Entry Four: February 17, 2008

~Aurora~

It was an overcast day as Carles picked me up again from work. We walked out of the building, fingers interlaced. Cameras flashed around us as we headed to his car, but we ignored them. A few weeks had passed since our initial meeting, and it had already come out that we were dating.

Carles had asked me out that night at the restaurant to be his girlfriend, and of course I had said yes.

I was now a WAG, one of those girls I had thought just lived of their significant other’s money. But here I was, still working, and I was beginning to realize that was a huge generalization.

Once in the enclosure of his car, we pulled away from the paparazzi and toward his house several miles away.

I had brought a change of clothes with me so I didn’t have to stay in my fitted suit the entire evening, and once at his spacious house, I darted into the bathroom. I shrugged off my suit jacket and blouse, then stepped out of my pencil skirt, letting it drop to the floor. I reached into my large purse, and pulled out the yoga pants and stepped into them. I then found the soft cotton tee and pulled it over my head.

I carefully rearranged my curls and checked my makeup before stuffing my business clothes into the bag and heading out.

I found Carles on the sofa, flipping through the television channels, and curled up next to him. His arm immediately wrapped around my shoulders, his body incredibly warm and inviting. He settled on a news channel, and we sat contentedly for some time.

He turned at length to look at me, his thumb rubbing slow circles along my upper arm.

“What do you want to do?” he questioned. I focused my attention on him, “I don’t know…did you have something in mind?” “No, but we can do anything you want,” he replied.

I smiled, pulling back slightly to look at him properly, “I’m happy, as long as I’m with you.”

His eyes shone at my answer, and he lowered his head for a kiss. It started out completely innocent, but it quickly deepened as the passion ignited between us. He gently coaxed my lips open, our tongues meeting in a rush of electricity.

We parted, breathing heavily.

He stood suddenly, pulling me up with him. “Where are we going?” I asked as he handed me my jacket after grabbing his own, still walking me through the house toward the front door. It was raining outside, and we dashed together to the car. Even though it had been a short dash, we were soaked by the time we reached the car. Both of us pushed wet hair out of our eyes and looked at each other.

“Where are we going?” I repeated, curiosity now peaked. He smiled secretively, but said nothing as he pulled out of the driveway.

We drove in silence, the only sound the rain beating down on the vehicle and the windshield wipers that were working at full power to keep the road visible. It was a full half hour before we pulled into the driveway of a gorgeous house.

He urged me out, and together we dashed up to the porch. He rang to doorbell, and after several seconds of waiting, it opened to reveal the tall form of Gerard Piqué. He glanced between the two of us curiously, “Who’s this Puyi?” “Geri, I wanted to personally introduce you to my girlfriend, Aurora.”

I smiled shyly at the other defender as we were invited in.

We all got comfortable in the living room with a beer, the television on softly in the background. Gerard was the last to amble in, sitting in one of the arm chairs that sat adjacent to the sofa.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” he directed at me, “Puyi has been keeping you all to himself.” He bumped his eyebrows suggestively at his last words. I blushed slightly, but Carles looked unperturbed. “Well, you can see why,” he grinned, gesturing in my direction.

My cheeks darkened even further at the offhand comment, though I knew he meant it with complete honesty.

“So how did you meet? Puyi here has told me nothing, no matter how much I pester him,” Gerard continued, ignoring the look Carles was giving him.

“We met at a club,” I answered, not sure exactly how much detail he wanted from me.

Again, the younger defender grinned suggestively. Carles interjected, “Not that type of club, idiot. The kind that you don’t reach the maturity quota for yet.” I chuckled at their banter, and took a sip of the beer I’d been given. They dissolved into physical quarreling until my laughter broke them up. Seeing the two together was hilarious.

“So, you guys have been dating for about a month now?” Gerard asked once they sobered up. We both nodded in answer to his question. He grinned wider, “You two are so adorable.” I found myself blushing for God knows how many times that night, while Carles just smirked slightly.

Suddenly the defender started, “Puyi didn’t bring you to my birthday party. Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want you to scare her off,” Carles answered with an even wider smirk. Gerard deflated, “You’re so mean! Cesc isn’t this mean to me. Aurora, you should date Cesc. He’s nice.” He earned another smack to the head, and yet another quarrel erupted.

It settled down faster than the last, and all three of us were laughing by then.

“Well that settles it. We’ll have a belated birthday party that you can come to,” he said, grinning widely at his solution to the problem. “Who said she wants to come?” the older defender challenged. “Because I’ll have cake and chocolate, and she won’t be able to resist,” Gerard answered smartly. Carles rolled his eyes, “I could get the same things.” The younger footballer paused in thought.

“Who wants to miss a birthday party,” he whined. We both laughed.

“I don’t mind coming,” I said, unable to really resist his pout, which was rather effective. Carles seemed have predicted that result, and pointed a finger at Gerard, “This means nothing, mind you.” The other seemed to care less, and jumped up and sang, “She chose me! She’s coming to my par-teh!” For the third time he received a smack to the back of the head, which quieted him almost instantly.

