There Was You

Gently massaging her temples, Riley sunk down onto the couch, trying to soothe the headache which had irked her since she had woken up. She had been awake for a while, despite having deliberately taken the day off of work to recover from Marisol’s bachelorette party, she had been woken up by the sound of her phone vibrating, and with Marisol insisting that she would be over soon to drop off the coat and bag that Riley had left behind the night before, she hadn’t been afforded the chance to get more sleep, something which irked her, especially since she was slightly hungover and embarrassed by how the previous night had ended.

She regretted it, as soon as Iker’s forehead had bumped against her nose, her stomach had dropped, and she couldn’t shake it, even if Iker had insisted that he did want to kiss her eventually. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had made a fool out of herself. It had been a spur of the moment thing, the way that she and Iker had been talking, matched with the drinks that she had had and seeing Ben, who’d been out on the dancefloor, kiss another girl had gotten to her, and it had led to her making a fool of herself, something which caused her stomach to turn, worried that she had thrown a spanner into a friendship which she valued highly.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she sat still for a few moments, relishing the quiet of her apartment before a loud knocking filled the air, causing her to let out a groan. “Marisol” she muttered to herself as she stood up, smoothing out the pair of pajama shorts that she wore. Hesitating for a second, she took a composing breath before she stepped out into the hall, pulling the door open without a glance up. “Surely you know how hungover I am” she muttered.

“How much did you have last night?”

Riley’s head whipped up, her grey eyes meeting Iker’s darker ones. “Iker” she spluttered “I was...Marisol was... I wasn’t expecting you” she managed to get out.

Iker laughed gently. “I got that” he quipped “I just thought...I don’t know. I bought breakfast” he added, lifting his hand to show off a bag of food.

Riley couldn’t help but smile a little before she stepped out of the doorway, allowing him to step past her. “You really didn’t have to do that” she mused, nudging the door closed behind him.

Iker shrugged, sparing her a brief look over his shoulder as he navigated the familiar route towards the kitchen. “I figured you’d be more likely to let me in if I had food” he quipped “You know, after last night” he added, his voice softening a little as he watched Riley’s expression flinch.

He wasn’t surprised to see it, the little twitch that her expression had given at the mention of the previous night was the least that he had expected, but it was also the reason that he had decided to visit her that morning, not wanting to afford the chance for the moment to fester between them. There was no way it couldn’t be awkward, regardless of his good intentions, the fact was that Riley had tried to kiss him, and he had stopped her, but Iker didn’t want it to become too awkward between them, not wanting to run the risk of losing the friendship that they had, a friendship which was quickly becoming more and more important to him.

Riley shook her head. “Iker” she murmured, messing with the string which was attached to the hood of the sweater she wore.

“What happened at the club, Riley?” Iker asked, reaching up to get two plates out of the cupboard.

“Nothing” Riley replied.

Iker scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “So you were just trying to run out of there for no reason?” he quipped.

Riley thought about arguing for a second before she shook her head, pushing her fingers back through her messy hair. “Ben was there” she muttered “He was dancing with some girl and they...he kissed her and that wasn’t a lot of fun, so I tried to get out of there as quickly as could, but you stopped me and we both know what a mess I made after that, so if we can refrain from going over it, that’d be great” she added sarcastically.

Iker shook his head, keeping his eyes on the plates ahead of him. “Riley...”

“Please?” Riley interrupted softly “Iker, I really, really, don’t want to talk about what happened last night. I made a fool out of myself, and I’d like to just leave it at that, OK? Can we just do that?” she insisted.

Iker hesitated for a second before he turned around, shaking his head. “No” he replied.

“Iker” Riley complained.

“I don’t want this to become weird” Iker replied.

“It’s too late for that” Riley countered “I tried to...you stopped me from...it is weird” she stumbled out, her voice rising a little in frustration at being unable to find the right words.

Iker was quiet for a second, allowing her words to hang between them, before he let out a soft sigh. “I thought it was the right thing to do” he muttered.

“I feel like an idiot” Riley replied softly, tucking her hair behind her ear “I mean, between getting so upset about Ben and then trying to...you know. It wasn’t my finest night and I hate that you...you got to see me be a mess again. You must have had your fill of it in the last couple of months” she added, a feeble smile briefly pulling at her lips.

Iker’s expression softened a little before he stepped towards her, cupping her cheek to keep her from looking away from him. “You’re not a mess” he murmured.

Riley scoffed. “Sure” she muttered sarcastically.

“You loved him, Ry” Iker continued softly “And you’re allowed to grieve for your relationship ending. You’re allowed to be pissed that he’s already going around kissing new women and you’re still hurting over him. You’re allowed to try and get even, but maybe not with your amazing new friend when you’re drunk and upset, eh?” he quipped, offering her a playful half smile.

Riley just closed her eyes, her cheeks flushing softly.

Iker took a second to admire the look her on her face before he leant forwards, pressing his forehead to hers. “Last night wasn’t our night” he mumbled “But just because last night wasn’t, doesn’t mean that it won’t be our night eventually” he added quietly.

Riley scoffed quietly, the hint of a smile on her lips.

Iker couldn’t help but smile when she smiled before he leant up, cupping the back of her head so that he could press a soft kiss against her forehead.

Riley’s stomach jumped a little before she pulled back, peeking up at him shyly. “Thank you” she muttered.

Iker shrugged, a bashful smile on his lips. “What’d I do?” he quipped impishly.

“For a random friend of Nuno’s that I met at their engagement party?” Riley quipped “A lot. Too much even” she added gently.

Iker just shook his head, not quite sure how to reply to her.

Riley watched him with a small smile, marveling at the pink on his cheeks, before she looked away, not wanting to be caught staring at him. “Are you staying for breakfast?” she asked, stepping around him to collect the plate he’d made up on the counter.

“Will you have me?” Iker asked.

Riley shrugged. “You’re bigger than me” she quipped “It’s not like I could get you out of the door by myself” she added with a playful smile as she stepped past him, making her way towards the table.

Iker rolled his eyes and followed after her, sitting down opposite her. “So” he quipped “Aside from all your drama, how was last night?” he asked, flashing her a smirk to make sure that she knew he was just teasing her.

“It was exactly what I expected” Riley quipped “Marisol got drunk and embarrassing, her sisters spent the whole night complaining about all the choices I have helped Marisol make, and I made awkward small talk with all of her work friends. It was perfect, really” she added.

Iker laughed.

“I did learn that Isabella is single again” Riley continued “Remind me to point her out to you at the rehearsal dinner so you know how to avoid her” she added.

Iker tilted his head, a small smirk on his face, but he didn’t say anything, instead focusing on Riley as she spoke as the thought of her being a little jealous filtered through his head.