Promise Me It's Real

One second had passed and all of my surroundings were up in havoc. People were screaming at the top of their lungs, standing on their seats and pumping their fists in the air. Spaniards certainly showed enough enthusiasm towards victory.

I had that same enthusiasm spiraling through my veins if not more, I only channeled it in a different way than these maniacs. I stayed still and spoke nothing but silence, letting tears fall as much as they needed while my eyes stayed fixated on the field.

I wanted desperately to be with him while he and his team-mates rejoiced. I wanted to join him on that field and tell him how much he deserved this. But this wasn't a High School football game. We were in South Africa, and this was the 2010 World Cup.

Absolutely gleaming with pride, I left that stadium to the parking lot and found a taxi to take me back to the hotel at which I was staying. I hadn't seen Fernando much since I arrived in South Africa. The sport kept him very busy, especially around this time of the year. The World Cup was something that he took very seriously. Hell, everyone took the World Cup seriously! He needed to stay focused, and my... rambunctiousness wouldn't help any.

But tonight would be different. Victory or defeat, he promised to pay me a visit as soon as he could. I figured he would be a few hours because he would surely want to celebrate with his team. I let myself fall asleep only to be awoken just minutes later by a frantic knock at the door.

I was shocked but knew that it had to be my Fernando knocking. It's not like I knew many people in South Africa.

Quickly, I got to my feet and took the few steps needed to answer the door.

Sure enough, there he was standing tall with a wide smile on his face.

I shrieked with joy and heaved my body onto the wall of concrete known as Fernando Torres.

"Congratulations, Nando!" I hollered into his chest as he squeezed his arms around me. "You kicked Portugal's ass!"

He laughed and moved his arms up to hold my face between his palms. He pulled my head up so our faces could be level and crashed his lips against mine, only letting his tongue explore my mouth for a second before pulling away to talk. Damn, he was really happy.

"I love you!" he yelled, loud enough that it could echo throughout the hall.

My grin faltered a bit with confusion. He said this like it was his first time to tell me, when we had been saying it for nearly a year.

"I love you too..."

"No." he said, peering around the hall and pushing me farther into my room so he could shut the door behind us. "I mean, I love you, and I want to marry you, Maral!"

"Fernando!" I gasped, taking his face into my own hands this time. "You're crazy!"

"No, I'm not! It's not crazy!" he exclaimed, laughing not because the situation was funny but because he was so damn happy. "It's perfect! The only thing that could make me any happier is you marrying me!"

My playful grin fell completely, leaving his to stand on its own. I was starting to realize that he was completely serious.

"Um... that's.. not true..." I murmured, falling backwards onto the bed. "Beating Paraguay on Friday would make you happy too..."

"What's that even supposed to mean, baby?" he inquired, sounding and looking so confused that it made me want to agree on the spot. His ignorance only made him cuter, but I had to stay strong so we could talk this out.

"I don't know! I just think... you're sayin' all this because you're so happy about beating Portu--"

"No! Kicking ass only helped me to realize how fortunate I am to have you to share my victories with. And my losses. I know that if today had gone differently, and Spain had been defeated, I would still be just as happy so long as you were here with me. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Whoa, he actually put some thought into this. Now that I knew he hadn't just proposed to me on a whim, the idea didn't sound so bad. In fact, spending my life with Fernando seemed to be the only thing to do.

"Well, lets get married then." I replied simply.

I didn't cry, I didn't scream, because with some thought I wasn't the least bit surprised. It was a natural thing for us, bound to happen, so I just reach my arms out to him.

He let out a sigh of relief and snaked his arms around my back, pulling our bodies closer.

"Right now, Maral, promise me this is real and say you will be with me for the rest of my life." he whispered warmly though my hair.

"Nando, I promise." I returned.

It was a real promise, that kind that was impossible to break. Because really, how would I ever manage to leave a life that was perfect as this?