Happy early Christmas, everybody! Thank you for the 30k reads ♡
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In the blink of an eye, three whole days had passed since the return of Juliana. The Roller was lively, the music and the colors seeming more vibrant now that everything was back to how it used to be. Well, not everything, but as Nina's fingers flew around the keyboard, the familiar sound of typing joining the cheery voices of her friends, she contemplated that things were always changing, nothing ever stayed the same forever, and that was okay because it allowed growth.
Luna wasn't the same now that she knew who she truly was, but she'd gained more family and the ability to finally let go of the wondering and the empty space. Nico was no longer there, but he'd left for New York chasing his dreams. Nina herself would soon be graduating high school and doing God knows what. Something related to writing, for sure. She had some ideas, but it was still hard to imagine that by this time next year she'd be at university. Her life, and everyone's lives, were going to change so much, and in ways only the future could tell.
All of this she wrote on her laptop— Her musings about time and how fast it went by. Permanence. Change. Future. Her mind was full of these things because time, slowly and tortuously, had snuck up on her.
Gastón would be flying back to England tomorrow.
Nina's fingers stumbled and stopped their typing. Procrastinating writing philosophical thoughts was probably not a good idea. It helped her think though, and think she had, all these days, exhaustively. She didn't think she'd thought this much about Gastón since when she was first crushing on him years ago.
She also thought a lot about herself. About what she wanted.
She thought of Eric too.
She even thought of Xavi, sweet Xavi, and of a hundred hypothetical guys she could maybe meet in the future.
Future. Past. Possibilities. Fears. Wishes.
In the end, even if she rationalized everything and tried to find the right answer like in the question of a test, what really mattered were her feelings.
There was no 'right' answer because no one knew what would happen— She could only decide on what she wanted.
And she did.
Taking a deep breath, Nina grabbed her phone to follow through on what she had set out to do this morning. She tapped her screen, going through different chats until she found his contact.
N: Can we talk this afternoon?
N: I have my answer.
*************************
Keen eyes looked through documents; checking, evaluating.
"Okay, as far as I see it, everything's in order." Ana smiled. "This event is going to be great."
Ámbar placed a hand on her chest and sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, Ana." She received the papers from her and tucked them in the folder. "I want this to be the best Roller Jam ever. You're invited, by the way."
Ana laughed lightly. "Thank you, I'd love to come." She put her phone and pen back into her purse and began to stand. "I'll get going now, I have a hearing in a couple of hours."
"Yeah— Oh! Ana! Before I forget." Ana stopped to hear her. "Could you contact that accountant friend you told me about and see if they can come here one of these days?" Ámbar asked. "Because with the Open Music I could somehow manage, but this event is bigger and there'll be a lot more things to consider, I could really use their help."
"Of course," Ana said with a smile. "I'll call her later and ask her, but I don't think she'll have any problem."
"Awesome. Thank you so much, Ana," Ámbar said for maybe the fifth time that day, but she was truly a godsend. "I really don't know what I'd do without you."
"You're completely welcomed." Ana waved as she walked away. "See you later, Ámbar."
"See you!"
Ámbar grabbed her notepad and scratched 'Check the documents with Ana' out of her To-do list. The preparations for the Roller Jam had been going smoothly thus far. She had shown Simón some reference pics she'd found on the internet of Día de los Muertos decorations and he'd helped her pick what would work best for the event. The budget was approved by Vidia and she had almost all planned out. To be honest, she thought she could have this done in a matter of days if it were only the Roller Jam she had to worry about, like back when she did the Flash Open, but now she had her everyday manager responsibilities on top of it, which left her very little time to work on the event.
She'd thought of just doing it in her free time, but Simón quickly advised her against it. 'If they're not paying you for pulling extra hours, don't do them; it's not worth it. I learned that years ago.' Sometimes she forgot that he had so much work experience. She felt sorry for him for having felt the need to start working so young, but she also admired him a lot for it. He knew so many things that she didn't, like something as crucial to life as cooking a meal, and he always gave his best at everything he did. She hoped that he could live his dream soon. He was a great musician and he deserved to be recognized for it, he deserved to give his best at what he really wanted to do.
And then... what about her?
Ámbar paused with her pen in hand. It wasn't like being the manager of the Roller was her life dream. After this job was over... what would she do with her life? What did she want to do?
She spent some minutes looking at the document in front of her, pretending to read it while actually contemplating life.
A presence came up to her table.
"Hey, Ámbar."
Ámbar looked up, snapping out of her thoughts. She was immediately surprised. This was unexpected.
"Can I talk to you?" Matteo asked her, hesitant, probably because he also knew how unusual this was. "As in, in private?"
Ámbar's brows drew together a little. "Uh... Sure." It was a strange request but she saw no reason to say no. It wasn't like she was being very productive at the moment.
She stood from her seat and Matteo walked towards the dressing room, so she followed him there. Once inside, she closed the door behind her. "What's up?"
