Bound To Fall

“And you’re certain that you weren’t dreaming,” Cai demands with a straight face, her eyes roaming about the shop as if any second Higuaín would appear flanked by Ronaldo and Benzema, and maybe even do the ‘everybody talks’ jig from the Neon Trees video that was playing on the flatscreen.

“I have a bruise on my arm proving I was not actually, thanks,” I snap with an indignant sniffle.

My hand is automatically reaching for the point of topic and massaging it soothingly.

Talia snickers, “You told me to pinch you, you must be dreaming – exact quote.”

“I did,” I agree,” But I wasn’t expecting your fingers to turn all Jaws of Life on me.”

I imitate the oversized pinchers, making the girls all giggle. Talia shrugs and takes a deep sip of her water. My eyes wander over to the video playing.

“You should have taken a picture to stick on the wall. It’s accumulated a lot more famous faces since last summer,” Veda points out, impressed.

“He’s not a WAG,” I point out.

“He’s better,” Melina steps into the conversation with an impish smirk.

“True,” Rings around our circle.

“We could always set up a new board – a wall of miscellaneous, but still famous, faces or something a bit catchier.”

Talia has the look in her eyes. I frown.

“Or, you know, we could not,” I counter.

The Wall of WAGs I still find a tad bit overbearing. We need to focus on the quality of the clothes we offer, not the women who purchase them – or there should at least be a limit.

The look disappears as she answers, “Fine, whatever.”

Melina abruptly cracks the subdued quiet, “But I think you’re right on about being confused, Romy.”

I throw a nasty look towards my highly entertained best friend. It was her idea to mention the Higuaín situation to the girls. I was perfectly content with keeping it to myself. It’s like a scab, you pick at it, it’ll bleed more and it won’t heal.

“I am not confused,” I state, my face deadpan, “I actually thought I made that clear last night...and the night before that; at the airport.”

“Yes, she is,” Talia interrupts, “She is so confused; she doesn’t even realize it.”

The phone rings; Talia jumps up to answer.

“Why did he say ‘I’ll see you’ then instead of goodbye, or have a nice day?” Melina demands; turning on me with an intense expression.

I shrug my shoulders.

“Do you expect me to understand the inner workings of a football player’s mind?”

At the mention of Gonzalo, the chatter of fresh customers breaks into our conversation – both voices distinctly female. Pity.

“I’ve got this, you guys go ahead and order lunch already – I am starved. Ooh, and get me an iced coffee too please,” I request, shooing them to the back.

“You got it, boss,” Veda calls as they disappear past the partition.

“Hello, girls,” I greet with a bubbly smile.

“Hey,” They snap monotonously without even glancing at me. Their eyes are instead focused on the wall of WAGs.

“I’ll be right over here, if you need me,” I throw in.

They don’t even bother to respond. Huh, suits me.

I climb onto the white stool chair set behind the register, glance around briefly, and find an open box of Tous charm bracelets. I scan a couple, and they’ve already been registered into the system. They just need to be laid out on display – my favorite part.

I spot the girls raking through the racks, muttering quickly under their breath about some nonsense I don’t care to make out.

“Ma’am?” One of the girls calls to get my attention.

I flinch. I am not a ma’am.

“Yes, how may I help?”

“We want to try these on,” She gestures to the clothes as if I’m missing something, and I shouldn’t have even asked.

I nod, “Alright, sure. Give me just one moment.”

I hurry over to the partition, and call, “Can someone come and open the dressing rooms, please?”

Seconds later, Cai’s voice calls, “I’m on it!”

I hear the jangling of keys. I give one, final polite smile to the not-so-patiently waiting customers, and return to my work with setting Tous bracelets on display.

I start humming and singing the words to the Kings of Leon song playing overhead. I do a little twirl as my favorite part, the chorus, begins to play, and one of the bracelets slip through my fingers in the process.

I huff, “Darn it.”

I twirl back around, the lyrics still tonelessly bouncing off my tongue, “And you, your sex is on fire, consumed with what's to transpire – Jesus Christ!”

My arms flail about, my left hand reaching to grip at my heart, and two more bracelets plummet to the floor – thankfully they land on the furry lilac carpet, rather than the white marble flooring Talia just had to install three months ago.

