Solo Tu

"That was frustrating," a stern Sergio Ramos said as he laid on Lorena's bed.
"Tell me about it." Lorena said grunting.

A week and a couple of days had passed since Lorena had spoken to Fernando. The team had just gotten back from Brazil much to Lorena's dismay. Sergio had called Lorena the next day and explained to her that the friendlies had been moved some days back so they wouldn't be able to fly back until the 14th. Disappointment and frustration washed over Lorena as she tried to figure out what she was going to do for the next week. Sergio had also told her that since their first game was in the Recife stadium, that they would go by bus to the hotel straight from the airport so Sergio immediately called Lorena a car to take her to the hotel that the Spanish Team would be staying at. Lorena didn't mind this a bit, seeing as she was getting tired of her own room. She didn't disagree with Sergio this time and just followed orders.

The brunette had decided that she was going to lay on the beach during the day, until she had to go to Recife, which would be the same day that the team arrived. She decided that she would take in the warm sun as much as she could and order in while watching pay per view by night. Sergio had mentioned to her that she could do whatever she wanted and that he would pay: although Lorena rarely ever took his money, she had decided that she would splurge because her cousin really did want her to have a good time and seeing as she couldn't go outside at night because of everything that was going on, she would splurge inside. Lorena did have one friend, Eloá and she had called her a couple of times to see what she was doing and how everything was going with the races-- nobody wanted to race still. Lorena had gotten to know the Brazilian rather well and enjoyed her talks with her which was saying something because she never got close to any girls. Over the days, Lorena noticed that her light tan was now a golden color, it looked as if she was glowing. It made her happy as she had never before enjoyed the sun and the contrast of her brown hair and blue eyes made her look even more exotic.

So now, here she was on a Friday night in her new hotel room with her cousin. He had knocked on her door and brought her keychains from where he'd been. It's something that she collected and she was glad he remembered. As soon as she saw him she gave him the biggest hug.
"¡Finalmente! (Finally!)" She had told him.

Now they were in her room with him laying down and her looking out the window.
"You know, your tan looks pretty good on you. You look even better than me." Sergio remarked.
"Thanks... I guess. I can't rock tattoos like you can though, seeing as your whole body is practically covered in them. Is that like a trend now? To have tattoos? I've been enjoying the sun a lot."
"That's good. So listen, the team is watching the game tomorrow in Pique's room and I want to hang out, so you should definitely go. We'll be heading there after practice, I'll call you or something."
"I guess... since I have nothing better to do." Lorena rolled her eyes, "oh, um. So I met a friend here and she wants to go to the game on Sunday. Can you get an extra ticket?"
"Of course, I'll get them for you tomorrow-- for all the games."
"Have I mentioned that you are the best cousin ever?"
"Once or twice," Sergio smiled sheepishly.
"Pues lo eres. (Well you are.)" Lorena said as she opened the door to the balcony to let the breeze in.
"I'm so happy you're here." She said.
"Me too," Sergio said while stiffling a yawn, "but I'm beat. So I'm going to go to sleep..."
"Okay, would you like me to walk you back to your room?" Lorena offered.
"Si, claro. (Yeah, sure.)"

The cousins made their way back to Sergio's room as he had put his arm around her shoulders to keep her close. Lorena really hadmissed her cousin. The corners of her mouth moved upward into a smile as she snuggled closer to him.
"Did you have fun in the states? Find a girl?"
"Oh, you know..." Sergio chuckled.
"You always find a girl. Man, they throw themselves at you hardcore...but anyways. We are here Ramos."
"Oh. Damn, I forgot that I have something else to give you."
"You already gave me enough though..." Lorena raised an eyebrow.
"No, no. Come with me." Sergio said as he unlocked the door and pushed her inside.

Well, this room was certainly a lot bigger than hers. He had a living room, dining room, kitchen and balcony. Talk about living in a hotel. Lorena walked into the living room while Sergio left, she guessed to his room. The only thing that was different was that the balcony was next to the living room: so Lorena decided that she would wait out there. As soon as she opened the door, a breeze hit her skin making her cross her arms over her chest. Her hair was in a braid and she looked out onto the ocean.

