You know, the basics. What’s your mom’s name? What’s she like? I mean, you’ve mentioned her but, I don’t know, just out of curiosity— Could you tell me some of her likes and dislikes?” She grabbed her phone and opened the Notes app. “Not an extensive list, just about 20 of each. Or all you can think of, it’s fine either way.”

Simón laughed and shook his head. He leaned over the table to leave a kiss on Ámbar’s forehead and stood to go back to work.

“I was being serious!” She called after him.

“I know!” He said right back and disappeared behind the bar’s wall.

Ámbar leaned back in her chair and huffed. She really hoped she wouldn’t have to resort to stalking Simón’s mom on social media, but if he thought she wouldn’t do that, he was dead wrong. She was gonna win over that woman.

That night, Simón returned to the mansion with the guys, Luna and Nina after having been rehearsing for Matteo’s video for a couple of hours. Luna and Nina had shown everyone the spot where the shooting would take place, which were some alleys outside an abandoned warehouse. It surely had street vibe and Luna was certain it would look even better when they installed the lights.

Jim had shown them the choreography she had come up with for the song, which was very cool. Clearly dancing was her thing and it showed on her bright face how much she loved it. Simón tried to follow her along with Matteo, Pedro and Ramiro, who had also agreed to help.

It was really nice of him to do so even when they hadn’t given him an answer yet about his request to return to the Roller. If anything, it showed that he really wanted to fix things with them regardless of being on the team or not.

After the unsuccessful team meeting the day before, they hadn’t had another to discuss the topic, but judging by the conversations Simón had had with some of the guys, he believed that Ramiro’s return to the team was already a reality. Everyone was focused on Matteo’s video right now, but once that was done, and with Ramiro’s help to top it all off, he was pretty sure everyone would welcome him back.

The one who seemed the more averse to the idea was Yam. Simón understood that she had been the one most hurt by Ramiro’s actions, but he didn’t think it was fair for her to disregard Ramiro’s attempts to make amends. Even now, she had claimed she was busy working on the outfits and that was why she wouldn’t go with them to the rehearsal, which might had been true, but Simón suspected the real reason was that she didn’t want to face Ramiro until she absolutely had to. Ramiro hadn’t said anything, but he did look a little disappointed when Luna said Yam wouldn’t be joining them. Simón really hoped they could fix things between them eventually.  

The rehearsal had been tiring but very fun. They all entered the mansion laughing and joking around; even Nina who was usually more reserved. Mónica walked out of the dining room and received them with a smile. She asked how the rehearsal had gone, to which everyone answered that it’d been great and told her some of what they’d come up with for the video.

“Mom, can Nina sleepover tonight?” Luna asked once they finished retelling.

“Of course, sweetling. Nina is always welcomed here,” Mónica said kindly. “Do you have something to do for school or is it just for fun?”

“No, I mean, we just have a lot to talk about,” Luna replied. Simón assumed that it was about the video, but there was some nervousness in her stance. Maybe there was more to it, but he didn’t dwell on it much. If it was important, he knew Luna would tell him later.

“Okay, sure, no problem,” Mónica said with an easy smile. “Just make sure Ana gives her thumbs up too.”

Luna and Nina agreed and thanked her. Mónica turned to the rest.

“Now, everyone, go take a seat, dinner is ready,” she told them. “I’m gonna go tell Mr. Alfredo. Can one of you go tell Ámbar to come down?”

“I’ll go,” Simón said immediately and rushed to the stairs with a pep in his step, ignoring the teasing looks that probably everyone was throwing his way.

He entered Ámbar’s room before he remembered he could’ve knocked because he wasn’t sneaking in; everyone knew he was there. Oh well, he was already inside.

He found Ámbar to his right, standing over a trashcan full of what looked like crumpled paper as her nails scraped the wall behind her dressing table.

“Hi…”

She turned to him. “Oh, hi, my love,” she greeted him with a smile. “How was the rehearsal?”

“Good, all good,” he said, frowning. “What are you doing?”

“I was just finishing cleaning up this wall,” she said and tore a small piece of paper from it. “Yesterday these pestering pamphlets were sticking to my back and it was uncomfortable and I thought ‘why did I even put so much garbage in this wall anyway?’ so I decided to take it off.” She backed away to admire the outcome of her work. “I think it looks better this way. Clearer and less… disastrous.”

Simón stood next to her and observed the wall too. The black paint words were still there, but other than that, the wall was practically bare.

“Um, yeah. It looks less cluttered,” he appraised. He was a little surprised by her impulse, but if she liked it better this way, well, great. 

Ámbar hummed in agreement, still staring intently at it like searching for any leftover residue.

“Anyway, I came to fetch you for dinner,” he told her. “It’s ready.”

Her body sagged with relief. “Oh, that’s great, I’m so hungry,” she moaned. “I’ll go wash my hands.”

She gave him a peck on the lips and went to her bathroom. In her absence, Simón noticed that the frames over the head of her bed had been tilted so they were straight instead of hanging on an angle. Ámbar must have done that too. He smiled. That seemed more like the perfectionist he knew.

His gaze went down and fell on the right nightstand. His heart squeezed. She had put the daisy he gave her in a glass of water.   

“Okay, I’m ready, let’s go.”

Simón grabbed Ámbar by the waist, held her face and kissed her intensely. Ámbar let out a little sound of surprise but she reacted and returned the force of his lips. Her hands rose to cup his neck and his jaw. Simón wrapped both arms around her and pressed her against him.

They were both a little breathless when he pulled away.

“I adore you,” he told her mesmerized. “So much. So damn much.”

“I…” She blinked, looking a little dazed. “I’m not sure what happened but suddenly I’m not that hungry anymore.”

Simón chuckled and held her hand. “Let’s get dinner out of the way then and come back here.”

She mirrored his look and smirked. “That sounds like a great idea.”

Simón kissed the back of her hand and led her out of the door. Ámbar closed it behind them and both went down to the dining room. 

They couldn’t really leave the table immediately after they finished dinner because it would’ve been suspicious, so they stayed there making conversation with everyone. Luna and Nina excused themselves. Then Michel. When Matteo and Pedro rose, Ámbar and Simón did as well, with the excuse of leaving the grownups talking while the young ones went to sleep. Goodnights were exchanged and the guys climbed up the stairs.

Simón stopped right outside Ámbar’s room and turned to her. 

“I’ll be right back, wait up.”

She frowned. “Where are you going?”

“I gotta go find new pajamas. You know, since someone ruined mine this morning,” he said with a teasing look.  

Ámbar’s expression changed from confused to mischievous.  

“Mmm… Do you need ones though?”

A smirk grew on Simón’s face. Their gazes danced, promising many very fun things.

“Okay, at least let me get clothes for tomorrow,” he said. “And my toothbrush.”

He turned around but she stopped him immediately, catching his arm. 

“Bring a whole backpack,” she told him with her flirty smile. “That way you don’t have to make so many trips.”

Simón smiled excitedly and gave her one short, hard kiss before hurrying to his room.

The guest room he had been given was on the complete opposite wing of the mansion, quite far from Ámbar’s and Luna’s rooms. Matteo, Pedro and Michel’s rooms were right next to his. Simón guessed Miguel had chosen those rooms on purpose to keep the guys as separated from the girls as possible.

He snorted inside. If he knew.

Simón walked into his guest room and turned on the light. It was a simple room, medium size with neutral, light-cream colored walls. Entering, left to the door, there was a small wooden desk and chair. A single bed laid in the center of the room, with its backrest against the left wall and a nightstand on its right. On the back wall was a window and on the right one a wide dresser, close to the foot of the bed. His suitcase was next to it, empty because he’d already moved everything to the drawers.

The room still didn’t feel his though, not even in a rented room way. He hadn’t spent more than like three nights in it since he’d slept in the storage room many times, and especially since he’d started dating Ámbar he’d hardly ever walked in.

His backpack was on the back of the chair. He grabbed it and placed it on top of the bed before turning to the dresser.

Simón opened a drawer and stood looking at the t-shirts. How many clothes should he pack? Ámbar had said to bring a backpack but she didn’t specify. What size did she imagine his backpack was? Big? Small?

He took off his beanie, leaving it on top of the dresser, and ran a hand through his hair. It was a very weird situation the one they were in. After all, they were living together but they weren’t living together, if that made any sense. He had arrived at her house out of necessity; she hadn’t asked him to move in with her, they weren’t a couple who had decided and planned to spend all their waking time together. And honestly? It’d be insane if they had— They’d only been dating for a couple of days. Admittedly, it felt longer since the bond between had existed for about a year now, but they were so new as a couple. A part of him kept fearing that if he spent too much time with Ámbar she’d get sick of him. But she had told him that she liked spending the night with him, and she had been to one to suggest he brought clothes for a more permanent stay.

… He was horribly overthinking this, wasn’t he?

Whatever— He’d just fill his backpack with as much he could and leave it at that. It’s not like he could fit a lot in there anyway, and the only way he could look pretentious was if he appeared on her door with a suitcase, which he was not going to do, so it was fine.

Simón started rolling up clothes and putting them in the backpack. He also grabbed his phone’s charger to stop borrowing Ámbar’s, his deodorant— Should he bring his cologne…? Yeah, why not, he’d smell good for her— his cologne…

He went to the bathroom at the end of the hall that he shared with the other guys to grab his toothbrush. He could continue using Ámbar’s shampoo so he didn’t need that. He looked at the razors and his aftershave. Should he bring those? … No, that seemed like a bigger step. He didn’t even need to shave that often anyway.  

He was going to leave but then thought twice about it and decided to brush his teeth since he was already there. Might as well return to Ámbar’s side with a fresh breath since he was sure they’d be using their mouths a lot.

Simón put his backpack on his shoulder and made his way back to Ámbar’s room. Thankfully, he didn’t cross anyone on the way there. When he reached her hallway though, he was surprised to find Ámbar standing under her doorframe, in the middle of what looked like a very serious argument with Rey. 

He walked to them, worried. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing,” Ámbar replied, still staring the man down. “Just Rey that won’t stop bothering. Let’s get inside.” She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him towards her room.

“I was telling miss Ámbar that I don’t think it wise for her to be spending the night with a boy,” Rey declared.  

Simón’s stomach fell. Oh shit, Maggie told him.

“And I was telling Rey that it would be wise for him to stay out of my life,” she said, stressing every word with anger.

“Um…”

“The Valente are not going to be happy if they find out what you’re doing,” Rey told her, seeming to stress his words as well. “I recommend that you listen to me and refrain from inviting boys into your room.”

Ámbar closed her door behind her. “Okay, fine.” She hugged Simón’s arm and stared up at him with a smile. “Would you show me your room, my love? I wanna see it.”

Simón’s eyes widened at her gall and he looked awkwardly between her and Rey. “Ámbar, I don’t think…”

“What are you all doing in the middle of the hallway?”

Simón’s heartrate piked up seeing Miguel standing there looking at them with confusion. He tried not to let the panic show on his face but he didn’t know what to answer. Ámbar and Rey were still staring intently at each other; a battle of wills if Simón had ever seen one.

Finally, Rey turned towards Miguel.

“I was just asking them some security questions; if they had seen or heard anything suspicious lately,” he explained. “With Sharon prowling around the house, we have to be more alert than ever.”

Simón sighed internally. Thank god, he didn't tell on them. 

Miguel’s lips turned down grimly. “Yeah, I’m very worried about that. I don’t know how she manages to go around Security. She has probably bribed a guard, but without proof, it is impossible for us to know which one and we can’t just change the whole staff one day to another.” 

“I assure you that we’re doing everything in our hands to make sure something like what happened last night won’t happen again,” Rey stated in a professional tone.

Miguel nodded his head. “Thank you, Rey. If you get any new information, please let me know immediately.”

Rey nodded too and left with one last look in Ámbar’s direction. Miguel turned to them.

“Now, you two should go to bed, it’s late,” he told them. His eyes settled on him and he frowned with confusion. “Simón, why are you carrying a backpack?”

Simón froze.

He looked at the strap on his shoulder and back at him.

“…Uh...”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Miguel dismissed. “Come on, I’ll go with you.” He gestured with his hand for Simón to accompany him. “Goodnight, Ámbar.”

“Goodnight…” She said slowly and threw a wide-eyed look at Simón when Miguel turned his back.  

Simón shared her troubled look as Miguel took him away but he had no choice but to follow.

Miguel reminded him on the way to keep an eye out for anything strange in the house and to not stay in the storage room with the guys until very late. He left him in his room and bid him goodnight, and he didn’t leave until Simón closed the door.

Simón looked at the empty room he had left only five minutes ago and his shoulders slumped.

Great.

He dropped the backpack on the bed and sat down in the mattress. Would Miguel roam around for much longer? He had no way to know without peeking outside and risking looking even more suspicious.

The faint ticking of the clock on the wall sounded louder in the silence, and the more time passed, the more it seemed to be making fun of him.

Finally, Simón sighed and kicked off his shoes to lay down on the bed. He leaned his head against the pillow and pulled out his cell phone.

Simón: I think I better sleep here tonight

The answer came a minute later.

Ámbar: Noooo, come ooon 😢 😢 😢

Ámbar: Just wait some minutes and walk out again, Miguel won’t know

Simón: He almost discovered us just now, and Rey knows!

Simón: Oh, and Maggie. She saw me walking out of your room this morning

Simón: Sorry, I swear I was careful, she came out of nowhere!

Ámbar: They won’t say anything, don’t worry about it

Simón: How do you know?

The dot dot dot under her name showed her writing for some time.

Ámbar: Well, Rey could’ve told him just now and he didn’t, right?

Ámbar: I don’t think either of them will

Simón thought it through. Yes, Rey seemed inclined to keep the secret for now, but he could change his mind at any moment. And although Maggie apparently hadn’t said anything to Miguel yet, who knew what she would do the next day. She was a wild card; Simón had no idea what went through her mind. And that was only part of the problem.

Simón: And what if Miguel comes to my room at some point and I’m not there?

That was what he’d been thinking since he left him in his room.

Ámbar: He won’t

Simón: How do you know? He looked suspicious of us

She seemed to write and delete for a while.

Ámbar: Fine, if you don’t want to sleep with me, I won’t force you

Simón: Don’t say that, you know that’s not true

A minute passed without a response.  

Simón: Love

No response.

Simón: Come on, don’t get angry

Dot dot dot…

Ámbar: I’m not angry, I just miss you

Simón’s heart squeezed.

Ámbar: I’m mad at everyone else. This is stupid. We’re both adults, we can do whatever we want

Simón looked up. Although that was technically true, they were still under Miguel’s roof so they had to respect his rules. Well, technically the house was Luna’s. But Luna was a minor so she too had to listen to Miguel.

He sighed. This wouldn’t happen if he had his own place instead of living off someone else’s charity. Ámbar could complain because it was her house but he had no right; he’d had to be very shameless.

His phone ringed with a new message.  

Ámbar: Can I go there then?

His heart leaped.

Simón: Do you know where I am?

Ámbar: No, but if you give me some directions, I’m sure I could find it. You forget I grew up in this house with a loooot of alone time. I practically know it like the back of my hand

God. Now he wanted her to be there just so he could hug her; that was so sad.

Simón: … If Miguel finds you here, we won’t get out alive     

Her response came fast and decided.  

Ámbar: Let him scold me, I don’t care

Simón hesitated, conflicted. When he had told Luna some months ago that he could be the person who guided Ámbar, he definitely hadn’t meant encouraging her to break rules and get scolded.

…That being said, his guest bed felt very cold and empty without her. And Ámbar was very convincing…

Ámbar: I await instructions 😉

Oh, what the hell.

Simón described the way the best he could, and, luckily, Ámbar seemed to get it. She just told him to leave his door ajar so she wouldn’t accidentally enter someone else’s room.

Simón stood to do as she said, leaned against the desk next to the door, and waited.

Following Simón’s directions, Ámbar was outside his door in five minutes. She had changed into her pajamas so she could sneak out in the morning without looking suspicious and even walked on her tiptoes to not make much noise. She felt mischievous in a playful way, and Simón must’ve felt so too because both broke into giggles when she walked in. He closed the door quickly to hide them from view.

“Was it too hard to get here?” He whispered, taking her hands. 

“No, don’t worry,” she smiled. She gave him a short kiss and pulled away to walk further into the room. “So this is the room they gave you,” she said, looking around.

Out of nowhere, Simón jumped in front of her with wide eyes, gesturing panickily for her to keep her voice down.

Ámbar startled. “What? What?” She whispered, alarmed.

Simón moved the finger he had placed in front of his lips and pointed to the side. “Pedro’s room is right next to this one, Matteo’s on this other side, and I have no idea how thick these walls are,” he whispered with fear.   

She blinked. “And you don’t want them to hear us talking because…?”

“Because they’ll tease me if they know you were here.”

“Tease you how?”

“I- Um…” He shrugged nervously. “You know, the usual stuff. What we did or didn’t do…”

Ámbar’s lips curled up. He was so cute when he got embarrassed.

She took a step closer, eliminating the space between them. “Now that you mention it…” She ran her hands up his chest, which was still covered by the shirt she gave him, and wrapped his necklaces playfully around one finger. “I do recall a conversation we had about doing something to your room…”

She looked into his eyes. Simón read her intentions in her gaze and got flustered.

“Ámbar, no, we can’t, the guys are right there, I just told you.”

“This is a mansion; the walls can’t be that thin,” she pointed out with amusement. She placed her hands on his shoulders and, with a slight pressure, managed to make him sit on the bed, but he still looked unsure.

“I don’t know, what if they are?” He said worriedly.

Ámbar looked to her left. Well, there was one way they could check. She parted from him and moved to the wall, leaning her ear against it. She closed her eyes and focused for a long while.

She opened them. “I don’t hear anything.”

Simón crawled over the bed and leaned his ear against the wall too. “Me neither,” he said after a moment. He sat back on his knees. “Maybe they’re sleeping?”

Ámbar moved back off the wall. “Well, wonderful then,” she smiled impishly. “They’ll be none the wiser.”

Pushing him back, she pressed him against the headboard and climbed on top of him, her knees on each side of his hips. She cupped his neck and kissed him slowly, savoring his mouth. Simón kissed her back and held her waist— “What if the mattress creaks?”  

Ámbar staggered from the sudden loss of his lips. She blinked and backed up to bounce on her knees on the bed. No sound of springs. “We’re good.”

“Okay, great.” Simón moved towards her and grabbed her face to kiss her.

Ámbar followed, but after so many objections, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

She pulled back. “If it really worries you though, we could not do it,” she offered. “I mean, you don’t have to want to because I want to. That wouldn’t be fair. And I totally respect—”

He shut her up with a kiss.

Simón cupped the back of her head with one hand, her lower back with the other, and laid her down underneath him. His tongue caressed her bottom lip and the inside of her mouth in a way that sent a chill down her spine and heated her blood. 

He pulled back and looked at her, running his thumb over her cheek. “How could I not want you, my love?”

She shrugged a little. “You could just not feel like it or feel too uncomfortable. You ignored my flirting for months, it’s not that far-fetched,” she reminded him. 

“The most challenging thing I’ve ever done, I assure you.” He kissed her. “Now, I vote that we stop talking,” he murmured close to her lips. “For one, to not wake them up, and two, because I would much rather use my mouth for something else.”

Ámbar smirked and kissed him, granting his wish and hers. She wrapped her arms around him and he molded his body over hers, slipping his hands underneath her pajama top. The kiss got deeper and hungrier as they lost layers of clothing, and by the time they got under the covers, both their breathings were ragged.

Simón let wet kisses on her neck and each of her breasts and Ámbar writhed underneath him, struggling not to make any noise. Each stroke to her nipples sent sparks down her body and amped up the throb between her legs. Her hips kept jumping upwards, seeking some friction, but he wasn’t in reach and seemed to be in no rush.

Ámbar drowned her fingers in his hair and pulled a little, trying to convey her urgency. Simón left her breast and crawled up to cover her mouth with his. His arousal rubbed against her abdomen, hard and enticing, and she shuddered in anticipation. When his hand slid between their bodies though, he didn’t use it to position himself but rather bypassed himself altogether and stroke her between her legs.

Ámbar’s little whimper was muffled by his mouth on hers; something he probably planned for, in hindsight. But he found her clit quickly, and he wasted no time in circling it with the pad of his finger. Her moan was loud then, completely uncontrollable just as she was helpless against the overwhelming sensations provoked by his touch.

He seemed to enjoy that little fact because she felt him smile against her lips. It was smug; she knew without needing to see it.

All her body wanted was to focus on the electric shocks going through her and let the pleasure flood her senses, but she forced a hand to move and snake between them. Simón inhaled sharply when she wrapped him in her palm. He tore his lips from hers, shuddering, and with just some caresses, he moaned against the pillow.

Ámbar chuckled breathlessly. Served him right. Her amusement was short-lived though as Simón let out an indignant huff and plunged two fingers inside of her, knocking the air out of her lungs.

“Mm!”

Ámbar pressed her lips tight to quiet her sounds, but it was a hard task with how his mouth latched onto her neck, sucking and biting as his hand worked her between her thighs. She gripped him more firmly and began to pump him, brushing his tip in the way she knew drove him mad. Simón groaned and responded in kind, matching the rhythm of his fingers with that of her hand. They had gone from agreeing not to make noise to competing for whom could make the other make more in a matter of minutes— And she loved it.

She grasped his hair hard and squeezed him with her legs. This was the Simón only she knew. The one who matched and defied her. That answered her fire with fuel and fire of his own. Everyone could see his passion on stage— She’d always have to share that side of him. But not this one. This one was hers.

She pulled his hand away and all but shoved him into his back. The sheets pooled around her hips as she straddled him, and he devoured her with his eyes, dark and full of want. His chest heaved and his eyes locked with hers intensely. ‘Do your worst’ he seemed to say.

So she did.                  

Ámbar guided him inside her, sinking down until their hips met and— Oh, it was so much better than his fingers. Simón’s hands dug on her thighs, and she could see the same pleasure written all over his face. She rocked a little, experimentally, finding an angle, making his breath catch. Then she started to ride him in earnest.

“Ámb—”

Simón clenched his jaw and his eyes slammed closed. She carried on, fast and relentlessly, until he was practically begging her to slow down, have some mercy. She moved even harder instead, and Simón threw his head back, biting his lip hard not to moan. He didn’t survive many more rolls of her hips and exploded inside her, with his back arched and a choked sound. It was so hot to see him like that, to watch and feel the proof of his orgasm, that she only needed to ground against his pelvis a little more to follow him in the euphoria. 

Ámbar fell forward. Simón wrapped her in his arms, holding her against his chest as they tried to slow down their breathing. There was something so nice about like this, she thought. Skin to skin, her breasts flattened against him, the pounding of his heart beating on her own chest like a drum. It was an intoxicating feeling of closeness, especially in the afterglow.

“I really hope the walls aren’t thin,” Simón sighed after some minutes, “but if they are, it was worth it.”

Ámbar chuckled softly and leaned her head up to nestle her nose against his neck. “You’re welcome.”

He chuckled too, softly and contently, and grabbed the covers with one hand to tug them over them. She tried to rise but she didn’t get very far before he pulled her against him again.

“Nooo, stay like this,” he pouted, clinging to her like a kid to its favorite plush toy.

Her heart melted for like the hundredth time that day. So she wasn’t the only one who liked the closeness.

“I gotta put my pajamas back on to leave early tomorrow,” she explained, although her argument sounded weak even to her own ears.

“You can put it on in the morning,” he murmured, his voice starting to sound drowsy.

She tilted her neck back. “But, am I not crushing you like this?” She said, a little worried. It couldn’t be very comfortable for him.  

“Not at all,” he replied and lowered his lips to kiss her head. “And even then, I can think of way worse ways to die than with you in my arms.”

And there went her heart again. God, this man was going to kill her— He couldn’t be this cute.

She would’ve peppered him with kisses again if it wasn’t for how relaxed she felt and for the fatigue of the day catching up to her. Simón’s chest was moving languidly up and down, so it must’ve been the same for him.

Ámbar settled a little better on top of him and whispered, half-expecting he wouldn’t hear her due to sleep having already pulled him under. “Goodnight, my love.”

His reply came in the form of slurred words in a mumbled sentence, but it came and it made her happy. “Sweet dreams, beautiful.”

It only took some minutes for said dreams to take her away.     

Ámbar laughed quietly when it was him who pushed her off him in the middle of the night when he rolled on his sleep. So much for staying put huh?

She guessed she should’ve been annoyed by being woken up so abruptly but she found it funny. Even endearing, for the way his arm pulled her back as if it hadn’t been him who pushed her away in the first place. He sought her out even asleep; she couldn’t find fault in that.  

Ámbar cuddled against him again and closed her eyes, smiling. She wished all her nights could be like this. And all her days. 

With his scent in her lungs and the lullaby of his breathing, she fell back asleep.  

…

..

.

Chapter Text

Ámbar left Simón with a kiss on his forehead and walked silently out of his guest room. The chill of the early morning swept into her bones. She made a mental note to tell Miguel to start turning on the heating as she hugged herself and hurried back to her own room.  

It would’ve been disorienting to wake up in a place she didn’t recognize if it weren’t impossible to feel fear with Simón cuddled up next to her. His scent and the feel of his breathing were cozier and more familiar than any room. She hadn’t really wanted to leave the warmth of his arms, especially when he stirred the instant she separated from him and murmured sleepy words. It’d been so adorable, but she cooed him back to sleep and covered him with the blankets. He could still rest a little longer.

Ámbar entered her room, cold and alone, and immediately remembered with annoyance why she was in such position in the first place.

It’d been about four minutes since she parted from Simón when she heard a knock on her door. She frowned but went to open it.

“That was qui—”

Her smile dropped. It wasn’t Simón on the other side of the door— it was Rey.

“Miss Ámbar,” he greeted in that proper, courteous tone he had always used with her. It had never been a real show of respect and they both knew it. Rey used it to mock her because he’d never liked her.

Well, the feeling was mutual.

“What do you want, Rey?”

“I need to speak with you. May I come in?” He took a step forward.

Ámbar scoffed and pushed him back with a hand on his chest. “Absolutely not. Whatever you have to say, say it right here.”

“Okay, have it your way.” He looked at each side of the hallway and then spoke in a quiet voice. “I spoke with your godmother. She told me you two talked yesterday.”

Ámbar’s heart raced with anxiety. Nothing good could come after that.

“And?” She asked as impassive as she could.

“Sharon is not happy with your relationship.”

“She is never happy with anything, you could learn to ignore her once in a while, no?”

“She told me that you refused to break up with Simón and asked me expressly to keep an eye on the situation.”

Ámbar’s jaw dropped and she scoffed. “I can not believe this. She goes away and doesn’t even take the time to call me- And now she has the gall to want to control my life?” She shook her head. “No. I forbid you from sticking your nose into my affairs, Rey. Don’t even get close to Simón.”  

He laughed. “You don’t have the authority to forbid me anything, miss. It’s not like I care about your little romance either, but I recommend that you listen to your godmother or I’ll find myself obliged to tell the Valente about your indiscretion.”

“You do that and I tell them all about how you’re still Sharon’s little toy.”

“Go ahead, do it,” he invited. “Then I’ll take the opportunity to tell them about how you knew perfectly well that you were not Sol Benson and how you’ve known all this time your godmother’s plans and, yet, you’ve kept quiet.”

Ámbar looked him right in the eye. “… It seems to me like you need to reconsider who’s got more to lose here, Rey,” she told him icily. “Because I won’t go to jail for saying the truth, but you will.”

“I know for a fact that you wouldn’t dare.”

“Really?” She inched her face closer to his. “Are you really willing to find out? Because if you go looking for trouble with me, Rey, I can promise you… you’re going to find it.”

That was when Simón had arrived.

She thanked any God there was out there that he hadn’t heard the rest of the conversation. Sometimes she did have a little luck, even if it abandoned her when she most needed it. At any rate, she had managed to neutralize the situation and threaten Rey into silence. No matter how loyal he was to Sharon, he surely cared more about his own skin than her whims, so Ámbar was certain he wouldn’t be stupid enough to talk. The same went for Maggie; she wasn’t going to risk it.

She went to her bathroom and turned on the shower to melt the cold out of her skin and start her day. She’d have a talk with her godmother eventually about staying out of her affairs, but in the meantime, she was gonna live her life.

Pedro placed the order of fries and milkshakes in front of the pair of customers and smiled.

“Here you go. Enjoy.”

The couple, who were clearly dating, said their thanks and dove into their food. If he wasn’t wrong, he had attended to them at the lockers once, so, apparently, they had liked the rink and decided to give the food a go. With a little luck, they’d become regulars and he’d secure himself some tips.

He made a quick scan of the cafeteria to see if any other table needed serving, but everything seemed in order so he returned behind the bar.

It was the early afternoon and by now it had been a slow day all in all. He replenished the display of muffins on the side and proceeded to wash some glasses. He was putting them back on the shelves behind him when someone called his name.

“Pedro.”  

He’d know that voice anywhere.

Pedro turned around, finding the eyes, the face, the hair, the everything that made his heart sing. Normally.

“I want to talk to you,” Delfi said, soft and a little hesitantly. “Can we?”

Pedro tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“What, you wanna tell me how sorry and awful you feel for mistrusting me?” He said, more playful than really defensive, although, there was some of that too.

“No, I already said that,” she pointed out with a tiny smile.

It was true, they had talked about what happened the day before, some. She’d had her day full with lessons and worrying over her social media demise (her words) and he had been working, as always. They had some time together in the lockers before he left for the video rehearsal and she had apologized. Pedro understood where she’d been coming from, but it still hurt that she’d believed him capable of outing her— Especially of doing so and then not even remembering doing it like some dumbass. He thought she had a better image of him than that.

Either way, they had talked and he’d accepted her apology because he loved her and everyone was allowed to make errors in judgment, especially in stressful situations. They still weren’t completely okay though, not as before.

“I wanna ask you out on a date,” Delfi continued, because of that very reason most probably. “I know it’s been some time since we went out together and, I don’t know, I thought I’d be a nice way to make it up to you. What do you say?”

Her eyes were full of hope and eagerness to make amends. Pedro would’ve been lying if he said he didn’t want to go; he missed going on dates with her. But everything was still very fresh.

“It sounds good,” he admitted. “But I don’t know, Delfi. I have work and then I have rehearsal again…” 

“We can go during your lunch break. Come on, please, you can’t be mad at me forever,” she pouted cutely. Everything she did was cute; it was so unfair. “Look, I’ll invite you anywhere you want,” she proposed and perked up with an idea. “We could go bowling! You told me the other day that you wanted to go.”

That sounded very tempting. And it warmed his heart that she remembered he mentioned that. At first glance, anyone could think that Delfi was rather self-centered, but she actually had quite an attention to detail, especially with him, and she was very caring and he loved her for that.

Yes, she’d hurt his feelings, but she apologized, and he indeed didn’t want them to keep being in a fight. Spending some time together could be the first step to fixing things…

He heard Matteo’s voice in his head. Make her work for it.

Suddenly, an idea struck, which was brilliant because it meant he could do both things. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and put on a casual expression.

“Okay, we can go bowling.”

Delfi smiled wide and joined her hands in victory. “Yes! Thank you, my love—”

“If Simón and Ámbar come too.”

She froze. 

“W- why do you want them to go?”

He shrugged. “That’s my condition. I’m still too upset for it to be just the two of us.” 

She grimaced. “Can’t it just be Simón?”

“And have him be the third wheel all afternoon? No. Double date or nothing.”

As he watched Delfi’s face, he started to wonder if he was being too hard on her. But then he remembered how she had accused him of something he didn’t do. And it’s not like what he was asking for was torture, it was just awkward enough to serve as payback.

Delfi seemed to come to the same conclusion as her shoulders slumped and she sighed.

“Okay, fine, they can come too.”

Pedro smiled. “Awesome.” He turned his head. “Simón! Ámbar! Wanna go bowling during lunch break?”

Simón was hanging by Ámbar’s worktable as he did sometimes when work was light. Both looked at each other.  

“I don’t know if all three of us can leave just like that…” Ámbar mused, troubled. “We’d be leaving Eric alone with everything. I’m the manager; if anyone should stay in charge of the place is me.”

Delfi turned to Pedro quickly. “See? Poor Eric. They should stay,” she told him with less than sincere sympathy.

“It’d only be for an hour,” Simón encouraged Ámbar. “We can put on the ‘closed for lunch’ sign. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

His friend’s puppy eyes and disarming smile did their job. Pedro found himself in the unexpected position of relating to Ámbar— Neither of them could say no to their significant other.

“Okay, we can go,” she conceded with a smile, to which Simón responded with excitement.  

Pedro turned to Delfi with a winning smile. She glared at him.

Oh yeah. This was going to be fun.

Simón didn’t want to wake up without Ámbar ever again.  

Of course, he knew that wasn’t possible; it was bound to happen more than once. But it’d been weird to wake up by his alarm instead of by her (thank god he preferred a calm, positive song instead of Ámbar’s chirring melody or he would’ve jumped out of his skin) and he’d almost fallen off the side of the bed searching for her in his half-asleep state. (That last part was his fault though; he really was a heavy sleeper.)  

Anyway, he was fully making up for it now, holding her hand in their way to the bowling alley. Hand holding, he’d realized, was okay in public, and she’d even let him kiss her at the park the day before. Granted, there weren’t many people nearby, but maybe she wasn’t as averse to PDA as he’d first thought? He hoped so. It was very tough having to keep his distance when all he wanted was to be close to her.

Like, for example, an hour earlier. Ámbar had approached Eric and taken the time to discuss their plans with him to make sure that he was absolutely okay with staying by himself. She’d argued, after, that it was her responsibility as boss, the least she should do really, but Simón knew that it came more from genuine worry and care. She didn’t want him to feel overwhelmed or neglected. Long gone was the Ámbar who only thought about herself. Or, at least the time when he thought she was like that. Never in his life had he been happier to be wrong.

He'd wanted to kiss her then. Hug her and rain kisses on her face as he told her how much he adored her. The words he could convey, but at the first peck he dared place on her lips, she’d looked around the cafeteria, like searching for any gaze on them. It was a little disheartening if he was completely honest, but he swore to himself he’d never do anything that made her feel uncomfortable. That was more important.

The walk had been filled with anecdotes of other times they’d gone bowling, like how Nico always complained that they cheated because he never managed to win or that Simón’s dad was a fan of the game and so he’d taught him how to play since he was a kid.

Soon they’d reached their destination and settled on the table by their lane. They entered their names on the score machine making it so Pedro went first, then Delfi, Simón and finally Ámbar. Simón had originally proposed ladies first, but she had preferred that order for some reason.

Delfi cheered for Pedro when he managed to knock most of the pins down with his very first throw. Simón expected nothing less; Pedro was very good, which made competing against him so much fun, often betting trivial things like who would do the dishes that night. 

Well, those were trivial things at the time. How were they supposed to know they’d be thrown into the street come one morning?

Pedro knocked the remaining pins with his second throw and Delfi came forward. Simón had never played with her so he didn’t know what to expect, but she did pretty good— she only missed two pins by the end of it.