"Well, first of all, I wanted to say that I really like your Día de los Muertos idea for a Roller Jam," Matteo said. "We were all worried, to be honest, when you first became the Roller's manager, but I gotta admit, you've come up with very good things since then, and I think you deserve some credit."
Ámbar blinked. Okay... had she entered some alternate dimension without her knowing or something? Why was Matteo telling her this? "Wow, um, thank you...? I'm doing my best to be the best manager I can be," she said.
"Of course, of course. And the best girlfriend you can be too," Matteo added, this time jokingly. "Should I be offended that you never threw an Italian party for me while we were dating? Nor did you do it for Benicio. Now that I think about it—Do you know if Simón has any Italian heritage? Maybe you have a type."
She liked him better when he was being formal and appreciative.
"I'm trying to forget I ever dated you, and Benicio was nothing more than a momentary lapse of judgment," she said coolly. "Now, is there a point to this conversation?"
Matteo looked nervous again. "Right. Yes. I, um... I wanted to ask you for a favor."
Of course. "And what would that be?"
"Would it be possible for me to perform a song at the Roller Jam?"
Ámbar frowned a little. "Um... I mean, Simón and Luna are gonna sing one, but you're not from México, Matteo. Why do you wanna sing? To promote your new song?"
Matteo averted his gaze, hesitant. "I'm not from México..." He said slowly, "...but Luna is."
Ámbar's brows shot to her hairline and her jaw dropped.
"I wanna do a surprise for her," Matteo said fast while she snorted in disbelief, "so if you could also not tell anyone that I'll be singing, that'd be great. It'd only be one song—"
"You do realize that you're asking me, your ex, to do a surprise for the girl you dumped me for."
"I broke up with you for many reasons; only one of them was Luna. And you broke up with me too— And," he added quickly before she could refute, "didn't you just say that you wanted to forget we ever happened?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."
Matteo looked away and tucked his hands in the pocket of his pants. "For what is worth... I'm sorry for how I acted during our relationship. I know I wasn't the best boyfriend, especially the Luna thing... Though, in my defense, Gastón was the one who dared me to make her fall for me."
"Gastón did what?" And he had the audacity to act all goody-goody? "Oooh, I hope Nina doesn't forgive him," she spat. It was common knowledge to everyone with eyes that Gastón was hoping for something with Nina judging by the longing stares he sent her 24/7. After this? Ámbar was tempted to introduce her to another guy herself.
"Hey, I was the one who listened to him."
"I know," she told him with a glare; he wasn't even subtle about it.
A flash of shame passed across Matteo's face much to Ámbar's satisfaction. Good. Now they could lay this whole thing to rest. "Thank you for the apology," she said in a kinder tone. "You're two years late, but I guess it's better than never."
"Well, with the way you were acting, I didn't feel much like apologizing to you."
She glared at him again. Fair. Didn't mean she had to admit it.
"You're still asking me for a favor, remember?" She said. That shut him up. "And I was not the only one insufferable— In fact..." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What about Simón?"
Matteo frowned. "What about him?"
"Well, you were unfaithful to me, but you antagonized him for two years straight, including when you publicly humiliated him in that Vidia interview. Did you apologize to him?" She asked with indignation.
Matteo stared at her for a moment with a silly face. "Wow. Who would've thought you'd ever get this defensive over someone other than yourself."
"Matteo."
He sighed, getting back to the point. "I tried, some time ago. He didn't let me. He told me to forget about it, that it was all in the past. That I'm a different person now and he is happy we're friends."
Ámbar deflated and face-palmed. "Of course, he did." She looked to the side with mild annoyance. "I can't believe I'll have to get angry in his stead for the rest of my life."
"Or... you could learn from him and don't hold grudges," Matteo suggested.
Ámbar looked at him like he was insane. "Do you even know me at all?" She extended her hand in greeting. "Hi, Ámbar Smith, we dated for years, do you recall?"
Matteo laughed slightly, and for a moment it looked like that would be all— they'd buried the hatched, finally. But then his face clouded with worry. "You're treating him right, right?"
For the second time in this conversation, Ámbar's jaw dropped to the underworld. "Oh my god, I can not believe this— Another couple's counselor!" She threw her hands up. "They're just everywhere these days!"
Matteo frowned confusedly. "Another?"
"I'm not gonna talk about my relationship with you Matteo," Ámbar told him in all seriousness.
"I just wanted to make sure—" She gave him a pointed look. "Okay, fine, I get it," he backed off. He stared at her. "So..."
"So?"
"Can I perform at the Roller Jam?"
Ah right, that.
Ámbar narrowed her eyes, calculating.
"You would owe me a big favor," she started. "Immediate the moment I call it in; non-negotiable. If I decide I want you to repay me by singing 'Pocket full of sunshine' dressed in a bright yellow duck costume in front of the whole Roller, you do it."