How beautiful and free it was. It seemed so serene and dreamy. Lorena was suddenly envious as how she couldn't be that free or calm; no. her lips curled into another smile as she saw the moonlight hit the sand making it look out of a dream with the water washing over it. Her braid moved side to side as she turned around to see if Sergio had returned. She made her way inside and stopped. Stopped because right in front of her was a shirtless Fernando Torres coming towards her. Although, he did not seem as surprised to see her. Lorena all of the sudden remembered that players shared rooms when they were out together and things. How could she forget? She saw that he was wearing a pair of shorts and had a red shirt in his hand. Her eyes saw his liquid mud ones and didn't dare look down.
"Hola," Lorena said timidly, all of the sudden feeling conscious even though she was wearing shorts that went down to her mid-thigh and a plain white t-shirt. She felt a blush creep up her cheeks.
"Hola," the Spaniard man said.
Lorena wanted to hug him. "Um, Sergio said that he had something to give me...or else I wouldn't be here..." she said slowly.
The futbolista looked at her--just looked. Did her tan really make her look different? She bit her lip as she brought her hand down and crossed her chest with the other arm to hold her arm.
"He was so tired that he passed out...I think he meant to give you this." Fernando said softly.
The Spaniard moved closer to her as she focused on looking at his face and his face only. She discovered that he had freckles all over his face and now he looked more like a little boy.

They were a few feet apart and he handed her the shirt. She unfolded it to see what it was and then smiled again.
"A Spain jersey? He shouldn't have," Lorena said in a quiet voice. Not that she was really complaining: she didn't even have anything red to support her country.
"He really loves you." Fernando said.
Her blue orbs looked up at him and almost gasped in air. This man was too handsome for his own good. His hair was cut realy short which just added to the pile of things for looking younger than he was. Not that she knew how old he was in the first place, but he looked younger than a lot of people.
"I-I-I- really love him too. My best friend," her cheeks felt flushed.
"Hmmm." Fernando said as he gave her a small smile.
She wanted to look away, leave the room. This wasn't supposed to happen. Lorena was not supposed to be this close to him anyway, he was a taken man. The blue eyed woman wanted so desperately to leave, so desperately for him to stop staring at her, for him to turn around and go to his room, to sleep. Something. Anything but the staring that he was doing.
"¿Te puedo ayudar en algo? (Can I help you with something?)" Lorena asked.
"Can you?" He responded in English. His accent was thick, but he pronounced the words well.
"No se. (I don't know.)" Lorena said, "mejor me voy.. que duermas bien. (I better go.. sleep well.)"

She walked past him, but before she could take another step, he grabbed her wrist and turned her to look at him, "...this is strange." He stated looking at her.
"What?" Her eyes gave her away, she really had no idea what he was talking about.
"Generalmente soy muy timido. Pero contigo es diferente. (Generally I'm very shy. But with you it's different.)" He said as he moved closer to her: hand still circled around her small wrist.
Lorena gulped, " i-is that bad?" She stuttered. The girl couldn't help it, a very attractive man was speaking to her.
"No se. (I don't know.)"
"Hmmm, well. When you figure it out... let me know si? Now I must really go..." she sighed. She was lying. She didn't want to leave, but she knew that if she stayed, something would happen that would be regretted later.
Fernando silently nodded and let her go.

The brunette Spaniard got out of there as soon as she could. When she closed the door to her own room she leaned back and couldn't help but look at her wrist. His warm touch turned her heart into a puddle, but she couldn't do anything. She didn't know what to do. There were just some things that were better left unsaid and undone. Lorena would take no part into whatever had just happened and she was not going to do anything because it wasn't her place to do so. Fernando Torres had a girlfriend, probably a girlfriend that he has had for forever seeing as a lot of Spanish men met their one and only during their early years. Lorena would not take part of anything, she was not. No way. No way. She sighed and went to her room to try and sleep off what just happened.

***

Lorena twisted and turned, trying extremely hard to sleep, but failed. The conversation kept playing in her head. What did he mean? She could tell he was shy around everybody except those closest to him. Why didn't she know that Sergio was a big part of his life? How come Sergio didn't tell her anything about Fernando? All these questions and curiosity kept her up; knowing that she was not going to be able to sleep, she saw the time on the clock. Five fifteen in the morning. Lorena grunted as she took the covers off: might as well go do her daily run. She mumbled incoherently seeing as she had gotten at most, five maybe six hours. Lack of sleep made Lorena a grumpy Lorena, but nevertheless, she got her exercising clothes out and put them on. Grabbing her Ipod for the sake of keeping her running-- without music, she wouldn't know where she would be. Choosing the new Daft Punk album that she had immediately bought once it came out, she began to make her way out of her hotel room and onto the beach. The beach was clearly deserted seeing as it was very early, but it was a good place to run on because it made her legs work harder.

