‹ Prequel: A Summer Romance

Forgive and Forget

Twelve

“You going somewhere?” Simon asked as he wandered into his sister’s bedroom and found her dressed in a robe as she stood before her full-length mirror and worked on her hair with a curling iron.

“I'm going to the Red Room tonight,” Elina smiled at him through the mirror. “Care convinced me to go out with her and Nikki.”

Nodding slowly he gingerly picked up one of her bras and tossed it towards the other side of the bed before sinking down on the edge of it and watching as she methodically worked through her hair. “Sound like it could be quite the trip,” he noted as he shifted slightly on the soft mattress.

“Was there something you wanted?” she asked him as she pulled the curling iron from her hair and turned to look at him.

“I was just wondering if it’d be okay if I went to that Champions League game tonight,” he said he pulled up one of his legs on the bed, referring to the game Liverpool would be playing against Porto at Anfield that same evening.

“Yeah sure,” she shrugged simply. “I don't mind if you go,” she said honestly, turning back to face the mirror and continue working on her hair. “How did you get tickets anyway?”

Not really sure he wanted to answer; Simon sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and nibbled slightly on it.

“Right,” she nodded, understanding just where he’d gotten the ticket from the heavy silence between them. “So how are you going to get to the arena for the game and then back home?” she questioned, attempting to ignore the obvious discomfort between them.

“Yolanda, Xabi Alonso’s wife is going to pick me up,” he revealed, stunning her slightly.

“Hm,” she made a non committal noise as she focused her attention back on her hair, her mind going a mile a minute. There was one thing for him to be sort of friends with Fernando and a complete different for him to be befriending the whole of the Spanish armada. What that difference was, she didn't know, but she could clearly feel it. “It certainly seems like all those Spanish classes paid off, doesn’t it?” she forced herself to smile as she finished up the last curls in her blonde hair.

“Yeah, it does,” he smiled slightly, happy that she didn't seem to bothered by him spending more time with the guys who were essentially his idols, or role models rather.

“Well, I hope that you have fun,” she told him as she unplugged the curling iron and made her way towards the en-suite bathroom. “And you know that you can just call me if anything happens or if you need me,” she added as she took down her dress from where it was hanging on the bathroom door.

“Yeah, you too,” he nodded as he got off the bed and moved towards the doors. “And I don't need to worry about you having a good time, Nikki is always a laugh,” he smiled at her.

“That is true,” she couldn’t disagree with him on that.

“Just don't bring home any guys,” he quipped before ducking out of the room, just in time to dodge the curled up towel that came flying at him. Chuckling slightly, he walked away from her room to get ready for the game in his own.

Shaking her head at him, her large, Hollywood styled curls bouncing against her bare shoulders, Elina checked her already applied makeup in the mirror above the sink before shrugging off her knee-length robe and slipping in the short, strapless black dress she’d chosen earlier in the evening.

She still wasn’t completely sure she wanted to head out to a club, but the idea was growing on her and if her friends were going to be dragging her to Red Room, at least she was going to look good. She was too vain not to.

Doing up the zipper, she barefooted walked back out into the bedroom and slipped on a pair of dangly earrings, a wide sparkly bangle along with a large cocktail ring before putting things like phone, keys, ID and credit card in her gold-coloured clutch. Glancing at the clock by the bed, she cursed slightly under her breath as she noticed the time.

Caroline was never one to be late and her biggest pet-peeve were other’s being late. And she had five minutes to get ready and leave if she was going to avoid getting her ass handed to her by the spunky blonde.

Slipping her feet into a pair of leopard print Louboutin heels she’d bought on a whim during a shopping-spree in Paris some two years earlier she grabbed her clutch before half-jogging through the apartment.

Shrugging on her knee-length coat once she reached the hallway, pulling her long hair from beneath the collar, she called out a goodbye to her brother over her shoulder and hurried out of the apartment and down the hall to the staircase.

Jogging across the parking lot and sliding into the backseat of Caroline’s black Golf, she thanked her friends for the idea along with the compliments on her outfit as well as reciprocating the gesture.