I was glad that Carles had introduced us as we settled back into a relatively more normal conversation about how the season was going, his arm secured around my shoulders as my hand settled on his knee.


~Eva~

I sighed as I pulled my legs closer to my chest. Rain was one of those things that I never really knew how to deal with. The best option was the homeless shelter, but when I’d gone by, they’d been full.

So I was back in the park, pulling my rain coat closer to my already soaked body. I was freezing as the chilly rain continued to poor.

It was just warm enough to stay liquid, but it was only several degrees away from snow. I was shivering, but I was trying not to think about it.

I hadn’t seen Xavi in weeks.

I knew that he was becoming attached, and in all reality, so was I. But I knew enough of psychology to recognize he was going through displacement, in my opinion. It was one of only two options. The first and unlikely option was that he really did like me for whatever reason. The other and more likely option was that his lingering feelings for Elsa were being transferred to me since I had listened to everything.

So, after we had gone our separate ways, I had made sure to stay away. I had seen him several times, but he hadn’t seen me. He had walked through the park on the very path that we’d taken. His eyes searched around, since I had told him I was fond of the park.

I was hidden along a bench further back, out of sight, and his search had been unsuccessful. It had hurt, cutting ties so abruptly, but some things were just necessary.

I sighed as I began to lose feeling in my fingers, and curled them deeper into my sleeves, though it did little to help.

I began fading in and out of consciousness when I heard my name called. I was too out of it to care. It was the last thing I had to worry about. Since I didn’t have work tomorrow, I had to think about how else to get clean since I would be away from a shower. I also had to think where I was going to get food from. I also would probably have no dry clothes.

I was pulled back into awareness by hands grasping my shoulders firmly. After blinking the water out of my eyes, I found Xavi hunched in front of me, eyes wide in worry.

“Eva, what are you doing?” he demanded. His right hand left my shoulder, retrieving the umbrella he’d dropped in his alarm. He shook it before bringing it up to protect both of us from the precipitation. For the first time in hours I was out of the rain, and I shook the remaining water from my face, apologizing softly when some splashed on him. He ignored it, his gaze fixed on my face.

“Eva, why are you out here in the rain?” he demanded, his remaining hand tightening on my shoulder.

I shrugged, not even sure how to answer that question. With the truth? A lie? I chose silence instead, and looked down at my knees, which were still pulled up to my chin. He didn’t seem likely to give up, but the longer I kept quiet, his demeanor changed to worry.

“Is everything alright?” he tried again after several minutes of painful silence. I was unable to stop the wry chuckle that escaped.

“I’m so tired,” I said at length, pushing my wet bangs from my eyes.

“Tired? Can I drive you home? You need sleep?” he pushed, gesturing toward the park path that I guessed would lead to his car. “What are you even doing in the park in this weather?” I questioned. He sighed, “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’m tired of life,” I said, returning to the first part of the discussion. He looked alarmed by my words, and I knew what conclusion he’d drawn.

“I’m tired of the secrets, the pity. I’m tired of pretending everything is alright,” I continued.

“Eva, please tell me what’s going on,” Xavi pleaded, his hand moving to my cheek, tilting my head upward so I would look at him. “You would look at me differently,” I shook my head. “You’re sitting in the rain in the middle of a park, and you’re worried about how I’ll think of you?” he questioned. I shrugged once again, not trusting myself to speak.

He eased himself down next to me, shifting the umbrella so it still covered us both.

“Why are you in the park?” I questioned again, looking up at him. “Looking for you of course,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “In the rain?” I asked.

“I have come looking every night, and I wasn’t about to let rain stop me,” he said with such honesty, I was completely caught off guard. “Please, let me help you,” he continued. I looked him dead in the eye, but I knew if I told him, his concern would turn either to condescension or worse, pity.

“Why would you come looking for me?” I answered, ignoring his comment.

“Is it really that hard to tell?” he asked, turning to face me better. His fingers ghosted over my cheekbone as his eyes scanned my face, searching.

“You’re just attached because I was your therapist,” I muttered, dropping my gaze.

He scoffed, “I’m attached because you’re one of the first women, no – people, to understand me and not judge me. That means I want to be your friend. But don’t tell me the attraction I feel is because I told you about myself, probably more than you ever wanted to know. But I want to know about you too, but then you just disappeared. I’ve never stopped looking for you though. Please, you can trust me.”

“If we go down this road, Xavi, there’s no going back. You’ll see me differently. You’ll either judge me or pity me. It won’t be the same. Do you really want that?” I asked wearily.

He nodded decisively, “Yes! I want to know has you fighting, and what is wearing you ragged. What has you sitting in the rain. You don’t have to pretend that everything is alright with me, I want to be there for you. Stop with the secrets. Please.”

I looked him dead in the eye, “You asked for it.” He nodded, waiting. I took in his expression one more time before the pity or whatever else would appear…something to remember.

“I’m homeless.”