With My Heart Wide Open

Chapter 53

He must have sat there staring at the photographs for what seemed like forever. Deep down he knew that they were fake, but a part of him feared that he was wrong. Jake and Audrey had been together for a long time and feelings like that didn't just go away. Feelings that strong didn't just float away when new feelings tried to take over. He remembered his first love and he would always hold a special place in his heart for her, so why would he expect Audrey to just forget everything, good and bad, that had happened in the time she was with Jake. It would be selfish of him to expect her to have absolutely no lingering feelings for her first love. That experience, no matter how horrible it had been, had shaped her into the amazing woman she was today. 

He heard movement behind him as Audrey came out of the bedroom, into the kitchen. He scrambled to shove the photographs back in the envelope. Sergio wanted to talk to Rene to see if he knew anything about them and then he would talk to Karim. His teammate would likely be able to help him process the situation. He didn't see a reason in confronting Audrey about them until he knew for sure if there was even a reason to confront her. 

"Hey, lover...what is that you have there?" Audrey asked, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. 

"Oh nothing really. Just some endorsement contracts that Rene sent over yesterday. I was just looking them over real quick before we met this morning to go over them. Did you sleep well?" He asked, hoping that she wouldn't question it further. He wanted to make sure he had a clear head before he talked to her about it. 

"I did. I slept very well, thank you. Do you have time for breakfast before you meet Rene?" 

"Actually, no. I have to go get that over with. I will be back soon though, love." He said. Rising from the chair at the counter, he pulled Audrey into his arms. Holding her tightly, he willed his heart to slow down and his mind to stop reeling over the photographs. He couldn't bear for this to be true, hoping for once that his gut was right. 

****

Audrey decided to use the time that Sergio was away, to catch up on things around the apartment. There was laundry that needed to be done and the kitchen floor looked like cavemen had been marching up, down, and across it for weeks. Turning on some music, she began sweeping. Letting her thoughts drift to the night before, her heart smiled. Sergio was the most amazing person she had ever met. The media claimed that he was a media whore, always wanting to be in the spotlight. However, there was no evidence of that being the case last night. She had noticed that he had just been there for her, supporting her and never once tried to draw attention to himself. Audrey couldn't help but feel thankful. This was her time to build herself up in her career and Sergio seemed to have no problem allowing her to do it her way. Jake would have never let her do anything her way. He would have been front and center, practically demanding that he be given the credit for her success. 

Jake. Her mind immediately jumped to Jake, much to her dismay.

She had been so shocked to see him last night, that she hardly even remembered that it had actually happened. She woke up this morning thinking that it had been a dream, but now that she was more aware, there was no doubt that it had been real. Why was he at the gala? Who was he with? Sergio had spoke to security and they had asked Jake to leave. She remembered the conversation with Sergio about him doing that clearly. She must have either been really shocked, or drank way to much champagne for it to be so unclear. 

A knock on her door pulled her attention away from her thoughts and her dirty floor. Walking to the door, she looked through the peep hole. It was then that she realized that the hope of seeing Jake last night being a dream, was in fact false hope, because there he stood at her door. 

****

"These are definitely fake. Please tell me you don't believe this bullshit, Ramos." Karim said as he handed the pictures back to Sergio. 

"I was hoping that you would say that, because that is exactly what I thought. I called Rene and he said that he knew nothing about any delivery yesterday."

"I mean...it is pretty obvious. The person did a horrible Photoshop job. Douche bag looks like a paper cutout. Not to mention, you can tell that whoever Audrey was really making out with, was quite a bit taller than this guy."

"Yeah...you're right. Now that I think about it...Audrey and I made out in this exact place."

"See...have a little faith that for once, Ramos, you are happy and have a good woman by your side. She isn't using you or screwing around on you behind your back."

Sergio nodded his head in agreement. He was glad that it wasn't just wishful thinking that the pictures were fake. Karim had put any apprehension he had to rest.

"You know what this means though...right?" Sergio asked.

"Yeah...Jake and Camila are clearly putting in a lot of effort to screw what the two of you have up."

"You think that Camila bitch has something to do with this?"

"Yeah man...I cornered her last night after her fake ass family emergency. Asked her why she was there with Jake and she said they met in Columbus and fell madly in love. Then I told her that Isco had his eye on her, but I would break the news to him that she was in a loving and committed relationship. She was real quick to say that she and Jake actually weren't seriously in love at all. She acted like she would forget Jake's name faster than Usain Bolt, if there was any chance of going on a date with a Real Madrid player."

"Dammmnnn...why you gotta do that to Isco?" Sergio laughed.

"Well it was a lie, so he doesn't even have to be involved and I wouldn't wish Camila on my worst enemy, so she is definitely not getting her grimy hands all over our sweet, little Isco."Karim chuckled. 

"Yeah that's a good thing...but I should get back to Audrey. I am going to show her these. She needs to know what is going on." He said, heading towards the door. 

"Yeah, good luck with that man. Hopefully she doesn't get too upset. Macy and I are here if you guys need us." 

"Thanks." Sergio said as he left the house.

He already felt a million times better than he had when he got to Karim's and was ready to tell Audrey about this so they could forget about it and move on with their lives.