The weather was nice, it wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold.. until the breeze hit her again and she shivered a little. Now that she was actually on the sand, she stretched as she let the wonderful music of Daft Punk cloud her mind and drift her away from reality for a bit. As soon as she began to run she felt at ease; that's one of the reasons why she loved running, it made her calm. Lorena jogged all the way down the sand, until she noticed that the sun was rising so she decided to head back. The sun rose pretty early in Brazil, but she didn't mind. The music was making her get lost in the funk that was Daft Punk. Their new cd really rocked and she loved how they brought the funk back. Lorena focused on her breathing as she continued to run, the sun was shining and it made her smile as she could feel sweat going down her fact. This was exactly what she needed to get her thoughts out of her mind. There was just something that didn't feel right.

Her pacing slowed down as she saw her hotel come closer and closer. Her running stopped as she extended her hands up in the air to try and breathe slower to calm her heart. Lorena stretched again, this time holding them longer since the muscles were warm. She changed the music on her Ipod to something much more serene and calming. It seemed like it was going to be another sunny day, maybe a bit cloudy as she saw some clouds in the distance. The brunette made her way back to the hotel when all of the sudden her Ipod decided to shuffle on its own (this happened many times) and she grunted seeing that she liked the song before, but was too lazy to change. Some slow song that she didn't recognize came on and she began to hum with it as she walked inside the lobby of the hotel. What time was it? It couldn't be less than seven, maybe six-thirty. She shrugged as she lazily decided to take the elevator, most times she would take the stairs but she was so tired that she took the elevator.

When it came to music, Lorena was very eclectic and she always showed interest with different parts of the world. Right now, she was stuck in American and Latin music. Don't ask her how she finds out about random bands and whatnot. Blame the countless hours of browsing through youtube and finding music that was to die for. Her humming continued as she reached her floor and began to make her way to her room when a different song interject. This one she knew by heart and decided to hum again. It was Wonderwall by Oasis. One of the best bands of all time. The lyrics were beautiful and somehow made her feel at ease, her mind still on the runner's high. Lorena remembered that she had left her cellphone in her room as she opened her door, she made her way back to her room. Seeing her phone, she saw that Sergio had called her... and it wasn't even seven thirty. Surely, she must be dreaming. Quickly dialing his phone number she heard it ring.
"Halo?" Sergio said.
"Sergio. Sorry. I was out running."
"No worries. The team is about to go train for tomorrow's match. Although, we should be finished around twelve or one. Then we'll eat and then reconvene at Piqué's. I'll go get you." Sergio said.
"Okay, sounds good. I'm gonna pass out now. Thanks for my jersey! I love it."
"You're welcome... sorry I passed out on you. I was so tired. Del Bosque's making us work hard." Sergio replied.
"Tranquilo. Have fun at practice."
"Dulce sueños. (Sweet dreams.)" Sergio chuckled.

Sweet dreams indeed, Lorena didn't even bother to change out of her clothes, she was exhausted. A run was exactly what she needed to drift away into a dreamless sleep that would help her forget about a certain Spaniard for a while longer.

