Run Away With My Heart

“So, did you call her?” Olivia posed as she sat down to lunch, her blue eyes smiling up at Iker who had reappeared at her house after only a couple of hours. She wasn’t surprised, Iker tended to be a little clingy for the first couple of days after a break up, but Olivia had never minded. She liked helping him back onto his feet when things seemed to fall down around him, it was one of the things she seemed to be good at.

Iker, who had been poking at the unappetizing meal that had been placed in front of him, nodded. “I did” he commented.

“And?” Olivia pressed.

“She and I are going out on Friday night, which means either tonight or tomorrow, you’re giving me a crash course” Iker returned, pointing his fork at his friend.

Olivia smiled. “Of course” she noted “I wouldn’t want your awkwardness making my friend hate me for setting you up” she teased.

“I am not awkward” Iker muttered.

Olivia snorted. “You know how you and I met right?” she poked, a crooked grin on her face.

Iker groaned. “Why do you always bring that up? It was five years ago Oli” he mumbled.

“Because it is my favorite story” Olivia smiled “And it’s cute, even if it does make you sound like some awkward stalker, I still love it” she grinned, pulling the plate of barely touched food away from him. Iker shook his head. He would never understand why Olivia liked telling the story of how the met so much. It had been an accident, Iker had been wandering around the hotel that Spain had inhabited during their stay in South Africa and he had bumped into Olivia, spilling her cup off scalding coffee all over the front of neatly pressed blouse. Olivia had cursed at him, yelled that he was an idiot, and Iker, desperate to make it up to her, had followed her back to her room, insisting that he would do anything to make it up to her. After that, they had never looked back.

“I did not stalk you” Iker mumbled.

“You followed me back to my room and wouldn’t leave until I let you dry clean my shirt” Olivia smiled.

Iker sighed. “Did you tell Isobel that story?” he posed.

Olivia nodded. “She asked how I knew you. What was I supposed to say?” she commented as she moved to place their plates in the sink.

“That you met me through work?” Iker suggested.

Olivia shook her head. “I am not lying to my friends, Iker” she smiled.

“You lie to me all the time” the keeper pointed out.

Olivia smiled. “That’s because you’re my best friend” she noted as though it was the most obvious thing in the world “You’re special” she added, poking her tongue out a little. Iker shook his head.

“You know, sometimes I wonder why I keep you around” he mumbled.

Olivia giggled. “Because I am the only one who knows how to make you feel better, Iker. I am the only one you can be all vulnerable with and, if you can find someone else that you don’t mind being all sentimental around, I will happily step aside, but until that day, you’re stuck with me afraid” she teased.

Iker quirked a small smile and placed his arms around her waist, pulling her into a gentle hug that she was more than happy to return. “You’re not so bad” he mumbled.

Olivia scoffed. “You’re lucky to have me” she mused.

Iker smiled, knowing she was right.

~#~
“So, what do you want to know about Isobel?” Olivia mumbled as she flicked the television off.

Iker shrugged. “What do you know about her?” he posed.

“Well, she’s really into fashion. She’s done some amazing work with the photos I used in some of my articles last year. She works at one of those big department stores, but I think she had desires on being a designer or something, she could totally get into. She’s 31, she’s been engaged once, but her fiancé was an ass and left her just a week before they were due to get married, so I’d steer clear of the topic of relationships if I was you” she noted, leaning back into the couch slightly.

“I wasn’t going to bring it up” Iker mumbled “The last thing I want to tell her is that I am clearly unlovable” he added.

Olivia rolled her eyes. “You’re not unlovable” she noted.

“My track record seems to say otherwise” Iker replied.

“Anyway” Olivia muttered “She likes football, but she’s a Barca fan because she was born there, so please, don’t try and convert her” she noted.

“You set me up with a Barca fan?” Iker posed incredulously.

“I set you up with Isobel, her football allegiances did not occur to me when I did it” Olivia quipped.

Iker shook his head. “That’d be like me setting you up with a Djokovic fan” he mumbled.

Olivia gasped. “Never. It’d be a betrayal to Rafa” she huffed dramatically.

Iker rolled his eyes. “Remind me again why you’re single” he mumbled, resting his head back on the arm of the chair. It had always been a surprise, Olivia was great at setting people up, but when it came to herself, she was useless. She’d been hurt, more than once from what Iker remembered, and it always amazed him. In his mind, Olivia was great, perfect even, and it hadn’t been for the 5 years of friendship that they shared, he knew he would have wanted to be with her. She was fun, beautiful, and could make him smile like no one else could.

Olivia shrugged. “I’ve not met the right guy yet” she commented “Though, I’ve met plenty wrong guys” she added.

“What happened to the doctor?” Iker posed.

“A nurse” Olivia commented, her voice flat.

“Oh” Iker noted.

Olivia shrugged. “He was an ass anyways” she noted dismissively “But we are not focusing on me tonight. We’re getting you ready so that Isobel doesn’t hate me for landing her with you” she teased before she padded out of the room, mumbling about needing to find more wine. Iker watched after her and sighed a little, his heart twitching a little at the thought of Olivia being alone. She didn’t deserve it, through his eyes, she deserved the world, and he wanted to help her get it, like she was trying to help him.