Till There Was You

Chapter 10

"I hope you didn't get stupid con eses Aleman locos", said Luis.

Steven shook his head and followed his teammates onto the coach. "I did some karaoke with Xabi and some of the Munich lads, the Germans drank a lot more and Xabi has such a low tolerance, he got stupid after a few shots. I'm too old to go and get hammered", he retorted.

"Bueno, I passed my drinking stage when I was a teenager. This is a good way to be introduced to Barca", said Luis thoughtfully.

"Si, Cordoba is one of the smaller teams in La Liga but that means they'll be less pressure. And it's a lovely city and it's still hot, it doesn't snow there", said Xavi with a laugh.

"Okay, is it a desert then?", asked Steven.

"No, Andalusia is just hot. If you came in the summer, your pale English self would be red as a lobster", teased Gerard.

"Thanks for the heads up, mate. Since it's cloudy and rainy in England, we never got a chance to tan", he joked.

Steven found his seat and took out his Spanish phrasebook, the bus doors closing as it prepared to leave for the airport. At least people down there speak Spanish, I don't have to wrestle with that bloody Catalan, he thought with a chuckle.

The team coach arrived at the airport and everyone quickly boarded their charter. "Just be careful wandering around, not many people there speak English", said Xavi.

"All right, but my Spanish is going to get better", he chuckled.

"Porque tienes novia Espanol, amic. That's the best way to learn a language", teased the diminutive captain.

Steven just laughed as he found his seat and sent a text to Aracelis, taking out his book. His phone buzzed and he smiled when he saw the picture she had sent, blowing a kiss at the camera and an amused smile in her blue eyes. "Que bueno, tu novia te gustas", said Gerard with a laugh.

"I feel like I'm in school again and I'm passing notes during study period", said Steven.

"Because you were with your ex-wife for over ten years and you are now single, it's all new to you", said Gerard thoughtfully.

"You're right, you're an old soul, Gerard", said Steven.

"Si, veritat. I never liked women my own age, people think it's weird me and Shakira are together but we fit, I can't explain it but we do", said Gerard.

Steven nodded in understanding as he buckled on his seat belt and the doors of the plane closed, the plane taxiing onto the runway. Everything is new and I ought to jump in and enjoy the the ride, he thought with a chuckle.

"There is no airport in Cordoba so we have to fly in to Sevilla first", explained Luis as the team boarded the coach at San Pablo airport.

"Okay, but it's not a long ride, right? I do want to take some pics and send them to the girls", said Steven.

"It's less than an hour. Tonight we will check in and get some dinner, maybe after practice tomorrow I can show you around. Mi abuelo on my father's side was Andalusian, from Almeria. That's why unlike other Catalans, I can tan", Xavi quipped.

"Si, and you can", teased Gerard, clapping him on the back.

Lionel shook his head at the two Catalan men and checked his phone, a smile on his face. "Eses son mis amores", he said, showing Steven a picture on his phone. A young woman with brown hair held a baby girl on her lap, the girl with her mother's hair and Lionel's brown eyes. Both of them wore Barca shirts with his name and number on the back as the baby grinned.

"That's a nice family you got there", he said.

"Gracias, Steven. Son mi esposa Samantha y mi hija Kerry Maria", said Lionel proudly.

"Your daughter es bonita. These are my girls", he said, showing a picture on his phone.

"Ellas son bonitas, Steven", said Lionel.

"Gracias, Leo", he replied as they went inside the hotel.

Steven was surprised to see he had Xavi as a roommate, following his captain upstairs. "El es, I was surprised myself. Maybe management thought I ought to room with the new guy, seeing that I am la capita", he said with a laugh.

"That makes sense", agreed Steven.

Steven unpacked a few things and turned on the TV, Xavi going into the bathroom. "I am going to shower and shave, if I don't I'll have a big beard tomorrow", he laughed.

Steven was flipping through the channels, shaking his head at the parade of soap operas and pop music shows. "Nuria likes telenovelas, she's a big fan", said Xavi.