The trip across town to the club took close to half-an-hour and parking where she knew the car wouldn't get scratched, stolen or ticketed, Caroline ushered the other two girls out before they walked the last bit to the club.

“What do you think that’s about?” Caroline questioned as they approached the club and found a group of warmly dressed men hanging around the entrance.

“They’re probably here because some d-list celebrity announced that they were coming here on their Facebook page,” Nikki shrugged it off. “You read the tabloids, you know how they are, how they photograph anything that moves as long as they are famous enough.”

“I'm not going to argue that,” Elina smiled, feeling significantly more excited about the prospect of a night out than she initially had.

Approaching the doors, Elina was surprised as the men with large cameras in their hands turned their attention towards them, even if it was just for a split second. At least two of them snapping a handful of pictures at the three of them, she couldn’t help but notice the way Nikki stiffened slightly next to her.

If anything, she would have guessed that Caroline would be the one not comfortable with the attention stardom would have brought on.

“What do we know you from?” one of them men threw out at them as they walked passed them and with a smile and a quick flash of ID were let in, despite a slight line starting to form. That’s what you get for having a cousin who runs the club, Nikki had told them once before.

“You don't,” Elina told them with an amused smile before slipping passed the ropes and following her friends into the semi-familiar building.



Only having been open right before the summer, Red Room was an up and coming club in the city that always promised a good time. The large interior with several bars, VIP-balcony and a large dance floor, along with an outside deck that offered its guests almost complete privacy from people not in the club was what draw people there.

The lengths the owners had gone to, to ensure the guests’ privacy was also why it was starting to get known as a place where you could see a star or three.

Nikki had once told her that it was bound to become a hotspot for the local celebs as well as the city’s WAGs before the following summer, so Elina knew that she shouldn’t have been so surprised when she heard murmurs about “Captain Fantastic” being spotted at the door.

It was after all common knowledge in the city that his wife Alex Curran loved finding new clubs to frequent and he often tagged along, helping turning the places into the latest hotspots to be seen at.

And considering the text that her brother had sent her a while earlier, informing her of Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Porto, she really shouldn’t have been surprised when Nikki grabbed her arm and wordlessly pointed towards the stairs up to the VIP-balcony.

A born and breed Liverpool-fan, the brunette was a massive fan especially of the home-grown players meaning that she had immediately spotted the famed Captain and his statuesque wife leading the pack. Unable to keep a leash on her curiosity, Elina found herself letting her eyes travel over the group ascending the stairs as she sipped her Vodka and Red Bull drink through a black straw.

Stiffening slightly as her blue eyes quickly found a telltale blonde head, she could feel her curiosity slowly turning into annoyance. At him, at the situation, at herself...

Clearing her throat before pulling the straw from her glass and finishing off the drink in one gulp, she promised herself that she would ignore him, maybe even try to forget that he was even there and proceed to have a good time.

Just like she had planned and just like she had been having ever since Nikki brought them their first round of tequila shots. Caroline had quickly decided to forgo her designated driver duties and left her keys with the bartender and enough cash to call them all a cab at the end of the night.

Announcing that she needed another drink, she handed Caroline her clutch and stalked across the club honestly not caring if they followed her or not. Pushing her way across the crowded dance floor, she flashed her pearly whites to get closer to the bar and reaching the front she ordered herself a straight up tequila shot.

It was ironic how she chose that particular drink and she knew it, she just chose to ignore it as she downed the strong liquid before heading out on the busy dance floor. She needed to get that blonde Spaniard out of her head and if that was going to have any chance at all of happening, she might just have to occupy that space with something else. Or possibly even someone else...

Finding herself getting lost in the music, she danced with no one and anyone around her, men and women, she wasn’t picky.



Finding herself dancing rather closely with a man that personified tall, dark and handsome a while later, her back against his front, Elina jumped in fright as she felt a hand wrap itself around her bare wrist.

Spinning around on her heel and attempting to pull her wrist free, she froze slightly as she came face to face with none other than Fernando Torres who’s usually so expressive face was a complete blank mask. But she could still see that famed Spanish temper burning in his beautifully brown eyes.

He was pissed off!

“What?” she snapped annoyed as she looked up at him, not understanding what he was doing there or what he was angry about.

