How My Heart Behaves

Hayley Torres hummed ever so softly to herself as she tucked her young daughter into bed, looking down at her with loving eyes as she ran her hands through her daughters fair blonde hair, resisting the urge to squeal out how much the young girl looked like her father with the same host of freckles resting across the bridge of her nose and how her doe like eyes where the same heart stopping hazel as his.

“Mommy,” the young girl began but stopped as a large yawn racked throughout her body, making Hayley giggle as her baby girl snuggled deeper into her pillow before looking up innocently at her.

“Si?” Hayley questioned. Knowing if she answered back in English that her husband would scold her because she was not evenly mixing the cultures of his and Hayley’s together, she rolled her eyes at the very thought.

“I want you,” She started off by pointing at her mother with her pudgy index finger, ‘to tell me,” she then pointed to herself now, “about love.”

“Oh mi amor, that’s a hard one. Love is hard to explain hermosa…and it takes such a long time-“ Hayley rattled off.

“Mama!” Little Torres called out to her rambling mother. Hayley stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked down at her young daughter who patted the spot next to her in the bed softly.

“I’ve got all the time in the world mi amor.” She said with a giggle as she tried to sound like her young mother. Hayley grinned at her daughter’s antics before she gently settled herself in beside her daughter in her small twin sized bed. Once settled the young child snuggled close into her mother’s chest and looked up into her mother’s eyes softly.

“You may being.” She said in a ‘duh’ tone as her mother rolled her eyes at her.

“I don’t know where to begin…”Hayley trailed off.

“How did you and Papa meet?” The little girl asked eagerly. Hayley smiled and then bit her lip as she raised her hands and began to run it through her child’s, long sandy blonde locks.

“You sure you wanna here about that?” Hayley asked in a teasing tone, knowing that the little girl most defiantly wanted to hear about how her young parents met and fell in love.

“Si Mama!” her voice bounced off of the walls as she called out.

“Well, if you must know, I absolutely hated your father when we first met.” Hayley confessed.

“Odiaba a mí? Más bien me despreciaba. Ella era como un gatito, tratando de uña de mis ojos!” Hated me? More like despised me. She was like a kitten, trying to claw my eyes out! Fernando’s voice filled the air, his beautiful Spanish flowing freely through the air.

The two girls turned in their bed and faced the tall, lean man hanging off of the door frame with a soft smirk on his face.

“Y si usted debe saber de errores, que me merecía nada de lo que la madre repartía.” And if you must know bug, I deserved nothing your mother dished out. Fernando said with a soft chuckle.

“Oh are you kidding me!?’ Hayley questioned as she sat up right in the bed causing her daughter to bounce up with her.

“Bueno, tal vez un poco de ella.” Okay, maybe a little bit of it. Fernando said with a shrug of his shoulders. Hayley squinted his eyes at her husband before she turned back to her daughter whose eyes where wide with curiosity.

“Did you know your father was blonde when I first met him?” Hayley asked the young girl.

“NO?” Little Torres said in shock as she leaned on her elbows.

“YES!” Hayley said with a laugh.

“He was blonde and-“ Hayley began to go on another rant of hers.

“Español please.” Fernando said in a playful frustrated tone. Hayley looked at Fernando and raised her eyebrow. Fernando knew that Hayley’s Spanish’s was bit shaky and that she could read and write perfectly but could never speak it correctly.

Fernando shot the same look back at Hayley as she gave him a light smirk.

“Il était blond et qu'il pensait tout ça! Il était si rude pour moi! Vous auriez dû le voir-“ Hayley shot off quickly in French.

“Hey, hey! None of that!” Fernando shouted as the young Torres who was commonly referred to as bug giggled at her parents antics as her mother shot of little insults to her father in French and her father fussed at her mother in Spanish.

“I have an idea!” Bug shouted over both of her parents. They both stopped in the middle of their sentences and turned to the youngest of the Torres family.

“You.” She demanded as she pointed her little index finger at her father before she sat all the way up and scooted closer to her mother before she patted the spot next to her.

“Sit, now.” She huffed. Fernando looked wide eyed at her wife as bug gave both of them stern looks as Fernando sat by her.

“Now, En anglais seulement.” English only.She spoke as she patted her mother on the cheek.

“And, Inglés solamente” English only. She said giving Fernando and mean glare.