Fear flickered in Matteo's eyes. "...Simón wouldn't let you do that to me."
Ámbar smiled. "Simón would be the first to want to see that."
Matteo remained quiet.
Ámbar offered him her hand, smiling wide and devilishly. "Do we have a deal?"
Matteo looked at her hand with clear reluctance and sighed. He shook it. "Deal. But please have mercy."
Oh, how she loved having power over someone.
"I make no promises."
******************
As tedious as handling the lockers could be sometimes, there were occasions in which the peace and quiet could be very useful. Lately, for Simón, the downtimes in this room had been the perfect opportunity to work on new songs.
He spun his pen around in his hand, staring down at the words he'd written on his notepad.
Es la fuerza que golpea fuerte al corazón
La fuerza incalculable que hay en una canción
Un volcán de cosas buenas que entra en erupción
That was it, those were all the lyrics he had for now for this song. He couldn't even call it a song yet. It was more like a concept, but he liked it, so he'd written it down so he wouldn't forget. They had other songs in the making with Pedro currently, more romantic ones, some fast, some slow. Those were far more developed than this, so maybe, he thought, he should be working on finishing those instead of pondering over random words that came to him, but who was he to question inspiration? Nothing would ever start if he did.
Not like he was having much luck at coming up with anything beyond these three verses. But, well, that wasn't unusual.
He had the beginnings of a melody though, like a tiny spark that if he managed to fuel enough could turn into a full-blown bonfire. He started humming and left his pen on the counter. Maybe focusing on the melody first was the way to go for this one.
Loud, sharp footsteps and voices snapped him out of his reverie and made him turn his head to the left just as a woman stormed in, followed closely by a glaringly worried Eric who looked like he'd sprinted to reach her.
Simón remembered this woman. She had come in here with her son only 15 minutes earlier or so.
He did not remember her glaring at him like this back then.
The woman seethed. "You."
Simón abandoned all thoughts of lyrics and music.
This was not good.
*****************
Ámbar had just sat down mere minutes ago when the commotion reached her.
She lifted her head from her papers just in time to see a woman furiously walking up to her. She was pulling a little boy by the hand with her, and Simón and Eric appeared right behind them, concern on their faces.
The woman looked middle-aged or maybe younger. She had short, dark blond hair and wore a wine-colored open cardigan over a black floral top. A mom look if she had ever seen one. She stood right in front of Ámbar's table, her whole stance one of outrage. "You're the manager?"
Ámbar straightened up and stood from her seat immediately. "Yes, is there a problem?"
"My son just fell down in the middle of the rink because the skates you provided had stuck wheels," the woman fumed. She showed her the skates in question, lifting them momentarily with her free hand. "Look at him, he could've broken something for your negligence! How is this possible?!"
Ámbar gave a good look to the boy next to her. He didn't look older than eleven. The resemblance with his mother was obvious in the matching sand blond hair and features. He was wearing a Spiderman t-shirt and jean shorts, which left in plain sight his bleeding right elbow and knee. He looked like he'd been crying.
Ámbar swallowed and stretched out her hand. "Can I see the skates?"
The woman handed her the skates and Ámbar checked the wheels immediately, swiping them down with her right hand to make them spin. Indeed, two wheels weren't working, one on each skate— They were completely tightened up.
"See?" The woman said with indignation. "Who wouldn't fall with skates like that? My son has been rollerskating since he was five years old— He never would've fallen if it weren't for those things!"
Ámbar could've pointed out that even professionals fall sometimes in this sport, that skating of any kind comes hand in hand with falling, but she gathered it was in her best interest to not agitate this woman even more.
She looked at Eric, who was standing by the tables in front of the stage, watching everything that was happening with a worried expression. And he was not the only one— Delfi and Jazmín were a few tables over there, not to mention at least four other customers who were listening to all of this. This was bad.
"Eric, could you please bring the emergency kit from the dressing room? Quickly." Seeing him following her command, Ámbar looked back at the woman. "I'm so sorry this happened," she said, heartfelt. "You can treat his wounds here, you should have everything you need."
The woman only looked offended. "And you think that is enough? Look at my son!" The kid's gaze was on the floor, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but there as his wounds shone bright red. "I will not allow this establishment to work like this! I want restitution and I want that boy fired!"
She pointed her finger at Simón, who was standing close to the bar. His face paled, and Ámbar's heart jumped to her throat. "If he goes around handing defective skates, I don't want to even imagine how many more people have gotten hurt! Do you even train your employees in this establishment?!"
Ámbar's heart was pounding in her chest. She'd never had to deal with a situation like this. Sure, she'd gotten many scoldings from her godmother over the years, but this was different. She was the authority figure here, she was the one that was supposed to have everything in control, she was the one who had to take responsibility and fix this because it was her job, her subordinates, her establishment.
