Only For You I Walk Through A Storm

“Geri, have you seen my other earring?” I yelled as I searched through my jewelry box that was on top of my dresser. Geri popped his head out from the master bath in our room.

“Which one?”

“The silver ones you got me for my birthday.” I huffed back as I continued to rummage through my things until Geri held up my other earring in front of my face. A smile erupted on my face as I grabbed it from his fingers, turning to him as I placed it on. “¡Gracias mi amor!” I leaned on my tiptoes to give him a quick peck. Before I could fall back down on the heels of my feet, Geri held my upper arms and deepened the kiss. I smiled into the kiss as he broke apart.

“Now you can finish getting ready.” He winked as he headed back towards the closet to grab a shirt. I huffed as I turned back to the mirror, ruffling my hair a bit more and checking my make up before I stepped into my heels and walked out of the bedroom.

“Venga en Geri. We don’t want to be late!” I heard his footsteps on the stairs as my heels clicked against the hardwood floor of our foyer. I grabbed our coats, handing him his as he reached the last step.

“I hope Carles hasn’t already started drinking.” We laughed as we locked the door and reached the car, headed to the club where we were to meet the rest of Barcelona’s football club to celebrate their League victory tonight.

+++

We pulled up to the small club, walking in hand in hand. The team had picked the newer club in Barcelona that I hadn’t had the pleasure of visiting yet. Once inside, I instantly fell in love with the setting, they had set up the area as if it were a Mediterranean private resort. Lavish deep red and purple scarves hung from every corner of the private club. There weren’t many people and it let me take in every inch of the area and relish in the fantasy. As we walked up the stairs to the VIP area, I noticed the servers dressed in makeshift belly dancing costumes, the kind with the sheer , baggy pant legs that cuffed at the ankle, each woman wearing a different color. Their tops were excessively beaded and they shifted with every move they made as they carried trays of drinks and small appetizers. I tugged at Geri’s hand as one of the servers passed me, her eyes lined like a cat as the little sheer slip cover that matched her outfit concealed the smile she gave, only visibly if you looked closely through the material. “Mira Geri. It’s so beautiful” He smiled as he bent down and kissed the top of my head. The smile on my face grew as I laughed in my head, the whole place reminding me of a dream Maral was telling me about over the phone not even three days ago. We finally reached one of the booths, sitting with Puyol, Xavi, Xavi’s sister Arianna, Zlatan, and his wife Helena. Automatically segregating the men and the woman at the table, we all started to carry on our own conversations, only being interrupted by the servers bringing us our drinks and food.

“Isn’t this amazing?” Arianna asked as she looked around at the fine art work on the walls and swaying her head to the sound of the music that ran through the speakers, finely matching the setting of the club. Helena laughed bringing her drink up to her lips and taking a sip.

“Is it your first time here Ari?” Arianna nodded as she turned to me.

“It’s Addison’s first time here too.” I held my hands up in surrender.

“It’s true…although I’ve seen a place like this already.” Helena and Arianna both looked at each other as they replied at the same time.

“Maral’s room.” We all laughed knowing full well how much Maral loved to erupt her culture into anything she could, her room being one of them. I remember the day I had helped her fix everything, Sergio came home that afternoon and walked in, eyes wide at the sudden change in the bedroom…that is until Maral walked up and whispered some suggestive fantasies in his ear, his shoulders eased down as a sideways smirk appeared on his face. I ran out of that room as fast as my legs would take me. It seemed like so long ago that I had visited Madrid and seen my best friend, but I smiled now knowing that the next time I would go visit her, it wouldn’t be because Geri and I got in a fight over our pasts, which was the case that time.

I reached my hand over the table to my left, taking Geri’s hand in mine as he was listening to Puyol talk about something animatedly, waving his arms around. I turned to look at the rest of the team scattered around in various booths. Leo was imitating something Bo had done on the field while Bo frowned, scooting back in the booth, embarrassed. That’s when I saw her, sitting at their booth, Geri’s ex-girlfriend, Nuria. She was sitting with her legs crossed at the edge, laughing at Messi and his antics. What was she doing here? She had no connection with anyone on the team, not since Geri broke things off with her. Everything played out in my head like it does in the movies. She tilted her head back laughing as she flawlessly turned her head towards our booth, seeing me out of the corner of her eye, her lips forming a devious pout, leaving her cheekbones at a steep angle as she winked before turning back to the conversation at her table. I closed my eyes, letting the different emotions settle in my body before Helena shook my arm. “Sorry älskling (darling), she’s headed this way.” My head turned so fast that I nearly gave myself whiplash as I watched her walk towards the booth, one foot in front of the other as if her pointed heels were leading her down a path.

“Bitch.” I mumbled under my breath as I scooted closer into Gerard’s side. He noticed my sudden uneasiness and turned to me as everyone’s conversations froze, Nuria’s shadow falling over the already dimly lit booth.

“Nuria?” Gerard questioned before looking down at me and back up to her. She gave a smile that looked forced, yet played on her face so effortlessly.

