Somewhere Only We Know

3: How About Lunch?

“Who are you texting?” Lucia posed as she wandered into the kitchen to grab some breakfast before her shift started. She felt a little worse for wear, her head was still pounding with a hangover thanks to the amount of alcohol that Sergio had plied her with, but that didn’t mean she missed the sight of Ariana on her phone, texting someone with a wide smile etched onto her face. It was unusual, Ariana never texted anyone and if she did, it was usually Lucia, and it made the blonde girl curious. She didn’t remember Ariana making any new friends whilst they had been out, but then again, she didn’t really remember much other than the taste of Sergio’s mouth.

Ariana, who had been texting Iker, lifted her head, her cheeks reddening a little. “No one” she returned gently.

Lucia laughed. “You do not get that red over no one Ari. So what’s his name?” she grinned as she moved to place some bread into the toaster.

Ariana shook her head. “Who said it was a he? Maybe I am texting one of my friends from work” she defended.

“You don’t get red over texting your friends Ari, and you certainly don’t smile like that. So, baby sister, what is his name? Is he cute?” the blonde girl enthused as she sat down ahead of her sister. It was a turn of events, Lucia couldn’t remember Ariana ever having a boyfriend before, and she was curious about the man that had caught her usually shy sister’s attention. He must have been something pretty special.

Ariana blushed gently and shook her head, shepherding her phone back into the pocket of the jeans she was wearing. “It’s no one Luci. He’s just a friend” she mused gently. She knew that Lucia would figure it out, she was prone to getting flashes of her lost memories throughout the day, but Ariana wanted to put it off for a little while. Lucia was likely to be relentless about the fact that her sister had caught the eye of the famed Iker Casillas and Ariana didn’t want to be dealing with it, not first thing in the morning.

Lucia offered her a slightly dubious look before her toast popped up, causing her to move away. “I will figure it out Ari” she commented as she moved to spread butter across the toast “You and I don’t really have secrets” she added with a grin before she stepped out of the room. Ariana watched after her and shook her head.

She really wished that Lucia wouldn’t find out about Iker. The blonde girl was bound to stick her oar in where it wasn’t needed and mess things up for Ariana, it was Lucia’s skill.

~#~
“Good morning Mr Granger” Ariana smiled as she stepped into her patient’s room. She liked Mr Granger, the old man was one of the brighter patients on the ward, and she looked forwards to checking up on him. He always made her smile. “Ariana, my dear, you’re early” the older man grinned.

“I got drafted in for the 9am shift. Your usual doctor was called away” Ariana explained as she moved to check the observation notes that had been left by the nurses.

“Aw, and here was me expecting his usual brand of awkwardness” the older man teased.

“Mr Granger, don’t be mean. Daniel is a clever boy, he’s just a little less sure of himself. I am sure he does a good job when he is here” Ariana mused with a little look towards the old man.

“He does a job, though I would not exactly class it as good. And, for the millionth time dear, it is John, not Mr Granger, that makes me sound so old” he fussed making Ariana smile.

“I am sorry John. None of my other patients like me calling them by their first name” she returned.

John nodded before Ariana’s phone buzzed, causing a blush to appear on her cheeks, something that John was quick to notice. “You’re blushing Ari” he quipped with a smile “Who is it that has texted you?” he added as he watched her peek down at the screen subtly.

“It’s no one” Ariana responded as she pushed the phone down into the pocket of her coat.

“It wouldn’t happen to be a handsome young man would it? Tall, dark hair?” John quipped.

Ariana lifted her eyebrow. “How could you know that?” she spluttered out.

John smirked. “Because there is a handsome young man standing in the hall with a large bouquet in one hand and a phone in the other. He’s clearly looking for someone” he teased.

Ariana’s blush worsened before she turned slightly, her heart jumping into her mouth as she spotted Iker outside of John’s room, a curious expression on his face.

“So, you’re cheating on me eh?” John joked.

Ariana smiled at the older man’s joke before she moved to set his chart down, trying to steer clear of the door. She wanted to see Iker, she had liked spending time with him, but the idea of seeing him made her nervous. She knew if she got too attached then it was likely that Iker would change his mind about her, a thought that scared her.

“Are you not going to talk to lover boy?” John teased.

“Not right now. Can you keep watch for me and tell me when he is gone?” she posed.

The older man frowned, but nodded his head, watching Iker in the corridor.

“What is he doing?” Ariana murmured from her spot beside the door.

“He’s looking around” John replied “And now he is walking off” he mused.

Ariana let out a little sigh of relief and moved towards the door, only to stop herself as she came eye to eye with Iker. The goalkeeper smiled at her gently before he padded towards the patient’s room. “I thought you said he was gone” Ariana muttered with a glare towards John. The older man merely shrugged. He liked Ariana, she was competent and approachable, but she was often shy and so John had opted to give her a little push. Ariana was a lovely girl, she merely needed a little push.

“Ari?” Iker posed as he gently poked his head around the door.

The brunette blushed gently before she turned to him, offering him the best smile she could muster. “Hola, Iker” she breathed.

The keeper flashed her a little smile before he moved to offer her the flowers he had bought. It was a little cheesy, but Iker hadn’t wanted to show up empty handed. He was trying to ask her out and wanted to give her every reason to say yes. He liked her a lot. “There are for you. I didn’t know what you liked, so I hope tulips are alright” he murmured.

Ariana moved towards him and took them, her blue eyes shining up at his timidly as a small awkward silence descended over them.

John rolled his eyes. “Gosh boy, just ask her” he nudged.

“John” Ariana scolded “He may not want to ask me a thing. He might just be being polite” she added.

John shook his head. “Come on Ari. He clearly likes you, I mean, look at those flowers” he noted.

Ariana went to respond again, but Iker got in first. “He’s right you know” he muttered.

“He is?” Ariana squeaked.

Iker let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “I…uh, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out with me sometime. I had a wonderful time with you last night and I thought maybe we could do it again, or something, whatever” he rambled.

Ariana smiled at him. Even his rambling was cute. “I get off for lunch at 1:30. Do you think you would like to grab some with me?” she posed.

Iker blushed, but nodded his head. “I would like that a lot” he breathed.

Ariana nodded before she moved to usher him out of the room. “I will see you then Iker” she cooed.

The keeper nodded before he walked away, a smile fixed on his face.

“That was hard” John teased “The poor boy looked like he was going to pass out” he added.

Ariana shrugged.

She was just glad that Iker had managed to get the words out.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments on chapter 2 :)