The woman's attitude annoyed her. Her suggestion that the Roller as a whole sucked annoyed her. 'Train their employees'? No one had trained her in how to become a manager— they just threw the position onto her hands and now she had to deal with this.
Ámbar clenched her hands, the only crack in her composure she would allow, the only outlet for her nervousness she'd concede. She had a problem at hand and she had to find a solution. Anything else could come later.
"I can assure you that measures will be taken so that something like this never happens again," she spoke conciliatorily, with all the professionalism she could muster. "The well-being of our customers is our number one priority. As for restitution, if it's alright with you, you and your son can order anything you want in the cafeteria, free of charge." Eric approached her then, handing her the emergency kit she'd requested. Ámbar offered it to the woman. "Here, you can treat him while you wait for your orders."
The woman was still in a huff but she accepted the medical box and followed Pedro as he led them to a table on the other side of the Roller.
Simón went to Ámbar when they were out of earshot.
"Ámbar, I swear I don't know how it happened," he said, earnest, distressed. "I check the skates and do maintenance every day— Those wheels should've been fine."
"Are you certain you checked every single one of them?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Absolutely sure?"
"Yes!" He repeated, slightly exasperated. Tensions were running high and she could see in his face that her not immediately believing him hurt, but she had to ask, it was her job.
Ámbar looked at the woman on the other side of the cafeteria. She was treating the kid's wounds. Pedro walked over, returning to the bar, probably to prepare whatever beverage or meal they had asked for.
"Pedro," she called him over. "Come here for a bit." She looked to the side. "Eric, you too."
She rounded up the three guys in front of her.
"New policy," she declared. "Each time you supply rental skates, you will check the wheels right at the moment you hand them out, in front of the client's eyes. Understood?"
They all nodded. "Yes, Ámbar."
"Good."
Eric raised his hand shyly. "Um, what will happen with the woman?" He asked with apprehension. "She told you to fire Simón, but you're not going to do that, right?"
Two tables over, Jazmín snorted. "She's not gonna fire her own boyfriend." Delfi shot her a look. "What? We were all thinking it."
Ámbar glanced at Simón and her heart fell at how ashamed he looked.
She shot a glare at Jazmín but kept her voice professional. "I will do no such thing because it'd be too extreme for an isolated event in which no real harm was done." She fumed. "That woman should be grateful I even let her order for free because his son only got a scratched elbow and knee, and nothing assures me that he wouldn't have fallen just as bad on his own even with perfectly good skates."
Everyone stayed silent, subdued by the tension that permeated the air.
Ámbar sighed. "Anyway, you're dismissed, get back to work. Pedro, once you have the total of the woman's order, you bring the receipt to me, okay?"
"Yes, Ámbar." He walked away.
She turned. "And Jazmín, please, don't make a video out of this."
Jazmín pouted. "But it's so—"
"No. It would reflect badly on the Jam & Roller. I assume you don't want anything to happen to this place?" Jazmín looked chastised. "That's what I thought."
Everything else handled, she walked toward Simón, who was still standing by the bar.
"Take the rest of the day off, okay?" She told him gently. "We'll talk later, don't worry."
Simón just nodded and walked away, his gaze not meeting hers at all. Ámbar wished she could go with him, he looked really affected by this, but she still had a situation to deal with.
Drawing in a breath, she squared up her shoulders and got back to work.
****************
To be honest, Gastón had all but assumed by now that her answer was no.
He knew he should have some hope, but a big part of him had seen the calendar move forward, the day before his flight arrive, and gathered that, if he left tomorrow without Nina saying anything, wasn't that answer enough? There was still time, yes, but he couldn't stop the calamitous thoughts swirling through his brain, telling him that she could just not have the heart to tell him no directly and so she was just waiting for him to leave as a way to soften the blow.
Maybe that'd be okay. He had put her in an uncomfortable position to begin with— Maybe it was fair for it to end in whichever way she found easier.
That was what he'd been thinking until he got her texts.
'Can we talk this afternoon? I have my answer.'
Gastón's heart had leaped to his throat. It still seemed to be there now, as he made his way to the park where they decided to meet, the same one where they had... where he had called things off. He couldn't help but wonder if that meant something.
He tried to steady himself as he walked toward their meeting place. Whatever Nina's answer was, he had to take it, good or bad. He wished he had an inkling of what to expect. During the past few days they'd talked some, but only in passing and with their friends around. He had no idea what was going through her head, and he wished that every single glance he saw her exchange with Eric, every single word or smile, didn't make him assume the worst, but they did.
The thing was, regardless of what Nina chose, his life would carry on the same way. He would still miss her every minute of every day. The only difference would be in the quality of that pain— It could either be bittersweet, or a dark void he'd had to pull himself out of.
As Gastón neared the appointed spot, he saw Nina in the distance, sitting on a bench already, her hands joined together on her lap. She saw him too and stood, waiting as he approached. She was wearing a cute navy-blue dress; a cardigan and black tights for the cold.