Simón stood, grinning at his company with playful conceit.  

“Watch and learn, ladies and gentlemen.”

He went to the ball rack, grabbed one of the blue ones and stood on the approach area, staring at the pins on the end of the lane. Usually, he’d take it easy and just have fun, but Ámbar was watching. So, he focused on his stance, let all the years of experience wash over his body as he moved forwards, and released the ball.

The clatter of falling pins echoed all around. It was a strike.

“Yes!”

Delfi whooped at the same time as Pedro yelled “Show-off!” with teasing indignation. Simón walked back to the table with a big smile, especially because of Ámbar’s positively impressed face.   

“Wow, you’re very good at this,” she said, looking him up and down appreciatively.

“I’ve had lots of practice, that’s all,” he replied. “But I’m not always gonna do strikes, okay? Please lower your expectations.”  

She chuckled. “If you say so.”

“Come on, Ámbar, you’re up!” Pedro told her.

“Right.”

Ámbar walked to the ball rack and went directly for a black one. She lifted it up, or so she tried, because the instant she held it in one hand, its weight pulled her down like an anchor, making her lose her balance for a moment.    

“Wow—!”

Simón ran to her. “Ámbar!”

He quickly took the ball from her struggling hands. “Are you okay? You shouldn’t use these.” He put the ball back and grabbed another. “Here, try the pink one.”

Ámbar’s face tensed up. “I don’t want the pink one,” she retorted, like slightly offended he’d say that.  Oh.

“It’s not about the color, it’s about the weight,” he quickly clarified. “I don’t want you to hurt your fingers or something.”

She scrunched up her brows. “They have different weights?”

Simón blinked. “Yes, they— Uh…” He frowned. “I thought you said you’ve gone bowling before.”

“I did. Once, some years ago.”

“And no one told you they have different weights?” He asked, completely baffled. He turned the pink ball in his hands. “See? They have numbers that show the weight. This one’s a 9 pounds ball; the black one you just picked up was a 16.”

“… Oh.” She received the pink ball from him. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“You didn’t have any trouble last time you played?”

“No… because I only played with the pink one,” she admitted begrudgingly. “By the way, that is such sexist crap.”

He chuckled. “Agreed.”

Simón left her and moved back so she could do her shot.

Ámbar got into position, bent down, threw the ball… and it went directly to the right gutter.

“Damn.”

“A little more to the left next time!” Simón called out amusingly.

“Thanks, captain obvious.”

Ámbar grabbed the pink ball again from the ball return machine, got in position and swung her arm.  

The ball went too much to the left and barely touched the pin on the left edge before disappearing.

Ámbar groaned and walked back to her seat.

“Want me to teach you how to do it better?” Simón offered.

“No, I can do it, I just gotta get the hang of it,” she replied dismissively.   

She didn’t get the hang of it.

The game had carried on and the most pins Ámbar had managed to knock down simultaneously were three. On the edge. Which would’ve been funny, Pedro thought, if she wasn’t so obviously frustrated by it.

Clearly being bad at something was not Ámbar’s cup of tea. She’d laughed it off at first, had cheered for Simón’s shots, but she’d gotten gradually more frustrated as the game went on.

Right before her sixth turn, Simón had offered to help again.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to—”   

“Shh, let me focus, Simón.”

Simón had closed his mouth and stayed in his seat. Pedro couldn’t help but think that he looked like a disappointed puppy and decided to intervene.

During Simón’s next turn, he turned to Ámbar.

“Could you just let him show you how to do it?” He asked of her.  

“I’m getting better on my own!” She protested. “I already managed to knock three down, I’ll get there.”   

Pedro sighed. She was so smart for some things, but apparently, human relations was not one of them.

“Ámbar, Simón’s not offering to help you out of pity; he just wants to show off to his girlfriend and have an excuse to be near you.”    

Ámbar’s face froze. Her expression changed, slowly softening. 

Simón returned to their table. “You’re up, Ámbar.”   

“… Actually,” she stood in front of him, “I changed my mind. Could you help me? Please? I… really don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” she confessed.

In his mind’s eye, Pedro could see Simón’s imaginary tail begin wagging like crazy.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, and went with her to the approach area.  

Pedro stayed watching as Simón explained the technique to her. He adjusted her position and stood behind her to show her the movement of her arm and wrist. He had one arm around her and Ámbar seemed unable to decide between looking focused or smiling at him adoringly. They were the stereotypical couply scene one saw in TV shows.  

“It’s so weird to see Ámbar with Simón,” Delfi commented next to him, bringing his attention back to her. “And actually admit she doesn’t get how to do something. I never thought I’d see the day.”

Pedro observed her profile. She was looking at the couple as if they were a crossword she wanted to solve. His gaze moved back to them.

“It was weird for me too to see them together at first, but you get used to it.”    

She looked at him. “And you’re not worried that she’s gonna end up hurting him?”

Ámbar finally threw her ball and managed to knock half of the pins down with it. Both exclaimed excitedly and she jumped into his arms, circling his neck. Simón spun her around before encouraging her to take the ball again and do the second shot. They had huge smiles on their faces. 

“I’ve only seen him happy until now.”

Ámbar didn’t manage to knock all the pins down, but she only missed three. It was the best turn she’d had this far and you could tell it had lifted her spirits. Now, whether it was really because of the game or due to the guy at her side was debatable.

Pedro cheered and clapped as they walked back to the table, the excitement quite catchy. The mood remained joyful until the end of the game. Simón came out on first place, surprising no one, followed, surprisingly, by Delfi instead of Pedro in second place. Delfi had claimed until the very end that he had let her win. Pedro had no idea what she was talking about.

Ámbar came out last since there was no way to recover from all the disastrous throws at the beginning, but by the end of it, she didn’t seem to mind much. Considering she’d made Simón help her in all her remaining turns, and he’d dropped kisses on her cheek every chance he got, it didn’t take a genius to know why.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t even know the balls have different weights,” Simón said with amusement. “I mean, Pedro and I have come to play like ten times since I arrived here, and you’d only gone once.”

Since they still had about half an hour free after they finished bowling, they had decided to go to the near park and sit on the grass for a while. The group had found a place under the shade, on a small hill, and sat down with each couple facing the other. 

“Well, the experience of wearing rented shoes and touching bowling balls that hundreds have touched before wasn’t very enticing,” Ámbar replied next to him. Unlike the rest of them, she wasn’t touching the grass. Before she could even attempt to sit down, Simón had stopped her and taken off the red flannel shirt around his hips for her to sit on. ‘So you don’t get your pants dirty,’ he’d said, referring to the golden, metallic pants she was wearing. Ámbar had smiled with tenderness and thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. Now they were sitting with his arm around her as she leaned against his side.

Delfi wondered if it was subconscious or Simón had made the decision of wearing more black as of late just to match with her. Like now, with both of them wearing black t-shirts plus Ámbar’s sleeveless vest. Not like it mattered— A change in wardrobe didn’t mean he was being “dragged to the dark side” as Jazmín sillily put it. Delfi just noticed these things because she couldn’t help it. And because she couldn’t stop looking at them like a disaster waiting to happen.

“Hm, you sure it’s got nothing to do with the fact that you can’t hit a strike to save your life?” Pedro asked teasingly.

“Hey! I hit one in the end!”

“Simón threw that ball with you, it doesn’t count.”  

“It so does. Right, my love?”

“Of course, bonita.” He kissed her head. “You did awesome.” 

Pedro scoffed. “You’re so whipped. You only say that because you spent the whole time fondling her.”

Ámbar cackled just as Simón exclaimed, flustered over her shoulder. “I did not!”

Delfi turned to Pedro with a fake scolding face. “My love, don’t give him away like that, poor thing.”

“Hey! What the hell, everyone’s against me now?” Simón complained. Everyone just laughed, confirming his statement. He huffed in mock annoyance. “Whatever. I’ll go buy refreshments.” He untangled himself from Ámbar’s side to stand up. “Do you want anything?” He asked her.

“Orange juice please,” she replied.

Simón just stayed there, looking at her. “Uh huh.”

“No, wait, a diet soda,” Ámbar corrected. “No, peach juice. Or just water.”

Simón chuckled.

“Okay. Juice, diet soda and water coming up. You guys?”

Pedro stood up, much to Delfi’s alarm. “I’ll go with you.” He turned to her. “Apple juice, right?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Yeah, but, my love—”

“We’ll be right back,” he said, ignoring her clear ocular message of ‘what are you doing?’ and left alongside Simón.

“Just the juice please!” Ámbar called out after them. Simón turned enough to show a thumbs up and then both carried on their way, turning smaller and smaller as they walked.

Soon Delfi couldn’t even see them anymore and she was forced to face the situation she was stuck in. Her gaze met Ámbar’s. In an instant, the awkwardness thickened between them.

She couldn’t believe Pedro had just left her alone with her. Clearly, he must’ve thought of it as a small revenge for what happened. She guessed she deserved it.

But although it was awkward, Delfi was not intimidated. On the contrary, she quickly realized this was a rich opportunity to do something in a way probably only she could. Because she knew Ámbar, from a long time, had been her accomplice in many things, and she had sworn since then along with Jazmín not to be so again. 

“I see you fixed things with Pedro,” Ámbar commented with a tiny smile, seemingly to fill the awkward silence. “That’s good.”  

Delfi was not going to let this carry on like this.

“What are you scheming? What’s your plan?”

Ámbar blinked. Her smile wavered and she recoiled a little, furrowing her brows. “Um. I’m sorry?”

Delfi didn’t allow herself to hesitate. She couldn’t. Much as Ámbar was being friendly, it could very easily be an act. It was true that she had helped her and Jazmín uncover Emilia’s and Benicio’s deed, and throughout their outing now she hadn’t seen any sign of her usual attacks hidden behind fake sweet words. But Delfi still couldn’t shake off the suspicion, and she knew she had good reasons not to.

After all, she was her oldest friend.

“Why are you doing all of this?” She asked, staring right at her. “With Simón. What do you wanna gain?” She searched her face, trying to decipher what her intentions could be. “You must want something. One minute you were with the Red Sharks trying to make our life impossible and the next you were dating him— Why?”

Everyone knew Simón’s version: Ámbar had changed, she had a good heart, they fell in love. But Simón was too good for his own good.

Ámbar on the other hand… She was good at something else, Delfi had to give her that. She wasn’t letting anything show right now, even in the face of her direct questioning. She just remained quiet for a bit, solemn, as if thinking of what to say.

“… I imagine it must have looked like that from the outside,” she said finally, something like dejected understanding in her voice, “but I assure you that there were many other things happening behind all that. If I’m with Simón is because I care about him. I’ve cared about him since last year, and now… I don’t want anything other than being with him.”

“Are you sure about that?” Delfi pushed. Ámbar looked honest, she really did, but Delfi had been by her side for too long for her to just believe that she had no ulterior motives. “Because Simón is a very good guy and he doesn’t deserve to be played with.”

The Ámbar she knew only ever did things that benefited her image, and if that was the case, she was using him.

“I’m not playing with him,” Ámbar responded without missing a beat. “I’m telling you the truth, I… fell in love with him. That’s all.”

Delfi observed her for a long moment. There really was sincerity in her features, her eyes— She doubted she could act that well. There was even a dash of hurt at not being believed in, which very unwillingly made her feel a little bad. It wasn’t that Delfi couldn’t believe someone would fall for Simón— That’d be the most believable tale out there. If it were any other person, she’d be celebrating someone finally appreciated him. But there was something in the story that just didn’t end to sit right with her.

“But… I mean, how?” Delfi asked, letting herself show confusion instead of suspicion this time. If everything Ámbar was saying was true as it all seemed to indicate, then she was genuinely confused. “Each time his name came up you always complained about how he was not cool at all and wore ugly clothes. You were constantly reprimanding Jazmín for liking him.”

Ámbar let out a weak laugh. “I talked like that about pretty much everyone, not just him.”

“Which brings us back to… Why him?”

Ámbar lowered her gaze from Delfi’s curious one. She remained thoughtful for a while, running her fingertips over the fabric of Simón’s shirt in silence.

“I think it’s because all my life I had to fight for people to love me, and then he did it when I wasn’t even trying.” She lifted her head and her eyes wandered through the trees and grass around them, a faraway look settling in her face as images of moments only she had lived passed through her mind. “I mean, it was my plan at first to seduce him and steal him from Luna, I admit it, but… He didn’t see what I wanted him to see. He saw more. Everything that I always thought I had to hide, he loved me for it. He saw things in me that I couldn’t even see myself, and before I knew it… He was everything I wanted.”

Silence fell once again.

And just like that, Delfi understood.

“Pedro always saw that I was more than a shallow girl.”

It was amazing how someone else’s perspective of you could change you so much. She’d lived it first hand when Pedro’s kind, genuine words had one by one made her realize she had more worth than she’d thought until then, how the screaming voices of her insecurities turned to whispers in his presence, and just a smile and a look from him could make her feel like she was capable of anything.

Until him, she thought she had to cling to someone popular just for her to be noticeable. Until him, she thought she was like a moon, and she needed to reflect the light of the sun because she had none of her own. Until him, she thought she was okay with that.

‘He saw more.’

More than a shallow girl, more than the eternal follower, more than ‘Delfi, the one who holds the tablet’.

“Of course you are. You’ve always been.”

Delfi’s eyes snapped up.

Ámbar’s eyes were fixed on her, hesitant, unsure, but honest.

“I know this is coming a little late but… I’m sorry. For always putting you down and ordering you around. I guess it made me feel important to have people at my beck and call… I guess I needed to feel I was important. But you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Neither did Jazmín, no matter how much she exasperates me.”

Delfi was speechless. She didn’t expect her to say any of this, ever.

“You really mean that?” She said, searching her eyes

Again, Ámbar answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

Delfi didn’t know quite how to respond to this. It was… honestly more than she thought she’d get. Ámbar wasn’t really the apology type; she was too proud for that, and she convinced herself she was always right.

But here they were.

Had Ámbar really changed? Was she always like this deep down or was she trying something new? 

“You sure this is not just an act you’re putting up for Simón?” She couldn’t help but ask.

Ámbar threw her hands up. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” She said with disbelief. “Do I really look like the kind of person who would change her whole life for a guy?”

“… No, you really don’t,” Delfi chuckled.

Both laughed softly. Delfi wondered when had been the last time they’d done that. It felt like years. And Ámbar’s expression… It was different. ‘Weird’, she’d told Pedro earlier. She wasn’t used to that open look in her eyes, to that lightness in her posture and demeanor.

It wasn’t bad.

“What are we laughing about?” Simón asked with a smile, arriving along with Pedro and their purchased beverages. He passed the juice bottle to Ámbar while Pedro moved to Delfi’s side and gave her hers.

“How Ámbar used to say you dress like shit.”

“Delfina!”  

“It’s true!” She defended with mirth. And maybe just a tiny bit of payback for years of belittlement.

Simón took his seat next to Ámbar, looking at her with suspicion. “Is that why you bought me that shirt?”

“No!” She defended as the other couple made a teasing ‘Ooooh,’ adding fuel to the fire. “Honestly, that was so long ago, let’s forget it.”

“She’s changing the subject!” Pedro teased further.  

“That’s not—!” Ámbar’s voice lost against their laughter. “Is everyone against me now?”

“Welcome to my world,” Simón quipped and took a sip from his soda.  

Delfi thought then about how easy it felt, as if all of them were really friends. She didn’t know if she wanted to be friends with Ámbar again. It’d taken her so many years to finally separate from her, step out of her shadow and empower herself as an individual. To go back to the same would feel almost like betraying herself.

But things were not the same, were they? She was her own person now, no longer content with being pushed around. Ámbar was dating Simón, a combination she never would’ve imagined, and she was being nice, even genuinely too. 

So maybe it was okay if she allowed herself to laugh alongside her, alongside everyone. It was heartwarming, and fun, and she really wished all days could be this peaceful.

Everyone’s amusement was interrupted by all their phones going off at the same time. It was a notification sound. They all exchanged looks, frowning.

“Maybe it’s a group message?” Pedro said, pulling out his cellphone to check Whatsapp. Everyone else did the same.

“It’s from Luna,” Simón noted.

Ámbar looked very confused at his side. “Why did she write me too? She never texts me.”

They all got the answer as they read the message’s content. The surprise was strong and instantaneous, making them all look at each other with wide eyes.

“We definitely can’t let Jazmín know,” Delfi said, breaking the baffled, excited silence.

They all agreed.  

Emilia wanted to throw up.  

No, scratch that— Watching Ámbar and Simón smile stupidly at each other from one side of the cafeteria to the other made her want to claw her eyes out. She and Benicio had seen them returning to the Roller along with Pedro and Delfi some hours earlier and everything seemed to indicate that they’d had a double date. Emilia cringed inside. Were they twelve?

She couldn’t for the life of her understand how Ámbar had fallen so low. She seemed to be a strong girl, independent, determined, and one second to another she’d turned into… She didn’t even know. A brainless, lap-dog barbie.

And a traitor.

Emilia guessed she should’ve seen it coming. After all, she’d joined The Sliders while betraying her old team. But one thing was to betray them as a team and another one to betray them as friends. The thing against Luna was something that all of them had planned together— It was even Ámbar’s idea! But the moment his dear Simón fluttered his eyelashes at her and gave her the smallest bit of attention, she’d spilled the beans without a second thought.

She thought they were friends. If they were, it didn’t matter to Ámbar. 

Which was why Emilia wanted her to pay. And why she was so frustrated with Benicio right now.

“Benicio, I don’t understand, what’s your plan?” She asked. He was currently sitting in front of her at one of the tables, looking positively like he didn’t have a care in the world. “You said you were going to take revenge on Ámbar but I haven’t seen you do anything.”

Benicio looked up from his phone and his lips curled up. “It may not seem like it because it’s a slow process, but rest assured; the plan is already on its way.”

Emilia frowned. He looked too confident to be lying. “Okay, well, what is it? I wanna help.”

Just as Benicio opened his mouth to explain, the sound of a phone ringing brought his attention elsewhere. Or, more specifically, to another girl.

What a stroke of luck, he thought, smirking inside. This was a very good opportunity.

Rapidly, he brought his own cellphone to his ear with a quick glance at Emilia. “Watch.”  

Benicio got up from the table and separated himself a little from the rest of the people, feeling Emilia’s confused stare on him the entire time. It was another’s gaze he was interested in though.

He stood in the perfect spot so he could be seen by Simón from where he was waiting tables and also watch Ámbar at the same time. He proceeded to pretend he was speaking on the phone, keeping his gaze on her, smiling when she did, making sure to add a tiny flirty edge to all of his expressions.  

Emilia watched as Simón’s gaze fell upon Benicio and then moved back and forth between Ámbar and him. She turned before Simón could notice her staring, filled with dawning realization. So that’s what he’s doing.

After a while, Ámbar hung up so Benicio did as well, but not before making a show of “getting caught” by Simón. Acting inconspicuous deliberately badly, he tucked his phone back in his pants’ pocket and moved back to sit with Emilia.

“… Is something like that really going to work?” She said low so she couldn’t be heard, very skeptical.

Benicio took a quick glance over her shoulder and then looked at her with a veiled but still noticeably victorious smile. “He’s still looking.”

Emilia knew better than to turn to confirm that, so she took his word for it.

“Okay, so, what’s the next step? Because I doubt you’re just going to keep acting phone calls until they break up.”

Benicio leaned an arm on the back of his chair casually. “Patience, Emilia. Like I said, it’s a process. And each step is the same as the rest, really. Make him doubt, make him afraid. Ámbar will do the rest on her own.”

“How do you know that?”

He smirked. “She wants to pretend she’s a good girl now, but I know she hasn’t really changed.” He leaned forward, confidence and malice oozing from his every pore. “At some point, her little puppet show will crumble. And with it Simón, and with it her job, and with it everything that matters to her.”

A thrill traveled up Emilia’s spine and her lips curled with the same tint of venom. Oh how she liked this guy.

She had no doubt that he would get everything he wanted.

And she could not wait to see it come true.  

…

..

.

Chapter Text

“Okay, okay: First kiss.”

Both were laying on their sides, their legs entwined. They’d been like that for a while, tangled in bedsheets, making each other questions, sharing anecdotes. Everything was a little obscured under the sole lamp light they’d left on in the otherwise pitch-black room, but she could see him perfectly. Ámbar loved the mirth in his eyes, the curiosity and attention as if she were going to reveal the mysteries of the world. She loved the carefree and satisfied quality of his smile, knowing she’d put it there.

She had her head against the pillow while he was resting his in one hand. Which was a little distracting because the position made his arm look huge. His neck still had marks from her teeth and his chest was strong. Like his shoulders. Like his everything.

Damn, she wondered if it’d be too rude to interrupt the get-to-know-you to ask for another round.

She had to focus for some seconds to remember what he’d asked her. Hopefully, he’d take that as her trying to remember and not salivating at the thoroughly thrashed image of him. Well— She’d always been very proud of her accomplishments.

“At 10 with a kid from school,” she finally answered, transporting her mind to those old times. “My class was playing spin the bottle and they dared me to join so, of course, I had to do it.”

“Obviously.”

“I think his name was Rodrigo or something like that. He left the Blake shortly after to go live in London with his dad— you know how it is. Anyway, it wasn’t memorable, clearly, just a small thing, but it wasn’t bad. The second guy in the game though tried to put his tongue in my mouth and it was disgusting.”

His face scrunched up in utter bafflement. “At ten years old?”

“At ten years old! I don’t know what was up with him,” she said, sharing his sentiment. “Anyway, I’m quite sure I shoved him and told him to never get near me again in his life. His name I do remember: Manuel. I hated him ever since.”

Simón laughed softly. “So little and already so fierce.”

“Why, of course,” she replied with a playful hair flip and both chuckled at her antics. Simón pulled her closer by the waist and gave her a short kiss. “Okay, what about yours?” She asked, smiling.

“At seven with Luna.”

She blinked. “Really?”

“Yup,” he said with amusement. “We were always seeing people kiss in movies and stuff so, in complete childish innocence, we decided to try it.”

“And how did that go?” She asked, a little more jealous than she would admit. It was just a kiss, Ámbar, come on.

“Completely uneventful.” He laughed and sat up a little, talking with his hands as Ámbar had noticed he was prone to do. She straightened up a little too to see him better. “It was like the smallest peck you can imagine, okay? Like, our mouths barely went ‘smooch’ and it was over. Then we just looked at each other like… ‘That was so weird’ and just never tried that again. …Well,” he averted his gaze for a moment, “not until… you know.”   

Yeah, she knew more than she wanted to.

“But she wasn’t also your first time, right?” She inquired. It didn’t seem very likely but, to be honest, she was more scared to hear the answer than she should. She knew that it was in the past and it had nothing to do with them now, but if Luna had taken this one thing too, she swore…  

“Oh no, not at all.”

Oh, thank god.

“Who was it?”

“A girl from high school called Jennifer,” he told her, entwining one of his hands with hers as if he intuitively knew she could need the reassurance. He kept staring at their hands, caressing the back of hers with his thumb as he reminisced.  “I was sixteen, she was one year older than me and already more experienced so you can imagine how nerve-wracking it was for me— I was so nervous.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t bad.”

He scoffed. “Oh yeah, the best three minutes of my life.”

She paused. “You’re kidding.”

He looked away. “Sadly, no.”

Ámbar pressed her lips together, but the chuckle came out anyway.

“Don’t laugh, it was embarrassing!”

“Oh, come on, it’s normal,” she argued lightheartedly. “I mean, from what I know, some guys last no more than seconds; I think you did well.”

“Right,” he deadpanned, “because what a guy wants to hear after his first time with the girl he likes is ‘you did well statistically speaking'.”

Both laughed this time.

“Anyway, I gave it my all to get better,” Simón continued, “and of course I tried to make her happy in every other aspect as well… But I guess it wasn’t enough,” he said, tone and expression bleaker. “She broke up with me about two months later to be with some other guy.”

Ámbar frowned. “So mean. And stupid. Very stupid.”

Simón shrugged. “No, it’s alright. I mean, she could’ve cheated on me, right? That would’ve been way worse. So, I’m kinda grateful that she spoke with me and ended it before going for the other guy. I mean, it did hurt, of course it hurt, but…” He shrugged again. “She just lost interest. Those things happen. And if that hadn’t happened, then maybe I wouldn’t have followed Luna all the way here and met you.”

His eyes met hers then, and even through the remnants of past hurt, Ámbar could see the love crystal clear.

She smiled at him. In spite of everything that had happened to them, they were here now.

“Then I guess I gotta thank that girl for being a blind, deft bitch.”

Simón snorted, clearly not having expected that. Ámbar joined in the chuckles, glad that she’d managed to make him laugh. He didn’t deserve to feel deflated just because that girl hadn’t known how to appreciate him.

And speaking of underappreciation…  

“Interestingly enough, my first time was also at sixteen,” she started after a short time. “Just turned, actually. With Matteo. We had been dating for a while and we both just wanted to try it,” she retold with little enthusiasm; she didn’t care much about anything Matteo-related by this point. “It wasn’t exactly romantic since we planned when and where to make sure we wouldn’t get interrupted. Even though I was new to it all, I still tried to look as if I knew what I was doing. I guess it wasn’t bad, but also not great. It got better with time.”

“Alright, I don’t need details,” Simón cut her off with a little grimace. “We’re finally friends with Matteo and I don’t wanna go back to wanting to punch him every time I see him.”

“Yeah, he does have that effect on people.”

Simón huffed a laugh.

“Would it help if I said it’s a thousand times better with you?” She asked coquettishly.  

“Depends. Would you let me record that and show it to Matteo?”

She slapped his arm lightly, making them both chuckle. “You’re terrible,” she said amused. Then she reconsidered. “Although, I would like to see the face he’d make if I told him that. In public- can you imagine? He would never recover from that; his ego would hurt forever.”

Simón laughed. “And I’m terrible?”  

She sighed exaggeratedly. “Alright, it’s debatable, let’s leave it at a tie.”

Both chuckled, and a nice, warm silence fell for a while. There was no other noise besides their breathing, the whole mansion asleep except for them in their own little world.  

“Favorite animal?”

Ámbar couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you seriously going to change the subject so drastically?”

Simón shrugged. “Why not? Now answer, favorite animal.”

“You.”

His eyes narrowed with an ironic smile. “Very funny,” he said and brought his hands to her sides to tickle her.

Ámbar began squirming immediately. “No, no, no, alright, alright!”

Simón stopped and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. Ámbar snuggled up against him, circling his middle and resting her head on his chest.

“Animal…” She thought for a moment. “Mmm I don’t really know. Cats maybe? Although, I’ve been told they scratch you just because.”

“Nah, not all are like that,” Simón said, running his fingers through her hair gently. “My grandma has one and I swear she’s the sweetest. Totally affectionate. I prefer dogs though.”

“Right, you have one in Cancún. What was his name again?”

“Paco.”

“Paco, right, like Paco Rabanne.” Simón chuckled at this comparison, shaking her cheek with his mirth. It was a very nice feeling. “… I haven’t really had that many experiences with animals to say the truth,” she continued. “My godmother hated them so we never had any at the mansion… Oh—” She perked up, remembering something. “This one time, we were in Rio, just arriving at the hotel we were staying at—one of the many in which Sharon is a frequent guest—and this huge ass dog comes out of nowhere and throws itself at my godmother, basically tackling her to the ground. Oh my god, if you had seen her face, it was red. Thankfully she did nothing to the dog, but I think she got five people fired that day.” 

“Wow...” Simón said, clearly taken aback. “Also— Wow, you’ve been to Brazil? That’s so cool.”

“I traveled to a lot of places with Sharon,” she replied, playing to catch his guitar picks between the length of her fingers. “New York, California, Miami, Canada, Spain, Milan, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, London… I think those are all. And, well, Cancún, obviously.”

“Oh, wow, you’ve really seen the world...”

“I wouldn’t say the world,” she retorted, amused at his exaggeration, “just some places. I still haven’t been to Dubai, for example.” Her mood dimmed slightly, remembering another place she didn’t get to go. “I was supposed to study abroad in Paris once I finished high school.”

Simón, who had remained still, reacted at that. “Right, I had forgotten about that...” His hand caressed her back softly. “…Why didn’t you go?”

“Sharon got mad at me,” she replied grimly. Angrily. “And then all the ‘Sol Benson’ drama happened so… I didn’t go.”

It wasn’t a time in her life she liked to remember. Everything had fallen apart one thing after another like dominoes. By the time it was all over, she was alone, and lost, not knowing what to do.

“… You could go now,” Simón suggested gently. “Sharon can’t prohibit it anymore.”

“And leave you here?” She asked, holding him tighter against that preposterous notion. “Never.”

Yes, she’d been very sad when Sharon told her she wouldn’t go. She had been looking forward to it, looking up to Paris like a glamourous escape from the hell her life had become. But now… Now she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay, rebuild her life, have the love she always wanted but the right way this time. She could always visit Paris sometime, but she didn’t need that city anymore. All she wanted was right here. “My French will get rusty but I can bear it.”

“Wait— You speak French?”   

Ámbar wrinkled brows in confusion and lifted her head to look at him.

“Mais bien sûr que je parle français, chéri,” she said in an obvious tone, and her amusement only grew when she saw his eyes widen in surprise. “How did you expect me to communicate studying over there?”

“Um… I don’t know,” he said slowly, “some exchange program in which all classes were in Spanish?”

She pursed her lips. “That could’ve been an option I guess,” she conceded and laid her head back on his chest. Keeping her neck up hurt. “But there was no need since I’ve been learning French since I was eight. I also speak English, obviously, some Portuguese… and I guess I can hold my own in Italian after dating Matteo, but it doesn’t really count.”

“Wow… I had no idea.”

She smiled. “Well, now you know I can call you ‘love’ in 5 different languages,” she said sweetly, and dropped a kiss on his skin, right over his heart.

Simón made a sound in acknowledgement of what she said but made no further comment than that. 

“Well, enough about me, you tell me something,” she encouraged him, nuzzling her face against his chest and closing her eyes. While she, admittedly, liked to talk about herself, there was nothing she wanted more than knowing more about him.

“Um… I don’t know what to…”

Ámbar wrinkled her brows a little. His voice sounded weak. In fact, it had been sounding weaker and weaker during the last few minutes, why could it—?

“Oh. I’m sorry. What hour is it by now?” She lifted herself up to reach over to the nightstand and check her phone. Just as she thought, it had become very late. “You must be tired. Sure we both work all day but you’re the one who has to be moving around all the time waiting tables and whatnot. I should’ve thought of that,” she said with regret. He was already waking up earlier than he had to just to be with her, she should’ve been more considerate.

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” Simón eased her quickly, cradling her jaw. His fingers drowned in her hair and his thumb ran up and down her cheek. “I really like this. I’d stay up every night just talking with you.”

Ámbar leaned against his hand and couldn’t help but smile tenderly, losing herself in those brown eyes she loved so much. “…Well,” she said impishly, “there was a little more than just talk if memory serves me right.”

Simón laughed. “Okay, that too. But you’re right that it’s late.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll let you rest this once,” she sighed dramatically. “I’m a considered girlfriend after all.”

He chuckled. “Why, thank you.”

Simón turned to turn off the lamp and the room fell in darkness. They settled under the covers, with Ámbar face tucked in the curve of his neck.

Simón kissed her forehead softly. “Goodnight, my love.”

Ámbar snuggled up closer, warm and completely content.

“Goodnight.”

Contrary to what Ámbar believed though, Simón had way too many things fluttering around in his mind to be able to sleep.

He always knew he and Ámbar came from different worlds. She lived in a mansion for god’s sake; he’d have to be an idiot not to notice. But the fact had never fully settled in until now.

World travels? Multiple languages? She spoke of amazing things like they were a normal occurrence, a given even, while the furthest Simón had ever gotten before Buenos Aires had been Guadalajara. And he hadn’t even stayed there long. He couldn’t imagine all the things she’d already seen and done in her short life. What was a girl like her even doing in a place like the Jam & Roller when she could be in Miami sipping margaritas?

Managing the place while you clean up tables.

It really said a lot about their lives that she was younger than him and had already gotten further than he had. He didn’t resent her for it of course— He was more than happy for her. The problem of it all was him.

It was so weird because… sometimes, he felt closer to Ámbar than he felt with anyone else. Like they could see each other’s hearts in one shared look. But other times, she felt so far away… They shared the same bed and yet, their realities were completely different.

If it weren’t for Sharon, Ámbar would be in Paris right now, getting the best education and having experiences he could only dream of. It was a little scary to think that they never would’ve been together to begin with. But even more scary had been to hear her say that she wouldn’t go to Paris because it’d mean to leave him behind.

Simón didn’t want to be an impediment to her getting what she wanted, he didn’t want to hold her back. But how could he stay by her side without being a burden?

‘You don’t have a house, or a band, nor a rink for your team.’

The scariest thing of all was that… maybe he already was.

By the time morning came, all those thoughts had disappeared into the deepest corner of his mind, where they belonged. So what if he knew less stuff or wasn’t that successful yet? Ámbar didn’t care about any of that, he was worrying over nothing. Well, she did use to care about that stuff, but not anymore, she was different now. And love wasn’t based on status or money or how similar the two’s lives were. After all, ‘opposites attract’ had to be a very popular saying for a reason.

Then again, no one ever said ‘opposites attract and end up happily together’. But, well, that was up to them, right? ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’ said that other popular saying.

… Why was he thinking in proverbs again?

“Simón?”

Simón snapped out, lifting his head up. “Yes.”

Pedro looked at him amused from his seat on the dinner table. “Where did you go? We were teasing Matteo about his music video today and you drifted away,” he noted with humor.  

“Yeah, you’re such good friends,” Matteo grumbled ironically by his side, eyes downcast. He took a sip from his cup, the last thing remaining from his breakfast. Pedro as well had only a bite left of his sandwich.  

Simón reconnected with the conversation as quickly as he could, surprised as well by his own absent-mindedness. He had to avoid drawing more attention to himself.  

“Oh, yeah, no,” he said, hoping it sounded casual as he came up with something. “I started thinking of the choreography and got lost remembering the steps.”

He didn’t like lies, but it wasn’t like he could say what he was really thinking about— Not in front of everyone, and especially because it was no more than silly notions he brought upon himself for overthinking things. There was no need to bother anyone with that.

Ámbar held his hand over the table, bringing him even more back to reality. “Don’t worry, you’ll do great,” she assured him with a sweet smile. She turned to the rest. “You all will,” she said with a roll of her eyes, “so stop being a baby, Matteo.”

“Yeah, don’t worry so much dude,” Pedro said encouragingly. “Keep in mind that, even if you forget the words, there’ll be playback, and we can just cut and start again,” he soothed him, making him see it was no big deal.

Matteo sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” He perked up, straightening up in his chair. “Everything’s gonna be great, the video will be amazing, and I’ll owe it to you guys. Thank you again for helping out.”

“Don’t even mention it,” Pedro said. “We’re happy to help. Right, Simón?”  

“Yeah, of course,” he replied.

