Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Bianca

Nana and her mother stared at Bianca as she got off the phone. She hadn’t been able to wipe the silly smile off her face fast enough.

“Was that who I think it was?” Nana asked.

Bianca gave in, nodding. Ever since the past summer, she’d been seeing the Felix Sanchez, current middleweight boxing champion of the world. She didn’t know a thing about boxing, but everyone, especially in her neighborhood, knew about Felix. She’d gone to high school with him, and he became the local hero when he started winning fight after fight. Then he’d won the championship over a year ago. He was now known worldwide and she was dating him.

Although she admitted his being famous and insanely rich was part of the intrigue, she’d actually had a crush on the guy way back in high school. She hadn’t seen him in person since she graduated, but last summer when she came up to Big Bear after her grandfather’s death, she ran into him. She’d been surprised he remembered her. One thing led to another, and they began seeing each other.

A first, she had her doubts about it working out. She even reasoned that it would be okay if it didn’t. She knew he lived a busy life that was much different from her small-town life in Big Bear.

Another reason for her doubts was his fame. Boxers weren’t usually the target of the stalkarazzis, but because of Felix’s age and looks—the fact that he’d been linked with quite a few young Hollywood A-listers and because his upcoming fight was so highly anticipated—he’d now become just as much of a target as a movie star.

Bianca had never been one to follow the tabloids, but ever since she’d gotten involved with Felix, she couldn’t help but get sucked into them, especially when they talked about him being seen with a new girl—this after he’d assured her their relationship was an exclusive one.

She’d been doing her best not to buy into the hype and made up drama that Felix said was all it was. One particular incident last year was when she saw a photo of him and Shana Thompson, the current women’s figure-skating champion, who was said to be the front-runner in this year’s Olympics. It was the week he’d had a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated’s Hottest Young Athletes layout. They were caught in a compromising pose where they apparently were on a date, sitting in a very cozy restaurant booth in New York. In one of the photos, it appeared as if they were about to kiss. It made Bianca crazy. They’d only been intimate for a few weeks when the photo surfaced, and she’d lost it.

Days after letting him have it and telling him she was done with him, the same photo resurfaced; only this time Shana’s boyfriend and Felix’s publicist Andy were also there. The other photo had been doctored. They took the most damning picture of them when they’d leaned in to say something to each other and cropped everything and everyone else out. Just like Felix explained, it wasn’t just a restaurant it was also a blues club and the music was really loud. She felt terrible, especially because Felix had tried in vain to explain to her that that’s what the paparazzi did to sell stories and word was beginning to get out about his mystery Big Bear girlfriend.

Neither her grandmother nor her mother were crazy about her dating a celebrity, especially one known to be such a womanizer, so, of course, they were concerned when they saw how upset all the tabloid stories made Bianca. But once the truth was out about the photo, they actually convinced her to call Felix and apologize. They also made her promise she’d stop reading the stupid tabloids. More than anything, they hated to see her hurt, and her mother said it was a better idea if she just followed her heart instead of the gossip. From that day forward, she vowed to never read any of the tabloids. Though there were times she’d slip and give into the temptation, but it had been a while since that happened.

“So he’ll be up here for two whole months?” Nana asked with a coy, little smile.

“Yes.” Bianca clutched the phone in her hand, feeling like a silly schoolgirl. The time she got to spend with Felix always felt so short. Knowing he’d be up here for two whole months and his saying he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible made her insides go wild. She eagerly filled them in on how long Felix would be there and when he’d arrive. Then she remembered, “But don’t worry. I won’t cut my time away at the shop.”

Nana waved her hand at her. “We can more than handle it if you want to take some time off.”

In addition to Bianca and her mother, she had two cousins who also worked at her grandmother’s rental shop. During the winter, they rented everything from snowboards and skis to sleds. Then in the summer, they rented all the water sport stuff—rafts, fishing gear, kayaks, and they sold bait all year along with a ton of souvenirs. They weren’t insanely busy, but business was steady year-round with summer and winter being their busiest seasons.

With it being the middle of winter and more heavy storms expected, business would be booming from now through the end of ski season. Just last night, they’d gotten eight inches of fresh powder. “No, I’ll put in my regular hours as usual. I’ll have plenty of time to spend with him before and after my shifts.”