She looked pretty.
She always looked pretty.
"Hi," she said when he reached her.
She was smiling, even if nervously. That was a good sign, right?
"Hi," he said back, and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Um, I didn't get the time wrong, did I? Did you wait long for me?"
Nina's eyes widened. "Nonono, I just got here a few minutes ago," she reassured him. "I— I was too nervous and couldn't stay still," she admitted, "and, by the time I realized it, I was already here."
He cracked a small smile. "I get the feeling." He couldn't blame the weather for the sweat on his palms after all.
There was a little silence which he took the lead to break. "Um, should we sit or...?"
Nina looked at the bench. "Um, no, like this is fine."
Gastón's heart fell. That had to be a bad sign.
"Okay," he said either way.
The park they were in was very frequented by high schoolers and kids in the early hours of the afternoon, but thankfully, it was almost empty this close to the evening. Gastón wouldn't like to be seen by any bystanders right now. Was the nervous energy between them as painfully obvious as he felt it? If anyone passed by right now, could they tell his heart was crashing against his ribs?
The lack of people made the silence between them even more evident. A silence which both of them tried to break at the same time.
"You first," Gastón said after the mishap.
"Nono, you go first, it's fine," Nina told him.
Gastón changed his weight from one foot to the other. "Well... Nothing, I just..." He took a breath and mustered the strength to look her in the eyes. "I just wanted to say that, whatever your decision is, I respect it. I won't be mad or anything, it's alright." Eventually, it would be.
Nina looked down, nervous. "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking these past few days..." She was fidgeting with her hands. "And I think that..." Her eyes looked at his, just for a moment. Then they drifted. To his jacket, to a spot behind him. "...considering our history, the statistics and all that, the chance of us working out long distance is very low."
Oh.
The air seemed knocked out of his lungs. "Oh."
So he had hope until now.
Gastón had seen withered plants before. He never thought he'd ever feel like one.
"Because, I mean, we already tried it once, and it didn't work," Nina said, more quickly. Maybe it was a new tactic; rip it off like a Band-Aid, make the pain last less. "Repeating the same factors in the same conditions and expecting a different result is not... very realistic."
Gastón focused on breathing through the growing lump in his throat. "Right," he managed to say. His voice came out weaker than he would've liked, but at least it sounded steady.
He wanted to scream that it wasn't the same. That he wasn't the same. That he knew better now. That he'd never make the mistake of letting her go again.
He gulped. Gulped it all down. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
His head was in disarray. Now what? What was he supposed to say? He had to reassure her, probably. It's okay, I understand, he had to say. He had to say it. He willed the words to leave his mouth. It's okay, I understand, can we still be—?
"But I don't care."
Gastón blinked. He realized that at some point his gaze had fallen, because when he brought it back up, he found Nina's eyes, staring directly at him. She wasn't fidgeting, she wasn't looking at his shoes— Her eyes were on his.
They stayed on his.
"I don't care," she said again, determined, light, with the beginning of a smile pulling on her lips. "My heart doesn't care if it's impossible or if it's a one-in-a-million chance— I want to be with you." She moved closer. "Even if it means only talking to you through the phone or seeing you in a screen, I want to be with you, Gastón. Because I love you. So much. And I need to give my heart a chance of being happy. I need to know if this could work. And... and if it doesn't, well, I tried. We tried. But I won't give up without having given it my all."
The words fell from her lips like light itself; bright, hopeful, and heartfelt. Her eyes were shining. Maybe she herself was light.
Gastón had been wrong before. She wasn't just pretty— She was dazzling.
A soft smile grew on his face. "I always knew you were braver than me, Nina Simonetti."
He took the final step towards her and cradled her face in his hands.
"I promise that this time I'll give it my all too." He stared into her eyes and her hands went to hold the back of his own. "Because if there is one thing in this world that is worth it, it's you."
Nina smiled. She smiled big, with teeth and all, and her eyes were a little wet, making them shine brighter.
Gastón could've stared at them forever, but there was something else more pressing.
Nina surged to meet him when he leaned down for her lips. The wave of warmth and affection that flooded him couldn't be put into words— There was nothing that could describe the utter joy, relief, love that filled his chest and spread through his veins at the feeling of her mouth pressing against his, soft and perfect. He had missed kissing her too much. He had missed her too much.
Her arms wrapped around his neck and his circled her waist, holding her close.
No more names in the sea— No more fate. They would make their own destiny, because this was something worth fighting against all odds.
*******************
When Simón was accused, back in Cancún, of having taken money out of the register, it'd been an unpleasant moment but he didn't worry too much because he knew it was Benicio and not him who did something wrong.
When that customer had come to confront him that afternoon, he hadn't known what to do. Anything he said sounded like an excuse and she didn't stop to listen to him much either. Simón only remembered feeling this humiliated after the Vidia interview, but even then he'd had someone to blame, and the option to escape the situation. This time, he had neither.