***

A loud knock on her door caused her to jolt up and fall from the bed. She hadn't moved since she plopped down on it due to her sleeping, of course. The brunette rubbed her eyes and got up from the bed, slowly making her way to the door, knowing who it was on the other side.
"Yeah?" She said as she opened the door to reveal her cousin.
"The game is gonna start in thirty minutes woman. I tried calling you, but I figured you were passed out. So, now I'm here... I gave you an hour and a half of more sleep than necessary." He remarked.
"Well sorry. I didn't have enough sleep last night." Lorena yawned as she walked back to her room with Sergio in tow.
"Well, get ready." Sergio commanded.
"Yes mom. Hey now, I had a quick question." Lorena said as she got a pair of shorts and another white t-shirt. She was a fan, but who wasn't? Her wardrobe mainly consisted of t-shirts and shorts with some jeans anyway, since she always wore a jumpsuit for her work to fix cars and stuff. Lorena had no fashion sense when it really came to it, but she didn't care.
"Hmm?" Sergio said.
"¿Por qué nunca me has contado sobre Fernando Torres? (How come you have never talked to me about Fernando Torres?)" Her question was so blunt.
Sergio looked at her and then sighed, " because...I don't know. You know I like to keep football and my personal life separate."
"Yeah, but when it comes to important people in your life do you think that really matters? I mean, Fernando seems very important to you..."
"Yes. He is... but I mean. I don't know Lola. It's just. It's complicated." Sergio said.
"What's so complicated about telling me about your friends?"
"You know. The fact that they have fame and all that stuff, you're a normal girl."
"They're normal people too Sergio. It's not like I don't want to know about your proffessional world... because I do. You are my best friend si? Best friends tell each other everything do they not? I'm your cousin, I'm your family."
"You're right. It's just... I don't know. He's mi mejor amigo in this business and it's just that... I don't want you to get hurt...."
"What does that even mean?" Lorena asked outloud before she could stop herself.
"Fernando and Olalla are not doing too well... and you might be a distraction for him." Sergio said as he closed his eyes.
"Um. I'm going to pretend like I understood what you just said. Now I'm gonna go take a five minute shower and then we can go." Lorena said.

What the hell did that mean?

***

They were outside Piqué's room and Lorena all of the sudden did not want to be there. Was it just going to be the guys? Was it going to be the guys with their wives and girlfriends? She was fidgeting with the end of her t-shirt as the door opened to reveal a Gerard Piqué.
"Oh hey guys. Come on in." Piqué smiled at her and Sergio.
"Are you ready for this?" Sergio asked.
"Please." Gerard said as he led them inside the hotel room.
Lorena felt shy again since she was about to meet new people one more time. She hoped that they were as nice as the three other players she had met. Her eyes looked around the room and saw that not a lot of people were there and she was content with that.
"I'll be right back," Piqué said as he walked away from Sergio and Lorena.

Sergio walked in front of Lorena as he sat down on the couch, Lorena following suit.
"Hey guys. This is my cousin Lorena." Sergio said.
Lorena was shy. She did a small wave as Sergio began listing off the people, " Lorena. This is Pepe Reina, goalkeeper, this is Alvaro Arbeloa, defender. You know Cesc, and you know Fernando. This is David Villa, who's a midfielder."
"Hola..." Lorena said as she tried to remember everybody's name. Her eyes looked at each player and she only glanced at Fernando--much too quickly.
"Hola guapa. Oye Sergio, ¿por qué no nos digiste que ella es una chica hermosa? (Hello lovely. Hey Sergio, why didn't you tell us that she is a beautiful girl?)" Arbeloa piped up.
Lorena blushed a deep red as she looked at the screen on the television. They were playing the anthems or each team as the game was about to begin.
"Because I knew you guys would react like this..yes. My cousin is hot. I mean she is related to me after all," Sergio laughed.
All the players laughed and then began discussing the world of football. Of course, they were looking at their oponents, Japan or Brazil, whichever. Lorena was trying to pay attention to the game, but failed. Events from the night before crept up the corners of her mind and seemed to cloud her eyes with a pair of chocolate brown ones. She did not understand why this had to happen. Who was he to come into her life and just change everything? Lorena tried to focus on the game, the number ten to be more exact as she saw that he scored in the third minute of the game. All of the Spanish players talked amongst themselves about how each team was doing.
"Anybody want a drink?" Piqué asked as he came into the living room with a couple of beers.
Lorena hated alcohol, but at the sound of drink her stomach gave a growl. She hadn't eaten anything at all. Suddenly, she had a legitimate excuse to get out of here, even though she had just gotten here, tapping her cousin on his arm, "Sergio... can I go get something to eat downstairs?" Lorena couldn't believe that she was asking her cousin permission to go eat something...when she was clearly a twenty-five year old.
"Si, claro. Just. Take niño with you." Sergio said absentmindedly as he went back to his conversation with Reina. So no wives or girlfriends... maybe they were busy shopping or something. Lorena was annoyed that her own cousin didn't trust her to go eat something by herself. Then again, she had complained that she was by herself for almost an entire week, but really? Anybody but Fernando Torres.