“And everyone else is very excited about this too, so don’t worry. Although—” Pedro stopped himself “—I would worry a little, because with these looks we may totally steal the spotlight from you,” he joked.

“Considering Delfi is doing the editing, I would not be surprised,” Ámbar agreed with humor, making the others chuckle.  

“Alright, alright, stop right there,” Matteo said. “If there is one thing that no one will ever beat me at is looks, okay?” He stated, earning a scoff from Ámbar and more chuckles from the guys. “Now, let’s get going? I have a class in 40 minutes and I don’t wanna be late.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Everyone stood from the table, leaving their empty plates and glasses, and walked out of the dining room, making their way to the front door.

Simón stood and waited for Ámbar, who stayed a little behind.

“You coming?”

“Yeah, just…” She walked to Simón and stood in front of him, observing him from head to toe. “You know, I really do like your clothes, they’re very you, but these shirts you put around your hips annoy me,” she said, pinching the garment with displeasure.

Simón frowned, glancing at them. “Why? What about them?”

Ámbar met his gaze and leaned a little closer, smiling innocently.

“They don’t let me check out your butt.”

She gave him a spank, startling him, and quickly followed the guys out of the mansion.  

Simón stood looking at her and laughed, completely taken by surprise but not mad at it. He hurried after the rest and closed the front door behind them.  

Yeah, he was definitely being silly, he thought, holding Ámbar’s hand. Things were great and he was happy. There was no more to it than that.

As Ámbar filled out yet another document for Vidia, she considered if maybe she should close the Roller a little earlier that day. Since they were going to shoot Matteo’s video, Simón and Pedro would leave the closing to Eric, but since they’d already relied on Eric that week, maybe it’d be better if they all closed the Roller earlier and left together. It was curious how this project of Luna had hardly anything to do with her and yet she still found herself a little involved, not just because of her employees, but also because Luna had asked her to borrow some lights from previous Open Musics to shoot the video. They kept them in the Roller’s storage until some event required them, so Ámbar didn’t see any harm in lending them for a couple of hours.

(Wow, here she was, lending stuff to Luna so she could do a nice gesture for Matteo. Where was her Nobel Peace Prize?)

Either way, today’s situation only served to remind her of one issue she had been putting off and had to solve: finding a replacement for Nico. While Eric also tried to assist with the cafeteria, truth was he had his hands full just with being the rink assistant —not being able to skate himself; what was Gary thinking? — which left Simón and Pedro with a bigger workload than ever. It wasn’t fair for any of them and it had her worried.

The problem was she couldn’t do the hiring herself. She’d have to present the proposal to Vidia’s Human Resources, wait for them to agree and then find someone for the job. It was a bureaucratic pain, but she had to admit it was better than the alternative of doing everything by herself. There was just no way she could fit job interviews into her already busy schedule without losing her ‘me’ time, which she deeply appreciated. Especially considering that, after today’s surprise, things were going to get very lively around the Jam & Roller.

“Hey there.”

And speaking of her favorite pastime…

Ámbar smiled. “Well, if it isn’t the most talented musician of this whole place.”

Simón played dumb, glancing behind him. “Yeah? Where?”

Both chuckled as he came to sit by her work table.

“How’s your day been?” He asked.

She pursed her lips. “Mmm… In these four hours since we parted ways, pretty dull to be honest. It’s starting to look up though,” she added with a flirt.  

Simón nodded to himself, smiling. “I see, I see.” He leaned forward a bit, lowering his voice. “You know, I’ve been thinking…”

“Mhmm.”

“… The other night was a little complicated because the guys were there,” he said in a playful tone. “But, if we were to go to my room when the guys are out…”

He gave her a significant look. Ámbar’s smile widened as realization set in.  

“…We’d have that whole wing of the mansion to ourselves.”

He patted the table. “Exactly.”

Ámbar smirked, looking at him impressed. “I knew you were more than just a pretty face; you are brilliant.”

Simón smiled smugly and shrugged. “I have my moments.”

Ámbar leaned forward on the table coquettishly. “So… Lunch break too soon for you?”

“I’ll be counting down the seconds,” Simón replied, and he placed one kiss on the back of her hand before leaving, his gaze full of mischief and simmering heat.     

Ámbar got back to work as well, but numbers and law documents were the last thing on her mind.

Lunch break couldn’t come soon enough.

They had never walked so fast.

Barely any words passed between them. There was a tension in the air, an electricity that intensified each time one of them squeezed the other’s hand. Both knew what they were going there to do, and damn, Simón didn’t know anticipation could be so… powerful.

He was practically vibrating by the time they got to the mansion, all his nerves alive, and they only got more so when Ámbar quickly blew off lunch and pulled him directly towards the stairs. “Later,” she said, and he couldn’t agree more.

They knew they still had to be cautious in the hallways, but it was like they couldn’t get to his room fast enough. He was very glad that they didn’t cross paths with anyone because it would’ve been hard to explain why they were practically trotting down the halls.

The moment they got inside, he pinned her against the door, claiming her mouth with frantic hunger. Ámbar responded eagerly, holding him and kissing him in a way that showed he wasn’t the only one burning from the inside out. Their jackets disappeared and she got rid of his t-shirt just as fast. Simón pounced onto her neck, drawing a moan from her throat that he could feel against his lips. He sucked and nibbled on her skin while he massaged her breast, initially over her clothes, but he was too eager to feel her, so he quickly had his hand tucked under her bra, squeezing, rubbing. Ámbar’s nails scratched his nape and back and he felt a thrill at the needy sounds that came out of her mouth. She usually had to be quieter, they both had, but not now.

His hands flew to her pants, opening and pulling them just enough to slid a hand between her legs. Ámbar keened automatically, hips jumping toward his touch, and Simón moaned deep in his throat.

“Someone’s already excited,” he teased as his fingers delved and stroked, spreading her wetness.

Ámbar moaned, writhing from the grazes to her clit, but she struggled to groan indignantly. “Shut up and—ah— get naked.”

Simón groaned low. He didn’t need to be told twice.

He backed up to kick out his shoes and make quick work of his remaining layers as she did the same, stepping out of her pants and pulling her shirt off her head. She had just unclasped her bra when he jumped her again, too impatient to wait any longer.

Their lips collided open-mouthed, desperate for all they could take. Simón yanked her bra away and lifted her by the back of her thighs, and both swallowed each other’s moans as he pushed his hips against hers, pressing her once more against the door.

Ámbar whined, fingers buried in his hair. “Bed, bed.”

Simón groaned and carried her without ceasing to kiss her. He laid her on the mattress and she crawled back with hurry, allowing him, beckoning him, to settle on top of her.

The soft rays of light that broke through the closed drapes left everything in enough darkness to paint the room in intimacy, but not so much so that he could miss even a single detail of the lust-flushed girl in front of him.

He traveled down her colored chest with his mouth and caught one of her nipples between his lips, stroking it with his tongue. Ámbar moaned and arched her back, and it turned into a string of whiny sounds as he used his fingers to massage the other.

“Simón, please,” she whimpered, bucking up her hips, trying to rub against him. Simón groaned, feeling himself throb from the need in her voice.  

He sucked her nipple hard one last time, just to make her gasp and shudder, and released her chest to crawl further down her body.

The scent of her arousal flooded his senses and drew a moan from his throat. She was completely drenched for him, and it made him wanna taste her, fuck her with his tongue until neither of them could breathe, but he only got so far as spreading her legs when she stopped him.

“Wait.”

Ámbar sat up quickly and held his jaw when he rose to follow. She kissed him short but hard, a passion Simón held onto to ignore the heaviness on his chest that her interruption brought on.

“I want something else,” she told him, her voice breathy. She separated from him, pushing slightly on his shoulders so he wouldn’t follow, and turned around, getting on her hands and knees.   

Simón’s breath caught. His brain reeled, trying to process the visual that was Ámbar in all fours in front of him with all his blood gone south.

Feeling slightly dizzy, he moved forward and loomed over her. He’d be lying if he said he’d never thought of this, in the nights where the excitement and haze of arousal shredded all shame and sense, but he couldn’t believe she was really offering.

He held her hip in one hand and used the other to guide his erection to her wetness.

“Like this?”

Ámbar moaned needily as she felt him between her legs. Her hips bucked back against him instantly and her hands gripped the bed tighter. “Yes,” she whimpered eagerly.

Simón moaned and he couldn’t help moving his hips a bit, rubbing his length against her as he watched her shudder. She looked so small like this, he thought, her waist and back so thin that if he leaned forward he could cast her all in shadow, and he didn’t know why but that awakened something in him.

Ámbar let out a pleading whine, her hips wiggling from the stimulation. “Stop teasing.”

Simón leaned back and grabbed the base of his cock to press the head against her clit. Ámbar gasped and moaned at the contact, her shoulders tensing.

“Hmm but you seem to like it when I tease you...” He said, moving his tip back and forth, making her quiver.  

Ámbar groaned, finally out of patience. “Simón, if you don’t fuck me in the next five seconds, I swear to— Ooohhh, God…”

Simón thought exactly the same as he started burying himself inside her, getting half of his lenght in with just the smallest of thrusts. Her body was clearly more than willing to take him in, swallowing him whole, clenching as if to suck him further inside, and he needed it too, more than anything. 

With one steady movement, he pushed further into her until his hips met hers from behind. A moan rose from his chest as he sunk completely, and his eyes fluttered close for a second at the sparks of delight that went through his body, engulfed in tightness and heat.

“God, Ámbar…” No matter how many times he did this, he could never get used to the blazing pleasure of it. 

She didn’t sound any less overwhelmed when she spoke. “You’re deeper,” she said, sounding surprised. “You feel bigger— I didn’t think that was possible.” 

His hips pushed forward on their own accord when he heard that, and Ámbar squealed, bowing her head and falling into her forearms.

Fuck.

Simón grabbed her hips and began moving slowly, exploring this new position and looking for an angle that made her make that sound again.

“Ah!”

There.

He picked up the pace of his thrusts, delighting in the moans that came out of Ámbar with each one of them. He wished he could see her face, stare at the expressions that came along with the little noises of pleasure, but there was something either way captivating about the curve of her back, about the way the blonde waves of her hair kissed its extension with every sway of their bodies.

Keeping his hold on her left side, he brought his right hand forward, following the line of her spine up to the middle of her shoulder blades. He didn’t really apply any pressure, he just caressed the skin, but Ámbar’s body melted under his touch and sunk down, pressing her chest flush against the mattress as her ass remained up for him.

Inside of Simón, something short-circuited.

With a groan, he pressed her down and began to pound her furiously, gripping her hip and pulling her to meet his hard thrusts. Ámbar moaned loudly, ecstatic, her cheek pressed against the pillow, “Yes, fuck, yes!”

That was all the encouragement he needed to throw decorum out the window and fuck her, frantic and unrestrained. His ragged noises of euphoria mixed with hers, composing the most maddening concert he’d ever heard. He brought both hands to her hips to pull her back into him, pounding her so hard that her whole body swayed with it. He would’ve been worried about her hitting her head against the headboard if his brain had been anywhere near to coherence.

His gaze fixed in the blur between their bodies, watching himself disappear inside of her. He groaned, a sound almost animal. His balls were smacking against her skin. Each thrust into her made a wet sound so satisfying he couldn’t even think, just keep shoving into her, over and over and over.

“Ngh, ngh, ngh…”

Simón looked up, following Ámbar’s whines. She had her head face down again and was muffling her sounds against the pillow.

Now that just wouldn’t do.

Simón brought one of his hands to her hair and pulled, careful but hard enough to bring her head back.

Ámbar’s voice resonated around the room again, surging with a gasp that dissolved quickly into moans awash with ecstasy.   

“That’s it, let me hear you,” he grunted as he kept the punishing pace. He was so sick and tired of always having to keep it down. They were alone now— He wanted her gone wild.

Frenzy enveloped them both like the sweat that covered their skin. Simón was drunk on sensation and chasing after more like an addict, holding Ámbar tight, his only lifeline in a sea of ‘yes’, ‘more’, heat, and bliss. It got to a point where she couldn’t keep meeting his movements— Just moan, claw at the sheets and take it.

She was close. Simón could tell by the tension in her body and the way she held her breath, waiting for detonation. He also needed it, so much, excruciatingly. Each deep jerk pushed him closer to explode.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop!” Ámbar cried out, with the same sweet anguish he felt deep inside. Then she became incapable of words, just noises that got higher and higher, filled with delirium, until—

“Aah!”

Ámbar clamped down around him and convulsed as the pleasure that had swelled inside her finally unleashed.

“Fuck, yes,” Simón groaned, feeling her pulses squeeze him tight. Now he really couldn’t hold on anymore. He gripped her hips and thrust wildly, giving in to the consuming pleasure until it snapped.

He threw his head back and cried out, the release shattering and glorious. His eyes fell closed as his hips bucked erratically, aiding the twitches of bliss until he’d pumped her full of his load and he was breathless.

He had to stay still for some moments before being able to pull back. He collapsed next to Ámbar and both laid there panting— Simón’s heart was hammering inside his chest like he’d run a marathon.

Ámbar rolled onto her side and lifted her knees, curling into herself. Her eyes were still closed and Simón saw her shudder. Sanity returned to him, bringing worry with it. 

He moved closer to Ámbar and brought a hand gently to her shoulder. “Sorry, was I too rough?” He asked, caressing her arm in up-and-down motions.

To his surprise though, Ámbar laughed.

“No,” she said, sounding amused and a little elated. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Feel free to do that whenever you want.”

Oh.

Her face was blushed and she looked utterly tired, but she also looked genuinely content, so Simón relaxed once more— which wasn’t hard, because he was also tired and deliciously satisfied.

He wrapped her in his arms and his lips touched her forehead. “Okay, if you say so,” he said, closing his eyes and sinking his fingers in her blonde strands. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want.”

Ámbar tucked her head beneath his chin and snuggled in. “Great, can you bring me lunch here then?” She said with a purring voice. “Because I really don’t wanna move. I don’t think my legs can hold me right now.”

Simón laughed and pulled back just to be able to wiggle down and kiss her.

“It’ll be my pleasure.”  

Matteo wasn’t a nervous person.

Of course, he knew the feeling— He’d have to be a robot not to. But while other people usually filled with nerves before a school presentation, joining a new group of people, or at the thought of whether they’d be able to reach their goals or not, Matteo remained calm. Maybe moving from place to place so much from a young age had made him immune to most things that made people anxious. What did it all matter when he was eventually gonna leave anyway and start fresh. And of course there was the fact that he’d always been good-looking, smart, talented and charming— What would he have to worry about?

Well, a lot of things, apparently. All it took was for a certain delivery girl to collide into his life and, to his bewilderment and reluctance, make him care.

Now Matteo knew what it was like to not know what to say, to not be sure what to do, and that he wouldn’t always get what he wanted. Oh, how he missed the simpler days sometimes...

(But he’d never regret meeting Luna, not ever.)

He’d spent the entirety of that day pushing down nervousness, which probably would’ve been an easier task if he’d had any experience on how. His friends’ words helped, and having three long classes at University didn’t leave him much room to think of something else, but now, as the sun went down and the preparations for the filming were being finished all around him, all he could think about was how badly he didn’t want to fail Luna.

She was going around the place, her cute ponytail swinging with each step she took, acting as the director, encouraging everyone to have fun and do their best. Matteo couldn’t stop staring at her. The fact that she was doing all of this for him was… well, more than he deserved, for starters. All the guys were putting their grain of salt into helping him and he’d never felt more grateful.

(He could do with Michel not being there, but he was also helping out so he guessed he’d have to abstain himself from hating him for a couple of hours.)

“Okay, you guys stand here,” Luna said, directing those who would be dancers into position next to Matteo. “Wait for the music and, at my sign, you start the choreography, okay?”

Everyone gave their affirmative. Matteo gave himself an internal shake. He was nervous, but he could do this, he had rehearsed enough. Luna trusted him and he wasn’t going to let hers and everyone’s efforts go to waste.

“Awesome,” Luna said with an excited smile. “Thank you so much, Jim, you can come here now.”

Jim walked away from her spot and went toward Yam, who was standing behind the camera with the rest of the crew. Matteo frowned.

“Wait, I thought Jim was going to be with us too, for symmetry,” he said. Right then they were four: Ramiro, Simón, Pedro, and him, and since Matteo was in the center, that left one side with fewer people than the other. Granted, if that was what Luna had envisioned, he was okay with that.

Luna placed a hand on Nina’s shoulder, who was with the camera, ready to shoot. Both shared a long look which confused Matteo further, then Luna turned to him with a little smile.

“Don’t worry, Jim’s replacement will be here at any moment.”

Matteo’s brows scrunched up even more. ‘Jim’s replacement’? Why did she need to be replaced if she was right there? And as far as he knew, everyone who could was already helping out with this, who else could be coming?

Matteo looked around him. Everyone had looks and mischievous smiles on their faces that said they were aware of what was going on. Apparently, only he was clueless.

Matteo’s nervousness escalated. They weren’t about to say that this music video was just one big prank, right? No, Luna wouldn’t do that to him.

He didn’t get to worry much more about it because right then Luna looked to the other side of the alley and announced with a smile:

“There he is.”

Matteo turned, and his eyes almost went out of their sockets. His heart jumped. Was he seeing things? Was that really—

“Gastón?”

Gastón grinned widely and extended his arms, his eyes reflecting the same overwhelming joy that was exploding inside Matteo.

“You didn’t think I’d let you do this without me, did ya?” 

A shocked, happy laugh erupted from Matteo’s lips.

After months of videocalls and texts, both best friends drowned each other in a tight hug.

…

..

.

Chapter Text

Luna knew that if there was one person that could calm Matteo down and comfort him during this tough time, it was Gastón.

She had never been very close to him, but since he had become Nina’s boyfriend, they had inevitably hung out more. After they broke up though, things had changed again, and although neither Nina nor Luna held any hard feelings toward him, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t weird to speak to him given the circumstances.

Nonetheless, Luna had re-started contact with Gastón after Matteo’s accident. Not immediately after, of course— Things had been very strained between them and Luna felt such guilt over what happened that she honestly didn’t want to talk about it. But after things had cooled down in a way and her relationship with Matteo had returned to some kind of normalcy, Luna had texted Gastón to ask him how they could cheer Matteo up.

The idea of the music video had been hers, but maybe she wouldn’t have come to it if it weren’t for Gastón. He had pointed out how Matteo needed to feel in his element again, have one big win to rise up from the hole he had thrown himself into.

“Matteo needs to feel he’s good at what he does, otherwise he gets depressed. It’s a pride thing, yes, but it’s not as vain as it sounds. He grew up with high expectations on his shoulders because his father always told him he had the abilities to be on top, so he never allowed him less than that. Matteo got used to it, and got so used to succeeding that it goes against his self-concept to fail. It rattles him, you get what I’m saying?”

Luna had blinked many times, staring into space with her phone against her ear. “Uh… I think so. In summary, he needs to feel like he’s great again. Go full Chico Fresa.”

Gastón had laughed on the other side of the line. “Basically. He was upset after forgetting the lyrics in the Flash Open. Maybe if he could participate in another event it could be his revenge?”

Luna considered that. Ámbar was now in charge of the Jam & Roller and therefore any kind of event that Luna proposed would have to go through her first. Since the Flash Open had been just a couple of days ago, Luna doubted that she’d agree to make another big event now only to cheer up her ex.

But maybe it didn’t have to be an event exactly…

“Thank you so much, Gastón, I think I have an idea that could work.”

“You’re welcome. You know, Matteo is like a brother to me,” he said from his heart. “For anything that has to do with him, don’t hesitate in contacting me. I’ll help you.”

And so, Luna had stayed in contact with him, telling him the plans for the music video. What she hadn’t been expecting was for Gastón to tell her he’d fly all the way over there to help with the video in person.

Luna had to talk to Nina before that. She really wanted to do this for Matteo and she knew that he’d be over the moon if Gastón was there, but Nina was her best friend and she was going to be with the camera filming the whole thing, so if she felt in any way uncomfortable with it, Luna would politely ask Gastón to not be part of the video. He was gonna be staying for a week anyway; even if he didn’t appear in it, he’d have plenty of time to be with everyone.

Nina had been surprised and nervous about the news of his visit, understandably so. She said it would be weird to see him after all those weeks and what had happened between them, but she actually preferred to be behind a camera when it happened than to face him directly. Ironically, both working in the video together gave her the perfect excuse to not talk to him.

Which brought them to the day of filming. Luna had already informed everyone through a text the day before that Gastón would be paying a surprise visit and appearing on Matteo’s video. The only ones that knew before that besides Nina were Jim and Yam since they were in charge of choreography and wardrobe and therefore had to be in contact with Gastón to arrange those things with him.

Luna’d had to ask them to keep it a secret from Jazmín though— She feared she should unintentionally spoil the surprise. Hell, considering her own clumsy nature, she had been worried that she would ruin the surprise.

Thankfully though, everything had turned out great, and now, looking at Matteo and Gastón wrapped in an emotional hug, she knew everything had been worth it.

“Wha- How- When did you arrive?! How could you not tell me you were coming?!” Matteo shoot like a machine gun. 

“It was a surprise! And, honestly, I should’ve come much earlier, brother,” Gastón said eagerly. “I should’ve come the moment you had the accident, I know that, but I had a lot of assignments and I was studying like crazy and—”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Matteo soothed him with a hand on his shoulder. “You’re here now. I can’t believe you’re here now. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Okay, okay! Do we wait until you kiss or can we start with the video?” Luna called out teasingly.

Matteo and Gastón finally regrouped with the rest and Gastón received some welcoming hugs and pats on the back. Nina stayed behind the camera along with Luna and Michel, who was some steps to the side, next to the speakers. Gastón waved at them from his spot, but it was quite clear who his eyes were set on. Nina just waved back timidly. Luna couldn’t blame her.

After that quick reunion, with the promise that they could catch up later, everyone got back in position and the filming began. Shot after shot, Luna followed the pseudo-storyboard that she had made with Nina so she wouldn’t forget anything. It turned out that the things she had imagined had names like ‘medium-close up’, ‘worm’s eye’, ‘trucking’— Luna honestly didn’t know them much, but Nina understood them. 

Anyway, everything went smoothly, it just took a long time because they needed to repeat many parts from different angles, some in group and some of just Matteo.

If Luna found herself momentarily distracted sometimes, it was only because she was happy of seeing Matteo move so confidently again, not because she liked watching him.

“We’re baaaack.”

Several minutes after the final “cut”, Luna entered the mansion with Simón, Matteo, Pedro and Michel in tow. Matteo had wanted Gastón to come with them, but he had to go to his family— Obviously, they must miss him immensely— so they all agreed to meet at the Roller the next day. It wasn’t like they didn’t naturally do so every day already, but now they had a reunion to celebrate.

Hearing them come in, her mom and Ámbar (who apparently had been helping her set the table?? Wow, what?) walked out of the dining room to receive them.

“About time,” her mom said, putting her hands on her hips. She zeroed in on her, not angry but with the tone she usually used to reprimand her. “I told you to call me if it took you longer, Luna.”

She winced. She forgot. “I’m sorry, we were all so focused we lost track of time.”

Some steps away, Simón was wrapping Ámbar in his arms. “Hello, my beautiful blonde,” she heard him say, right before kissing her.

Well, now Luna was officially uncomfortable.

Her mom sighed and smiled. “Well, what’s important is that you’re all okay. Could you film everything you wanted?”

“Yes!” Luna replied excitedly, and she had just started telling her everything when her dad appeared from upstairs, also unhappy about them staying out late, but luckily, he didn’t reprimand them much and just told everyone to go wash their hands to have dinner.

They had been waiting for them to eat, Luna found out later from her grandpa when they were all at the table. “Food always tastes better when you eat it with family,” he declared with a grin. “And friends, of course,” he added, referring to the guys. “The more, the better.”

Luna felt a little bad for making them wait, but she was also very moved by her grandpa’s words. She took a glance at Ámbar, half-expecting her to contradict him. ‘You are not my family and we are not friends’, something like that. She had said it many times whenever her grandpa tried to include her.

But she didn’t. And, truthfully, she hadn’t in a while. It wasn’t like she went around hugging everyone now and telling them how much she loved them— Her relationship with Luna was still pretty much the same in which they didn’t talk much unless necessary— But she was different, lately. She smiled more. Not that fake, hostile smile that she used to always direct at her, and pretty much everyone who crossed her way really. No, this one was real, a term that she struggled to associate with Ámbar after being deceived by her so many times, but it was what her eyes saw.

She looked at her during dinner. Ámbar remained with an affable air, listened with interest when others talked, answered politely whatever questions came her way, even threw a joke every now and then. And whenever Simón spoke…

When Simón spoke, she looked at him like he was all the stars in the sky.

It eased something inside Luna’s heart. She didn’t know if she and Ámbar would ever be friends or act like family. She didn’t know if all her changes were for Simón’s sake or if he’d been right and Ámbar only needed someone to guide her to show she’s good. But at least Luna had the peace of mind that her best friend wasn’t alone in this, that all the love he felt, Ámbar felt it too.

That was enough.

Simón walked into the room and went directly to change into his pajamas. His body felt heavy after moving around so much, and after sitting down for dinner, all the adrenaline that had been energizing him finally went down.

While Ámbar took off her makeup in front of her vanity, he went into the bathroom to wash his teeth and all that. When he came out, Ámbar was getting ready for bed too, placing her pajamas on top of the bed to put it on.

Simón walked to his side of the bed –Wow, he had a side of the bed now— and watched casually as she changed, wondering all the while what he had done to deserve a girl so perfect. With or without makeup, she looked beautiful. His eyes took in the curve of her waist, her soft, smooth skin—

“Oh my god.”

Ámbar stopped with her pajama capris in hand. “What?”

Simón crossed the bed and sat on his knees before her. His gaze was zeroed in on her hips, where bruises darkened her otherwise clear skin on both sides. He brushed them with his thumbs. The marks looked too much like fingers.

“Was this me?” He asked, unable to believe he’d gripped her this hard. “Bonita, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Ámbar just smiled and took his hands, giving them a squeeze before letting them go. “My love, relax, I really don’t care,” she said, and pulled her pajama up her legs, which covered the marks.   

“It doesn’t hurt?”

She moved to get under the covers so he scooted over to let her. “Do the scratches I leave down your back hurt?” She volleyed back.

Simón thought about it. Yes, he could feel a slight burning at times with the rubbing of his t-shirt against his skin, but more than pain, each time he felt it he felt almost proud, like they were proof he had done something very right. It brought back good memories.

His train of thought must have shown on his face because Ámbar smiled at him with intent. “There’s your answer. Now relax.”

She eased him against the pillows and settled next to him. They cuddled up together and put on a movie on Netflix.

Simón tried to keep his eyes open, but Ámbar’s warmth and the smell of her hair were too welcoming.

The next time he came to, the lights were off, both of them were laying under the covers, and Ámbar’s sleeping face rested some centimeters from his.

He just held her closer and went back to sleep.

Out of all the struggles Ámbar had to face on a daily basis, she had to admit, this one was by far her favorite.

“Noooo,” Simón whined, hugging her harder when she tried to stand. “I refuse. Take the day off. Let’s take a day off.”

Simón never wanted to get out of bed in the morning— or let her go for that matter. She found it adorable if she was being honest. This morning, moreover, it was probably amplified by the fact that he’d been helping with Matteo’s video until late, right after a full day of work. It was understandable that he was tired.

(And that without counting that interlude at lunch. God, how she wished she could tell Emilia just to shove in her face that she had been right. “How boring, Ámbar, he’s a total loser,” she’d told her back then, and what had Ámbar replied? “I think there’s a side of him he hasn’t shown yet.” – And said and done! Simón could be a real animal with the right encouragement. Who was laughing now, Emilia?)

However… “All days off need to be forewarned at least 24 hours in advance unless it’s an emergency,” she had to remind him. It was her duty as manager.

He groaned. “Tomorrow then.” He rose on his forearms on top of her and looked at her. “Let’s take a day off, the two of us. Go out somewhere… Or we could stay in this bed, all,” he kissed her cheek, “day,” he kissed her jaw, “long,” he kissed her neck.  

Ámbar closed her eyes and hummed as he kept leaving melting kisses on her skin. Each spark they elicited on her body was a very convincing argument. It didn’t sit right with her to leave her responsibilities when she was the manager, but would it really be that bad? It’d be just one day; it wasn’t like she was taking vacations. She’d say they both deserved a little rest.

“Okay, I’ll call one of the part-timers and— ah,” she moaned as he sucked one of her nipples, “see if they can cover...”

There were a couple of guys that usually took care of the Roller whenever the regular staff needed to be absent due to a skating competition, vacations or stuff like that so that the business could keep running. The chance that they all just happened to be busy the next day was very slim, so it should be fine.

Simón let go of her breast. “Great.” And went for the other.

Ámbar groaned and pulled him by the nape. “Come’ere.”

She kissed him soundly and flipped them over, pressing her body against his.

Oh yeah, there was definitely no better way to start the day than this.

Just as she had predicted, things were very lively in the Jam & Roller from early on. Of course, it was the Jam & Roller they were talking about— There was always something going on. But there was a special brand of vibrant excitement in the air that day, and it overflowed like a shaken can when Gastón walked through the doors.

Soon enough, everyone was gathered around at the Roller’s tables, asking him how he’d been and how was London treating him. The girls had just gotten back from school so they didn’t miss anything. Pedro and Simón had to stand to serve a customer every now and then, but mostly they could stay with everyone. The only one who didn’t stay was Delfi, who only chatted for a little while before leaving, claiming she was too excited to edit Matteo’s video to wait. “You’ll see, it’s going to be amazing!” She promised.

(Ámbar suspected that she had also wanted to escape from Jazmín, who hadn’t stopped whining about how she hadn’t told her about Gastón’s visit.)

(She also suspected that Eric was staying strictly on the rink zone for a reason.)

The cheery sounds of everyone catching up filled the cafeteria. Ámbar didn’t sit with them, she didn’t feel it was her place, but she could see and hear them from her work table, so, in a way, it was like being there in spirit. She had greeted Gastón when he arrived, in any case. He’d smiled and treated her very naturally, not like the awkward interactions she had with the rest, for which she was grateful. She may no longer be part of that group of friends and teammates, but she had been once.

Her mood darkened a little as she remembered her last teammates and friends. For a period of her life, they’d been all she had, especially Emilia, whom she’d spent all of the summer with. Up until not so long, they used to hang out at each other’s places once practice was over, talk about skating, or their lives, or how they were going to screw up with the Roller team next. That last part she wasn’t proud of. In fact, that whole period of her life wasn’t something she was proud of, but she did feel like she’d needed to break free and let out a lot of crap she had accumulated over the years.

She didn’t miss her friendship with Emilia, not exactly, but… she did miss parts of it. She missed having someone to tell stuff to. Of course she had Simón, but that was different. It had been a while since she had… friends.

Well, she had Ramiro, they sent each other memes every once in a while, but they weren’t very close. Maybe, now that he was done with the video thing, she could talk to him more. But he was still a guy, it wasn’t the same as having girl friends. If she were to tell him something cute Simón did or said, he’d tease her for days, not join in on her excitement.

Ámbar glanced at Jazmín, who had only stopped pouting when she realized that, with Delfi gone, she would have the full scoop of Gastón’s return for the Fab & Chic. Did she miss being her friend? It was hard to tell. As a trio, it somehow worked, but Jazmín had always had an easy way to exasperate her. She guessed she did grow on you with time— She wouldn’t have allowed her to stick by her side for so long otherwise. But was it really a friendship what they had to begin with?

Ámbar sighed. What even was a healthy friendship like? She guessed something like what Simón and her had except without the ‘falling in love’ part. With Delfi and Jazmín things never were very equal— She led, they followed. She’d already apologized to Delfi about that, she guessed she had to do the same with Jazmín. Was she annoying at times? Yes. Did she have no concept of tact or personal boundaries whatsoever? Absolutely. But, for someone that was supposed to be her friend, Ámbar had surely treated her too poorly.

They probably would never be as close as they’d once been— They were just too different, and someone with no filter was not what Ámbar needed right now as she was dealing with a lot of delicate, personal stuff. Also, it wasn’t like she could talk to her about Simón— That’d be mean, probably.

But she was trying this new thing where she did the right thing, and she knew the right thing was to patch things up with her, if anything for old time’s sake.

She had to re-read a paragraph on the document she was working on for like the fifth time as her thoughts kept drifting. By the time she finished with that and focused back on the other’s conversation, Gastón was talking about how happy his family was to see him. Apparently, they’d missed him so much that they wanted to do a bunch of activities with him to make up for lost time.

“I swear all they want to fit in just a few days it’s crazy; don’t be surprised if you end up not seeing me at all after today,” Gastón joked.

Luna laughed. “Better get used to it, it’ll probably be like that every time you visit. Simón’s parents do the same thing every time he goes back to Cancún, right Simón?”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

“You’ll have to come more often then,” Matteo told Gastón. “I’m guessing you’ll be here for Christmas and New Year's?”

“Yeah, that’s the idea. I mean, it’s not like it’s easy because plane tickets aren’t cheap, but I feel like those are the kind of moments that you should especially spend with family, you know? I’d love to be here for Halloween as well, but I’m gonna be in the middle of Michaelmas Term and I don’t think…”  

Gastón kept talking about dates he’d have to spend over there, especially birthdays, but Ámbar tuned out as she noticed Simón’s face. The light in his eyes was dimmed, his smile more mechanic than genuine. It was subtle, so much so that probably everyone else wouldn’t notice anything amiss even if their focus wasn’t on Gastón, wouldn’t notice these details, but she could tell. It didn’t last long, so maybe it was nothing, but she made a mental note to pay attention in case it happened again.

She wondered if Luna could notice these things too. Then she laughed internally. Was she seriously going to be competitive even with things like these? God... She wondered if she’d been born like that or Sharon really did a number on her.

Maybe one of my parents—

She stopped that thought from fully forming. That was something she didn’t want to think about.  

“Alright but, tell me about the video!” Jazmín said excitedly.

Everyone had been so focused on Gastón’s visit and his stories from London that even Simón had forgotten about that.

“How was it? Everything fine?” She asked. “I mean, aside from missing my outstanding talent with the camera.” She turned to Nina. “No offense.”

Everyone just smiled amusedly, accustomed to Jazmín’s antics by this point. Simón even saw Ámbar shaking her head at her table with a tiny smile tugging on her lips.

“It was more than fine,” Matteo said with a healthy dose of pride. “You’re not going to believe your eyes when you see it.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be the best music video on the planet,” Luna declared.

“And I didn’t forget the lyrics once,” Matteo added, probably the part he was proud of the most.  

Simón smiled. “What did we tell you? You just had to loosen up and let yourself roll with it.”  

“Yeah, we knew you could do it, buddy,” Gastón agreed, placing a hand on Matteo’s shoulder.  

“Anyone who didn’t doesn’t know you,” Ramiro joined in.

Matteo looked at everyone with a heartfelt expression. “Thank you all, really.”

A chorus of ‘you’re welcome’s and ‘it was nothing’ rung back to him.