“Why do I get the glare?” Fernando questioned with mock hurt. Bug soon shushed him as she placed her index finger to her plump, little pink lips.

“As you where saying Mommy, Daddy was a jerk and what?” Bug asked her mother who shot Fernando and triumphant look.

“As I was saying…” Hayley began again.



“Good morning Hayley!” Gia, the front desk receptionist called out to me as I balanced five large files in my hands. I turned back to her and nodded my head as I slowly but surely made my way down the hallway to my office. Once to my door I placed the files between my hips and the wall and placed my hot coffee underneath my chin as I pushed my key at the door knob, struggling to find the hole.

“Thanks for the fake number! I loved talking to that old lady about her cats for an hour and thirty minutes!” His accented voice rang out. I let out a shriek as I dropped the files and my hot coffee onto the floor. I stared down in shook as my files and the front of my shirt and part of the hallway wall got doused in hot, steamy coffee. I turned to Fernando who somewhat looked amused with his thick, muscular arms crossed across his chest.

“What do you want from me?” I hissed at him through clenched teeth.

“A date.” Fernando said back simply.

“Not going to happen! Out of the question!” I exploded. I don’t know where my sudden anger towards him came from. I was usually good at keeping my annoyance for Fernando at bay but maybe because he had been pestering me since the first week I started working for FC Liverpool till now mixed with the sudden destruction of all my files caused frustration and anger towards the hot-headed devil.

“And why is that?” Fernando questioned in a cocky tone as he leaned himself against the wall as I dropped to my knees and tried to salvage what was left of my papers.

“You know why! I am prohibited to date you, employee hand book.” I told him lamely.

“Like you would be the one to follow the rules, especially for me.” Fernando said with a scuff. I bit my bottom lip as I tried to contain the anger that was boiling inside of me.

“You don’t know me, I don’t know you.” I told him in an eerily calm voice.

“Sure I may not know you but you defiantly know me.” He said back with a cocky smile. I snapped then. I slammed my stick papers back onto the floor before I got onto my feet and gave Fernando the meanest glare I could muster, I mean I was standing at about five foot two and he completely engulfed my frame with his six foot exterior.

“That right there! That cockiness! Oh, look at me, sure I ma not know you but you defiantly know me! Well newsflash I don’t! Just because you prance around the field and think your tough crap and rip your shirt off and get all the ladies and make a fool of yourself doesn’t mean I know a damn thing about you!’ I screeched.

Fernando’s face was completely blank as I huffed and puffed in front of him.

“I’ve always thought that about you! Just some blonde, cocky, footballer who thought he was too good for everyone and any girl and could get any girl and have everything and everyone wrapped around his index finger. Well news-freaking-flash, you don’t have me.”

“Sí, lo sé.” Yes, I know. Fernando murmured.

“And it’s killing me because I don’t know how to get your attention because you don’t flock to me like every other girl does, you don’t crave for my attention, you barely even notice me. I really like you for that. And not only do I like you for not taking any of my crap, I also like you because you are absolutely beautiful…que acaba de brillar.” You just glow. Fernando told me in such a genuine tone. He looked down at me, his hazel eyes melting into the warmest chocolate brown I had ever seen.

It seemed that this egotistical, it’s all about me maniac fell apart right in front of me and left this shy and timid man with the softest, kindest eyes.

“Okay.” I said as a warm feeling began to spread throughout my body. I didn’t know what else to say. Who could follow after something like that?

“I’m going to kiss you now, don’t hit me.” Fernando told me as a shy smile took over his face and heated blush ran over my face.

I watched with curious eyes as Fernando’s large hands moved up and fell gently onto my cheeks. I watched as he took a deep breath and looked into my eyes before he leaned in. my heart began to race wildly and fiercely in such a manner that I was not used to. It shocked me and I was pretty sure I was flushed as Fernando’s soft lips overtook mine.



“Why are you covering your heart mommy?” Bug questioned her mother as she looked intently at Fernando who was softly gazing at her.

“I don’t know.” Hayley somewhat whispered.

“Does it hurt?” She questioned.

“No, it’s just beating a little fast right now.” Hayley said with small smile.

“Why Mommy?” bug was a curious one to say the least. Hayley laughed at her younger daughter as she leaned into her and placed her head on top of hers and not soon after Fernando’s head joined the group as well.

“I don’t know Bug, when it comes to your father it’s just How My Heart Behaves.”