Smoke Rings in the Dark

"Since your handsome Argentine lover is away, you need a wee bit of fun", said Maggie as the bartender set down their beers.

"Yeah, I need some drinks before we do the pig on Friday. Hopefully the other girls are gonna be calm, my grandma would be having a laugh if she saw that", said Cassandra with a chuckle.

There was a slight murmur in the crowd of the bar as Cassandra turned her head. "Some United guys came in", explained Maggie with distaste.

Cassandra saw two young men at a table and frowned, neither of them looking like athletes to her. One of them was short and stocky with light brown hair and a beard, light blue eyes and pale while the other was tall and skinny with black hair, an olive complexion and a large nose. "Who are those guys?", she asked.

"The short one is Juan Mata and the skinny bloke is Angel DiMaria, they play for United. At least they aren't assholes like Rooney", said Maggie with grudging respect.

"Hola, senoritas. Juan quiere hablar con tigos", said Angel shyly as he approached them.

"Tell your buddy que tengo un novio y va a madrearse", she retorted.

"Perdon, senorita. Soy Juan Mata y que se llama?", he asked, sitting next to her.

"Soy Cassandra Beckett y mi papa tiene guns y mi novio son Sergio Aguero", she retorted.

Juan just sipped his beer and his blue eyes were calm. "Si, interesante. Perdon, senorita Beckett. Are you American, it's your accent", he asked in slightly accented English.

"Yeah, from Tennessee. If Sergio saw you now, he would kick your ass. Go find some bimbo since you're United", she said dismissively.

"Perdon, senorita Beckett. Mi esposa esta con nos hija, ella dice que necessito a ir con Juan, un noche de hombres", said Angel shyly.

Cassandra had to smile at the skinny man who spoke in the same Argentine accent as Sergio, seeing how embarrassed he was. "Lo siento, senor Di Maria", she said kindly.

Cassandra was relieved when Juan turned his attention to Maggie as Angle took out his phone and pulled up the pictures. "Ella esta muy bonita", she cooed as he showed off his pictures of his daughter.

"Gracias, senorita. Ella tiene miradas de su madre, mi esposa esta embarazada", he said proudly.

"Muy bueno, senor Di Maria", she said.

After one more drink, Angel said goodbye after seeing a text from his wife. Cassandra had to chuckle when she saw Maggie had left with Juan, finishing her beer and dialing a cab. At least I got him together with Maggie, Sergio won't have to kick his ass, she thought with a wry chuckle.

She saw the text from Sergio and called his number once she returned home. "Hola, Cassie. Miss me already?", he teased.

"Si, Sergio. What's Barcelona like and you get there in one piece?", she joked.

"Si, porque estoy hablando con tigo, verdad? Soy una ciudad bella y grande, mas bonita a Manchester y no tiene mucho lluvia. Leo se cocinar y estamos bebiendo cerveza, no mucho", he replied.

"You guys been drinking beer? You gotta be careful", she chided.

"Verdad, no vamos hacer boracho. Pero Leo no puede a bebir mucho, el son un malo boracho", he laughed.

"Is he a mean drunk?", she asked.

"No, el son un boracho chistoso. Leo son corto, flaco y Italiano, no puede tomar mucho", he joked.

"So he's short and skinny? How come he's an athlete?", she wondered aloud.

"He is fast and quick, he scores more goals de carajo. It don't matter cuando son flaco y corto, el puede hacer mucho gols", he laughed.

"I gotcha, American football players are huge. Reckon that's a way for short guys to be successful", she said dryly.

"Verdad, Cassie. Hasta luego", he said.

"Hasta luego", she replied, hitting End.