“Hey, um,” Ramiro began timidly, which called everyone’s attention because ‘timid’ and ‘Ramiro’ usually didn’t belong on the same sentence. “Since we’re all here, I’d like to tell you guys that I… well, whether you accept me back on the team or not, I’d really like it if we could all be friends again,” he said earnestly. “I had a very great time filming with everyone yesterday. It was kinda like old times; all of us hanging out, doing stuff together, and um… I totally understand if you don’t want me back on the team, I really do. But I just wanted to say that, despite that, I hope we can all keep hanging out together, just like this.”

Simón shared looks with the rest of the guys, feeling the excitement rise under the surface. It seemed like the time had come.

Jim was the first to speak, a little knowing smile growing on her lips as she looked at Ramiro.

“Well… Who said that our answer is no?”

Ramiro’s face lighted up, hope and disbelief fighting in his gaze as he ran it over each one of them, who were also wearing barely contained grins. “You mean…?”

Matteo looked at Luna, who made him a gesture with her hands, giving him the honors.

He stood, acting as spokesman.

“The decision is made.” He smiled. “Welcome back to the Jam & Roller team, Ramiro.”

Ramiro grinned widely and rose from his seat, sealing the moment with a hug as everyone else cheered.

“Oh thank you so much,” he expressed, looking at everyone. “I won’t let you down this time, I promise.”

Yam plastered a fake smile under deadly eyes. “Mm, you better.”

“Well, this should be celebrated, right?” Pedro said enthusiastically.

Five minutes later, all the guys were on stage, singing and dancing “Nadie como tú” with a smile on their faces. Simón couldn’t help but think that this was how things should’ve been, with Gastón by their side instead of Benicio, all friends worried about nothing but having a good time. One thing was the same though; he still sang looking at Ámbar. And it was even better, because this time she looked back with a grin on her face and blew him a kiss.

After their group performance, Simón and Pedro left the stage and went back to waiting tables while the girls (minus Jazmín, who insisted on filming everything— “My followers are going to go nuts about this!”) joined the rest of the guys to sing a rendition of ‘Valiente’. Simón’s heart always filled with pride whenever someone sang it. He was very happy that the song he’d written two years ago to try to cheer Luna up had now become a tune that brought them all together.

That finished, everyone walked down the stage except for Matteo and Gastón, and cheered for them as the first notes of ‘Aquí Estoy’ started playing.

“You still remember the steps?” Matteo asked his friend with a little daring smile.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Gastón replied smugly, smoothing down his jacket. And, indeed, the two broke into a perfect choreography, full of energy and swag, that was only interrupted by Ámbar yelling—

“Matteo, not the bar, we’re not in an Open!”

“Sorry!”

As the two guys sang the final chorus, Simón leaned close to Luna and muttered amusedly.

“You may wanna wipe your face, you have a little saliva dripping down your mouth.”

Luna whipped toward him with a gasp. “Simón!”

He broke out laughing and left, ignoring her denials and claims of innocence.

As the two friends finished the song and hugged, one thing was clear. Gastón wasn’t the only one back— Matteo was back too.

Luna watched the edited version of Matteo’s music video and her heart filled with pride. Delfi had come that night right after dinner to show them how it was coming along and they couldn’t be happier with it. The music video had been a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well, and after seeing the final product, Luna knew she had made the right choice.

Delfi insisted it wasn’t finished yet though. She still had to do some color corrections and check some transitions and— Honestly? Luna believed it was already amazing as it was, but what could she say? Her friend was a perfectionist. She just hoped she got some sleep tonight instead of staying up working on the video.

Matteo stayed on the couch after Delfi went home. Of course he did, he lives here now, Luna reminded herself. She still hadn’t gotten completely used to that to be honest. Living with your ex was… well, weird. She didn’t know how Simón had handled it.

Oh. Right.

Luna shook those perturbing ideas from her head before Matteo could somehow know where her mind had gone. She threw a cushion at him just in case, to distract him.

Even if it was weird to have him in the house all the time, she couldn’t say it was a bad thing. Things had been pretty good between them lately. They had gotten back to the teasing kind of friendship they used to have and, to tell the truth, she was glad. Being able to laugh with Matteo again… It was nice. Very nice.

When her mom came and found them talking, it was like she could see her thoughts through her skull. She could tell she wanted to tease her about it the moment Matteo went to bed, so she quickly changed the topic to the secret chest instead. The chest which key had been lost because of Sharon.

Her mom told her a locksmith would come to open it and she felt relieved. It was about time they knew what was inside.

Her tranquility only lasted about five minutes though, because then Michel appeared in the living room.

Luna almost choked on her glass of milk. Michel had also helped in the making of the video, handling the playback. It had been very useful, but there was a small part of her that wished he hadn’t been there. The reason? He had confessed to her right after the shooting had finished.

Luna wished he hadn’t told her he liked her. She really liked Michel, he’d become a precious friend to her, but she didn’t like him like him, and now, knowing he liked her in that way made things awkward. Things had been stiffy between them for a while, but now she really didn’t know how to talk to him, how to let him down easy.

Thankfully, he made things easy for her, apologizing for putting her on the spot and saying that whatever her answer was, he didn’t want to lose her as a friend. She latched onto that, saying she really liked being her friend and that she didn’t want to lose that either. That was answer enough, right? She was so glad she didn’t have to say the ‘I don’t like you’ bit. She really didn’t want to hurt him. 

“I’m so glad we finally resolved things between us,” she told him. “Things had been so weird I could hardly look at you in the eye and—”

“I know, I know.” Michel smiled ruefully. “Sorry, it’s just, I had so much stuff in my mind when I talked to Matteo that I didn’t know what to tell you or what to do—” 

“Wait.” She frowned. “What does Matteo have to do with this?”

“Oh. It’s just— I talked to him before talking to you,” he explained. “I told him that I wanted to ask you out and he told me I was free to do so, that your relationship with him was a thing of the past.”

It was like a ball had hit her in the stomach.

Luna remembered that feeling from P.E class. The lack of air, the burn in your chest. Except her eyes started burning too, and that was a different kind of pain.

“Matteo told you that?” She managed to say. “Wha— what exactly did he tell you?”

“Well, what I just said. That I was free to go after you, that you two were history. He encouraged me to ask you out.”

She averted her gaze, trying to keep her emotions in check.

“I’m sorry,” Michel told her, his voice and face filled with sadness. “I shouldn’t have told you. Clearly there’s still something between you tw—”

“No,” she snapped. It wasn’t Michel she was mad at though. She was mad at Matteo for making decisions without bothering to ask what she might think about it.

But that didn’t matter now, did it? It was done. There wasn’t anything between them anymore and there would never be again.

“It is as he said,” she told Michel, fighting the knot on her throat. “Whatever we had is history.”

If that was what Matteo wanted, then so be it. She couldn’t force him to think differently, to feel differently, no matter how much she—

“So… friends then?”

Luna looked at Michel’s hopeful eyes and tentative smile and did her best to answer with one of her own to appease him. 

“Friends.”

Friends. That was all Matteo and she would ever be now.

She had just started to get used to him living in the mansion and now she had to get used to that idea as well.

It was almost funny, Ámbar thought, just how easy it was for them to end up like this.

It was just a comment, after the credits rolled, the TV was off and Simón checked his phone for the last time.

“Is there anything more pleasurable than being able to disable your alarm?” He’d said, like it really was one of the best things in life.

Ámbar had looked at him and pursed her lips. “I can think of a few things.”

One instant later, they were rolling around the bed, pulling at each other’s clothes.

Ámbar liked that. She liked the feeling of his mouth devouring her own like that was the best thing in his life. She liked how he always seemed to be warm and she always cold, but in moments like these, he made her feel boiling hot and she rose goosebumps on his skin. She liked that she could touch him all over, that he allowed it, that he rejoiced in it.

She rejoiced in it too, arching her back to press her breasts harder into his palms, moaning as he tasted her neck and nibbled her earlobe playfully.

He started going lower, leaving her throat for her chest, kissing the freckles between her breasts, her abdomen, her star birthmark…

His hands were in her thighs. He kissed her navel, under it, lower still.

She brought her hands to his head and pulled him back up to kiss him, to wrap her legs around his hips. But he broke the kiss and looked away from her.

Ámbar frowned. “What is it?”

Simón pulled away and sat up at her side. She sat as well, pulling the sheet to her chest on instinct. Her heart was still beating fast, but the reason behind it was changing at his silence. He still wasn’t looking at her. He rubbed the back of his neck.  

“Okay,” he said finally. “It’s the fifth time that I try to go down on you and you stop me, so I need to ask: Do I do it wrong?”

Ámbar blinked, completely taken by surprise by that question. Simón’s gaze was earnest, fixed on her own.

“Please, tell me honestly. Because I understand if you don’t feel like it sometimes, but I feel like if I did a good job, you would be into it, so I need you to tell me what’s wrong. I can’t get better if you don’t tell me and I’d like to at least try.”

The dejected way he said it sounded like she thought he was so beyond hope she hadn’t even deemed it worth it to let him try.

Hurt, he sounded hurt.

Ámbar felt a horrible pang in her chest.

“Oh no, my love, I’m sorry.” She cupped one of his cheeks, keeping her touch as gentle as her voice. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” She hadn’t even thought— It never occurred to her that he’d see it as a rejection.

Far from comforted, Simón seemed even more on edge at hearing that.

“What else have you not told me to not make me feel bad?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Unwillingly and all at once, his words reminded her of all the things she was hiding from him.

It kept her silent for a second too long. Simón seemed to interpret this silence in the worst possible way because his expression changed from slightly panicked to absolutely mortified.

“Oh god,” he said in dismay, turning away from her and dropping his head into his hands.

Ámbar’s eyes widened. “Nonono, my love. Simón.” She hurried towards him, placing her hands on his shoulders, trying to make him look at her. “It’s not what you think, I swear. You’re good— more than good. You’d know otherwise. I’m not that good of an actress, believe me.”

Simón turned slightly and looked at her, not very convinced. “… You sure?”

Ámbar nodded categorically. “Yes. 100%. I’ve got no complaints.”

He searched her face, and after some seconds, seemed to believe her. He faced her fully then, calmer, but still a bit unsure. “Then what is it?”

She tried to keep his gaze but was nervous about the question.

“I just…” felt I didn’t deserve it. Felt guilty. I shouldn’t even accept anything from you. “…thought it was selfish.”

He looked confused. “Selfish?”

“Yeah, I mean… You get nothing out of it, so I thought it was better to jump to the part we both enjoy,” she reasoned.

Simón looked at her. His lips curled into a grin and he tilted his head to the side. “Ámbar...”

“What?”

“My love, that’s not how it works,” he said with something like tender amusement. “Love is not an equivalent exchange of goods. Relationships are very based on giving. And taking too, sometimes, but there’s a lot of giving.”

“…Ookay…” She uttered slowly, not knowing very well what else to say.

His smile disappeared then, and the look in his eyes turned into something a little more intense than tenderness.

“And who said I don’t enjoy it?”

She blushed. “I…” Her gaze fluttered around. “…just kind of assumed.”

Simón’s eyes roamed her form and Ámbar’s heart rate accelerated, aware once again that they were both naked, the sheets that had covered her long abandoned in her hurry to reassure him.

“It may have been a while,” he started, leaning forward slowly, guiding her until she was once again laying underneath him, “but I still remember how you grabbed my hair, and how you fought so hard not to let your moans out… That was hot.”

Her legs quaked slightly, wanting to rub themselves together at the tingling heat that sparked between them anew, but he was amid them, so she could not. 

“O-Oh…”

Simón leaned down, pressing kisses down her stomach.

“And by the end of it, the way your thighs squeezed my head… God, I wanna feel that again,” he said hoarsely.

He sat on his knees and lifted her right thigh with his hand. He kissed the inner side of it, keeping his eyes locked on hers as she shuddered from the contact.

“Would you let me?”

Ámbar couldn’t do more than nod her head, her mouth suddenly completely dry.

At the first move of his tongue against her, she found her vocal cords still worked. She tensed, squirmed, thrashed, and while he’d talked about her noises, he didn’t hold back his moans as he tasted her, driving her to the point of wild madness.

She came with his fingers inside her and his lips around her clit.

“Was that good?”

She was still trembling when Simón spoke. Did he really need to ask?

She met his dark eyes beyond her heaving breasts— Earnest, dedicated. She nodded.

“Great,” he said, and put his hand on top of hers in his hair. “Then hold on tight, cause we have a lot of time to make up for.”

He spent what felt like hours between her thighs. Giving and giving, again and again as she bit her lip not to scream. At the last one, she really wondered if she would faint. If it was legal to feel so much pleasure. What she’d done to deserve him.

The first one, as it turned out, was a no. The second had to be a yes. The third…

Well, she’d never know.

…

..

.

Chapter Text

Simón’s left arm was asleep.

He noticed it the moment he woke up, but he refused to move. The prettiest head of blonde locks was using it as a pillow, and who was he to disturb her?

It was a rare occurrence that he woke up before Ámbar. She was a natural early riser while he liked to sleep as much as possible. He usually woke up from her movements as she started her day, or— and this was his favorite— with some caress or kisses from her part. He could start becoming a morning person if that was what awaited him.

So, uncommon as it was, he wanted to cherish this, just this, having her close in complete calmness. Ámbar’s back was to his chest, their legs close together, and his free arm was around her middle, holding her against him. He wanted to run his hand over her skin, or maybe take hers in his, but he didn’t want to risk anything putting an end to this moment.

He fleetingly wondered how long his arm could go without blood flow before it did some damage.

Oh well, who cared.  

He couldn’t see her face spooning her like this, but he noticed when she started waking because the even rhythm of her breathing he had been following changed. She began to move, stretching slightly in a way that pressed her back more into him. Simón did hold her hand then and kissed her shoulder. She hummed softly and turned her head to look at him.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” he said with a smile.  

“Good morning,” she murmured, her voice groggy from sleep. She rolled to rest her head on his chest, which his left arm appreciated. He laid on his back. “What time is it?” She asked after a moment of just relishing the closeness.

Simón extended his right arm over to the nightstand to check his phone. “Almost eleven.”

“Eleven?!” Ámbar jumped, as if he’d said four in the afternoon. “Wow, I hadn’t slept in this much in a long time…” She said, recovering from the surprise. She brought her gaze to his with a coquettish look. “You really wore me out.”

Simón smiled smugly and gave a small shrug. “Well, what can I say? I like to be very thorough,” he said playfully. “Or… maybe all of this was part of my evil plan to get you to let me sleep until a decent hour.”

She raised her brows. “Decent hour? By the time we go downstairs, we might as well have lunch.”

He gave her a look. “You’re totally exaggerating, it’s not that late.” He turned on his side and ran his knuckles softly over her right arm. “And anyway, I wasn’t planning on going to the dining room.” He smiled at her. “How does breakfast in bed sound?”

Her eyes sparkled. “Really?”

“Of course. It’s the least my queen deserves.”

She tilted her head to the side with the cutest melted smile.

“Aww.” She cupped his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. “I love you.”

He gave her another peck. “I love you more.”

She drew back with a gasp in fake outrage. “You do not want to start that discussion, mister.”

“Oh really?” He said, playing along.

“Yep, because you’re going to lose,” she said confidently. “So better give up now while you still can.”

He smirked. “Or what?”

Ámbar’s eyes narrowed with challenge just as he wanted. With the hint of a smile on her lips, she rose and sat astride him, keeping his gaze from above.

“Or I’ll have to show you just how wrong you are.”

Simón kept his mask of a straight face. “That remains to be seen.”

One beat later, he went and flipped her over, making her explode into giggles that he captured with kisses in between his own smiles.

Maybe breakfast could wait.

The instant that “Esta Noche No Paro” stopped playing, claps and cheers replaced the music. Gastón was fascinated with the final product. It was magical to see everything put together when he’d been right there, in front of the camera, not knowing the shots that would come out of it. He was happy to see that both his dance moves and the choreography’s synch had come out great, but even more than that, he was happy to see the twinkle on Matteo’s eyes and the huge grin that split his face in two. They’d watched the video at the Roller with Delfi, Jazmín, Pedro and Ramiro, and Gastón could honestly say that Matteo and Delfi deserved all the praises that came their way— The video was amazing.

Everyone was very excited, so much so that Pedro gave them all smoothies on the house. Gastón had missed hanging out with his friends like this, a lot. Just their cheery conversations were sweeter than any drink. It was good to be back, no matter how short the visit.

The group dispersed after a while, everyone continuing their daily routines. Gastón and Matteo stayed on a table, Matteo still stuck on the video.

“It’s just… I really think if there is one person that should be receiving praises right now, it’s Luna,” he said, half awed by her, half lamenting she wasn’t there. “I mean, she came up with the video, she made it happen… I really don’t know how to thank her for all of this.”

Gastón looked at his friend and pretended to think for a second. “Mmm, I don’t know, maybe you could give her a bouquet of flowers,” he proposed, which Matteo seemed to like. “… And, while you’re at it, get back together with her.”

Matteo immediately became self-conscious. Gastón pushed forward. “Come on, dude, I’ve been here for a total of two days and it’s already obvious to me that you two still care about each other. Can you explain to me why you’re not together yet?”

Matteo averted his gaze, looking disheartened. “… A lot of things happened. Every time we get closer, we end up hurting each other and… Luna doesn’t feel the same way anymore.”

Gastón looked at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Matteo, she organized a whole music video for you. To cheer you up, to make you happy. What else do you want? For her to write it in the sky?”

Tentatively, Matteo brought his gaze to his. “You really think so?”

“Everyone thinks so,” he declared. “You just need to gather the courage and go for it.”

Hope and worry mixed in Matteo’s expression. He looked down, seeming deep in thought. Gastón wished he didn’t drown in those thoughts of his so much and listened to his heart.

Just then, Nina entered the Roller with Jim and Yam and his eyes followed her as she walked over to a table, settling with her laptop as they talked about one thing or another.

Gastón filled his lungs with a big, deep breath. Time to start following his own advice.

By the time they finally deigned to leave the bed it was like two in the afternoon, and only because Ámbar thought it’d be a bad idea to introduce herself to Simón’s mom while in bed with him. She wanted to make a good impression— The woman didn’t need to know how she was defiling her son.

They sat on one of the couches in the living room for a more neutral setting. Ámbar chose a white top with a white linen sweater over it for the occasion. It made her look harmless enough. She also liked how its black and cream pearl embellishments combined with her dark jeans, and the weather had been a bit cooler lately. Simón had also opted for wearing his jean shirt over his purple t-shirt instead of tying it around his hips for that same reason.

They settled in front of her laptop’s screen for the video chat. It had been Ámbar’s idea to have it through there so it was more comfortable, that way neither side had to be holding up a phone.  

Just as Simón had told her, the call hadn’t been a serious affair at all. She’d been a little nervous at the beginning, but Simón’s mom’s wide smile and warm personality put her at ease quickly. The woman didn’t seem to hate her at all, and she seemed too genuine to be pretending to like her. She reminded her so much of Simón. She knew that he mostly looked like his dad from the photos she’d seen on his Instagram, but he had his mother’s eyes, and the more Ámbar talked to the woman, the more pieces of him she found in her. It warmed her heart.

It wasn’t a very long chat, but Simón’s mom found the time to tell her a fun story of when Simón was a kid, much to his embarrassment and her insurmountable enjoyment. She promised to show her the family photo albums when she visited Cancún. Ámbar loved the idea.

“You’ll have to show me your photos too then,” Simón told her, his eyes shining with excitement and curiosity.

Ámbar did her best to keep her smile in place. She didn’t have any photos from when she was a kid that she knew of. Sharon wasn’t one for sentimentalities like that. If she had any, they were probably taken by Amanda on specific dates like her first day at kindergarten and at the Blake. Maybe some from old birthdays. Ámbar had no idea where those could be though… if Sharon had kept them at all.

The only old photos she knew she had were from photoshoots. She’d first asked for one when she turned twelve, and had some more done after that. When all cellphones started having decent cameras, it became easier to have photos.

Ámbar chose not to say any of it, and tried not to let it darken her mood, but the bitter reminder stuck on the back of her mind. The contrast between Simón’s mom’s sweetness and the cold, scolding texts she’d been receiving from Sharon was too great. Ámbar was ignoring them. Her godmother had no right to reprimand her for anything when she was keeping her secret at the expense of jeopardizing her happiness.  

The video call ended with Simón’s mom teasingly warning him to behave and giving Ámbar permission to put him in his place if he didn’t. The irony of Ámbar promising to keep him on the right track was not lost on her, but it was just playfulness in the end. She only hoped that the future plans they’d talked about did come to pass.

After that, Simón insisted on inviting her out for lunch. “When was the last time we had time for an actual date? We need to seize this opportunity!” He took her to a restaurant he’d visited before with Pedro and Nico. It was nothing fancy, completely unlike the restaurants Sharon took her to the times they ate outside, but it was nice, and the food was delicious. The company was the best part, of course. Ámbar felt like she could’ve eaten anything and anywhere as long as she was with Simón. She nursed her drink slowly just so they could stay there longer, smiling and conversing. She suspected he did the same.

They had a brief fight over who would pay the bill. Ámbar argued that there was no need for him to spend money on her when she had more than she needed, but Simón insisted that he had invited her so it should be his treat. She proposed splitting it, but Simón wanted to pay for both. Sensing that it was important to him, she relented.

She grabbed his hand as they left and they walked down the street with their fingers interlocked. Ámbar would’ve been happy to just walk around with him for the rest of the afternoon until the sun went down, but he proposed they went back to the mansion.

When they got there though, she didn’t get to cross the front door before Simón stopped her.

“Wait for me right here, don’t move.”

Ámbar frowned but did as told while he disappeared inside, curious as to what idea he’d come up with.

He reappeared about five minutes later, with both hands behind his back, sign that he was hiding something.

“Okay, so, um, I want to make you a surprise,” he started.

She smiled with interest. “Okay…”

“But, in order to do that, I’m going to need you to be out of the mansion for a while.”

Ámbar raised a brow. Now this was unexpected, but she was too curious to say no. “Like for how long?”

“I don’t know, an hour?”

“And… what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

Simón finally brought his hands forward, revealing one pair of her skates and her helmet. “You can rollerskate,” he said cheerily. “I’ve noticed that with so much work you haven’t found much time to do so lately. And, I mean, it’s a shame really, to deny the world the chance of seeing the queen of the rink in action.”

Her heart melted with the flattery, and especially for how thoughtful a gesture it was. “You’re so cute. But the idea of this day was to spend it together,” she argued, moving closer to place her hands on his shoulders. “I would rather skate with you. I miss it.”

He showed a sympathetic smile. “Me too. We can do that if we find some time at work one of these days. But now,” he handed her her things, “you can have some alone time and clear your head.”

Ámbar received them with an acquiescent smile. “Okay.”

“I’ll text you when you can come back.”

“Okay. Just try not to destroy my house with whatever you have planned.”

Simón chuckled. “I won’t. I may have to borrow a couple of things though, you don’t mind?”

She shrugged. “You live here, grab whatever you like.”

They shared a short parting kiss.   

“Have fun,” he said with a smile.

Ámbar gave him one last peck just because she could and left.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

Nina smoothed her hands down her skirt. They were sweating so hard, and she knew it had nothing to do with the mellow autumn sun shining over them in the quiet square.

It was all about the boy in front of her, who’d always had the ability to make her heart pound. And to whom, she realized, she still hadn’t said anything.

“Yeah, well, we’re still friends, right?” She somehow managed to articulate nervously, trying to show a smile. “I mean, if you need something, advice or anything like that, I can help. Although, I don’t know if I’d really be much help. Maybe you should talk about it with Matteo?”

Gastón looked at her in silence, in the eyes, in a way that did nothing to calm her heart. 

“Matteo can’t help me with this,” he said, just the slightest hint of sadness in his voice showing he wished it were not so. “No one, really... It is about you and me.”

Yes, that was exactly what she’d feared. “…You wanna talk about us?”

Gastón nodded solemnly.

“Could we take a seat?” He invited her gently, signaling to the bench right next to them.

They both sat, keeping some small distance between them, but they were still very close. When had been the last time they’d been this close? Alone? Nina was having a hard time keeping his gaze. She was gripping the strap of her bag so hard her fingers would probably hurt later.

“Look, Nina,” Gastón started, his tense shoulders the only thing that betrayed he was nervous too, “I’ve been thinking a lot these past few weeks… and you have no idea how much I miss you.”

Her heart clenched painfully.

God, how many times had she dreamed with him saying those words? So many scenarios, so many things she’d wished to say. And now she was frozen.

“Every second I’m not studying I think of you,” Gastón continued, his emotion-filled voice hitting her with each word. “Hell, even when I’m studying I think of you— That I haven’t failed a class is a miracle.” He looked down, ashamed. “And I know that saying this now is unfair when it was me who wanted to end it but… I need to correct my mistake.” Gastón looked up. Honest, determined eyes bore into hers. “I want us to be together again, Nina. I want you to be my girlfriend.”

Nina felt herself tremble.

“I… I don’t understand,” she uttered, her brain registering the words but unable to process them. Or perhaps she was too scared to. “What happened with all you said? What happened with not making each other suffer and letting destiny bring us back together someday if it was meant to be?” She’d held on to that. To the belief that their names were being kept by the sea and maybe they’d find each other in the future. She’d accepted that, and now he…

“That was before my best friend fell off a fence,” Gastón said, somber, and his expression just quieted her once more. “He could’ve died, Nina. One bad hit in the head is all it takes. And I would’ve been a hemisphere away.” His hands clenched. His face reflected how much the idea tormented him. “I started thinking of possibilities. Matteo could’ve died or ended up in vegetative state or in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Accidents happen every day— And what if it had been you?” He said, his eyes dancing between hers in fear. “What if something had happened to you and I wouldn’t have been able to be there?” His jaw set. His head shook slightly. “I can’t trust a hypothetical future when I could die tomorrow.”

Nina’s throat tightened. “Don’t say things so horrible, please.”  

“It’s true,” he dismissed her pleading, not harshly but with the calmness of someone who has complete certainty of what he’s saying. “That’s why I had to come. For Matteo, and for you. To ask you to give me another chance.”

He seemed to want to hold her hands but didn’t dare to do so. They fell back on the bench, right on the edge of the flounce of her skirt. Nina had no chance to be either disappointed or relieved by that because his eyes held her captive.

“I’m so sorry,” Gastón said, like from the bottom of his heart. “I gave up on us too soon. I was a coward; I see that now. I thought I was doing what was best for us, so we wouldn’t have to suffer from being so far apart. But maybe I was just thinking of myself and what I thought would hurt me less. Maybe I was just too afraid of you finding some other guy… And now, because of that, my greatest fear came true,” he said dejectedly, averting his gaze. “I’ve been told that you have a thing with Eric…”

“No!”

The word was pulled from her lips before she made a conscious decision. She was not surprised to see the surprise in Gastón’s eyes because she was caught off guard too. She began to backtrack rapidly.

“I mean… He’s a very sweet guy,” she said, because not saying it would be unfair. Just the fact that she’d denied him so adamantly made her feel mean. “We see each other every day and we talk. We’re kinda similar, we get along very well. And…” She doubted. She felt awkward telling him all this, but after everything Gastón had said to her, she had to be honest, she couldn’t act like there was nothing there. “…He likes me…”

She decided not to mention the kiss. It’d been a mistake and Eric had apologized. But by Gastón’s face, she might as well have.

He looked down, putting on a solemn mask. “…I understand.”

“No, you can’t understand,” Nina said immediately, and this time she meant the strength with which she spoke. She didn’t know where it came from but suddenly it was burning, and when he met her gaze this time, she looked at him straight on. “You can’t possibly understand because I don’t. Everyone’s telling me that I should give Eric a chance and, honestly, there are many reasons why I should, starting with the fact that he’s here and wants to be with me, but I can’t even think about being with Eric because I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Now it was him that was rendered speechless. His eyes searched hers, a new light in them, and she’d already taken the jump, so she let the words fall whenever they led her.   

“You may have gone very far away physically, but you stayed in my heart,” she confessed. The most real, hardest truth she’d ever had to admit. “And with it stayed the sadness, and this horrible feeling that I’m missing something…”  

Gastón didn’t doubt this time— He took her hands in his.

“I feel the same,” he said with both relief and desperation. “I’ve been feeling the same way all these weeks, Nina. I miss you like I didn’t even think I could miss someone. I’ve been so angry at myself for letting you go when it was the last thing I wanted.” His right thumb ran over her knuckles and he followed the caress with his eyes. Nina felt it like a spark. “I know I have no right to ask you anything… But I just can’t go back without at least trying to get you back.”

“…But then… we’d be together but apart again?” She said, discouraged by that bleak future. They’d already been through that— Did he really want to go back to it?

“You were the one who said that I was never really gone,” he noted. “As long as we still have each other here…” He brought their joined hands to his chest. “…Isn’t that all that matters?”

She didn’t know if she could feel his heart against her fingers or if it seemed so because she could see it through his eyes. She was too overwhelmed. “Gastón—”

“Say yes, Nina.” He squeezed her hands. “Please.”

She wanted to say yes. She wanted to jump into his arms and hug him tightly. She wanted to believe that love conquered all and they would be okay.

But she had thought that once. She’d believed it with all her heart, all through that summer, only for him to put an end to the story she’d been trying to write.

She couldn’t just forget about all the nights she’d spent crying over him since then. Names in the sea or not, it had been the death of something and she’d mourned it. Her heart was just starting to heal a little and he wanted her to rip all the carefully placed stitches and re-open the wound once more?

What if it just bled out again? What if their love wasn’t enough?

“… I need to think about it.”

Gastón looked disheartened but nodded and let go of her hands, lowering them slowly. “Yeah, of course. I understand.” He tucked his hands inside the pockets of his jacket, like stopping himself from reaching for her once more. “I leave in three days. If you could tell me by then…”

Nina nodded, utterly unsure of how she was even gonna make heads of what she felt to come to an answer, but knowing that it was the least Gastón deserved, and she as well.

She either chose to give themselves another chance… or she closed this chapter forever.

She knew it wouldn’t be easy no matter which she chose.

Luna couldn’t understand what was happening.

She’d gone out for ice cream with Michel just like they’d promised. One second they were goofing around, laughing like always, and then the next, Michel was kissing her.

She froze, her brain scrambling to comprehend the situation. She hadn’t expected a kiss. She hadn’t given any sign for a kiss. He hadn’t just stumbled and fallen into her mouth, right? Nono, he was holding her face, and the way he was pressing against her lips was way too deliberate. Which meant it wasn’t a joke either, and even if it had been, it’d be a terrible one.

Finally, the repulsion she felt broke through the paralysis of confusion and she pulled away from Michel.

“What are you doing?” She asked, shaken up.

Michel was grinning. “I don’t know, I kissed you,” he said with a dreamy expression like something magical had just happened.

Meanwhile, it must have been one of the few times in her life Luna couldn’t see any good in a situation.

“Yeah, I realize that,” she replied, and she really couldn’t help the bite in her voice. “But, why? I mean, I didn’t— I never told you to kiss me!”

Michel’s shoulders deflated and his smile began to fade. “What are you saying? You didn’t like it?”

“Michel, how could I like it?” She honestly couldn’t believe he was even asking right now. Was he that detached from reality? In what world did he think this was okay? “We talked about this, didn’t we? Yesterday.”

“Yes, but,” he showed a tentative smile, “you said we are like birds of a feather and that you like hanging out with me…”

“Yeah, as friends,” she declared, keeping his gaze so he knew she was serious. A grimace wrinkled her face from all this situation. “God, Michel, you misunderstood everything, I thought we’d made things clear.”

Michel’s face finally lost all its light and became covered with remorse. “Luna, I’m sorry. Can we talk about this?”

“Why, I don’t know— Are we gonna talk and then you’ll try to kiss me tomorrow?!”

At seeing him wince in pain and regret, Luna’s outrage decreased somewhat; she didn’t want to be mean.

She closed her eyes, sighing heavily. “Look, Michel, I’m sorry, but this made me very uncomfortable and I need to go.”

She passed by his side and walked away, not looking back once, even when she heard him calling her name. 

She wasn’t just shocked, she was hurting. She trusted Michel, she thought they were friends, she thought this outing had been as friends— Had he been just waiting for an opportunity to do this? Couldn’t he have at least leaned in slowly so she could move away instead of grabbing her face like that?  

She rubbed her lips with the back of her hand as if that would somehow erase it. She knew it was just a kiss and she was probably exaggerating but… If she said she didn’t want something and then he just did it anyway, that was… that was just wrong.

She speed-walked to her house, wanting nothing more than to forget this happened.

A few meters away, a fresh bouquet of flowers laid discarded on the ground. 

Ámbar felt the fresh air against her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, just taking in the feeling of her racing heart and the energy flowing through her muscles. She really had missed this.  

She was standing by the lime green railing of the center of the park, her back and elbows resting on the metal as she took a break to refill her energy. She’d done pirouettes and jumps around this fenced circumference for a little over an hour, earning some appreciative stares from people passing by, which she enjoyed greatly. She loved feeling admired, especially because she loved what she did and knew how hard it’d been to reach this level. She remembered how her love for rollerskating had been born and wondered if any of the people who’d seen her today had left wanting to learn how to do the same. She hoped they tried it— It was a beautiful sport.

Eventually, she’d dropped the techniques and just skated around the park, looking at the scenery, at the sky, just letting her mind wander as the homely feeling of sliding on wheels lulled her accumulated stress away. When had been the last time she’d skated just for the sake of it, no choreographies or competitions in mind? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

A vibration on her jeans pocket made her open her eyes. Her heart jumped with excitement. She pulled out her phone and saw the contact she had been waiting for.

My love💙: All done, you can come back 👍

My love💙: Go directly to your room 

Ámbar skated to a nearby bench to take off her helmet and change back into her boots. She wondered what Simón had planned. Maybe he’d cooked her something? She knew he and Pedro used to take care of cooking when they lived in the loft. Nico apparently couldn’t be trusted to make toasts without burning them. She wondered what kind of dishes Simón knew how to make. Maybe he could teach her some and she could make him pancakes. She was sure she could do it with some guidance from Mónica. 

The idea made her smile as she made her way back to the mansion. She quickly wiped it off when she realized, showing a neutral face instead. Oh god, she’d just smiled to herself in the middle of the street. Was this what had become of her? Ámbar Smith, smiling in public like a love-struck fool. She blamed Simón.

She welcomed the heating system when she entered the mansion. She hadn’t realized how the early evening air had cooled her until she felt the contrast with indoors. Following Simón’s instruction, she rearranged her stuff in her hands and climbed up the staircase.   

The minute she walked into her room, she stopped in her tracks.

“What the…”

Half her room had been invaded by bedsheets. From the foot of her bed to the back was some kind of tunnel made of different blankets, which didn’t reach higher than her waist. Some things from her shelves were on top of the ends of the blankets on each side; she gathered they worked as weights so the blankets didn’t fall off. The back of the tunnel opened into her closet. She could hardly see it— It was completely covered by bedsheets. It was like having a tent in her room.