Simón walked straight to the mansion after Ámbar released him from work, not in the mood to do anything else. Only when he arrived did he hesitate. Usually, he always went to Ámbar's room, but this time, he didn't know if he should do it. He'd caused trouble for her today. A customer had yelled at her today because of him, and he couldn't even give explanations because he didn't think he was guilty, but he felt guilty— It was hard not to when that woman kept pointing at him and demanding he be punished for his failure.
'She's not gonna fire her own boyfriend.'
That only made him feel worse; he shouldn't get any special treatment.
In the end, Simón waited for Ámbar in her room anyway. She'd told him they would talk later and it seemed like a cowardly move to make her walk all the way to his guest room to find him. He took a shower to relax a bit and put on some comfortable clothing he kept in Ámbar's room. He had like two drawers for himself now. At that moment, he didn't know if that was nice or if it made him feel like an intruder.
He turned on the TV but he was too anxious to really pay attention to what was happening on the screen. Mostly, it just added background noise to his worries. He turned it off immediately when Ámbar walked in two hours later. He didn't know what to expect. He thought maybe she'd be angry at him or act awkwardly around him because of what happened, but much to his surprise, Ámbar greeted him like normal. She sat next to him on the bed's edge and asked how he'd spent his free afternoon. He recounted what little he'd done with uncertainty still hanging over him.
It didn't take long for Ámbar to show that she was angry— At the customer.
"...she ordered more food than they could eat and asked for it to be packed to go— That woman was a freaking leach," she was currently venting, telling him how she'd spent the rest of her afternoon. "If I didn't know any better, I'd even suspect she tightened the wheels herself. Of course, money is not an issue, but it annoys me that I have to pull money out of my own wallet for that woman."
Simón, who'd been listening with his gaze down, lifted his head upon hearing that. "Yours?" He said, appalled. "No, you don't need to pay for it, I thought it'd be discounted from my salary."
Ámbar's brows drew together. "That wouldn't be fair, you didn't do anything."
Simón scoffed weakly. "Exactly."
She held his hands and looked at him earnestly. "No, seriously, my love, I know it wasn't you. Or any of the guys."
It was Simón's turn to frown. "How do you know that?" Had any new information come to light after he was gone?
Ámbar let go of his hands and sighed, looking away from him. Her face looked glum suddenly, like whatever her answer was was not something she wanted to say. "You hadn't arrived in Buenos Aires yet," she started, "but did Luna ever tell you that she fell during her test to be the rink assistant because the skates they gave her were defective?"
Simón felt like he was stuck in a state of confusion by this point. He hadn't expected the conversation to go this way. He tried to remember. "...Yeah, now that you mention it, I vaguely recall that."
"Well..." Ámbar brought her hand together on her lap. "The reason why that skate had a stuck wheel was that I tightened it in secret right before her test."
His face must have shown his utter bafflement because Ámbar turned to face him quickly, making placating gestures with her hands. "I know, I know, it was wrong, she could've broken something— I just really hated her at the time. I lowkey hoped she broke something."
"Ámbar!"
"I'm sorry, okay?" She said painfully. "I can't change what I did, but I promise I won't do anything like that again. Not to her, not to anyone."
Simón schooled his aghast expression, although he was still reeling from her admission, but he could see the earnest look in her eyes and he believed her.
"Anyway, that experience shows me that it's actually very possible for someone to sneak into the lockers, tinkle with some skates, and leave with no one being the wiser."
"You're saying that's what happened now?" He asked. "But who would do that?"
Ámbar scoffed. "Who else? Benicio and Emilia, of course," she said, pissed off. "Or one of them, I don't know. But it was at least one of them, I'm sure of it."
Annoyance flared inside Simón as well. He shook his head in disbelief, at both them and himself for not thinking of that before— God, it was so obvious. "I can't believe them, what did they gain from this?"
"Bother you, bother me, or maybe they just get off on wreaking havoc," Ámbar said, and bent down to discard her boots.
Simón looked at her. "Why don't you ban them from the Roller?" After this, she had to, right?
Ámbar sighed, sitting criss-cross on the bed. "I thought about it, but I can't," she said regretfully. "I don't have proof that they did anything and, even though the Red Sharks team doesn't exist anymore, Vidia knows them. I'm..." She looked to the side, "honestly scared of what they could say to my superiors if I try to ban them."
Any lingering annoyance, tension, or worry from the day's events evaporated at the look on her face. Simón reached over to hold her hand in his own. "You're scared they might fire you," he realized.
"Yeah." She looked at their joined hands. "I mean, this is not my ideal job or anything. But the Roller is my ideal place. Or, it used to be, at least. It was more of a home to me than my own house for years. So it feels kinda... special, to me, to be the manager now. I guess I just don't... want that to end on bad terms."
