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Wait, was he serious? He was going to pay me for photography?
“Could we even afford to live there?”
“What about our pay?”
“Is there already a staff in place?”
The flood gates opened and suddenly we were bombarding Graves with questions left and right.
“Hold on now. I can answer all of that. Pay stays the same as what you make now. If you’re not going to school, I’d ask that you work forty hours, it makes it easier on me. It’s actually cheaper to live there, so you should be able to find something much more affordable as far as housing goes, and those houses are nice out there. And yes, a skeleton staff with two rotating managers, but if you all go, you’ll have a lot of weight since you’re familiar with us and the way we like things.”
“Are we really considering this?” I asked. The guys and I all exchanged wide eye glances.
We were. We were actually considering this.
“Rhys, what about hockey?” I turned my attention to him. He had two schools that he really wanted to go to, and neither were in Las Vegas.
He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “There’s a D1 intercollegiate team in Las Vegas that’s been making a splash. I hadn’t even considered them because it’s not tied to any one college. That would be both more competitive and more visible for an underclassman. I’d have options.”
“You’re serious? Don’t get our hopes up if this isn’t a real offer on the table,” Beck shook his head.
“I’m dead serious. If you guys want it, it’s yours. We’ll cover any moving expenses and plane tickets for you to scout out the area. And a hotel until you find a place, if necessary.”
This was a chance to get away from Silver Ranch, and while I didn’t necessarily want to leave Colorado, this was a way to go to a new state.
An opportunity to start fresh with the guys and OUR girl.
There were details to work out for sure. My scholarship, hockey, Jonah’s scholarship. Could we really make this happen?
Just the idea was scary, and almost too big to comprehend, but looking between each of the guys, we were all on the same page.
We were ready for our next chapter.
Away from this town.
Together.
“Hey, hot stuff,” Thatcher cupped the back of my neck and pulled me to him for a kiss. “The game is about to start. Are you ready to go?”
The last six months had been crazy. Absolute insanity.
We moved a week and half after graduation. Both Jonah and I opted to take a gap year. Mainly because our scholarships were Colorado specific and we needed to be able to qualify for instate tuition if we decided to stay in Nevada.
Rhys though, with the help of his coach, they worked some magic and he got into one of the universities that participated in the intercollegiate hockey club. His scholarship wasn’t as much as he’d hoped, but Devil’s Hands fronted the gap, just asking that he work for the club in some capacity for the next two years. Not a bad deal at all. I’ve heard that some companies require five, but they aren’t the family like Graves and Angel are.
They said they’d do the same for us if we wanted them to, but I’d like to do it on my own if I could.
I forfeited my art scholarship. When I called the director, I asked that it go to the girl with the moving hands exhibit. Not sure if my opinion counted for anything, or if she was the natural runner up, but Ryan sent me a small local article stating she’d been awarded the funds for a Colorado school of her choice.
We’d had some snags in our next chapter, it hadn’t all been sunshine and rainbows.
Beck’s mother had been found in an abandoned building. She’d OD’d. It had been tough on Beck, but we’d all supported him through it in the best way we knew how. He used the few weeks after to write five songs about staggering grief and the bitter pain of loving a parent who didn’t love you back. He even had one in there about throwing away what society wanted you to be and build your own self.
Pretty dark and philosophical stuff.
After two songs went viral on TikTok, he was contacted by a record company that had a great reputation for working with and for independent artists, and he got a record deal. Nothing crazy. He hadn’t had to sign his life away for them to professionally produce the music. He’d also retained the overall artistic power as long as they could all come to an agreement. In other words, they couldn’t make any executive decisions without his say.
And a nice perk, they had a branch with a studio here in Vegas.
