If You Love Me

Nine: If You Don’t Try

Fiddling with the ends of her blonde hair, Nora spared a small sigh, her blue eyes peeking up at the door which stood ahead of her as she attempted to work up the nerve to knock. She knew that she couldn’t duck out, after she had told Daniel that she would be at her sister’s house for the match, she knew that it wasn’t fair of her to duck out, but still a small part of her was tempted, even if it was a little silly. A small part of her felt nervous about the afternoon ahead of her.

She knew that it was only casual, when she and Daniel had exchanged texts messages, she had made it clear that it was only a casual meeting, but still she was a little apprehensive, something which her call to Gerard hadn’t helped. She had heard it, the slight change in the tone of his voice when she had mentioned Daniel, but she didn’t quite know what to make of it, something which had merely made her slightly more apprehensive.

Sparing another small look towards the door, she briefly contemplated ducking back towards her car before she spared a soft sigh, moving to tap her hand against it before she stepped back, smoothing out her shirt nervously.

“You finally decided to knock then, Nora” Emilia quipped as she pulled the door open, offering her little sister a soft smile.

Nora rolled her eyes. “I’ve not been out here for that long” she countered softly, her cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink.

Emilia smiled a little at the sight of the blush on her cheeks before she shook her head, gently moving to take a hold of her hand. “You’ve been out here for long enough” she noted softly “And if you stand here for much longer, you’re going to miss kick off, something we both know that you hate. So, why don’t you come inside, grab a drink, and find a seat?” she added as she carefully led her sister through the house towards the living room.

Nora followed after her quietly before the sound of her name reached her ears, causing her to lift her head, her blue eyes settling on Daniel who stood a little away from them, a bright smile perched on his face. “Nora” he greeted softly “I am glad that you could make it. It’s nice to see you” he added gently as he stepped towards her, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek.

Nora blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by the small kiss, before she stepped back, offering him a gentle smile. “It’s nice to see you too, Dani” she noted gently.

Daniel flashed her another small smile before he stepped back a little, offering her a space on the couch. Nora’s pink cheeks darkened a little at the small gesture before she stepped past him, moving to settle down on couch. Daniel followed after her and settled down into the space at her side, offering her another smile. “Let’s hope that this goes a little better than last time, eh?” he teased, playfully nudging her ribs.

Nora rolled her eyes playfully before she nodded her head. “It’s not going to take much” she pointed out with a grin.

Daniel let out a small laugh before he pushed himself up to his feet, musing about getting a drink before turned back to Nora, flashing her another bright grin. “Can I get you anything, Nora?” he posed softly.

“A lemonade would be nice” she replied softly.

Daniel nodded his head, musing about being right back, before he stepped away. Nora watched after him for a couple of seconds before she quietly shook her head, her fingers still fiddling nervously with the ends of her hair.

~#~
Twisting the ends of her hair around her fingers, Nora rested back against the wall she sat against, her blue eyes briefly studying the screen of her phone in search of any message from Gerard. It had been a little while, Spain’s match had finished a couple of hours, but still Nora was a little surprised by the lack of a text from the defender. It was just another little thing that they did and she was slightly surprised to find that he’d yet to contact her.

Sparing the phone another brief look towards her phone, she let out a soft sigh before she stowed it into her pocket.

“Are you waiting for a call?”

Nora, who’d closed her eyes, startled a little at the sound of Daniel’s voice, something which made him chuckle softly before he sat down beside her. “I didn’t mean to frighten you” he noted “I was just thinking about leaving and I thought I would pop out and say goodnight” he added gently. It had been a nice day, with the football match on the television around to act as an ice breaker, things between him and Nora had felt a lot more comfortable than they had the first time around and Daniel had to admit that he was pleased, even if he knew that Nora wasn’t in any sort of hurry to start things up between them. He liked the idea of spending more time with her.

Nora shook her head. “It’s alright” she noted gently.

Daniel nodded. “So, who’s so important that you ducked out of spending a few more minutes with me?” he teased, an impish grin on his face.

Nora rolled her eyes playfully before she shook her head. “It’s just a friend of mine” she noted softly, her eyes avoiding Daniel’s.

Daniel noted the line of her stare, not missing the way it avoided his, before he shook his head, a small smile appearing on his lips. “It’s complicated?” he quipped teasingly.

Nora snorted out a small laugh before she shook her head. “Something like that” she noted gently “Me and him…it’s a little awkward” she added softly.

“Awkward how?” Daniel posed softly.

Nora shook her head. “You don’t want to hear about it” she mumbled softly.

“Try me” Daniel countered “You never know, maybe I’ll be able to help” he added, flashing her another warm smile.

Nora offered him a small look, briefly contemplating his offer, before she quietly shook her head. “It’s just complicated” she mumbled softly “I mean, me and him, we’ve been friends for a while and I…I don’t quite know that I want to risk that. I like having him in my life, Dani, he’s a great guy and I’d rather keep him around as my friend than lose him” she added softly. She knew that it was a little cowardly, if she never made an attempt to make her move with Gerard, then she would never find out if things would work between them, but she was still scared. She was used to having him around and didn’t want to run the risk of losing him from her life.

Daniel was quiet for a couple of seconds, allowing her words to hang around them, before he shook his head. “I don’t know him” he noted softly “But I do know that he’d be an idiot if he didn’t want to give things a shot with you, Nora. You’re sweet, you’re funny, you’re kind and that’s without mentioning how beautiful you are. I’d say that if he’s not interested, then he’s missing out, but I would also say that you have to find that out. You have to risk it” he added softly.

“Dani…”

“You’re never going to know if you don’t even try, Nora” Daniel interrupted softly “And I think you need to try, even if you do end up falling on your face. You can’t just skirt around it forever” he added, offering her arm a small reassuring squeeze.

Nora offered him a small look, quietly mulling over his words, before Daniel pushed himself up to his feet, moving to press a light kiss against her cheek. “You have to do it, Nora” he noted gently “But, if it doesn’t work out, you have my number” he added with a boyish smirk before he padded away from her. Nora watched him go for a couple of seconds before she quietly shook her head. She knew that he had a point, one way or the other, she and Gerard needed to figure out what it was that was going on between the two of them, but still she remained apprehensive, nervous that it would only end up with her or him getting hurt.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments :)