There Was You

35: Certain

Taking a sip from the mug of tea that she had made herself, Riley smiled gently into the cup, shivering a little at the slightly cool breeze which brushed past her. She had been sat there for a little while, after she had woken up nearly half an hour previous, she had tiptoed out of the bedroom so that she wouldn’t disturb Iker who had still been happily sleeping, and with some time before she was due to start getting ready for work, she had snuck out onto the balcony, wanting to take a few moments of quiet to recount the previous night. She still felt giddy, despite Iker having said the words more than once, she still itched to smile whenever she thought about it, and she hoped that it was a feeling that didn’t wear off for a while. She liked the little hit of butterflies which fluttered in her stomach when she thought about it.

Pulling her mug away from her face, she drummed her fingers happily against it for a few seconds before she heard the door behind her open, something which caused her to look up, smiling a little as she watched Iker push a hand back through his hair, trying to smooth it out slightly. “It’s still early” she noted quietly.

Iker, who’d been staring sleepily into the distance, visibly startled at the sound of her voice, something which made Riley shake her head, laughing softly. “Why don’t you go back to bed, Iker?” she quipped “Clearly, you’re not quite ready to be awake yet” she added.

Iker shook his head. “I’m fine” he quipped.

Riley lifted an amused eyebrow, but didn’t say anything, instead opting to take another sip of her drink.

Iker watched her for a few seconds, trying to wake himself up a little, before he plopped down next to her, his shoulder lightly bumping against hers. “Are you not cold?” he asked “You’re always cold” he added.

Riley smiled into her mug. “A little” she mused “But’s it’s not too bad. It’s nice out here” she added.

Iker nodded his head slowly, allowing a few beats of silence to pass between the two of them, before Riley spoke up. “There’s an international break at the beginning of September” she announced.

Iker frowned sleepily. “Hm?” he asked.

“You’ll have a weekend off at the beginning of September” Riley clarified “And I was thinking that...maybe we could use it for a trip back to Madrid. I mean, it’s not for a while yet, and if you don’t want to make plans, then I get that, but I just thought...I don’t know, I thought maybe we could use it so that I could come along and meet your parents” she stumbled out, her words becoming more and more flustered the more she spoke.

She knew that it was something he wanted, aside from the previous night, he had mentioned the prospect of her meeting his parents more than once, but the distant look on his face put knots in her stomach. The last thing she wanted was to push things forwards if he wasn’t ready to do it too.

Iker, who’d moved to settle a hand against her knee, smiled a little at the tone of her voice before he turned to look at her. “Really?” he asked.

Riley shrugged, her eyes fixed on his hand as he carefully brushed his thumb back and forth over her knee. “You said that you wanted me to meet them” she mumbled “And that’s the first window that works for us both. If you want to put it off a little more...” she trailed off as Iker’s other hand gently brushed against her jaw, causing her to turn her head before he leant down, stealing a soft kiss.

Letting out a soft noise, she allowed the kiss to linger for a few seconds before she pulled away from him, grinning up at him goofily.

Iker gently traced the line of her jaw with his thumb before he leant up, kissing her forehead softly. “I don’t want to put it off” he murmured softly.

Riley, who’d started to mess with the bottom of his t-shirt, glanced up at him through her eyelashes. “You sure about that?” she asked.

Iker didn’t hesitate in nodding. “Certain” he quipped “You’re important to me, Riley, and I want them to meet you. They’re probably going to have to get used to you being around for a while” he added with an impish grin.

Riley shook her head, feeling her cheeks grow hot. “You think that they’ll...”

“They’ll love you, Ry” Iker interrupted, knowing precisely what the end of Riley’s question would be “Why wouldn’t they?” he asked.

Riley just offered a little shrug, her eyes fixed on her hands which played with his t-shirt.

Iker watched her for a moment, his eyes flitting between her face and her hands, before he leant forwards, kissing her head softly again. “I love you” he murmured quietly “I think the world of you, and if I do, then they will too, Riley. I mean, isn’t that why your parents like me so much?” he asked, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

Riley let out a soft laugh. “Maybe my mama” she quipped “You won my papa over by playing for Real Madrid” she added.

Iker laughed gently, dropping another kiss on the top of her head. “You’ll be fine” he insisted “Just be you, Ry, awkward quirks and all” he added.

Riley scoffed, shoving his shoulder playfully.

Iker laughed gently before the distant sound of Riley’s alarm clock blaring reached their ears, causing Riley to let out a quiet groan before she shuffled back to her feet. Standing up, she took a few seconds to stretch before she bent over, pressing a soft kiss against the top of Iker’s head. “Hey” she mumbled into his hair.

Iker leant back so that he could meet her eyes. “Yeah?” he asked.

Riley quirked a crooked smile. “I love you” she mumbled softly before she kissed his lips swiftly, ducking back inside.

Iker watched her back inside with a goofy grin on his face, still marveling a little at the sound of those words falling out of Riley’s mouth.
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Thanks to FootieJo and Twisted;;Symphony for the comments :)