At the front of the tunnel, she recognized the pink round ottoman she usually kept in her closet. It was standing on its side instead of the usual way, so it blocked the entrance to the archway of fabrics. Just then, she watched it slide to the right, leaned against her bedside. Behind it, crawling to fit under the blankets, appeared Simón, grinning from ear to ear.

“Surprise.”

Ámbar’s mouth was hanging open.

“I… What is all this?” She said with a stupefied smile.

“You said you’d never built blanket forts before, so I decided to make one for you,” he announced cheerily. “Come on in, check it out.” He crawled to the back. “Close in your way in!”

Still dumbfounded, Ámbar left her rollerskates and helmet on the floor next to her vanity. Usually, she’d put them back in their place first thing, but considering her closet was now a fort, that would have to wait.

She kicked off her boots and got on her knees to enter the tunnel. As she went inside, the construction became more evident: The blankets were hanging from her vanity’s chair, one of her sofa chairs and her desk on the left side, and from her bed, her second sofa chair and her pink bench on the right. She turned to put the ottoman back in its place and realized it basically worked as a sliding door. Wow, her boyfriend was so clever.

She crawled to the back, where Simón was waiting for her, sitting crossed-legged. The whole floor was covered in her dark grey carpet, and there were many pillows and blankets placed around. Bedsheet walls —there was no other way to describe it— flowed down at her right, left, and in front of her closet’s shelves. Ámbar simply couldn’t believe her eyes.  

“I asked Mónica to make us some snacks,” Simón said, still smiling, placing a small tray with food and drinks between them as she sat on his left. “I gathered you’d be hungry from skating. Oh! Wait, I forgot something.” He reached for an extension cord on his right and flicked the switch. Light shone all around them. “There you go.” 

Ámbar looked around. Two garland lights had lit up, one on each side of them. She looked up, finding an arrangement of tiny golden lights illuminating the bedsheet ceiling. Were those Christmas lights? Where had he even gotten those?

The more she looked, the more details of his work she noticed. The bedsheet walls existed because he’d attached two parallel strings from the back of the closet to the front to hang them from. He’d taken care of hiding the cables of the lights so they wouldn’t disturb the space. There were at least three bedsheets, and she wasn’t even going to count the number of blankets he’d used in all of this.  

She remembered his words that morning in the bathtub. “Don’t you feel like we’re in our own little world like this?”

It did feel like that. Like he had built a world just for her.

“Wow…”

“Do you like it?”

She could feel his eyes on her, but she couldn’t tear her own from the splendor around her.

“It’s… perfect,” she said with some difficulty. Her throat had gotten tight. No one had ever put this much effort into doing something for her.

“I mean…” Simón relativized, looking around with a little grimace. “I did have to tape a lot of things together because they kept falling off…” 

“Do not mess with my fort; it’s perfect,” she countered him strongly, trying to hide the tremble in her voice.

Simón chuckled lightly. His eyes stared into hers, and he must have noticed the emotion in them because his expression softened. He didn’t comment on it, just handed her a snack from the tray with a gentle smile. “Let’s eat then.”

They shared the food in comfortable silence until conversation arose naturally. How had her skating gone, how he’d found Christmas lights. It didn’t go any deeper than that.

Once finished, Simón slid the tray outside of the bedsheet wall. “To make sure we don’t knock over anything. I’ll take it back later.”

Ámbar leaned on her hands to move closer to him and kissed him. She needed to do so for a while now. He tasted of the juice he’d just drunk. It stayed on her lips as she pulled away.

“So,” she said curiously, “what do we do now?”

“I’m not sure,” Simón replied, and began to pile some pillows behind them, against the closet’s doors. “Usually when I did this I was with a friend or a cousin.”

Ámbar settled against the pillows as he did the same. “And what did you do with them?”

“We talked about kid stuff, like videogames or cartoons we were watching…”

“Uh huh…”

“Or we imagined that this was our secret base and we were professional spies, and we had to crack some code to get into the bad guys’ files or infiltrate their base to beat them.”   

She gave him an appreciative look. “You’re saying I’m dating an ex-CIA agent? That’s hot.”

“Who said I ever retired?” He replied with a flirty brow lift.  

Both chuckled. They shared a soft peck and Ámbar snuggled closer to him, circling her arms around his middle and resting her head on his shoulder.

“What about you?” He asked, moving some strands of her hair back. She looked up at him. “What did you play with your friends?”

“We usually invented stories for the barbies.” She dug deep into her memories, bringing back those moments long past that she hadn’t thought of in years. “Like, there was Sofía, Nicole and Camila and they were best friends, and they did everything together, from shopping to saving the world…”

“That sounds very cool.”

“It was, until Camila found out that Nicole had hooked up with her boyfriend.”

His eyes widened. “Nooo.”

“Yes.”

“That bitch.”

“Right? How could she do that to her after she bought her tickets to Milan’s fashion week?”

“The audacity. I hope Camila put her in her place.”

“Hell yeah she did. We cut her hair and everything.”

Both laughed. The things one did as a kid.

“There was this other story,” she continued after a while, “in which the doll was in love with this guy that was about to fly to another country, so she had to run to the airport to catch him before he left to tell him she loved him, but the craziest things happened to her on the way there, making it suuuper difficult.”

“Did she ever catch him?”

Ámbar turned pensive.

“I wanna believe she did,” she responded. “That she told him she loved him, and he loved her too, and they lived happily ever after.” She looked up at Simón.

“Even with the distance?” He asked, caressing her arm softly.  

“Well, no one says he could never come back,” she stated. “Or she could’ve gone to him. I’m sure they found a way.”

Simón smiled, looking into her eyes as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I think so too.”

Their gazes stayed locked until the gravity pulled them in. Their mouths met for a long second, fitting perfectly against the other’s. The kiss turned into many— Soft, languid touches of their lips that felt better than even skating.   

“Did you do this with your friends too?” She couldn’t help but quip.

Simón let out a laugh. “Definitely not.” And he went back to kissing her.

Ámbar felt light; lighter than she ever remembered being. Safe, calm, warm— Like wrapped in a blanket after having been cold. Simón was like that. Like the first sunny days after winter. Like a warm bath after a long day. Like sitting in front of the hearth after having been drenched in the rain. Little things that made everything better. He was made of them, and he took care of giving her each one.

He didn’t only help her find who she wanted to be, but he also allowed her to be the carefree little girl she never got to be. Simón gave her things she didn’t realize she needed until she lived them.

Ámbar pulled back slowly and looked into his eyes.

“My love?”

“Yes?”

She curled her fingers around his t-shirt, trying to find the words to express everything she felt.

“Really, thank you so much for this. It’s… the nicest thing someone has ever done for me and…” She swallowed. “I love you. So much. So much so that it kind of makes me wanna cry.” She chuckled weakly, a little strangled.  

Simón’s eyes danced with hers, deep and soft and yet burning.

He smiled and held one of her hands. “Ámbar Smith… You are my heart. I swear if it beats it’s because of you. Why should you thank me for anything if thanks to you I’m alive?”

Ámbar’s throat got too tight to answer. Her heart was beating hard in her chest, like trying to go to him. All of her, from the tips of her fingers to the soles of her feet, yearned to cling to him.

She pulled his face to hers and joined their lips tightly.

Simón responded like he felt the same, with the same depth and intensity, but she doubted he could love her a third of how much she loved him.

They unclothed each other slowly, kissing reverently each extension of skin they uncovered. Under those sheets and golden lights, Ámbar felt like they were the only thing that existed. The universe started and ended with him— With each touch of his hands, each kiss from his lips.

The fur of the carpet was soft against her back as he slid inside of her. They gasped against each other’s mouths, a shared sound of rightness. Ámbar embraced him with her whole body and breathed in his scent as she followed the gentle rocking.  

Simón left kisses on her cheek, her neck, her collarbone. Ámbar dug her fingers into the softness of his hair and she stared at their fort. The lights above looked like stars. Her eyes absorbed each wrinkle, each mix of color, each scotch tape attached to a fabric. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She would’ve changed all her wealth for having this. For having Simón. Always.

He was pushing deep between her legs, as if he too wanted to live inside her and never leave her side. He panted her name and she held him tighter, feeling how the sensations flooded her and stole her breath.

He touched her where they were joined, looked into her eyes, and then everything exploded, turning Ámbar into stardust.

She was barely corporeal as she felt Simón let go, dissolve in her with his breath against her neck.

A tear fell down her cheek.

Simón saw the wet trail when he straightened and, instantly, his face filled with worry. He opened his mouth and Ámbar could see the questions in his eyes. What happened? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong? 

But he didn’t voice any of them. Because he looked into her eyes and he understood. Just like that, he understood. Ámbar loved him even more for it.

Simón gave her a soft smile, with just the slightest speck of sadness, and kissed the salt off her skin. That was what he always did— Accept the fragile and unsure her, not just the laughs and her best moments.

She used to think she had to be perfect to be loved. He showed her that wasn’t needed.

Simón grabbed a blanket to cover them both and brought her to his chest. Ámbar pressed her forehead to his warm skin and closed her eyes.  

“I wish we never had to leave this fort,” she said softly. “We could just stay here forever. Freeze time, right on this moment.”

Then she wouldn’t have to worry anymore. She wouldn’t have to keep secrets. She wouldn’t get scared every time she felt happy. They’d never have the chance to break each other’s hearts.

She felt the vibrations on his chest as Simón hummed.

“That would be nice…” He agreed, weakly gracing her shoulder with movements of his thumb. “But I’m more excited about all the new things I can still share with you.”

Her breathing stopped for a second. Ámbar looked up and found Simón smiling at her, that smile that was the sweetest she had ever known and sometimes wondered how her life had been before she saw it. His eyes were shining, full of possibilities.

Ámbar looked at him, and against all odds, she began to laugh.  

“What?” Simón asked, but she just shook her head, looking away in disbelief.

How was it that he could brighten everything with just one phrase? One second to the other, just like that? It wasn’t fair. It almost made it seem like everything she’d been worrying about were just silly things. So not fair. 

Ámbar sighed, and after a beat, brought her gaze back to him.

“Do you like pancakes?”

Simón frowned, clearly confused by the change of topic. “Yeah, why?”

Ámbar smiled and settled back with her head against his chest.

“No reason.”

…

..

.

I'll leave some reference pictures here. The first one is a drawing that I made. It was only meant for me to visualize the fort, so I apologize for the mess. If I had planned to share it with you guys, I would've made it prettier 😅

The others are just pics I found that I drew inspiration from. 

Chapter Text

“Oh no, the daisy wilted...”  

Simón looked up from the bundle of lights in his hands and looked at Ámbar. She was crossing her room towards her nightstand, or more specifically, to the little glass of water that sat on top of it. He approached from his spot at her closet, leaving the light garlands on the bed bench, and followed her gaze. There was the daisy he had given her the other day. He still remembered how it’d looked on her, how its yellow matched her hair— He had pictures of it, in fact. Now the flower laid curved down against the rim of the glass, having lost its strength and most of its once vivid color.

Ámbar abandoned the blanket in her arms in favor of grabbing the tiny flower. They were in the process of taking down the blanket fort and putting everything back in its place after they woke up that morning.

Simón had been surprised she’d wanted to sleep on the floor. He had been ready to take down the fort before they went to bed last night, but Ámbar had wanted to keep it for as long as possible. He doubted she had ever slept on such a hard surface before— Her bed was small but still had the best mattress and softest sheets he’d ever felt. She hadn’t complained one bit though.

Simón could understand why. It was actually quite cozy, what with the many blankets and pillows they had at their disposal in their little fort. It was definitely not the hardest surface he had ever slept on –He remembered summers with his friends, laying shirtless on the cold tiles of the kitchen floor, trying not to die from the heat— since Ámbar’s fur carpet cushioned it somewhat. And to sleep holding each other… well, that was always a marvel. 

And speaking of marvels…

Simón took the chance to take her in for the umpteenth time that morning. She just looked so soft and cute, wearing his t-shirt over her cotton pajama capris. It was “warmer than her own clothes” she’d claimed the night prior, before stealing it for herself along with another piece of his heart. Seeing her engulfed in his too-big clothes —she looked so small, he wanted to hold her— pleased him more than it probably should.

The sight was only marred by the sad look on her face, a tiny pout on her lips as she sighed, twirling the daisy between her fingers. “I don’t wanna throw it out…”

Simón’s heart squeezed. A tiny smile took over his lips. He wondered if she knew those were the little things that made him feel she really loved him.

“It’s okay,” he said tenderly. “I’ll give you more, remember?”

More flowers, more t-shirts— Hell, my whole closet. Name it and it’s yours.  

Ámbar’s sadness abated as she looked at him, her own lips softening into a smile. Then her eyes widened slightly as if in realization. “Wait.”

Simón watched with curiosity as she moved to her vanity set and opened the drawer on the right, daisy still held between her fingertips. From there she pulled out a small black planner, one he’d seen her use before to take notes while she worked at the Roller, and maneuvered to open it with her free hand. Choosing a blank spot, she placed the daisy between its pages, and, very carefully, closed the planner shut.  

“There,” Ámbar said triumphantly. “That way I can preserve it.” 

She looked so proud of herself, smiling happily for having thought of that.

Simón wondered if it was possible to die of love.

Ámbar put the planner back and closed the drawer. When she turned, he was waiting. He lifted his hands and cupped her face, more precious than the stone she was named after. He kissed her because he had to, he truly had to, or his heart might collapse from overload. There wasn’t much movement, just two sets of lips fitting perfectly together and the strength of the feeling in his chest, quickly returned by the pressure of her mouth.

“I love you,” he said the second he parted. Only then did the fist around his heart ease a little.

She smiled beautifully and kissed him again, bringing her hands to his neck, the touch of her lips soft and tender just like the feeling of having her in his arms. “I love you too.”

Would it ever lose its charm the way her eyes looked at him?

Ámbar gave him a quick peck and pulled back slightly. “Did you finish putting down the lights?”

“Yeah, I’ll give them back to Mónica when we go downstairs for breakfast.” He turned his head to her closet. “There’s only those sheets left and taking down the cords from the ceiling.”

“I’ll do that,” she said, finally stepping out of the circle of his arms. “Could you fold these blankets while I’m at it?” She asked him, gesturing to the pile on top of her bed.

“Sure.”

Simón got to work while Ámbar disappeared to the back of the room. He was just finishing when a buzzing sound made him look up. Ámbar’s phone was vibrating on the nightstand. It was upside down, but it was obvious from the continuity of it that it wasn’t messages.

“Love, someone’s calling you,” Simón told her, and grabbed the phone to take it to her.

He didn’t get a chance though, as Ámbar dashed and snatched it from his hand.  

Simón startled a little.

“…Are you waiting for a call?” He asked with a disconcerted frown, watching as she checked the screen. For what other reason would she be so eager to get her phone?

Ámbar tapped something on the screen but didn’t bring the phone to her ear so he assumed she hung up. “Yeah, I’m… waiting to hear from H.R. about the new hires,” she said, finally lifting her gaze to his. “You know, so you guys can rest more often without having to do maneuvers. But it was just an unknown number; some telemarketing most probably, it doesn’t matter.”

For a moment, Simón got the weird feeling that her smile didn’t look totally sincere. But, no, he must’ve been imagining it. He couldn’t think of a reason why she’d lie.

“Oh, yeah, those are bothersome,” he said finally, ditching that ridiculous notion and getting back to the conversation at hand. If he had a bill for each time he’d gotten a call from Movistar, he would have his own place already.  

Ámbar threw her phone on the bed and grabbed his hands, pulling him to her. “Now,” she started, smirking flirtatiously, “what do you say you come with me and we save some water?”

Simón raised his brows as she started walking backwards, the glint in her eyes taking him with her just as much as her hands. He could’ve pointed out that they would definitely not be saving water, but he followed her smilingly without a peep, internally basking in the knowledge that he not only got to see her in his t-shirt but he’d also get to take it off her.

This day couldn’t have come up to a better start.

After a long day of classes, having his best friend by his side was dreamlike to Matteo.

Gastón had arranged to meet him at the entrance of his university once he got out of his last lecture of the day. Matteo had taken the opportunity to give him a tour of his faculty and the rest of the place, both because Gastón was curious and to try and convince him to study there once his exchange at Oxford ended. Their faculties would be a good 10-minute-walk apart, but it’d still be great to be able to have lunch together and hang out during their downtimes.

Gastón seemed to think so too.

As they made their way to the Jam & Roller, even though Matteo was smiling –or trying to, because he was truly happy to hang out with his friend— there was something that wouldn’t stop fluttering around in his mind, filling his chest with some heavy discomfort. He had been trying all day, but despite all of his distractions, he couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Michel the previous night.

For starters, he shouldn’t have asked. He shouldn’t have asked after seeing what he’d seen. He already knew, and yet…

‘How’s it going with Luna? All good?’  

Just as expected, the guy had answered with a bright smile on his face.

‘Yeah, everything’s going great between us. We shared a very nice afternoon together... We’re moving forward little by little... She means so much to me…’

Matteo didn’t even remember anymore everything Michel had said but it didn’t matter— He had enough with the confirmation that they were happy and the memory of them kissing.

He kept his hands buried in his pants’ pockets so Gastón didn’t notice the tension in his clenched fists. Being his best friend, he probably knew something was up with him anyway, he just hoped he wouldn’t ask. He didn’t want to talk about it. He knew he shouldn’t feel this way. He’d been the one to tell Michel it was alright if he wanted to pursue Luna. He had been the one to decide that was the best thing to do.

It's too late. Even if it tears me up inside, there’s nothing I can do. 

Upon arriving at the Roller, they were greeted by a sign on the glass doors that read ‘Closed for lunch’. Luckily, that usually only applied to the cafeteria, not the rink, so the doors weren’t locked and they could get in with no problem. It was immediately noticeable that it was almost solely regulars inside. Matteo could only see one table with people who didn’t look familiar, nursing the last of their drinks. They’d probably paid the check already. There was no sign of Pedro nor Simón, so he assumed they must’ve gone out to eat.

He walked to the back of the cafeteria with Gastón, where they could hear familiar voices coming from. It didn’t take long to recognize it was Nina and Jim.

“I don’t know, I mean, isn’t it a little bit romantic?” Said the latter of the two. “Like, he couldn’t hold back the urge to kiss her because he likes her so much.”

The two boys turned the corner at the same time Nina replied.

“But Luna had already told Michel that she didn’t see him that way.”

Matteo’s feet came to a halt.

“It’s not pretty when a guy just- goes and kisses you like that without asking…”

Jim’s face gloomed with sympathy. “Right, like with you and Eric...”

Under different circumstances, Matteo would’ve noticed the way Gastón tensed up next to him.  

But at that moment, all he could think was—

“Wait, what did you just say?”

Both girls turned in his direction and their eyes widened when they realized the presence of the two guys. They sat up straight in their seats, exchanging quick, alarmed glances between them.

“Matteo!” Jim said, worry and nervousness obvious in her voice. “Um… I don’t think we should be telling you this—”

He raised a hand. “Just tell me if I heard that right,” he said frowning. “Michel kissed Luna, but she didn’t want to?”

Both girls shared a look again.

“Well…” Nina started, clearly troubled, her eyes wandering unsurely, “…yeah. But I’m sure he didn’t have any bad intentions,” she amended immediately, “it was just…”

But Matteo wasn’t listening anymore. The moment she confirmed it, his hearing shut down to the world around him, focused instead on Michel’s voice inside his memory, telling him that his day with Luna had gone great and that they were moving forwards.

Ardent, immeasurable rage filled him.

“That lying son of a—”

Before anyone could do anything, Matteo was running for the Roller’s exit.

“Wait, Matteo!” Gastón ran after him. He tried to grab his arm, but Matteo broke free and ran off. “Matteo, stop, what are you gonna do?!”  

Nina and Jim had caught up to him and stood there with matching faces of worry.

“What do we do?” Jim asked.

Gastón pulled out his phone. “I’m gonna call Luna.” She had to know the shit storm that was coming her way. And if there was one person that could calm Matteo down, it was her.

As he waited for the line to connect, his eyes met Nina’s. She averted her gaze quickly, looking down uncomfortably. She hadn’t told him Eric had kissed her. She said that there was nothing between them, but if so, why didn’t she tell him?

He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind for now. This wasn’t the time. And even if it was— Did he even have the right to ask?  

Gastón swallowed down all he was feeling and talked to Luna once she picked up.

First, they had to deal with this whole thing. Then he’d have time to be angry at himself.   

Matteo stormed into the mansion, immediately encountering Maggie, who had been on her phone and quickly pretended to have been dusting the lobby centerpiece.

Matteo didn’t notice any of that, focused on just one objective.

“Where is he?”

Maggie blinked confusedly. “Who?” 

But Matteo was already searching around with his gaze, and he quickly found the one he was hunting.

“Okay, Nina, thank you for calling me,” Michel said, cellphone by his ear, standing in the center of the living room. “Yeah, no…”

“You.”

Michel’s gaze met Matteo’s as he strode toward him like an arrow. He only had time to lower his phone before Matteo was upon him, boiling with fury.   

“You fucking liar, how dare you do that to Luna?!” He snarled, shoving the shocked guy and making him back a step. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Ma-Matteo, calm down, okay?” Michel said nervously, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “It wasn’t my intention, it was just a misunderstanding, I didn’t think—”

“Hell yeah you didn’t think,” he spat, “and now I’m gonna knock all your teeth down your—”

“Matteo!”

Right as he had Michel by the collar, Luna showed up behind them, approaching from the front door. She was wearing kneepads and other protections in her arms, sign that she had been skating when she heard what happened and hurried over there. Her rollerskates made a thud as she abandoned them in the lobby and ran towards them, trying to pull them apart. “Stop it! What are you doing?!”

Matteo turned to her with outrage and perplexity. “Are you seriously going to defend him?”

“What’s going on here?” Miguel asked, arriving with Mónica in tow, both of them wearing similar expressions of concern.  

“Nothing,” Luna replied firmly before Matteo could say more. Not looking at him, she placed one hand on her hip and pointed with the other toward the kitchen. “Matteo, follow me outside.”

“If you think I’m gonna let this bastard go—”

“MATTEO, I said follow me outside,” Luna reiterated with a strength that seemed to render the rest of the room quiet.

Unwilling to wait for him, she quickly grabbed him by the shirt and began to pull him away to the kitchen, and Matteo, surprised by her outburst, had no other choice but to follow her, but not without glaring daggers at Michel until he couldn’t see him anymore.

Luna stopped once they stood in the backyard and brusquely let go of his shirt.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” She shot at him. “Were you seriously going to punch him? Are you insane or what?” She exclaimed, utterly looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

“You are insane!” He instantly retorted, tremendously frustrated. “You should let me beat him for kissing you without your consent.”

Luna made a visible effort to calm down and spoke to him slowly and firmly. “Violence is never the answer, Matteo. Yes, I was shocked and I was upset with Michel, but I already told him off and I didn’t need you to do that; I did it myself. And anyway, you have no right to say anything about this,” she quickly changed gears, fully directing her indignation at him. “Why do you even care so much? You told him he had the road free, didn’t you? Pretty much threw me into his arms.”

“Because I thought he could make you happy!” Matteo exclaimed, taking out what was killing him inside— What had been killing him inside for weeks, and now filled him with guilt because this was his fault, he had made this happen. “I thought you’d be happier with him, and after all I’ve done to you, the least I could do was step aside.”

“Happier?” Luna repeated, annoyed and astonished, and, Matteo noticed with a pang in his chest, what looked like hurt. “You really thought I’d be happy if you made decisions for me without asking me first? What do you know about how I feel?”

“I know,” he stated, serious. “Because I know you. I know you’re too good to be really mad at him so you’ll probably forgive him after one penny ‘sorry’, but I can’t and I won’t do that. I’m gonna get in there and give him a piece of my mind until he regrets ever acting like a saint and then taking advantage of you, because I will never, ever let anyone or anything hurt you, you hear me? I will make sure that nothing even remotely sad happens to you because you deserve the whole universe and more, and if I have to personally make sure that you get it, I will.”

Luna stared at him long and hard, her expression softening from anger to confusion to… something. Something that made him feel like she was staring at his soul, and only then did it really dawn on him everything he had just said.

“… You really mean that?” She said quietly.

Matteo gulped. Her bright green eyes were searching his and he felt vulnerable, exposed in front of them. His instinct told him to brush it off, play it off as friendly concern, run. 

But he kept his feet firmly planted where he stood. He was done with running.

“Of course I do,” he told her, and slowly, hesitantly, like one would approach a scared animal, he brought his hands up to cup her face. Except, of course, the scared one was himself.

—It was always him, that was why he ruined everything—

No more. Not now.

To his utter joy, Luna didn’t push him away. She seemed just as transfixed in his gaze as he was in hers, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, he could feel her skin, soft and warm against his own.

“Luna, I…”

“Everything okay out here?”

The two separated quickly, startled, yanked out of their trance by Miguel’s voice. He appeared by the kitchen door, immediately checking on the situation and his daughter.

Luna averted her gaze, nervous. “Y-yeah, yeah, everything’s fine…”

Miguel stood with his hands on his hips, a reprimanding aura emanating from him as he looked at the boy. “What was that with Michel, Matteo?”

Matteo saw Luna’s eyes, pleading with him not to make more of a fuss.

“…We had a misunderstanding,” he finally answered in a quiet tone.

“Can I trust that you’ll handle said misunderstanding in a civilized way?” Miguel stressed with a raised eyebrow. “Because I’m not going to allow fights in this house. People solve problems talking things out, that’s the way it should be.”

Matteo bowed his head. “Of course,” he said solemnly. “Sorry about that, Miguel.”

The man nodded. “Now get in there and talk with Michel.”

Matteo brought his gaze to Luna. Despite everything that had happened, Michel wasn’t the one he wanted to talk to now. If he really thought about it, maybe he never was.

I said I knew her, but I would give anything to know what she’s thinking right now.

But it wasn’t the time to ask questions, so he turned around to obey Miguel’s directive.

As he walked inside the mansion, he couldn’t stop remembering the look in Luna’s eyes as he held her face.

Maybe it wasn’t too late yet after all.

Still in the backyard, Miguel turned to his daughter.

“Don’t think you’ll get out of this one without explaining to me what’s going on.”

Luna had such a mix of feelings and thoughts at the moment that she had no idea if she could even voice any of them, but she had no choice but to nod.

This was going to be one awkward conversation.

...

..

.

Chapter Text

“Matteo did what?”

Simón was left standing there, reduced to staring at his friend with incredulity. 

“I mean, we don’t know if he really got into a fight with Michel in the end or not,” Pedro clarified, “but the girls said that he was very angry when he ran off, so I can’t imagine that anything good came after that.”

The two were in the locker room, behind the counter, faint music from the cafeteria’s speakers serving as background noise to their conversation.

“Wow…” Simón’s gaze wandered, picturing what the scene must’ve looked like in his head. “Let’s hope nothing bad happened. Michel was wrong, obviously, but from there to hitting him, I mean…”

“Yeah... To be honest, I was surprised,” Pedro said. “You’re the one that’s usually more protective over Luna and you said nothing, so Matteo running after Michel was a little… you know. I mean, I get that he’s jealous, but he needs to chill.”

It was like a hit to the chest. Simón looked down, fidgeting with the rag they used to wipe the skates. “… I didn’t know.”

Pedro blinked. “Didn’t know what?”

“That Michel kissed Luna,” he said quietly. “She didn’t tell me.”

Silence fell between the two.

“Oh…” Pedro shifted awkwardly. “Well, I found out through Delfi who found out from the girls, it’s not like Luna told me and not you,” he explained in a clear attempt to comfort him. “And this is probably a topic that’s easier to talk about with other girls. You know, because they can, like, understand better the situation…”

Simón stopped him with a gesture for him to relax. “Yeah, no, I get it. It’s fine.”

And it was fine, he understood. But he couldn’t blame Pedro for looking at him doubtfully because, well, if he was honest, it did hurt to find out about this through someone else and not Luna.

Maybe he was a hypocrite for feeling that way after what happened with Felipe Mendevilla’s number, and that just made him feel worse. He and Luna used to tell each other everything. They were the first person the other sought out when something happened. When had that changed? When had that stopped being so?

Probably since we arrived in Buenos Aires.

If he dug into his memory, that was when their dynamic had started to shift. Luna kept denying she had feelings for Matteo even when it was obvious to everyone, then she tried to warn him about Daniela and he didn’t listen…

Because I was trying to forget about Luna.

And maybe the reason she wasn’t honest about Matteo was also because she was trying to spare his feelings.

Then, all of it had started because he got feelings for her? It was his fault?

The ringing of a phone pulled Simón out of his head.

“Ah, there it is!” Pedro said as he reached to answer the incoming video call lighting the screen of his cellphone.  

They’d been waiting for this call. Nico had told them that morning that he had a surprise but that he’d only tell them at this hour, so the two had gathered at the lockers to see what the reason was behind all the mystery. Simón was rather curious.

“Heeey, guys!” Nico said excitedly the second he came on screen, and he exchanged greetings with his friends. “Guess where I am right now.”

Simón focused on the background behind Nico and saw Pedro doing the same out of the corner of his eye. Since the distance of Nico’s arm length didn’t allow to see much, he could only make out what looked like a room wall bathed in bright blue light.

“A party?” Pedro ventured.

“Nope,” Nico said with a smile. “I am… in the backstage of our very first music video!!”

Nico spun around, showing a crew with cameras and lights behind him, making the guys’ jaws drop. The wall they’d seen before was indeed part of a large living room, where a camera stood in front of the couch— Ah, so the blue light was to simulate a television, he got it now. The other camera was pointing at a green screen on the other side of the room a little further back, two spotlights in front of it so they hit the screen correctly, and there was a kitchen next to the living room, visible through the open door, which was apparently going to be used for filming too since there was a light installed with a diffuser there.

“Ada had to record her first song for a class last week and she asked me to join, and we thought— ‘Might as well make a video for it!’” Nico told them with cheer and excitement dripping from his voice. “So we joined hands with some guys from the Arts School that also needed to film something for a class, and here we are!” He looked at something behind the camera and turned back to them with a smile. “Ada says hello. She’s still putting on her make-up.”

“Oh my god, that’s so exciting!” Simón said, filled to the brim with happiness for his friend.

He watched avidly with Pedro as Nico walked them through everything, explaining the concept of the video and a little of what the song was about, but he still refused to let them listen to it until the video was done so they could get the whole combo.

“And when will that be?” Pedro asked.

“Well, the guy who’ll do the editing is also a student, so it’ll depend a little on how busy he is, but it should be in two weeks; I’ll let you know,” he told them. “By the way, I saw you in Matteo’s video!” Nico said excitedly. “It came out so cool. Send my congrats to Matteo and say hi to everyone for me.”

“You have to go already?” Pedro said, a little disappointed.

“Yeah, we gotta start shooting.” Nico looked at his wristwatch. “Actually, we’re a little late,” he realized, his face contorting into an ‘oops’ expression. “You know, they only lend us this equipment for a specific number of hours, then we need to return it. Okay, gotta run. Love you guys, take care!”

“You too,” Simón said back.  

“Call more often!” Pedro added.

“Okay, mom,” Nico joked, and his face disappeared as he ended the call.  

The guys turned to each other, twin overjoyed smiles on their faces.

“Well,” Pedro remarked with a blown-away air, “that was a surprise for sure.”

“I can’t believe they already have their first song— That’s so cool,” Simón said with enthusiasm. “And the video— Did you see all the stuff they had? It’s gonna be amazing, I can’t wait to see it.”

“Yeah, they make such a good duo, I bet that whatever they do from now on it’s going to be nuts,” Pedro said with confidence. “He better invite us when they go to the Grammys though or I’m gonna hunt him down, I’m telling ya.”  

Simón laughed, both for the incredibly high milestone his friend was already picturing (though not impossible, as long as Nico kept pursuing his dreams) and the idea of him catching a flight to New York just to call in best friend rights. Regardless of what the future might hold, the fact stood that Nico achieving this step towards his dreams so soon after his departure was already amazing. God, he was so happy for him…

…But…

Simón sighed, slumping a little. “What are we gonna do, Pedro?”

Pedro looked at him confusedly. “About what?”

“What do you mean ‘about what’? The band, Pedro, the Roller Band,” he clarified, charged with a worried sense of urgency. One part of him couldn’t blame Pedro for not making the same connection as him instantly, the blatant contrast in realities that was begrudgingly disheartening, but another part of him urged that- No, they had to have the band always forefront on their minds, otherwise they’d never get anywhere. “We’re down to two now. Nico is clearly moving forward, Matteo just got his music video, and we’re like… lightyears away from doing something.”

Pedro looked down, a melancholic air taking over his previous enthusiasm. Simón hated doing that to him, but they needed to have this conversation, whether they wanted to or not. “Yeah. I really liked the idea of having Matteo be the third member but…”

“…considering the reception his solo song has gotten, it’s very unlikely he’ll want that,” Simón completed his thoughts. “And it’s fine, he always wanted a solo career anyway. The question is, what do we do now?”

Pedro pondered somberly. “Either we get another member or we try as a duo,” he stated their options, which, in all honesty, they already knew –since giving up on the band was out of the question— but it was different to know them as some abstract concept than to really face the choice. It was more real, more definitive. “We wouldn’t be the first male duo,” he offered with a quota of optimism, “look at Wisin & Yandel, or Mau & Ricky.”

Simón made a face at his examples. “Okay, one, they’re not even close to our music style, and two, the latter are a duo because they’re brothers.”

“So are we,” Pedro said, half-joking. “Look, we’re identical and everything.”

That got a laugh out of Simón, even if a small one. Pedro smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, dude, we’ll figure it out,” he told him, the complete faith in his voice working like a blanket of comfort with the weight of his hand. “Now I’ll get back to work before your girlfriend fires me.”

Simón chuckled as he watched his friend go. Once more, he was alone in the locker room, the faint music coming from the cafeteria filling the empty space. He let out a sigh.

To think that, at this time last year, he’d had the very real chance of getting a solo album, only to end up being an unpleasant experience, and before that, the assurances and praises of Vidia, telling them that the Roller Band would be huge as they placed cameras all around them.

So many hopes that had come to nothing. 

Simón leaned with his elbows on the counter, holding his purple guitar pick between his hands, the symbol, almost, of all those hopes and all the dreams he’d ever had, until a customer entered the room and drew his thoughts elsewhere.   

Jim had left with Yam some minutes ago to practice for their auditions, so Nina was left alone in the cafeteria. Well, ‘alone’ was an inaccurate term; there were people there, she just didn’t know them. Delfi and Jazmín had been there just a minute ago, but Nina couldn’t see them from her seat, so they were either somewhere else or they had left too. Considering how excited Jazmín had been at the ‘Lutteo drama’, she wouldn’t be surprised if she was outside the Roller right now filming a video about it.

Nina was writing on her laptop— Or trying to, really. Words didn’t come so easily to her lately. She had concepts, ideas she wanted to write about, but she didn’t seem to be able to connect them into a smooth-flowing prose.

