If You Love Me

Pushing her fingers through her knotted hair, Nora sat on the edge of the bed, trying to wake herself up a little. It was early, too early for Nora who’d not made it back to her hotel room much before one thirty in the morning, but she knew that there was no opportunity to lay in, even if the idea of a little longer huddled up beneath the duvet was awfully tempting, she knew that she didn’t have time before her flight. It had been a long night, after the team had collected the trophy, they’d been quick to return to the hotel for a small celebration, and Nora had to admit that she had enjoyed it, even if it did mean that she was tired. She had enjoyed celebrating the team’s latest victory.

Attempting to straighten out a few of the kinks of her hair, she allowed a soft yawn to fall out of her mouth before she tentatively pushed herself up to her feet, moving to collect a clean set of clothes from her bag. Pulling out a clean set of underwear, she spared another sleepy yawn before the sound of a knock at the door reached her ears, causing her to let out a soft groan before she settled her clothes down, moving to pull the door open. “What?” she grumbled.

Gerard, who was stood on the other side of the door, smirked at the tone of her voice before he stepped past her, quickly making his way into the room. “Buenos dias to you too, Nora” he teased brightly.

Nora, who’d watched him step past her, blinked a couple of times before she shook her head, closing the door behind her. “It’s early” she grumbled, sparing another small yawn into her hand “What on earth are you doing here?” she added, trying to smooth out a little more of her hair. It wasn’t uncommon, on the rare occasions that Nora travelled away with the team, Gerard had habit of showing up to her hotel room, and whilst a small part of her was irked that he had shown up so early, she had to admit that she enjoyed spending time with him.

Gerard, who’d moved to sit down at the foot of the bed, watched her for a couple of seconds before he shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t a guy just want to drop in on his friend without warning?” he quipped, offering her a boyish smile.

Nora admired his smile for a second before she shook her head. “Not unless he has a good reason for dropping in on me before 8 in the morning” she countered with a playful smile “So, what do you want?” she posed, pulling her loose blonde hair up into a ponytail.

Gerard smiled a little at her teasing before he shook his head. “We’ve still got a little while before we’re due at the airport” he noted “And I thought maybe we could head out for breakfast. It has been a while since we’ve done that” he added softly.

Nora nodded her head. “It has been a while” she agreed gently “Give me 15 minutes to take a quick shower and get dressed and then we can go” she added as she stepped back towards her bag, quickly retrieving her clean set of clothes.

Gerard watched her quietly for a few seconds, his blue eyes admiring her, before Nora turned back around, her blue eyes catching his stare before she ducked her head, her cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink. Gerard blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised that she had turned around, before he offered her a small awkward smile, quietly mumbling a small excuse before he ducked out of the room, stepping out into the corridor.

Pulling the door closed behind him with a small thump, he shook his head before he let out a small sigh. It wasn’t the first time, for a while, things between him and Nora had been ever so slightly awkward, and it irked him slightly, even if he knew that it was, at least in part, his fault. He was irked that things didn’t quite seem as easy as normal between the two of them.

~#~
“So, what is your plan now that the season is over?”

Gerard, who’d been stirring his coffee, looked up at the sound of Nora’s voice before he shrugged his shoulders gently. It had been a pleasant morning, after their slightly awkward moment, things had settled down once more, and Gerard had to admit that he was pleased. He much preferred it when things between him and Nora felt at ease and comfortable.

It wasn’t the first time, for a while, both he and Nora had been slightly guilty of making things awkward from time to time, but still neither of them opted to do anything about it, instead they both remained content with the way things were. They were friends, good friends, and Gerard was in no rush to change it. He liked what they had between the two of them.

“I’ve not got much of a plan” he noted, sipping on his drink “I mean, I’ve got the Euros coming up and then I’ll probably take a vacation somewhere, but I’ve not planned anything. What about you?” he posed gently.

Nora scoffed playfully. “I’ve got work” she noted “We can’t all take the summer off every year” she added, offering him an impish grin.

Gerard spared a small laugh before he shook his head. “What about tonight?” he posed “I mean, Andres is hosting a little get together to celebrate the season ending before we all head off for internationals and I was sorting of hoping that you’d come along with me. I mean, I’d go alone…” he trailed off, offering her a mock pout.

Nora admired the expression on his face for a couple of seconds before she rolled her eyes, quirking a small playful smile. “You’ve not got anyone else to ask?” she mused playfully.

Gerard simply shrugged, playing along.

Nora offered him a mock glare before she shook her head, a small giggle falling out of her mouth. “I think I can probably manage coming along with you tonight” she noted “But you owe me one” she bargained with a grin.

Gerard snorted out a small laugh before he nodded his head. “I am sure that I can come up with some way to repay you, Nora” he noted warmly.

Nora flashed him another soft smile before the sound of her phone beeping filled the air, causing her to pull it out of her bag, her blue eyes briefly scanning the screen before she pushed herself up to her feet, excusing herself to take the phone call. Gerard watched her away from the table for a few moments before he quietly shook his head, wordlessly hoping that the slight awkwardness that existed between the two of them would disappear quickly.