Chapter Nineteen

~Gerard~

The days were growing closer to his first year anniversary with Olivia, and he had yet to make any progress about what to do for their anniversary. He hated that he didn’t know, and hated even more that he’d been stressing over it for a month. He wanted to get her something special, but he had no idea what that was.

He came to a pause outside the door, before knocking hesitantly.

Seconds later his sister opened it, took one look at him, and sighed. “Still haven’t thought of anything?” she guessed. He nodded morosely. “That would be correct,” he said collapsing on the sofa.

Aina smiled, “Well you’re in luck. I have two tickets for someone she would really want to see who is coming to Spain.” He looked at the female curiously. “Who?” he questioned, a confused frown appearing. He thought he’d looked up everyone who she liked. She disappeared, and returned with an envelope. He opened it, and his eyes widened. “How did you get these?” he asked in awe.

“I’m making friends in high places,” she teased, “So those will work?” He nodded vigorously, “How can I ever thank you?” She simply laughed, “Oh, there are ways.”


~Aina~

Aina smiled as she stepped into the restaurant. Leo’s parents were visiting, and he wanted her to meet them as his girlfriend.
She had met them before in the past as they visited him during his days at La Masia. She ignored the flashing cameras behind her, and saw the footballer sitting near the back with his nephew, Agustin, on his lap. She walked over, and he smiled up at her.

Also at the table sat his mom, dad, sister, and one of his brothers.

“Hola, Aina!” María Sol greeted brightly. The two females had always been friends, despite the distance between them. “Hola María. Agustin is so grown up,” she said, looking at the boy who was shyly observing her from Messi’s lap.

“Agustin, this is Aina,” Leo introduced. He looked up at her with wide eyes, then smiled shyly. The footballer moved to give her room to sit next to him, and she sat down in the booth deftly. The younger boy was immediately curious about her. “Do you like football?” he asked. She nodded with a smile, “Very much.”

“I like Barça, and Uncle Leo is my favorite player!” the young boy stated proudly. Aina wanted to coo at him, but suppressed it. “Don’t tell my brother, but Leo is my favorite player too,” she whispered conspiratorially to Agustin, who giggled. “I think he’s the best – my Uncle Leo. I don’t like that Ronaldo guy he gets compared to.” She grinned at the little boy.

“Want to know a secret?” she whispered. He nodded, leaning in close, so that he was actually off of Leo’s lap.

“Ronaldo, he’s pretty good. But Leo is the best in the world. And he’s only going to get better!” Agustin smiled widely at her, “Really?” She nodded empathically. Agustin snuggled against her, “Will you be my friend, Aina?” She grinned down at him, “I’d love to.”

Agustin then looked across the table at María Sol, “Mamá, can Aina come to my birthday party?” The women looked between each other, melting.

As the food came, and they began to dig in, Aina nearly jumped when she felt Leo’s hand come to rest on her thigh. She glanced over at him, and found him smiling at her. She blushed, and returned to her food, trying to fight off the blush that was threatening to rise with reasonable success. She was unable, however, to keep the smile from appearing.


~Olivia~

All Gerard had told her to do was dress up some, but not too much. She had decided on dark wash jeans, a simple blouse, and a nice jacket. She had been asking Aina for fashion advice since she was in the spotlight more, and accessorized with some silver earrings, a chunky bracelet, and a fashionable scarf.

She was proud of her choices when Rosy turned up in jeans and a nice shirt as well. She tugged on her boots as he waited in the living room, and glanced over herself to make sure her hair wasn’t too messy.

Once she deemed herself ready, she waltzed out of her bedroom, and almost collided with Gerard. He caught her before she toppled over, and steadied her on her feet. “Cuidado, amor,” he grinned, his eyes running over her. He smiled softly. “What? Is it not good?” she asked, panicking. He silenced her with a kiss. “Eres bonita, nena,” he whispered upon pulling back. Since she was wearing heels she didn’t feel as short, but he still towered over her. Their hands laced together instinctively as they headed out to whatever he had planned.

“So where are we going?” Olivia asked as the headed out to his car. “That’s a surprise, nena,” he grinned, enjoying how much she wanted to know. The chef pouted, and folded her arms over her chest after buckling. “Cute – but it’s not going to work,” he laughed.

He pulled out onto the street, and within twenty minutes they had arrived at the venue. It was a small, unassuming restaurant. Olivia looked up at the male questioningly, begging for an explanation.

He simply smiled, and gesturing for her to go in. Hand in hand they walked in, and her jaw dropped.

She couldn’t believe who was before her.


~Leo~

Since Aina was off to Paris for a meeting with a potential donor to the foundation, he found himself alone in his condo. His family had returned to the hotel, and they had a busy day, since they wanted to go sight-seeing whilst he was practicing.

He sighed as his phone rang, and he answered it, hoping it was Aina. “Hello?” he greeted.

‘Leo, it’s Cesc,’ the voice on the other end replied. He frowned, wondering what the call was about. “What do you want?” he questioned, none too kindly.

Cesc sighed on the other end of the line, ‘I just wanted to let you know that I’m not giving up on Aina. I love her, and I am going to do anything in my power to win her back. I don’t care how I do it. I will call her, send gifts, write poetry – I’ll even seduce her. I don’t care. I’m winning her back.’

“She’s happy with me,” Leo said defensively.

‘You think she really wants to be with you after what we shared? The Argentine with big ears? I’ve known her longer, I know what she likes. I know what her weaknesses are. Have you guys been intimate yet? No? It’s because you’re not met. I’m the one that she wants.’

Cesc’s words rang cold, and though he knew he shouldn’t listen, he couldn’t help it.

‘And I saw the pictures of you and her at the restaurant. Do you think she really wants to spend a date playing with kids? Sure she likes them, but not that much. That’s why I’m going to win. I know what she likes.’

Leo pressed the end call button harshly.

He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, trying his hardest not to be affected by the words of the Arsenal midfielder. But he was. What did he mean by ‘he knew what she liked’? Was he suggesting they’d had sex? Was that why he asked if they’d been intimate. He already knew that he couldn’t compare to Cesc in terms of attractiveness. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out.

He trudged over to his bed, and tried his hardest to rest up for practice, but sleep was hard to come by. His imagination kept conjuring images of Aina and Cesc, together again…happy.

Perhaps he was only living a fantasy.