Night Changes

Spain - Day Two

The door of our hotel room slams shut, and Maria stands in front of me, her arms crossed.

"You told me nothing is going on between you two."

"I did," I say, not having the energy to hash it out with her right now.

She wasn't overly thrilled to find me sprawled out on Hero's bed in a simple sweater and my undergarments, especially at this hour.

I knew she had her suspicions about us, but there was no way I was filling her in on every detail.

"Josephine, I need you to promise me something." She says, moving closer to me and putting her hands on my shoulders. "I want you to promise me that nothing is going on between you and Hero."

"Okay." I shrug.

"No," Maria says, frantically shaking her head. "I want your word. We've worked too hard to get to where we are, just for you to throw it away for some boy."

"I'm not throwing anything away! And he's not some boy." I argue.

"Josephine, your career is too important for you to be sidetracked. What's going to happen if you two get caught up in some love affair, it's blasted out on every possible social media, then before long you break up and you put your working relationship at jeopardy. I won't be able to save you then."

"I don't need saving." I huff.

"Yes, you do." She says. "You're getting caught up in a game you don't want to be playing. I need your word. Nothing is going on between you and Hero, and nothing will be going on."

Giving her my word was so much harder than I thought it would be. It almost felt as though I had to convince myself and Maria that Hero and I weren't together, just to make her happy. But I had just gotten him back. I knew we could be professional and keep a relationship. We've been doing an alright job at it so far.

But to get Maria off my case, I give her a simple nod and choke out an "I promise."

"Good." She says. "I'm sorry, Jo. I'm just trying to do what's best for you."

What if what is best for me is Hero? I feel tempted to say but can't bring myself to.

Maria bids me goodnight before going into the bathroom to take a shower.

I'm just about to settle into bed when a knock comes from the door.

I smile when I see Hero, his eyes filled with concern.

"You forgot this." He tells me, handing me my laptop.

"Thanks." I say.

"I hate that she's like this." He huffs.

"She's just trying to look out for me."

"I can look out for you." Hero quietly says, causing me to laugh.

"I know." I say with a smile.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," I shrug. "It's just Maria."

Hero laughs before resting his hand on my cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." I say before lifting myself onto the balls of my feet and giving him a kiss.

"Goodnight." He says, then walks back to his room.

I return back to my bed and fall asleep with a smile on my face, visions of beautiful green eyes looking into mine filling my dreams.

The next day

The conversation with Maria from last night keeps replaying over and over again as Tânia does my makeup for today's photo call.