“Es un placer verte Geri, como siempre. ¿Podría tener unas palabras con usted en privado?” (It’s nice to see you Geri, as always. Could I have a quick word with you in private?) My hand instinctively gripped Geri’s tighter as he patted my thigh with his free hand, letting me know that there was nothing to worry about. I reluctantly scooted out of my seat, letting Gerard out. I sat back down as everyone else watched the exchange quietly. Geri stuck his hands in his front pockets as he walked behind Nuria. I watched the two of them as they stood in the corner by the steps, wringing my hands from being so nervous, I didn’t know why she was here and I didn’t know what she was planning, and it was killing me. Five minutes felt like eternity as I continued to watch their conversation escalate from small chatter to Geri shaking his head and clenching and unclenching his fists as he spoke harshly, I could tell from his facial features and his posture. Puyol got bored and started up another story, everyone turning to his attention…everyone except for me. My hands froze as I watched Geri stop his angry rant and start to speak softer, almost reasonably and calm. Nuria’s hand crawled up his arm before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him towards her, crashing her lips on his. Geri’s eyes had closed as his hands moved to her shoulders, but I didn’t stay long enough to see if he had moved his hands to push her away or to pull her close. I shot out of my seat and ran as fast as I could in my pumps towards the stairs and out the club, sadly having to pass the two on my way down. Halfway out the door I could faintly hear Gerard calling my name, I hated the way my name sounded coming off his tongue, it wasn’t the same anymore, not to me.

As I stepped outside into the cool Barcelona night, I felt heavy droplets fall upon my skin. I looked up at the sky and cursed that I had left my coat in the car. It was raining down hard and just looked as if it was going to get worse. I didn’t care though; I had to get away. I continued to walk down the sidewalk, the sound of the rain hitting the concrete overpowering the sound of my heels clicking against the ground. My hair was already soaked, sticking to my face, my dress, already tight, plastering itself against my cold body. I wrapped my arms around me as a chill ran down my spine. I walked three blocks before I felt like someone was following me. I stopped and turned my head to see no one behind me. I shook the feeling, convincing myself that it was my subconscious wishing it were Gerard running after me to hold me and tell me that it was all a mistake, that Nuria was the one that provoked the kiss. I scoffed, shaking my head at the crazy thought of even thinking about Gerard running after me in this hell of a storm. I continued my journey, eyeing a coffee shop down the street where I could go warm up and hopefully dry off a bit.

The pattering of the rain soothed my nerves in an odd way, and I was kind of thankful for the escape, until I shivered and realized how cold it was making me again. I could hear the waves crashing in the surf in the far distance as I smelled the ocean breeze stronger than I should in this part of town. We were far from the beach, but not too far that this kind of weather wouldn’t carry the smell of the waters across town. I prepared to cross the street when I saw a tall figure running towards me. I panicked and placed my foot off the sidewalk to cross the street only to get my heel stuck in a large crack in the concrete. I cursed as I bent down and yanked my foot, looking back up at the figure nervously. My frenzied panic ceased to exist as I slowly stood back up watching Gerard slow down, taking deep breathes in front of me. His hair was dishelved from the rain along with his clothes that were sticking to his body, outlining his muscular structure. I shook my head of my thoughts, reminding myself that now was not the time to ogle his body. I looked up into his eyes angrily before speaking through gritted teeth. “Go away.” I bent down to attempt to pull my heel out from the crack again before I felt Geri’s hands pull on my arm, lifting me back up to look at him.

“Nena.”

“No Geri. ¡Volver a Nuria, estoy seguro que ella te está esperando!” (Go back to Nuria, I’m sure she’s waiting for you!) I cried before shaking his grip on my arm and bending back down to pull my heel out. I let out a frustrated cry almost giving up and deciding to just take my pumps off and leave it there. Gerard bent down on his knees, moving my hands out of the way and gently wrapping his hands around my ankle, tugging slowly and wiggling my foot, freeing me from my trap. I cleared my throat as he slid his hands up my calves and finally removing his hands from my leg. I inspected the tip of my heel and stood up, smoothing my dress out, avoiding as much eye contact as I could. “Gracias.”

“I know they’re your favorite pumps.” I looked up at him, shocked that he remembered that. His hands were in his front pockets again as he lightly shrugged like it was no big deal that he remembered that tiny fact.

“They are.” I nodded in agreement as I watched a small smile play at his lips.

“Sometimes I think you love your shoes more than you love me.” My lips clamped into a thin line as I raised a brow.

“You’re so right, right now.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Don’t be like that Addy. I swear it wasn’t my fault, she kissed me, I didn’t even know she was coming tonight, hell, I still don’t know why she was there!” I dropped my head, my heart believed him, but my head was having a hard time comprehending everything.

“Why’d you come after me?” I whispered, barely audible from the downpour that was occurring around us. I didn’t need to speak any louder for Geri to hear apparently because he tilted my head up with his finger under my chin, his face inches away from mine, his lush lips smirking back at me.

“Now what kind of question is that nena?”

It’s for you I walk through a storm
It’s for you I lay me down.
Only for you I walk through a storm
Only for you I lay me down.

I closed my eyes, pushing back the tears that threatened to fall. I was battling in my head whether or not to follow my heart, whether I wanted to risk it all, whether I wanted to believe him and know that he was really done with Nuria. She was the cause of the two fights we’d ever had in our relationship. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to throw my heart out there, of course I love Geri, but…

My thoughts were cut short as a soft pair of lips were eagerly pressed against mine. My eyes shot open and slowly fluttered closed as my hands reached up and grabbed Gerard’s face. I felt his hand on the side of my face as he licked my bottom lip, begging me to let him in. I listened to my heart and let our tongues battle for dominance before pulling apart, breathless. He leaned his forehead against mine as the raindrops slid off of his face and fell on mine. “You know there’s nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for you mi querido…only for you.” I smiled as he wrapped his arm around my waist and picked me up, walking to the coffee shop so we could dry off and get warm.

There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for you
When you call I’ll be right there
I’ll turn my world right around for you
Don’t you see? Don’t you see I’m here?
For you, for you...