The sound of chatter made her look up from her screen as Pedro, Gastón and Ramiro turned the corner of the bar onto her field of vision. They seemed to be joking about something judging by the big grin on their faces, though maybe it just came from the happiness of being able to talk after all that time— Gastón because of his internship and Ramiro because of his estrangement with everyone due to the Red Sharks.

The latter said goodbye to the other two, and to Nina as well as he saw her on his way out. Nina waved back at him with a smile. They had never been close, but she was glad that he had fixed things with everyone. It brought back a feeling of normalcy, and he looked happier— Everyone did, actually. It was a relief that the feud between teams was a thing of the past… well, except for Benicio and Emilia, but Nina gathered there was nothing to be done about that except ignoring their glares.

Pedro apologized to Gastón but he had to keep waiting tables, which the boy totally understood and let him go with a friendly pat on the shoulder. As Pedro disappeared from view with the tray in his hands, Nina came to the heart-racing realization that Gastón had been left alone.  

They were left alone.

And his gaze met hers.

Nina brought her eyes to her laptop, and then back at him, and then somewhere else, unsure if she should start conversation or just carry on with what she’d been doing while he did the same. Gastón answered her doubts as he neared her, and Nina tried not to look as nervous as she was.

“Hi,” he said with a slight smile, sitting in front of her.

She didn’t think she managed to smile but hoped she didn’t look unwelcoming. “Hi.”

“Have you heard anything from Luna yet?” He asked. “Matteo hasn’t answered my texts.”

“Oh, yeah, looks like nothing happened in the end,” she replied, calmer now that they had a topic of conversation. “Except her dad reprimanded Matteo and made him talk with Michel to make up.”

Gastón huffed with amusement. “I can’t imagine Matteo liking that...”   

“Yeah, me neither,” Nina could easily agree. “But I think her dad is right; talking is the way to solve things. At least, that’s how it should be.”  

“That’s true,” he said. “But there're also problems that can’t be solved by talking,” he lamented.   

Nina looked down dejectedly. “Yeah, you’re right.” It wasn’t like the two of them would stop liking Luna just because they talked about it.

Silence fell between them and she chanced a glance at Gastón. She found him looking at her, but the moment she met his eyes, he looked away. The silence continued. Nina couldn’t take it. Here she was, preaching how people should talk about things and yet she had kept quiet about something.

“Gastón…” She started shyly. “If I didn’t tell you about Eric, it’s not because… I mean, I wasn’t hiding it from you, it’s just that, it didn’t mean anything. It was a very awkward moment for the two of us, and I didn’t want to mention it because it’s already behind us and I thought it would only complicate things…”    

She trailed off, not really sure of what else to say or how she could explain her thought process at the time correctly. It surely looked like she was lying. After all, why didn’t she mention it if it really didn’t mean anything? …Maybe it did? She was starting to doubt herself.

To his credit, Gastón didn’t seem to be judging her. His gaze wasn’t accusing, nor skeptical, he just looked at her for a moment like processing her words and then nodded slowly to himself. “I understand.”   

Nina furrowed her brows, a little in disbelief. “You do?”

Gastón stayed quiet for a bit. His gaze lowered, and by the time his eyes returned to hers, there was a new vulnerability in them.

“To be honest, I wasn’t going to ask,” he admitted, tone subdued. “That’s what I’d decided. Figured I don’t have the right to.” His gaze wavered again. “…Or maybe it’d be more honest to say I was scared of what you might say.” A tiny smile, maybe sad, maybe embarrassed, curled his lips. Both, she concluded. “But thank you for telling me,” he said, his voice soft. “Even if it did mean something… It’s okay. It already happened, there’s nothing I can do about it now.”   

It was sincere. The look in his eyes, the barely-there smile. And it did something to Nina’s chest that she could still tell, still know, even though they’d been far apart for a while now.

“So… you’re not going to run off to scream at Eric?” She joked.

Gastón laughed heartily, breaking the tension that had fallen upon them, and maybe, just maybe, the little corner in Nina’s heart that had missed making him laugh. “Matteo is an idiot,” he said smiling. “I love him but he is.” He laid back on his seat, totally relaxed now. “Besides, what would I say to Eric? ‘Why did you do it?’ I know exactly why he did it, how could anyone not like you? I’d be more surprised if no one did.”   

Nina thought she might have stopped breathing there for a second, what with how hard her heart skipped. She prayed she wasn’t blushing. She bowed her head all the same because, seriously, how could she not? How could he just say those things?! If he were any other kind of person, she’d think he did it on purpose to make her nervous. But no, that was just who he was. She’d always been amazed by how easily he could speak his mind in comparison to her.

“And I assume you already talked it out with him.”  

She was so beyond grateful he kept talking instead of leaving it at that.

“Yeah,” she said, recomposing herself enough to look at him again. “It was all a misunderstanding really, he thought… things. And I probably made him think things without meaning to… But anyway— We talked, we understood, it’s fine,” she said rapidly. “It- it hasn’t happened again, nor will it, because we’re friends. I mean, even after that we’re still friends— I consider him my friend, at least— We get along very well, but we don’t…” 

“Nina, it’s okay, I got it,” he stopped her, chuckling to himself.  

She looked at him confused. “What? Why are you laughing?” Sure, she’d been rambling, but was it that funny?

He shook his head slightly. “Nothing, it’s just… It gives me a little bit of hope. To see you so worried about what I might think.” 

And right back to nervous she was.

“I mean— I’m only telling you the truth because one should always speak with the truth,” she said fast, “I’m in no way ready to give you a response, I mean, it’s been- what? 24 hours? Less than? I haven’t even gotten the time to think about it yet, much less reach a conclusion, there are a million factors I haven’t even considered yet, I haven’t made a list, or several, I don’t know what—”

“Nina, breathe,” Gastón said amusedly. “I told you you had time to think about it, I’m not gonna take it away now,” he assured her.

Nina calmed down, or as much as she could with the current topic of conversation. Gastón’s smile weakened as he looked at her, taking on a sad tint. “Of course I would love it if you told me yes right now and we could spend the time I have here together but… I understand that it’s hard.”

He rose from his seat. “Take all the time you need... And, if one of those million factors you need to think of is Eric then… take the time to consider that too,” he said solemnly. “I would feel bad if you regretted things later because of me.”

He walked away, leaving Nina even more bundled up inside than the day before. She didn’t think it was possible, but with all of this…

Before she could even begin to make heads of anything, Gastón returned. 

“I take it back, think only of me.”

Nina looked up, finding his pleading, vulnerable eyes.

“Just for these few days; that’s all I’ll ask of you.”  

Her chest hurt and her tongue forgot how to function. He left again before she could say anything, but even if he’d stayed, she doubted she could have.

She couldn’t get the look on his face out of her head. The intensity of his gaze. All the different smiles he’d shown her in the last few minutes, and all the words she hadn’t expected to hear. 

‘Think only of me.’

Nina slumped forward on her seat, staring blankly at her half-made article, knowing with certainty now that she wouldn’t be able to add anything to it today.  

… If only he knew how hard it is not to.  

There was just something different about how music sounded in a space of complete silence.

Even when it was soft, like now as he touched the strings with nothing more than his fingertips, it created an atmosphere that surrounded his body, made him feel strangely but captivatingly disconnected from the world.

Sé que alguna vez… Me verán brillar…

Oh oh, oh oh

Se sorprenderán…

Usually at this hour, Simón would be hanging out with Ámbar until they were called down for dinner, but she’d left the Roller before him today because she was meeting Ana at the mansion. Nina’s mom had arranged to meet Luna’s parents for legal advice, and so, she had told Ámbar that she could meet her afterward, make use of the trip, to help her with some Jam & Roller paperwork. Thus, Simón had made his way back from work with Pedro instead of her, and found she was still busy when he returned.

So here he was now, sitting alone in the storage room, with his feet on the coffee table and his guitar in his hands, playing a song he’d sung a hundred times, but he didn’t think he’d ever felt the lyrics quite like this. “Alzo mi bandera” was an optimistic song, full of enthusiasm and excitement for the bright future that would come someday. They always sang it with confidence and big smiles. Bright eyes and hearts full of anticipation.

This time was not like that. This time he was in almost darkness, singing to himself and fingerpicking the chords in a melancholic way. A song meant to be fast flowed slowly. Lyrics meant to be confident sounded like angsty self-reassurance.

Sé que alguna vez… Hablarán de mí…

Oh oh, oh oh

Sé que será así…

Simón was quite aware that the things that afflicted him lately weren’t so bad, and would be easily labeled by others as champagne problems. ‘Boohoo, you live in a mansion with your girlfriend without having to pay a cent; your life is so hard.'

It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful for the good things in his life— He was, truly. It was just that lately they seemed to be few, and the more he thought about it, the more he looked at the room he was currently in, the more he realized he was almost in the same position as he’d been when he’d just arrived in Buenos Aires. Back when he lived in this crammed storage room in secret because he had nowhere else to stay. Back when he depended completely on Luna’s generosity and his own optimism.

‘You don’t have a house nor a band nor a trainer for your team…’

No, he didn’t. But he wasn’t like back then either. He had his friends. He had Ámbar. Yes, he was facing a lot of setbacks, but he still had his dream, and he still believed he could achieve it.

It was just that the novelty of the new experiences that had pushed him forward that first year on his own had faded with time. Reality had sunk in. This wasn’t him living an adventure anymore— This was him living his life.

The song came to an end and he remained there, thinking for some time while silence reigned over the room. He re-adjusted the guitar in his arms and played with a couple chords, nothing premeditated, just random movements for the sake of making music. One of them reminded him of a song, and a smile tugged at his lips. His fingers began to play it with no effort at all. Once more, he started to sing.  

Te vas amor…

Si así lo quieres qué le voy a hacer…

Tu vanidad no te deja entender…

Que en la pobreza se sabe querer…

Playing this song made him feel better, and also sadder, if that made any sense.

It just brought back so many memories… Little things that weren’t so special back then, but now they were.

He got so lost reminiscing that he finished the song before he realized it. He considered playing it again. Or twenty times.

Suddenly, the sound of hands applauding snapped him to attention. He turned to it and found Ámbar by the door, looking at him with a fond smile.

“There you are,” she said. “I had a feeling you’d be here.”

He showed her a smile. “I felt like playing for a little while,” he explained, leaving the guitar against the armrest of the couch. “Didn’t want to bother the rest.”

“Mmm…”

She walked towards him, and he noticed something on her face, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

“Okay,” she said, sounding like she’d reached some kind of decision. She sat next to him on the other end of the couch and patted her lap with her hands. “Lay down.”

Simón blinked. “What?”

Her easy smile didn’t falter. “Rest your head on my lap, come on.”

A little puzzled but seeing no reason not to, Simón followed her instructions, laying down on his back and adjusting himself until the back of his head was on her legs. He looked up at her, taking in curiously this angle. He didn’t think he’d ever seen someone like this; it was new.

“Like this or on my side?” He asked.

“Like this is perfect,” Ámbar replied, both her voice and expression sweetly gentle. She brought a hand to his hair and began stroking it softly, making his eyes flutter shut. It felt really nice. “Now, tell me,” she said, beckoning his gaze. “What’s wrong? You’ve been off lately.”  

Simón tensed up. He knew this was unusual but hadn’t expected that to be the reason. He opened his mouth to deny it— I’m fine, nothing important, don’t worry about it— but the look on her face stopped him short.

Simón sighed, deflating a little bit. “Is it that obvious?” He asked with a resigned smile. 

“A little,” she said. “I mean, the heartfelt guitar ballad just now gave me a hint.”

He chuckled lightly.

“I just…” He looked down and breathed deeply. “I’ve been a little nostalgic, that’s all.”

“You miss Cancún?”

“Yeah. The song, the one I was singing just now, reminds me a lot of Mexico. I used to play it all the time— In fact, my mom was so sick of hearing it that every time I started she went like ‘Simón, not again.”

They laughed.   

“I miss… I miss everything to be honest,” he said in a quiet voice. “I miss my city. I miss the sea. I mean, there’s sea here too but it’s not the same as living right next to it. I miss just, taking a walk down the beach… not thinking about anything, just… breathing.”

“The sea is very beautiful there,” she agreed. There was something comforting in knowing that she knew what he was talking about without needing to imagine it and it made him smile.

“It is.” His gaze wandered, his smile fading as he got lost in his thoughts. “I miss… I mean, I miss the little things, you know? I miss hearing Mexican slangs on the streets. I miss the food. I miss not being cold in winter— because here the cold is unbelievable. I’m used to it now, but that first year? Oof. Luna and I froze to death.” Ámbar laughed, probably remembering how they suffered by some mere 17°C. Being used to tropical weather was no joke. “I miss the local TV channels with the programs I’ve watched a thousand times. I miss taking Paco out for a walk— God, I miss my dog...”

Ámbar gave him a sad smile as she continued running her fingers through his hair.

Simón grimaced guiltily. “I’m sorry, I’m depressing you, aren’t I?”

“No no, not at all, keep going,” she told him immediately, that same gentle smile still on her face. “I’m listening. What else do you miss?”

‘I’m listening’. They were such simple words, and yet…

Why do I feel like I’ve been waiting to hear that for a long time?

“Well…” He thought of something he could say that was a little cheerier.

He told her about the festivities, and especially Día de los Muertos because it was something they only had in Mexico and he missed it every year. He’d see his family and friends posting their costumes on social media, and although he enjoyed the Halloween parties with his friends here, he missed seeing the catrinas on the streets and the pompous parades. The energy you could feel during that time of the year was inexplicable. It truly felt like all those you’d lost walked through the streets and celebrated with you.

“We make our own costumes and… well, it’s pretty, you know? It’s a nice excuse to… spend time with family,” he finished weakly, suddenly drained of the cheer of the memories.

Ámbar’s eyes looked at him with sadness. “You miss them, don’t you?”

“So much,” he admitted dejectedly. “Especially when I first got here, I used to wake up and I could swear that my mom was gonna call me to the table to have breakfast. But no, obviously. All I had were Nico’s scrambled eggs— Good, but not the same. I miss my siblings. With time, you even start missing what you didn’t like about them. Like, I miss fighting for the bathroom,” he said, truly amazed by it, and it made her chuckle. “I miss fighting over which movie to watch— God, my little brother— I swear I’ve seen the Lego movie 30 times, I swear.” Ámbar laughed harder. “I could quote it by memory. And it’s not even that good!”

“Thank god I never had those problems,” she said, amused. “That’s the real reason you left Cancún, right? Couldn’t take it anymore?”

“Absolutely,” he deadpanned.

They chuckled.

Simón sighed. “I miss everyone. I miss my grandma, she is so great. She’s got a story for everything. Everything. It’s amazing to chat with her. I miss fixing the car with my dad… Some of my friends I’ve had since I can remember, and then, bam, one day to another, you don’t see them anymore. I mean, of course we talk, we try to stay in contact but… I have new friends, they have new friends. Either from College or work. And we just… don’t have that much to talk about anymore. Their stories don’t include me, mine don’t include them. Sometimes you have to give them like ten minutes of background tales for them to understand why something’s funny and it just… isn’t worth it.”

She looked at him with sympathy. “Mmm I get that. Sometimes life just does that. Takes people on different paths.”

“Yeah… I mean, when we hang out on the holidays, we have a great time and all. It’s nice to get to spend some days with my family, visit my grandma, breathe in my Mexico… But the rest of the year… it’s tough, sometimes. Not like I’m miserable, I have a great time here,” he hurried to assure her. “I have you, I have the guys… Buenos Aires it’s like a second home to me by now. But…” He lowered his gaze. “I don’t know. I guess there are moments when I just…  feel lonely.” He felt the words sink in the space between them like a pebble on a pond. He had never said it out loud. His eyes moved back to hers, uncertain, searching for her thoughts. “Is that weird?”

She shook her head. “Now that you tell me, it makes perfect sense,” she said, her fingers threading through his fringe like a bigger reassurance, a tactile way of saying he wasn’t wrong, that she understood. “But if someone had asked me… I mean, you never look lonely...”

Simón looked at her eyes, flickering with worry and confusion, and showed her a sad smile. “Neither did you when I first met you,” he remembered. “I guess we’re both just good at hiding it.”

Looking back, maybe that was it. What brought them together back then. What made a connection so easy between the two when neither expected it. Two people that craved more than they showed. Two people that needed more reassurance than they admitted.

He could see the same recognition pass through her eyes. Ámbar left his hair, and instead held one of his hands in both her own. “Don’t do that with me,” she asked of him, her voice low but eyes earnest and pleading. “I want to be able to help you. Be there for you. I may not always know how, but I want to cheer you up when you’re feeling down…”

Simón breathed through the swelling of his heart and the emotion that threatened to tighten his throat. He grabbed one of her hands and brought it to his mouth. He closed his eyes as he kissed its back, ran his thumb over her skin when he opened them. He looked at her and smiled. “You already do.”

Simón sat up and held her hands in his. Intertwined their fingers. “This, listening to me, supporting me… You have no idea how much it means to me.”

They looked at each other, and he hoped she could see it in his gaze. It seemed like she did, for her expression softened, but her worry didn’t totally go away. “Although…” He added then. “I guess if you really want to help me, you could answer one little question.”

“What?”

He looked her in the eyes.

“Do you love me?”

Ámbar stared at him, and for a second it looked like she was going to snort. It was her ‘you’re a dork but I adore you’ look. But she bit down her amusement and the obvious remarks, and answered seriously, sincerely, squeezing his hands in hers.  

“With all my heart.”

Simón smiled and returned the squeeze. “Then I need nothing else.”

The smile she gifted him in return, and the look in her eyes, couldn’t be filled with anything else but love.

He leaned down to capture that smile with his lips. “Now, come on. Dinner must be about ready.” He got up, pulling on her hand, and she followed naturally. “And I’m sure nothing sparks your appetite more than a loong depressing talk from your boyfriend.”

“Oh come on, don’t be like that, it was nice,” she defended. “I like listening to you talk about your family and Mexico. Maybe you could tell me stories more often.” She squeezed his hand as they moved to the exit. “I do have to learn 18 years of your life after all.”  

He chuckled at her plan. “I don’t remember like the first seven of those.”

“That’s okay; I’ll ask your mom about them.”

He scrunched up his face. “Please don’t.”

They laughed and Simón opened the door for her. He left his guitar and cloudy thoughts behind him, in the storage room, and walked out with his love, hand in hand.

Later that night, as they were both settling under the covers to sleep, he couldn’t stop staring at her.

Ámbar left her phone charging on the nightstand and was going to turn off the lamp when she noticed him smiling with his cheek on the pillow.  

It must’ve been contagious because she smiled too. “What?”

“I’m just happy,” he said, feeling like his chest was going to burst from so much joy. “I’m happy you’re with me. That we can talk about anything with the other, spend the day together and then go to bed together…” He reached for her hand and held it in his. “I’m so glad we could have this new beginning. With no more secrets or distance between us.” 

Ámbar’s smile seemed to freeze, and the sparkle in her eyes went out like a spent match. Her happiness had wilted in a matter of seconds.

She looked down at their joined hands. “Mm…”

Simón’s smile faded as well. He sat up. “What is it?”

She shook her head weakly. “Nothing, it’s just…” 

The silence stretched and she still didn’t look at him.

“You…” Simón furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t think it was the case but… “There’s something you’re not telling me?”

“No,” she denied at once, only to backtrack one second later, “I mean…” Her eyes, which had finally looked at him, looked away again. They kept moving as she talked. “Yes. But I’m not hiding it from you specifically. It’s just… there are some things I can’t tell.”

Simón frowned. This was not something he expected to hear.

Confusion and worry battled in his chest. “Why can’t you?”

Ámbar looked at their joined hands again and squeezed. “It’s… hard.”

It seemed like every word had to fight a war to leave her throat. She looked him in the eyes and the struggle and suffering were visible in them.

She brought a hand to his face and kissed him. “I promise I’ll tell you someday, okay?” She told him, lowering her hand. “But in the meantime, please don’t ask.”

Simón looked at her. This was the same person that had spent a good amount of time just listening to him. The same that had comforted him with the most loving gaze he had ever seen directed at him. The one who was with him every day and made him happy. This was Ámbar.

“…Okay, I understand,” he said. She had accepted his words; he could respect her silence. “Just,” he moved to face her more fully, “I hope you know that I am here for you.” He looked into her eyes and caressed her cheek with his free hand. “For anything, okay? If you can’t talk, then we don’t talk, but I’m here to help you in any way that I can.”

Ámbar smiled with sad eyes and wrapped her arms around him.   

Simón held her. He knew Ámbar’s childhood had been rougher than his own. She’d never straight out said it, sometimes he wondered if she fully realized it, but he’d gathered it from the bits and pieces she’d shared with him over time. If there were topics that were hard for her to address, he totally understood that. She said she’d tell him when she was ready so, he could wait. It was the least he could do after all the patience she’d treated him with. 

But even as Ámbar rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled up against him, he couldn’t stop one thought from popping into his mind.

What could be so bad that she couldn’t tell him?

…

..

.

Chapter Text

June came along with the fall of rain.

The clouded sky tinted everything in a greyish hue as Ámbar walked out of the front door with Simón by her side. He was wearing one of his beanies due to the cold, a blue one that matched his jacket as he raised her black umbrella over both their heads. They had considered using one umbrella each but eventually decided against it since they’d be walking close to each other and thus probably just collide anyway. Simón had been quick to offer to hold the umbrella since he was the taller one, inviting her under it with a playful “Milady” and everything, his smile as sweet as ever as they walked.

Ámbar smiled too and moved close to his side to fend off the cold and the water, simultaneously pushing down the urge to cry because he was so sweet, and treated her so well, and trusted her completely, while she…  

She was going to have to try to change her godmother’s mind much harder. This couldn’t go on like this.

The previous morning had been a close call. Or, at least, it had felt like one to her. Clearly, she no longer had her godmother saved as ‘Sharon’ on her cellphone, not since she contacted her that first time and asked for secrecy. She used to have her as ‘S’, but still considered that too obvious, so she’d changed it since the last time she saw her to her newest fake identity: ‘Vanessa.’

‘Vanessa’ was not incriminating. No one could link ‘Vanessa’ to Sharon. But when she’d seen Simón holding her phone, Ámbar just panicked. Maybe it was remnants from her nightmare that made her snatch the phone from his hand as quickly as she did. It hadn’t even been Sharon calling her that time— But what if it had been? What if Simón had asked her who ‘Vanessa’ was? What could she have said? He knew that Vidia’s executives were a bunch of men— She’d complained about that. She would’ve had to make up a story, and god damn it, she was so sick of lying…

Then tell him, her brain offered. Tell them all. Give Sharon away. You’re mad at her anyway. She’s mean to you anyway. What’s holding you back?

She flashed back to the mansion’s living room, the cushions of the couch underneath her, Mónica by her side.

‘You love her.’

“My love?”

Ámbar raised her head, meeting Simón’s eyes.

“Something wrong?”

‘There’s something you’re not telling me?’

Ámbar smiled slightly and shook her head. “No, just a little cold.”

I promise I’ll tell you someday. Someday, I’ll make everything right. Someday, none of this will matter. Someday, I’ll never lie to you again.

Simón just put his arm around her as they walked.

Someday, I hope you’ll forgive me.

The inside of the Roller was blissfully warm from the heating system. The rain had also waned throughout the morning, leaving a kinder drizzle in its place. Ámbar hoped it was gone completely by the time they took their lunch break. It wasn’t like rain would interfere with her plans though.

At some point, Ramiro came to say hi to her. He sat on the chair across from her at her table and they did some small talk. Then he just sat there in silence for a bit. It caught Ámbar’s attention, but she didn’t mind the company. She occupied her time calculating some profits, until, finally, his voice came out again.

“Ámbar,” Ramiro said slowly, “you’re a girl, right?”

Lifting her head, she looked at him with wide eyes and a fake smile. “Wow, so observant, Ramiro. It only took you— How long have we known each other? Five years to figure that out?”

He sighed dejectedly, not even acknowledging her irony. “I need advice,” he said with a downcast look. “About Yam.”

Ámbar frowned. “She’s still mad at you?”

He snorted. “Mad is an understatement,” he said sadly.

“Hm…” Ámbar took a moment to take a sip from her juice before placing the glass back on the table. “Have you considered telling her to go fuck herself?”

Ramiro stared blankly at her. Then stood up to leave.

Ámbar caught him quickly by the arm. “Alright! Alright! Sorry, I get it, stay.” He sat back down. “It’s just— Seriously, Ramiro, all you did was pursue a professional opportunity. If she really loved you, she wouldn’t have gotten mad in the first place.”

Ramiro looked away. “Actually, I don’t know if she loved me,” he admitted. “I mean, I said it, but… she didn’t say it back.”

Ámbar couldn’t help but grimace. “Ouch.”

“But like, I get it, you know?” He said. “I should’ve stayed with my team, with my friends, not change sides and join the enemy.”  

“The Roller team didn’t even have a place to train, or a trainer,” she reminded him. “Gary was the owner of the place and hellbent on not giving them a chance— Of course you switched sides. And, okay, you hurt their feelings, but you apologized, and everyone already forgave you, except for her. Yam may even be more resentful than I am— And that’s saying something.” The ghost of a smile graced his lips before disappearing again. “So, seriously, Ramiro.” She placed her hand on his forearm, looking at him earnestly. “Don’t beat yourself up anymore over this. Forget about Yam— You’re a very cool guy, you deserve better.”

His lowered, heartbroken eyes rose to meet her own. “But I don’t want anyone else, I want her.”

Ámbar pulled her hand away slowly, saddened by the state of her friend. She sighed. “I get that. The heart wants what it wants.” It was probably one of the world’s worst tragedies that one couldn’t control their feelings. “If it makes you feel better, it took months for Simón and me to fix our problems, but now we’re great.” Except I’m lying to him and no longer know what to do with myself. “Maybe you just have to give her more time. She’s probably still hurting but, if you keep showing you’re sorry and doing the right thing, then she should come around.” She paused, watching him consider her words, get a semblance of hope back to his face. “And if not, seriously, she can go fuck herself.”

Now Ramiro laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“You know you love me all the same.” 

He scoffed. “You love me. I barely tolerate you.”

“Ah, so the feeling is mutual then.”

They laughed at their stupid banter and shared complicit glances.

It was nice to have a friend, Ámbar thought. She hadn’t realized she missed it until now.  

“Hey!”

A sound of call, a hand gesture for him to come over. As a waiter, Simón was used to this. He knew he had to be attentive when he was working so he could notice if a hand was raised somewhere in the cafeteria. He knew to always smile or at least look amicable when speaking to a customer. It wasn’t something he struggled with— It came very easy to him, probably why he was usually liked at this kind of job by his superiors, even if he fell short at some other skill.

(La Generala came to mind, scolding him for not wiping the floor absolutely spotless even though his paycheck, and contract, didn’t include all the cleaning she often made him do.)

All in all, Simón could say he liked being a waiter. It wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, of course, but he didn’t hate it.

He totally hated the self-complacent look in the person who called him over though.

Simón held back the urge to groan. Damn it, why did he have to serve Benicio? Why couldn’t the Roller be the kind of business that went ‘We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’ instead of Vidia’s policy of ‘the client is always right’?

Maybe he should mention it to Ámbar. Even if just to complain about his bad luck.

Keeping his customer service skills in place, Simón walked over to the table Benicio was currently occupying and pulled out the notepad from his back pocket. “You wanna order something?”

“No, I just wanted to ask you: Is ‘Rambar’ gonna be a thing soon?”

Simón looked in the direction Benicio pointed at. Some tables over, Ámbar was laughing along with Ramiro.  

He turned back to stare at him incredulously. “They’re friends.”

“Sure,” Benicio granted, laying back on his seat. “For now.”

Simón tucked the notepad away. “Have you ever considered that the reason Ámbar got tired of you is because you were an over-jealous freak?” 

Screw Vidia’s policy— He was not dealing with this idiot.

“All my worries were always about you,” Benicio replied simply, not the least affected by his words, “and look what happened. You say he’s just a friend? Ámbar used to say you were just a loser whenever I asked her.” He stood up. “Maybe I should’ve trusted my instincts.” He leaned towards him. “Maybe you should too.”

Without waiting for a response, Benicio walked away in the direction of the rink.

Simón scoffed.

Seriously, did this guy have nothing else to do? Was rollerskating all he did during the day? How did he support himself? Rich parents? Did he have daddy issues and that was why he needed to bother everyone constantly? He just couldn’t understand.

And no, he was not even gonna contemplate what he’d just told him. Benicio was a pest— Plain and simple.

Thankfully, work kept him busy and helped him forget about things like Benicio’s venom. On the downside, sometimes it kept him too busy, like on rainy days like this one, where people sought shelter in warm establishments and packed the cafeteria with food orders.

He found the time between one batch of fries and the frying of the next one to approach Ámbar’s table.

“I’m sorry, it’s crazy in here,” he said with a guilty grimace, “you can eat without me if you want.”

“No, it’s okay, I’ll wait for you,” Ámbar told him with a calm smile. “Actually…” She stood up and closed her folder on top of the table. When she looked at him again, her voice was different. “I’ll go ahead and wait for you in your room.”

Simón’s heart skipped and began to run, something like a drum roll that slowly grows frenetic. Oh.

It wasn’t every day they went there, and when they did, it was only for one reason.

He forced himself not to make any expressions so the world didn’t find out he’d just been offered sex. “You sure?” He asked slowly, not at the prospect itself but at the circumstances. “I might take a while.”

“I might need you to take a while,” she replied easily, flirty sweetness coating her voice and gaze.   

Now he was pretty sure the surprise showed on his face. He stared at his girlfriend with spiked curiosity. What was she planning? What could she need time for?

He felt in his bones that it’d be inappropriate to hear the answer to those questions here right now. In fact, just the turn his thoughts had taken was already inappropriate. He quenched his ideas rapidly lest he ended up in a state that made it very uncomfortable to work.

“Uh, okay,” he replied, equal parts surprised and excited. “See you there.”

Ámbar directed him one of her looks with the faint, plotting smile and took her purse, leaving the Roller with a sway in her hips.

God, she was going to kill him one of these days.       

When he arrived at his room fifty-five minutes later (he might have trotted, a little, maybe, no one would ever know), the only difference in Ámbar’s appearance was that her hair was up in a ponytail and she’d taken off her jacket. The rest, he confirmed as he made a quick swipe over her with his eyes, was the same— The same white long-sleeved t-shirt with the laces on the front, the same tight black pants.

Simón swallowed down a twinge of disappointment and immediately felt silly. What had he been expecting? A babydoll?

He closed the door behind him. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Ámbar greeted him casually, leaving her phone on the nightstand to her right. She’d been lying down with it when he opened the door, but now she sat on the side of the bed, facing him. “Everything alright? Could you control the situation?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing we haven’t handled before,” he dismissed, still feeling silly for just standing there by the door instead of moving, but he was… He didn’t know— Waiting for something? He thought there’d be something.   

Ámbar hummed noncommittally and finally stood from the bed, taking the few steps towards him. “And what about your emotional state? Are you still feeling down?”

Simón frowned a little, confused. That was not the change of topic he’d been expecting. “Uh, no, I’m fine,” he reassured her all the same. “It was just a moment thing…”

Ámbar raised a finger. “No— See? You got it wrong there. Your line is: ‘Yes, love, I’m so very sad.’”  

Simón’s frown grew, a weirded-out smile appearing on his face.

“Say it,” she prompted. 

Okay…? “Um… Yes, love, I’m so very sad.”

“Good,” Ámbar said, very pleased. “Now I say…” A sweet smile curled her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t worry, my love. I have an idea to cheer you up.”

Her eyelashes batted coquettishly at him.

Oh. Simón’s heart picked up. So this was what she was getting at.

It was a little roundabout but he was not going to complain. It was amusing, actually, and creative, and he loved her for it.

His hands went up to hold her waist, an instinctive move, natural by this point, but it never ceased to amaze him, how he could just hold her like this, how ‘my love’ had slowly turned into his name.  

She took his breath away. Each and every time.

“What do I say now?” He asked quietly after a moment, staring at her features, at her eyes.   

“Nothing,” she answered, and leaned towards his ear. “From now on,” she whispered, “you don’t need to speak.” She dropped a short kiss right behind his earlobe, and then sucked it lightly into her mouth.

Simón shivered, a tiny sound escaping him as goosebumps overtook his skin. His hands dug harder on her waist as Ámbar continued to pay attention to his ear and neck, already messing with his breathing and she’d done barely anything. Her hands slid down his abdomen and then up underneath his t-shirt, and that was when he couldn’t hold still anymore, grabbing her face and pulling her in to crash his lips against hers.

Ámbar gave as much as she got and more. She left one hand over his skin and brought the other up to his hair, ruffling and pulling on it, tearing noises out of his throat as she kissed him with maddening intensity. The hand under his clothes was over his heart, and he just knew she could feel it pounding, faster and faster as her tongue did things that could’ve made a man faint.

He delved his hands under her top, feeling the hot skin of her back, and pulled her closer against him. She pressed her hips against his immediately, teasing the already throbbing hardness between his legs, and Simón groaned, a deep sound she must’ve felt under her palm too.

Ámbar drew back, just enough to pull his t-shirt up, and he took it off over his head, tossing it away quickly to go back to her mouth. She spun them around, making it so her back was to the door, and led him backwards, until his knees hit the side of the bed. Simón sat down and tried to pull her with him, but she stepped back, breaking from his hold.

“Take off your pants first.”  

He was not about to say no, so he made quick work of that and sat down again. He faintly registered that he was only in his underwear while Ámbar was still fully clothed, but it was hard to care about that when she was straddling his lap seconds later, kissing him deeply.

He pulled up her t-shirt, eager to see more of her skin, but she stopped his hands with hers and leaned back, breaking their connection.

“Ah ah. I give the orders here.” A small teasing smile curled her lips. “For now.”

Oh fuck.

Simón felt a rush of blood fly to his groin. Why was that so hot? Was this what she had in mind? Because if so, he was so down for it.   

Ámbar kissed him again, and he responded eagerly, tangling his tongue with hers like a starved man. He ran his hands over her legs, enjoying the feel of her strong thighs around him, and then when higher, grabbing handfuls of her ass. Ámbar moaned and responded by tugging roughly on his hair. The sensation made him groan and she smiled against his lips. Then she was reaching between their bodies, pulling down his underwear to free his erection.

Simón moaned as her soft hand wrapped around him and began to rub him up and down. Ámbar left his lips to kiss his neck as she slowly tortured him, keeping her touch feather-light, circling his tip with her thumb until he trembled before sliding down and doing it all over again.

Simón held harder onto her ass and pulled her toward him insistently.

“Ámbar, please,” he moaned, bucking his hips up. He needed more contact with her now, inside her if possible.

Listening to his plea, Ámbar let him go, but instead of moving closer as he wanted, she got off his lap completely.

Simón frowned. “Where are you—”

Going, he was going to ask, but then she pushed his thighs open and fell to her knees between his legs. 

Simón’s heart jumped and started running at a hundred miles per hour.

Oh my god.

“You’re kidding me,” Simón expelled in one fast, overwhelmed exhalation.  

Ámbar raised a brow, the edge of her mouth curling up. “I take it that’s an encouragement.”