Bianca could hardly wait. Felix had just called her to tell her he’d be up next week. He was in Los Angeles today but wouldn’t be able to make it up because he had to fly back to Vegas then Chicago to take care of some final business before he moved to Big Bear for the next couple of months. She loved the way that sounded. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, and now she’d have him all to herself for two whole months.

This was by far the hardest part of their relationship: the amount of time they had to be apart from one another. Sure he’d set her up with a webcam so they could have live chats via the Internet, but it just wasn’t the same. When he was gone, she missed him so much. Even though he offered to bring her along many times, she could never leave her mother for too long.

He’d taken her to Miami, New York, and even Puerto Rico, but she’d always go for just a few days. The longest she’d vacationed with him was the trip to New York for a week around the holidays. She’d mentioned that she’d always wanted to see New York during the holidays, and he made the arrangements immediately, but she came home to be with her grandmother for Christmas. New York had been great, but nothing beat Big Bear, especially during the winter. There was something so homey and quaint about the small town.

Gabe, one of the cousins who also worked at Nana’s shop, walked in. “Oh, good you’re here. I can leave now.”

“Where are you off to?” Nana asked.

Bianca smiled. “To Toni’s to get my hair cut.”

Her mother quickly signed to her that she should be careful driving. The roads were still very slippery from the snow earlier. Bianca had to smile, even via sign language and without ever voicing her words as some deaf people did, her mother’s worried anxiousness came across loud and clear. She signed back that she would and that she loved her and was off to Toni’s.

Her hairdresser, Toni, had quickly become one of Bianca’s closest friends since she’d moved up here. At first, Bianca thought Toni was just good at making her feel comfortable because it was part of her job. Making conversation as she worked on her client’s hair came with the job description, but it turned out Toni was just cool—more than cool, she was awesome. When she found out Bianca was a newbie in town, she took it upon herself to show her all the hot spots to shop and the best places to meet men. She even taught her how to snowboard the more advanced slopes, not that Bianca was a total beginner. She’d gone snowboarding plenty of times when she visited her grandparents in the past, but she’d never attempted the more advanced slopes she now snowboarded, thanks to Toni.

When she walked into the small hair salon, Toni sat reading a magazine. The first thing Bianca noticed was that her hair color was different—again. Toni was a few years older than Bianca and a bit eccentric. The hair that was curly and blonde the last time Bianca had seen her just last week was now straight and dark brown with a couple of blue streaks. Her eyes lit up when she saw Bianca.

“Your hair?”

“You like it? Toni asked, flipping a strand of hair with her hand.

“It’s different,” Bianca said, examining it as she got closer. “But, yes, I like it. How is it that every color and style looks good on you?”

“Because I wear the hair, honey. It doesn’t wear me.”

Bianca giggled. This was true. Toni could take any look and totally own it.

“So, is it time?” Toni asked.

Bianca nodded, feeling keyed up again. She’d known about him coming up to train for months now, but he hadn’t given her an exact date until today. “Yes, he called today. He’ll be here this weekend.”

Toni jumped out of her chair. “Well, let’s get this going.”

Bianca hadn’t expected Toni to be busy—not on such a snowy day as today. So it wasn’t surprising her little salon was empty.

“What’s it going to be?” Toni asked as she wrapped the cape around her, tying it around her neck.

“I don’t know, Toni. Just make me stunning.”

“Girl, you’re already stunning and you know it. There’s a reason why that boy, who can have any girl he wants, keeps coming back here. He ain’t blind.”

Bianca winced, taking in Toni’s words. Any girl he wants. She stared at herself in the mirror. Never in her life had she been insecure about her looks. In fact, she’d been blessed with the Rubio family’s beauty gene. Her father’s sisters had actually won a few beauty pageants back in their day, and everyone said Bianca was a Rubio through and through. From her long legs to her big expressive eyes to her full lush lips, she’d always been a head turner. Yet, she hadn’t really blossomed until after high school, which is why she was surprised Felix remembered her.

But she couldn’t help feeling a little intimidated, knowing Felix was constantly around some of the most glamorous women in the world. She’d told herself from the very beginning when she decided to allow herself to become involved with Felix that she’d never been insecure before and she certainly wasn’t going to start now.

“Just work your magic, Toni. I wanna look perfect for him when he gets here.”

“I know exactly what to do.” Toni smiled at her reflection in the mirror. “If this boy thought you were hot before, wait ’til he gets a load of what Magic Hands Toni has in store for him.”

Bianca took a deep breath and smiled. It was almost scary how excited she felt about this.