“I need to talk to you,” he stated in heavily accented English, not giving her any option to turn him down as he tugged on her arm.

“No,” she refused to move, which was harder than it sounded in the kind of heels she was currently wearing. “I trust that you can see that I'm busy,” she retorted as she once more tried to pry her wrist from his steely grip. “Go away,” she ordered him.

“Now,” he practically growled at her, his eyes darkening slightly.

“Easy there,” the nameless man Elina had been dancing with said as he tried to intervene.

Completely ignoring the man, Fernando only looked at the blonde woman before him. “Elina...” he said slowly, looking almost pleadingly at her as she could hear traces of the same feeling in his deep voice.

“Do you mind?” she asked pointedly, making it her mission to not show how his voice was affecting her, and having absolutely no intentions of going anywhere with him. “I'm dancing with...” she began, only to frown slightly as she came up short as she tried to remember if she’d even gotten the stranger’s name.

“Liam,” the dark-haired man behind her supplied with a half-smile.

“I'm dancing with Liam,” she repeated as she looked back at Fernando. “That means that I don't have time for you right now.”

“Then make time,” Fernando ordered her in a dark growl as he marginally tightened his grip on her arm and began dragging her towards the edge of the dance floor and beyond.

“Hey!” Liam exclaimed as he stalked after them. “She doesn’t want to go with you,” he stated angrily as he grabbed a hold of Fernando’s shoulder and willed him to turn to face him.

In point nine seconds flat, Fernando had let go of Elina’s wrist and approached the man who was at least a couple of inches taller than himself and was looking like he was ready to start throwing punches.

The usually so calm and collected Fernando Torres was ready to throw punches, in the middle of a crowded club!

Any sort of inebriation disappearing as quickly as the Spaniard’s mood changed, Elina quickly got between the two men who despite the four inched heels she was wearing were taller than her and placing her hand flat against Fernando’s chest she nudged him backwards as she tried to catch his gaze. Not succeeding, she nudged him even further back before turning back towards the man she now knew as Liam.

“Don't worry,” she forced herself to smile, her head smiling from both the alcohol she had ingested so far along with all the emotions and thoughts that were flying through her head. “I got this.”

“You sure?” Liam checked, his eyes continuously flickering back up to the blonde man behind her.

“Yeah, we know each other,” she muttered darkly, sending him another smile and a slight pat on his arm before she turned back to the bottle-blonde who was now looking a little less angry and a little more scared as her blue eyes blazed with the sudden anger that was bubbling inside of her.

Shoving him backwards, using a little more force than necessary, she ordered for him to follow her as she quickly made her way across the dance floor and left him no other choice but to do so if he wanted to talk to her.

Stepping out on the balcony, despite the chilly winter temperatures and the fact that she was wearing a short, strapless dress and not much else for warmth, she was actually quite glad that it was so cold outside. It meant that they were practically alone out there, without a crow to witness what she could only guess end up being a verbal fight.

“What was that?” she demanded to know in Spanish as she turned around just in time to see Fernando joining her out on the wooden deck. “I mean, do you always have to barge in and ruin my life?” she threw the question at him, sincerely wondering why he didn't just leave her alone.

“I'm ruining your life?” he asked, sounding almost surprised and a little offended that she was asking him that.

“Yes, you are,” she confirmed angrily. “I mean, I was having a really good time in there,” she told him. “Until you showed up and started acting all macho.”

“Good time?” he frowned angrily, taking a step closer to her. “You think that grinding up against strange men and letting them touch your body is a good time?”

“It can be,” she confirmed frankly. “Why are you...?” she began asking only to trail off as something dawned on her. “Are you jealous?” she questioned frankly as she placed her hands on her hips and cocked her hip slightly as she looked up at him, her blue eyes boring into him.

“No!” he exclaimed. “I'm not...”

“You so are!” she disagreed triumphantly. “You’re jealous!”

“Sorry for not wanting anything bad to happen to you,” he retorted quickly, pressing his lips together in thin line.