His lips trembled. “Uh, yeah, I just— mm… ” His eyes closed as she ran her hands up his thighs. Ámbar placed them on his lower abdomen and felt it clench underneath. “Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.” Rising on her knees, she brought her mouth to his chest and left a trail of wet kisses down his stomach.

Simón moaned low. “I just don’t want you to feel like you owe me this.”

Ámbar pulled back. She waited until he looked at her and kept his gaze, unwavering. “Simón.” She brought her hand to the base of his erection and ran her thumb softly up and down the underside. He shivered. “Do you want this?” She asked. “Do you want me to suck you off?”

His breathing was already uneven. He gulped hard. “Yes.”

She squeezed him gently with her thumb and index finger to reward his honesty. He moaned in his throat and closed his eyes. “Good,” she said. “Because I want to too.” 

And it wasn’t a lie. She’d never done this with Matteo. He never asked, and she clearly never offered. Ámbar Smith did not kneel before anyone— It was beneath her. But she no longer saw it that way. She didn’t see it as degrading or as a sacrifice. She wanted to please Simón. To make him feel as good as he had made her feel. Because she loved him, and so his happiness was her own.

Besides, if he was this flustered before even beginning, she could only imagine what kind of reactions he’d display later. 

She was looking forward to seeing that.

Ámbar brought her face near him, slowly, teasingly, and then changed route at the last minute, kissing his hip bone instead. From there, she drew a path down to his inner thigh, giving small sucks and licks to all the area around his groin except the obvious part that needed attention. She could feel Simón’s muscles tensing underneath her lips, his lower body shifting slightly in reaction to her kisses, his breathing coming out faster. Finished with one side, Ámbar went to the other.

“You know,” she said conversationally, her thumbs caressing the skin next to his spread knees, “you say you like my legs, but your thighs are simply delicious.”

She gave a light bite to his inner thigh to affirm her point. Simón let out a surprised whine, and she saw him twitch between the legs. Ámbar resisted the urge to smirk and leaned back, looking up at him as her hands stroked up and down his thighs. 

“So tense, my love,” she said, teasing his flexed muscles with grazes of her nails. “You should relax and enjoy it.”

Simón’s eyes met her own, intense and dilated, his whole face a mix of frustration, want, and need. ‘As if I could ever relax like this’ he seemed to want to say, but she guessed she’d never know because she decided to interrupt him before he could say anything, running her tongue along the underside of his cock, from root to tip.

Simón groaned shakily as his body trembled. 

Ámbar wrapped one hand around his base, holding him steady. “I’ve never done this before,” she admitted, and met his eyes once again, “so feel free to give me directions. I wanna make you feel good.”

She didn’t want him pretending to like it just to not make her feel bad. If she was doing this, she was going to do it right. She wasn’t naïve enough to think she’d do it perfectly on her first try, but Ámbar Smith did nothing halfway.

She saw the bump on Simón’s throat bob up and down, his hands clutching the sheets hard on his sides as if preparing himself. He nodded. “Okay.”

Ámbar leaned closer and started with little kisses along his length. When she reached the underside of his head, she licked there, stealing a strangled sound from Simón’s throat, and then she went further up to the indented tip and she licked that too.

Simón moaned now, open-mouthed. Ámbar moved her tongue around inside her own mouth. Precum didn’t taste like much, apparently. Or maybe it blended in with the salty taste of the rest of him.     

She tilted her head upwards. The tips she’d read online had recommended eye contact, but unfortunately, this wasn’t a good position for that, so she wouldn’t be able to look at him during. She observed him now— His face tense with arousal and anticipation, his hooded eyes, his lips parted as he breathed shallowly. He was clearly struggling against the onslaught of sensations to keep his eyes open, to not miss a second of her between his legs. 

Ámbar lowered her eyes to his cock.

Okay, here we go.

Ámbar dipped her head and carefully took him into her mouth. Simón’s reaction was instantaneous, moaning as her tongue slid over him and her lips closed around him, putting pressure on his cock. Watchful not to hurt him with her teeth, she relaxed her tongue and tested how deep she could take him without discomfort. Then she pulled back up, letting her tongue run along his length.

Simón groaned. Ámbar went in for more, practicing the movement of taking him in and sliding back up to the sensitive head. She tried sucking on her way up, and Simón’s hands found their way into her hair with a gasp. She took that as a good sign. Once she got comfortable, she finally brought her hand back into the mix, stroking what didn’t fit of him in her mouth as she bobbed her head.

“Oh god…”

Moans and breathless replicas of her name fell from Simón’s lips like a symphony as she continued to work him over slowly. Ámbar was surprised to find herself getting turned on from it. The sounds he made, the way his hands gripped her head with growing desperation, the thick, throbbing weight of him on her tongue…

She paused a little to take some breaths and rest her jaw, making sure to maintain the strokes of her hand. Simón whined quietly as his feverish skin came in contact with the air of the room, its head now glistening with her saliva.

“So, any notes by now?” She asked. “Anything you want?”

“Take off your top.”

The order, along with the deep, firm tone of his voice, sent a bolt of heat right between her legs.

He either saw something on her face or the cloud of arousal dispelled somewhat because Simón added, “Please,” in a shyer tone, like remembering himself.   

Ámbar let him go. Okay, that wasn’t the kind of direction she was expecting, but if that was what he wanted… 

She took her top over her head and dropped it next to her. He didn’t specify, but she took her bra off as well, suspecting he’d like that. Indeed, she received a pretty moan from his throat in return.

She nestled closer between his thighs again, looking at him flirtatiously. “Better?”

“God, you’re so perfect,” he sighed.

Ámbar smirked. She held him by the base once more and leaned forward, making her lips brush against his sensitive skin. “More?”

Simón groaned. “Please.”

She focused on the head this time, running her tongue over it in tiny explorations, tracing slow circles or irregular shapes. Every now on then, she’d put it in her mouth, just for a brief moment before going back to her lapping. Simón’s breaths became raspier, frequently interrupted by some groan or whine. His cock twitched in her hand. She hadn’t moved it this time. She wanted to tease him, just a bit. Make him go crazy for a little more pleasure, a little more speed. It seemed to work. Gone were the orders now, replaced by desperate sounds. She liked those too.

Right as she felt he was getting impatient, she switched hands, moving her right one lower to cup his balls. She squeezed ever so slightly.  

Simón quaked completely.

“Ámbar- Jesus- Fuck!”

The rush of satisfaction she felt at that moment was indescribable. High, she was high on it, and she went in for more, taking him deep inside her mouth, humming around his length. Some high-pitched noise tore out of Simón at the vibration, and next thing she knew, his hips had bucked, pushing his cock to the back of her throat.  

Ámbar chocked.  

“SORRY!” Simón’s eyes blew wide as she pulled back quickly, a hand over her mouth as she coughed. “Sorry, I’m so sorry, shit,” he closed his eyes with an expression of guilt, “I won’t move again, sorry.”

Ámbar rubbed his thigh comfortingly. “It’s okay, I was expecting that at some point.” She was surprised it’d taken this long, to be honest. She certainly didn’t stay still whenever he went down on her. Her hips bucked, her legs opened and closed, so much so that he usually had to hold her still, and even then, her body kept reacting, trying to get more of his mouth. If this felt like when he did it to her, the urge to move had to be very strong, it had to be torture to resist it, and yet he had remained still this whole time, letting her do whatever she wanted with complete liberty. He was so good, even with this. “You can move. Just, go slowly and I’ll try to follow you.”

“O-okay.”

It took some concentration, but she managed to follow the rocking of his hips until they fell into a rhythm, slow but stable. Simón’s hands stayed on her head, not to dictate her movements, just as something to hold onto. His breathing accelerated further with each thrust. Ámbar moved her hand over the base of his erection. Simón gasped, and his hips jerked forward.

Everything got a little faster. Simón’s noises grew in intensity, and Ámbar grabbed onto his hip to hold steady.

Suddenly, he moaned and stopped moving completely.

“Á-Ámbar,” he panted out, trying to pull her back with his hold on her head. “Move away, I’m close.”  

She responded by humming and sucking him harder.

A strangled moan ripped out of him. “Ámbar,” he whined in warning, but she had no intention of stopping.

She continued to lick and suck on his tip, stroking the rest of him firm and steady. She moved her other hand lower and touched his balls again.  

“Oh fuck.” Simón threw his head back, his face scrunched up from stimulation. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

His hips jerked erratically. Ámbar did all she could to keep sucking him as he cursed and groaned, holding her head hard to keep her there. It wasn’t much later that she felt the twitch, the pull of his balls, the hitch in his breathing. She did as she had read, and brought him as deep as she could inside her mouth.  

Simón came with a cry, rapid spurts of liquid hitting the back of her throat as his hips juddered. Ámbar swallowed as best and as fast as she could to not feel the taste. It didn’t fully work, but at least she didn’t choke on it— That would’ve been awful.

She stopped her movements gradually as Simón’s orgasm ebbed down. Once his body lost its tension and she felt like she'd taken the very last drop, she pulled away, giving her sore jaw a well-earned rest, and put him back gently into his boxers. 

Ámbar wiped her face clean of the excess saliva. God, that probably wasn’t an attractive image at all. Was there a way to look more dignified or sexy during it? She’d have to learn that up.

It didn’t seem to matter though, as Simón looked completely and absolutely trashed. He was gasping for breath, his face flushed. It took a while before he even opened his eyes, and when he did, they were blown with wild amazement. 

She smiled proudly.

“Good?”

He gulped. “I... I think I can’t stand.”

Ámbar blinked, and then burst out laughing— She couldn’t help it at the genuinely bewildered look on his face. Simón started laughing too, a little shallower than her from the shortness of breath.  

He reached for her with his arms out. “Come here.”

She made a face. “You sure you want to kiss me right now?”

“Of course I want to kiss you, come here,” he insisted. When Ámbar came forward, he immediately grabbed her face for a hard kiss, then a number of little ones. “You’re the best. I love you so much.”

She smiled against his lips. “I know.”

They kissed her some more and then Simón trailed lower, kissing down her neck and towards her exposed breasts.

“Let me thank you,” he said against her skin.  

Ámbar’s heart fluttered but she backed away, pulling his head up. “No, today was about you.”

“But…”

She smiled. “Not an exchange of goods, remember?” She turned to pick up her bra and t-shirt. “But, if you want, we can do more tonight,” she offered as she put her clothes back on, shooting him a look over her shoulder.

She surely hoped he did, to be honest. This whole experience had ended up affecting her more than she thought it would. If it weren’t for how set she was on following through with her plan, on focusing exclusively on him, she would’ve taken him on his offer and let him sate the tingle of interest that had stirred between her legs. Who would’ve thought making someone else fall apart could be so arousing? Maybe that was why Simón liked doing it so much.

“Oh, definitely,” he replied, reaching for his clothes to redress too.

“Plus, now I’d like to get some actual food in my mouth.”

Simón halted with his pants in hand and covered his face with them. “My love…”

Ámbar laughed. Oh, she was going to have fun with this.

Just one step in through the doors and the familiar sounds, smells, and colors, flooded her senses.

The cab ride here had seemed long just from how much she’d been thinking about this. Everything looked the same. Better, even, seeing the Jam & Roller logo on the screens.

Her original plan had been to turn directly to the cafeteria, knowing that was where she could find everyone. But just entering this place, the view of the rink had drawn her in, and as her feet led her towards the sound of moving skates, something else called and captured her attention.

She stopped right by the entrance of the rink and observed. Just this was nostalgic already, except she’d usually be right next to the fence, watchful of the tiniest details, but in this case, she chose not to, in order not to interrupt the couple in their skating routine.

It was playful, almost like a dance. When one moved, the other followed. What one did, the other responded. Their wheels slid all over the rink, sometimes with abrupt stops, waiting in anticipation of what the other would do next, before immediately, so naturally, moving in synch again.

It was improvised, she could tell, which showed their skill in how effortlessly they could adapt to the next glide, the next spin, the next lift. It required trust to flow with a lift that wasn’t choreographed, perfectly timed, and trust seemed to be the thing Ámbar had most of in the world, letting herself lean backwards in Simón’s arms, lax and visibly enjoying the flight-like feeling.    

It was flirty, daring, short moments of moving together before one of them pulled away, but the look in their eyes always beckoned the other close.

Finally, he caught her, or she let herself be caught, and the game came to an end, leaving them slightly breathless, staring into each other’s eyes.

That was when the figure at the entrance of the rink decided to come forward.

“Not bad.”

Simón and Ámbar turned their heads at the voice, their eyes instantly growing wide.   

“There are some technical aspects that could be improved, but the connection is undeniable.”

Simón’s face, still surprised, shined with joy. “Juliana?”

Infected by his happiness, Juliana let her own smile grow big on her face, feeling her heart fill with emotion and excitement.

It was good to be back.

After almost three years of living in Buenos Aires, Luna knew her friends, knew how they were, so she knew, from the moment that Jim and Yam caught her talking with Matteo that afternoon, that they would tease her mercilessly about it during their Girl’s Night later at the mansion. But she had been hoping they would at least wait a little, talk about something else before jumping onto that topic.

Juliana was back! She could finally train them again! They could skate in their rink again! The reunion at the Roller had been so emotional, so exciting; everyone was so happy. Surely they would talk about that first!

She was wrong. 

“… and you have no idea how they were looking at each other,” Jim was currently telling Nina, finishing her recap of what Yam and she had seen that afternoon at the park, her eyes shining with excitement as if it were the latest episode of her favorite TV show.

The four girls were all sitting around in Luna’s room, some on the bed, some on chairs facing it. Luna guessed she had to be thankful that Jim and Yam had at least waited until they were all in their pajamas to start embarrassing her, but it was still definitely not enough time for her to prepare for this conversation.

“Yeah, they were this close to kissing,” Yam added to Jim’s tale, not a speck of doubt in her voice.

“Come on, you’re exaggerating,” Luna refuted instantly. But after a beat, she couldn’t help herself, wondering out loud in a quiet voice. “You really think he was looking at me that way?”

Jim’s answer was immediate. “Totally, Luna, it was so obvious!”

“He’s so crazy about you,” Yam asserted next, with total confidence.  

Luna wished she had a little of that confidence when it came to anything related to Matteo. The way their friends told it made it sound like they really were sharing a moment, but were they? Sure, she could agree that they were laughing a lot as they walked to the mansion, but that wasn’t uncommon between her and Matteo— He was just easy to joke around with. Now, it was true that their laughter had faded at this one point… And the air between them had shifted as he looked at her…

“The question here is,” Nina spoke, pulling Luna out of the memory. Her voice was calmer than the other two, less teasing, but her attentive gaze on her was somehow more unnerving. “What do you feel, Luna?”

Luna could suddenly feel all eyes on her like bright spotlights. Usually, she had no problem being on stage, but this felt like having the mic on her hand, the crowd waiting expectantly for her to sing, and yet not being able to remember a single word of a single song she’d ever sung in her life.

She brought her hands to her face. “Ugh, I don’t know, girls, I don’t know, my head is all over the place.”

“Why?” Yam asked. “Did something happen?”

A lot happened, that was exactly the problem.

Luna lowered her hands. She needed to get this off her chest; might as well do it now. “Well,” she began shyly, “Matteo told Michel that he was free to ask me out because our relationship was history, so I thought he wasn’t interested in me anymore. But then he told me that he only said that because he thought I’d be happier with Michel, but that that was a mistake and that he would…” Her voice grew smaller as she remembered, her gaze falling to the cushion in her lap. “He would make sure that nothing ever hurts me and… and that I got everything I deserved and…” Suddenly, the magnitude of what she was saying hit her all at once, and she covered her face again, too overcome with nervous energy. “Ugh, I don’t know— I swear I just stood there, frozen, or nervous, or both, I don’t know.”

She couldn’t look at any of her friends in the eyes, but the surprise in Jim’s voice was clear as day.

“Oh my god, are you serious?”

“Matteo declared his love for you?” Yam said just as flabbergasted.

Now that made Luna lift her head. “What?! Nonono, he didn’t do that.”

Nina looked at her with furrowed brows, shock and confusion mixed on her face. “But, Luna, if he said all that, I think it’s more than obvious that he wants you back, that he loves you.”

Luna raised her hands. “Well, I don’t know!” She said, overwhelmed. “I don’t know, okay? Because— What if he said that but as friends? Like this typical ‘I’ll always have your back, friend’. I mean, it’s not like he said anything about getting back together or anything, and maybe he just said all those things because he was angry at Michel.”

“Angry?” Yam scoffed. “Jealous, you mean. He was burning with jealousy.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Matteo sees you as a friend,” Nina agreed with amusement.

“And after what we saw today, even less so,” Jim added. “In fact, I am sure that he’s crazy about you.”

“And you’re crazy about him,” Nina stated, “aren’t you?”

Luna looked at her friends, her heart disquiet and aching behind her sternum. She let out a heavy sigh. “God, I don’t know, girls. So many things happened between us that I just… I’m scared that we’ll just hurt each other again.”

“But that means you’re thinking about it,” Yam noted, “isn’t that right?”  

Luna’s heart raced. Suddenly, she could just not continue this conversation.  

“Speaking of thinking— Nina,” she turned to her friend, “did you decide what you’re going to say to Gastón?”

Jim and Yam turned towards Nina too, who shrunk a little at being the new center of attention. Luna felt terrible for throwing her under the bus, but she panicked! And, well, they would’ve gotten to this topic eventually anyway.

“Oh my god, right!” Yam said with wide eyes.

“There’s just a little more time before he goes back to England…” Jim said, disheartened.

Nina’s face turned sad. “Yeah, everything’s happened very fast.”  

“And what are you going to do?” Luna asked gently, aware that this wasn’t something easy to talk about. She couldn’t even imagine what she’d be feeling in her shoes.

“Well, there’s nothing much she can do, isn’t there?” Yam said, glum. “I mean, even if she gets back together with him, it’d just be a long-distance relationship again.”

“But if a love is true, I think it can overcome any obstacle,” Jim said with optimism. “Just the fact that Gastón came back and told you all that tells me that he realized what you two have is special,” she told Nina with an encouraging smile, “that it’s worth it.”

Yam’s face contorted with sadness. “But it’d be very tough for both…”

Nina lowered her gaze to her hands. Her face reflected the same sadness as Yam and more so.

Luna placed a hand over hers. “Nina… You know that we’ll support you no matter what you choose, right?” She asked in a soft voice. “All that matters is that you listen to your heart and do whatever will make you truly happy.”

Jim and Yam reached out too, placing their hands on top of Nina’s with their own encouragements. Nina smiled a little, and Luna took that as a victory. Things would be tough in the future, but they would do all they could to protect this smile.  

Whatever happened, she would not be alone.

If it weren’t for Pedro and Matteo, Simón might have stayed in the storage room until morning.

They’d been working on new songs since they got back from the Roller. They’d barely paused to grab dinner and then they’d gotten right back to the storage room, the instruments, and the scribbled down lyrics on papers. Matteo had joined them at that point too and helped them a little with melodies.

Simón was very inspired lately. Knowing himself, he guessed he shouldn’t be surprised. He hardly could write a single word after his fallout with Ámbar last year— But since they were together? It was like he had to be constantly reaching for his phone in the middle of work to write down a verse before it disappeared, hum a melody at the recorder before it could slip his mind.

He and Pedro hadn’t talked about new songs since Nico left. It’d been tough for them, the loss, the empty space they felt whenever they played songs together now. But Nico was pursuing his dream, and after their talk the previous day, they’d finally gotten back to doing the same, letting go of the past to chase the future.

Guitar on his lap, pen in his hand, he drew, verse by verse, the ladder to the next stage in their lives. It was evident he wasn’t the only one with a muse, since Pedro also admitted to having loose lyrics noted down on his phone— Some verses he didn’t use in “Decirte lo que siento”, some other new. If any of the songs they managed to put together from then on ended up being as good as that one, Simón would be beyond satisfied.

But words were tricky; melodies were tricky. It was very rare for them to actually create something concrete in one day. Some lyrics that sounded good apart didn’t fit together no matter how they arranged them. Some sequence of musical notes sounded good but not right— Something was missing, or something needed to be cut out. 

It could be hard, it could be frustrating, but Simón lived for this. He lived for music, loved to create. It was fun, it was fulfilling. It was an escape and it was therapy. It was healing and it was opening a wound and rubbing it raw until the blood it bled gave life to something.

It was so engrossing when he was in the zone that Simón didn’t even realize it had gotten late until Pedro and Matteo pointed out that they should go to sleep. It was only when he let go of his guitar and checked the time on his phone that the tiredness of the day finally caught up to him. He must have been running on adrenaline or something because, by the time they put everything back in its place and walked out of the storage room, all the energy he had a moment ago had almost completely evaporated.

He said goodnight to the guys in the hallway and made his usual turn towards Ámbar’s room. To be honest, with how often and overtly he did this, he was surprised the only ones who knew were Maggie and Rey. He guessed he had the size of the mansion to thank for that.

When he entered the room, Simón was welcomed by the sight of Ámbar standing in front of her dressing table, her upper body slightly inclined forwards as she scrubbed furiously on the center mirror with a paper towel.

“Oh, so it was the mirrors’ turn now,” he said, remembering how he’d found her the other day cleaning the walls.  

Ámbar turned to him and then back to her dressing table. “Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking when I did this.” She threw the paper on the trashcan next to her. “I had to be looking between the spaces of the X every day or put on my makeup in the bathroom,” she said with annoyance as she folded another piece of paper towel and doused it with some liquid. The smell was strong of chemicals, and slightly familiar, but Simón couldn’t remember from where. He read the front of the small bottle as she put it down. Ah, nail polish remover; that made sense. “Okay, I do know what I was thinking,” Ámbar corrected herself, “but that doesn’t matter now.”

He sat on the side of the bed. “Mm.”

Simón watched as she worked in front of him. The center mirror was almost spotless by now. Ámbar was focusing on the stubborn traces of paint around the lower edges, holding the mirror with her left hand so it didn’t wobble too much as she scrubbed with the other.

His attention drifted from her hands, however. She looked really good in those tight pants. They hugged her ass nicely, and the position she was in seemed to accentuate the flare of her hips. His hands itched a little with the urge to touch. It was hard to ignore that she was basically bent over.

Suddenly, Ámbar looked behind her and met his eyes. A tiny smirk graced her lips. She bent over more.  

“Is this giving you ideas?” She teased.

Simón straightened. “No.”

Too quickly. Too strongly. Damn it.

Ámbar chuckled lowly, sign that he was indeed caught.

It wasn’t the first time that something like this happened to him today, but at least she hadn’t noticed those times… That he knew of.

Truth was, Simón felt like he had a one-track mind since earlier, and it was a problem. He couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d done to him every time he saw her. He just couldn’t look at her mouth anymore without remembering it around him.

Was this how it was going to be from now on? Him one step from horny all the time? He hoped not.

His old self would’ve probably been appalled at this situation, or embarrassed. Before Ámbar, he had never experienced anything like this. He’d known hormone-fueled crushes back in high school. Then he’d known pure love with Luna. But with Ámbar, it was like a combination of both. He wanted to hug her, take care of her, protect her from the world, and in the next breath, he wanted to own her, mess her up in such a way that she couldn’t breathe nor think of anything beyond the pleasure of them, entangled, over and over.

It'd been hard to reconcile the two at first. Especially because, due to the quality of their relationship, or lack thereof back then, he felt like it was very wrong to have those urges. Ámbar was playing with him and trying to manipulate him for her own gain— He should not want to give in and let her use him. Ámbar was trying to destroy his team— He should not want to push her against a wall.

The wanting to help her part he could understand, and it was the only one he let himself show or act upon… Until that night. Then everything was a mess. But through it all, one thing remained a constant: He loved her. He came to understand that everything he felt— the hurt, the desire to look after her, the desire to fuck her senseless— all sprouted from the same uncontrollable love he felt towards her. It wasn’t the innocent love he’d felt with Luna. It almost scared him how strong every feeling was. But when Ámbar looked at him with the same all-encompassing affection, when she held him like he was all she needed in the world, when she kissed him and grabbed him with the same desperate intensity, he felt like it was okay.

Ámbar threw her used-up paper towel and reached for another one. “I would gladly indulge you, but I have another mirror to scrub clean after this and then a phone call to make.”

That perked his curiosity. “To whom?”

“Vidia.” She poured acetone onto the paper in her hand. “Just a quick update on how things are going. They asked me to call around this hour.”

Simón frowned heavily, between incredulous and indignant. “This late?”

Ámbar turned towards him. “Well, actually, this specific Vidia executive is currently in Australia, so it’s early over there.”

Now he was officially pissed. “You should’ve told him no and called him tomorrow,” he told her seriously. It was a complete injustice. “You are way out of your working hours, they have no right to dispose of your free time like this, and you should tell them that so they don’t get used to it.”  

The look in Ámbar’s eyes shifted. A little smile tugged on her lips as she saluted him military style. “Yes, sir, I’ll tell them right away.”

Her response put out the fire of his anger, even pulling a smile out of him. God, how did she do that? “I just don’t want them to overwork you,” he explained warmly. “I know employers, and trust me, the moment you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. And if that happens,” he added playfully, “I’m gonna have to talk to them because I have to look after my girlfriend.” 

Ámbar’s expression melted with love. She moved near him and gave him a kiss, holding his face tenderly. “Thank you. But just this once it’s okay, trust me. If they ever do anything else, I’ll put a stop to it myself,” she reassured him. Parting, she went back to her dressing table. “Now, could you help me out with the mirror in my closet?” She asked him, pointing behind her. “I want to finish this soon so I can call as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He moved to grab some paper towel and doused it with the nail polish remover. Meanwhile, Ámbar had started scrubbing the left mirror, which had a long black line of paint in a snake-like shape. Simón looked at her. Then he whipped his free hand forward to spank her and ran away. Ámbar yelped.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

He heard her laugh and the smile on his face grew.

Yeah, this was nice. It was okay.

Ámbar walked down the stairs towards the mansion’s lobby. This place always looked especially still and quiet at night, and the low lights made the living room’s furniture blend in with the shadows. She had long gotten over her fear of the dark though— Way worse things happened every day in plain daylight.

She'd had to explain to Simón why she had to go downstairs to call Vidia instead of calling right there in her room. ‘Thick walls have many perks, but good phone signal is not one of them', she'd told him. Which was not completely a lie— She did have issues with phone signal sometimes in her room. It was not the real reason why she was making this call downstairs though. But for the first time in a while, Ámbar didn’t feel bad for not being a hundred percent honest.

Once she reached the living room, she searched through her contacts and found Juan Pablo’s number. She contemplated sitting down but she was too anxious about this, so she just clicked on ‘call’ and brought her phone to her ear.

It connected after the third ring. “Ámbar,” came the man’s voice on the other end, not very deep in tone, but mature and collected. “Hello, how are you?”

“Hello, Juan Pablo,” Ámbar greeted back, trying to sound professional but also a nice degree of friendly—A hard balance, but one she’d almost mastered by now since she’d started working. It made her a little nervous that she hadn’t really spoken much to Juan Pablo since she’d become manager. It was usually Rosales or some other executive that contacted her, so she didn’t really know what to expect from him. For now, his voice didn’t sound particularly charismatic, but at least he was polite— She couldn’t say the same for the rest of them. “Everything’s good over here, thank you. How’s Australia?”

“Rainy. It seems like the rain followed me here. But thankfully I already finished the first few meetings with our potential partners. If everything works out, we’ll close the deal, and I should be flying back to Buenos Aires next week.”

Ámbar nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. “Great. That’s great. Sounds good,” she said, feeling a little stupid but, what else could she say to that? She had no idea. “Um, did you have time to look over my proposal?”

She hoped she didn’t sound rude for interrupting the small talk, but honestly, she didn’t know what else to say, so better to go straight to the point, and Simón was right, it was too late for her to be doing this. Hopefully, it would be worth it.

By the leathery sounds on the other end of the line, Ámbar could imagine Juan Pablo sitting down, whether on a tall office chair or a wide sofa. “I did, some hours back.”

“And?” She ventured further, her heartbeat fast in her chest. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a great idea,” declared Juan Pablo. Ámbar fell a weight lift from her shoulders. “It is everything that we want to represent as Vidia— It’s colorful, youthful, international, representative of other cultures… Plus, that new Disney movie ‘Coco’ is currently very popular, so we could promote this as a family event; kids are always a good revenue source.”

He sounded genuinely excited about the idea and Ámbar couldn’t be gladder about it. It hadn’t occurred to her that they could cater to children as well. Personally, she’d like to see this event as something more than just a scheme to get money out of people, but if that was what he wanted, she had no problem with it. “Yes, absolutely. We could have more family-oriented activities during the day and then have the Roller Jam itself during the evening, focusing more on our usual teenage/young adult customers.”

“I like that idea. Listen, send me a preliminary budget plan tomorrow during the day, as complete as you can make it, and we’ll work out the details from there, alright?”

She nodded. “Yes. Perfect. No problem.”

“Great. We’ll be in contact then, Ámbar,” Juan Pablo said in farewell. “If I’m not available for any reason this week, talk to Rosales. And remember, try to keep the expenses low but always maintaining the style that defines us as Vidia.”

“Yes. Of course. I will.”

With some final goodbyes, Ámbar ended the call and smiled, bubbly excitement filling up her chest.

She hoped Simón would like her surprise.

…

..

.

Chapter Text

By the time Ámbar returned to her room last night, Simón was fast asleep.

Not that she minded, of course. It was very late and he deserved the rest. She was planning on keeping the Roller Jam a secret for a little longer anyway, so she just tucked herself under the covers and nestled next to him to sleep.

Simón did mind though, and he made it very clear first thing in the morning.

Ámbar moaned as he ran his fingers between her legs, his chest firm and hot against her back, his kisses wet on the curve of her neck.

“I made you a promise yesterday,” he said against her ear, and lifted her right leg to rest it upon his own, “and I intend to keep it.”

His fingers entered her, ripping a high-pitched noise from Ámbar’s throat. She could feel him hard against her ass, but he didn’t bury himself inside her right away, massaging her with his fingers first, making her see stars as he curled them and scissored them. His other hand held her breast underneath her sleep shirt, squeezing her nipple gently while he devastated her underneath her pants.

Why she even still had them on was a mystery. Her panties had to be ruined by this point with how wet she was. Her thighs were shaking, her muscles getting tighter and tighter with every graze against her clit, and the way his fingers prodded on the deepest parts of her was the most sinful madness. Maybe he intended to make her cum like this before giving it to her, but if she was deprived of being filled again, then she would be angry.

“Simón,” she whined, bringing a hand behind her to grab onto his hair. She moved her ass against his cock, making him groan. “Please. Now.”

Thankfully, her boyfriend was the kind eager to please. She missed his fingers as he used them to shove her pants down, but then she felt his tip aligning with her and she forgot about it.

Simón buried inside her in one swift thrust, pushing a moan out of her lips. Her hand left his hair and clutched the sheets in front of her, gripping them harder and scratching them with her nails as Simón wrapped an arm around her and started to fuck her.

They had slept like this, spooning. It hadn’t occurred to her they’d do this like this too.

It was slow but firm, each stroke inside her touching that spot that sent electricity through her body. She’d been close before, so now, with him finally inside her after craving it so much yesterday, she could feel her release approaching quickly.

“You’re so good, Ámbar,” Simón told her softly, “you take me so well.”

A visceral moan burst out of Ámbar’s throat. Oh my god, what the—

Ámbar whimpered and moaned as Simón kept speaking to her ear, telling her how good she’d sucked him off yesterday, how he couldn’t stop thinking about her lips around him, how she was even wetter than her mouth right now.

Ámbar got tauter than a pulled-on spring, and she even surprised them both when she came right then without him needing to touch her clit.

“Fuck,” she heard Simón curse as she spasmed in delight, and he grabbed her hip firmly, thrusting hard, chasing his own orgasm. 

He found it soon after, gasping against her neck as he filled her with his cum. Ámbar let out one last moan at the sensation, and then both melted into the sheets, boneless.

Simón kissed her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her. Once Ámbar could move again, she turned inside his hold to face him.   

“How did you know to say all that?” She asked, her breathing still a little shallow. She couldn’t remember ever getting that turned on that fast.

“I had a hunch.” He held a lock of her hair between his fingers and watched as he caressed it. “Do you remember that night I went down on you until you almost passed out?”

“Vividly.”

He chuckled. “Well, I think it was after the fourth. I was building you up for the fifth and you were very adamant that you couldn’t, but I knew you could, and you did. I remember I said ‘that’s my girl’, jokingly of course, totally expecting you to kick me to be honest, but you came even harder and gripped my fingers so hard…” He finally moved her hair behind her shoulder. “I made a mental note to try that out later.”

Ámbar looked down, feeling her cheeks warm up. “Hm.”

Simón kissed her temple. “The queen of the Roller likes praise; I think I should’ve guessed that.”

She could hear the teasing smile in his voice. She shoved him lightly, pulling away from him. “Oh, shut up and help me get to the shower; we’ll be late.”

He laughed. “As you wish, boss.”

Ámbar let out a yelp as Simón lifted her up, passing his hands beneath her arms and legs. She’d only meant for him to help her get up!

She clung to his neck and her surprise melted into laughter as he carried her to the bathroom. God, he was ridiculous. But she wouldn’t have him any other way.  

The rest of the morning consisted of comparing prices, gathering ideas, and making the project plan for Vidia. She wanted nothing more than to tell everyone about this— one person especially— but she wanted to get this preliminary document done first. It’d make it feel more real in her head and help her have a clearer image for her to work upon later.

At some point around noon, when she’d decided it’d be cheaper to make some of the paper decorations by hand than to have them made, Simón came up to her table… flanked by practically the entirety of the Roller and Juliana.

Ámbar blinked, perplexed by being suddenly surrounded. “Uh… Can I help you?”

She hadn’t done anything wrong, had she? Usually, when she found herself on the opposite side of a mob, it was never for positive reasons. Was this a coup d'état?

Simón’s face didn’t indicate anything bad was happening at least. He glanced behind him at his friends and Juliana before speaking. “Yeah, um, the guys were wondering if, now that Juliana is back, you would let us use the rink for training.”

“Outside of Vidia, of course,” Juliana added.

Oooh.

Yeah, on second glance, the expression on everyone’s faces was nervous anticipation. Ámbar almost laughed— It was so obvious that they had sent Simón in front to talk to her. She noticed, though, that he said “the guys” instead of “we”. It meant he already knew what she was going to say, or at least trusted his guess a lot.

Ámbar smiled. “Yeah, of course, I don’t see why not.”

Relieved sighs and smiles spread out through the people in front of her, except Simón who just calmly turned to them and said, “I told you.”

“Thank you so much, Ámbar,” Luna said with a huge, excited grin. Next to her, Juliana thanked her too and then spun around, facing the rest.

“Alright, everyone, attention.” The guys rounded up around her as she glanced at her wristwatch. “I want all of you at the rink at 1 pm sharp. If you need to do anything before training, do it now. I’ll go inform everyone that’s at the rink right now so they can clear it. Simón, I believe you’re at locker duty?” He nodded. “Please receive all rental skates.” She looked at everyone again. “Dismissed!”    

