There Was You

“What was your dream job when you were a kid?” Iker asked as he leant back into his seat, sipping on the bottle of beer which sat in his hand.

Riley, who was sat in a seat a little away from him, shrugged, offering him a small smile. They had been sat there for a while, with Iker having spent the day visiting friends in the city and Riley having spent it with her mother who had been desperate to get a little time alone with her, they’d promised to have dinner together, but with the food long finished, they still found themselves sat out on the patio, something which pleased Riley, even if there had been a few familiar lapses in conversation. She liked that the two of them seemed to be a little more at ease around one another. There was no denying that they still had their moments, Iker in particular was good at tripping over his words when they talked, but they were slowly but surely relaxing into things, something which pleased her. She liked him, and she liked the idea that they were getting closer.

“That depends” Riley replied, taking a sip from her own drink “How old a kid?” she asked.

Iker tilted his head, an amused expression on his features. “There’s more than one answer?” he asked.

Riley nodded. “When I was really young, I wanted to be a dancer. Mia used to take classes when we were younger and my mama would always take me with her when she went to pick her up. I used to stand in front of my mama and copy all of Mia’s moves” she explained.

“That sounds adorable” Iker mused with a smirk.

Riley’s cheeks flushed a little before she shrugged, staring down at the bottle in her hand. “Anyway” she quipped “When I was a little older, I started to love painting. I was pretty good at it too, but I am a little too practical to be an artist, so I went to university, got a degree, and now I work for a web design company” she added.

Iker’s smirk softened a little. “I didn’t know that you painted” he mused.

Riley, who’d been picking at the label on the side of the bottle, shrugged, peeking up at him through her eyelashes. “I’ve not told you that before?” she asked.

Iker shook his head. “You haven’t” he mused “Do you still do it?” he asked.

Riley nodded shyly. “Sometimes” she mused.

“I’d love to see some of your work sometime” Iker noted.

Riley’s face lit up with a timid smile before she shook her head, staring down at her lap. “My...my parents have a painting of mine in their living room” she mused “I’ll take a photo of it for you when I head over there, unless...unless you...” she trailed off.

Iker laughed into his drink before he settled it down on the little table which sat between their seats. “Are you trying to invite me to your parents’ barbecue, Ry?” he asked.

Riley opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to think of the right thing to say, before she let out a soft sigh, her fingers messing with the ends of her hair. “My mother wouldn’t stop hinting at me inviting you throughout lunch” she noted “You appear to have made quite the impression on my relatives” she added.

Iker quirked a bashful smile. “Yeah?” he asked.

Riley nodded. “My papa and Garrett already loved you because you used to play for Real Madrid” she mused “But my mother? Mia? I don’t exactly know what you did at the wedding, but they seem pretty keen to see more of you” she added.

“I was just my charming self” Iker quipped, his voice caught between teasing and sheepish.

Riley lifted a playful eyebrow. “Charming?” she quipped.

Iker laughed. “I must have something going for me” he quipped “I mean, you’re here, aren’t you?” he quipped.

Riley laughed softly before she shook her head, gently tucking her hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to come” she murmured after a couple of seconds of quiet “I mean, I didn’t make any promises when I spoke to my mama earlier, but I...I would like it if you did. Not that I would be upset if you didn’t, I mean, we’re not even really...you know, and you’ve already met my entire family, so if you didn’t want to come, that’d be fine too, I just...”

“Riley?” Iker interrupted, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.

Riley blinked a couple of times, surprised by the interruption, before she let out a shy laugh, shaking her head to herself. “I’m sorry” she muttered “I was just trying to say that if you didn’t want to spend more time with my family so soon, then I’d get that. We’re still trying to figure out whatever this is, and I’d understand if you thought it was a bit much” she added.

Iker quirked a small smile. “You’ll have to think of something else to call me” he quipped, picking up his drink again.

Riley frowned. “What?” she asked.

“You can’t just call me ‘Nuno’s friend’ anymore” Iker pointed out as he swallowed a sip of his drink “None of your relatives bought that line for a second” he added.

Riley’s lips quirked upwards. “Is that your way of saying that you’ll come with me?” she asked.

Iker shrugged, letting out a slightly timid laugh. “I’ve got nothing better to do on Friday” he quipped.

“Really?” Riley asked “Because if you’re just agreeing to come to be sweet...”

“I’m happy to go, Ry” Iker interrupted softly “Though, I like that you think I am sweet” he added.

Riley’s expression softened. “Of course I think you’re sweet” she mused “Iker, the first night we met, you sat on a balcony with a woman you didn’t know, listening to her rant about her douchebag of an ex-boyfriend before you took her for coffee. If that’s not sweet, then I don’t know what is” she added, her face lighting up with a soft smile.

Iker glanced at her, a sheepish expression on his features, before he shook his head, messing with the bottle that he held in his hands. “You looked like you could use someone” he mumbled “And no one else seemed to notice you sneaking out onto the balcony” he added.

Riley’s eyes widened a little. “You noticed me?” she asked.

Iker nodded. “I told you I did” he quipped “I’d seen you talking to Nuno and Marisol when I arrived and then I watched you sneak out onto the balcony. It was pretty hard not to notice the most beautiful woman in the room sneaking out of it” he added with a nonchalant shrug.

Riley grinned goofily. “The most beautiful woman in the room?” she breathed.

Iker again shrugged nonchalantly, trying to distract from the blush which had been quick to spread over his cheeks. “You know I think you’re beautiful” he quipped “And I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t noticed you that night, but that’s not why I came outside. I did that because no one else followed you. I wanted to make sure that you were alright” he added softly.

He couldn’t deny that he had been attracted to her from the moment that they had met, but he didn’t want to think that that was the reason he had moved to speak to her. She had snuck out of a party, unnoticed by anyone else around her, and he had wanted to make sure that she was OK, something no one else had seemed to want to do.

Riley was quiet for a moment, allowing his words to hang around them, before she shuffled out of her seat, closing the distance between them with a soft kiss. Iker let out a small sound of surprise before he gently eased himself back to his feet, allowing him to wrap his arms around Riley’s waist as her hands moved to cup his cheeks. The kiss was soft, it was still tentative and uncertain, but it was enough for Iker’s stomach to give the customary flip it always did when they kissed.

“You” Riley whispered as she pulled back slightly “You’re rapidly becoming my favourite person, do you know that?” she asked, looking up at him slightly.

Iker quirked a faint smile before he leant back into her, kissing her briefly. “That’s how you should introduce me to your parents” he teased quietly.

Riley didn’t want to laugh, but she couldn’t help herself, something which made Iker grin at her, marveling at the soft sound of her laugh.