Where We Are
37: I Don’t Think You’re That Stupid
“Are you two going to be OK for a couple of hours?”
Iker, who was quietly fussing over Ella, smiled a little at the sound of Maia’s question before he lifted his head, offering her a swift nod. It wasn’t the first time that she had asked, nearly every time she opted to go out without Ella, she tended to fuss and fret, and whilst it did have the potential to become slightly overwhelming, Iker found it cute. He had been a little worried, when they had been together the first time around, the topic of children wasn’t one that they’d broached and he had been a little worried about how Maia would react to having Ella around, but he was proud of her. She was intuitive, warm and loving, and he doubted that he would get tired of the sight of her and their little girl any time soon.
“I think I can probably cope” he mused “I mean, you are going to be gone for what? A couple of hours?” he posed, gently smoothing out the dark hair which sat on the top of Ella’s head.
Maia quirked a small soft smile, admiring the small interaction, before she nodded. “Alex is pretty talkative” she mused “But I don’t think that I will be gone for longer than that. Are you sure that you don’t want me to take her with me?” she posed.
Iker nodded. “I’m sure” he noted “Besides, whilst Alex loves Ella, I am pretty sure that she’s looking forwards to having some time alone with you. It’s not something you’ve done a lot since she came along” he added, sparing a soft look down towards the little girl who stirred gently in her sleep, letting out a soft snore.
Maia, who’d moved to sit down on the couch beside him, followed his stare, marveling at Ella for a moment before she shook her head. “I know it is silly” she murmured “But I kind of hate leaving her, even if it is only for a couple of hours” she added as she reached her hand out, gently brushing her fingers against the little girl’s back.
Iker smiled a little at her words before he turned, pressing a soft kiss against her temple. “It’s not silly” he mumbled “I know that I get the same feeling every time I have to head away for a match, but a few hours away from her here and then aren’t a bad thing, Maia. You should take your time and enjoy yourself. We’ll be here when you get back” he added gently.
Maia spared him a soft look, her blue eyes scanning his darker ones, before she let out a playful sigh, something which made Iker chuckle before he leant down, pressing another kiss against her temple. “You’ll be fine” he noted “Besides, a few minutes with Alex telling you about her latest awful date will be more than enough to distract you” he added teasingly.
Maia rolled her eyes gently before the sound of her phone buzzing against the coffee table reached her ears, causing her to lean forwards, lifting it into her hand. “That’s going to be Alex” she noted “I’ll see you later?” she posed as she pushed herself up to her feet.
Iker nodded. “I’d expect so” he noted, holding back the impish comment which itched to fall out of his mouth.
Maia, who’d moved to slip her feet into her shoes, took a pace towards him before she dipped down, gently kissing Ella’s head and Iker’s lips before she stepped away towards the door, hesitantly stepping through it.
~#~
“So, how was your latest date?” Maia posed as she pushed the last of her dessert around her plate, her blue eyes settled on Alex who sat across from her, fiddling with her phone in her lap. It had been a while, with Ella’s arrival and Maia preoccupied with trying to patch things up between her and Iker, it’d been a while since the two of them had headed out alone, and Maia wanted to make the most of it, even if there was a part of her which was itching to send a quick text to Iker just to check in. She had willed herself to focus on her friend.
Alex, who was busily texting, quirked a grin at Maia’s question before she lifted her head, shrugging her shoulder nonchalantly. “It was OK” she quipped coyly.
Maia lifted an eyebrow. “Just OK?” she prodded.
Alex simply smirked, something which made Maia shifted her foot, playfully kicking her friend under the table. “Are you really not going to tell me anything?” she pressed enthusiastically.
“I don’t want to say too much” Alex replied “I mean, this was the third date I’ve been on with the same guy and things are going pretty well, but I kind of want to keep it under wraps for a little longer. He’s a great guy, Maia, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Do you think that you can allow that?” she posed, her voice caught between playful and serious. She knew that Maia was curious, the look on her face and the tone of her voice confided it, but she wanted to put off talking about it for a little while, even if she was excited. She wanted to keep her cards close to her chest.
