Chapter Seven

August 18th – Barcelona, Spain

It was well past midnight when Messi stumbled back into his house. Luckily he’d been sober enough to navigate me through the maze-like streets of Barcelona and back to his home. I set the car keys down on the small table in the entrance, hoping he’d find them, along with his house keys.

He had already wandered off, and I found him in the kitchen downing some water, which I knew would be good for preventing a hangover.

It had been strange being around so many people without feeling uncomfortable. Whenever Carlos drank I knew that something was bound to happen, and normally something did. At first I had been apprehensive, but I had ended up having a pretty good time. Leo’s friends, well…teammates, were all great people.

There was still the overwhelming embarrassment from the kiss, at least for me. Leo was happily buzzed, since he had only a few, but he didn’t seem to be worrying about it. I, on the other hand, had been teased by Piqué for several hours about the ‘incident’, as he was now calling it. I wished I could ignore it so easily, but it had constantly been on my mind. I couldn’t help but blush whenever I looked at Leo as well.

In all honestly, it wasn’t the first time the thought of kissing Leo had entered my mind. I had always harbored some form of a crush on him.

He had been teased so much, but had never given up. He moved all the way to Spain to achieve his dreams, and had worked his way up to become the best player in the world. He went from no one to being in the international spotlight whilst maintaining his humility. Who wouldn’t admire him?

I retreated to my room, hoping to avoid the subject altogether.

However, despite how hard I tried, sleep would not come to me. I tossed and turned for several hours until at last I got up to get a glass of water.

Glancing out of my room, the coast was clear, and I made my way to the kitchen as quietly as possible. As I got to the living room, I saw Leo sprawled out on the couch, asleep. Sighing, I grabbed the blanket that was on the back of the chair, and draped it over him.

“Lia?” he asked sleepily, his eyes cracking open. “Hey,” I murmured in reply. Just as I went to straighten up, he reached out, and pulled me down, draping the blanket over me to the best of his ability. “Stay,” he muttered. I didn’t really have a choice, so I tried to settle down without hurting him in the process. He shifted as well, managing to move so I was resting completely on top of him.

“Lia, what happened tonight?” he asked suddenly, sounding more awake than before. “Oh…that…I…” I trailed off, trying to collect myself.

I pushed up to talk with him properly. I was about to try again when Leo cut me off abruptly with a kiss.

I melted into him as the disbelief wore off.

The next morning I woke up, and found Leo sleeping peacefully underneath me still. I got up as carefully as possibly, hoping not to disturb him.

I retreated to my room to shower and get ready for the day. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I figured I might as well get dressed. I pulled on jeans and a Newell’s Old Boy’s shirt before heading back out. I found Leo awake, his hair wet from a shower, dressed in new clothing.

“Buenos días,” he greeted, kissing me lightly on the lips.

I blushed, and diverted my gaze. What did that kiss mean? I could understand to earlier ones, he was influenced by the alcohol.
“What do you want to do today?” he asked, handing me an apple. I bit into the fruit thoughtfully. “I need to look for a job,” I answered truthfully. After all, my stay in Spain was dependent on work for my visa. He nodded, “I can arrange that.”


August 18th – Barcelona, Spain

I was still awed by how well Víctor and Felipa got along. It was as if they had known each other for years, not hours. Since he had the day off, he had invited me out to dinner, for ‘a proper date’ as he called it. My usual baby sitter, Luísa, was already there.

I was dressed up for once, wearing a simple black dress that was sleeveless, and fell to my knees. It was fitted enough to be attractive, but not so much to be overtly sexual or uncomfortable.

The doorbell rang, and I nearly ran to answer it.

There he was, in all of his glory, sporting black dress pants and a grey dress shirt. “Ready?” he asked, eyes wandering up and down my frame. I couldn’t compare to him at all, but I thought I didn’t look completely out of place. “Yes,” I answered, grabbing my purse.

We walked out into the warm Barcelona night, and down to his Audi car that he’d gotten simply by being on the team. He said he’d be getting a new one soon as well.

“So where are we going on this date?” I asked, curious. He had kept it a secret.

He grinned at me, “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.” I pouted, hoping it would convince him to tell me. Unfortunately, he only grew more amused, and revealed nothing. Giving up, I allowed him to drive me through the historical streets, admiring the architecture and beauty of the city. My head rested against the cool glass of the window, the lights flashing by.

At last he came to a stop, and I recognized it to be one of the fanciest sushi places in the city. My jaw dropped as I glanced back at him.

“I was hoping to buy you a proper drink this time,” he teased.

“How did you know I loved sushi?” I questioned as we walked toward the restaurant. “Well, remember when I stalked your facebook? Well, I made sure to look up your favorite foods as well,” he replied, quite proud of himself. He walked up to the hostess, and smiled at her, “Reservation under Valdés.” She recognized him before he even said his name, and was grabbing the correct number of menus, ushering them into the sleek, modern establishment. They were seated at a secluded table for privacy upon his request.

The last thing he wanted was for the date to be interrupted.

The interior was very modern, with black and red as the prevalent colors. Ceramic chopsticks had already been placed out.

A waiter came to take their order, and Víctor expertly ordered a bottle of wine, one of my favorites, by coincidence or not I was not sure. I didn’t think I had put that on facebook too. The meal ended up being delicious. It had been a long time since I had eaten such good Japanese food. The wine had been a nice touch as well, and the first ‘proper’ drink he’d bought her in their time together.

They exited the restaurant, the warm air enveloping them as they headed back to his car.

“Thanks for tonight,” I said as we climbed into the car. He smiled at me, eyes smoldering, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” I smiled, “You were pretty good company too.” He shrugged, “I do have to make a good impression, since my first one didn’t go so well!” I blushed, “It wasn’t that bad.” “You ran away,” he accused playfully. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” I questioned.

He shook his head, “Probably not. And you’ll have to deal with me obsessively buying you drinks as well to try and erase my first failure.”

“You don’t have to,” I pointed out. He grinned, “But I want to.”