"Ender, seriously brother....just go. If you don't walk out that door right now, I'm calling Dansby and we are staging an intervention."
Ozzie sat in their hotel room in Miami watching cartoons the next morning. Cartoons were his guilty pleasure and if he could get Ender to leave, he would probably order a bowl of Lucky Charms from room service and stay right where he was the rest of the morning.
"Ok, but do I look okay?" Ender came out of the bathroom wearing some jeans and a white tee, a black cardigan over it because it was semi-cool in Miami that morning. Ender seriously had to thank God for his friends, who clearly had only the best for him in their hearts. Turns out they were always going to wind up in Miami. The fact that he had wanted to stop and pick up Remi's book just worked right into their plan. Dansby had done his research and found out that Remi would be having a book signing put on by her publishing company that next morning and he and Ozzie were going to make sure that Ender made it to that signing.
"You look fine. Muy guapo. Now go, and don't come back until this is all fixed."
Ender left the hotel, driving through an area of Miami he wasn't very familiar with. His hands were sweating as he gripped the steering wheel and he missed 5 turns that his GPS told him to make before he finally made it.
"Okay, Ender, this is it. You love her. That is the only thing that matters." He closed his eyes and said two little prayers, one to God and one to his dad.
When he walked into the room where the signing was to take place, he immediately looked to the table where he assumed Remi would be sitting. She was not there yet so he continued to search the room, his eyes finally landing on her boss Andrea. He headed her way, hoping she remembered him from their brief encounter at the cabin.
"Well, it's about time you showed up." Andrea smiled and Ender breathed a sigh of relief. If Andrea's reception of him was positive, then surely that meant there was still hope. He fidgeted with the sleeves of his cardigan, unsure of what to say or how to proceed. "Don't be shy, after reading that book I feel like I practically know you, so we are no longer strangers."
"Can I...." Ender's voice was shaky and he had not felt this nervous since his first major league game. "Can I see her?"
Andrea nodded and opened the door that she was standing in front of, motioning her head to tell him to go ahead in. "Go get your girl. She isn't expecting you but she needs you."
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Ender followed a long hallway until he heard voices, one male and one female. The female voice he instantly recognized and his heart dropped. Remi was in the room with a man. Surely Andrea didn't send him back to just to have his heart stomped on. He leaned against the wall, feeling only slightly guilty to be eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Colin, why are you even here? You have absolutely nothing to do with this." So it was Colin, the infamous ex-boyfriend. The man....no, Ender wouldn't even call him a man. The scum who put her through so much trauma that she had put up a defense so thick that it took Ender two weeks to even scratch the surface. He felt physically sick even thinking about what Colin had done to Remi.
"I have everything to do with this. Don't you ever forget that. Or do I need to remind you?" Colin hissed and Ender felt his blood boil. Why was Remi even allowing him to be near her? Surely she had not gone back to him. "You are where you are today because of me, you understand that?"
Ender had to fight the urge to storm in the room when he heard Remi sniffle. He felt like he definitely had his answer to the question about them being together, but he still wasn't sure how Colin had even ended up here.
"Just leave, Colin. Leave me be, I don't want you here. I have never wanted someone gone more than I want you gone right now." Ender could hear Remi's heels clicking on the floor, she was coming towards him from the sound of it. He should probably make himself known so he didn't scare her....
"No, Colin. Stop it!" Ender peeked his head around the corner, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. His heart was racing like it never had before. He was not one for confrontation, but in his heart he knew he was going to have to step in. Guys like Colin did not listen to the word "no" and he wouldn't have Remi going through what she went through in her past all over again.
"Please....." he heard Remi sob, begging Colin to leave her alone. He had her pushed into a corner, his hands on either side of her head blocking her from being able to escape. He grabbed both of her arms tightly, causing Remi to recoil in pain and leaned down, placing his mouth on her lips. Lips that Ender knew were meant for him to kiss, not Colin. That was it, that was his breaking point.
"Move away from her, man. Get your hands off of her." Remi opened her eyes that she had clenched shut, a look of surprise followed by a look of relief. Colin turned to see who had interrupted him and Remi took that moment that he was distracted to duck out from under his arms and run to Ender, throwing herself into his waiting arms.
"You're okay," he whispered, running his hands up and down her back, trying to calm her down. "You're shaking. But you're okay...I'm here now."
