Chapter Six

~Luciana~

She had ruined it, she was sure. There was no way that a professional footballer would find interest in her after that. No, no way at all. She had gone postal on a spider, gotten them kicked out of the restaurant, AND started singing randomly in his presence. Yeah, she was sure the number he'd given her was either for the rejection hotline, or the mental asylum, if Barcelona had any of those.

She finished spreading Nutella on the piece of bread, and put the two slices together, ready to enjoy her Nutella sandwich.

But before she could take a bite, her phone rang, and she answered it. "Hey Luci, it's Aina. I wanted to see how things were going for you," the female she'd met at the game greated.

She set down her sandwich and sighed, "I think I just totally scared off Dani Alves.""And how did you do that?" "Well, I killed a bug very vigorously...I sang random songs, switched languages multiple times...stuff like that. I got us kicked out of the restaurant, even. I think he gave me a fake phone number."

The other female laughed lightly, "Well, you'll only know if you call. Well, I have a work meeting to attend, I just wanted to check up on you."

"Um...Aina?" "Yes?" "Can I call you too?"

The other female laughed lightly once again, "Of course, Luci. Never hesitate, and if I don't answer, leave a message." Once she hung up, she groaned, "Why can't I be more confident like her. Instead, I'm just me!" She flung her arm out dramatically, knocking her sandwich to the dirty floor.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, going to salvage her food. She then looked at her phone, and after taking a deep breath, dialed he number. It rang three times before - "Hello?"


~Xavi~

Xavi was surprised to see her at the restaurant, sitting with a group of adults. She was dressed professionally in a pencil skirt and blouse, her hair neatly arranged. Andreu wasn’t with her either, so he presumed the young boy was at school.

She was sitting across the restaurant, but hadn’t spotted him.

She was chatting with the group, two males and a female, casually. They were not as dressed up as she, but still looked rather respectable. She was also the focus of attention. She smiled at something one of the guys said, and shook her head as to correct him. He felt jealousy. He trusted her, but the man on whom she was focusing was rather young and attractive. He also probably wasn’t traveling all the time due to football.

His teammates were talking around him. They were all cleverly hiding their identities so as to eat in peace. “What are you glaring at?” Andrés asked, arching a brow. “Nothing,” he replied shortly, taking a sip of his water. His teammate snorted in disbelief, but didn’t push it.

Finally two of the other table occupants left, leaving Aina alone with the guy. Their discussion was quite animated, and he felt himself growing progressively more possessive over the female. He wanted her to look at him, not that guy.

Finally he pulled out his phone, and texted her, I miss you. What are you doing?

He watched as her phone vibrated on the table, however, instead of ignoring it like she had done previously upon seeing the caller ID, she picked it up. After several seconds, he saw her punch in a reply before setting the phone back down on the table in front of her.

I miss you too. I’m finishing up a meeting with the other English teachers. We’re coordinating a trip to America, was the reply. He was unsure if he should reveal himself or not.

Would you be going to America? He asked.

He saw her respond again, just as quickly as before, and it eased his mind some. No, because Andreu is my priority. Besides, the States aren’t anything new to me. They really just needed my advice on where to go. Right now I’m discussing places of interest with the trip coordinator.

He smiled as he watched her finish up. She remained in the restaurant while the male teacher left. She finished up her glass of water, and waved for the check.

As the waitress passed, he touched her arm. “Let me pay for that meal,” he said. She nodded, and charged it to him instead. Andrés was the only one who caught the action, and was looking at him incredulously. “Is that Aina?” he asked. Xavi nodded, gaze on her as she was told her meal was paid for. She stared at the table before shaking her head, and grabbing her things.

She paused, glanced at the phone in her hand, and then exited the restaurant. He smiled, and waited several minutes before texting, By the way, you look beautiful today.


~Dani~

Luci had actually called him! It had been over two days since their lunch date, and he was sure that she wasn't going to. He found it amusing she thought he'd given her the number to an insane asylum, as it was the last thought from his mind.

Well, second to last.

He knew she wasn't the normal 'WAG' material, as she wasn't the most discreet thing ever. She also wasn't a model or actress. She was rather ordinary. Well, not really. She was really, really original and unique.

And he liked it, even if she was a bit crazy. Crazy was good. Everyone needed some.

He needed some. It was crazy. But he liked it.