He ran his thumb up and down the back of her hand, taking in her words. He smiled. "From queen of the rink to manager... I don't know if that's a big leap or merely a formality."
That drew a smile from Ámbar.
They spent some time like that in comfortable silence. After a moment, Simón moved a little closer to her, still holding her hand.
"Can I ask you something?" He said quietly.
She looked at him. "Of course."
He hesitated for a second longer, thinking how to formulate the question. "Why... If everyone admired you already as the queen of the rink, why did you pick on Luna? Why did you choose to antagonize her so much?"
Ámbar's face dimmed. She looked down.
"I just don't understand how you could already hate her so much as to want to hurt her when she had just arrived here," he said, gently, trying not to make her feel attacked in any way; he just wanted some clarity. "I... I never truly understood why you ever hated Luna in the first place. You explained to me the thing about the Red Sharks Festival and why you were so pissed at her party at the beginning of the year. But everything before that... Why was it?"
He'd been wanting to ask this for a while. He had pieces, and he thought he knew a little, but he would never fully understand if she didn't talk to him. He wouldn't force her, of course. He'd considered just leaving it in the past and not mentioning it since it'd been a while since Ámbar's attitude changed, but now, after what she'd confessed to him, he felt it was the right time to ask and see if she'd explain. Just for closure. Just to understand her better.
Ámbar took a breath and let it out slowly— a soft, long sigh that seemed to give her strength just as much as it snuffed all the energy she ever had.
"Well, Matteo was a factor," she started, and her tone could've been mistaken for indifference if he didn't know her better than that. "It was obvious from the beginning that he liked Luna, and that hurt, but... it hurt combined with everything else. Because it wasn't just Matteo that liked her immediately— She was so easily liked by everyone. I had worked so hard to build my image and my popularity, and in just a matter of days, it was like everything revolved around her." She grimaced. "I know it sounds like just petty jealousy but..." Her gaze stayed down, but even then he could see the cloud of something cover her face. It was a moment before she let the words out. "I had nothing."
Finally, the aching sadness hiding in her voice came to light between them, and it was like a knife in Simón's chest.
"If I wasn't the queen of the rink, I had nothing," she continued. "If I wasn't the best at everything then people didn't admire me, and if people didn't admire me then... what did I have?"
Simón's throat tightened. It absolutely broke his heart how matter-of-factly she said all this, like it was a truth she'd known her whole life, and it weighed on her, left her void until he feared she'd vanish before his eyes.
Where was Sharon? He wanted to say, to complain. He felt a spark of rage in a dark corner of himself he usually tried to deny existed. Where was this woman that she allowed Ámbar to feel so alone in the world? Where did she get off trying to ruin everyone's lives and then running off, abandoning all her responsibilities? Why was it so hard for her to show Ámbar a mere speck of love?
"I had Delfi and Jazmín, I guess," Ámbar answered herself before he could say or do anything. Simón felt so powerless; frozen as he processed her grief. "We didn't have the best friendship in the world, but... I should've appreciated them more." A moment passed and she straightened a bit, shaking herself slightly. "Whatever, it's... that's it. I felt like Luna was taking everything from me. My house, my boyfriend, my place in the Roller... so I wanted to take everything away from her too. I wanted her to hurt like I did."
Simón had seen the dark flame of anger and resentment in Ámbar's face before. Many times, even before he got to really know her. This was the first time that seeing it hurt.
He tightened his hold on her hand, the only thing he dared to do to not disrupt her. He didn't agree with hurting Luna, of course not, but she already knew that and there was no need to say it. What he wanted her to know was I hear you, I'm with you.
Ámbar met his eyes and the shadow of rancor faded away into a resigned smile; a tiny, sad thing. She shrugged weakly. "But whatever I tried didn't work. All I achieved was to make my life more miserable. I lost all my friends, I lost you..." Her gaze fell to their hands. A tiny smile appeared on her face again, but this time it came with a softness in her eyes. "But for some inexplicable reason, even when I was at my worst times, you still had faith in me."
She reached over and held his hand between both of hers. "You saw I could be better under all that rage and that pain, and eventually, I started believing it too. And I realized that, although Luna shook my life forever... there was nothing I could do to change that. I didn't get anything from raging at her being Sol Benson. I didn't get anything from making her suffer, because even if it satisfied me somewhat, my life didn't get any better because of it— In fact, it only seemed to get worse. So, I let it go," she said with a light tone. "I let go of that rage I had for things I couldn't change and Luna also couldn't change." She shrugged. "And here I am."
The lightness felt almost out of place after everything that had been said, but it was still a relief to see Ámbar okay, at ease, after how much she'd suffered. Simón almost didn't want to— it felt too much of a solemn moment— but he found himself growing a tiny smile. He was so proud of her. For living all she went through and not letting it pull her under. For turning her life around against all her learned behaviors and finding the best version of herself.
"Her little goody-two-shoes act still irks me sometimes though."
Yep, definitely still herself.