“Not the reaction I was looking to get,” Gonzalo reproaches.

“Then don’t sneak up on me, you’ll give a girl a heart condition at this rate,” I gasp out, half laughing, half trying to get my breathing on track as I absently rub at my heart.

He just laughs and bends down to pick up the bracelets littered around me. I feel my cheeks tinting to an embarrassing shade of pink.

“Please, leave those,” I implore, dropping to my knees next to him – thankful to be in jeans instead of the white cotton summer dress Talia was trying to sway me into wearing. He’s already got them all in the palm of his hand and he’s making to stand up.

He’s up on his feet before me, he smiles and reaches his hand out, I don’t need his help, but I take his offer nonetheless. His hand is warm to my touch.

Gonzalo pulls me up, bringing me close to him so that we’re just barely a few millimeters apart. I immediately want to swoon just at the smell of his cologne. My eyes stick searchingly on his as I wonder to myself if he can feel my heartbeats thumping roughly against my ribcage like a captive animal.

His head tilts, his eyes still searching mine – crap, he asked me something, didn’t he?

I take my hand out of his, peeling the bracelets off his open palm, and brush my hair behind my ear in quick, minute movements.

“What was that again?” I stutter, walking back to the lit up display case.

I hear him follow after me, his hands spread out on either side of the display case before me. I glance up, he’s watching me. His expression is soft and questioning.

“I just asked how have you been.”

“Busy,” I return, allowing the confusion I feel to color my tone.

“And yourself?” I tack on uncertainly.

“Hung-over,” He states honestly.

I’m not sure if he meant it to be a joke. I laugh anyway - the images from Cibeles and even the dressing rooms at Bilbao flash though my mind's eye. One key image is that of Gonzalo himself running around in nothing but his tight, white shorts…right, wrong moment for that.

“I actually just woke up about an hour ago,” He adds, pulling my attention back into the conversation at hand.

“And your first impulse was to come here? To Flair?” I ask dubiously.

He chuckles thoughtfully at my confusion, “Actually, believe it or not, it was. I have been meaning to make a trip back here.”

“Oh?” I ask, trying to not be as nonplussed as I am – or at least not have it come off as I am, anyway.

He catches onto my act, his smirk spreads.

“I wanted to have a look at those earrings that you mentioned.”

I freeze with a bracelet in my hand. The charms clink against each other; I watch the display lights glance off the gems. Now I really feel as if I’m about to go into cardiac arrest. Did I even hear him right?

“Is something wrong? Have the earrings all been sold?”

I shake my head, “No, it’s not that. I just had the freakiest sensation of déjà vu pass over me.”

He clicks his tongue and gives a faux-frown, “Has Cris or Sergio come by for the earrings? I just knew I shouldn’t have mentioned it to either of them.”

I laugh with him – I feel like I’m floating on cloud nine. I never want him to get to the point of why he’s even here. I just want him to stand here and just talk to me all day long. Would that really be so impossible?

“So you want those earrings?” I reassure skeptically.

He nods, “If they’re still available.”

If he wants to play this out, fine, I’ll play.

I pull on a wide, though strictly professional smile, and lead him away from the sunshine shining down from the skyline window above.

“The earrings are right over here,” I point towards the correct display case.

“I’ll take them.”

I make a face; my smile pulls itself down a notch.

“Erm, would you like to actually see them by any chance?”

He doesn’t get the chance to reply. The two girls from earlier stepped out of the dressing rooms and spotted him. They go wild with their screaming when they see Gonzalo. It seems like they’re ready to charge him. I picture Gonzalo as a matador and stifle a laugh. He already seems tensed up by their arrival. I make a face when one of them drops the red Betsy Johnson sundress she had been gripping onto.

“You dropped something,” I hear Gonzalo say.

I look at him, and he’s pointing to the dress on the floor, fighting back a smile as he does so. The girls’ own smiles falter, as one drops their gaze from him and onto the floor instead to immediately snatch the dress back up.

He looks to me.

I grin, mouthing, “Thank you.”

I can feel the two girls’ eyes boring onto Gonzalo and me. I’m pretty sure he senses it too, even though his back is to them now.

