Somebody Like Me

Pilar, who was stood a little away from the table, flinched a little at the tone of his voice before she shook her head softly. “I saw you over here and I figured I could come and say hola, but clearly that was a…”

“A mistake?” Sergio interjected, his voice slightly sharp as he tried his hardest to keep it low and quiet. He was irked, after months of not seeing her, Pilar showing up out of the blue had annoyed him somewhat, but he knew better than to yell in the crowded restaurant, not wanting a cause a scene. He had been expecting it, despite Madrid being quite a large city, he had known that it was only a matter of time before he and Pilar crossed paths, but still it annoyed him, even if it had been months since their relationship had ended. The idea of seeing her face to face upset him.

Pilar, who had dropped her stare to her feet, briefly looked up at him before she shook her head. “I shouldn’t have bothered” she mumbled softly “It…it was stupid. I’m sorry for disrupting your evening, Sergio” she added gently.

Sergio rolled his eyes slightly before he shook his head. “You do remember how our relationship ended, right?” he posed.

“Sergio…”

“You remember the way that you broke my heart?” he interrupted, his voice still angry and sharp.

Pilar nodded her head. “Of course I do, Sergio” she murmured softly “And I have apologized for that. I simply wanted to come over here and say hello. It’s been months since things between us ended and I thought we could at least try to be civil now. It’s not like you’re still getting over it” she added, her eyes briefly peeking across the restaurant towards the bathroom door where Cassie stood, fixing the material of her blouse over the top of her bump.

Sergio followed the line of her stare, his dark eye settling on Cassie, before he shook his head, a small scoff falling out of his mouth. “You’re really going to try and make me feel bad for moving on?” he posed “Pilar, you left me for another man” he added, a brief look of pain passing over his features.

Pilar spotted the pained expression he wore, but opted against commenting on it, instead she shook her head gently before she let out a soft sigh. “I am sorry for intruding on your night, Sergio” she mumbled softly “And I hope things between you and her work out. You look really good” she fussed softly before she padded away from the table.

Sergio watched her go for a couple of moments before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached his ears, causing him to turn slightly, his dark eyes settling on Cassie who stood beside him, her familiar warm grin perched on her lips. “You ready to get out of here, Sese?” she posed softly.

Sergio hesitated for a second, his eyes briefly glancing over towards the table that Pilar had returned to, before he nodded his head, fixing the best smile he could muster onto his face. “Of course” he enthused warmly before he pushed himself up to his feet, his hand gently taking a hold of Cassie’s before he moved to lead her from the restaurant.

Cassie spared him a soft glance, not missing the fact that the smile he wore didn’t quite reach his eyes, but she opted against asking about it, not wanting to press on a nerve.

~#~
“Are you just going to sit out here all night or can I expect you to come to bed at some point in the near future?”

Sergio, who was quietly sipping on a bottle of beer, startled a little at the sound of Cassie’s voice before he lifted his head, his dark eyes peeking towards where she stood in the doorway, one of his t-shirts hanging over her petite frame.

It had been a quiet night, after his run-in with Pilar, Sergio had barely said two words, and whilst Cassie didn’t want to push him, she found herself slightly irked by the notion that he didn’t think he could talk with her about it. She knew that it was a subject they’d steered clear of, since they’d started to spend time together, any mentions of their ex partners had been few and far between, but still she wanted him to talk to her, even if it was likely to be awkward. She wanted to know what was going on his head.

Blinking a couple of times, Sergio shook his head. “Sorry” he mumbled softly “I guess I just lost track of time. I’ll come through in a minute” he added, flicking his attention back down towards bottle which sat in his lap, its label tattered from his picking at it.

Cassie offered him another soft look before she shook her head, gently moving to settle down on the couch at his side. “You know, you can talk to me” she mumbled as she gently took a hold of his hand, slotting their fingers together before she offered it a soft squeeze.

Sergio spared a soft glance down towards their hands before he nodded. “I do know that” he mumbled softly “But, right now, I don’t really want to talk about it” he added, peeking towards her softly.

Cassie held his stare for a brief second before she nodded. “I get that” she mused softly “But I hope that one day, we can sit down and talk about it. I know how much it hurt me to see Hector again and I can’t imagine that you feel a lot better about having run into Pilar” she added, offering his hand another soft squeeze.

She could see that he was upset, from the moment that she had arrived back at their table, the expression on his face had been hard to miss, but she wanted to offer him a little comfort, even if she didn’t quite know what had happened between him and his ex-girlfriend, she wanted him to know that she understood why he had been so quiet that night.

Sergio glanced down towards their hands once more before he quirked a small smile. “I think we can probably manage that one day” he mused softly “But right now…”

“You should quit moping and come to bed” Cassie interrupted with a warm smile “I mean, I kind of like going to sleep with you by my side” she added, her voice warm and playful.

Sergio let out a small breathy laugh before he gently pushed himself up to his feet, gently pulling Cassie up at his side before he tugged her into a soft hug. Cassie startled, not quite expecting the soft embrace, but she was quick to wrap her arms around him, holding him close for a couple of seconds before she gently leant back slightly, affording Sergio the opportunity to duck down, stealing a couple of quick kisses. “I love you, Cassie” he mumbled quietly.

Cassie’s cheeks warmed a little at his words before she quirked a soft smile. “I know you do” she mumbled softly “And you know that I love you too. Now, come on, I don’t know about you, but I could really do with getting some sleep. Your son is taking a break from kicking and I’d like to make the most of it” she enthused impishly.

Sergio let out another soft laugh before he nodded his head, gently leading her through the house and back towards his bedroom. He knew that they’d have to talk eventually, he knew that their past relationships weren’t a subject that could be avoided forever, but he was pleased that Cassie had let it lie then. It was still a sore point, even despite all that had happened since he and Pilar had broken up, the break-up still hurt him, and he wanted to avoid talking about it for a little while longer.