Steven looked dubiously at the TV as the sexy young couple made out while the next scene showed gangsters shooting into a car on a desert road. "This is complete rubbish, all they have is girls with big tits and gun fights", he said in distaste.

"The Brazilian ones are worse, that's what Neymar says. His mama and sister are always watching them, his girlfriend acts in one", said Xavi.

"My nan loves Coronation Street, it must be something girls do", he said with a shrug.

"Veritat, no guy I know watches ese mierda", said Xavi, taking the remote and flipping through the channels until he came across a sports program showing the Real Madrid match against Valencia. "Cabrons, ellos son hijos de diablo", he muttered.

"That's not so bad, in England we would call them a bunch of fucking cunts. Bastard isn't much of an insult", he quipped.

"Si, Gerard told me that. I was thinking out loud in Spanish, normally I would say it in Catalan but you don't speak it. I'm going easy on you, when we are in the dressing room we'll take out the can", he laughed.

"Gracias, mate. Me head would explode if I had to keep thinking of the Spanish words", he said.

"Veritat, but your novia speaks Spanish so you'll learn. Aye, hijeputa!", he swore, seeing James scored against Valencia.

"Yeah, I agree. He's a good kid, but at least it wasn't Ronaldo", said Steven.

"You English are a cheerful lot, Monty Python was right. Lucky we don't have that game until December", said Xavi.

"They make it sound bigger than the Merseyside derby, but Kopites don't hate Evertonians", he said.

"That's because you are both from Liverpool, veritat? Nosotros no gustamos eses cabrones de Madrid, whether it was the old kings or Franco or the new king. It's aways been that way, us Catalans make the money and eses hijueputas en Madrid spend it", said Xavi bitterly.

"That sounds like what Scots think of the English, everyone north of London hates our Parliament. Nobody likes paying bloody taxes, but I don't want to get nicked", said Steven.

"Veritat, em amic", agreed Xavi.

Steven couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach as he waited in the tunnel with the rest of the team, feeling like a teenager all over again. "Wait until we play the home opener, then you will feel it", said Luis.

"Aye, Luis. I am just getting my feet wet, I am not diving right in", he chuckled.

"Vamanos, vamanos muchachos", said Xavi, clapping everyone on the back as they each held onto the hand of a young child and left the tunnel. The familiarity of the ritual eased his mind as he glanced around at the fans and felt his purple windbreaker clinging to his light green road kit, hearing the PA playing a loud Spanish pop song and the fans singing along. Steven followed his teammates as they shook hands with the all the Cordoba players, getting into position alongside Ivan and Andres.

The game was 1-1 in the 82nd minute when Steven received a pass from Xavi and ran towards the goal, firing the ball as it sailed just out of the reach of the Cordoba goalkeeper. A huge grin split his face as he was mobbed by his teammates, the Cordoba fans raining boos on them. "Vamanos a ganar, chicos", Xavi exhorted.

Barcelona ended up winning 2-1 as the team showered and got on the coach to the hotel. "What a debut, Steven. If you do this at Camp Nou, the fans will love you", said Luis.

"Verdad, mate. This is going to be like making me debut at Anfield", he replied.

"I felt the same way when I graduated from La Masia and made my debut at Camp Nou. You will never forget it", said Xavi.

"Si, y cuando ir a Barcelona, vamos a comprar bebidos para ti, Steven. Necessitas hablar Espanol, Steven", teased Lionel.

"Si, Lionel. Ah, estoy hablo Espanol", said Steven.

"No, te dices estoy hablando Espanol, Stevie", said Luis.

Steven chuckled and took out his phone, seeing the texts from his daughters and Aracelis. "Sus chicas esta orgullosa a ti", said Gerard.

"Uh, si. Mis chicas gusta mi", he replied.

"Sus hijas y tu novia gustan cuando haces un gol, Stevie. Hijas son daughters y novia son girlfriend", said Gerard.

"Sabe eso, Gerard", he retorted.

"Si, tu Espanol esta mas bueno que antes", agreed Xavi as the coach left for the hotel.