As Juliana left for the rink, everyone turned to each other, talking excitedly about being able to skate at the Roller again. Ámbar heard Yam say that they should celebrate this by grabbing lunch together after practice. More excited voices rose at that, and there was a mention of inviting Gastón as well. Simón, now standing by the other end of the cafeteria, looked at Ámbar across the room with a conflicted expression, a question in his eyes. Ámbar smiled and nodded; she didn’t mind eating alone for once. Simón smiled wide, and with just a few more words to his friends, disappeared in the direction of the lockers. Some others walked away as well; others stayed. Ámbar looked down at her papers.

“Okay, back to work,” she said to herself, and clicked on her pen to carry on writing. 

Not ten minutes had passed when she felt her cellphone vibrate.

My love 💙: Ámbar, come quick! There’s a serious problem at the lockers and I don’t know what to do

Ámbar frowned upon seeing the notification on her phone. Simón had only been there taking care of the skates for a moment— What could’ve gone wrong in so little time?

Heart racing from worry, she rose from her table to go to the lockers. Had something been stolen? Would she need to have security cameras installed? It’d be quite ironic considering the lengths she went to before to get rid of Vidia’s cameras, but if it was necessary, she’d tell Rosales right away. 

Ámbar walked inside the room and looked around rapidly, searching for the emergency, but she found everything in its place and the place empty. There wasn’t even anyone by the counter.

She frowned. “Simón?”

Heels clicking on the floor, she moved to the back of the room, and the second she did, she was yanked by the arm to the side. Ámbar yelped, and next thing she knew, her back was against the lockers and Simón’s mouth on her own.  

Simón did feel a little bad for tricking her, but he couldn’t say he regretted it much, especially as Ámbar got over her surprise and kissed him back, holding his face.  

He broke away after a moment. “The problem is that I love you too much and I don’t know what to do with myself,” he said smiling. He’d been so proud when she allowed them to use the rink without even doubting it— He knew she would— and just the idea that he’d be able to skate with his friends again made him so happy that he just needed to share it, needed to be with her.

Ámbar giggled and gave him a short kiss. “Alright, I forgive you for scaring me, but only because you’re adorable and I love you too.”  

Simón grinned and pressed his lips against hers again. God, if he could just kiss her all day, he swore he’d be happy. He didn’t even need to eat.

The kiss was cut short though, lasting just a couple of seconds before Ámbar pushed him away, not brusquely, but her hands were firm on his shoulders.

“Someone could see us,” she said. 

Simón’s brows drew together. His heart grew heavy before he could stop it. “Would it really be that bad?”

He understood that she didn’t want to be seen like this by everyone, truly he did. But most people that came here already knew they were together, and most were his friends. This just seemed like she didn’t want to be seen with him at all.

Her expression turned apologetic. “No, but, you know, I’m the manager of this place. That’s why I wanted to tone down the PDA; some people could look at it wrong.”

You didn’t care about that when you were with Benicio.

The thought came to him unbidden, along with memories of him sticking to Ámbar’s side all the time and practically pulling her onto his lap while at the Roller, but he shot them down. It’s different, I’m an employee, of course it’s not the same.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it made sense now that he thought about it. In fact, he should’ve thought of that before.

But this just left him even more confused. “Why didn’t you say so from the beginning?”

Ámbar looked at him uncomprehending so he elaborated. “When you told me no PDA, I thought you meant in general, so of course I tried to abide by that, but if what you were worried about was people seeing us at work, why didn’t you just say so? I would’ve understood that.”

There was a pause as they looked at each other. Simón liked to think he knew how to read Ámbar— he saw through all her fluffs last year when she tried to pretend she was fine— but right now he couldn’t understand the look in her eyes. She looked as lost as him.

“I… don’t know,” she said slowly.

Simón scrunched up his eyebrows. There was something weird here; how could she not know? Had it never occurred to her to tell him until now or…?

“But, well, now you know,” she continued before he could dwell on it further. “I mean, even if we’re not here, I’m not gonna, like, straddle you in the middle of a park; I’m not that kind of person. But regular kissing and hand-holding are okay whenever you want.”

Her example amused him, but he still felt a little too mixed up inside. He tried to smile though. “Yeah, um, I wouldn’t do the park thing either.” 

They chuckled a little, slightly. There was a speck of awkwardness in the air, he could feel it.

She pecked his lips. “I’ll get back to my table.”

“Yeah, sure, go ahead.”

His tentative smile faded out as Ámbar left the lockers. He… didn’t know what to think about this. It wasn’t such a big deal; the misunderstanding was already settled. And it was actually good news: this meant he could relax a little with the kissing and stuff when they were outside of the Roller. But… he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“I… don’t know.”

Simón got back to work, checking the skates he’d just received before he had to go to practice with the rest of the guys. He was probably just overthinking it too much. Things slipped people’s minds all the time, it was normal. So, maybe it really hadn’t occurred to her to tell him.

Or, maybe, she didn’t want to.

Emilia had seen and experienced a lot of bullshit in her life— more than she’d like, to be honest— but this had to be a joke.

“What the fuck?”

With the rollerskates on their feet and water bottles in their hands, Benicio and she had left the lockers and gone to the rink for one of their daily training sessions. But the moment her gaze fell upon it, she halted in her tracks.

The Jam & Losers were skating in the rink, practicing some kind of pirouettes as Juliana, that insufferable hag who’d returned yesterday, watched them from the sidelines and yelled out directions.

“Why are those losers using our rink?” Benicio said next to her, the outrage crystal clear in his voice.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Emilia said, just as annoyed. So not only was the witch back but now the losers dared to use their rink???

Benicio skated towards Juliana, who was standing by the lower right corner. Emilia followed.

“What do you think you’re doing using our rink?” Benicio demanded, standing with his hands on his hips while Emilia stopped beside him, arms crossed in front of her chest. “You were banned from skating here.”

Juliana turned to them with barely veiled annoyance. Well, that made three of them. “First of all, watch your tone because I don’t work for you,” she told Benicio pointedly. “And second of all, we have Ámbar’s permission to train here.”

Emilia felt a pang in her chest. Ámbar? Ámbar allowed this? Hadn’t she betrayed them enough? How could she do this to them?

What was up with her lately? She used to hate them! They spent the whole summer talking about how they were a bunch of idiots and Ámbar deserved better. She said she felt way better with the Sliders, and later the Red Sharks, than she ever did with them. Every time Emilia went to her house, or Ámbar went to hers, they laughed about the Roller losers and how they were going to bring them down, show them who the best skaters were.

Emilia didn’t recognize her anymore. This was even worse than dating that loser or the thing with Delfi and Jazmín. Was everything Ámbar said before a lie? Or was she acting now for the sake of her little boyfriend?

At first, she thought it was the second, but she didn’t think so anymore. She’d seen her interact with the Roller guys, seen her give sweet little smiles that gave her the creeps, because they looked sincere, she looked happy with them. The Ámbar she had known would’ve never smiled like that. Something had changed about her, fundamentally.

“There has to be a mistake,” Benicio said by her side, clearly just as shocked by this as her.

Juliana showed them a self-complacent smile. “There’s no mistake. If you want, you can speak with her, she’s the manager of the Roller.”

“Well, we came here to train, and as we are the skaters chosen by Vidia, we have priority over you,” Emilia argued.

“You were the skaters of Vidia, but as far as I know, the Red Sharks don’t exist anymore, or am I mistaken?” Juliana said.

Emilia had to bite her tongue. It hurt every time someone mentioned that, especially in a superior tone that made her feel like a failure. She already had enough with her parents telling her exactly that and asking her every week when she was going to go back to Mexico.

Juliana looked at her wristwatch. “We’re scheduled for another 20 minutes of practice and then the rink’s all yours,” she said, not unkindly. “You can wait by the bleachers if you want.”

She left them there, walking towards Luna to give her some instruction. Benicio skated away, his jaw visibly shut tight, and Emilia followed him to the bleachers. They sat side by side in the uncomfortable plastic seats, the outrage and frustration palpable in the air. She’d gotten so used to having Benicio by her side that it was a little comforting, especially considering how they’d been getting closer lately, but no attractive guy could really soften the blow that this was.

“I can’t believe Ámbar really switched sides to those losers,” she said. It really made her question if she ever knew her at all.

Benicio looked at her reproachfully. “Please, Emilia, don’t be absurd. Don’t you see that she’s just playing a role for them? She’ll use them, and then when she’s done with them, she’ll throw them away like a broken toy.”

Emilia frowned. If he really believed that, she felt genuinely sad for him. “I don’t think so, Benicio. Ámbar is not as she used to be.” She shook her head, clearing it. “But, you know what? I think we should canalize our energy in something else,” she proposed. “We need to focus on us. If you and I work together, we can get very far, I know it.”

The only way to make leaving her country worth it was to get results. The Red Sharks were no more but there were plenty of couple rollerskating competitions. They just had to show what they were capable of, win a couple awards, and they’d be on the right track.

And, well, if they moved on to another kind of couple too, she wouldn’t be mad at it.

“You know what? You’re right. We can’t let Ámbar make fun of us without suffering the consequences. She will regret this.”

Emilia frowned. That was… not what she meant? Did he even listen to her at all?

She wasn’t opposed to making Ámbar pay— she had betrayed them over and over after all— but they had Benicio’s plan for that (which was moving at a snail’s pace but whatever.) They could perfectly do something else in the meantime.

Benicio got up next to her. “I’m gonna go speak with Ámbar; she won’t get away with this.”

He rolled away before Emilia could even say anything. He looked angry, but all this obsession he had with Ámbar made her think there was another reason besides anger why he chased after her so much.

Emilia hoped she was wrong because then… then she’d be really doomed.

Benicio didn’t find Ámbar by her usual table. Instead, he saw her leave from behind the bar after tucking something away, and then she went to grab a paper bag that was on the counter; her lunch, judging by the looks of it. Benicio stomped towards her and stood with his hands on his hips.

“Why did you let the Roller guys use our rink?”

Seeing him, Ámbar left the bag back on the counter and looked at him with annoyance. “I’ve got bad news for you, Benicio; it’s not your rink. The Red Sharks don’t exist anymore, don’t you remember?”

Even with her glare and how angry he was right now, Benicio had to admit that Ámbar was ravishing. He had thought so since the very first time he saw her, walking with that confident, hypnotizing sway of her hips that beckoned men to look at her, to desire her. Benicio had decided right there and then that he’d make her his, even before he knew all the fire and darkness that roared inside her and called to his own.

He had her for a time— His to touch, his to kiss, his to show. But he lost her. He understood, in a way. She was ambitious like him, unlikely to stay in the same place for too long. She needed a challenge, and she found it in the self-righteous guy who stared at her with wet puppy dog eyes. But Simón was below her level. She deserved better than to have to be bending over backwards to fit the whims of a loser, and he told her as much.

“Did you forget how much you used to hate them? Because I don’t think so. I think you’re only doing this to look well in front of Simón.” He huffed out a sardonic laugh. “You know, it really makes me feel sorry for you. You two won’t last long, and you know it. You’re too different.”

Ámbar held up one hand. “Wait, I… didn’t know you were a couple’s counselor,” she said sardonically, making him clench his jaw. “Let’s do the following. I’ll save your number and I’ll call you if I ever need your advice, okay?”

Beautiful but exasperating. He wouldn’t put up with her anymore if he didn’t like her so much.  

“You spoke to Vidia about this I assume?” He continued, not backing down. “They have to give their approval for Juliana to train here, or did you forget that they fired her?”

“Gary fired her,” she clarified. “The Roller guys are just using the rink, not representing Vidia.”

“Well, you should tell Vidia anyway; they’re the owners of this place.”

“The manager of this place it’s me,” Ámbar said curtly, a fire burning behind her eyes. “So whoever skates here or doesn’t skate here it’s my decision, have I made myself clear?”

“I believe you’re forgetting than just one call from me to Vidia about your liaisons with an employee and your manager position is no more,” he said.

Ámbar paused, and something flashed along her face, something tormented. Then her eyes widened with blatant incredulity, and a mirthless snort burst out of her lips. “Oh my god, you brazen piece of shit— If it was up to me, Benicio, you wouldn’t even put a foot in this place, in fact, you would be far, far away in Italy rotting somewhere, so don’t you dare complain to me about a single thing again, do you hear me?” 

She snatched up her lunch bag from the counter and left angrily, going straight for the Roller’s front doors.  

Benicio stood there, annoyed at her attitude, but also kind of amused by how she kept proving him right. Ámbar wasn’t the good girl she was pretending to be, and she was completely wrong if she thought he was going to leave her alone. She was going to be his; she just had to realize who was the one that truly accepted her as she was. 

Simón was in such a great mood after spending the afternoon with his friends. They joked and laughed at the diner-style restaurant they chose to have lunch at, and they took many pictures, some of which he shared on his Instagram stories. It took a while to tag every single person on them, but wasn’t that just great? All of them together again. Even Gastón was there, even if just on a visit.

The only one missing was Ámbar. The thought crossed his mind at one point while they ate their burgers and reminisced about old times. She used to be a part of this team. He remembered when skating with her was an everyday occurrence instead of a seldom one when both had time.  It would’ve been nice if she had been there too, but he couldn’t invite her to a team outing considering everything that happened; he didn’t know if the rest of the guys would’ve taken it well.

The cheerful chatter took his mind off it well enough. Time flew by, and they probably could’ve stayed there all afternoon if Pedro and he didn’t have to work. 

They arrived back at the Roller still laughing about how Jim made Jazmín laugh so hard that her milkshake burst from her lips and splashed over Pedro’s sleeve, all except Gastón who’d have to go on an errand for his mom.

They spread around the cafeteria’s tables. Ámbar stood from her seat when she saw them.

“Good, you’re all back,” she said, smiling. “I have a very important announcement to make, could you gather around please?”

Simón blinked, surprised and curious as to what this could be about. He got some curious glances from his friends too, who probably thought he knew about this, but he truly didn’t— Ámbar hadn’t told him anything about an announcement. 

Everyone moved closer, creating something like a semicircle around Ámbar. She joined her hands together and began to speak, still smiling, with a speck of excitement in her eyes.

“Well, as I said, I have an announcement, which I’m sure you’ll all like very much: We’ll be doing a new Roller Jam.”

The air around the cafeteria, which had been previously filled with a little apprehension from the guys, quickly shifted to something positive.

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Yam said, sounding pleasantly surprised. Simón was as well— Roller Jams were always fun.

“Yeah,” Ámbar continued, “and this one will be very special and different from the others because it will be inspired by México.”

Wait, what?  

“Did you say México?” Luna said, excitement already slipping into her voice.

“Yeah, the Día de los Muertos to be more precise,” Ámbar said.  

“Oh my god, that’s so cool!” Luna exclaimed, so happy that it seemed to emanate from her in waves.

“Día de los Muertos?” Ramiro said with a slight frown. “What’s that?”

Luna started to explain the festivity to everyone, something to which Simón probably should’ve joined in considering he’s from México too, but he quite literally couldn’t speak right now. In fact, he wasn’t even listening.

Holy shit, he loved his girlfriend so much he was going to climb the Obelisk to scream it from the top of it. His heart was running wild. This had to be because of their conversation the other day— it had to be. Gosh, this was so…

“Well, I don’t think we need to ask where you got the idea from,” Jazmín said with laughter in her voice after Luna finished explaining. She was holding her tablet, her camera pointed towards Ámbar, but suddenly, it was pointed at Simón.  

Many eyes pointed at Simón.

Oh no.

Matteo turned to him with a teasing expression. “Yeah, Simón, you’re very quiet; cat got your tongue or something?”

“I think it was an Argentinian that got his tongue,” Ramiro said with a smirk.  

The whole Roller burst into whistles and smooching sounds. Simón tried to keep a straight face. “Are you guys five?” He complained. He swore the only thing missing was for them to start singing ‘Simón and Ámbar sitting in a tree…’

Ámbar cleared her throat, pulling everyone’s attention. She was a little red in the cheeks, but other than that, her non-affected face was almost impeccable. “For your information, Vidia liked the idea because of the ‘Coco’ movie,” she stated in a professional voice. “And I’m out of here.” She grabbed her folder and walked away.

The teasing noises resurged with a vengeance.

“Simón, your lovebird is running away!” Pedro yelled.

“Ámbar, when it’s my Chilean party going to be?!” Ramiro joked too at her retreating form.

Before Simón could even process all of this, Jazmín got in his face with her tablet. “Simón! Any comment for Ja-Jazmín about this gesture of love from Ámbar? Did you know it was coming? Was it a surprise? What will you be wearing for the Roller Jam?!"

Okay, that’s enough. “I’m out of here.”

Simón got behind the bar and rounded the corner quickly until he was on the opposite side of the cafeteria and sat on the floor, hiding from view. He heard Jazmín’s protests behind him, but thankfully she didn’t follow him.

Pedro appeared by his side, but his smile was gentle, not teasing anymore. “You better get used to it. If we become famous, this will be our lives.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, but for our music, I’ll tolerate it,” Simón said, earning a light laugh from Pedro. He offered him a hand and Simón took it, smiling, and let him pull him up. They shared some friendly pats on the back before parting. 

Pedro pulled out his armband from his jacket’s front pocket, the one with the Jam&Roller logo that signaled to everyone that he was an employee there, and wrapped it around his upper arm, an official act that meant he was working again. They always put it on or took it off whenever they went out or finished a shift.

Simón checked his pockets for his own, but he didn’t find it. “Shoot, I think I left my armband in my locker.” He turned to Pedro. “I’ll be right back.”

The swarm of his friends had dispersed by now, fortunately, so Simón felt safe to wear his smile as he walked towards the lockers. This day had been crazy, but in such an amazing, positive way that he couldn’t find it in himself to mind.

Once he reached the hallway, however, he found this day wasn’t done throwing things his way after all. Benicio was standing there, leisurely leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He smirked upon seeing him.

“Look at you, all happy. It’s almost funny.”

Simón automatically stopped smiling, and, just as quickly, decided to ignore him.

He entered the lockers room as he had intended, but Benicio followed him inside. “I heard Ámbar’s little announcement,” he said in the same mocking, falsely friendly voice. “It’s not the gift that you think it is.”  

Simón sighed heavily, stopping to face him since he seemed to have no other choice. “Benicio, don’t you get tired? I already told you; it doesn’t matter what you say or do, it won’t affect Ámbar and me.”

“Oh, I don’t have to do anything,” Benicio responded. “She’ll do it all on her own. In fact, she’s already at it.”

Simón frowned. “What do you mean?”

Benicio laughed, a sound that managed to be mocking, condescending, and smug all at once.  “You’re so naïve. You really believe she’s changed. Or maybe you just don’t wanna see the truth: that she’s faking it all.”

“I already told you, she’s not like you,” Simón countered soberly. “Don’t put her at your level.”

“No, you’re right, she’s not like me,” Benicio agreed with an ease that surprised him. “She plays for the long run, you see? I’m more of an ‘in the moment’ kind of guy, patience is not my forte. But her? She plans ahead.”

He took a step toward Simón, getting into his space. 

“Why do you think she made that Flash Open?” He asked, his casual air now replaced by a serious one, eerie and focused as he stared him down. “Why do you think she started talking about uniting the Roller one minute to the other? Because she wanted to get you, Simón. You were just a challenge for her. So, she planned that whole charade about all of us being friends to trick you into thinking she had changed… And look how well it worked.” He smirked, sinister and satisfied. “Now she’s organizing this whole party for you, to keep you blind. She does these things so you won’t notice who she really is, so you’ll be so idiotically happy that you won’t even think about what she does behind your back.” 

“There are some things I can’t tell.”

“I don’t know.”

“Mark my words, Simón,” Benicio sentenced with finality. “The moment she gets tired of you, the moment she gets bored of pretending to be someone that she’s not, she’s going to come to me. And I, well…” He smiled. “I may have been bothered by her little stunt with you, but she’s still hot. So if she seeks me… I’m going to welcome her with open arms.” 

Benicio’s eyes looked as if what he was saying had already come to pass. Simón held his stare, his jaw tight, an ashy feel on his mouth.

Footsteps sounded by the entrance and stopped.

“Is there a problem here?”

It was Matteo’s voice.

“No,” Simón replied, still staring Benicio down. “Just Benicio here, who I think is feeling unwell because he’s delirious— Should I bring you some juice?” He offered ironically. “An ice bag maybe?” 

Benicio gave him his typical conceited smile. “Don’t bother, I was on my way out.”  

He left without further ado, passing by Matteo and taking a left in the hallway. By the looks of it, maybe he left the Roller altogether. Simón spun in the opposite direction and walked further into the room, going to his locker.

“What was that about?” Matteo asked behind him. “What did he say to you?”

“Stupidities.” Simón put his code on the lock and opened it. “Just ignore it, it’s what I do.”

Or what he wanted to do, anyway.

In truth, he was sick to his stomach, moving on autopilot. He knew that listening to anything Benicio said was idiotic, but so much of it had rung true. So much of it lined up with things that didn’t make sense, fanned worries Simón had been working hard to bury because he trusted Ámbar.

This shouldn’t bother him.

It didn’t.

It did.

“I don’t get why Ámbar still allows him here when she’s the manager,” Matteo said, his voice dripping with distaste toward Benicio but more conversational than anything, just thinking out loud.

“You and I both,” Simón said in a monotone, rummaging through his locker.  

“Maybe it’s ‘cause they used to be teammates?” Matteo theorized. “Maybe doing bad things together generates some sense of loyalty.”  

“Ámbar doesn’t feel loyalty towards Benicio, Matteo, don’t speak bullcrap,” Simón bit out and closed his locker door shut.

He put the lock back in its place and then wrapped the armband around his left wrist. He just wanted to go back to work.

“Hey,” Matteo said softly, asking for his attention.

Simón lifted his gaze towards him. The look on Matteo’s face was tentative, serious, no doubt due to sensing his sour mood.

“Whatever he said to you, he said it because he’s jealous,” Matteo told him with conviction. “Ámbar never threw an Italian party for him, did she?” He pointed out. “Hell—She never threw one for me, and we dated for years!”

His exclamation stole a smile from Simón. He looked down, allowed those words to sink in, truly sink in.

“She’s crazy about you,” Matteo said, and when Simón looked up he saw his smile was soaked in sincerity. “If one thing’s for certain here, it is that. And that’s coming from me, her ex who knows her a lot.”   

“Yeah, okay, can we not?” Simón said running a hand through his hair. “I really don’t like it whenever I remember that.”

Matteo made a show of sipping his lips.

Simón smiled. “Thank you,” he expressed profoundly. He didn’t know why he was letting this affect him when he was usually such a positive person, but it was nice to know he had people in his life who’d help him get the right perspective again.

Matteo lifted his hands, downplaying it. “Hey, I only said the truth.”   

Simón crossed his arms and looked at him teasingly. “What happened with that thing about Ámbar only knowing how to hurt people?”

“You’re spending too much time with her if you’re calling me out on past things.”

Simón laughed, prompting Matteo to smile as well, and he finally moved to leave. “I’ll get back to work.”

“Yeah, see ya later.”

Simón got back to work with his spirits restored and his smile back in place. It made him happy that Matteo, one of her strongest detractors, seemed to be changing his mind about Ámbar. Maybe a future where she could join them for lunch and go back to being part of the team wasn’t so far away after all.

“…So that’s my idea this far,” Ámbar finished. She’d been telling him what her plans were for the Día de los Muertos Roller Jam ever since Simón got back from the Roller. He hadn’t waited even a second upon entering her room to crush her in a hug and smother her with kisses for this surprise she’d given to him. Ámbar giggled when he spun her around and said she was just happy he liked it, as if it weren’t much, but Simón wished he could speak 20 languages just so he could tell her ‘Thank you’ and ‘I love you’ in every single one of them.  “I was thinking you and Luna can open the Roller Jam with a performance since you’re both from Mexico, what do you think?”

Excitement burst inside Simón. “Yeah! Oh my god, that’d be amazing— I’ll talk to Luna later, I’m sure she’ll love the idea.” It’d be the cherry on top of an already magnificent day.

“Great!” Ámbar looked down at her papers. She was sitting on her knees on the bed while Simón sat criss-cross in front of her, her papers with planning laying between them like a bonfire.  “Now I just need to get the budget approved and I can get everything in order. If I start getting everything ready now and I put myself into a light, not completely against the clock schedule, I think it could be done on the same date as the Flash Open was last month.”

Simón paused. “Wait, so… it’d be our monthaversary?”

Ámbar looked up and blinked at him. “Oh. I don’t know, would it? I mean— Which date are we considering? The Flash Open kiss or when the whole Luna thing got figured out?” She asked. “I doubt you want to count our encounter in the storage room,” she added teasingly.

Simón chuckled. “Yeah, no. As great as that was, I don’t think it counts.”

“Agreed; it was great.”

He smiled and beckoned her closer. Ámbar dodged her papers and came to his side, and he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her to him so she was sitting between his legs. “I think we should set it as the date of the Flash Open. That was when we took the step.”

Ámbar smiled warmly. “I like that.”

They lent in for a kiss, short, soft, and full of fondness.

“So, if it’s like that then, you can consider the Roller Jam as your monthaversary present,” she said after they parted.

Simón reeled back. “What?! No way! How am I supposed to compete with that?”

Ámbar giggled. “I never thought I’d say this ever in my life, but not everything is a competition, my love.” She slid her hands from his shoulders to his neck. “I’m already so happy to have you. You don’t need to give me anything else.”

He held her a little tighter. “I absolutely do, and I will. I’ll just need to get creative.”

She chuckled. Simón kissed her again and then checked his phone, which was laying on the bed next to him.

“Well, I got to go, we made plans with Pedro to meet at the storage room again.” He untangled himself from Ámbar while she gathered her papers so he didn’t crush them by accident. “We’re working on new songs and we left many things unfinished yesterday, so we wanted to continue with that.” He finished putting on his shoes and spun to leave a quick kiss on Ámbar’s forehead before standing from the bed. “We’ll eat something there so tell everyone to not wait for us for dinner please.”

“Okay, good luck with everything.”

“Thanks.” He was right by the door when he stopped. He turned to look at her. “You do know you’re my muse, right?”

Ámbar lifted her gaze to him and gave him a pretend warning look. “I better be.”

Simón smiled and left the room.

Ámbar found that family dinners weren’t the dreadful affair they used to be.

She remembered when she used to use these instances to spit all the venom she could at the people who’d barged into her life without her consent. It used to bring her satisfaction, to openly hate and speak against what she felt was injustice, a sugar-coated poisonous pill that they were trying to force her to swallow.

A part of her still resented a lot of things. A part of her still perceived all this kindness as weird and fake and wrong. But maybe that was because she wasn’t used to kindness. And maybe that part of her would always resent life because she wished things had been different. But she knew— She accepted, now— that the people around her weren’t at fault for it; for the injustice, the poison, the feeling of not belonging.

They were trying to make her belong. To give her a safe, warm space to return to that as of now she only knew in Simón’s arms. They were good people. And that was why she was certain they didn’t deserve Sharon’s venom, no matter how justified her godmother thought it was.

People started excusing themselves as they finished their meal. Michel left first and then Miguel, who said he had to check one last work thing before bed. The rest kept talking as they tended to do. Maggie neared the table with the serving trolley to start clearing it.

Mónica stood, reaching for the plates as well. “I’ll help you, Maggie.”

Ámbar stood. “No, I’ll help her, Mónica, don’t worry.”

The surprise was obvious in the whole room.

Mónica blinked. “You, Ámbar?”

“Yeah, it’s no trouble,” she said with a smile. “Lately I’ve been thinking I should get used to these things if I ever want to live on my own. Plus, Maggie and I had some things to discuss from the other day. Remember, Maggie?”

The aforementioned looked at her with clear confusion in her eyes. Ámbar kept her easy-going smile in place, but made sure to give her a pointed look, and icy.

“Uh— Oh! Right, yeah, we do,” Maggie said, thankfully catching on and rolling with it. She had to know it was in her best interests to not disagree with her, especially not in front of everyone.  

“But Ámbar, come on, you’re too young to be thinking about living alone!” Alfredo said with his typical buoyant flair. “This is your house! The doors will always be open for you and everyone else you want.”

Ámbar didn’t need to fake the amiability in her smile when she turned to him. “Thanks, grandpa, but I think becoming independent would be the right call for me,” she reasoned gently. “I can’t live here forever.”

“We’ll also leave as soon as we can, Mr. Alfredo,” Matteo pitched in politely. “We don’t want to be a bother to you all.”

Both Mónica and Luna hurried to say they weren’t a bother while Alfredo visibly deflated. “Oh, come on, what is all this?” He said with a dejected voice. “Suddenly everyone wants to leave this poor old man alone.” He turned to his right and put a smile on his face. “Luna, my sweet granddaughter— You’ll stay here forever, right?”

“…I…”

Ámbar stopped listening, focusing on placing all the plates and silverware on the trolley along with Maggie. Once that was done, Maggie carried everything to the kitchen, Ámbar close behind. She could feel the woman was tense, and she was right to be. The conversation Ámbar planned to have with her was serious, and very dangerous for them both considering the place they’d be having it in.  

The idea had come to her that very day, and quite honestly, Ámbar was a little embarrassed she hadn’t thought of it before. If she couldn’t make Sharon come to her senses— Yet, she hadn’t managed it yet; she would not give up— then the next logical, tactical step would be to try to reason with her underlings.

Rey was ruled out; the man had been blatantly betrayed by her godmother and yet he remained her most loyal accomplice; it was a lost cause. But maybe Maggie would listen to her. Ámbar had no idea how close of a relationship she had with Sharon or how invested she was in this plan of hers, but if her godmother had sought her out specifically and sent her to work at the mansion, she couldn’t have a small role in it. Hell, just this afternoon she’d seen her murmuring with Rey in the living room, courtesy of getting home a few hours earlier than usual. Who knew what they got up to while she was at the Roller. Whatever it was, it had to stop.

“What are you thinking?” Maggie whispered to her once they reached the kitchen sink, eyes filled with panic. “If you pull stuff like that, they could start to suspect us!”  

“Shut up and wash until they leave,” Ámbar hissed back.  

The two of them focused on doing the dishes, which Ámbar had never done, in her life, but she very much doubted it was hard.

And it was not, as she soon found out— Just very tedious.

Maggie handed her a pair of pink gloves. “Here. You should wear gloves or you’ll ruin your hands.”

Ámbar begrudgingly accepted them but ignored her advice that she should turn the faucet off between washing each thing. This was her house, and if she wanted to keep the water running, she would; it was easier that way.

After some minutes, the sound of voices died down and Mónica peeked her head through the kitchen door to wish them both goodnight. Not much could be heard after that; the coast seemed to be clear.

“Okay, what was all that?” Maggie asked her then, leaving the pan she’d been washing in favor of turning to face her. “Because I don’t think you’ve ever washed even a spoon in your life, and I very much doubt you just woke up this morning with the desire to do so.”

“No, you’re right, that’s not why I’m here,” Ámbar said, taking off the rubber gloves and dropping them on the sink. She turned to Maggie. “I need to talk to you about my godmother.”

“Yeah, I figured. But are you sure it’s safe to speak of that here?” She sent a quick, cautious glance to the door.

Ámbar turned on the faucet, letting the water splash down and cover some of their voices with its sound. “No one should come here after dinner, it’s fine. Plus, I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t important.”

Maggie sighed in annoyance. “Did she send you to talk to me? Because you can tell her that she’s way too old to be sending a girl to get on my case; if she wants to speak with me—”

“No,” Ámbar stopped her. “No, she didn’t send me to talk to you. I’m doing this on my own, and I’d actually appreciate it if you didn’t tell her I did it.”

Maggie frowned, clearly taken aback by this. Ámbar decided to push forward with her speech before things could go south.

“Listen, I don’t know what Sharon offered you in exchange for all of this, but I can assure you: it’s not worth it. You and Rey will only end up paying the consequences of everything while Sharon escapes and leaves you dealing with the fallout—She did it once to Rey and she’ll do it again. She doesn’t care about the people that she uses to reach her goals, she only cares about getting what she wants. You guys should stop helping her and convince her to stop all this madness before it’s too late.”  

The sound of running water filled the silence as Maggie considered her words. Her expression was grim. She looked down and sighed, but it was a tired gesture this time around. “To be honest, I’ve told Rey the same thing.”

Ámbar couldn’t even hide her surprise. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. Sharon is not even paying us what she promised; if at all. You have taste, you must know how much these shoes cost, right? How am I supposed to afford them and a pair of new bags if she doesn’t deliver?”

“So you only care about the money,” Ámbar deduced. That was something she could work with. Maybe she could buy her off.

Maggie hesitated. “Well… not entirely. This family is nice. They leave way too many things for me to clean, but… Moni is such a sweetie,” she said with a mix of lament and affection. “And everyone’s so kind. Naïve, but kind. I don’t think they deserve any of this.” 

“They are good,” Ámbar agreed, relieved that Maggie thought that way. Maybe she could achieve something with her help. “Annoying at times, but good. And, in a weird, indirect way which I’m still not over yet… they’re my family, so I want to help them.” She looked away, a heaviness settling in her chest. “But it’s hard when it’s also my family who wants to destroy them.”

“Look, if you ask me, Sharon’s got a screw loose,” Maggie said. “We’re old friends, she and I. Well, old work accomplices would be a better term. Anyway, I feel like she’s worse than before. She’s always been this cold, no-funny-business person, but lately, it’s like she’s blind. Like, she’s not even being logical anymore; all she thinks about is revenge. And she’s trying to steal my Rey just so she can use him, which it’s such a bitch move!”

Ámbar ignored the whole Rey and her godmother thing because ew, and focused on the rest.

“You really think she’s not thinking straight?”

“Absolutely. I mean, who the hell expects loyalty from their accomplices if you don’t pay them? Sure, she’s threatening me, but I’m sure Rey and I could run far away and Sharon wouldn’t bother to try to find us.”

“Then why haven’t you done so?”

“Because,” Maggie said with a clear edge of frustration in her voice, “against all their history and all his better judgment, Rey cares about Sharon too much. He can’t leave her alone.”

Ámbar’s heart constricted in her chest. So we’re the same in that.

“Honestly, I can’t believe he’s still in love with that woman after all this time,” Maggie kept talking, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the other side of the room as if it were the root of all her problems. “I thought I had managed to make him forget about her at least a little, that he liked me at least a little… Sometimes I wonder if he’s just humoring me.”

Her gaze had turned sad and Ámbar didn’t know what to say, mainly because she didn’t want to touch that topic.

“Well, whatever the case, we need to stop Sharon,” she said after a moment. Better to focus on what was important, for all involved. “You know that the worse this gets the worse you’ll come out of it for helping her; we need to do something now.”

Maggie looked dubious. “I really don’t think I can talk her out of it...”

“Leave that to me, I’ll try until she listens,” she affirmed with conviction. “You try to convince Rey to step aside. If you both stop helping Sharon, even if the Valente find out, the repercussions will be way lesser than what’s waiting for you right now.”