As soon as Sergio said Fernando's name, Fernando stood up quietly and walked to get out of the hotel room.
"Ya regreso. ¿Alguien quiere algo de abajo? (Does anybody want anything from downstairs?)" Lorena said.
All the players shook their head no except Arbeloa, "can you get me some candy? I'm a sucker for chocolate."
Lorena nodded as she walked up to the door with Fernando in front of her and as soon as they were out of ear shot from anybody, he put on a cap.
"Did you sleep well?" Lorena asked him.
"Kind of. Did you?"
"Sort of." She responded as they made their way to the elevator, "how was training?"
"Tiring." Fernando chuckled as he stiffled a yawn.
"I can't believe I had to ask permission to go eat something... what is wrong with me?" Lorena laughed.
"Do you want me to leave?" Fernando asked her as he pressed the button for the first floor.
"Kind of late for that, don't you think?"
"I guess." The futbolista said.
The rest of the way to the lobby was quiet, Lorena thinking of what to say. She didn't want to say the wrong thing to make him think something different. The brunette woman bit her lip as the doors opened signaling them that they had to walk out of the elevator. The lobby had to have a restaurant or a fast food place nearby, she didn't feel like going outside, but then again, she had to get Arbeloa some chocolate...might as well head out to the streets of Brazil. Lorena noticed that Fernando was walking next to her, also deep in his thoughts. That was a good sign for her since it meant that she didn't have to talk. She looked at each place and found one that was seafood, " I want fish. Let's go." Lorena said motioning.
They made their way to the seafood place and she asked if she could have some shrimp and mollusks to go. The stewardess said she could and they waited for her food, Fernando being as quiet as a mouse.
"Why so quiet niño?" Lorena finally asked as she turned to face him.
His brown eyes looked at her. They were trying to tell her something, but he said something different, "nada. Just tired.."
"Suuuuure, you are. Anyways. Did you enjoy the states?" Lorena asked him the same question she hasked her cousin.
"Yes. I like to travel. I even got to play." He smiled.
"What do you mean?" Lorena asked.
"I'm not in the starting line up, but Del Bosque put me in one of the games." His voice sounded restrained.
"Oh, that's good." Lorena didn't know much about football, and she wasn't going to pretend that she did, "that is good right?" She raised an eyebrow at the man.
"Yes...it's just that I haven't been playing as well as I did back in the day." He looked down at the floor.
"How long ago is back in the day?" Lorena asked.
"Three years ago?"
"Hmmm. You just need to believe in yourself...have confidence. You know, that type of thing." Lorena said.
"It's hard to have that when you're not exactly able to show how. My form isn't the same as it used to be...I don't know what happened." He ran a hand through his face.
"If your coach doesn't put you in tomorrow's game, then he'll put you in the next one. You'll see." Lorena smiled at him.
Fernando looked at her and then nodded, just as her food arrived, "Obrigado," Lorena said as she paid and then started to head out of the restaurant with Fernando following behind her, "do you know what kind of chocolate Arbeloa likes?"
"Hershey's. That's international right?" Fernando asked.
"I suppose...hmmm." Lorena said as she smiled.

Lorena saw what seemed like a drugstore a few places away, so she made that her best bet to go and see if they sold candy there. Both Spaniards walked in the store and she went to the candy aisle as fast as she could; she was starving and she really wanted to eat.
"Hershey! Found it." Lorena said waving it in front of Fernando's face. The guy laughed at her and then she suddenly had to ask, "so where are the girlfriends? The wives?"
"The Spanish girls usually come for the finals.. if we make it there." Fernando said looking for something.
"Oh. I guess that would make sense." Lorena said shrugging, "are you looking for something?" Her eyes asking questions.
"Yes. I found it." He said as he held up what looked like gummy worms. Lorena rolled her eyes at the Spaniard and then grabbed his bag from his hands and went to pay before he could say anything.
"Obrigado." Lorena said again and they were headed back to the hotel room in no time.

"No tuviste que hacer eso. (You didn't have to do that.)" Fernando said sternly.
"Lo se. Wanted to. It's just candy..." Lorena said chuckling.
"Well thanks." He said, giving her an irresistible smile.

Fernando Torres was going to be the death of her.