Maia offered her a slightly inquisitive look before she nodded her head. “I am sure that I can wait a little longer” she noted “But when you do want to talk, or introduce him, I’m the first name on the list, right?” she asked.
Alex nodded. “Of course” she mused “But that’s enough about that. How are you and Iker doing?” she posed, sipping on her mug of coffee.
Maia’s lips quirked a timid smile at the mention of the goalkeeper’s name before she shook her head, trying to stifle the grin slightly. “It’s OK” she noted “It’s still a little new, us living together, it still feels slightly weird, but I think we’re getting there. Things seem to be going pretty well” she added, timidly pushing her hair behind her ear.
Alex watched her, smiling a little at the familiar sight of her nervous habit, before she shook her head, sipping on her drink. “It’s been a long time coming” she pointed out “I mean, even before the break up, you two were skirting around the prospect of moving in together, and I am glad that you two finally took the plunge. I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy in a while, Maia” she added.
Maia’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she ducked her head, something which made Alex’s smirk grow. “It’s going well right now” she mused “Me and Iker, we’re pretty settled, but I am not naïve enough to think that there won’t be hiccups in the future. Things are good now, but I don’t want to be complacent. I think that’s what led to end of us the first time around” she added.
“You were complacent?” Alex posed.
“We both were” Maia quipped “But that’s not a mistake that I intend to make this time around. I know that we’ve taken the long way round to this point, but I do love him, Alex” she added, her voice soft. It was something she had spent a lot of time thinking about, where they had gone wrong the first time around, and she was determined to not make the same mistake twice, even if it did mean compromising on things that meant a lot to her. The last thing she wanted to do was put what she and Iker had at risk again.
Alex looked at her for a moment, mulling her words over, before she reached her hand out, lightly patting Maia’s. “I don’t think you’re that stupid” she murmured, a teasing grin on her face.
Maia let out a playful scoff before she shook her head, wordlessly agreeing with Alex’s words. It was going to take work, even if things were good between her and Iker in that moment, she knew that they still had a way to go, but she liked where they were heading, even if they had hit a couple of bumps. Things were going a lot better than she had been expecting that they would.
Iker, who was quietly fussing over Ella, smiled a little at the sound of Maia’s question before he lifted his head, offering her a swift nod. It wasn’t the first time that she had asked, nearly every time she opted to go out without Ella, she tended to fuss and fret, and whilst it did have the potential to become slightly overwhelming, Iker found it cute. He had been a little worried, when they had been together the first time around, the topic of children wasn’t one that they’d broached and he had been a little worried about how Maia would react to having Ella around, but he was proud of her. She was intuitive, warm and loving, and he doubted that he would get tired of the sight of her and their little girl any time soon.
“I think I can probably cope” he mused “I mean, you are going to be gone for what? A couple of hours?” he posed, gently smoothing out the dark hair which sat on the top of Ella’s head.
Maia quirked a small soft smile, admiring the small interaction, before she nodded. “Alex is pretty talkative” she mused “But I don’t think that I will be gone for longer than that. Are you sure that you don’t want me to take her with me?” she posed.
Iker nodded. “I’m sure” he noted “Besides, whilst Alex loves Ella, I am pretty sure that she’s looking forwards to having some time alone with you. It’s not something you’ve done a lot since she came along” he added, sparing a soft look down towards the little girl who stirred gently in her sleep, letting out a soft snore.
Maia, who’d moved to sit down on the couch beside him, followed his stare, marveling at Ella for a moment before she shook her head. “I know it is silly” she murmured “But I kind of hate leaving her, even if it is only for a couple of hours” she added as she reached her hand out, gently brushing her fingers against the little girl’s back.
Iker smiled a little at her words before he turned, pressing a soft kiss against her temple. “It’s not silly” he mumbled “I know that I get the same feeling every time I have to head away for a match, but a few hours away from her here and then aren’t a bad thing, Maia. You should take your time and enjoy yourself. We’ll be here when you get back” he added gently.
Maia spared him a soft look, her blue eyes scanning his darker ones, before she let out a playful sigh, something which made Iker chuckle before he leant down, pressing another kiss against her temple. “You’ll be fine” he noted “Besides, a few minutes with Alex telling you about her latest awful date will be more than enough to distract you” he added teasingly.