Simón gave her a look, but there was no bite to it. "It's not an act; she's genuinely a good person."
Ámbar waved it away half-heartedly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
He played with the fabric of his sweatpants. "So... can I assume you two won't fight anymore?"
"Can I assume she'll stop being annoying?"
She rolled her eyes at the look on his face and held his shoulder with her free hand. "I'm kidding. I promise I'm not gonna antagonize your best friend anymore. We're actually on pretty decent terms now. And even if we weren't, I'd never put you in that position. You're worth more to me than any rivalry I could have with anyone."
A surge of affection squeezed his heart. Simón brought her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Thank you." He pulled back to look at her. "Truly. For telling me all this. For trusting me, and for giving Luna a chance. It means a lot to me."
She held the back of his neck. "You mean a lot to me. So everything that's important to you, it's important to me too." Her hand slid to cup his cheek. "There's very little in this world I wouldn't do for you, Simón."
His chest hurt again. His whole interior twisted and tore apart as if she had clawed him open, but it was the best feeling in the world.
Simón pulled her close and kissed her. "I love you."
Ámbar smiled. "I love you too."
********************
Ever since Juliana came back, the Roller guys were more insufferable than ever.
Benicio was sitting in the cafeteria, nursing a glass of juice as he waited for Emilia to start their morning practice. Lately, everywhere he looked he could see the losers' smiling faces, hear their ridiculous laughs over the stupidest things, and worst of all, he had to live knowing they used his rink every afternoon.
Benicio clenched his jaw. He missed the old days. He missed seeing the logo of the Red Sharks followed by his picture on the screens. But no matter. People would respect them eventually. Everyone would come to know he was the best, one way or another.
He tapped his fingers idly on the table, switching between looking at his phone and throwing glances at the entrance of the Roller. Waiting would be more fun if he could look at Ámbar while at it, maybe get a rinse out of her— she looked so gorgeous when she got mad— but for some reason, she wasn't at her usual table today. Maybe she would arrive later. Or maybe he was the one too late to catch a glimpse of her before she went out somewhere.
The next time he lifted his head to check if Emilia had arrived, it wasn't her nor Ámbar who he saw. Simón was marching towards him before he was even aware of his presence on the other end of the Roller. He stood in front of him with an accusatory look just as Benicio left his phone on the table.
"I know it was you and Emilia who tightened those skates."
Benicio repressed the urge to smirk. Oh yeah, that had been a masterstroke on his part. At first, he'd been dubious about how much of an uproar such a small thing could cause, but it was just a matter of choosing the right target. Oh, how he would've loved to stay there yesterday to watch it all go down, but it was too risky, so he and Emilia left when the woman marched to berate Ámbar.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he responded innocently.
Simón scoffed. "You're always like that; throwing the stone and hiding your hand, blaming others. Even back in Mexico. You're a coward, Benicio."
"Don't project on me, Simón," he said simply. He laid back on his chair, his hands clasped together casually on the table. Maybe he had to look up at him due to their positions, but he was the true superior one here. "Whatever problem you had doing your job has nothing to do with me. And, I mean, why do you even worry? You have your little girlfriend to defend you. Oh, right, your boss, sorry."
Simón shook his head, staring at him with a mix of annoyance and incredulity. "You're just never going to stop, are you?" He said. "Does seeing me with Ámbar really make you that jealous? Well, pity, because that's not going to change." A smile full of hostility and condescension appeared on his face. "All your little stunt with the skates achieved was that we had a very deep conversation and now we're closer than ever. So, thank you. And give my thanks to Emilia as well, okay?"
Benicio tightened the grip of his hands until it hurt. Simón placed his hands on the table and leaned closer, dropping the fake smile. "Stop wasting your time and don't cause any more trouble for Ámbar or you'll be dealing with me," he said sharply, his expression dark and serious. "If you really cared about her, that'd be the minimum you would do."
Simón stormed away, not deigning him with the luxury of a comeback.
Benicio stayed in his seat, festering in his anger.
Simón could laugh all he wanted now but Ámbar would be his in the end. Step by step, he would make sure of it.
...
..
.
------------------
Okay I'm sorry for pointing this out myself but it's so funny because:
Simón: Ámbar is so much cooler than me, she's seen the world, her default is luxury, she's smart, she's driven, she's gonna go out there and eat the world up and I'm gonna be here waiting tables.
Ámbar: Simón is so cool, he knows so many things that I have no idea about, I don't know how he manages to be a waiter, I wouldn't have the patience for it, and with a smile no less! He always gives his best, I admire him so much, I hope someday I can be half the person he is.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Also, how ironic is it that me, the writer, realized this juxtaposition just now as I was writing it? 😂 Like, I didn't plan on Ámbar having that introspection moment there, it just happened, and then I went... oh. sdfkjns. Simón, my boy. He had a rough time today but it ended on a high note <3 He'll miss that eventually.