"So this is who that forward was written for?" Colin looked at the two of them in disgust. 'The two of you are pitiful. Is this honestly the type of guy you're interested in, Remi? What can he give you?"
"He can give me everything that you and your friends took away from me." Remi felt emboldened by the feeling of Ender's hand slowly rubbing circles on her back. She knew Colin wouldn't put up too much of a fight. He certainly did not like being told no, but he also was not one to get his hands dirty, so to speak. "He can show me what love truly is, something you will never, ever know."
Colin stood there flaring, but just as Remi expected, he did not try to make a move towards them. "Go, before I call the police."
Colin stormed out of the room, leaving Remi and Ender alone for the first time since Christmas.
"Ender...."
"Remi..." They both started at the same time but Ender could not wait any longer to say what he should have said Christmas morning. "No, let me go first."
"Remi...I love you. I don't know if you are ready for that. I don't know if you feel like running scared right now. But I need you to know that. I am in love with you and I should never have waited this long to tell you that. You deserve to hear that every single day."
Remi wiped the tears that were coming down her cheeks before reaching her hand up and wiping the tear that had ran down Ender's cheek. "I love you, too, Ender. I'm sorry for leaving like that. I have been miserable since and I thought you had moved on."
Ender laughed, "Me? Move on from you? What makes you think that?"
"You ignored my instagram request. I finally got the courage up to make a move and I figured you saw it and just went about your day because you had no interest."
"Remi...." Ender pulled her over to the couch on the far side of the room. "I never even look at most of those, I get so many follows and comments a day that it is hard to sift through them all. But can I tell you something?" Remi nodded. "I found you on Instagram not too long after we left the cabin and Chance and I checked in on you every day. I never meant to wait this long to come find you. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I had forgotten you. I will spend every day from now on trying to make up for that."
Remi pulled Ender closer and he took the hint, capturing her lips in a kiss. It was just as both of them had remembered and Ender wasted no time deepening the kiss, all of the feelings from Christmas morning and what they were about to do before Andrea had interrupted them rushing back.
"We probably shouldn't do this here," he whispered, not straying too far from her lips, but planting kisses along her jaw. Remi climbed in his lap and rested her hand on his belt buckle. "Or. Okay. Who am I to stop you?"
Remi laughed and Ender's heart swelled at the sight of it, he pulled her back in for another kiss, his desire for her becoming overwhelming. How he had stayed away for almost 2 months, he would never be able to figure out. Right as he was pulling Remi's hair to the side to plant kisses along side her neck, there was a knock at the door.
"Tienes que estar bromeando....." Ender groaned in frustration. He knew he and Remi would have plenty of time in the future, and he certainly knew she deserved better than a couch in the back of a store, but that is not to say that he wasn't frustrated at yet another interruption.
Remi laid her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. She started with a small giggle that soon turned into a serious case of laughter, complete with tears and hiccups.
"This keeps happening to us!" She climbed off Ender's lap and quickly tried to pull herself together before going to open the door. "Can we help you? Oh hey, Andrea, is it time? And hey, random guy...." she trailed off as a shorter guy barged in the room behind Andrea.
"Ender, I think this guest is for you. Remi, you still have about 20 more minutes, okay?" Andrea was completely unaware of everything that had gone on in the room, from Colin harrasing her to her and Ender trying to make up for lost time on the couch.
"Hermano, es este Remi? No pude esprar en el hotel. Dansby y yo estamos demasiado emocinados."
"Remi, this is my little bro, Ozzie. He plays with me and is halfway responsible for getting me here. I got a little nervous..."Ender laughed, shaking his head at his friends. He really wished Dansby could be here now, since he had played such a big part in this, and he told Ozzie that.
"Well, today is your lucky day. Dans, man, come on in!"
Dansby ran in the room, running over to Ender and jumping up and down in excitement. Remi watched it all silently, taking in what it meant to be a part of a family. Even though none of these boys were family by blood, she had no doubt their bond was just as strong.
"Is this person responsible for getting you here as well?" she asked, wrapping her arms around Ender's waist, "Because I owe both of them."
"Yes, this is Dansby," Ender introduced them and Dansby pulled her into a big hug, taking her by surprise. "Dansby actually was the first to read your book. I would say he's a huge fan...."
"Yeah," Dansby pulled out his copy of the book and a Sharpie. "Can I get an autograph? I have got to be the first guy on the team to get an autograph from the woman who finally caught Ender's eye!"