“If you can wrap them too, please,” He refers to my question from earlier.

“Okay,” I answer, and pull them out of their display case.

“Ooh, and are those earrings for a girlfriend, perhaps?” The taller of the two with the gaudy mismatched hair extensions presses.

“If you’re going to shop here, then you do not get to harass the other customers with inane questions about their personal life,” I cut in evenly, “Just because he’s famous, it doesn’t give you the right to every detail of his personal life.”

“Well, may we get a picture, at least?” The shorter one with the faded red hair asks.

Gonzalo doesn’t answer. I look to see what’s wrong, and I notice all of them watching me.

“Well?” She presses a hand on her hip as she taps the marble flooring impatiently with her beige pump.

“That is not up to me, ask him,” I nod towards Gonzalo and resume wrapping the box of earrings as I had wrapped the necklace.

“Sure,” Gonzalo shrugs, slightly dazed.

“Here,” The short one shoves a camera into my hand.

My eyes narrow, but I don’t comment, I take the picture, and return the camera wordlessly.

The girls come forward and the tall one buys the dress.

“I’m almost done wrapping it,” I glance towards Gonzalo as I place the dress in our store’s teal carrier. The girls give one final lustful glance towards him before leaving the store. Finally.

“It’s really no hurry, and thank you, for before,” He hedges as he pulls out a wad of cash.

“We’re even,” I answer absently without looking up from the wrapping paper I pull over the box.

“We’re even,” He repeats. I can hear the incredulous confusion leaking into his – until that moment at least – lively, upbeat tone.

I look up, “Yes, don’t you think? You did the thing with the dress, and I told them to butt out of your person life. Even.”

He laughs, shaking his head, “No, no, not even, not yet.”

A smile hovers teasingly to pull at my lips as my eyes lock on his. His expression is brightened, and I just know that I’m missing something. The tape stays stuck to the bottom of my thumb as I wait for him to bring his thoughts out into words.

“So I tend to not go into cafés on my own lately. Come with me,” He gives me an impish smile as the words blunder out of his mouth, forcing it on almost as if it’s a mask to hide what I’m assuming to be nervousness.

“Is that a demand or a request?”

I get this is Gonzalo Higuaín standing here in front of me, looking amazing, asking me to go somewhere with him, but still, he’s a guy, and I’m not about to have him think I’m ready to bend over backwards on his littlest whim. And if he’s the type of guy looking for that type of girl then –

“It’s just an offer; think of it as you doing me a favor.”

“Actually, I could really do with an iced coffee right now,” I admit.

“Great.”

It literally took all of the self-discipline I have ever developed in my entire existence to not run through the shop to the back room, squealing profusely along the way.

“Scratch the order for coffee,” I holler into the backroom, “One of you come to the front in case any more customers pour in from the midafternoon melee momentum. I’m going to the café down the block.”

“Coming,” Melina calls, and I hear her footsteps bound up the short trip of stairs.

“Going,” I yell and return to Gonzalo’s side.

“You won’t mind if we make a stop by my car first, will you?”

I shake my head, curious to see what flavor of the week he’s driving, “I have time.”

He stops next to a blue mini-cooper and the doors beep open.

“I love it,” I say before I can stop myself, “I always wanted one of these, but I got vetoed out of it.”

He places the wrapped earrings in the glove compartment and grabs a black baseball cap along with a pair of dark aviators. I remember both accessories from Sunday.

“It was my first car that I actually bought myself,” He pulls the hat on as he answers.

“It’s cool that you still drive it around. I wish I still had my first car,” I answer wistfully.

“What was it anyway?”

“A white Volkswagen Beetle.”

“I can see that,” He concedes, beaming as if he can literally see me driving down the street.

“It was a convertible too, but towards the end the top just stopped going back up, so I couldn’t really drive it,” I admit, matching his grin with my own.

He pushes the sunglasses up the bride of his nose as he slams the mini cooper’s door shut.

“I’ll be honest, I have no idea where the café is from here,” Gonzalo admits, chuckling, as he speaks.

His face is turned away from me and twisting every which way as if a sign will drop from the sky and point him in the right direction at any given second.