Maia rolled her eyes gently before the sound of her phone buzzing against the coffee table reached her ears, causing her to lean forwards, lifting it into her hand. “That’s going to be Alex” she noted “I’ll see you later?” she posed as she pushed herself up to her feet.
Iker nodded. “I’d expect so” he noted, holding back the impish comment which itched to fall out of his mouth.
Maia, who’d moved to slip her feet into her shoes, took a pace towards him before she dipped down, gently kissing Ella’s head and Iker’s lips before she stepped away towards the door, hesitantly stepping through it.
~#~
“So, how was your latest date?” Maia posed as she pushed the last of her dessert around her plate, her blue eyes settled on Alex who sat across from her, fiddling with her phone in her lap. It had been a while, with Ella’s arrival and Maia preoccupied with trying to patch things up between her and Iker, it’d been a while since the two of them had headed out alone, and Maia wanted to make the most of it, even if there was a part of her which was itching to send a quick text to Iker just to check in. She had willed herself to focus on her friend.
Alex, who was busily texting, quirked a grin at Maia’s question before she lifted her head, shrugging her shoulder nonchalantly. “It was OK” she quipped coyly.
Maia lifted an eyebrow. “Just OK?” she prodded.
Alex simply smirked, something which made Maia shifted her foot, playfully kicking her friend under the table. “Are you really not going to tell me anything?” she pressed enthusiastically.
“I don’t want to say too much” Alex replied “I mean, this was the third date I’ve been on with the same guy and things are going pretty well, but I kind of want to keep it under wraps for a little longer. He’s a great guy, Maia, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Do you think that you can allow that?” she posed, her voice caught between playful and serious. She knew that Maia was curious, the look on her face and the tone of her voice confided it, but she wanted to put off talking about it for a little while, even if she was excited. She wanted to keep her cards close to her chest.
Maia offered her a slightly inquisitive look before she nodded her head. “I am sure that I can wait a little longer” she noted “But when you do want to talk, or introduce him, I’m the first name on the list, right?” she asked.
Alex nodded. “Of course” she mused “But that’s enough about that. How are you and Iker doing?” she posed, sipping on her mug of coffee.
Maia’s lips quirked a timid smile at the mention of the goalkeeper’s name before she shook her head, trying to stifle the grin slightly. “It’s OK” she noted “It’s still a little new, us living together, it still feels slightly weird, but I think we’re getting there. Things seem to be going pretty well” she added, timidly pushing her hair behind her ear.
Alex watched her, smiling a little at the familiar sight of her nervous habit, before she shook her head, sipping on her drink. “It’s been a long time coming” she pointed out “I mean, even before the break up, you two were skirting around the prospect of moving in together, and I am glad that you two finally took the plunge. I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy in a while, Maia” she added.
Maia’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she ducked her head, something which made Alex’s smirk grow. “It’s going well right now” she mused “Me and Iker, we’re pretty settled, but I am not naïve enough to think that there won’t be hiccups in the future. Things are good now, but I don’t want to be complacent. I think that’s what led to end of us the first time around” she added.
“You were complacent?” Alex posed.
“We both were” Maia quipped “But that’s not a mistake that I intend to make this time around. I know that we’ve taken the long way round to this point, but I do love him, Alex” she added, her voice soft. It was something she had spent a lot of time thinking about, where they had gone wrong the first time around, and she was determined to not make the same mistake twice, even if it did mean compromising on things that meant a lot to her. The last thing she wanted to do was put what she and Iker had at risk again.
Alex looked at her for a moment, mulling her words over, before she reached her hand out, lightly patting Maia’s. “I don’t think you’re that stupid” she murmured, a teasing grin on her face.
Maia let out a playful scoff before she shook her head, wordlessly agreeing with Alex’s words. It was going to take work, even if things were good between her and Iker in that moment, she knew that they still had a way to go, but she liked where they were heading, even if they had hit a couple of bumps. Things were going a lot better than she had been expecting that they would.