There Was You

Turning his phone over in his hand, Iker lifted his head slightly, listening as another set of footsteps crossed the lobby ahead of him. He had been sat there for a little while, with him and Riley having made plans to head out to dinner that evening once she finished work, he had opted to go and pick her up from her office, but with a text on his phone telling him that she was still in a meeting, he knew that he would still be sat there for a while. It’d a while, after their stumble, a few weeks had passed, and whilst there were still instances where both he and Riley seemed a little unsure of themselves, they’d quickly gotten back to where they were, something which relieved Iker, even if he was aware that Riley’s nerves weren’t something which were merely going to go away. He was pleased that they had managed to put their first little stumble behind them.

Scanning the lobby again, he let out a little sigh to himself before he pressed a button on his phone, illuminating the blank home screen.

“Iker?”

Iker, who’d moved to type out another text to Riley, looked up at the sound of his name before he quirked a small polite smile, his stare settling on Marisol who’d just stepped into the lobby. “Hola, Marisol” he mused.

Marisol skittered towards him, greeting him with a polite kiss on the cheek. “It’s been a while” she chirped “Are you waiting on Riley?” she asked, plopping down into the empty chair next to him.

Iker nodded. “We’ve got dinner plans” he confirmed “What about you?” he asked.

Marisol shrugged. “I was just in the area and I thought I’d drop in to catch a quick word with her” she mused “Her birthday’s coming up and I wanted to ask what she wants to do. I mean, we usually end up doing the same thing every year, but I thought I’d ask anyway” she added with a playful grin.

Iker tilted his head. “Her birthday’s coming up?” he asked, more than a little surprised that Riley hadn’t mentioned it.

Marisol’s eyes widened a little, slightly surprised by the question, before she nodded her head. “The end of next week” she confirmed.

Iker nodded his head slowly, something which made Marisol giggle. “Don’t look so worried” she chirped “It’s always a pretty quiet affair and it nearly always follows the same routine. She’ll get up first thing in the morning and call her parents, she’ll be at work for most of the day, and then we’ll go to the same restaurant in the city we go to every year. She loves it” she insisted gently.

Iker offered her a slightly dubious look. “Really?” he asked.

Marisol nodded. “If she didn’t, she would have said something by now, right?” she asked “Besides, we both know Riley. She’s never been one to enjoy being the centre of attention” she added.

Iker quirked a small smile before he shook his head. “Has she always been as shy as she is now?” he asked.

Marisol hesitated for a beat, mulling the question over, before she shook her head. “It depends” she noted “I mean, around me, Nuno...people she’s known for years, she’s a lot of fun, but around people she is new to...it takes her a while to warm up. Why? Is something wrong?” she asked concernedly.

Iker was quick to shake his head. “No” he replied “Things are...things are going really well. I just wondered” he added.

Marisol quirked a small smile at his little stutter before she shook her head. “You know” she mused “You and her...you two make a lot of sense” she added.

Iker smiled bashfully down at his lap. “You think so?” he asked.

Marisol didn’t hesitate in nodding. “You’re both kind of shy” she mused “And you both seem more at ease when the other’s around. I mean, do you two ever stop holding hands?” she quipped with a grin.

Iker merely shrugged, his cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

Marisol looked at him, not missing the soft hue of pink which had spread across his cheeks, before the sound of footsteps heading towards them reach her, causing her to look up. Quirking a small smile, she watched as Riley’s eyes landed on Iker and her face lit up, before she shook her head.

It wasn’t the first time that she had noticed it, despite her and Riley not having seen as much of one another as they had before, the little smile that she wore whenever she looked at or spoke about Iker was something Marisol had become increasingly familiar with, and she had to admit that it wasn’t something she had thought she would see for a while. Riley had loved Ben, despite flaws that had been obvious to other people, Marisol knew that Riley had been head over heels for her ex-boyfriend, and when things had ended between them, Marisol had been convinced it would be a long time before Riley found herself someone new, but she was pleased that it hadn’t, and she was even more pleased that it had been Iker. There was merely something about the goalkeeper which gave Marisol a good feeling.

“Marisol?”

Marisol blinked a couple of times. “Hm?” she asked.

“I asked what you’re doing here” Riley quipped.

“Ah” Marisol quipped “I was just in the area and I thought I’d come and ask what you plan on doing next Friday night” she added.

Riley lifted an amused eyebrow. “You can’t guess?” she asked.

Marisol laughed. “I figured as much” she noted “I just thought I’d ask. You never know, maybe your boyfriend has a trick or two up his sleeve” she added.

Iker let out a small sound of surprise, something which made Riley giggle, shaking her head. “It’s OK” she mused “I mean, I know you didn’t know, so I am not expecting anything. You can come to dinner with us, though, if you want to. There’s a great little restaurant in town that I go to every year. They make the best chocolate cake” she gushed.

Iker smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’d love to come” he noted.

Riley grinned up at him. “Great” she enthused “That is OK, isn’t it, Mari?” she asked, turning back to her friend.

“Of course” Marisol enthused “It’ll be our first double date” she added.

Riley nodded her head, allowing a few beats of quiet to pass between them, before she cleared her throat. “I need to go and get my stuff” she mused “Mari...”

“I’ll see you next week, Ry” Marisol enthused.

Riley smiled before she turned back to Iker. “A couple more minutes?” she asked “I mean, I know you’ve been here for a while...”

“You’re worth the wait” Iker interrupted before he grimaced, realizing how cheesy a line it was.

Riley’s smile softened a little before she took a pace towards him, hesitating for a beat before she pushed herself up onto her toes, kissing him softly. Iker was slightly surprised by the kiss, but didn’t hesitate in responding to it before Riley pulled back, a slightly shy expression on her face. “I’ll...uh...I’ll be right back” she murmured.

Iker just nodded, a familiar goofy smile on his face.

Riley waved towards Marisol before she padded away, heading towards her office.

Marisol, who’d been watching the two of them, watched Riley away for a few steps before she shook her head, grinning. “You two are so cute” she gushed.

Iker, who’d been staring after Riley, shrugged, trying, and failing, to appear nonchalant despite the loved up look on his face. “I like to think so” he quipped.