With a Little Help From My Friends

"I saw you and Benzema last night, he fancies you", teased Gareth as he watched a sports program.

Ausra was pinning up her braids and wrapping them around her head. "He's French, that's how people do it in France", she said.

"Really, when I was on the Spurs none of the French blokes did that to me. I'm not surprised, Karim is a good looking bastard and French. You can't be single forever", said Gareth.

"Karim is my friend and neighbor, the kids like him. I'm not ready to date", she said.

"Ausra, you are a beautiful, brilliant women. Surely your husband wouldn't want you being single forever, he'd want you to be happy", said Gareth.

"I am happy with my children and my family and my job, Gareth. I don't want to be in a relationship and have the kids get attached and then break up", she replied.

"You are not a stupid girl, trust yourself. Your sister is happy with her husband and I'm sure your brother in law is happy", he said.

Ausra mulled over his words as she added the plain black headscarf over her braids, frowning. He might be right, but I want to make sure, she mused.

Karim was downstairs getting breakfast when he saw Gareth and Ausra arrive. He frowned when he saw her still wearing the black headscarf, just a bit of her red hair underneath. I want to see her hair loose, she's been in mourning for so long. I've seen bits of her happy, I want to see her happy more , he thought.

Ausra went to get breakfast and was conscious of Karim looking right at her, his dark eyes watching her every move. Suddenly, the black headscarf felt confining and felt heavy on her head, the ends of the fabric tickling her cheeks. "You are not going to mourn forever, reine Rouge", he murmured.

"That's what Nicky calls me", she said.

Karim tried to hide the surge of jealousy that filled him. "And who is that?", he hissed.

"That is Lyosha's father, we are good friends and him and his girlfriend have a baby daughter", she retorted.

Karim blushed as the others chuckled, glaring at them. "Pardon, Ausra", he said.

"And he lives in Sweden, he is coming to visit before training camp. He plays for the Washington Capitals hockey team", she said.

Karim was relieved, knowing the other man lived in Sweden and played in the US. I'll deal with him later, he vowed.

"Looks like you got Benzema jealous", teased Gareth.

"He is being a typical Frenchman, Gareth, jealous for nothing. I'm not interested in dating anyone, Nicky is one of my best friends. He is coming to visit us with his girlfriend and daughter", she said.

"I see, I'm not friends with any of my exes", he remarked.

"Nicky is Swedish, Swedish men aren't exactly the jealous type. We dated for a bit and decided to be friends, Lyosha visits his father during the summer", she replied.

"How civilized, I've seen some ugly custody battles", said Gareth.

"I've seen it too, it always messes up the kids", she said.

"Like with Karim, his daughter lives with his ex-girlfriend in France and she keeps bugging him for money but she barely lets him see her", said Gareth.

Ausra felt a wave of sympathy for her friend. That really sucks, he seems like he would make a great dad. The kids already like him and he's good with them, she mused.

The team finished breakfast and got on the bus that would take them to Manchester City's training facility. Karim put on his headphones and checked his phone, seeing Ausra up front with the rest of the staff and take out her Kindle. I can't read on the bus, I get sick, he mused.

The bus arrived and the team went for training and the staff went to their offices. Ausra went to her office and set up her Mac, seeing the various interview requests from Manchester and other media. I had no idea we had fans in Belarus, she thought with an amused chuckle.

Ausra had just finished setting up an interview with a local newspaper for Cristiano when there was a knock on her door. Karim walked in dressed in sweatpants and a white Real Madrid shirt as he sat in front of the desk. "Aren't you supposed to be at training?", she asked.

"We're finished, we come back tomorrow. I just wanted to hang, is that a crime?", he chuckled.

"Non, but I'm still at work. You want to go back to the hotel?", she asked.

"No, I'm bored. What are you doing?", he asked.

"I'm checking to see if these interview requests are legit, there's so many fake people wanting interviews. I just finished checking to see if this Manchester paper is real, they want to interview Ronnie", she replied.

"How many different papers have you vetted?", he asked.

"About thirty, most are legit but there were a few fake ones. Probably some fangirls wanting to perve on Ronnie and Sergio", she laughed.

"All the girls like them, when I started the girls liked me. I'm too old for them", he chuckled.

"How old are you?", she asked curiously.

"I'm 27, I'm getting old", he joked.

"I'm 30, 27 is not old. It's also a bad age for rock stars", she quipped.

"You don't look 30, and what's that about?", he asked.

"Us redheads don't crack, monsieur Benzema. A lot of rock stars died at 27, Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain. Just be careful", she teased.

"I don't listen to rock music, so I'm good", he joked.

"I'm a rocker, my dad is a huge Beatles fan and I love the 70's British stuff, Nightwish, Blackmore's Night and the pagan bands like Korpiklaani and Arkona", she replied.

"I have never heard any of that, I'm a rap fan. I grew up on the 90's stuff, Biggie was my man. I grew up in the banlieus, everyone was black or Muslim and no white person ever went there unless they were a cop. Biggie and Tupac told the truth", he said.

Ausra nodded. "You aren't going to say anything, Ausra? Most white people are terrified of Maghrebs", he said bitterly.

"Why would I be scared of you, Karim? We are friends and neighbors and I work for your team, my kids like you. I like people as individuals, I don't judge groups. I guess you could say I like individual people and hate humanity", she joked.

Karim blushed as he took her hand and kissed the knuckles. "Pardon, mon ami Russe. Growing up in the banlieus, you don't trust anyone but your family and your people", he said.

"I know, that's a lesson John taught me", she replied.

"He must have been a good man", he said.

"He was, he loved Lyosha like his own son and was thrilled when Zasha was born. He taught me to trust and to love", she murmured.