We Took the Fall

57: Under His Skin

“How are you feeling, Esther?” Catalina posed as she stared at her best friend, a wide smile on her face. It felt a little bizarre, Catalina had doubted that Esther would ever find a person that she wanted to spend her life, and she was still a little in awe of the fact that she getting married, especially before she made it up the aisle, it was all a little strange.

“Like I am about to throw up” Esther replied, her fingers tugging at the material of her dress “I mean, what if Alex doesn’t show?” she posed, her eyes a little wide as she turned to face her friend. She was nervous, the idea of getting married was a strange to Esther, and it amused Catalina slightly. Out of the two of them, Esther had always been the more confident and it made a change to see her a bumbling mess whilst Catalina was rather confident. It had been a few weeks since Fernando had proposed and whilst it had been a little hard to get her head around at first, Catalina doubted she could have been happier. Things were settled for her and Fernando and once that day was over, and Catalina was away from Jonathan for good, they could focus on getting ready for the arrival of their baby which was only a few months off.

“Alex is here” Catalina insisted softly “I have Fernando keeping an eye on him” she added.

Esther snorted. “You left blondie alone in a room with Jonny?” she quipped as she gently fixed her hair.

Catalina nodded. “Nando’s on his best behavior, I made him promise” she noted, a small smile of her face.

Esther rolled her eyes. “What did you promise him to make sure that he didn’t punch Jon in the face?” she noted.

Catalina shook her head. “Perhaps he’s just a mature guy who doesn’t want to upstage his friend on her big day” she suggested with a little shrug.

“Or his beautiful girlfriend promised him some sort of favour in return for not punching Jonathan” Esther noted.

Catalina sighed. “I may have suggested that if he behaved himself today, then when we went to midwife next week, I’d allow him to know the sex of the baby, something I was hoping to save until they made their first appearance” she commented, her hand gently rubbing the bump which stuck out from her dress.

Esther smiled. “He’s already a sucker for that baby” she teased as she smoothed out the last wrinkle in her dress.

Catalina smiled before the door to the hotel room swung open, allowing Esther’s mother inside. “You ready to go, Esther?” she posed.

Esther spared Catalina a look, searching for some sort of reassurance, before she turned back to her mother, nodding her head gently. “I am ready” she enthused.

Catalina grinned and moved to place the veil over her face. “Then let’s go get you a husband” she teased.

~#~
Resting back in his seat, Fernando spared another look towards Jonathan, not liking for one moment being anywhere near the last man that Catalina had dated. He knew that he had nothing to worry about, Catalina had agreed to marry him just weeks before and was unlikely to change her mind, but still he worried. Jonathan was a good looking guy and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what Catalina had seen in him.

“I’m just going to the bathroom” Catalina mused, nudging Fernando gently. It had been a beautiful ceremony, Alex and Esther had looked elated when they had kissed to seal the deal, and Catalina was pleased for her friend. Esther deserved something good and as far as Catalina could tell, Alex was precisely that. “Are you going to be Ok here for a moment?” she posed.

Fernando looked up at her and smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’m sitting here, drinking champagne. I think I’ll survive” he teased.

Catalina rolled her eyes gently before she pressed a kiss to his head. “I’ll be right back” she enthused before she skittered across the room, leaving him alone for a moment.

“Still with her then, Torres” Jonathan smirked as he sat down beside the striker, nudging his ribs.

Fernando stifled the urge to glare and nodded. “Engaged” he commented, not batting an eyelid.

Jonathan tilted his head. “You proposed to her?” he posed.

Fernando nodded his head. “I certainly did” he commented firmly “I love her and I want to spend my life with her” he added.

Jonathan scoffed. “I am sure you said that to the last De Marcos sister you proposed to” he smirked.

Fernando swallowed, trying his hardest not to rise to the bait. He knew what Jonathan was doing, he was trying to coax him into causing a scene, but Fernando didn’t want to do it. He had promised Catalina that he would not make that day about him and her and leave the focus on Alex and Esther.

“Alicia was a mistake, one I regret deeply, but I want to marry Catalina” Fernando noted firmly.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Sure you do” he mused, his voice sharp and sarcastic “It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you knocked her up after just months of dating” he added, a smirk fixed on his face.

Fernando tensed his jaw.

“I mean, why else would you want to marry her?” Jonathan teased.

Fernando mulled over his words for a moment before he stood up, throwing his fist at Jonathan’s face, catching his nose which caused him to fall out of his seat, landing with a clatter on the ground. The room fell silent as Jonathan fell to the floor, eyes resting on Fernando who stood over him. “Don’t you dare say a word about her” the striker spat “Just because she decided you weren’t good enough for you doesn’t give you some sort of right to sit there and badmouth her” he added before he turned to walk away, stopping in his tracks as he spotted Catalina across the room.

Catalina stared at the scene ahead of her before she quietly shook her head, moving out of the room.

“Lina” Fernando protested as he followed after her, his hand gently landing on her elbow.

Catalina shook her head. “Leave me alone, Fernando” she mumbled, shaking his hand off “I don’t want to talk to you right now” she muttered before she stepped away, leaving Fernando staring after her.