I don’t mind being that sign for him.

I point away from the wide display windows of Flair, “It’s just down the street. I’ll be the GPS, today.”

“Good, that’s good,” He answers.

We fall into a momentarily lapse of silence as we walk down the street I had been fantasizing about walking on my own the day he had first arrived at the shop. I can’t help but to look into the faces of the people doing abrupt double takes at Gonzalo. I think he notices it too, but doesn’t comment, instead he quickens his pace and I try to match his strides with my own.

And of course I fail. I mean, come on, he is a professional footballer. It’s in his list of job requirements to be fit and fast – not mine. I just need to look presentable.

We reach the café in record time. I try to avoid breathing aloud as our walking slows, but Gonzalo still manages to hear. At least I can blame the heat for my reddening cheeks.

“Sorry, it’s an awful habit, I’ve picked up.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

He opens the café’s glass door for me, and I step into the coolness of the emptying café. I feel a jolt of pride when I see a cluster of girls clutching onto their own Flair carriers. Gonzalo had noticed where my eyes had landed when we walked up to the barista.

“You’re popular,” He notes.

“Not nearly as popular as you,” I retort.

He smirks as the ruddy, round face of the barista looms before us with a broad grin, “What can I get you two?”

He glances to me, “Two iced coffees?”

I nod, “Sounds perfect.”

His hand is already pulling a few euros from the back pocket of his jeans before I’ve even finished my sentence.

We walk over to the side of the bar and take up two high-rise seats facing each other with a black, iron table set in the middle.

“So I saw you at the airport,” He begins.

“Hm…you know I thought that was you,” I jokingly reply.

He laughs briefly, sounds a bit stiff to my ears, “You know for someone that claims to be such a fan of the game and the team especially, I left the airport a little surprised to be so ignored.”

For the second time, I really can’t tell if he’s joking around or actually trying to be serious.

I snort before I can think to stop the reaction, I feel his curious glance landing on me, he hasn’t taken off his aviators, but I look him straight in the eye as I remark rather pointedly, “The last thing you were that night was ignored, Gonzalo.”

“Here you guys are,” The round-faced barista arrives and places the drinks before us with really nifty bendy straws – mine was pink.

“I’m not used to being ignored.”

“I didn’t know I was ignoring you,” I return honestly, “If I had even the slightest inkling that your eyes had found me in that crowd, you would not have been ignored.”

“What would have happened, had you known?” He presses.

I don’t falter, “Whatever is happening right now.”

He falls quiet, his lips press together. He appears rueful at my answer. I hold back my own laugh – my answer wasn’t what he was expecting.

His phone begins to ring. He reads the name on the id and frowns before placing the phone to his ear.

“Yeah?”

I can hear a muffled voice, but I don’t recognize it.

Gonzalo’s eyebrows furrow as he sips pensively on his drink.

“And he wants us there right now?”

Darn.

Confidence is the stain they can't wipe off
my word is my pride
but wisdom is bleak and that's a word from the wise

I scoff, disbelieving at the words echoing around my own store. I don’t want to be wise; I don’t want to be careful. Wisdom should be left to the wise…and loveless. Right now, with Gonzalo, I know I feel something, and I’m inclined at this very moment to believe he does as well. So maybe fate wasn’t being such a bitch after all.

But that stupid person making that stupid phone call managed to ruin the conversation before it got into a proper swing.

“Where were you, boss?” Veda questions as the other two continue on with their solo rap moment…thing.

“I just went on a walk with Gonzalo Higuaín,” I stammer and mechanically lift the almost emptied takeaway coffee cup into view, “He bought me coffee.”

“No muffin?” Cai asks with a frown as Mel picks up with the Eminem verse, but I know her attention is on our conversation.

Ha ha.

“I need to sit down, collect my thoughts,” My thoughts continue to spew out in the form of words as I walk over towards the register and take my customary seat on the stool.

“Brilliant news,” Talia chimes in.

I turn my head towards the sound of her voice which is coming from the general direction of the backroom. She’s tilted onto the balls of her feet from the excitement.

She gives me a meaningful look and announces, “Nagore is finally on her way here.”