“Well, I’m a big girl Fernando,” she stated frankly, straightening herself up slightly to add some imagined height to her already quite tall 5’7’’ stature. “I can take great care of myself,” she informed him simply. “And I do just that, so save the concern for someone else, because I don't need it,” she snapped at him, brushing past him to stalk back into the club, only to stop and spin back around to face him. “And for the record, you don't have a reason to be jealous,” she pointed out, “because you are not my boyfriend!”

“Yeah, well that hasn’t really been up to me, now has it?” he snapped right back, a number of emotions flashing across his dark eyes.

“You may be a big shot football player,” she said icily as she stood her ground. “And you may think that people will just come running whenever you want them to, but I think it’s time that you learned that not everything you want can be yours,” she told him frankly, praying that none of her tells were going to give her away.

“Do you really think that lowly of me?” he questioned disbelieving.

“I need you to leave me alone,” she stated evenly, ignoring his latest question.

“You need me to?” he asked softly as he took a step closer and reached out, gently cupping her smooth cheek. “Or you want me to?”

“I need you to,” she admitted softly, hating the way her body betrayed her by leaning into his touch.

Brushing his thumb over her cheekbone, unable to look away from the woman who was the same girl he’d fallen in love with those years ago, he did the first thing that popped into his mind. He took her face in his hands and pressed his lips against her plump ones in a hard kiss, hoping she wasn’t going to slap him.

All he wanted was for her to understand just how much she still meant to him. Years might have passed, but he never fell out of love with her...

Feeling his lips against hers for the first time in years, Elina couldn’t keep a moan from escaping her as she returned the kiss just as eagerly, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck. Allowing him to pull her even closer to his warm body, she couldn’t help but notice just how much she’d missed his kisses during the years.

She’d dated other people, but there was always something missing...

Coming to her senses, she quickly broke the kiss and covered her bruised lips with her hand as she couldn’t believe she’d just done that. Slowly allowing her blue eyes to meet his familiar brown orbs, she didn't know who she blamed more, herself or him.

“Why the hell did you do that for?” she exclaimed a moment after, knowing it was a defence-mechanism so that she wouldn’t have to think about her own part in the kiss.

“Because...” he watched her closely, hoping that she wasn’t about to slap him.

“Hey,” a voice Elina could clearly recognise came from the door behind her. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Elina managed to keep her voice even as she closed her eyes and refused to look at Fernando whose hand was still resting on the curve of her hip.

“Are you sure that you're okay?” Nikki asked concerned as she slowly approached them. “We were wondering where you disappeared to.”

“I'm fine,” Elina assured her, sending Fernando a glare before pasting a smile to her lips and turning to face her friend. “We were just talking,” she added. “You coming back inside?” she asked as she turned her back to the Spanish football player and approached her friend, motioning towards the door they’d all come through.

“Yeah, in a minute,” Nikki nodded with a smile.

Waiting till the blonde had disappeared back inside of the club, the smile slipped off her face and she walked over to where Fernando was standing looking mightily uncomfortable.

“If I have to scrape Ms I-don't-usually-drink from the floor of this club at the end of this night because of what just happened out here, after she has gotten so smashed that she can’t even walk straight, then I'm going to blame you,” she said seriously. “And I might be a Liverpool fan, but I will come after you and I will kick your ass,” she threatened him in a hiss.

“Believe me, I will,” she added with a dark look that had caused bigger men than Fernando Torres to shake in their socks. “I might be short, but I pack one hell of a punch,” she glowered before reaching up and patting him slightly on the cheek. Glaring at him she spun on her heel and followed her friend back inside of the crowded club, leaving a speechless Fernando behind.

Raising his hand to the cheek she’d just patted, Fernando silently wondered what the hell just happened.

When he left the VIP-balcony after no longer standing to see her grinding up against all those guys, he’d had no intentions of kissing her once he reached her. Not that he could say that he regretted kissing the only girl who’d held a permanent place in his heart for so many years.

Rubbing his cheek, he sighed softly before slowly returning back into the club to find his friends and teammates and tell them that he was leaving. After failing to reconcile with Elina he no longer felt any desire to stay as the only thoughts that were flying through his head were wonders if they were ever going to have a chance of properly being together...
♠ ♠ ♠

Elina